The buildings that framed the bank of the Grand Canal were painted in various shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, tan, and ivory white. Despite their youthful colors, the buildings emitted a wealth of age, some having lined the waterway since the 13th century. Their elaborate architecture was a testament to the time of their birth, an era of decadence, prosperity, and affluence. They were all bathed by the glow of orange lights leaking from the street lamps that dotted the narrow smooth stone streets. The light from these lamps spilled from the streets and onto the rippling surface of the canal, making the edges shimmer. Water buses, crowded with tourists, trudged up and down the waterway, carrying their passengers to and from the numerous restaurants and shops that welcomed them. Sleek, black gondolas strolled through the traffic, guided by the expert hands of the gondoliers who ferried love drunk couples across the city. Although it was well into the night, the city of Venice still reverberated with light, color, music, and laughter. Lucy gripped the sloped edge of her gondola, skimming across the canal, her eyes wide and absorbing it all.
Venice was a dream — a dream so beautiful she tried to not even blink for fear it would all disappear. The moment she had stepped off the train and entered this sinking city, it had felt like entering another realm. The city hummed, moving with such vibrancy that it was hard to not be captivated by it. It was as if the city itself knew its tragic fate and offered up its full glory to any who would behold it so that it may continue on in memory alone, long after the sea had reclaimed it.
"You're too far away." A strong hand gently tugged on her shoulder, and Lucy allowed herself to be pulled back into the velvet, red cushions of the gondola. Natsu wrapped his arm around her, and she nestled into him. "Much better," he murmured as he kissed the top of her head.
The gondolier turned down into a more deserted waterway, allowing the sound of the water lapping against the side of the gondola to fill the air. Lucy looked up into the sky, seeing the road of stars above and the near-full moon that poured soft moonbeams over them. As they travelled on, they came upon one of the many bridges that connected the streets of the city together. A lone silhouette stood on the bridge, bowing to the moon. She watched as he straightened, tucking a violin beneath his chin. A moment later, a hauntingly beautiful melody echoed into the night. As their boat passed beneath the bridge the violinist played on, Lucy closed her eyes, letting the aria fill her senses.
All too soon, the hotel the pair were staying at came into view. Natsu stepped off first, offering his hand to Lucy as the gondolier came to a halt at the dock. She slid her hand into his and was pulled from the gondola back into his arms.
"Una rosa per la tua rosa? A rose for your rose?" An elderly woman stood in the lobby of their hotel, a basket of red roses hanging from her arm. She held out a red rose to Natsu as they walked past her.
"She's not a rose." He handed the woman a crisp euro and took the flower. "She's the garden — the keeper of all beauties."
Lucy blushed as he tucked the rose into her hair. He tightened his hand around hers and pulled her into the elevator. Several people piled in after them, crowding the space. Natsu moved to stand behind Lucy, wrapping his arms around her waist. He moved her hair to the side, nuzzling the curve of her neck with his nose. Her skin became sensitive at his touch, and she leaned into him.
"I can't wait to get back to our room," Lucy whispered, and Natsu squeezed his arms around her in agreement.
"Reminds me of us when we were newlyweds," she heard another couple whisper to one another as they watched Natsu and her with knowing glances. The elevator chimed, opening up to their floor. Natsu unwrapped his arms around Lucy and took her hand again, stopping when they were in front of their room. He opened the door with the key, allowing Lucy to walk in first. He closed the door behind him, flipping the lock. The moment Lucy heard the lock click in place, she pushed away from Natsu, giving them a healthy distance.
"Now, honey, don't be shy," Natsu smirked as he leaned against the door, crossing his arms.
"Give it a rest." Lucy rolled her eyes, flicking on the lights of their honeymoon suite.
The honeymoon suite they were staying in consisted of a large, ornate bed piled high with a mountain of fluffy pillows that took up most of the room. The sitting area in the middle of the room, one long couch, two chairs, and a coffee table all faced a gray marble fireplace. There were two doors on either side of the fireplace; one led to a closet and the other a bathroom. The walls were painted in a dusty pink and fresh flowers dotted the empty surfaces. One wall was made entirely of arched windows that looked out onto the canal, all draped in sheer white curtains. A balcony led out into the night where a small table and two chairs were situated to enjoy the view.
