Updated: April 29, 2023


Chapter 1

There is always a stage in one girl's life where she will be excited to plan for her wedding. Well, maybe not all, but some women do wish to plan their wedding.

A wedding that will make her little girl's childhood dream come true. She will be wearing a long beautiful white gown, have a veil on, be wedded in a church, and see their man stand before the altar. Waiting to be called her husband.

However, before a girl could even make that dream reality, she needs to find her man, the one. The man whom she will spend his life and build a family with her.

To have a groom at a wedding, she needs to have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who knows his woman's likes, dislikes, and everything about his partner. If you got all the essentials for a wedding—a man, a wedding proposal, wedding plans, and the guts to make it real, then you can assure yourself that you are ready.

|… … …|

"Ms. Heartfilia! Over here!"

"Lucy! Look at the camera!"

"Just one picture Ms. Lucy!"

"Look over here Lucy!"

"Lucy!"

All photographers around the block called the blonde beauty as she steps down from her vehicle and headed to her simple but expensive townhome. Holding her paper bag in front of her, she used it to cover her face and tries to escape the very persistent media. As she walks the trail available toward her house, she hears certain questions thrown at her.

"Lucy, do you have any plans to attend the famous Heartfilia anniversary in Acalypha?" one paparazzi asked as they followed her walk.

"We'll see," Lucy answered still trying to block the flashing of cameras on her face.

"What can you say about your parents' marriage?" Another reporter asked, which Lucy glanced at and smiled.

"I'm happy for them, of course! Who wouldn't be happy for them to celebrate a long-time marriage?"

"Who will you go with to the celebration?" A third interviewer asked, "You wouldn't go there alone, right?"

Lucy suddenly stiffens in her tracks as she glances at the reporter. As she halts, the paparazzi surround her, making her more susceptible to any kind of photo. As she was being crowded, she starts to feel suffocated, making her push around them to make her way out. But when the crowd wouldn't budge, she gave up and stood still while she glared at the media.

"Guys, seriously, you've got to let me pass," Lucy groans to them but with the noise of the media, her voice was barely heard.

"Ms. Heartfilia, your parents are very known to be a powerful couple in Acalypha, what are the pressures as their daughter?" A phone was then shoved close to her face making Lucy surprised and steps back a bit.

"What? nothing…Well, if you're trying to pertain about their married life, then I guess it's about finding a husband that I will spend my life with." She then rolls her eyes at her sexist comment, which the media was pleased about.

"Then it's not a rumor that you're single until now?"

After hearing the question, she looks at her interrogator with wide eyes and gives a serious look, "And what's so bad about being single? And, for Pete's sake, I'm just 28!"

"So, you are single? What do your parents think about being a spinster?"

"Excuse me?!" Lucy bellows as she begins to show her irritation. She shook her head in disappointment before she began to push them aside and try to get out of the attention.

"Wait, Ms. Lucy! So, you have no plans of getting married like your parents?" One reporter relentlessly blocks her from moving forward further, making the blonde groan in annoyance.

"Not like it's any of your business, but I have," Lucy slightly shouted as she shoves the man to the side.

"Then when? With whom?"

Having enough of the media's insistent questioning about her personal life, Lucy grumbles at them and turns to face them. Suddenly all the paparazzi swarming around her at the step of her brownstone house, she glares at them and said, "What do you want to hear from me? What do you want to insist on? That being single mean being a spinster?! That I'll be one? Fine! I'll throw something different to you guys, I'm engaged! Happy?!"

And with that, Lucy turns around and swiftly ran up the stoop of her house and quickly closes the door, leaving the paparazzi more in a frenzy.


After spending her late afternoon shopping and ending up being bombarded by the media, Lucy no longer had the energy to do anything else. She lies down on her bed, rolling over, feeling exhausted and annoyed at the same time. She recalls the intrusive questions of the paparazzi, making her grumble as she rolls over to her back and glared at the ceiling.

Her phone suddenly rings, making Lucy aimlessly search for her purse lying on her nightstand. When she grabbed it, she took her phone out and immediately answered the call without much regard.

"Hello?" the voice spoke, which Lucy recognizes immediately.

