Chapter 7
As the Saturday morning went on, Lucy and Natsu was caught up in a frustrating situation. The Dragneel family would continuously ask them about the relationship they have, and it has confused the two more than once how to tell their story.
"So Lucy, when did you two, became an item? I mean, my son never said anything about being in a relationship and keeping it from us for…four years? Five years?" Grandine asked confused as she glanced at her husband then back to the couple
Lucy unconsciously swallows as she tried to come up with a scenario, but the longer she tried to make a story, the more her brain became frenzy, "The reason why I never said anything about it…" Natsu quickly started when he felt that the blonde was beginning to fidget in nervousness, "It was because Lucy wanted to keep our relationship secret"
"Secret? What for? I mean, I think almost all the people who know you two, wants you two to get together" Grandine countered as she raised a brow in wonder
"Exactly…people want us to get together. And it was ah umm…" Natsu then trails off as he snapped to himself as if it would help him remember the word until Lucy continued for him
"Pressure . . . People knowing that we got together would have been a pressure for us both because, we'd be like, telling them the whole thing" Lucy then nodded to the older blue-haired woman, but her nodding was more of convincing herself with the story she made up
"Really? I never thought of that…" Grandine said before she started shrugging it off. Seeing that Grandine has finally let goes the subject, Lucy and Natsu secretly sighed in relief. But that relief was cut short when a new question was thrown to them by Igneel.
"So kiddo, how did you ask her out? I got to know how my son became a man" Igneel then laughed out loud making Natsu cringe in pain, "Shut up old man-Ow!" Natsu then looked at his side and stared at Lucy in shock when she slapped him, "Don't talk to dad like that…" Lucy said hissing as she eyed him but Natsu something weird and so he echoed back, "Dad?"
"Wha…" Lucy then trails off as she felt her cheeks to blaze red when she realized that she did call Igneel as dad
"Aww, Lucy is calling you dad now…" Grandine cooed as she held the forearm of the red-haired man who gave his signature grin to his wife, "Lucy dear, you can call me mom, okay?" Grandine said as she quickly looked at the blonde, who was taken aback
"Uh…o-okay…mom" Lucy then shyly smiled before she slowly glances at Natsu who has his eyebrows furrowed together
"Anyways…" Natsu stated as he slowly looked away and looked at his parents, grinning, "I just simply asked Lucy to be my girlfriend after I gave her some bouquet of pink peonies and yellow gerberas under the rainbow Sakura tree that you planted in our old home"
"Oh honey, our son is mature already, thinking-" Grandine amazed said as she talked to her husband but then Natsu quickly interrupts her
"Mom," Natsu said making the called woman glance at him, "Can we not…embarrass me in front of my fiancée?"
Lucy and Wendy then stifled a giggle as they watched the three interact. Soon enough, Igneel laughed with them and remarked, "Ha! This kid is definitely shy in front of his future wife!"
"Uh!" Natsu groaned as he rolled his eyes then rubbed his face with his hands. When the laughter went on, he glanced at Lucy and gave her a glare. With his look, Lucy quickly shuts her giggles and cleared her throat. Soon enough, the rest slowed down their laughter.
When Grandine swiped a finger under her eyes to clear her tears, she looked down at her son and continued to ask again, "So Natsu-dear, how did you propose to Lucy? I'm pretty sure it's more romantic"
And with that question, Lucy and Natsu turned stiff as they held their breath. But Natsu suddenly thought of something clever and so he looked at Lucy, "Well, since Lucy is a writer…I bet she could tell the story to you guys in more detail…right, love?"
"Wha-what?" Lucy dumbfounded looked at Natsu who smirked mischievously at her
"Well, Lucy-dear…tell us how it happened" Grandine gleefully said as she looked at the blonde and when Lucy looked back at her, her expression showed full confusion, "Are you okay Lucy?" Grandine immediately asked
"I-I-I'm fine…okay, uh…well…" Lucy stutteringly started as she looked one by one at the Dragneels until her gaze stops at the pinkette. When Lucy sternly looked at the smirking man, she knew at an instant that her best friend has brought her death and so she decided to return the favor.
