Hey Readers!

How was the previous chapter? Well, since I'm trying to make up for all the times that I did not update, I am updating this story again. So, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh, and I would like to thank you all for understanding my circumstance, especially to SecretAddition, StellaHeartfilia, Guest, and Gutsy, who expressed their welcome to me and their understanding.

Thanks for the support and understanding!

Love,

FairyTailxNaLu


Chapter 16

Sitting inside the red ford mustang of Natsu, the two barely made any conversation as they drive towards the Manor. As Natsu quietly taps the steering wheel, he would cautiously glance at the blonde who was totally silent in her seat. They have been driving nearly for almost 30 minutes and they haven't done any conversation since Lucy changed her clothes for the meet up with Grandine.

Clearing his throat, Natsu then attempts to make a conversation, "So-"
"You lied," Lucy quickly interrupts
"Huh? What?" Natsu awestruck looked at the blonde with her accusation, "I lied? What did I lie about?"
"You were fresh from the airport when you came to my place, how can you say that you're okay?" Lucy then glanced back at the pinkette, who was stunned with her little outburst
"Woah, princess, chill out okay?" Natsu says as he raises a hand to calm down the blonde, "I did not lie. I just didn't tell you that I came from the airport,"
"Still, you said you were okay when obviously you not," Lucy comments back as she looks straight ahead and shook her head
"How do you even know I'm not okay?" Natsu asks as he looks at the road for a moment before returning his gaze to the blonde
"Because you were in a flight," Lucy subtly looked at the man but when she realized that Natsu was looking at her, she looked back at the road, trying to ignore the growing blush on her cheek
"So what if I was on a flight?" Natsu questions again as a smile slowly creeps into his face

Lucy then kept silent, refraining herself to answer the pinkette. But the longer Natsu kept his gaze on her, the more she felt pressured to answer. So, acting quickly to stop the man, Lucy then slaps the arm of the pinkette and commanded him, "Will you keep your eyes on the road?"

Chuckling at the actress, Natsu follows the order of the woman and drove silently. As they become silent for a few more minutes, Lucy exhaled audibly before she answers the previous question of the man.

"Mira told me that you have motion sickness," Lucy slowly looked at Natsu, who only smiled at her words, "But I don't get it, why aren't you having any motion sickness now that you're driving?"
"Well, if I'm the one driving I don't have that sickness. But when others drive for me, I do have the motion sickness," Natsu then made a quick glance at the blonde with a smile on his lips, "You really are concerned for me, are you?"

"Me?" Lucy points to herself as she quickly denies the fact, "No, why would I be?"
"Then why would you ask Mira about it?" Natsu then looks back at the road while still smiling
"I didn't ask, she told me…" Lucy then fixed her position from her seat as she felt Natsu's stare of confusion
"She told you? Why would she tell you stuff like that?" Natsu asked
"There is one thing I forgot to mention," Lucy then bites her lower lip as she slowly looks at the man
"What is it?" Natsu insists for an answer
"Mira…knows about our deal,"
"What?!" Natsu loudly exclaims, making the blonde shriek in surprise, "Wasn't our deal not to mention anything about it to anybody besides from our confederates?"
"Yeah, I know. But it wasn't me who told her, it was Lisanna. But she had no choice. Mira figured it out all by herself…you know Mira, she can be a detective if she wants to be," Lucy then sighed and slumps back to her seat, "But I guess it's good that Mira is helping us out, knowing that Erza could be a critical eye on us,"
"I can't believe this…" Natsu ticks his head in annoyance
"Look I'm sorry…It's not like I wanted Mira to know it," Lucy then sighs in exasperation as she looks out in the window
"You don't have to say sorry. It's not your fault…" Natsu then sighs before he grabs the hand of the actress and gave it a little squeeze.

