Chapter 7

By now, Lucy has learned the basics of everyone. Igneel is the oldest brother of Metalicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum. The last two brothers happen to be fraternal twins. The four are the only blood relationships the family has. Igneel is married to Grandeeney, and their two adopted children are Natsu and Wendy. They also have the two cats, Happy and Carla. Metalicana adopted Gajeel, and he is engaged to Levy. Weisslogia adopted Sting while Skiadrum adopted Rogue.

The only reason Lucy fits into the bunch and now knows these people is because she is with Natsu.

As of now, everyone is outside enjoying different grilled foods and beverages. Present and cake time will occur later. Currently, Lucy is receiving attention from Levy and Sting as they sit down at a table. Both are clearly interested in her and what she does. On the other hand, she isn't the one minding the attention.

"Elvina is probably my favorite book by you," Sting gushes.

"Why's that?" Lucy asks, generally curious.

"Elvina was just off to see the duke she's betrothed to when suddenly she and her guards are attacked by bandits! And then she ends up being found by the second prince from another kingdom! The very kingdom her kingdom is enemies with!"

"I like the connection she and Owen had the instant they met," Levy sighs dreamily.

"Even though he threatened her with a sword?" Sting scoffs.

"Well, that's because he didn't know who she was," Lucy says to defend his actions. "She could have been a bandit sneaking up on him and his guards for all he knew."

Levy nods in agreement. "Exactly! And"-she elbows Sting in the side-"I meant the connection when Owen carried Elvina back to his camp with his guards and took care of her. It was absolutely precious!"

"At least everything worked out for them in the end," Lucy points out.

The two give her a similar look. "Even though you had my emotions all over the place," Sting says.

"Mine, too!" Levy adds.

"It was like getting on a roller coaster ride I didn't know had a whole lot of drops and loops!"

"That's a great way to describe it!"

Lucy holds her hands up defensively as she laughs. "I had to make sure readers stayed interested somehow!"

"And you thought toying with our emotions was the best way?" Sting questions.

"It seemed to work, right?" Lucy asks.

"Oh, it totally worked," Levy agrees.

Having had enough of Lucy giving them her attention, Natsu finally walks up to the trio.

"Oh, hey, Natsu!" Sting greets.

Without a word, he bends over and flings Lucy over his right shoulder.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" she screeches, clutching onto him so she doesn't fall. Only now she is grateful that she wore cute, black high-waisted shorts rather than a skirt she originally was planning on. Lucy could be pounding fists onto his back, but she doesn't want let go of the handfuls of his shirt she has. She currently has a death grip on the fabric and doesn't plan on releasing until she back on her own two feet.

Natsu doesn't speak as he heads towards the backdoor, remaining as stoic as ever.

No one present says a word about what is happening. In fact, they all watch and don't bother stopping him on his way to his destination. From her position, Lucy is unaware of the looks they are receiving while Natsu is oblivious to them as if they don't exist.

After opening the back door with his free hand, Natsu steps into the house and closes it with his foot. Of course, he is careful to not jar around the cargo he is carrying.

"Stop and put me down!" Lucy demands, hoping he doesn't accidentally drop her.

He only stops after he walks up to the second floor, knowing no one else is upstairs. Bending over and slipping his hands onto her hips, Natsu sets her down on her feet before straightening his body out.

"What was that about?" Lucy questions with a huff.

"I thought you wanted some breathing room," he replies casually as though he did nothing wrong.

Something clicks in place for Lucy. "Did you… by chance… get jealous?" she inquires.

His cheeks tint pink and he averts his gaze, opting to look at a blank spot on the wall. "I invited you here and they're hogging all of the time with you."

"You're so dramatic," she snorts.

"Am not!" he argues, still not making eye contact with her.

"You literally carried me over your shoulder and walked upstairs. You–" A thought come to her and Lucy starts laughing.

Natsu finally looks back at her. "What's so funny?"

"You're like"-she laughs some more-"like some dragon!"

He tilts his head to one side. "Huh?"

"You nabbed the princess and flew off to your cave with her!" she muses.

He smiles at the idea before chuckling. "I guess I did do that."

"Jealousy can make people do silly things."

"I wasn't jealous."

Lucy arches an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, so maybe I was a little bit…"

"By the way, Natsu…"

"Yeah?"

Her lips curve upwards in a small smile. "You can let go now."

He looks down at his hands, discovering they are still on her hips. "Whoops!" Natsu quickly stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Sorry about that."

"You're fine," she giggles, pulling down her black spotted white blouse so it falls properly once again. "So are you going to be ready to go back out there?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"And this time, I'll spend more time with you."

"Guess I didn't think you'd be so popular."

Lucy simply shrugs. "It happens when people recognize me." Then she folds her arms under her chest. "I'm sure girls just flock over you since you're a model. Not to mention guys."

"Is that jealousy I smell?" Natsu asks with raised eyebrows.

She rolls her eyes. "You can't smell jealousy."

He pulls his right hand out of his pocket to tab the side of his house. "But this dragon can."

At that comment, Lucy snorts. "Great. Now you think you're a dragon."

"Hey, dragons are awesome!"

"Sureee they are."

Natsu gasps, holding a hand over his heart. "Do you doubt 'em?"

"They've never really… impressed me."

