Once they got there, they dropped their bags on the floor and took Layla into their room. After they changed into their pj's and Natsu into his boxer shorts, the girls hopped into bed. "I gotta run to the bathroom quick. I'll be right back." he said with a grin. Ten minutes went by when he came out and saw the most wonderful sight he had ever seen. Layla was in the middle of the bed while Lucy had her arms around her and they were both sound asleep. "The most important people in the universe are right there" he thought as he stepped quietly and kissed the tops of their heads making them smile which made him smile. He snuggled against Lucy. "Goodnight ladies" he whispered as he closed his eyes. He woke up the next morning to find the girls snuggled into him. "I'll definitely like getting used to this." he thought feeling grateful. "Luce, hey baby" he nudged gently as she made a noise he thought was really cute as she gave him a sleepy smile. "Morning" they both leaned over Layla and each other a kiss.
Once they pulled apart, Lucy asked "do you have to work?" "He said with a bright smile making Lucy laugh "Nope, I'm spending my whole day with you two." "Come on" he whispered taking her hand and helping her out of bed. They walked into the living room and sat on the couch where he wrapped his arms around her. "Why did you want to come out here?" she asked while snuggling into him. "Because Layla is still sleeping and i wanted to sit out here with you." "Okay" she answered satisfied. "Feels wonderful to not do anything" she said happily. "Agreed" "Mommy?, daddy?" "Out here baby" they both replied to the soft mouse like voice. Layla came slowly walking out rubbing her eyes. Before Lucy could react, Natsu was up and holding his hands out as she had a little smile on her face.
"Morning baby girl" he said sweetly. Layla put her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as they both went quiet for a moment. "Daddy" she cooed. "Right here sweetheart" he told her loving as he sat them down and she cuddled right into him. Lucy could not find the words to express how she felt looking at them. She was beyond happy that Natsu stepped right into being her father and the love the two of them shared for each other already. "What?" asked Natsu. "What what?" "You were staring" said Natsu slightly amused. "Oh, sorry, I got lost in my thoughts." "What were you thinking about?" he asked very curious. She blushed as she said "you and how lucky i am to have you. That Layla and I both are lucky to have you as loving father and husband...and that we both love you to the moon and beyond." "I'm not your husband just yet but I love you both too and count myself lucky to have you. I love you more than anything in the universe." He reached and put two fingers under her chin as he kissed her deeply and passionately.
She reached a hand to his face while Layla was smiling. After two minutes, they let go and cuddled with Layla between them as they turned on the tv. They had been sitting there for an hour when Natsu felt his phone buzz. "Oh, well, whose bugging me today" he joked as he saw Lucy looking at him smiling. He smiled thinking of her as he looked at his phone. As he read it, Lucy watched his face drop and turn cold. The text had no I.D but he didn't need the name to know who sent it. "Luce, take her now" she didn't question it as she scooted Layla to her. She heard him tense up with heavy breathing as he got off the couch and walked and leaned over a table. In an instant, he went from feeling joy to rage. Lucy didn't need to see what the text was but she knew Natsu and that it would take a lot to make him angry like he was right now. He began pacing furiously squeezing the phone in his hands. Seeing his rage built up more and more, she knew better but she took a chance. "Natsu" she said feeling very aware of his feelings.