"Are you tired, sweetie? Do you want me to give you a massage?" Natsu's eyes glinted with amusement as he teased her, wiggling his fingers in front of him.
"You said we didn't have to pretend when we were alone in here, so knock it off." She plopped down on the couch and removed one of her sandals. "It's exhausting keeping up this ruse all day."
The two of them had spent the day touring the Piazza San Marco, or Saint Mark's Square, viewing the many landmarks located there. They had visited Saint Mark's Basilica and all of its architectural glory, slipped in and out of the dozens of shops located on the ground level of the Procuratie Vecchie, lunched at the famous Caffè Quadri, and viewed the Clock Tower before drifting to the Piazzetta di San Marco where they took pictures in front of the Lion of Venice and spent the rest of their time touring the Doge's Palace. All the while, they had held hands, cuddled, whispered sweet nothings to each other, teased and googly-eyed one another until Lucy was about to break from all the PDA.
"Yeah, being married to me is such a challenge," Natsu rolled his eyes.
"Do you know how hard it was not to laugh in your face when you said: 'She's not a rose. She's the garden — the keeper of all beauties'?"
"That line was gold," he protested, pushing off the door to sit on one of the chairs next to the couch.
"And when you kept nuzzling my neck in the elevator, I had to fight my natural reflexes to keep from smacking you." Lucy undid the straps of her other sandal and slid it off.
"Your natural reflexes seemed to suggest otherwise, Mrs. 'I can't wait to get back to our room.'"He smirked.
"I didn't mean it like that," she snapped. "You were laying it on thick out there. I wanted…needed a break from it all."
"I'm a man on his honeymoon," he shrugged. "Of course I'm going to 'lay it on thick' when I'm in public. Don't you want your husband to be affectionate?"
"What I want in a husband is no concern to you," she said quickly, a tightness in her tone. "We're not even really married."
Two days ago, when Natsu told her the second thing she needed to do in order to save Gray was marry him, she was so shocked she dropped the dishes in her hand, shattering them on the floor. She hadn't been expecting that answer. However, Natsu then explained their marriage was just all an act in order to search the city for Gray while they waited for his informant to contact him. If they pretended to be a love-stuck newlywed couple taking in the sights, no one would suspect they were scouring for information and possible locations where Gray could be held. Natsu's explanation had made sense. Venice was littered with real couples indulging in the romance of the city. Natsu and Lucy blended in perfectly…too perfectly at times.
"A potato smells like a potato no matter how it's cooked," Natsu replied, chuckling to himself.
"What the hell does that even mean?"
Natsu just shrugged in response, still smirking.
"Ugh." She massaged her temple with her fingers. "I bet you would be the only person crazy enough to ever manage being married to you."
"Oh?" Natsu arched his eyebrow at Lucy. "Two days of marriage, and you're already imagining a world where there were two of me?"
"That's not what I meant," she snapped again. "Just- Just go take a shower first and cool that flaring ego of yours."
"You want more of me, and now you want me naked." Natsu chuckled as he stood from the chair, crossing the room to gather his clothes. "Lucy. Lucy. This is all pretend, remember?"
"Shut up!" She flung one of her sandals at him, blushing. However, he just dodged it, laughing as he entered the bathroom and closed the door.
She sighed loudly, finally having a moment to herself as she relaxed into the couch. The bathroom door opened again, and Natsu popped his head out. Steam drifted out into the room, and the sound of water from the shower spilled out. He had already stripped his shirt off, and Lucy could see the taut, muscular skin of one of his shoulders.
"W-Wh-What are you doing?" She looked away, her blush deepening.
"I just wanted to let you know that if you wanted to keep pretending, I'll keep the door unlocked for you." He gave her a devilish grin and winked at her.
