III

That morning when Lucy woke up, she was happy. She was happy for once in her life and she hoped that happiness would never ever go away.

She had an amazing boyfriend, great friends, and everything she could ever want.

Her wish came true and for once, she wasn't angry that the idiot that she calls her boyfriend came crawling into her bed for the millionth time. She was actually happy he did because she missed hugging him, she missed his breathing, and she missed the warmth he gave off every time she was with him.

Lucy watched with a smile on her face as her boyfriend slept so peacefully right next to her with his arms around her.

Normally, he would be drooling and snoring away but for some reason, he was actually a very soothing sleeper today. It made her wonder what gotten him to change. And speaking of changing, the man she loves has changed as well.

He seems older, his feature became stronger, and she couldn't get over how beautiful he looked! His jaw line was structured so perfectly, his face and body seemed to look fit, and his height somehow grew an inch or two more. Either way, she loved the outcome. He always was the ideal type for her but thanks to puberty or something; he has become some sort of model during the months of her absence.

He was also much gentler with her. He was such a sweetheart, always did what she wanted—most of them at least—and his touch and way of talking to her was like he wasn't trying to hurt her.

Lucy reached up and stroked the side of his face, admiring the beauty of her boyfriend peacefully.

She was thankful for what she had but once the years over, she knew that she would go back to the world where she normally belonged. She wondered how Natsu would take it.

"Mmngh... Lucy, what's wrong?" Natsu mumbled as he grabbed her hand and kissed it softly making her heart skip a beat. She sighed and snuggled closer to him, making him nuzzle his face against her. "Nothing... I'm just admiring your beauty."

"I was doing that last night,"

"Admiring your beauty?"

"Not mine... yours, weirdo. I came during the night and stared at you till the sun rose." He mumbled sleepily. Lucy flushed red as she heard the words come out of his mouth, wondering if she had heard what he had said correctly.

"W—what?"

"For some reason... you became... prettier." He said, pulling her close making her blush even more. She pulled her head back and looked at Natsu who cracked one eye open, looking at her embarrassed expression. "You... how could you stare at me?!"

She looked absolutely stupid sleeping! From what she heard, she talked in her sleep, slept with her mouth open, and knowing that Natsu stared at her sleeping figure, he probably laughed at her all night long!

"Baby... shhh; it's too early to be screaming."

"Screaming?! Natsu Dragneel, this is breaking and entering! How dare you break into my home and stare at me sleep and tell me the next morning then casually say something sweet like you always do to make you get off the hook?! You're absolutely—"Lucy started to scream but stopped as Natsu silenced her by kissing her passionately. She melted right into his kiss as he used his tongue and everything, her whole body trembling with bliss.

When he pulled away from her, he smirked at her facial expression. "So, so sweet and wonderful."

"Thought so."

"Mmm... how'd you come in anyways?"

"Your window. You should really lock them. Or on second thought, keep one of them open for me," He grinned, sitting up to stretch. Lucy watched from behind as his back muscles flexed with his movement, enjoying the little scene he gave her. When he turned around and saw the look she was giving him, he snickered before launching himself onto her.

"What are you staring at? Weren't you the one yelling how I was wrong to stare at you while you sleep, huh?" He playfully asked as the two of them wrestled on the bed, Lucy squealing with surprise. "This is different!"

"Staring at me while you fantasies?" He asked making her laugh and scream at him to stop. He eventually stopped with the attack by kissing her and climbing out of bed, a loud screech emerging out of her mouth to make him jump. "What? Why are you screaming?"

"Why don't you have any pants on!?"

"Baby, you know I sleep with my pants off."

"Not all the time!"

"Get used to it." He replied before going into her bathroom. Lucy watched in disbelief as he once again, decided to think that he was allowed to go pantless in her house. The next thing she knew, he could go completely naked which didn't sound that bad but the two weren't in that phase yet! They were still in the lovey-dovey cute couple phase, not the hot and steamy cute couple phase!

Lucy felt her face burn with embarrassment as she thought about doing the naughty with Natsu. She wasn't even an adult yet and her parents taught her to do that with the man you were going to proclaim as your husband. But, what were Natsu's opinions on this?

"Hey baby, can I use your shower?"

"Don't you need to go home? We have school you know... and you don't have spare clothes here."

"Oh, I brought some clothes here last night because I'm probably going to come visit you a lot and sleepover so... I've come prepared."

On second thought, maybe Natsu was like her husband in some kind of way.

—X—

"Would you look at that, it's the Dragneel's."