"Hey, Erza…" Lucy sighs as she sits up and crosses her legs, "What's up?"

"I'm doing good…You, okay?"

"Yeah…relatively," Lucy then chuckles softly as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Relatively? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah," Lucy says shaking her head then realizing that the redhead couldn't see her, "I'm just tired…"

"Oh…what about our dinner out? Remember, us girls agreed to have dinner?" Erza reminded the blonde as she sounded like a mother which made Lucy flinch in her spot and unconsciously bit her fingers,

"Well, about that…" Lucy then bites her lower lip, feeling bashful as she will ask for a favor.

"Oh, you can't say no! You have been bailing on us three times!" Erza slightly shouted at the other end of the call.

"Oh no-no-no! I'm not going to bail out… it's just that…" Lucy then trails off making the red-haired girl on the other end of the call anxious.

"It's just what?"

"Media…" Lucy then sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. As she remembers her encounter with the paparazzi, she could hear their distant voices, throwing questions that push her buttons, "They bombarded me this afternoon when I was returning to my house. I don't think stepping out again will help my case. So, I was thinking maybe we could have a pizza party at home, instead," Lucy asked almost like a question, "My treat!" she added before she bite her lower lip in anticipation.

"Well, all right. I understand, I'll call the girls and tell them about the change of plans. But no Natsu still!" Erza exclaims, making Lucy chuckle at her tone.

"Of course! It's a girl's night, as planned," Lucy finally smiled as she felt relief.

"Good…does he know about this?" Erza asked once more, now even more inquisitive to her friend.

"Of course, not. Why would I tell him?" Lucy then scoffs after finding Erza ridiculous with her questions.

"Well duh, he's your best friend…" Erza then rolls her eyes at the obvious reason, "He usually knows everything that you're doing."

Lucy scrunches her face in doubt but then thought twice as she realized that what Erza said was true. Unknowingly, she blushed as she tries to deny the notion, "No, he does not,"

"Oh really? The last time I remember, Natsu was the first to know that you had a date with an architect."

"To be fair, he wasn't supposed to know either! It was—a coincidence!" Lucy then sighs as she felt exasperated on explaining the incident, "He just happens to be there, which sucks…" Lucy sighs again, "Can we not talk about it anymore?"

Erza hums in agreement, "Fine…I'll call the girls instead. See you in a bit!"

"All right, bye!" and with that Lucy pulls her phone away from her ear. As she finally felt more at ease, she stood up from her bed and began to undress. Lucy felt that a warm bubbly bath would put her more at ease.

As she slowly unbuttons her blouse, she then mumbles to herself, "Can't believe Erza still feels bad about Natsu knowing that first…" Her hands then stop at a button and stared from afar, "I mean, he wasn't supposed to know either…" she then shrugged her shoulder as she continues to unbutton her blouse.

"Maybe I should suggest to the girls to have a slumber party," Lucy then chuckles as she pulls her pants down, "Slumber party? What am I a teenager?" She then laughs again as she shook her head while stepping out of her pants on the floor. She then picks it up her discarded clothes and places them in her hamper.

As she was about to enter her bathroom, she remembered that she had to order their food. She mentioned it was her treat to them after all. So, she decided to make a quick trip to her kitchen.

Being in her underwear, she began to head out to her living room unembarrassed since it was her home. There was no point in being decent, after all, no one lived with her. Her house, her rules.

"So…what should I be ordering?" Lucy said to herself as she heads to her wide kitchen and takes all the leaflets posted on her refrigerator.

"I didn't know you like walking around the house in your underwear…" A voice suddenly spoke, making Lucy shriek in her spot and turn around, grab a pan close to her, and start swinging it.

"KYAAAAA!"

POINGK

"OW!" a pink-haired man exclaimed before passing out.


After a good ten minutes, Lucy stood in front of the pink-haired man, holding on to her bathrobe closely to her body, waiting for him to wake up. When the man was not moving, Lucy suddenly felt guilty as she thought that maybe she had hit him too hard.

She was startled, it was an excuse to swing that small frying pan. He could have been a stalker…

"Natsu?" Lucy whispers gently as she kneels next to him on the floor. She then nudges his shoulder, but he wouldn't wake up. "Natsu, wake up…" She mumbles, guilt growing inside her chest, when suddenly she notices his eye movement but intentionally kept his eyes close.