"Y-y-y-y-y-y-you pervert!" Lucy yelled, throwing her other shoe at him. Natsu ducked behind the door, but her aim was wild so it ended up hitting the wall near the bathroom door instead. He laughed, closing the door again. Frustrated, Lucy stormed out of the room and onto the balcony.
The fresh air skimmed across the surface of the canal below and drifted up to cool her flaming cheeks. For the past two days, Lucy had experienced similar moments like this. Even though their marriage was pretend — a ruse in order to find Gray — it was getting to her in more ways than one. Looking down at the rings that adorned her left hand, they felt heavy and out of place. And wrong. The wedding band was made out of 24 karat gold with clear cut diamonds running throughout. Natsu wore a similar styled ring on his ring finger as well. The engagement ring she wore was even more ostentatious. It was a large pear-cut diamond outlined in gold situated on top of a band made entirely of diamonds, all linked together. Both rings were far from Lucy's taste, and they didn't even fit. The rings were too big for her slender fingers. A ring guard was the only thing that kept them from sliding off. Natsu told her they were the best he could do in such a short time. Lucy wondered where he had gotten the rings from. Despite his love for treasure, he didn't seem like the type to carry weddings rings around.
"It's a disguise. It's part of the act," she said aloud, forcing herself to forget about the rings on her finger lest she throw them in the canal like she wanted to. These rings didn't belong there—to her. Not them.
Her gaze shifted to the view in front of her instead. The channel of water their hotel was facing was too narrow for the larger water buses to travel through. It kept the noisier tourists away and allowed for those sitting out on the balcony, like Lucy, or being ferried in a gondola or small water taxi to enjoy the subtler sounds of the city — the ones usually covered up by the loud tourist attractions located on the Grand Canal. In the quiet of the night, the soul of the city sounded.
Well, that was what she was calling it at least. She had noticed it their first night in Venice. She had stepped out onto the balcony, like she had done tonight, lost in her thoughts until she heard it — a song slowly drifting down the waterway, untangling the mess of thoughts in her mind. An operatic voice pouring out a beautiful and sorrowful melody that enraptured her senses until all she could do was focus on the rise and fall of the song with the ebb and flow of the melody as it washed over her. The singer was shrouded in anonymity, but the music produced by her seemed to capture the essence of Venice. The sorrow of knowing one's tragic fate but still carrying on despite that knowledge resonated through the song. It seemed to contain the city's dreams as well as its damnation. The song vibrated off the old walls and glided over the water, seeping into Lucy's soul. It was sad — so sad that she couldn't help but cry when hearing it. Somehow, that only made it even more beautiful. She leaned against the balcony and let the song move through her.
"Lucy."
The song had long since been over, but she could still hear it ringing in her ears—in her heart. Quickly wiping the tears from her eyes, Lucy turned around to find Natsu standing in the doorway with a towel draped off his shoulders. He was bare-chested, the rippling muscles of his body outlined by the beams of moonlight that fell on him until they were cut off by his black silk pajama bottoms. His normally spiky hair laid flat and damp... and black. His dyed hair was part of his disguise. He didn't want the rival Boss or any of his higher up goons to recognize him immediately. Looking at him, without his usual shock of pink hair, he seemed different. It was as if he shifted into a different person. She was used to seeing him in black all the time, but somehow, his pink hair had muted the darkness. With it covered up, Natsu seemed like he was cut from a sharper line. It was like finding the knife you've been holding was no longer dull but now razor-sharp.
"Since you didn't come play, I'm done with my shower, and you're going to have to wash your back by yourself now. But if you ask me really nicely, I might come in and help you out."
"Is that a promise?" she cooed. Natsu arched an eyebrow at her.
"Definitely."
"Well then." Lucy stepped away from the railing and towards Natsu. He watched as she walked, his eyes glinting. "Promise me you'll hold your breath until I do." She brushed past him, grabbed her duffle bag and closed the bathroom door, making sure to lock it.