" FUCKING CHRIST!" he exploded as he threw the phone down. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything" Lucy scolded herself in her head. He whipped his head around towards them seeing Lucy had Layla's ears covered while she watched tv. His mouth formed an O shape as he realized what he said. He slapped a hand to his mouth. "I am so sorry" he said muffled through his hand. "I know..she didn't hear" "Fucking stupid" he said then cursed himself mentally for slipping up again. Seeing him look a little calmer, Lucy looked at Layla taking her hands away from her ears and said "Layla, stay here and watch tv. Daddy and I are going to talk. "Okay mommy." she said smiling completely oblivious to what just happened which they were both thankful for. Lucy switched to a cartoon for her as she grabbed Natsu's hand and went to pick up the phone as he grabbed it. "Come on" she said calm seeing his face was still full of rage. They walked into their room where Lucy shut the door. Natsu let go and sat on the bed while Lucy came and sat next to him. "Let me see" she told him as she held her hand out. He looked at her hesitantly but then sighed handing it to her. It was not a contact in his phone but she could tell they didn't need to be by his reaction. The text read in capital letters. I SAW THE BROADCAST. SHE WILL NOT MARRY INTO THIS FAMILY! He laughed a sarcastic laugh as he said "can't even let a day go by before she has to meddle and start her shit." "You think this is her?" Lucy asked. "Yes, fucking woman can't take a hint." "Well so much for our plan..if she get's involved" Lucy said sullenly. Natsu took her hands immediately and had her look at him.. "No, no. Lucy do not let her into your head. This is exactly what this bitch wants. I am not going to let her ruin this..so" He paused making Lucy wonder what he was about to say. "Time to go make a visit" "Take me with you" she told him.
"Lucy baby, no . I can't ask you to do that" "Your not asking, I'm telling you. Take me with you. If this bitch is going to butt into our lives, then I am going to stand with you. You know I have never been afraid to defend." "Oh I know..one of the things I love about you." he said rubbing one of her cheeks. "Are you calmer now then?" Sighing, he said "yeahhh..but I'm still plenty pissed off. I am not going to let her fucking get away with this." She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Then let's go" Seeing the determination in her face, he let go of her hand as they both got up and changed into clothes as they slipped their shoes on.
Once dressed, Lucy went and snagged Layla off the couch. "What's going on mommy?" "Your going on a car trip with me and daddy." 'Hold up Luce" She froze as she started taking Layla's pajama's off. "I don't want her anywhere near Layla. We can't take her with us there. This bi...excuse me..woman does not need another thing to manipulate. No, let's find a sitter until we get back." "Okay, I'll try and call Erza and Jellal" she said as she got back to getting Layla dressed. "Are you okay daddy?" she asked noticing something off with him. He smiled and said " I'm fine baby girl" walking over and touched noses with her making her giggle. He ran his fingers through her hair as she was full of smiles and and laughter. "yeah , there is no way in hell I am letting my mother go near her. She is not taking Layla away from me again. Five years was enough. The bitch isn't going to take anything else." he thought darkly to himself but the thoughts went away as Layla jumped at him as his reflexes kicked in and he caught her. "You caught me daddy" she cheered. "Ha, yeah" he said nervously as he knew she would have hit the floor face first if he hadn't. "Alright, let's grab our shoes and get going. I'll call Erza in the car" said Lucy scooting everyone out the of the bedroom like a captain and had everyone get their shoes on. One they were out the door and into the car, Lucy called Erza and explained what was going on.
"Lucy, you sure you want to do this?" she questioned. "Yes, Erza..this woman has meddled enough. I don't want her ruining my wedding as well." "Alright, if your sure then go ahead and bring her but if you need back up at all. Don't hesitate to call me. I'm not afraid to kick anyone's ass for you." "Oh i know" she joked. "Hey Natsu?" said Erza. "Yeah?" "That goes for you too. If you need anything, call me or Jellal. We'll be there." "Thanks Erza" he said humbly. "No problem, see you guys in a few." then she hung up. "She seems like the scary type you don't want to meet in a dark corner." observed Natsu. "She is. Jellal said they first met in a boxing arena..where she kicked all the guy's butts." "Damn. Glad she's on our side then. Feels good to know we have friends like that." Lucy nodded in agreement as they drove to the hotel and got Layla out.