"Stop calling us that, Gray!" Lucy screeched out in embarrassment as she punched the chest of the laughing male. He made a sound of displeasure, backing away to make sure she didn't hit him again. "What? You two act like husband and wife anyways. Why don't you just get married already?"

Lucy looked uncomfortable as Gray mentioned getting married, his eyes widening for a moment.

He totally forgot about why Lucy had come there in the first place and what'll happen after.

He opened his mouth to apologize but it seemed like Natsu had already backed her up, bringing her into a sweet embrace. "Cut it out, Gray. Lucy doesn't like it."

"Uh, yeah, sorry Lucy..."

"It's no big deal." Lucy waved it off, flashing a smile which was obviously fake. Now Gray felt bad about the harmless teasing and he just ruined Lucy's preppy mood. Natsu also noticed the gloomy atmosphere and glanced at the others to see they were also confused over what just happened between the two, a cough from Levy breaking the tension.

"So, anyway, anything interesting happen?"

"Oh! I got one!" Lucy said making their attention shift to her. "Yesterday, Sting, I think that was his name, asked me out after school."

"What?! Sting Eucliffe?!" Mirajane asked looking at Lucy's shocked face to Natsu's disgusted one.

She was shipping the two so hard, where did Sting appear out of nowhere?!

"Did you agree?"

"Of course not! I already have a man," Lucy replied making Natsu kiss the side of her face. The girls all squealed in delight as Lucy flushed a bright pink, clearing her throat. "A—anyways... so, I rejected him many times but he didn't seem to get the memo so I agreed. As a joke, of course. I told him to pick me up at my place at night but I knew Natsu was coming over so I decided to scare him with him."

"What happened? Did Natsu beat him up or something?"

"Hell yeah I did! He's in the hospital," Natsu boasted, smirking. The girls all gasped at his answer, Lucy smacking his chest to glare. "Natsu, stop lying. Anyways, yeah, he came to pick me up but instead of me answering, Natsu did. He scared him pretty bad I guess, he told me he basically sprinted out of there." Lucy giggled cutely, making Natsu grin in pride. The whole group erupted in laughter as they started to talk about what was going on and how everything was, eventually ending the conversation with the bell ringing.

Yeah... it was good to be back.

Lucy sat in her math class as this was actually the first class she had despised so much ever since she entered this school. The people were just so unbelievably rude and they slacked off so much, Lucy just wanted to tell them to shut up. But they were the more... popular type that were actually very mean to you if you do something wrong so she didn't want her self-esteem to go down anymore. So, she bit her tongue in silence and watched as the teacher struggled to teach and tell the students to be quiet.

It was worse since the class was either super-duper loud and annoying or super-duper quiet and anti-social.

She was stuck in-between! Why didn't she have any friends in this class?!

"Hey teacher! Is that some kind of wig or what?!"

"Damn, it smells like shit in here! Someone open the window!"

"How the fuck do you do this shit."

"Goddamn, I could be home sleeping..."

Lucy silently groaned and banged her head against her desk, tired of listening to all this. Why was she the one who had to be put into a class full of these knock-offs?

"Uh, excuse me?"

A high-pitched squeak brought her back to life, turning around to see a white-haired teen about her age smiling shyly at her. "Are you okay?"

Lucy couldn't help but think she looked a bit like Mirajane and Lisanna, wondering if they were all related somehow. "Uh, yeah, sorry... the idiots are just pissing m off," Lucy muttered under her breath, making her giggle. "Me too... that's why I just keep quiet. I have no friends here and I tried switching out several times but the other classes are too full they said!" She pouted cutely making Lucy giggle this time. "Have I seen you before? Are you new to Magnolia High?"

"Uh, yeah, I am... I transferred two days ago."

"Well, welcome! Is everything going well? Are you finding your classes?"

Lucy smiled brightly as she turned around in her seat, tightly gripping her hands in hers. "What's your name? You're very sweet! I didn't think there were people like you in this class!"

"A—ah... thank you. I'm Yukino, what's your name?"

"I'm Lucy, pleasure to meet you!"

Suddenly Yukino gasped in surprise, making her jump in her spot. She raised a brow at the gapping girl, wondering why she was so shocked about it.

"Y—you're Lucy? Lucy Heartfillia?"

"Yes I am?"

"Oh my gosh! You're Natsu Dragneel's long-term girlfriend, aren't you?!" She squealed in delight making her jump back slightly. Why was she so excited about how she was dating Natsu? And how does she know about all this when she was basically the 'new girl'?

"Erm... yes I am, is there something... special about it?"