With that, he grins. "Challenge accepted."

"Challenge? What challenge?"

"I'm gonna hafta impress you." A light bulb practically goes off above his head. "Hey, are you free tomorrow?"

She thinks for a moment. "I believe so."

"Would you wanna go out to lunch? Or dinner? I know a great spot I'm pretty sure you'd like. It's a French bistro and bakery called the Petit Papillon."

Lucy perks up at the name. "I've been meaning to go there for awhile now since I drove past it one day!" Then she smiles. "I'd love to have lunch there with you tomorrow."

He smiles. "It's a date!"

She laughs. "Well, what else would it–"

"Natsuuu!" Igneel hollers from the bottom of the staircase. "I better not come up there and find my only son in a position I'd rather not see!"

He steps back and pokes his head around the corner to shout back. "We're fine, old man! Just chatting!"

"After a scene like that?"

"Chatting!" Natsu assures him.

"At least let Lucy come down! We all miss her!"

He feigns offense. "Hey, what about me?"

"We're all tired of your mug! We like her more!"

"Hey!"

Lucy stifles a laugh, enjoying their form of entertainment.

Natsu whips his head around to look at her. "Don't encourage him."

Ignoring his words, she grabs a hold of his right wrist with a hand and pulls him along. "Come on! Let's go!"

x-X-x

It is so late that Lucy is the only guest remaining from the party since everyone else has left. The Dragneel family and her are sitting down in the family room, finishing up a movie that Wendy picked out.

Currently, the two men are bawling their eyes out while the other three are a bit misty eyed. When the credits start rolling, that is when the talking begins.

"D-damn tear jerker movie," Igneel curses, wiping away his tears on his leaves.

Natsu sniffles loudly, snot still running. "I heard it was a sad movie, but I didn't think it woulda been that sad!"

"You've never seen Marley & Me before?" Lucy questions, blinking back her tears. She continues stroking Happy who decided that her lap was the best seat in the house.

"No!" he sobs. "Because I don't like sad movies!"

"I don't either!" Igneel voices.

"You two are being such babies," Grandeeney chuckles.

"Mom's right!" Wendy agrees, petting Carla who is snuggling next to her.

Natsu looks over at his sister. "Why would you put us through this misery? Don't you love us?"

"Just like John loved Marley," Lucy comments.

That causes Natsu to cry even more. "John loved Marley so much! Even though he was such a troublemaker!"

"Just like you, Natsu," Lucy and Wendy point out in unison.

"Natsu, I love you, son!" Igneel says suddenly.

"I love you, too, old man!"

Igneel rises to his feet and holds his arms wide open. "C'mere!"

So he stands up and walks over to his father, stepping into his warm embrace. They hug, clapping each other on the back.

Lucy looks over at Wendy and Grandeeney. "Is this normal?" she stage whispers.

Grandeeney simply nods.

"About as normal as those two can get," Wendy jokes.

Looking back at the two, Lucy feels bittersweet about the moment. She wishes that she has that kind of relationship with her own father. It has been a few years now since she last saw him let along spoke with him.

The duo breaks apart, still sniffling and gaining control of their emotions. With one final clap on his father's back, Natsu faces Lucy. "Sorry you had to see that."

She shakes her head. "It's fine." Then she grabs Happy and moves him off to the side so she can stand. "But I think it's time I got going. Since it's getting late and all."

Wendy rises to her feet and walks over to hug her. "Thank you for coming over! And thank you so much for the book!"

Lucy hugs her back. "You're welcome!"

They break apart, and Grandeeney is the next to hug her. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Come back anytime, all right?"

"Sounds good." Lucy says.

When Grandeeney walks away, Igneel engulfs her in a hug, making Lucy feel incredibly small. "I'm happy you two found each other," he whispers just for her to hear.

Lucy feels a blush creep in on her cheeks. "M-me, too," she admits.

Igneel moves aside, leaving Natsu the last one. "I'll walk you out," he says.

After one last round of goodbyes, the duo is walking out to Lucy's car. "You come from a family of huggers," she comments.

Natsu rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, that's our thing."

"It's a good thing."

"Not unless it turns into a competition to see who can hug harder."

Lucy laughs. "Of course, you would try that."

He shrugs. "I'm really competitive."

"I can tell."

The two stop in front of the driver's door to the vehicle. "So tomorrow?" Natsu asks.

She nods. "Tomorrow. Did you have a specific time in mind?"

"Uh, noon? Noon-thirty?"

"Noon-thirty sounds great. I'll meet you there."

"I'm all fired up now!" Then he holds his arms out, a grin on his face. "My turn."

Without a word, she steps forward and slips her arms around his torso. She inhales, able to smell the remaining cologne on him. It reminds her of cinnamon.

Natsu rests his chin on her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, Luce."


A/N Part 1: This chapter was waaaay longer than I meant it to be XD At least y'all got a "slightly" jealous Natsu in this chapter XD Seemed like a nice touch though~

A/N Part 2: French translation of "Petit Papillon" is "Little Butterfly" for those who are curious and I'm going to base it on La Chatelaine. It's a restaurant that I absolutely love and (I wrote this chapter while I was craving it) the then boyfriend (now fiancé) totally took me there for dinner that evening. So that helped me write the next chapter!

Edited as of 1/31/2017