Happy was a happy boy, and so Natsu gifted him with the name when he had no memory of the one he was born with. He was almost always smiling, or, if he wasn't smiling, his brow was furrowed in worry because Natsu had another scheme to get them out of the castle and into trouble.
But he was never angry.
At least, not until Lucy's healer dragged him from his pain-induced sleep.
Natsu watched bedside as Happy opened his dark eyes, blinked at the ceiling, and then narrowed in on the spirit. He sat bolt-upright, hands extended, and tackled the spirit to the ground with a ferocious yell. They toppled over, off the couch and onto the floor, hands and knees and tattered clothing tattering more as fists began to fly.
Natsu took just a moment to appreciate how sprightly Lucy's magic made Happy before he dived in himself with the thought of breaking up the fight.
He was cracked in the cheekbone by an elbow, bony enough only to be Happy's, and then Natsu got his arms hooked around Happy's and yanked him back, Happy's chest to his.
Ophiuchus looked up at Lucy, seemingly unhurt, and Happy sputtered, bleeding from his nose.
"Geeze," Lucy muttered, looking at him as one might a toddler. She reached out to daub the blood from his nose and narrowly avoided getting kicked in the shins.
"Stop it!" Natsu yanked Happy back, tightening his arms so much that it pulled on Happy's arm sockets.
Happy cried out and then he got still. Natsu couldn't see his face but he could watch Lucy's. Her eyebrows went up in disbelief.
"Natsu?" Happy's voice wobbled.
"'Course."
Happy's muscles went weak. Natsu had to adjust so they didn't both go crashing down. He lowered Happy back onto the couch and stepped in front of him. Happy's eyes were swimming in tears.
"Why are you crying?" Natsu searched for a handkerchief but of course, he had nothing.
"I'm so happy you're alive," Happy sobbed. Then he sobered and pointed accusingly at Lucy. "She's Lady Eileen's henchman."
Lucy balked at the word. "I am not a henchman."
"She lies," Happy insisted. "I spied them together. She was carving wings from Lady Eileen's back and together, they planned your sabotage. Then she shot at me! With an arrow!"
Natsu waited for Lucy to deny him but she only dropped her eyes to the ground.
Lucy said, "I didn't know who was following me at first. I thought maybe it was one of Lady Eileen's informants. I didn't want them to know I was going to meet His Majesty. Sagittarius recognized you, though, and decided not to kill you."
Happy laughed mockingly. "Unbelievable. Do you believe this drivel, Your Majesty? I've seen infant patricides that lie better—" He trailed off, looking back at Natsu's stoic expression with horror. "Don't tell me you believe her?"
Somehow, it felt like he was betraying Happy if he said he did. And he didn't want Lucy thinking that all was forgiven.
He changed the subject. "If you're feeling well enough, I need you to summon Lily. Tell him to bring all his best fabrics and tonics. And then go through my belongings for my best garments."
"Why do you need a tailor?" Happy asked warily.
"We need to look our best tomorrow morning," Natsu answered briskly. "You should also make sure the archbishop is going to be in audience," he tagged on. "I suppose that's important."
"For what?"
"We're getting married."
Happy looked ill. "Married. Who? Who is getting married?"
Natsu donned his best drab look as though it wasn't a big deal, even though it was literally kingdom-shaping. "Lady Lucy and I."
Happy pursed his lips together, thoughts all crowding on his tongue so he couldn't articulate any of them. That was how Natsu preferred it. He didn't want to dwell on what he was doing, the enormity of it all. He needed to keep things simple, handle one bit of drama at a time. First, he needed to see if he could sleep for an hour. Then he needed to see if he could eat anything and keep it down. Then he needed to dress and enter the Throne Room without being struck down. Then he needed to marry the most beautiful and untruthful girl in the realm.
Everything felt like a farse. He wasn't clever enough to pull this off. He wasn't deceitful enough. But he needed to be.
"You can't be serious?" Happy whispered.
"Please, Happy," Natsu meant for it to be commanding but really, it sounded just like he was begging. "Just do as I say."