"You two are the number one couple! And being able to be with Natsu Dragneel must be a blessing! Every girl wants to date him—you're lucky enough just to get him to speak to you!" Yukino declared making Lucy furrow her brows. Since when was Natsu so cold to girls? He was such a sweetheart whenever she was with him—he would smile and wave to almost everyone and he never really hated anyone, really. "Yukino, what are you talking about? Natsu's not that mean or holy, he's just Natsu. The sweetheart that plays soccer,"

"Yeah, well, I heard you changed him. He really was mean... he was that one-night stand type of guys before. Till he came back the summer before,"

Lucy looked a bit surprised to see her Natsu was like that. Since when was he a player and why hasn't she known this sooner?

Lucy leaned in near and smiled widely, thinking about blackmailing the idiot later. "So Yukino, mind if you tell me a few things about Natsu?"

"Yo Natsu, pass, pass!" One of the few people shouted as they played soccer during their free time. Natsu had a huge grin on his face as he ran with the ball, eventually passing it to the guy who asked for it with a mighty kick. Everyone shouted back and forth and ran around, chasing after the soccer ball that was everywhere. The ball ended back to him and he sprinted before giving a hard kick, the ball rolling into the nets and the goalie diving to the floor, failing to stop it from entering.

His small team of four all cheered, Natsu shooting a smug look at Gray who only cursed under his breath, taking the ball from the goalie. "You've won this game, flame-brain, but I'm going to win the next."

"In your dreams, ice-princess."

"Hey Natsu, I think your girlfriend is coming this way."

"Where?!" Natsu asked, doing a full 360 to see where Lucy was. Once he saw that she was walking towards him, he sprinted towards her. "Lucy!"

"Hi Natsu," She greeted as he embraced her in his arms. Lucy cried out in disgust as she felt the slick sweat from him, trying to push him away. "Gross, Natsu, you're all sweaty!"

"It's all for you!"

"G—Get off!" Lucy half screeched, half yelled. Natsu chuckled and pulled away, giving her a quick kiss on the cheeks. "What brings you to the soccer field?"

"You understand that school ended 10 minutes ago and I've been searching for you?"

"Are you serious? But, it was lunch like... 20 minutes ago."

"Natsu Dragneel, have you been skipping class?" Lucy asked in mocking strict tone. Natsu smiled sheepishly and shrugged in response. "Guess we didn't realize how time went by so fast. We only wanted to play a game,"

"Well you ended up playing more than just one game. So, you ready to go?" Lucy asked making Natsu turn and look at his friends. He debated if he should play one more round but he knew Lucy got bored easily just sitting there by herself so he just nodded and went back to the field to go grab his belongings. "Whoa, are you already leaving, Dragneel?"

"Yeah, sorry guys, my girl wants to head home."

"Dude, you're so whipped, it's not even funny."

Natsu flicked his middle finger up to the male before smirking, turning around to run back to Lucy who quietly waited for him. "Sorry babe, I had to tell them I was leaving."

"It's okay. Anyways, are you trying out for the soccer team in spring?"

"Yeah, of course I am." Natsu grinned widely as his hand automatically grabbed hers, interlacing their fingers together. "Are you trying out for any sports? Since fall tryouts are already over... what about spring sports?"

"Nah, I'm not really into sports... That is your thing. You do the sports and I cheer for you on the sidelines." Lucy smiled making him smile back. "My personal cheerleader?"

"Yeah."

"I'm perfectly fine with that. Anyways, I forgot to ask, how'd you get to magnolia anyways?"

Lucy stiffened as Natsu asked that question, feeling a bit uneasy that he was asking such a hard question to answer. She frowned and bit her lip, looking at the ground to think of something to say. What could she say? She couldn't mention anything about that marriage deal her father made her swear on... she couldn't really say anything about how she got here without him finding out about it.

"Luce?"

"Uh, oh, well, my father actually found the letters we were writing to each other and I guess he felt bad about everything so he sent me here!" Lucy laughed nervously, hoping that he would believe it. After all... she wasn't lying about it. It was the truth—just not the entire story.

"Whoa, he actually likes me?"

"Yeah..! I guess he does!"

"That's great! It's always a guys dream to have his girlfriend's dad approve of him," Natsu chuckled half-heartedly, rubbing the back of his head. "Am I allowed to meet him anytime soon?"

"No! No, you can't!"

Natsu reeled back, a bit taken back over her sudden outburst. Lucy nervously bit on her lip as she mentally slap herself in the face, sighing. "I mean... not now, maybe next time, hm? My father's really busy,"

"Sure thing... anytime is fine."