The first thing she noted was her reflection. She could hardly recognize herself. Her brown eyes were strained, and her skin had darkened a few shades due to long exposure in the Italian sun. The real change, however, in her reflection was her hair. Long brown locks fell midway down her back. It was part of her disguise as "Mrs. Dragion" just as a precaution. She removed the brown wig and shook out her own blonde locks, bringing back some recognition in her reflection.
Unfortunately, her baths had become quick affairs. She would have loved to have lounged in the large bathtub, but the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner she could go out and start looking for Gray. Regardless, she didn't trust Natsu enough to not find an excuse to barge in. Even if the door was locked, she believed if he wanted to come in, that lock would mean nothing to him.
She dressed in a light pink night slip that had white lace around the hem, coming to rest slightly above her mid thigh. It was way too sexy for her. Lucy wished for some cotton pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. Those were the type of clothes Lucy would have packed for herself to sleep in. But no. Virgo had been the one in charge of packing. And Virgo, it seemed, had a fondness for silk, satin, and lace. Well, pretty much anything that was remotely sexy. The first night Lucy had reached into her duffel bag, she had groaned when she felt nothing but the silky material. Later, she discovered Virgo had packed other sensible clothes for during the day, but Lucy's nighttime attire was far from sensible. It was sensual. And mortifying.
Unlocking the door, Lucy opened it slowly, peering out of the crack. The coast looks clear, she thought. Taking a breath, she dashed out of the bathroom and hopped into bed, burrowing under the covers as quick as she could. Safe.
"I shouldn't be surprised." Lucy body stilled at the sound of his voice. At the closeness of it. "This isn't the first time you jumped into bed with me… literally."
Peering over her shoulder, she found his smirking mouth inches from hers. "NATSU!" she yelled, hastening to put distance between them. In her rush, she tangled herself into the sheets. Flailing, she tried to free herself, but managed to fall off the bed which was beginning to become an annoying recurrence for Lucy. Landing on the ground, she winced at the amount of pain her backside received.
"Ouch," she mumbled as she sat up.
"For someone complaining about acting as my wife, you sure like dressing the part at night." Natsu's head peered over the bed, his eyes roaming over her. "I like tonight's outfit too."
Looking down, she noted that the covers had fallen away, revealing Virgo's cruel joke. The slip had ridden higher up her thigh, and one of the straps had fallen down. The overall look was very seductive, and Natsu was taking it all in. The heat rose to her cheeks again as she burned with embarrassment. She cried out as she reached for the covers, wrapping them tightly around her.
"You didn't see any-anything! Forget it right now!" she demanded, her voice shrill.
"What?" Natsu gasped feigning shock. "It would be cruel of me to forget when my cute wife is trying to be so seductive."
"No no no no no no no no." Lucy shook her whole body from side-to-side with embarrassment. "Why, Virgo? Why?" she sobbed, holding the covers closer to her.
"I knew I liked your secretary. Remind me to thank her when we get back," he laughed. Lucy just whimpered, too overcome with embarrassment to speak.
Natsu patted the bed, his dark eyes burning with amusement. "There, there. Come to bed, and I'll make it all better."
Lucy was about to climb into bed, but paused. "We're not sleeping together!"
"Not this again," Natsu rolled on his back and stretched. "No man is supposed to spend his honeymoon on the couch."
"This isn't our honeymoon. We're not married. So get out," she huffed.
"This bed is big enough for four people to sleep comfortably, be nice and share. We slept together before."
"Stop saying it like that! And again. That was different. Now shut up, and go to the couch."
Grumbling, Natsu climbed off the bed taking a blanket and pillow as Lucy climbed in. He made a lot of noise as he situated himself on the couch, muttering about the unfairness of marriage.
"Lucy," she heard him call her from the couch, his voice gone soft. Propping herself up on her elbow, she peered across the room to find him looking at her from over the couch.
"What?"
"I didn't get my goodnight kiss. I can't go to sleep if-"
"Go to sleep!" She chucked a pillow at him, but again, her aim went wild. The pillow hit the light switch, throwing the room into darkness.