Happy stood without another word and walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself. Natsu wanted to chase him down and ask if he was going to come back but refrained. It didn't seem like a very kingly thing to do.
"That went well." Lucy settled in on the loveseat and shivered.
From the shadows, Juvia asked, "Will he go to Lady Eileen with his findings, Your Majesty?"
Natsu was appalled by her suggestion, yes, but also by the sinking feeling in his guts for the moment he thought perhaps Happy would. No matter how strongly he felt about it, Happy wasn't a traitor. He needed to remember that or risk going mad. "He's loyal."
"Maybe I should go after him, just in case?" Gray offered.
"No." He couldn't control all the thoughts in his head, but he could definitely control his actions. He trusted Happy, always, and forever, and Happy trusted him.
Reluctantly, Gray folded his arms across his chest and stood guard at the door. Natsu stoked a fire in the hearth and soon, the room was almost too hot. Lucy's head drooped soon after and her eyelids sagged.
Natsu's body was giving in to weariness as well, all his muscles loosening and the throbbing of the headache building behind his eyes turning into a gentle ache. He couldn't sleep on the bed, though, that was Zeref's. He took a blanket from the box at the foot of the bed and a pillow and threw both down in front of the fire. He ignored the questioning looks from both Gray and Juvia and settled in for as much sleep as he could squeeze in.
Natsu woke again to Happy standing over him with his arms full not of magic-restraining chains but chiffon and silks. The sky was lavender and bleeding into the room. Sounds of castle life stirred in the courtyard below.
Natsu squinted around Happy and found Lilly, tall and broad and dark. He looked rougher than he was with a large scar over his eye, his huge hands deft with a needle and thread. He was elegantly dressed in black and red silks and though Happy must have dragged him from sleep, Lily looked alert and unsurprised to see Natsu.
Lily bowed at the waist. It was the deepest bow Natsu had ever received; usually, people overlooked him as the childish prince, undeserving of the respect his brother commanded. But now Zeref was gone and he was in charge and Lily was treating him as though he'd done something worthy of his admiration. The enormity of it would have bowled Natsu over if he weren't still on his back in front of the fire.
"You summoned, Your Majesty?" Lily's baritone voice echoed off the walls, deep and low.
"I—yes." Natsu rubbed his hands over his face, hoping to chase away the cobwebby feeling in his skull. It only half worked. He was still exhausted, but the thought of what was coming stirred his thoughts in a coherent direction.
He stood with some effort, bones cracking and muscles protesting.
Happy worried his hands. "Please, Your Majesty, why not use the bed? Or at least sit?" Then he bit his cheek hard, worried he'd overstepped his bounds.
"I'm fine," Natsu said lowly. Happy was right to be wary, Natsu didn't want his authority undermined, or seem like it was being undermined when he didn't know how far he could trust the newest additions to his watch, but when he shot a look to where Juvia and Gray were still standing guard, both pretended they didn't hear Happy's fussing.
The same couldn't be said about Lucy, who had curled herself beneath the loveseat's wool throw. Her eyes were open, and her head was tilted back so she could see them. There was a small smile on her mouth that Natsu did his best to decipher while, defiantly, Happy glared.
"What can I do for you this morning, Your Majesty?" Lily said. He always had a gift for redirecting and disbursing the tension in the room.
Natsu explained the situation as best he could, leaving out the bits of treason, though Lily was an intelligent man and probably had his own ideas of the troubles going on behind closed doors.
"The Regent will hold court at eight bells," Lily said once Natsu had finished. "Which means we don't have much time. Let's get started."
Natsu still hated to be dressed up and paraded about like a prized flan at a dessert contest but he admitted as he looked at himself in Zeref's tall mirror, after a bath and a hair combing, he looked regal. Almost Zeref-regal.