A lonely silence lingered in the air as the couple awkwardly walked down the street, their hands interlaced and their thoughts wandering. Why was it so hard for her to keep the secret in? She wanted to tell him so badly... she wanted to get it done and over with but that'll ruin everything. He'll do something stupid and reckless and that'll ruin everything that she had fought for.

"Uh, Lucy? You want to come over tonight? I'm sure my family would want to see you again."

"You mean... you parents? And Wendy?"

"Yeah. They missed you; I actually forgot to tell them about you because I spent the day at yours." Natsu grinned sheepishly making her laugh a bit. She squeezed his hand and smiled, nodding at his direction. "I would love to. But could I drop my backpack off and get dressed? I don't want to wear my uniform to your house... it's uncomfortable."

"Of course!"

—X—

Lucy looked around in awe as she viewed the large houses that were in rows, finding the houses beautiful. She didn't know Natsu would live in such a luxurious neighborhood; he looked like the type to live in a simple house that was normal sized and normal looking. But his family does own a camp... she wouldn't be surprised if he owned a large house.

The couple stopped by a simple bricked house, noticing that it had that cozy feeling to it immediately. Th front yard had soccer balls, a basketball hoop, and colorful flowers everywhere. The backyard could be seen and she could see even more soccer balls behind there and was that a pool there she saw?

Lucy couldn't help but love this simple but lovely home.

"What's with the stupid face?" Natsu asked making her come back to reality and blush. She smacked him against his chest as a reflex to teasing, a mocking laugh coming from the male besides her. "You looked weird—what were you thinking about, weirdo?"

"N—nothing! Stop calling me weird, Natsu!"

"I can't help it if you keep making faces that look like that."

"Natsu—!"

A hearty laugh bubble up from his throat as Lucy couldn't help but laugh with him, the two giggling as if one of them said something hilarious. "Ah, Lucy, you're so weird."

"What did I just say—"

"But you're my weirdo so it's alright. Now let's go inside, I think my parents are home..."Natsu mumbled the last part to himself, pulling the blonde teen up the stairs. Once they made it up, Natsu pulled out a black key with red flames on the side, the male inserting the metal key to unlock his house. He placed the key back into his backpack before opening the door, escorting his girlfriend inside who cautiously entered the neat house.

Knowing Grandine, she was sort of a clean freak.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!" Natsu called out as soon as he entered, dropping his backpack on the floor right next to the door. He kicked off his shoes and grabbed Lucy's hand, smiling at her sweetly. "Come on baby, let's go see my parents. And stop having that stupid look on your face," Natsu laughed again making her growl in embarrassment.

She kicked off her boots as she neatly placed them side by side against the doorway, looking around the cozy home that was large but also very homey.

Normally, she hated large houses. She always lived in once since she was a young girl and they were just too big and lonely for her, she started to hate them. She started to love small places such as the normal houses commoners lived in but her father never approved of those. She was happy with the apartment she had right now—it felt very homey to her, unlike the large house that isolated herself and everyone else. But Natsu's house gave a warm welcome and she didn't hate it at all, for all she could say, she loved it.

Natsu dragged Lucy to the kitchen as he knew that his parents would normally be in there since the kitchen and living room was connected. Lucy felt nervous all over again, wondering why she was so anxious to meet his parents when she already did.

When they entered the kitchen, Lucy noticed the blue-haired woman that was like a mother to her, washing dishes.

"Hey mom! Guess who I brought home?!"

"Natsu Dragneel, you ungrateful little brat. Where have you been last night?! I came to check up on you and you were gone and I hope you weren't doing anything illegal like playing with fireworks! I will kill you if the cops come to our house again complaining about you—"Lucy gulped as she watched Grandine turn around with a wet frying pan in her hands, a murderous look on her face. When she noticed the person next her son and figured out whom it was, she gasped.

"L—Lucy?"

"Hello Mrs. Dragneel! I can see you're still the lively mother you are..." Lucy laughed nervously, trying her best to make sure she didn't smack her and Natsu with the frying pan. Lucy watched in all nervousness as the woman dropped the frying pan into the sink before running to her to embrace her tightly. "Oh Lucy! It's so good to see you again; the whole Dragneel family had missed your presence!"

"Mom! Please—she's my girlfriend so would you stop trying to hog her to yourself?!"

"Young man, you are grounded! How dare you leave without notifying your parents about your absence and sneaking off wherever you went! I was worried sick! You better have a good excuse!"

