"You do not get to feel guilty for having a girl's day with us today," Levy told Lucy for the fifth time that afternoon. "Natsu is at work, and he has been keeping you hoarded away in his tiny little cave like the dragon he thinks he is. You were ours first, and we have some rights when it comes to your time!"

The nail techs working on their manicures glanced at each other, but stayed silent as Levy ranted.

"We actually spend more time at the house than his apartment," Lucy corrected. It was really the only thing about Levy's rant that she could be corrected on.

"Be that as it may," Erza spoke up. "It's coming up on a year that you two have been together and we haven't had you to ourselves since he latched on at your birthday party."

"I don't think it's fair to blame Natsu for that one, since Cana was the one who invited him and the rest of his group to our table that night." Lucy, Levy, and Erza all looked towards their friend, awaiting some sort of input on the situation.

"We all know you already got over being upset at me, since you got a nice two-for-one out of it. Natsu could either be your personal stripper or your bedroom roleplay partner. If I were to guess, I'd say a bit of both depending on the day."

Another look was shared between the nail techs as Lucy's face flushed brighter than the red being painted on her nails. She made a mental note to ensure they all got great tips for enduring this particular conversation.

Once their manicures and pedicures were finished, the four friends made their way back to Erza's penthouse apartment to get ready for their night of "Essential D" (as Cana liked to call it). Also known as dinner, drinks, and dancing. It was a favored pastime of theirs, and all of them had missed those times when it was just the girls. Lucy admired her nails - a fiery red with flames painted on the tips - while Erza dug their dresses out of her closet. The one she pulled out for Lucy was a red that matched her nails, long enough to avoid being trashy, and flattered her figure while also allowing for movement.

Hair and makeup were done around the same time as Natsu would have a break, so Lucy had Levy take a picture of her that she could send him. It felt a little cruel to her, but he specifically requested it. Less than a minute after the image was sent, Lucy's phone rang. She stepped into the hall to answer the call, Natsu's voice coming through before she could even say hello.

"I'm pretty sure it's against the law for you to look so beautiful."

"Does that mean you're going to come and arrest me? Or will I be paying for my crimes when you get to my place tomorrow?"

"CALLED IT!" Cana yelled from the other room.

"You're such a tease, Lucy," Natsu said with a groan, completely ignoring their friend. Whatever that was about, he was certain he did not want to know.

"And yet, you still love me," Lucy shot back at him.

Between the other girls getting ready and Natsu's break being over, they did not get as much time to banter as either would have liked, but it was better than nothing.

"Go have a good time with the girls. I love you, and I'll see you soon."

Lucy was a little confused when she hung up; Natsu usually worded it differently, but she reasoned it was due to him being caffeine-deprived at this point in his shift. Since Cana's car was the most comfortable, Lucy snagged the keys so she could drive them to dinner. It had been decided ahead of time that Lucy would drive to the restaurant and the club, and Erza would drive them home at the end of the night.

Dinner was the usual affair when the four of them got together. They each started with a glass of wine with their shared appetizers, then water with dinner so they could make sure they at least started the night properly hydrated. Lucy hadn't realized how much she had been missing time with just the girls until they were all tucking into their meals. It wasn't that Natsu was controlling or forbade her from seeing her friends (that would have been a swift end to the relationship), they just enjoyed their time with each other, and she found it was always more fun when they were together.

The only moment she had not enjoyed so far was nearly falling when they walked out of the restaurant. Cana made a typical comment about Lucy's ass, then decided to grab it, which caused said woman to stumble. Her ankle was a little sore from the incident, but it was not the worst thing that could have happened by a long shot.

Sliding back behind the wheel of Cana's car after dinner, Lucy felt a strange sense of… something. She could not put her finger on it, but the air felt charged with anticipation for some impending event. Looking at her companions, they all seemed excited about the evening of dancing ahead of them, as if they could not feel anything out of the ordinary. Whatever it was poking at the back of her mind must not be too important, so Lucy just shrugged it off, buckled her seatbelt, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Less than two blocks later, flashing lights lit up the night behind them. Nervous, but knowing she had done nothing wrong, Lucy pulled to the side of the road. This was the first time she had ever been pulled over, but Natsu had coached her as to how to handle the situation. Her license and Cana's registration and insurance were ready as soon as the engine was shut off. Window rolled down, she waited while the others exchanged glances.

Everything was handed to the officer as soon as he asked for it. When she asked why she was pulled over, he did not give a straight answer, instead asking his own question.

"Miss Heartfilia, do you know why you were pulled over?" As if it were merely a rhetorical question, he continued without allowing her a chance to reply. "We received reports that a blonde woman who had been drinking stumbled out of a restaurant and into the driver's seat of a vehicle."