Lily, Juvia and Lucy retreated into the ensuite where a new bath waited. Natsu could hear Lucy splashing and then complaining that Lily poked her with a pin and Lily complaining she moved too much. He still thought her a pauper; Natsu didn't correct him. He appreciated the shock-value of what he was about to do and didn't want to incriminate Lily if things went sideways. Lady Eileen didn't need a reason to target any of his people in the off chance she looked out into the crowd and tried to determine who was in on the scheme.
Seven bells came and went. The sun rose another few inches and Happy hurried out to raid the kitchen for breakfast.
Natsu wasn't given to stress, but Lily and Lucy were taking a long time and he was impatient. He began to pace. Gray's eyes followed him from one end of the room to the next, getting more and more annoyed but biting his tongue because it wasn't polite to tell the new king to stop wearing a hole in the floor.
Behind the closed door, the bickering had stopped and now there was just the occasional command. Turn, lift, hold this, hold your breath.
"What will you do if she attacks there in the Great Hall?" Gray asked.
Natsu stopped pacing and stared. "I hadn't considered."
"She might."
He shook his head. He wasn't a strategist, but he thought he knew Lady Eileen. She was sneaky. She'd want to save face. "It'll be fine."
"Put me on the balcony," Gray persisted. "I can have a clear shot from up there."
"While I only have Juvia on the floor with me?"
"Juvia is more than capable of holding off Alvarez's royal guards," Gray snipped. "Besides, people are going to wonder why Juvia's servant is by her side while she stands in the presence of the King."
Gray was bitter about that through and through. Given that, Natsu tried to be the bigger man, ignoring the dig about his guards, and suggesting, "You could come forward, announce who you are, and then no one will question."
Gray laughed without humour. "You were raised in politics, but you don't understand them much, do you?"
That was when Natsu learned Gray had a gift for angering him. He opened his mouth to snap back when the ensuite door opened.
Lily exited first, scissors in his hand, layers of unused silks thrown over his arm. Next came Juvia, who was looking flustered and red-cheeked. Lucy trailed after, petulant and pretty in an ivory-coloured gown that hung from her waist in flattering pleats. Her corset cinched her waist and pushed her breasts so high, it looked nearly uncomfortable, but Lucy weathered it well, used to such treatment.
Duchess, Natsu thought again, still on the cusp of disbelief. How had his life been turned so inside out? When he said he was bored, he didn't wish for usurping and marriage to foreign royalty.
The weight of Zeref's absence threatened to crush him again. Natsu skirted beneath its edge and paid Lucy a compliment grudgingly, though he felt it in his very soul. "You're beautiful."
"It's bad luck to see me," she responded.
"It's bad luck to be associated with you, I would say." Happy exited the servants' hallway with a platter of plain porridge for Natsu, whose stomach still didn't feel up to the task of greasy and rich foods, and cheese buns and fruit for everyone else.
Natsu's stomach grumbled at the sight of it and he was hit with a dizzy spell.
"Were you spotted?" Gray asked.
"Nope." Happy set the tray down and brought Natsu his porridge. Natsu took it from him and then Happy stepped back so he could look Natsu over. His expression was difficult to decipher.
"Well?" Natsu asked tentatively, forgetting he had an audience.
"Your hair," Happy said on a sigh. "Will it never stay flat?"
He took a comb and pomade from one of Zeref's dressers and got to work.
Eight bells echoed through the thin walls of the narrow servants' passage. Natsu flinched against it. Moving made his doublet itch the back of his neck again. He scratched it and went on for another few metres, then thought about how heavy the sword Happy made him strap to his belt was, though logically, he knew its mass hadn't changed since the last time he wore it. He hated this tired feeling in his muscles and hoped it would go away soon. He needed sleep and lots of it, though he wasn't confident he'd feel safe enough to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Not anymore.
"The pyre will be lit this evening."
Natsu jarred hearing Lady Eileen's voice decreeing through the walls. He stalled and Happy ran into the back of him, poking his leg on the pointed end of his sword sheath. He made a small noise of pain mixed with exasperation. It was all tucked away when he whispered, "What is it, Majesty?"