With the gesture that Natsu did, Lucy quickly looked at Natsu then to their hands but Natsu quickly pulled away, making Lucy feel a little sad. But Lucy shook off the feeling and looked back at Natsu, "So, what exactly are we going to do at the Manor?"
"I'm not sure," Natsu replies back before he leans back to his seat, "Mom just said that she wanted to talk to me along with you,"
"Should that be a concern?" Lucy asks in nervousness
"I don't know. Mom always asks me to drop by the Manor whenever I came from a business trip," Natsu then looked at Lucy and gave a small smile, "This shouldn't be a concern. So, let's just relax and act natural, okay?"
"Yeah, of course. Your mother has good radar and I guess she can read my body language. So, I must be relaxed…" Lucy said back, but more to herself as she tries to calm her erratic beating heart
"What was the last news about you?" Natsu asks as he tries to figure out why his mother is summoning him and Lucy
"Um, you and I broke up because we weren't seen together publicly again…" Lucy replies back and kept her eyes to the man
"Ah, I see. Okay, so this is the act, we are in constant communication while I'm in Lilia city. We talk-"
"Every night, and then we text at the morning, I got it," Lucy adds as she nods her head
"Okay, get my phone in my back pocket," Natsu then lifts his butt a bit to let Lucy slip her hand to his back pocket
"Your what?" Lucy looked at the man dumbfoundedly
"Phone-right pocket," Natsu then lifts his butt again, making Lucy swallow hard

Soon enough, Lucy slips her hand into the back pocket of Natsu, making the man smile to himself. The pinkette is on the verge of teasing the woman but he refrains himself a little more. When Lucy was able to get the phone, Natsu finally lets his teasing free.

"Well you got a handful of my ass," Natsu snickers at the blushing blonde
"Excuse me I did not!" Lucy replies back as she gawked at him, "I just took your phone like you told me!"
"I'm just teasing, princess," Natsu then chuckles to himself when he heard Lucy growl in annoyance
"Stop calling me that," Lucy comments back with irritation in her voice, "What do you want me to do with your phone?"
"Open the gallery and send some photos of me to your phone," Natsu instructed
"And why would I do that?" Lucy questions irately
"It's called props princess. When you're going to make conversations with mom you have to show a little proof that we are in constant communication," Natsu then grinned sarcastically, making Lucy roll her eyes

As Lucy do what she is told to do, she couldn't help but feel a little irritated with the nickname Natsu is giving her. So, giving a piece of her mind, she said to the pinkette, "You know if you call me 'princess' one more time, I'm going to hit your face with your phone,"
"Is that a threat?" Natsu teased before he gave a playful look at the blonde
"Consider it as your death threat," Lucy menacingly said as she made an eye contact with the man, who only chuckled at her while looking away

Soon enough, the couple arrived at the driveway towards the Manor. Natsu and Lucy were now more relaxed and prepared for the show that they would perform in front of the Dragneels. What they don't know is the crowd that they would have to fool.

When Natsu and Lucy have stepped down from the car, a valet immediately parks the car of the young president. As Natsu walks closer to Lucy, he watched her fix her dress then her hair. As a stray hair is still unkept, Natsu immediately tucks it behind Lucy's ear, making the woman pull back a little with the sudden gesture.

"Now you look presentable," Natsu teased, making the actress roll her eyes
"Whatever," Lucy mumbles before she turns away from him and headed first but Natsu immediately caught up with her and grabbed her hand.

Without warning, Natsu entwined their hands and confidently walked in as the maids bowed at them. Soon enough, a man in a dark gray suit appeared and bowed before the couple.