The next morning, the pair were up early and out venturing into the city once more. Venice was not a particularly large city — nothing compared to the size of New York — but it was definitely a great place to hide in. Parts of the city were only accessible by water or blocked off for historical preservation, not to mention the several small islands scattered around the city that Gray could be located on as well. The task of finding Gray seemed daunting, but Natsu had assured Lucy on their first day that they would find a clue to his whereabouts if they went around to talk with the locals. Sure enough, Natsu had been right.
On their first trip into the city, they had discovered that the locals were all preparing for a grand event at the end of the week. A wealthy foreigner had appeared in the city about a week ago. He started renting and ordering large quantities of food, furniture, fireworks, entertainment, and many other luxuries. All the local vendors were rushing to complete the preparations in time for the party. No one knew who he was; they knew only that he wanted to throw a grand affair and was willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money in order to make it a reality. Natsu had just smirked when they discovered this, indicating that the foreigner was definitely the rival Boss. He still wouldn't tell Lucy who he thought the rival Boss was, explaining how it was better to concentrate on rescuing her friend and not bother with the details. Lucy didn't care who had Gray, as long as they were able to rescue him. Being this close to finding him. Being in the same city. It was frustrating that she seemed so close to ending this nightmare, but still so far away.
Today, Lucy and Natsu had been trying to find out where the party was being held and figure out how to get an invitation to it. However, no one they talked to knew where the event was going to be. When someone came by to place the orders in the first place, the vendors were all told the same thing: all vendors would receive further details on the day of the event. Until then, most of the information about the party was still shrouded in mystery. Knowing the rival Boss was very calculative, Natsu believed the rival Boss had an alternative motive for keeping the location secret than just to add suspense.
By the size of the orders at each of the stores they had visited, Natsu determined that the event had to be held in an extremely large venue in order to accommodate the amount of people it seemed were invited. Unfortunately for them, there were several places in Venice that fit that description. After all, the old blue bloods from long ago made it a point to create grand spaces in this beautiful city in order to show off their wealth and affluence. The rival Boss could pick any one of them to host his party, and Natsu would bet a good portion of his own personal treasure that wherever the party was being held, so, too, was the princess. Lucy hoped he was right. It made discovering the location of the party that more imperative.
What unnerved Natsu, he expressed to Lucy, was the rival Boss's reason for all of this. Toby had told Natsu this was a personal matter for his Boss. So why, then, was the rival Boss going through all this trouble and creating an elaborate event? What purpose could this event serve in handling whatever matter made the Boss kidnap Gray in the first place? These were questions the two of them pondered over together, but until Ichiya contacted Natsu with some information, they both were in the dark.
The majority of the day had been spent going into more shops, buying souvenirs and hunting for information at each one. Lucy tried her best to continue acting like her only care in the world was figuring out what Venetian mask was the best one to buy or what keychain truly captured the fact she had been in Venice all the while still pretending to be hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Natsu.
It wasn't that it was hard to pretend to be attracted to him or that she hated being with him; Natsu made it a point to tease her constantly and was a little overly affectionate at times. Nonetheless, sometimes, there had been moments in the past couple of days when he had treated her with such gentleness or looked at her with a softness in his eyes that caused her heart to start hammering in her chest. Their marriage was an act, so it would explain those tender moments. She understood that; however, she didn't understand her reaction to them. It annoyed her that she would get caught up in the moment, momentarily forgetting about Gray or why they were even in Venice in the first place. Those moments, it really felt like they were an ordinary couple. It was during those times that she had to repeatedly remind herself that he was pretending — that she was just pretending too.