Funeral pyres. Natsu was sick of funeral pyres, and the blasé attitude Lady Eileen's had when lighting three of them for his family.
"Why is it so hot in here?" Gray hissed from behind.
Juvia doubled back from the exit. She had Natsu's number in an instant. "You'll burn us alive if you lose control now."
"Forget that. You'll ruin your doublet and they'll find us all naked," added Happy, more concerned with fashion and propriety than his life.
Natsu breathed deeply and searched for calmness. When he couldn't reach it, he tried to find solace in the fantasy of revenge. He would lock Lady Eileen in Cthulhu's Palace. She would be cut off from her magic and her tampering, the two most important things in her life. She would be in rags, cold and miserable, with only rats to keep her company, and then she would expire.
His cold thoughts brought the temperature back down to a manageable degree. Lucy fanned her sweaty face between Happy and Gray. Her hair sat limply on her shoulders and her chest rose and fell as much as her corset would allow. "Can we hurry?"
Juvia searched Natsu's eyes. "Are you ready?"
"As much as ever," he said and waved her on.
Juvia locked eyes with Gray. He slid away from the group and went left down a side corridor and up a narrow flight of stairs that would bring him to the balcony.
"I'll be watching you," Happy warned Lucy before following.
"He won't always hate you," Natsu felt obligated to say in the second he had before Juvia threw open the servants' door and flushed them into the brightly lit Throne Room.
It took the guards only a second to react—swords glided out of their sheathes pointed at Juvia, one guard going so far as to step forward and putting the tip against her spine. "We found the conspirator," he announced as he grabbed Juvia's shoulder and tried to bully her to the floor. "Lady Juvia of Fiore, you're under arrest for assisted regicide."
At the front of the room, Lady Eileen rose from Zeref's throne. The pleased expression on her face made Natsu feel sick. Her crushed red velvet skirt swayed around her legs like a pool of blood. "Excellent work."
Natsu exited out of the shadows, Lucy trailing behind. "Release her and arrest the real king slayer! Lady Eileen has slew all the royal family. I would have joined them without the aid of Lady Juvia." He was thankful for the way his voice spread out evenly and didn't crackle, the way his hand didn't shake, pointing accusingly at Eileen.
Every eye in the Throne Room had been on Juvia, but now they all snapped to him. A murmur went through the crowd. Crown Prince. And then, the King.
The respect of the kingdom had always been a precarious thing. After all, it was hard to respect a prince that made himself a clown, caused as much trouble as a bobcat on a hare farm, and never took his position very seriously, prone either to ostentatious displays of magic or long periods of morose pining at his window, dying for some excitement. But at that moment, Natsu felt them all snap to attention.
"Crown Prince…" The Archbishop stepped forward, mitre tottering dangerously on his head. "Oh." His hands fluttered around his moustache. Natsu had never seen him so discomfited. "You're alive."
Another murmur went through the crowd, a shockwave after an earthquake.
Lady Eileen seemed to have recovered and pointed to Juvia. "His mind has obviously been addled by Fiorian magic. Arrest the water mage. And the celestial mage. And bring His Highness to his rooms where I can personally oversee his diagnosis and recovery."
"No," Natsu countered, and the guards stalled mid-action.
Lady Eileen stepped off the dais. Her shoes clacked loudly on the marble floor. "Please, Highness, these last few days have left their mark on you. You look exhausted. Let your loyal subjects care for you."
"Care for me? Or slide a knife between my ribs?" Natsu responded. "That was what you intended to do when you sent assassins to the ship I was imprisoned on, wasn't it, Eileen? So you can remain regent?"
She blinked at him, innocent. "I've always been a loyal servant to the Dragneels, Your Highness. Look past the spell that awful girl's cast on your mind and remember that."
Natsu looked around the throne room and saw uncertain expressions everywhere. No one knew what to believe. He even found his own thoughts going soft. Eileen had always been there for him and his brother. When their parents died, it was her that told them stories at night, ensured that they had everything they needed, instructed Zeref on how to conduct himself, and sometimes wetted her finger to rub the dirt smeared on Natsu's cheek before they held an audience. She'd been kind to them in between her blistering coldness. Hadn't she?