"Welcome back, Master Natsu," the man greeted, "Welcome, Ms. Heartfilia,"
"Chief Mizayaki," Natsu greets back with a smile on his face, "Mom wanted to talk to me,"
"Yes, indeed. She is currently at the study hall," Chief Mizayaki replies before sidestepping and points towards the stairs, "Let me lead you,"
"No, it's good. I know my way," Natsu then grins at the man before he taps his shoulder and walked past him

Soon enough, Natsu and Lucy went up to the stairs and headed towards the grand hall. While they are on their own, the two whispered to one another, "Who's he?" Lucy asked quietly
"Chief Taru Mizayaki, the chief secretary of dad," Natsu whispered back
"Secretary? Wow…" Lucy sighs in awe
"What's so wow about that? You came from a rich family doesn't your dad have one too?" Natsu questions back, but Lucy just shrugged her shoulder and whispered back
"I don't pay much attention to my father's staff. After all, I don't get to see him most of the time,"
"Really?" Natsu baffled asked but he didn't insist an answer anymore when Lucy threw him a serious look that told him to quit asking about her family.

Natsu and Lucy finally arrived at the grand hall and the butlers opened the doors for the two. As the doors are being opened, Lucy suddenly leaned closer to Natsu and whispered, "I forgot to ask, why are we meeting her in the study hall?"

With the doors wide open, a loud cheer was heard, making Natsu unable to answer the blonde. Before them is a group of women that is familiar to Natsu. These women are his relatives.

"Natsu!" One woman with dark blue hair called unto him as she stands up from her seat. Opening her arms wide, she stepped away from her seat and walked closer to the couple.

As for Natsu and Lucy, the two slowly walked into the grand hall with pure confusion and nervousness in their body.

"It's been a long time!" the woman comments before she hugs the pinkette, making him let go of Lucy due to the sudden embrace
"Auntie Grizela," Natsu greets back after pulling away from the woman, "Indeed a long time,"
"Oh, who is this woman?" Grizela questions as she eyes the blonde actress, who fidgeted a little with the attention thrown at her
"She's Natsu's girlfriend," Grandine suddenly answers as she walks towards the group
"Mom," Natsu greets and hugs Grandine
"Hello," Grandine greets back as she hugs her son back. When they pulled away, she watched her son stand close to Lucy and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Welcome my dear,"

"Oh, thank you for inviting me," Lucy then bows her head to the two older women
"I'm Grizela Marvell-Eucliffe," the dark blue-haired woman said as she extends her hand for a handshake, "And you are?"
"Lucy Heartfilia," Lucy replies back as she takes Grizela's hand for a handshake
"Ah, I see. You're a Heartfilia, no wonder I see Layla's face in you," Grizela states back with enthusiasm
"Anyways, sister, why don't we invite them to the table to meet everyone?" Grandine interrupts as she loops her arm to her sister's
"Right! Of course," and with that Grizela turns her back from them and left the two to follow

"Everyone, Natsu, and Lucy will be joining us today," Grandine announces as she walks back to her seat
"That's great!" Another woman with a salmon pink hair states, "Hi honey," she suddenly greets when Natsu leaned down to give an embrace to another of her aunt, "Hello Auntie Fera,"

Soon, Natsu embraced each one of the women inside the grand hall for they were all his aunties. When he was done, he walked back to Lucy and wrapped his arm around her waist again, "Everyone, I bet you have seen her at the last Charity ball. But I would like to introduce her once again. Lucy Heartfilia, my love of my life," Natsu then looked at Lucy, who quite blushed at the introduction.

Without being obvious, Grandine rolled her eyes with her son's introduction to the actress. But she immediately changed her expression and smiled towards the couple, "Now, now, why don't you two take your seats and we'll begin to plan,"
"Plan?" Lucy suddenly asks
"Yes, didn't my son tell you about our tradition?" Grandine then raised her brow at the couple, making Natsu a little uncomfortable with the look his mother is giving
"I-I forgot it's this time of the year," Natsu then shakes his head as if to shake off his uneasiness

When Lucy looked at Natsu, the man quickly smiled to reassure her. With the look that Natsu gave, Lucy finally decided that she'd ask Natsu about this tradition later on after dealing with their present situation.