Lucy then realizes that Natsu was just pretending to be asleep. So, she began to press hard on the obviously forming bruise on her friend's cheek.

"AHHH!" Natsu shouted sitting up as he felt the pain that Lucy has inflicted on him, "what was that for?!"

"That was for making me worried unnecessarily and sneaking up on me!" Lucy shouted as she stands up and walks away from the pinkette.

"I didn't mean to sneak up on ya," Natsu said as he scuffed his head in guilt, "I knocked on your door but you didn't answer. So, I thought I'd just use my key and wait for ya…then saw you…" Natsu's eyes then grew big implying what he had seen.

Lucy then blushed as she remembered that Natsu had seen her nearly naked, walking around her house. She then tightens her hold on her robe, "Pervert!"

"To be fair, it's not my fault you were walking around your house in your underwear. When I got in, you were already…in your undies in your kitchen," Natsu then chuckles at the blushing blonde, "What did you hit me with?"

Natsu then stood up as Lucy lifted the small frying pan, "With this…sorry,"

"That's one hell of a small frying pan," Natsu then winced when he brushed his hand over his cheek. Lucy then whipped around and grabbed a pack of ice. "You should give a good review to that brand, it can hurt intruders,"

Lucy chuckles as she rolls her eyes, "Well, it wouldn't have to lead to that if you just know how to greet people without startling them,"

"As I said, Luce, didn't mean to sneak up on ya," Natsu grinned as he watched the blonde walk over to him on the couch. Lucy scowls at the pinkette before she sits next to him.

"Why are you even here? Erza and the girls will be coming over," Lucy then hands the ice pack to the pinkette.

"Why? What's happening here? Can I join?' Natsu then places the ice on his cheek but miserably misses the focal point of the bruise. So, Lucy grabs it instead and does it for him.

"No, you can't," Lucy replies with a neutral face, trying her best not to look too sympathetic, otherwise the pinkette would use his annoying best friend card on her. "Unless you miraculously turned into a woman then you can join. If not, you've got to leave, after this,"

Looking at his blonde friend, Natsu crossed his arms across his chest and gave a stern gaze. Feeling uncomfortable with his stare, Lucy harshly damps the ice pack to his cheek making the man flinch in pain, "Hey! Be careful!"

"Then quit looking at me like that…" Lucy said as she retracted the ice pack but then returns it, "There is nothing I can do Natsu. You talk to Erza if you want."

"But it's your house!" Natsu whines childishly, making the blonde snort at his reaction. "Your house, your rules,"

"Buddy, this is Erza's dinner plans. It's her rules…" Lucy shrugs her shoulders in defeat, "You go ask her, not me,"

Natsu groans in annoyance as he knew that Erza wouldn't let him. That woman was a tough one to break, "Fine…" he then grumbles and childishly pouts.

Lucy couldn't help herself giggle at the grown man's childish antics, "What's with that face?"

"Well, you wouldn't let me stay." Natsu huffed and Lucy just rolls her eyes at him.

"So, why exactly are you here? Please don't tell me you came by to bombard me because you were running away from someone again," Lucy then raised a brow at the pinkette, who sheepishly grins at him.

"That was one time," Natsu chided but embarrassedly, "Mira was a scary woman that day,"

Lucy scoffed at the memory of the pinkette hiding in her house and insistently told her that if Mira was looking for him, she should tell her that she hadn't seen him all day. "Whatever, so why are you here?"

"I came here to hand this off to you," Natsu then pulls out a tiny box from his pocket and showed it to the blonde.

Lucy was sure it is a ring box, and she couldn't stop herself from ogling at the box. She then reached out to open it when Natsu suddenly retracted his hand.

"Luce," Natsu mumbles softly and tenderly, making Lucy look up and stare at her best friend with surprise in her eyes.

"Yes?" Lucy answers quietly.

"Oy, Luce, you, all right?" Natsu then tilts his head as he leaned close to the blonde to snap out of her trance.

"Huh?" Lucy finally snapped out of her sudden daydream of a wedding proposal, "What? Yeah, what? I mean, what do you—what do you want me to do with that?"