She stepped close enough that she could say normally, "I have given up much for this kingdom, Highness. I would never sabotage it."
Sharp pain brought Natsu's mind from a strange and soft place. He looked back. Lucy dug her nails into his arm; her expression was hard. She said, "You ordered me to destroy the delegation's ship with the intention of drowning the Crown Prince. That's sabotage."
Another shocked murmur.
"Not only that," Lucy continued, "But you bullied me into compliance, threatening to reveal my title and send me back to Fiore when my people were suffering here in Alvarez. You've orchestrated the death of many people important to the Crown and used me as your weapon. No longer."
Lady Eileen's mouth fell open for an entire three seconds before she recovered. "Those are serious allegations from a servant."
"From the third in line to the Fiore throne, and from your future king," Natsu corrected, gaining the dramatic awe from the crowd he'd suspected. He pulled Lucy to his side for all to see. "This is Lady Lucy of the House Heartfilia, lost daughter of Duke Heartfilia, and third in line for the Fiore throne." He didn't look around to see how his words affected everyone. He looked directly at the guards surrounding Lady Eileen. "Arrest Lady Eileen for treason and throw her in Cthulhu's Palace."
He knew he had the authority to do it, technically. It was still surprising when the guards moved forward and carried out his command.
At first, Lady Eileen went willingly, obviously surprised herself. But then she started to fight, pushing off the guards and drawing her magic to her. She turned one into a snake and broke another's hand with an enchantment on his gauntlet that bent his wrist back at an odd angle. She was drawing up for something with more impact when a crystalline arrow shot from the balcony and skewered her shoulder. It exploded in a cold burst of ice magic. Gray had kept his word.
Eileen stopped fighting for just a second and one brave guard darted forward with magic-restraining cuffs and slapped them on one of her wrists, weakening her enough that his unaffected comrades could force her wrists behind her back and bind her completely. Without her influence, the guard that had been slithering below the flower arrangements abruptly turned human again and overturned a huge pot of roses, spilling water and casting the sickly-sweet fragrance around the room.
Restrained, Lady Eileen tossed her hair back and stood straight, choosing instead to retain her dignity. She fixed Natsu with cold eyes bright with hate and said in a voice only those immediately close to him could hear, "You won't keep me in that dungeon, and when I'm free, you'll be made to regret this."
The guards pushed her roughly forward and corralled her out of the Throne Room, taking their injured brothers with them. Silence followed their exit.
Natsu cleared his throat, shattering it like early ice under the weight of a foot. "Archbishop."
The old man snapped to attention. "Yes, Crown Prince?"
"Marry us." He pulled Lucy forward.
He looked horrified. "Your Highness—"
"Now."
"We need an audience; the entire kingdom must witness—"
"Now," Natsu repeated. "I order it, and if you will not, I will find a bishop that will."
Chastised, he bowed his head. "Very well."
With his hand clamped on her bicep, Natsu could feel Lucy's heart fluttering nervously through her ribcage. Her eyes were wide and wild, a bit like a trapped wildcat's. His decision to keep her keys from her originally felt unfair—he was stripping her of her only means of defence in an enemy kingdom, he'd feel more than a little threatened if their positions were reversed—but now he thought if she had them, she'd run, destroying half of his castle with her.
One of the archbishop's assistants raced to get his Holy Writ from its pedestal near the throne while the archbishop shook off his robes and straightened his mitre and began to speak.
Natsu's thoughts galloped along dizzyingly. He could feel Happy looking down on him, and every other eye of everyone in the room. Most were kingdom officials, magistrates, dukes and duchesses, a few wealthy shop owners, all the people he was supposed to take the time to learn before he stepped into his role as king but hadn't bothered because Zeref was going to be around forever, and Natsu was supposed to be able to do what he liked.
He felt foolish now.