It was well into the afternoon and, being late in the summer months, Venice was still unpleasantly hot. They had stopped at a small café looking over one of the smaller canals to escape the heat. More locals seemed to populate the place than tourists, making it an ideal stop to rest yet still gather any bits of information they could. Lucy ordered lemon-flavored gelato to help herself cool down. Natsu had ordered Stracciatella-flavored gelato to do the same. They were talking merrily, resting their tired feet as the surrounding locals spoke happily to one another in Italian. Lucy had no idea what they were saying, but surprisingly enough, Natsu spoke perfect Italian. It seemed there was no limit at what he could do. He indicated he had learned the language since his family kept getting angry calls from the Italian police whenever his sister would go out drinking. It made calming down the Italians a little easier. Lucy didn't want to know why the Italian police had called so many times that it made Natsu learn the language. His family seemed just as exhausting as he was.
"Let me try it," Natsu leaned towards Lucy, eyeing her gelato.
"No, you have your own." She held her gelato away, taking another lick of the lemon-flavored deliciousness stacked high on her cone.
"Yeah, but you make yours look so good," he whined. "I want to try."
"Too bad." She took another lick. "It's really delicious, too."
She had half-turned in her seat to emphasize again how delicious it was when Natsu leaned in closer to her, pressing his mouth mere centimeters from the corner of her own. He leaned back, his eyes light with mischief as he licked his lips, savoring the bit of gelato that had been stuck on her face.
"You're right," he smirked. "Delicious."
His mouth. Near mine. So close. He was so close. Too close. Too close. Too close. We almost k-k-k-k-k. Lucy's thoughts were sputtering nonsense as she processed what had just happened.
Meanwhile, Natsu went back to enjoying his own gelato as if he hadn't almost kissed her. She felt her face go scarlet and her poor heart... It was ricocheting off her ribs, leaping into her throat and repeating the motions all over again.
Natsu finished his gelato and looked over at her with a devilish grin on his. "Don't worry." He pointed to the corner of his mouth, where a small smear of his gelato was left. "I left some for you to try, too."
He had teased her before on several occasions, but she didn't know how to react or what to say. She just stared at him as he looked at her with those dark eyes of his, burning, burning, burning with something that went beyond mischief. It was as if he was daring her, coaxing her to play along with him yet knowing she wouldn't ever take his bait. But Lucy wasn't going to back down. If he could tease her as much as he wanted, then she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of showing him how much it got to her.
Natsu laughed as he reached for a napkin to clean his face. Lucy placed her free hand on his to stop him; leaning in, she licked the gelato away near his mouth.
Blushing furiously, she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Yours is good, too."
To her credit, Lucy had the privilege to see Natsu truly shocked for the first time since they met in the bookstore all those months ago. His eyes had gone wide, and a blush crept onto his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He looked away from her, placing a hand over his face to hide just how much of a shock she had given him.
"I-I-I- because you...and-" Lucy sputtered on, trying to give a reason for she had done. Why did I just do that?
When he turned back to face her, he was giving Lucy one of his trademark smirks. He pulled her chair closer to him, brushing her fake brown hair behind her ear as he leaned closer to her. Her heart was beating faster, and her mind was too busy focusing on the exact places where his fingers brushed against her skin.
He's so close. So close. So close. She could see the glint in his eyes, the spark of amusement before his lips brushed against her ear.
"Looks like my wife likes playing along more than I thought," he whispered, chuckling softly. "If that's the case, how about-"
Natsu's cell phone rung, cutting him off. Annoyed, he pulled away from Lucy and retrieved the phone from his pocket. One glance at the number, and Natsu stood from the table. His mood shifted as he dropped his smirk and stared at his phone seriously.
"Sorry, I need to take this. Stay here, and I'll be right back." He walked quickly out of the café, pressing the cellphone to his ear as he left.
She watched him walk away, unable to tear her gaze from him. What was he going to say? she thought, still blushing crazily. I-I was just pretending. We both were. That's it. I shouldn't make a big deal out of this. If he can play like that, then it shouldn't be weird that I…that I….
It wasn't until he was gone that Lucy was able to calm her beating heart and thrumming nerves.
She breathed deeply and exhaled. As she calmed herself, her mind wondered about the phone call instead.
Maybe it was his informant on information about Gray or the rival Boss. She thought as she finished her gelato. Her gaze shifted to the door that Natsu had left through, wanting him to hurry back and explain. If the information he received led to finally locating Gray, then they could end their ruse.