And with that, Lucy quickly looked at Grandine and gave her most genuine smile, "I won't say it was very romantic,"
"What?" Grandine questioned in shock along with the others
"Well, you see Natsu could be a very-very shy guy," Lucy sweetly smiled to everyone until she looked at the stunned man, "he just doesn't know how to propose"
"What? I know how!" Natsu remarked as he stared back at the grinning woman
"Oh, love…" Lucy then taps the cheek of the man until she slightly slaps the cheek of the man making him widen his eyes in surprise, "I don't think so…you know why?" Lucy quickly turns her gaze to the family, "Because he epic-ly asked me for marriage"
"How?" Wendy asked curiously and so Lucy looked at the young girl and answered her question
"Well, it was one afternoon when he came to my apartment. You know the usual, barges into my home and of course, I was surprised so I accidentally hit him with a casserole"
"Oh dear…" Grandine expressed as she impulsively places her hand to her lips
"Yes, I felt bad for it…"
"Oi, you hit me pupo-ow…" Natsu started but then Lucy quickly pinches the leg of the man to make him shut up. And so Lucy continued, "Right, Love…I said sorry"
"Yeah," Natsu said sounding in pain making the others look at him suspiciously
"So, when he was okay, he talked to me and just handed a box," Lucy said in matter of fact tone, making Grandine and Wendy gasp in surprise, "Of course, I knew it was a ring and I thought he was going to say it,"
"What was his words?" Grandine asked excitedly
"His words? Gosh," Lucy shook her head in disappointment, making Natsu gawk back at her but the blonde quickly tortures the man to shut him up, "he said, Luce, can you keep this for me. I will be giving this to someone special"
"Someone special?! Oi Natsu!" Igneel then roared in surprise after hearing his future daughter-in-law
"I know, I was shocked. I mean, who could be more special than me, when I'm like, his girlfriend. And so, I started thinking he was having an affair"
Grandine and Wendy gasp audibly before the older woman commented, "Natsu you did not"
"Wha-!"
"I know, so from that day on. I followed him everywhere until one day, I saw him meet up with a woman" Lucy interrupts the man and after hearing Lucy, Wendy couldn't help herself but to express
"Natsu-ni!"
"Wha-!"
"Yeah, I cried…" Lucy said as she faking tears up, making Natsu gasp in shock and so he quickly countered back
"What the…Luce, I did not meet up with any woman" Natsu said in stern voice
"Yes, you did…with a brunette!" Natsu then gawked at the blonde when he slowly saw her grinned at her before audibly sobbing making Grandine and Igneel comfort the young woman
"Oh, Lucy-dear…" Grandine cooed
"Oi, Natsu how could you go meet up with brunette-!"
"I said I did not…I-I think she missed interpret that meet up" Natsu then swallowed hard as he tried to come up with an adlib story, "I met up with an event's planner"
"But she's too beautiful to be an event's planner" Lucy countered before she softly sobs again, making Wendy run up to her to console her, "Natsu-ni how can you do this…"
"Wha" Natsu expressed before he groaned in annoyance, "I never had an affair, okay… that's not me"
"I get the feeling that's true…but how will you explain what Lucy saw?" Igneel then leaned to the table as he firmly stared at his son
"I hired an event's planner for my proposal okay…" Natsu then looked at the smirking blonde before going back to acting
"But that didn't seem to look like…she was caressing your arms, your hand…is that what an event's planner do?"
"If she ever did that…that could be because she was demonstrating how I would do the proposal" Natsu then pierced a look to Lucy to make her stop blabbing nonsense but Lucy wouldn't back down
"Well, it seemed you enjoyed it…" Lucy returned the hard stare until Wendy cleared her throat and asked confusedly, "Not…not to be rude…but did you two really got engage? I mean, you two seemed to have a conflict before you both got engaged."
Realizing that Wendy was right, Lucy and Natsu turned stiff and looked at one another. But when the staring contest was becoming unbearable, Natsu gently nudges the blonde to cover up their story.
"Yeah we got engaged," Lucy swiftly glanced at the bluenette then to the older bluenette to assure them, "He…he um…said will you marry me right when I said I caught him with another woman"
"Yeah I said that…because I didn't want to lose her I cleared everything up and quickly went on one knee and asked her to marry me"
"And boom! I said yes"
"Yay!"
Natsu and Lucy were then panting as they tried to end the story quickly. And of course, it was just too suspicious to have that kind of story. But Igneel just shrugs it off as he said, "That was a story…"
"…Yeah" Grandine said back as she looked at her husband
"A very interesting story actually," Wendy remarked before she turned and headed to her seat once again
"You know what, enough questions…let's have breakfast," Grandine said making the others agree and began to eat their food. With the sudden distraction, Lucy and Natsu were finally able to sigh in relief.
After that breakfast interrogation, Natsu quickly mentioned to his parents that he would be heading out with Lucy and of course, the married couple was happy to say yes. And so, once Natsu was settled to leave, he quickly grasp the hand of the blonde and entwined their hands as they headed out.
"We're leaving!" Natsu shouted as he gently pulled Lucy towards the front door. And without waiting for the response of the others, the two was finally out of the apartment and headed towards who knows where.
As Lucy and Natsu continued to walk hand-in-hand, Lucy couldn't help but blush as she felt her hand was being squeezed from time to time.
