Yes! I'm caught up! For now.

Graylu week prompt: Meeting the family

Song: Paramore - The Only Exception

A few weeks have passed since Gray Fullbuster received the invitation to have dinner with the House of Day.

Lucy prepared herself for dinner with the important guest. She had on a strapless fuchsia colored dress and she hooked her mother's diamond necklace around her neck. Virgo curled the blonde's hair and pinned half of it up.

"Beautiful," whispered Virgo as the two stared at the princess in the mirror. "You best be heading to the dining room now. I have work to do."

"Thank you, Virgo."

Lucy headed downstairs and started to walk towards the dining room when she turned a corner and stopped. Laxus stood close to Mira and caressed her cheek while the young woman looked up at him longingly.

Backing up, Lucy decided to go a different route. When she arrived, she stood by the entrance of the dining room so that she could greet the head of the House of Night and his special bodyguard. She shifted nervously on her feet, anxious to meet them.

I wonder what they're like? Lucy thought. Only the heads of the households get to meet each other, but that's only on special occasions.

When she heard people approaching, Lucy stood up straight and smoothed out her long dress. First she saw her father and Laxus walking together. Without a second glance, they headed into the dining room.

Now in front of Lucy was a man who had spiky pink hair and black eyes. With a grin, he held out his hand and said, "Hello, Princess Lucy Hearfillia! My name is Natsu Dragneel, captain of the House of Night guards. It's an honor to meet you."

Lucy smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Natsu. Thank you for coming."

Gray's eyes froze on Lucy. The moment he first saw her, he felt something stir within him. She was beautiful, but he knew that there was more to her. When Natsu stepped out of the way, Gray approached the princess and took her right hand to shake it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Gray Fullbuster," said Lucy with a smile. After a few silent moments, Lucy's brows knit together when she noticed that Gray kept staring at her hand. She looked down, noticing he was looking at her birthmark. "O-Oh!" she said quickly as she took her hand back. "I-I-It's just a birthmark. Please pay it no mind."

Seeing that Gray was going nowhere, Natsu had to lead him into the dining room. Lucy stayed behind for a few moments as she tried to steady her breath and rapid heartbeat.

At the dinner table, Gray was seated across from Lucy who was seated next to Laxus. He tried his best not to stare at her for too long, but little did he know that Lucy was having the same problem.

"Did you guys know that the new heir comes to eat dinner because of Mavis and Zeref?" questioned Jude as the food was brought around the table.

"Yeah," started Natsu as he took a sip of his water. "What was the legend again?"

Virgo cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, may I please tell the story?"

Jude nodded his head and started to eat his meal.

"Long ago," started Virgo. "Mavis met Zeref under a large oak tree. They fell deeply in love, but their relationship was doomed from the beginning. After meeting with each other at the same place, one of Zeref's guards uncovered what was going on, and ended up reporting it to the head of the House of Day. Mavis and Zeref were put under close watch, and they became more and more depressed. The maids from both houses played as messengers and sent their letters back and forth. When Zeref wrote about a spell that will keep their love living longer, they met up once last time. They were almost captured when the two died at the same time. Ever since then, the houses agreed to let the new heir visit the opposing house."

"I've heard that Zeref's guards killed them both," said Laxus. "Not some cheesy bullshit."

Virgo gave him a quick glare before looking somewhere else so she wouldn't get into trouble.

After dinner, Jude had Lucy show Gray around the mansion. She hesitantly accepted and the head of the House of Night followed her.

"It's a beautiful estate," said Gray, keeping his eyes focused on the back of Lucy's head. He just wanted to touch her.

"Y-Yeah it is," stuttered the princess.

When they reached the garden, Lucy hesitantly stopped. "Well…that's it. Thank you for coming, Gr-"

Gray turned her around and gazed down at her brown eyes. He started to unbutton his white shirt.

Lucy's face turned scarlet. "Wh-what are you doing?" she shrieked, stepping back.

Gray grabbed her right hand and forcibly placed it on the right side of his chest. That's when Lucy noticed the mark. It looked exactly like hers…only blue.

"Don't you see, Lucy?" said Gray softly as he leaned in closer. Lucy closed her eyes. "You're the one."

Their lips met. Lucy never would have thought that she would fall in love with a man that she just met, but feeling his lips on hers, she knew it was meant to be. She wrapped her arms around Gray's neck and brought him closer.

"What in God's name is going on here?"

Gray and Lucy jumped away from each other and turned to find Jude and Laxus standing nearby. Jude's face was red with anger, but Laxus looked relieved.

"D-Dad, I-" started Lucy.

"You are a disgrace to the House of Day! How dare you! I'll see to it that you are disowned! You will never be part of this household again-" Jude abruptly stopped and clutched his chest.

"Dad?" questioned Lucy as tears streamed down her face.

"Sir Heartfilia?" questioned Laxus. He caught Jude as he started to fall to the ground.

Jude moaned in pain for a few more moments before he stopped moving completely. His eyes stayed open, staring blankly into the night sky.

A stressful month later, before Lucy and her bodyguard, Erza, headed off to the House of Night to have dinner, Laxus stopped her.

"What is it, Laxus?" asked Lucy.

"Now that you are the head of the House of Day, you can call off our wedding." The two stared at each other for a few moments before he continued. "Face it, Lucy. We both know it's never going to work between us. We're in love with different people now. Please."

With a smile, Lucy touched her former fiancé's arm and said, "Alright, Laxus. Thank you for everything."