I won't get caught up in the moment any more. Lucy looked down at the rings on her finger, and felt the wrongness of them still. The sooner we can stop pretending the better.
Natsu had been gone for a while — long enough for Lucy to become worried. She left the café, looking around to where she believed he had gone to take his call. Trying to look over the heads of the people passing her on the streets, it was a little hard to spot him in the crowd. If he had his usual pink hair, it would have made spying him easier.
It was a little ways from the café when she finally spotted him. She was about to call out to him, when she stopped herself. She found Natsu, but he wasn't alone. A beautiful, long-limbed blonde was cuddling up to him on a bench.
What is he doing? she thought as she ducked down behind a lamp post. This has to be a mistake. A misunderstanding. Because Natsu... he wouldn't. Observing them, she watched as Natsu wrapped his arm around the girl, bringing her closer to him. His hand cupped the girl's face as he turned his body, his back now to Lucy, and leaned in and kissed her. The sight of the two of them together made her heart squeeze painfully. Her feet were already taking her in the opposite direction. Walking, then walking faster and faster, until she was running down the street, past the café where moments ago they were eating gelato, and Lucy had gotten caught up in the moment — past the shops they had visited searching for information about the rival Boss. She ran and ran, running down random streets and over bridges letting the city swallow her. There wasn't a particular direction to which she was heading. All Lucy could think about was the need to get away — far away from that sight.
It wasn't because of jealousy, she told herself. There was no reason for her to be jealous. Natsu and her... they were barely even friends — friends who just so happened to be pretending to be married to one another, pretending to be married in order to save her best friend. She had been stupid to believe him — stupid enough to follow along with this ridiculous idea in the first place. Natsu had said they needed to pretend to be married to each other to find Gray, but how was kissing another girl in the middle of Venice pretending to be married? How was it helping anything at all except his own stupid self?
If Natsu would rather flirt with and kiss other girls instead of helping her find Gray, then fine. He had helped her this much; he didn't need to help her any further. She would find Gray on her own. Tearing the stifling wig off her head, she shook out her blonde hair, tossing the wig into a nearby garbage bin. If Natsu was done pretending, then so was she.
Lucy came to rest on a bridge exhausted from all the running she had done. Looking around her, she couldn't figure out where she was. It was in a part of the city she hadn't been to before. Leaning over the stone railing of the bridge, she stared at her reflection in the water below. She was angry. At herself. At him. Natsu was jeopardizing everything for what? A silly little affair? In her mind, she kept seeing the scene with Natsu and the girl play out.
It was just like before. The scene was so similar. The ache in her chest just as painful as she remembered. Tears pricked her eyes, splashing down into the canal, slowly. I'm not sad. I'm not sad. She tried to wipe the tears away, willing them to disappear, but now they rushed down her cheeks.
"I'm such a mess," she sobbed.
"You can say that again."
Lucy whirled around to find a young woman standing behind her. She looked about the same age as Lucy with a cute face, long dark-pink hair, hard blue eyes, and a curvaceous body. The stranger stared at Lucy, her mouth set in a firm line as if the sight of her was irritating. Her gaze flickered from Lucy to a small piece of paper she held in her hand.
"Yep. There's no mistaking it," the young woman said, staring at the paper.
"W-What?" Lucy was confused. She had never seen this person before in her life, and she didn't know why this woman looked so angry at her.
The pinkette flipped the paper over, bringing it inches from Lucy's face. Lucy blinked. It wasn't a piece of paper at all. It was a photograph. A photograph of her.
"You're a hard person to find, Lucy Heartfilia."
"How do you know my-"
A sweet-smelling cloth pressed against her nose and mouth. Before she could stop herself, she was breathing in the sweet scent. She could feel her eyelids fluttering as she fought to remain conscious. A presence stepped behind her, catching her falling body in strong, muscular arms.
"Now, now," she heard the woman chide as she was being carried away. "For love, we mustn't tarry. My dear Boss has waited long enough."