But this is the first step to making it better. He tightened his hold on Lucy's bicep, then noticed it made it seem like he was forcibly confining her here. People would whisper. He released her, letting his hand dangle between them. Lucy turned her eyes on him furtively. Whatever she saw there made the corner of her mouth soften. She weaved their fingers together so they looked more like a unit. He smiled gratefully at her. She was beautiful. When he imagined their binding, it wasn't under these circumstances. He thought perhaps if kingdom life didn't work out for him, he'd gather an armful of gold from the treasury, leave Zeref one of his poorly written notes, and disappear into the streets dressed as a pauper.
He and Lucy would find an outlying town where they could live comfortably. They'd pay one of the priests to marry them under the stars. She looked nice in the moonlight. But quiet things were never for Natsu Dragneel. He got turned over Throne Rooms thick with the stench of roses and fear, he got subjects with their breaths held in wonder. He got a road of sadness winding behind him and a will to chase the happiness running ahead.
He wouldn't be the best king. He knew that. Zeref was right when he said he was too impulsive. But maybe with Lucy by his side, she could keep his life interesting enough he wouldn't yearn to sneak out to fight rings to beat commoners to a minimum.
She squeezed his hand, more impatiently than before. Natsu realized that everyone was waiting for him.
"Do you?" the archbishop pressed.
"I do," Natsu said, though he hardly knew what he was agreeing to.
"And you, Lady Lucy Heartfilia, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
She looked slightly pale and sick, but when she said, "I do," her voice carried throughout the room.
"Then by my decree, you are now man and wife. May our two kingdoms prosper under your marriage."
No one knew what to do. Did they cheer? Clap? They did both awkwardly. It tapered off quickly.
"I want my coronation done as quickly as possible," Natsu ordered.
"That certainly can't be done without the kingdom's knowledge." The archbishop turned paler. "Highness."
"Rally them. I want it done by sunset."
The holy man's hands fluttered nervously on his book, closing the pages. "Of course. Of course."
Natsu swayed on his feet, all at once exhausted again. He struggled to make his thoughts coherent. There were still things he had to do. He found Silver in the group nearest him, dressed in pale livery with his sword hanging heavy on his hip.
"Send word to Fiore, explain all that's happened here and tell them our nations are family now. There is no need for aggressions."
"Yes, Highness." But Silver stepped forward and leaned in so his voice wouldn't be heard by anyone else nearby. "A word of caution. Your actions could be seen as aggressive. Fiore's king might think you've kidnapped their lost daughter."
Natsu clenched his teeth, annoyed likely because he was so tired. "Bring a mediator with you, let them explain the situation."
Silver bowed quickly at the waist. "Of course." He straightened. "I'll assign men to your protection in my absence." He waved at two burly uniformed guards Natsu recognized from Zeref's own detail. He told himself to be leery of them, Lady Eileen still had allies in the palace, but he was just so tired.
"It is good you are home," Silver said last before he cut a path through the crowd. Everyone rushed to get out of his way.
Natsu realized people were staring at him again. He was supposed to do something, but he felt like a dog that hadn't learned any tricks. "Go about your day."
"Highness," said one brave magistrate. "Don't you want to learn all that's happened in your absence?"
"I will sit in for him," said Happy, the angel, stepping from the crowd. He must have come from the balcony but Natsu didn't notice. "His Highness needs rest."
"Of course, of course," said the magistrate, troubled.
Thank you, Natsu mouthed. Happy's smile was as limp as a soggy noodle. He was still unhappy with the situation and while Natsu hated being at odds with him in any way, he didn't have the energy to fight about it, nor the privacy. He looped his arm through Lucy's in a more civil manner and led her from the Throne Room, two guards trailing behind, two ahead.
They tried to make Natsu wait in the hallway while they checked Zeref's rooms, but Natsu refused to sleep in there again. He wanted his own bed no matter how unorthodox it was. Their protests subsided after a sharp order and they checked his room for threats instead.