"Well then, take your seats so that we may begin," Grandine then watched the two nervously take their places. As they started their planning, Grandine thought to herself, watch yourselves, my dear.


When the planning ended, Natsu and Lucy excused themselves and headed to the bedroom of the young president. The room was well kept, making the place obvious that the room is not being used by anyone.

"Well, your room is decent," Lucy mutters as she walks inside the large room
"The maids try to keep it as clean as always," Natsu replies back tiredly as he pulls off his scarf and gently placed it on a chair.

Out of habit, Natsu unbuttons his dress shirt and heads towards his closet to change. As for Lucy, being unaware of Natsu's task suddenly turns and sees him in his underpants. Quickly blushing at the sight, Lucy quipped herself around and stare at the wall.

"Y-Y-You could have told me you're ch-changing!" Lucy suddenly exclaims as she holds her burning face
"Oh," Natsu mumbles back as he peeked at his shoulder and saw the back of the blonde, "Sorry about that,"
"Uh, Natsu, sometimes…" Lucy mumbles to herself
"What did you say?" Natsu asks back as he finally finishes dressing up comfortably
"Nothing," Lucy then turns around fast, unaware that Natsu was behind her. With their short distance, Lucy suddenly stumbles forward, making her fall unto him but Natsu quickly stops the fall when he wrapped his arms around her waist
"Woah, there," Natsu uttered when he caught her, "You okay?"
"Y-yeah!" Lucy stutteringly exclaims before she pushes herself off him

When they were a step away from one another, Lucy quickly sidestepped and sat down on Natsu's bed and gazed around the room.

"So," Lucy started, "Do you mind telling me about this tradition?"
"Oh…" Natsu slowly turned and headed towards the bed. He then lies down with his legs dangling on the bed, "That tradition is the worst,"
"The worst?" Lucy repeats as she curiously looked at the pinkette, "But when we were planning, all the activities and events sounds so exciting,"
"Well, aside from the activities and events done, being in that vacation itself would be the worst for us," Natsu replies back as he prompts himself up with this forearm
"Why?" Lucy turns a little to face the pinkette
"Because all of my family relatives will be there, and they would be interrogating us," Natsu then sits up and moves closer to the blonde
"So?" Lucy looked at the man as if he was being ridiculous
"Luce, this only means that they will try to get us caught. This is what mom does when she wants to know someone," Natsu seriously stared at the blonde, who was finally understanding the whole point of the tradition
"B-but…you said this is the time of the year…then this means every year, you do this vacation," Lucy replies back with her eyes wide
"No…like I said, it's a tradition. A vacation tradition…" Natsu then sighed before he stands up and walked around his room, "Whenever a member of the Dragneel or Marvell Clan is dating or marrying someone, they bring this person along in the vacation tradition, to get to know them better,"
"Okay…this shouldn't be a problem, right? I mean, they will just get to know me," Lucy tries to shrug off the issue but Natsu was acting differently
"Yeah, get to know you in a way that maybe you'll find it…traumatic?" Natsu suggests, not sure how to put to words the vacation tradition
"Traumatic?!" Lucy suddenly stands up in alarm, "What do you mean traumatic?! Are they going to torture me or something?!"
"No-no-no-no," Natsu walked up to Lucy and grabbed her shoulder to stop her from shaking, "Um, how do I put this…they will put you to test…a lot of tests,"
"Test?" Lucy echoes back
"Yeah, a test for generosity, honesty, secrecy, um…" Natsu then tried to think more about what they would do during the vacation
"Wa-wait…" Lucy said as she shakes her head in disbelief, "So, they are going to test my values?"
"Something like that…" Natsu replies tilting his head in uncertainty
"Okay…" Lucy then sighed in tiredness, "I thought I will die…"
"No-no-no," Natsu then chuckled a little, "You're not going to die. But it will kill our fake relationship,"
"Oh…Now, I understand," Lucy then stood up straight and looked at Natsu straight in the eyes, "We can't let them discover the truth or else…"
"They will call you fraud, and make you the bad person," Natsu then swallows hard, "They will turn this fake relationship as your idea and say that you manipulated me to get whatever inheritance I have. They will destroy your career," Natsu then dropped his head to Lucy's shoulder as he realized what his family can do when they discovered the fake relationship they were making.