"You know Natsu…" Lucy started as she focused her gaze on their entwined hands and before she knows it, Natsu let goes off her hand, which made the blonde somehow sad. When Lucy looked up, she checked if the man was mad but it seemed like he was just acting nonchalantly. And so, Lucy just shrugs it off as they continued to walk.
Soon enough, the two was able to reach a nearby café owned by a family living in the same neighborhood as Natsu. As Lucy first enters the place, the smell of coffee and cakes greeted her. Unconsciously grinning to the sweet aroma, Lucy looked at Natsu and gently pulled him in. When the two sat down at an empty table, Natsu and Lucy just stared for a moment before Natsu asked, "You've gone weird again Luce…stop smiling like that"
"What? Don't you like the ambiance of the place? The smell? The food…" Lucy then claps her hand in excitement making Natsu shake his head in disbelief as he sees Lucy was acting like a kid again, "I'll just go order us some drinks" Natsu then stood up and headed to the counter
When Natsu was at the counter, the staff quickly smiled at him and greeted him welcome, "Good morning sir, what can I get you?"
"One caramel latte and a pumpkin cinnamon latte. Both grande" Natsu said as he looked from the board to the staff and grinned
"Alright, one caramel and pumpkin cinnamon latte, both grande…for who?" The staff said as she repeated the order and asked the name of Natsu
"Just put…Dragneel"
"Okay, that would be 350 jewels" The staff then accepted a three mid-size violet jewels and a small green jewel. Once done, Natsu returned to the table and sat in front of the blonde.
Once Natsu was seated, Lucy looked up and smiled at the pinkette, which Natsu returned with a half smile.
"So, it's official…you are my fake fiancé" Lucy chimed making Natsu roll his eyes before looking back at the blonde, "It seems like it"
"Well, it wasn't my choice. Remember, you were the one who said not to tell the truth" Lucy reminded as she victoriously smiled at the man
"Yeah, because I didn't want to be killed by my grandmother" Natsu also reminded the blonde making her widen her eyes, "Right, don't want to die too" Lucy then nodded before looking down at her phone. After some time, Lucy looked back at the man and sat up straight, "So, shall we discuss?"
"Go and tell me you weird scheme"
Lucy silently cursed the man after hearing his comment before she started talking, "Just like what I said yesterday, this act would only last for three months,"
"Okay" Natsu monotonously replied
"On the first month, we are to act all lovey-dovey" Lucy eyed the man as she watched him crossed his arms and replied nonchalantly, "Okay,"
"Then…on the second month, we would be having a big argument that would last until the third month. And on that third month, we would be breaking the news that we would no longer be continuing the wedding because we decided to break the relationship. The end!" Lucy then claps her hand as she smiles enthusiastically to the man but then her face quickly changed after hearing Natsu's tone, "Okay"
"Can you be a little bit more enthusiastic?" Lucy said sarcastically as she growls at the man in annoyance
"Tell me, how exactly do you want me to be happy? I got engaged all of a sudden, when I remembered, for the past few days I was single" Natsu asked with his eyebrows furrowed
"Well you could be a little bit more supportive of me" Lucy insisted as she pouted at the man
"Supportive? Really? You want me to support yours and Mira's weird scheme?" Natsu then ticked in disbelief as he shook his head
"Well, I was willing to tell the truth but you said no because you didn't want to die under your grandmother's wrath" Lucy defended and she was beginning to feel irritated for real
"Well, this wouldn't happen if you didn't lie from the start" Natsu countered as he grinned mischievously when he was able to divert the blame to the blonde. And hearing him say that, Lucy couldn't help but gawk at him, "Let me guess, you are acting like a sissy right now because I embarrassed you in front of your parents" Lucy then glared at the man when he started pointing at her
"That! Another reason for me to get pissed!" Natsu then sat up straight, "Why did you have to do that?!"
"Well, you started it first! You made me tell the story just by myself!" Lucy retorted back
"Well, this was your idea, the whole thing!" Natsu said as he rounded his arms to emphasize his point and this made Lucy gasp in irritation
"It's not like I wanted it. You mister, tell me, wouldn't it hurt you if people started calling you spinster?!" Lucy slightly shouted
"Well if you weren't such a big baby, you wouldn't open your weird mouth!" Natsu countered back
"How could you! You know what, if there was anyone I should blame for calling me an old lady, it should be you!"
"Me?! Why me? I wasn't the one who made you not date anyone!" Natsu asked madly as he crosses his arms again
"Yes, you did!" Lucy shouted back
"Oh really? When?" Natsu challenged his best friend who just glared back at him
"Raito."
"What?" Natsu asked confused
"You heard me. It was your fault why Raito and I never got together" Lucy then leaned back to her chair as she crossed her arm over her chest and looked away. Even if Lucy was not looking at Natsu, she could feel that Natsu was beginning to be mad as well
"You're blaming me for your unsuccessful to-be relationship with that Raito guy?" Natsu asked with irritation in his tone. With that, Lucy snapped and looked at the man, "Yes. You know what, Raito was the perfect guy for me. He was sweet, honest, funny, and he even introduced me to his parents!"