Ice filled Lucy's veins at his words. Someone had reported her for drunk driving? No. No, it absolutely had to be a mistake.

"Tell me, Miss Heartfilia, have you been drinking tonight?"

"I had a glass of wine before dinner, but that was over an hour ago."

"Please step out of the vehicle."

The questioning was a blur. Lucy could not hold back a rogue tear that escaped when the officer accused her of lying, stating that she smelled like a winery. Which, she kinda did, since Levy had accidentally spilled a little bit on her. What had started off as a fun night with her friends ended up with Lucy being handcuffed - not in a fun way - and placed into the police cruiser.

No matter what she said, the officer would not listen to her reasons for any of the questions asked, to the point she just went silent. Lucy didn't say anything as she was led into an interrogation room. The handcuffs were removed, but Lucy was left there alone. Without her purse she had no way to contact Natsu, and all she could do was hope that the girls were on their way to help her - or, maybe, that they had called Natsu so that he could come save her from this ridiculous hell.

"You seem to have gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, Lucy." The voice wasn't the one she was hoping for, but at least it was familiar. Detective Clive - also known as Cana's father - entered the room and set a thick file on the table between them. Lucy's name was across the top, and all the color drained from her face.

"What… what the hell is that?"

"This is your file," he stated without emotion, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Inside are statements and photographic evidence having to do with the charges being brought up against you."

Lucy's stomach lurched, and it took significant willpower not to vomit on her friend's dad. "I don't understand. What charges?"

Sure, Lucy had done a few things that were against the law - speeding (though never to great excess), jaywalking, eating cherry pie with ice cream on top (Acalyph has some idiotic laws on the books), and some other minor offenses. Nothing she could think of would warrant such a thick file of wrongdoings.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"No." Her voice quivered as she tried to hold back the overwhelming emotions. "But I probably should, so…"

"Alright." Detective Clive takes a breath and opens the file just enough to retrieve a sheet with a list on it. "This is a list of the charges against you. Lewd acts in public, assault on a private citizen, assault of a police offi-"

"WHAT?!"

"-cer. Multiple counts of attempted homici-"

"Are you fucking kidding me? This has to be some kind of joke…"

"Please do not interrupt, or this will just take longer. Now, where was I? Oh, here. Multiple accounts of attempted homicide." Here, he paused, finally giving Lucy a concerned look. "Do you want me to continue? There's only one more."

The door opened behind her, but Lucy was too stunned to take notice of who was entering the room. Detective Clive looked up at the person behind her and gave a slight nod.

"You going to finish this up, kid?"

"Yeah, I'll take it from here."

The voice she had previously been hoping for filled her with dread. In seconds, the chair across from her was inhabited by her boyfriend, who took the sheet of paper as he sat down. No words of comfort were given as he continued where the detective had left off.

"What's the last charge?" She asked, needing but not wanting to know what the hell all of this was about.

"Grand larceny," Natsu told her, face devoid of emotion and unreadable. "If you answer my question the way I'm certain you will, the charges will carry a life sentence."

"What do you think I stole to deserve that punishment?" Her eyes burned as she fought to hold her tears at bay.

"My heart. My soul. My every thought. Every plan I had for the future. All of my hopes and my dreams. You stole them all from me. You changed every single thing I had ever wanted out of life. No future exists for me without you in it. I love you with everything I was and am and ever will be." He slid out of the chair and around the table as he spoke, kneeling next to her. "Will you marry me?"

She couldn't breathe. And when she was able to again, it was with a sob. The tears she had held back came spilling down her cheeks as she realized this was all an elaborate set up. Lucy nodded, since words refused to form. Natsu pulled her to his level for a sweet kiss before slipping a ring onto her finger.

"You scared the shit out of me," she admitted after they separated. "Cana's dad said he had statements and pictures of my crimes…"

Natsu let out a laugh. "Well, that's technically true." He grabbed the file and her hand, leading her back towards his desk so they could examine the evidence together.

"I started keeping a journal when I was in the military - to help me work through some shit. I kept it up after I got out."

The file was full of entries from their time together detailing his thoughts and feelings when they went on dates, when he first realized he was falling in love, different plans on how to propose, and everything in between. There were printouts of texts between him, Cana, Erza, and Levy, asking for their help, then working out all the details - the wine spill and stumble had been a setup. There were pictures of her "blowing" out her birthday candle and several of them dancing the night they met.

A small part of Lucy was upset at her friends for deceiving her, at Natsu for setting all of this up, at herself for not knowing something was up with how differently this particular girl's night had been planned… But, through all the crazy shenanigans of the day, she came out a little shaken, but a lot in love with her fiance. And damn, did it feel weird to think of him that way, but they were engaged, and she was too happy to be mad at him for it.