Omg guys! I'm lost for words when reading your reviews. Like really, thank you for your kind words! I was working when I kept getting notifications for a new review and you guys just melt my heart every time! I can't help but smile while reading every single word that you sent me. I guess I'll show my appreciation by posting more chapters and not dropping this story.

MatchTeaPot I remember you! You're one of the first readers who left a review when I started writing this fanfic. Thank you for still being here!

Thank you again for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Lucy's had enough. While all of them are enjoying the game, she's being tortured by everything. She didn't like how Natsu sounded when answered plus Gray elaborating and justifying his answer made it worse. She needs to leave now; she needs some fresh air. She stood up but made sure to kick her husband before starting to walk away, not caring what anyone would think.

When she saw and heard Natsu's reaction after that intentional kick, she sarcastically said ""Oh, I'm sorry!" You're nuts. Talking about having sex with another woman in front of me. A stupid jerk will always be a stupid jerk. It must be the alcohol that's giving her the strength to do this. She clenched the strap of her bag tight while walking to the door and she couldn't help throwing tantrums. It's hard to control her emotions. "So much for being a sorry bastard."

But Natsu was fast. He grabbed the mic then immediately followed her. A brilliant idea popped into his mind to try to pacify her. He started singing the song that's playing on the screen. He knew Lucy wasn't happy with how he and Gray answered the question, though she didn't say it. Slowly, he's starting to understand how she thinks and acts.

And let's fall in love one more time
I need you now by my side
It tears me up when you turn me down
I'm begging please, just stick around

He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him and he hugged her waist and pulled her close.

I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me
I know that your love is gone
I can't breathe, I'm so weak, I know this isn't easy
Don't tell me that your love is gone
That your love is gone

He turned off the mic and told her "Lucy, let's talk."

"You're not worth my time, Natsu." She snapped at him, but her voice was low enough that it was only him who heard her. He didn't care though. He'd been giving her the space that he knows she deserves, but it's not like he didn't have his own right. He wanted her to at least listen to him. He released her, but he grabbed her hand after that and walked back to their friends to get his coat. When he saw the pack of cigarettes on the table, he took it and looked at Gray. Gray just nodded and reached for his pocket to give him the lighter. Then they're gone.

After the couple left the room, Juvia smacked Gray hard. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Gray rubbed the part of his head where Juvia smacked him. He deserves that, so he just sighs. "I'm sorry, I just got too comfortable talking to Natsu. It's been a while since he loosened up like that, so…"

He heard Juvia exhale deeply. "Just hope and pray that this won't cause more problems between them. Your friend should really make a move, you know. Being passive will get him nowhere."

"And your friend should also learn how to listen." Gray murmured.

Juvia was startled by his Grays words. "Really, you think Lucy's at fault here?"

"No, no." Gray immediately responded. "Of course not. Princess isn't at fault here. I'm just saying, Natsu's trying, you know. He really is. So, I hope she'll lend him her ears, even just for once. He'd been a jerk, yeah. I won't even defend him there, but he has his own battles with himself that no one else can help overcome it. He's been running away from it, but now it is different. "

"All of this is new to her so I'm not really sure how she'll handle this…" Juvia said worriedly, "It's possible that she's blinded by hurt and anger right now and she won't listen, but Natsu just has to bear with it."

"Guys, stop overthinking." Levy interrupted. "Let's just trust that what we're all assuming – which is that they're in love with each other – is enough to fix their relationship."

Natsu guided Lucy to the balcony where he and Gray had a smoke earlier. They were on the 5th floor and this is the most secluded and noiseless part of the building. He's been waiting for this moment to talk to his wife but he needs to be a little bit distracted. Her messy hair and wrinkled dress remind him of their little adventure earlier and it is turning him on.

Natsu lit a cigar to distract himself from her, but he was startled when Lucy took it from him and puffed it herself. That made her cough. Natsu took it back and threw it in the trash can behind Lucy. He rubbed her back softly, "You, okay? Why did you…"

"I didn't know that you smoke." Lucy stopped coughing and uttered this in complete confusion.

"Not like Gray." He responded. "You shouldn't have done that, Luce."

"You're not the one to tell me what I should and should not do." Her voice was low but firm. Natsu kept the pack of cigars and lighter in the inside pocket of his coat. "I'm still your husband, woman. You may hate me all you want because of what happened before, but you can't tell me not to care for your well-being. "

"Tsk. Stop pretending that you care." She shivered from the cold wind.

"Well, unfortunately, I do care… a lot."

Lucy just smirked at his words. "You want to talk right? Let's go somewhere else. Not here."

"The coffee shop where we - Gray, Mira and Erza hang out often is just a few blocks from here. We can walk there. "

Lucy tilted her head a bit to the side while looking at Natsu, as if he was the biggest dumbass of them all.

"Why…" Natsu's baffled.