Natsu then shook his head as he said, "You think he's perfect?," Natsu then looked at Lucy in eyes, "You think, just because he introduced you to his family it means he's the right guy. And why would he even do that?! You're technically not even official!"
"We didn't have to be official for him to introduce me to his family!" Lucy replied angrily
"Oh come on Luce! that's bullshit! He did that so that he could show you off to his family then dump you!" Natsu emphasized the last word making Lucy lose her patience
"What?! He did that because he wanted to prove to me he was serious about courting me, and you freaking blew it off!"
"Blew it off?! If you were to think, I actually saved your sorry ass!" Natsu hissed as he glared at his furious friend
"Is that what you think of me?" Lucy asked surprised as she gritted her teeth in madness, "You think I'm a damsel in distress, desperate for love?!" Lucy snapped as she frowned at the man
"Well aren't you!?"
"Uh! Your such a-ah!" Lucy suddenly shouted making everyone at the café glance at them. But then Lucy didn't care as she suddenly stood up and shouted again, "You know what, what you did, blew off the chance I had to have a good relationship with Raito!"
Lucy then snatches her purse and was about to walk away until Natsu shouted back at her, "Is that why you're this mad because technically you were a couple already behind my back?!"
"It's none of your business if we ever became a couple," Lucy said with pure anger in her voice
"It's my damn business, Luce!" Natsu said as he slammed his palm on the table and stood up, "I need to know if you said yes to him!" Natsu then stared at the teary-eyed face of the blonde and at some point he was beginning to feel guilty for making her cry but he had to be firm in his point
As Lucy stood before her best friend, she was trying her best not to let her tears fall. She was definitely mad at the man for thinking low of her. She couldn't believe that her best friend would act the way he was at the moment. And so, to end this very tense conversation, she answered in a soft tone, "You want to know the truth? I was supposed to… until you threatened him away!" Then Lucy's tears spilled and she couldn't help but start to sob as she still tried to contain her sadness.
"Well good!" Natsu shouted back as he tried to ignore the crystal clear tears of his best friend. And as he stood, he saw her turn her back but then she faces him one more time, "Natsu," Lucy started until she stifles a sob, "you had no right to do that in the first place. And technically you are not my boyfriend to act like that and tell me this stuff."
"But I'm your fiancé," Natsu said in matter-of-fact tone but Lucy shook her head as she softly whispers, "Fake fiancé…enjoy your coffee" Lucy then turned away from Natsu as she quickly headed out making Natsu ever guilty for what he did.
As Natsu was about to catch the wrist of the blonde, the barista suddenly called out the last name of the pinkette making Natsu stumble a bit. As he sadly watched Lucy pushed the door open and leave, he couldn't help but feel stupid for acting the way he did.
When the next day came, Natsu was still being ignored by Lucy after that fight in the cafe. He tried calling her cellphone but it would always go straight to the voicemail. He tried to call her home phone as well but it would just ring until the operator would say that the number was unavailable. With this happening to him, he felt anger. But his anger was not towards the blonde-haired woman, but to himself for acting like a jerk that Saturday morning. He is so desperate as of the moment to say sorry to Lucy because he couldn't handle the idea that his best friend is mad at him.
And this agonizing guilt went on until Monday morning. He was supposed to call in sick to his secretary at the office when he couldn't get up in bed because of his sadness that Lucy was not talking to him. He felt like dying knowing that Lucy despised him for the words he has said to her. He was groaning in bed when his phone suddenly rang.
As he grabs his phone in irritation since he was not feeling like talking to anyone but Lucy, he was suddenly surprised to see that the caller was his blonde best friend. So in excitement, he sat up in his bed and answered gratefully, "Hello Luce?! Please-"
"Natsu shut up. I need you to come here in the apartment now" Lucy said sternly at the other end of the call, making Natsu nervous all of a sudden
"W-wha-what?" Natsu stutteringly asked
"I said," Lucy hissed, "Come to my apartment now. Your grandmother is here"
"Shit" was all Natsu uttered before he scrambled in his bed to dress and head to Lucy's place.
To be continued…
Hey Mina!
How are you guys? It's March already! So fast…
Anyways, how did you find the chapter? I know it's pretty crappy. I really don't know if I delivered the thought…what? Do I make sense? hahaha, sorry…
Well just want to give you a heads up, NEXT CHAPTER is about NATSU'S weekend. So technically it's Natsu's Saturday until Monday morning. Then Grandma Porlyusica will be on the house!
Well, that's it! Leave a review, and start following and favorite this story if you haven't yet!
ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU, MINA!
Love,
FairyTailxNaLu