Once they were cleared to enter and Natsu closed them out in the hallway, leaving him and Lucy alone in the room, Lucy's shoulders dropped. He hadn't noticed she'd been wearing a veneer until it was gone, and then she looked shaken to her core.
"Are you okay?"
Lucy seemed startled by his query. "It's just a lot to process."
Natsu threw himself onto his bed and closed his eyes, thankful for the soft mattress and the familiar scent of his pillows. "I can't believe it myself."
"Your Capitan is right," Lucy added. "Fiore's king could view this as a sign of aggression rather than peace."
"It'll take Silver days to get there and more still for Fiore to do anything about it if they're insulted," Natsu deflected. "By then I'll feel equipped to deal with it."
"I might have some sway when it comes time."
"Or you could say nothing and let your countrymen kill me."
"That would be uncharitable when you've risked so much to help me."
Natsu couldn't tell if she was being facetious or not. He chose not to answer.
After a quiet moment, Lucy shuffled closer but Natsu didn't feel her weight on the mattress. Her gaze pricked his skin. He peeked at her through her lashes. She stood over him with her hands clasped in front of her.
"What is it?"
"We're married now."
It didn't make him feel any different. He always thought it was supposed to, the way Zeref talked about it calming him down. Though, to be fair, they'd been married for less than an hour.
Lucy scattered his thoughts, taking her hair and pulling it to one shoulder, and reaching behind her back for the strings of her corset. The whole ensemble loosened with a firm tug. The scent of strawberries wafted under his nose, intoxicating.
"What are you doing?"
She arched an eyebrow and he flushed, feeling silly. If it weren't for the guards outside, they'd have a hoard of people eager to see them consummate but just because they weren't there didn't mean this wasn't a legally binding part of their marriage.
"Lucy, I won't oust you if you'd like for our agreement to be political."
"Do you no longer find me pleasing, Highness?" Her voice lilted coyly, and he couldn't tell if it was a trap or not.
"Somehow, I find you more pleasing now that I know the depth of your slyness," he said honestly. "All I've ever wanted is someone to cause mischief with me."
"Is that what you call deceit and treason?" She was suddenly so close; he could feel the warmth of her breath across his lips.
"Mine are nicer words."
"And you are a floundering poet, constantly seeking what's nice?"
"Is that how you see poetry?" Natsu asked, though he didn't really care; Lucy's hands were on his shoulders and then on the collar around his neck, unpinning his rumpled doublet.
Lucy's eyes were shuttered by her dark lashes; her lips glistened in the light straining through the heavy drapes. "That's how I see yours."
Natsu caught himself half smiling. "That's a tragedy. Someone like you deserves something more nefarious. Will you help me think of more wicked words?"
Lucy got his doublet open. She stood straight and studied him. Natsu felt on display beneath her gaze, his hair too rumpled, the circles beneath his eyes too dark, his ribs pressing against his skin too much in recent days. But when Lucy's eyes finally tracked to his, he didn't see contempt or disgust in her gaze but hunger.
She knelt beside the bed with her back to him. Natsu leaned forward and helped loosen the final threads on her corset. It opened with a sigh of silk. Lucy let the material drop to the floor beside the bed then faced him again.
A faint white scar crossed her collarbone where Happy struck her, but other than that, her skin was alabaster white, except for the peaks of her breasts, which were pink and raised. It could have been the cold air, but Natsu thought she maybe liked the way he looked and the way she felt, standing over him, knowing that she had more power between them than he was ready to admit.
She stepped out of her skirt. Grey daylight gilded her skin and glanced off her cheekbones.
Wrapping one arm beneath her breasts, Lucy leaned in and kissed him. Her skin was warm against his, and soft, drawing his body to attention.
"Temptress," Lucy murmured against his lips. "You could call me that in your poems."
"Apt."
She smiled against his mouth and sent her free hand exploring the front of his hose. She found his erection immediately and squeezed. Natsu let his eyes dip closed and arched into her.
"Your new, wicked queen."
"Yes," Natsu breathed.