"Seriously? They will do that?" Lucy utters as she stumbles a little with Natsu's weight on her shoulder
"I don't know…but they can," Natsu then lifts his head and looked at Lucy for a moment, "Just like what they did with Hera,"
"Hera? Who's Hera?" Lucy questioned as she followed Natsu with her eyes
"The ex-girlfriend, who literally tried to loot my inheritance," Natsu stated as he dropped down to the bed
"Oh…" Lucy then felt tired, making her walk close to the bed and drop next to Natsu.

As she takes her seat, Natsu looked at her with concern in his eyes. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and quietly asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…I just didn't expect this," Lucy then looked at Natsu and gave a tired smile
"Do you want me to bring you home?" Natsu offered as he noticed the tired eyes of the woman
"Maybe later…do you mind if I take a rest here in your bed?" Lucy asked permission and Natsu immediately shook his head.

As Natsu stood up, he urged Lucy to lie down in bed and rest for a few hours as he would just head downstairs a bit. And with that, Lucy tucked herself comfortably in bed while Natsu headed out of the room.


Gathered in her office, Grandine, her sisters, and sister-in-law, all sat down by the center table and talked about the planning they did in the grand hall. But more than that, they discussed Lucy Heartfilia.

"So, Dine, what is this hunch that you have for Natsu's girlfriend," Safera Dragneel-Redfox asked as she rests back to her chair and crossed her arms
"It's not a hunch," Grandine replies as she turns to her sisters, "I asked someone to investigate their relationship,"
"And what happened?" Grasia Marvell-Cheney questioned this time
"It didn't turn out well as I hoped," Grandine then pulled a chair and sat down. As she slumps back to her seat, she looked at her sisters sadly and said, "I wanted the investigator to prove to me that the two are really dating. But then my investigator found out some showbiz news about Lucy,"
"Oh, so that woman is an actress…" Grizela then tilts her head in wonder, "No wonder she looked familiar,"
"Isn't she the actress who has a rumor about her boyfriend?" Safera questioned to her companions
"You're right Fera. Lucy does have a rumor about her ex-boyfriend. She was being called the obsessive ex-girlfriend stalker of Leo De Leon," Grandine confirms as her expression slowly turned serious
"Well, I think as an actress it's normal for her to have rumors like that. I don't think that's enough reason for us to do the interrogation on the second level," Grasia comments as she smiles to her sister
"If you will look at it like that, I guess you're right. But that's not the case, Grasia," Grandine then glared at her sister but the younger Marvell knew it was not directed to her, "That woman is trying to fool us,"
"What do you mean?" Safera worriedly asks
"Natsu and Lucy have told me that they have been seeing each other for a few months, when in fact, Lucy and her ex-boyfriend just broke up nearly four weeks ago. So now tell me they aren't lying about their relationship," Grandine menacingly questions back to her sisters
"Maybe…Natsu is the affair of Lucy that's why they broke up," Grizela counters back, which only made Grandine chuckle in annoyance
"Seriously, you think Natsu would allow himself to be an affair? I didn't teach him to be a third party to any kind of relationship. And besides, those few months that they are saying, I have countered check Natsu's security in seeing any blonde woman around him and all they said was that Natsu goes to work then back home," Grandine then inhaled and exhaled as she tries to calm herself, "This only tells me that Natsu is lying to me again and he's allowing himself to be a fool,"