"I wonder how you run such a huge company when you're such a dummy."

"And where is that coming from?" He's really amazed how his wife can talk to him like that and he's allowing her to do so.

"Tsk. Let's go somewhere private. Your face will attract a lot of attention." She's getting dizzy from all the alcohol that she drank. She can tolerate beer, but hard ones are her weakness. She wanted to tap her back now for doing a good job of staying awake and still standing strong even after all those alcohols.

"Let's go home then."

"No. Why would I want to go home with you?"

"You wanted somewhere private right?" He's now perplexed by his wife. She's really a stubborn one.

"Yeah, but not there."

"Okay then. Let's go, I know where we can talk privately."

He walked to the elevator and Lucy followed. He wanted to hold her hand again, but right now he's not sure what would trigger her anger more, so he decided to play it safe as usual. He took his phone and started dialing a number.

Lucy's staring at his back while walking behind him. He's speaking to someone over the phone, she can hear him but she can't comprehend what he's saying right now. He stopped in front of the elevator; he's still talking to someone. She stood beside him, but her dizziness was getting the best of her, and she almost fell, but Natsu was looking at her and had his hand around her shoulder before she even stumbled. He did not pull her close to him, but he's holding her to make sure that she wouldn't fall.

His action made her blush. When the elevator door opened, she let Natsu guide her inside. Then she noticed that he put his phone back to his pocket.

She didn't want to pry but she's really curious and the alcohol is giving her the courage so she asked "Is that Mira?"

"Nope."

"Ah… so, anyone can call you anytime huh?" she said in dismay.

Natsu chuckled. "No, not anyone can call me anytime but you. Luce, you can call me anytime you want."

"Then who're you talking to?" she asked while pouting. If she's not under the influence of alcohol, she wouldn't ask and she'll even pretend that she isn't interested.

"Are you jealous, Luce?" he teased.

"Tsk. Bastard. Like I care."

"I made some arrangements so we can talk in private." The elevator door opened and they're in the parking lot. Lucy did not ask further. It was enough to know that it's not some other bitch who's trying to get to her husband's pants.

She kept her silence during the short drive to their destination. She's really sleepy now but when she saw that they're entering another parking lot, she tried her best to stay awake.

A few minutes later, they're standing in the front desk of a 5-star hotel. Natsu didn't even have to speak and a man who looked like the manager approached them. He and Natsu talked for a bit while she leaned on the reception desk waiting for them to finish. Before she knew it, they are once again in front of an elevator but this time it looked like it's for VIPs and the manager is guiding them.

"Where are we?" she asked confused while entering the elevator.

"We're safe here don't worry." Natsu assured her. "No one will approach me or anything like that here."

"How are you so sure…"

"Because it's mine."

"Huh?"

Natsu kinda ignore her and talked to the manager again. She raised an eyebrow but he still ignored her.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that they're already inside a huge room.

Natsu closed the door behind them and she wandered inside the place.

"This is just too much for a private place…" she complained.

"I no longer know where you'd like to be, hun." Natsu sat on the sofa that's in the middle of the room.

That made Lucy stops from the exploration that she's doing inside the room. Privately… well… yeah this is private. She thought to herself.

The room has a huge sofa set in the middle and behind the sofa is a king size bed with white covers and the door for the bathroom. In front of the sofa set is a mini bar, counter and a 4 seater dining table.

She sat on the sofa across Natsu.

"Would you like to go somewhere else? Just let me know." Natsu asked, concerned that his wife is uncomfortable with the place.

"No. This is fine. So, what would you like to talk about?" she leaned on the backrest of the couch.

"Us. I want to talk about us Luce."

"Go on." She said but she's starting to lose her senses. She sees his lips moving but she can't hear him.

"Can we still fix us? What are we now Luce?"

She stood up and started unbuttoning her dress while walking to his direction. She sat on his lap straddling him and took his coat off. She leaned down to kiss him but he looked away. She frowned. "First my emotions, and now you're saying no to my body. I'm the one who should be asking you what are we now?" She stood up and started walking away. Natsu stood up as well and hugged her from behind.

"Didn't you know that it takes a lot of my strength to stop myself from fucking you now Luce?" He whispered and tightened his embrace at the same time. He sounded somewhat irritated. "You're drunk. You're mad, you haven't forgiven me, we haven't even talked yet and I don't want you to have any regret when you woke up tomorrow that's why as much as I want you now, I can't…."

"Can you please let go of me?" she murmured. Natsu obeyed without second thoughts then Lucy pushed him back to the couch and she sat on his lap not straddling and wrapped her hands to his neck. She's really sleepy and she finds it comfortable being this close to him. She buried her face to his neck.

Now it was Natsu's emotion that is topsy-turvy.

"Let's talk some other time… Let me sleep like this…" was the last words Lucy uttered before falling into slumber. Natsu wrapped his arms to her waist.