"Deceiver of sorceresses and kings alike." Lucy pulled back so she could wrest his hose down. Cold air brushed his erection and Lucy's warm hand in contrast. "Vanquisher of evil."
Natsu touched her cheek. Golden hair fell over his fingers, tickling his skin. "I'm not sure my poems will ever change."
"Why?" Lucy's lips brushed his palm, sending shivers through him.
"Just because you deceive doesn't make you wicked."
She opened her lips and scraped her teeth against the fat part of his palm. She followed with a sensual flick of her tongue that made Natsu's head empty. "Just because you think I'm not wicked doesn't make it so."
Yes, she was right. Everything was still so uncertain. Just because she said he should trust her didn't make it so. Just because they were now legally married didn't mean that she couldn't slip some nightshade into his morning tea and rid herself of one foolish husband.
"I'll be warier of you, Lady Lucy."
She leaned down, breathing her hot breath on his erection, making him pulse against her smooth cheek. "That's all one can ask."
Her tongue flashed out and caressed him. One by one, his troubles began to settle like silt in a slow-moving river. Gone was Eileen and her threats, thoughts of her sitting in Alvarez's most secure dungeon planning his very messy demise, then the sadness that had walked side-by-side with him since news of Zeref's fate faded away, his nervousness when he considered his new role. There was only his bedroom, his bed, the candlelight, and Lucy. Lucy, with her shining locks of hair, and Lucy with her smooth and very bare skin, Lucy and her hot mouth closing around his erection and taking him deep, deep inside.
Her fingers curled in the sheets at Natsu's side; she made a yearning noise that he felt deep at his core, as though she, too, had been longing for this moment in all the time they'd spent apart, as though having him here for her to fill herself with was fulfilling in similar ways.
Lily had taken care curling Lucy's hair to match her dress. Natsu coiled it around his fist and ruined it; liked to ruin it. She moved her body, following the way he pulled her, adjusting into the positions he longed to feel her in until Natsu was hitting the back of her throat, Lucy's breasts were pressing against his thighs, and he could feel her hot breath break across his lower stomach. He cupped the back of her neck, holding her close for several long seconds until the threat or orgasm had passed. When he released her, Lucy sat up again.
Her cheeks were redder than ever; the flush had extended down her chest. Natsu took her by the thighs and adjusted her over his erection, playing at her opening. She shivered, hot and twitching when he pressed the head inside but didn't try to go any further. She wriggled her hips and squeezed the blankets, nearly desperate.
Starting at her knees, Natsu trailed his fingers up her thighs to her center. She quivered and angled her hips, pressing into him harder, pushing another inch inside her and gasping for it. It was tempting to slam the rest of the way inside, but Natsu wanted to feel her trembling and soaking down his girth.
"Oh!" Lucy gulped when he finally found the bud between her legs and flicked the ball of his thumb over it. The second oh was considerably smokier. Her eyelids drooped and her mouth went slack. Contrarily, her legs and fingers tightened, fighting to bring more of Natsu inside. He bent his knees and pushed against her backside and held her in place, one hand on her belly, preventing her from doing what she liked as he continued his slow, steady ministrations. She became more and more desperate with each second that ticked by.
Goosebumps erupted across Lucy's body moments later. She tipped her head back and leaned into Natsu's legs. Instead of grabbing the blanket, she clutched his wrists, holding him tight to her body so he could feel her orgasm tremor through her.
When she was at the precipice, he slammed inside her. She opened around him and called out loudly. The sound of her skin slapping against his and harmonizing with her desperate gasps was mesmerizing. Natsu moved his hands up her chest so he could cup beneath both her breasts and feel her lungs expand and contract, her heart, her cries, the heavy lift and drop of her breasts each time their bodies met.
Lucy dug her fingers into his middle and it was all over. Natsu thrust inside her one final time and let himself orgasm.
Nothing happened for several long heartbeats, they breathed, and they basked in the glow of pleasure. Then Lucy leaned down and kissed him and he knew somewhere in her twisted little heart, Lucy Heartfilia loved him as much as he thought he loved her.