Natsu then grins as he lifts the box, "I need you to hold this for me,"

"You want me to keep it for you?" Lucy repeats as she eyes the box, "Why?"

"Well, I'm planning to give this to someone," Natsu then rubs the back of his neck as his face warms up a little. This caught Lucy's attention and was stunned a tad, not expecting the pinkette to be this sentimental.

"To someone?" Lucy inquired as she didn't recall Natsu dating anyone recently.

"Yeah, someone special," Natsu then sighs as he opens the box and gazes at the jewelry. Lucy then leans a little to take a peek but the pinkette quickly closes it and says, "Don't open it, okay?"

Lucy scrunches her face and skeptically looked at the man, "But you just opened it. Let me see,"

Natsu then pulls his hand away, "No, you can't!" Natsu then gulps as he stared at the glaring blonde, "It's sensitive…You can't expose the ring too much,"

Lucy continued to look at the man with a dubious glare before she agrees to his reason. Before Natsu could give the box to Lucy, the doorbell suddenly rang. Quickly looking at her door, she heard the doorbell ring once more.

"Lucy~…It's Erza." The visitor called.

Lucy looked at Natsu with wide eyes, who had the same expression as her. The two then began to panic when they heard Erza calling again.

"Erza!" Lucy shouts as she shoves the pinkette to stand up, "I'll be right there!" She then pushes the man again, making the pinkette stumble from a side table and screech in pain.

"Lucy? Is everything all right? I hear noises inside," Erza shouts over the other side of the front door.

"No, yeah! I'm good!" Lucy then slaps the shoulder of the pinkette to reprimand him from crying out too loud, "I'm coming!"

When the two were by the back door, Natsu opens it and then turns to look at the blonde, startling her for a second. "Go, Luce. I'll run from here," he then grabbed Lucy's hand and placed the box on her palm, "Take care of this box, all right? No peeking,"

Lucy was about to protest again when suddenly Natsu quickly ran off, leaving the blonde stunned as she watched the man's figure disappear in the corner.


That night, one by one, the girls finally arrived after Erza. Levy, Juvia, and the Strauss sisters came carrying a few other things as they planned to cook. The girls spent the night laughing, eating, and chatting about everything.

"So, Juvia, how was your date with Gray the other day?" Lisanna teased as she and Juvia pulled on some romaine lettuce. Levy and Lucy who were around, chopping cherry tomatoes, looked up and gawked at the busty blunette.

"Wait, are we talking about a date-date or a going out that can be considered as a date?" Levy inquired, making the woman blush.

"It's a date-date," Juvia then squeals along with the other girls.

"Well then that's good," Erza chimes in as she settles next to Mira, who was chopping some cucumber, "Who asked?"

"Gray-sama!" Juvia beamed, "It's a surprise for Juvia at first. Juvia didn't expect that he was serious about it," Juvia picked on a piece of lettuce and shredded it into smaller pieces as she recalled her date. "He was a true gentleman and took Juvia to a French restaurant,"

"Ohh," the girls sang before they giggled in delight, "What did you do after?"

"Went to the movies then brought Juvia home," Juvia then blushes as she looks down at her work instead. But the girls knew better.

"Did you both share a kiss after?" Mira questioned as she leaned in.

Juvia looked up at her friends before she was flushing red and nodded her head. All the girls then squealed in excitement while Lisanna embraced the blunette.

Soon enough, the girls assembled their salad and brought their food to the living room to begin their movie marathon. It has been a long time since they did this. They were no longer college students, but delving into their favorite hobby as a group was always a delight for them.

While the girls settled and chatted on the floor, Lucy suddenly comments, "It's sad that Cana can't join us,"

"Well, that woman has a crazy work schedule. There are days she's free, and some days, we barely get to talk to her," Erza then shrugs her shoulders, "I'm surprised that you have free time today,"

"I just finished one project recently and thought I deserved a short break," Lucy then smiled when Levy grinned at her.

"Good job, babe," Levy then winks at her, "You deserve the rest. And besides, your parent's anniversary party is coming up in a few months. Your mom probably needs ya,"

Lucy then gawks her eyes out before looking away from her other best friend. Lisanna quickly catches this and curiously asks, "You are going to the party, right?"