"Hey, hey, hey... no need to get bad. I was at Lucy's place,"

Grandine gasped as she pulled away from the hug and glanced at both of the two teens who seemed to look a bit confused. She eyed them suspiciously till a big grin broke out on her face, a giggle bubbling out. "Oh how adorable!"

"E—eh?"

"Natsu, you're off the hook. You could have told me sooner! I don't mind at all."

"What? Are you serious?" Natsu asked in utter disbelief, the blue-haired mother laughing again. "Of course! I don't mind you and Lucy being together. Go over anytime; just make sure to tell us before, alright?"

"Err... right. Is dad home?"

"Your father will be home around four so why don't you two play for a while? You want to stay for dinner, Lucy-dear? I'm sure Igneel would be happy to see you again! Wendy also!"

"Are you sure? I mean... I don't want to intrude."

"Don't be silly!" The two Dragneel's both shouted at the same time. Lucy jumped in surprise, staring at the two who both grinned at her. It sort of scared her, to see such similarities between them, especially since she thought Natsu and Igneel were the most similar. "You can stay as long as you like."

"I would love to."

"Great! I will start dinner," Grandine sang as she went back to doing the dishes. Natsu grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hall. "Let's go to my room—we can hang out there."

"Sure..." Lucy mumbled, still a bit shocked over how similar Natsu and his mother was. She thought he was Igneel were twins but after watching the two interact, Natsu was more like his mother in personality wise.

That was cute.

—X—

When the clock had struck four and a shiny black Corvette parked into the driveway, Lucy knew that she was going to get some family loving she hasn't gotten in a while since back in the camp days.

She was once again, nervous, but it was good to be back. The family was all nice and she loved every memory she made with them.

"Hey Lucy, you sure you want to stay? We could go on a date or something..." Natsu asked bashfully, the male lying on his bed comfortably. Lucy, whom was lying next to him, peeked at his redden face to smile at him. "Natsu, are you blushing?"

"No way! Why would I blush?!"

"Well, you're blushing right now."

"It's just hot in here!" Natsu exclaimed, burying his head into his pillow. Lucy laughed and put her hand on his back, also flipping around to lie on her stomach. "Nah... I want to stay for once. We can all catch up and when we go on our first date, I want it to be special. I don't want to be seen in a t-shirt and jeans... it would be better if I wore some kind of pretty dress, right?"

"You're beautiful no matter what kind of clothing you wear..." Natsu murmured, making her blush at his statement. She stared at him in awe, her eyes twinkling at his bashful looking face. When he turned to look at her, they were slowly leaning in to one another, barely kissing when the door slammed open and Igneel came marching in with Wendy.

"I heard Lucy's back?!"

"Dad, we were having a moment! You could have knocked!" Natsu shouted, groaning as the two quickly sat up. Lucy giggled in response as Wendy came charging after her, wrapping her arms around Lucy's tiny waist. "Lucy-San! You're back!"

"Hi Wendy!" Lucy cried out in joy, soon screaming in terror as Igneel wrapped his arms around the two of them, lifting them off the bed. "Lucy, welcome back!"

"Dad, Wendy, get off her!"

"Geez Natsu, don't get so overprotective." Igneel teased, making Natsu growl. He snatched Lucy back before pointing at the door, glaring at both of them. "Alright, out. Both of you. We'll come down once dinner is ready so get out!"

"Natsu you're so mean!" Igneel fake-cried, also making Wendy fake-cry along with him. Lucy watched in amazement as Natsu scowled at them, shoving them towards the door. "Annoying! All of you!" He shouted before slamming the door on their faces. He returned back to her and huffed in annoyance, looking at the blonde who looked spaced out.

"Uh, Lucy?"

"Natsu, your family is so cute."

"Cute?" Natsu echoed in confusion, watching as she sat back down on his bed. "I wish I was part of your family."

"You are Lucy. You always been and always will be." Natsu grinned at her making her heart flutter. She stood up and flung her arms around him before locking lips with him, holding him tight. "Natsu, I love you."

"I love you too, Lucy. I swear I'll always be by your side."

Lucy felt her heart ache as she hugged him tightly, a big large frown on her face. She knew he wouldn't be able to keep that promise.

No, you won't be.

a/n: I'm thinking of making my stories a biiit more longer. I also stopped within the 2,000 mark but I think I'll stop by the 4,000 mark now. I don't know why, my chapters also seem too short for my comfort.
Anyways, I'll be heading off to watch Cloudy Of a Chance of Meatballs 2! Tell me what you think of the newest chapter!

Be a darling and review! ;*