Natsu breath heavily and slowly leaned on the backrest of the couch, avoiding unnecessary movement so he won't wake her up. It's been so long since he held his wife like this, he tightened his arms on her waist and caressed her hair softly. "I love you." He whispered. For the longest time since the incident, it's the first time that he felt contented. He wanted to talk to her so bad but maybe this isn't the right time. His body is more relaxed now and in just a few minutes, he also fell asleep.

A few hours later, he woke up feeling numb. Lucy's still in his arms and still fast asleep. As much as he wanted to stay like that until she wakes up, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable so he decided to lay her down on the bed.

Now he's battling himself if he should stay or leave. Will she be happy to see him when she woke up or would it make her feel awkward? After all, they haven't talked about anything yet.

He decided to leave. It's the wisest choice. He thought but before leaving, he took the pen and paper from the counter and left a message for Lucy. Then he left.

Lucy woke up and had a bad headache. It's a good thing that it's still her day off.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

She stood up and opened the door. Then, upon seeing the manager who's delivering her breakfast, she realized where she was. She can hardly remember what happened after she sat on the couch. She looked around and saw that Natsu's not around.

"Madam Dragneel," he said while handing her a paperbag, "it's from Mr. Dragneel. You can stay as long as you'd like. If you need anything, just press 1 on the telephone and if you want to leave, there's a car and driver waiting for you. Just let me know."

The manager was smiling at her, and she smiled back. "Thank you."

He fixed her breakfast on the table then bowed a bit before leaving.

Lucy looked at what's inside the bag, it was new clothes. "He's always on top of everything." She thought to herself while staring at the breakfast prepared for her, then sighed heavily.

She touched the temple of her head. She wanted to go home now, but she decided to stay for a few more hours. She saw his note on the table and it said,

"You can call me anytime, Luce. -N"

She put the note down and took her coffee. She couldn't eat right now, so she sat on the couch where she had sat the night before, then placed her feet to the couch as well.

She tried remembering hard what happened before she fell asleep but every thing was just so vague.

It's been about a week since Lucy last heard from Natsu. He didn't pick her up or bug her during her lunch breaks, and she hadn't received any voicemails. Instead, he simply sent a car and driver to pick her up every morning. She tells herself that it didn't affect her in the slightest, yet it is the exact opposite of how she feels. Of course, that isn't enough to urge her to contact him first. When she walked out of the hospital, it was dark, she extended her arms up and yawned. It had been a long day. While waiting for a cab, she pulled out her phone from her bag, and her eyes widened when she saw the notification that the sex toy she bought had already been delivered.

She scrolled down to see where it had been delivered, and it was at Natsu's place. Unfortunately, she merely changed locations physically; her address is still the same as Natsu's. She called a cab after face palming herself. "Why is this happening now?!" she wondered as she boarded the cab and gave Natsu's address. She felt mortified knowing that it was Natsu who had received the item. She's not sure why she's freaking out, but that's how she was feeling. "Mixed emotion" is an understatement when it comes to how she currently feels.

"Did he open it?" she asked herself silently. "I hope not…" she whispered with her fingers crossed.

When she got out of the cab, she literally ran to the elevator. Once inside, she kept tapping her foot, and when she reached the top floor, she hurriedly walked out of the elevator. She felt relieved when she saw the package outside the door.

She took the package and started walking away, but she stopped on her third step and glanced at the door. "Is he home?" she asked herself with a slight frown. She shook her head and tried to take a step forward, but her body wouldn't just follow. She sighs heavily and turns to walk back to the door.

"Might as well say hi since I'm already here." She knocked on the door and waited. No response. She tried knocking again and there's still no response even after waiting for a few minutes. "It's late. Where the hell is he." She still has a spare key to his place, and fortunately, she always has it with her. She took the key out and opened the door.

It was dark inside. "Looks like he's not here…" She switched the lights on and wandered inside. Seeing this place again felt nostalgic. As expected, it was clean, but some documents were left scattered on the dining table. She took one piece of paper but immediately put it back down after seeing graphs that she can't understand. She peaked inside his fridge and sighed upon seeing that it only had several bottled waters inside. It stressed her out. "Why am I even here?"

When Lucy entered the Heartfilia residence, she was hugging the package in her chest. A maid greeted her and told her that there's a visitor. The young maid took her bag and the package that she's hugging. "Ms. Lucy, they're waiting for you in the living room."

She's not fond of entertaining guests, especially in this household. It's most likely it's related to business. She's tired. She can't smile all night just to be polite to her parents' guests, but she needs to at least show her face. Supposedly, she would be required to make herself presentable, not like this… looking so harassed after her 12hr shift in the hospital, but she couldn't care less. She went to the living room and was dumbfounded by what she saw.

Natsu Dragneel is bowing to her father.