"Grandine," Safera called as she puts down her teacup, "Why don't you just calm down and talk to them,"
"So what? so they could tell me lies again and convince me that they are seeing one another for real when in fact they're just faking it? No thank you. I do not want to see my son being used for other people's advantage and cause my son his own destruction," Grandine pushed her chair back and stood up, "If you all don't want to help me interrogate this actress, then fine. I'll do it on my own," Grandine then stepped away from her chair
"Dine, it's not that," Grizela quickly says as she tries to calm her sister, "It's just that, we need to calm ourselves about this. After all, she is a Heartfilia and attacking her might spark another conflict of families,"
"I'm not scared of Jude," Grandine quickly replies as she turns to her sister, "If there is anyone who should be scared, it should be him. He shouldn't allow his daughter using my son for her own benefits,"
"Dine, relax, please," Safera insists as she finally stood up as well, "I know how much you hated what Natsu had gone through before, but we can't always be at the edge of our patience and understanding just because he's keeping a secret,"
"Fera, I don't want to see my son being destructive again to himself. I promised to this family that I would protect him, and this is me keeping my promise," Grandine then exhaled deeply before she continues, "So please, help me destroy this lie that Natsu and Lucy are trying to keep," and with that, she turns and leaves the room.


Feeling comfortable in her position, Lucy scooted closer to the warmth that envelopes her. As she sighs in content, Lucy then hears a soft grumbling, but she quickly dismisses it. Making another attempt to move closer to the warm sensation she could feel, another mumbling was heard, making her open her eyes one-by-one. The instant she opened her eyes, Lucy saw a tan-colored wall that looked fleshy and human. With this odd view before her, she couldn't help but wonder what this wall is. So, slowly, Lucy touched the wall in front of her face with her finger and another mumbling was heard. With that sound, it easily clicked to Lucy's mind and she quickly pulled her head back.

With wide eyes, she saw Natsu's face and saw him asleep. Lucy immediately looked down and tried to study the view before her. That is when she realized she was overly close to Natsu's bare chest. At that instant, her cheeks flamed as she continued to stare at Natsu's bare form. When she realized that she should be pulling away from him, Lucy was unexpectedly tugged closer to Natsu when he tightened his hold on her. With this close proximity, it made Lucy even more bashful.

Lucy then thought to herself, "Oh my goodness, why is this happening?"

Natsu then mumbles once more before he tightens his hold on Lucy again, making the woman kiss the chest of the man unintentionally. Gawking at what happened, Lucy couldn't help squirm in her position, making Natsu a little awake.

Slowly looking up at Natsu, Lucy mumbles, "Uh, Natsu…" she then waits for him to wake up, but he just groaned at the sound

"Natsu~" Lucy tries one more time, but nothing happened.

When Natsu still didn't wake up, Lucy had nothing else to do but sigh in disappointment. Despite the continuous attempt of Lucy to wake the man, Lucy realized that Natsu may be too tired after his flight that morning and let him sleep instead. So silently, Lucy let him hug her close.

As they stayed in that position, Lucy couldn't help but smell the natural scent that Natsu has on his skin. Sniffing closer to his chest, Lucy smelled the scent of forest wood and cinnamon, making her smile unconsciously and giggle in happiness. Although she doesn't know why it made her giddy, she let herself be and just enjoyed the embrace. Until later, Natsu loosened his hold on Lucy as he turned in bed.

With the lost body contact, Lucy suddenly felt a little disappointed, but she quickly shook her head and dismissed the thought. Right after, she sat up straight and observed the room.

It's nearly dark already as the sun sets down, making it obvious to Lucy that the day is close to an end. As Lucy slowly got out of bed, she then walked towards the glass door to the balcony and observed the large garden of the Dragneels. There she saw a few bodyguards rounding the vicinity, making Lucy scoff at the memory she had in their old Manor.