"Hmm?" Lucy innocently looks at her silver-haired friend. When Lisanna raises a brow at her, almost like she's looking at her with pure surprise, she sighs in defeat as she admits, "I don't know,"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Levy, who had been busy scanning the television for a random movie, suddenly puts the remote down as she stares at her friend. "You're not going? I'm pretty sure your parents would like to see you at the party. They probably miss you,"

"Oh, I'm sure they're too busy to notice that I wouldn't be there," Lucy then shrugs her shoulders, "Besides, that party will be just filled with corporate peeps. They're not fond of the pretentious mingling, but they need to. It's part of building a corporation,"

"Up next!" the television suddenly sounded too loud, startling the girls in surprise and snapping them out of their conversation. They then looked at the tv and listened to the entertainment news.

"With the upcoming celebration of the power-couple Heartfilia, their one and only daughter, Lucy is now getting attention. What are the updates on the awaited celebration? And what's new with their only daughter?"

The girls were suddenly hooked on the show, but with Lucy's recent encounter with the media, she wasn't thrilled to watch the segment. She rolls her eyes as the hosts of the show appear with wide grins on their faces and boisterous voices.

"Would you believe it?!" Kyoka Tartaros, the host of the show, suddenly exclaims as the focus of the camera was on her, "Jude and Layla Heartfilia will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in a few months! Having that long marriage is like a miracle, it's a lifetime. In this industry, you barely see famous couples sticking together,"

"That is so true!" Ikaruga Raven, the second host of the show responds, "I mean, there are a few power couples out there that stay married. But many couples, nowadays, we see get married then separate after a few years. For some, even months only,"

"Sometimes you wonder, what is the secret to a successful marriage. I wanna know that!" Kyoka then laughs, "I'm pretty sure, Lucy Heartfilia knows the secret,"

The girls then snicker as they briefly glance at the blonde, who just groans in exasperation. They then returned their attention to the two hosts.

"Oh, definitely. She's getting a lot of attention recently after being spotted with her famous parents. She is a beauty! No one knew Jude and Layla's daughter after being kept out of the public eye. She had been living privately and was discovered to be a featured writer in Fairy Tail Magazine."

"Now, everybody is curious, is the only daughter of the powerhouse couple single, in a relationship, or married?" Kyoka then grins as she wiggles a finger to the camera, "Believe it or not you guys, the Heartfilia daughter is not available in the market, as she is engaged!"

All of the girls then gawks at the announcement before they abruptly directed their surprise to the blonde. To their surprise, the blonde looked stunned as well.

"Recently, she admitted that she is engaged after being questioned if she was a spinster at the age of 28! What a way to cut the rumors out! Despite admitting to being engaged, the fiancé is still unknown. Now the question is, who is the fiancé?"

"Ohh!" Ikaruga then giggles in excitement, "That's interesting! There is so much more to reveal about who Lucy Heartfilia is and now, Fiore is curious as to who is the lucky man. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Up next—!"

Lucy quickly turns off the television as she bafflingly stares at it. The girls slowly turned to face the frozen blonde.

"Lucy…is it true?" Erza quietly asks, still stunned at the news she heard.

Lucy slowly looked at her scarlet-haired friend and stared in a haze for a moment before looking away again. She then began to run her hands through her blonde locks and pulled them in frustration, "Oh my God! I can't believe they believed me!" She whispered to herself as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Lu-chan! How in the earthland did you get engaged without us knowing?! Did someone propose to you, and you never introduced us to the guy?!" Levy bellows with wide eyes.

Lucy suddenly stands up and began to pace back and forth making the girls curious as they looked at the confused blonde. Juvia quickly stands and hands a glass of wine and held her by her shoulder, "Lucy-san…what is happening?"

Lucy stared at the blunette before gulping down the alcohol. When she finished it in one drink, she exhaled deeply and swallows the growing lump in her throat.

"What you heard is…" Lucy then trails off as she tries to come up with the right word for her thoughts. The girls then leaned closer in anticipation as Lucy points at the television, "Full of shit,"

TO BE CONTINUED…