Once they got to the room, Erza opened the door. "Erza!" Layla cried happily as she picked her up. "Hey Layla, how are you doing this morning?" "I'm good." "That's great, go run and jump on Jellal" she said with a teasing grin as she put Layla down who took off screaming for joy as they all heard a yell from Jellal when Layla jumped on him. They all laughed while Erza stood in the doorway. "So are you guys sure you want to do this?" she asked again looking at them both for any signs of doubt. "Yes. But you don't have to worry about Lucy. I'll keep her safe." he assured her. "I'm not worried about her. I know you'll protect her. I'm worried about you" "Huh?, why me?" "Because and while it took me some time to remember, the Dragneel name is not exactly ,how do you say it, an unknown family. Your family is one of the wealthiest her" He stopped her quickly holding a hand up. "I'm going to stop you right there for just a second. I may share the name but that is not my family. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing we share is blood. Everything else is shit" "That may be true Natsu but with what I was saying, with wealth comes an awful lot of power, meaning she has connections to just about anything here. She may try to hurt you."
"I appreciate the concern Erza. I really do but I promise I'm fine. The woman can't say anything I haven't already heard. I'm a disgrace, should do more with my life, blah, blah, blah. And as for self defense, I trained a few days ago." "Well if you want, I own a gym where if you really want to learn to defend yourself, my trainers will teach you mafia moves and shit that will have you so buffed up, Lucy won't be able to take her eyes off you." she smirked as she finished. "I'll take you up on that offer Erza, thanks." "Your welcome, just be prepared cause I don't hold back." "He's not shy when it comes to self-defense and combat" said Lucy. "You guys better get going. I need to go save Jellal from that little dragon" "Dragon?" said Lucy and Natsu. "Yup. Dragneel, Dragon. Isn't that what you called him Lucy in Europe?" Natsu glanced at her curious while Lucy glared at her. "You weren't supposed to tell him that" "Haha, oops. My mistake. Must of have slipped out. Sorry." she teased as they knew she didn't feel sorry at all.
"Oh I hear Layla calling, bye guys!" she shut the door in front of them as she had a big smile on her face as she went to grab Layla. "Sooo, dragon huh?" he teased. "Shut it..I missed you okay. It made it easier for me while I was gone to call you my dragon." "Ha, Luce no need to get embarrassed baby, your face is as red as a tomato. I missed you too. I'm glad something helped." he told her kindly. "Alright, let's get this over with." He sniped with disgust as they walked to the car and started driving. "Are you really going to take Erza up on her offer at the gym?" she asked. "Yup, I think I will. If it helps keep you and Layla safe not to mention make me stronger then you bet your ass I will do it. Besides learning mafia moves sounds cool." "Alright, just want to make sure you know what your getting into. I haven't been there since I've been in Europe but from everything Jellal told me, she doesn't hold back any punches and is hard core." "Good" she looked at him partially skeptic. "Luce, if there's mafia style type training then I wouldn't expect it to be soft or easy."
"Don't worry, I could use a challenge. Few weeks and I might just kick Erza's ass. You know I'm a fast learner." "While that is true, wipe that smirk off your face. Don't get cocky because Erza is not one to underestimate or fucked with." she told him hoping he could understand the seriousness. "I got it Lucy, relax." "How long has it been since you've been back there anyway?" "Hmmm" he mumbled. "At least eight years and it has not helped her humanity. Still a cold bitch as ever." "Maybe it's because" but she was stopped from the glare Natsu gave her. "No, his death does not excuse her for being the horrible person she is. She's always been like that. Him passing away just sealed the deal." He grabbed her hand and kissed it quickly as he didn't want to take his eyes off the road.
"You'll be alright Luce. I won't let her touch you." he assured her. "I know, you didn't need to tell me. I have to say you are a lot calmer than I expected you to be." "Ha, you know me better than that Lucy. The only reason I'm calm right now is because your with me otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd be speeding and not giving a shit." As he said that, they turned the corner to a bunch of houses with a long mansion at the end of them. It had barred gates at the end of it. Natsu huffed and pressed the button to be let in. "It's me , you know that" he said aggressively as they were buzzed in and they drove up the long driveway and parked in front of the house. Before they got out, Lucy grabbed his hand pulling him back surprising him a little as he looked into her eyes. "I know your wearing a mask Natsu, please try to remain calm. I know what she does to you. Let me do the talking if need be." she insisted. He let out a breath as he said " I can't promise you that baby...but I will try my damnest to keep my rage in check." he answered kindly understanding why she was asking as they both got out of the car.