"Funny, how I wanted to escape the life I had seven years ago and now I'm in the same set up again," Lucy then rolls her eyes in the hypocrisy she realized
"Did you run away or something?" a voice suddenly asked, making Lucy jump out of her skin as she turns around to see Natsu slowly walking up to her, rubbing his eyes awake
"Goodness, Natsu, you scared the shit out of me again," Lucy said as she leans back to the railing, making Natsu chuckle at the expression Lucy have on her face
"I guess you easily get surprised," Natsu comments back as he leans to the railing next to Lucy. As he glances at the blonde, he was about to question the blonde about her past, but Lucy beat him, saying, "Don't bother to ask, because I don't feel like being a storyteller tonight,"
"I didn't say anything," Natsu then smirks at Lucy, making her roll her eyes
"You had that look," Lucy replies back
"What look?" Natsu said as he suddenly towers over her, trapping her under his arms. With the shift of position, Lucy suddenly stepped back but it was pointless because she was already leaning on the railing. When Natsu leaned down his face closer to hers, Lucy couldn't help but inhale sharply as she kept her eyes on the dark onyx eyes of the man on top of her.

"What look?" Natsu whispered seductively, making Lucy even more flustered before she looks away from him
"Natsu," Lucy whispered his name softly. When she imagined Natsu's smile coming up on his face, Lucy suddenly clenched her jaw and deadly looked back at the pinkette, "Get out of my personal space before I hit you,"
Chuckling at the threat of the blonde, Natsu then nods his head as he replies, "Okay, I believe you," and with that Natsu stood up straight as he crossed his arms over his bare chest

"Aren't you cold or something?" Lucy suddenly asks as she keeps her eyes to the half-naked form of the president
"Huh?" Natsu raised his brow in confusion
"You're naked," Lucy simply stated before she looked up at the sky to hide her warm cheeks and mumbled, "Oh god, what is wrong with this man?"
"Oh, I'm giving you a favor," Natsu teased, "Don't you like it?"
"Seriously?" Lucy baffled asked back as she looked back at the man
"Just kidding," Natsu then laughed before he ruffles the blonde locks of the woman and headed inside to wear his shirt.

When Natsu was dressed, he called Lucy and urged her to come in, "Come on, let me tour you around the Manor,"
Raising her brows, Lucy then crossed her arms as she answers, "What's the catch?"

Natsu then sighed before he shook his head and walked closer to her. The moment he stood before her, Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her inside as he replies to her question, "Nothing,"

As the two walked around the Manor, hand in hand, a few Dragneels saw them and greeted them. When Wendy saw Lucy, she quickly gave the actress a hug and told her that she was excited to spend the vacation trip with her. Despite knowing what the vacation is really for, Lucy excitedly told Wendy that she couldn't wait as well to get to know them better.

Soon enough, Natsu and Lucy bid goodbye to everyone in the Manor and left for Lucy's home. In less than an hour, the two arrived at the condo. Being the gentleman that he is, Natsu walked Lucy back to her place and waited for the blonde to get inside.

"Well, this day turned out to be unexpected," Lucy softly smiled at the man before her, who smiled back at her
"Yeah," Natsu then just stared for a few seconds before he continued, "But thank you,"
"Thank you? For what?" Lucy questions as she cocks her head to the side
"For keeping up with my family," Natsu bashfully then looked at Lucy, who found it the first time
"Of course. We had a deal and in this deal, we are partners. We have to help each other," Lucy then genuinely smiled at the man, who returned the favor
"Alright," Natsu then leaned to the side and gave a soft kiss to Lucy's cheek before he quickly pulled away and say, "Bye,"

With the gentle gesture that Natsu gave her, Lucy was left stunned for a few seconds. But when she saw Natsu turn his back and leave, she quickly shouted to him, "Hey," when Natsu turned and waited for her to continue, Lucy swallowed hard before she continues, "Do you mind if you join me for dinner?"

Natsu then chuckles at the cute face Lucy have on her face, "Yeah, sure," and with that, Natsu walked back to Lucy's unit and closed the doors.

To be continued…