Sooorryyy, I told myself I needed to post another chapter yesterday but completely forgot with the super bowl happening. Either way, it may be a day late but here's chapter 6. Enjoy lovelies!

"Igneel! Grandine! We're home!" Walking through the Kitchen and into the foyer, I saw Romeo. He hadn't changed much since the last time I saw him 3 years ago. Still had dark navy blue hair, which is natural, same muscular body except he packed on a few more pounds of muscle and grown about 5 inches taller. In each hand, he held a suitcase, one his and the other my sisters, and a duffle bag, most likely containing the stuff they wanted to bring with them on the plane, slung of his broad shoulder.

"Eyyy, Romeo! What's up man, haven't seen you in a while." I said going in to hug the slightly shorter male once he dropped the suitcases and duffle bag to the ground.

"Yeahh, hehe, I keep planning on swinging by the apartment with Wendy some time but between her pre-college med program and my baseball practice, we haven't had much time to see each other let alone go out somewhere," Romeo said in a saddened tone at the lack of time for alone time between him and his beloved girlfriend. As soon as I nodded in understanding, which I did. I understood completely. Luce and are are trying to pursue very demanding careers, her as a Neurosurgeon and me as a Criminal Defense Attorney, and it had driven a significant wedge between us until our summer together last year, in Europe. Ever since then we spent every night together, either at her apartment or mine, but we're never separated for long before the both of us start feeling sick. No joke it happens to the both of us, we've literally had a late night conversation about it that lasted till 2 A.M.

"I get it, dude, trust me, I do," I responded picking up the suitcases. "Where's Wendy?" I asked walking towards the guest bedroom across the house from mine and Luce's.

"I dropped her and Sherri off at Sherri's house so they could say hi to Sherry and Ren. Apparently, they planned a girls day, funded by Ren, a couple days ago and she'll be home later." Romeo said following me.

"And as for you…" I prodded, setting their luggage down on the bed.

"As for me, I'm gonna go see my dad and whoever he's married to now. Wakaba said that he eloped while I was gone but you can't trust a word that comes out of that old bastards mouth." Romeo said with a low chuckle. I laughed along with him and sat on the bed waiting for him to continue. I knew he wasn't done, I've known the kid since I was 3 and he was a couple months old. "I miss talking to him though when I first started going to Magnolia Academy, he'd call every day just to check. He, you, and Wendy were my whole world after Mom left. Then sometime in Junior year, everything just stopped. Because of your hectic schedule and my pre-season starting up, I couldn't see you. Wendy was all I had," he finished quietly. "I love her Natsu, so fucking much." I could see in his eyes all the love and truth that was held in those words.

"I know you do. And she's a lucky girl." I said, swinging an arm around the younger boys shoulders and roughing up his long messy quiff of hair. Hidden under were the undercuts that made his hairstyle so fucking basic. "Well anyways, you should go see your dad and talk to him. Maybe he's changed since the last time you saw each other." I said with a smile, removing my arm and allowing him to stand up.

"Highly doubtful but I guy can hope. See ya."

"Bye."

A few hours later, Luce and I were sitting out on the back porch overlooking the barren hills filled with wires awaiting the next season of grapes to grow. Lucy was on her phone, scrolling through Instagram occasionally stopping to like or comment, at times she would do both. Her head was in my lap, my hand lazily running through the soft strands of her highlighted golden locks, observing Romeo and Wendy hanging out down by the crystal clear pond at the edge of my parent's property.

"Hey, Firebug, what's up with you? You've been staring at them since we got out here." Lucy said clicking off her phone and looking up at me from her position. Glancing down, I shrugged but remained silent. 'What is wrong with me?' I thought sighing the breath I had unknowingly been holding and shifted slightly. "Natsu, you're being uncharacteristically quiet." She said sitting up and scooting closer to me.

"Are you inquiring that I talk too much?" I asked quirking a brow attempting to take her mind off of my apparent quietness. I knew it was feeble attempt but seeing her peeved look told me she saw through it.

"That fact hasn't escaped my attention, yes. Now start talking." She pushed hard. Sighing again, this time in annoyance at her persistence I ran an agitated hand through my wild gravity-defying hair.

"I don't know Luce, I honestly don't," I stated harshly.

"Ok calm your tits Natsu, there's no need to be an asshole about it," Lucy said crossing her arms over her sweatshirt-clad chest, it was my sweatshirt but I didn't mind. Staring at a particular spot on the rope weaved rug residing under the porch furniture, I opened my mouth to speak, but my words failed to come out and I ended up closing my mouth instead. 'What do I say? I'm sorry for being a dick but I fucking love you and can't get you off my mind at all, especially now that we're pretending to be in a relationship.' Hah, like I'd ever grown a pair to say all that to her face. Turning to look at her, I saw that she was waiting for a response.

"You're right Luce, I'm sorry for being a dick it's just that I'm worried is all."

"About what." She came closer. Placing a small hand on top of mine, I turned my own over and held hers in my bigger hand. Despite the size difference, our hands fit perfectly together.

"I don't know. What if we're not convincing enough?" I asked concern coursing clearly through my deep voice. "I mean, look at Wendy and Romeo. They've been dating since they were 15 and still act like they have only been dating for 3 weeks instead of 3 years." I continued slumping back into the comfortable resin wicker couch we were sitting on. Feeling Lucy shift closer, I looked over just in time to see her move onto my lap and grab my face between her hands.

"Natsu we made a deal. Whether it works out or not is going to be a mystery no matter what we do. Plus, you're brother is coming in tomorrow with his family so you're parents attention won't be focused on us as much, rather Zayn and Malia." Lucy said with a soft smile on her face. I watched her glance subtly at the windows behind me and stiffen in the slightest bit. Reaching my hands up and placing them on her waist, I smiled calmly.

"They're watching us, aren't they." I sighed not able to hide the hint of exasperation running through my voice as she laughed at the obvious fact.

"Yeah, they are." She said shifting a little closer to me, wrapping her long seemingly endless legs around my hips and hugging me close. Moving my arms up, I wrapped them securely around Luce's neck, allowing myself a quick glance down at the pond to check on Wendy and Romeo. They were still laughing and talking like they were before, but I did notice something different than before. The two of them would occasionally look back at Luce and me, not at the same time, of course, they weren't that stupid, but the small smiles gracing their younger faces did not escape my attention. "I'm tired Natsu."

"Me too Luce, me too," I whispered into her hair. 'Tired of pretending I don't love you.'

BOOM! That last line gets me but I love it. Until next time, peace! (God I hate myself for that - Comment pls! I love it when you do)