Natsu's voice trembled with a mix of frustration and desperation as he sat inside the lavish confines of a private room in the luxurious restaurant. With a deep frown etching his face, he retorted, "You just don't understand, old man... I swear, I've been telling the truth all along!"

The man seated across from him leaned forward, there was a mix of disbelief and criticism in his voice. "Kid, I never imagined you could create such an enormous lie, and to make matters worse, you blurted it out in front of the entire world!"

A disapproving click of his tongue punctuated his words. "Tsk. If you are really telling the truth, then prove it, brat. Bring your wife here. Only then will I believe you and consider investing in your next project."

Just as they were about to continue their argument, their voices were hushed by the sound of approaching footsteps. The old man's attempt to speak was abruptly interrupted when the door swung open. His jaw fell open as his eyes landed on the blonde girl standing before him, clothed in a red mini-dress that hugged her curves. The dress had an open back that dipped low, teasingly revealing a glimpse of her smooth and delicate skin. Its low neckline left little to the imagination, exposing almost half of her bosom. Completing the look with flowy long sleeves and stilettos that added an elegant touch.

"Luce..." Natsu whispered in utter shock, his voice barely audible. He was about to stand and approach his wife when Lucy started to walk in his direction.

With a gentle peck on his cheek, Lucy settled herself in the chair beside him. Her eyes held a bit of disappointment as she gazed at her husband. "You promised we'd have lunch today," she expressed, a hint of hurt in her voice. "But I heard from Mira that you ditched me for...some..." She paused, her accusatory gaze shifting to the old man seated across from them. "Perverted old man of some sort..? What's the name again? Gild.. Gild.." she shook her head and before she could continue, the old geezer interrupted.

"Gildart, my dear. That's the name of this perverted old man," he stated, his eyebrow raised and a smirk playing on his lips. "Now, who do we have here?"

Lucy leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "The wife," she replied plain and simple.

Gildart's smirk faded, and the room resonated with his laughter. "Oh, boy," he managed to say between chuckles, catching his breath. His eyes shifted to Natsu, an amused glimmer lingering. "Really, Natsu? The daughter of the Heartfilia family? You sneaky bastard," he uttered, a small smile gracing his lips.

Natsu disregarded the old man's remarks, his attention solely focused on his wife. Worry creased his face as he asked in a concerned tone, "Luce...what are you doing here?"

Mira entered Natsu's office with paper bags in her hand. Lucy looked at her curiously and asked, "That's plenty, what are those?"

Mira smiled and continued to walk towards the cabinet where Natsu kept his extra clothes.

"These are for you, Lucy. I figured you'd be here a lot and it would be more convenient for you if you have spare clothes here." She explained.

Lucy walked in Mira's direction and picked up one of the paper bags. She took the red mini dress inside the bag and then looked at Mira with a frown.

"And these are the extra clothes that I will need to have here in my husband's office?"

"Uh-huh."

"Really Mira?"

Mira laughed before responding. "Yes, Mrs. Dragneel. Really."

Lucy raised an eyebrow and did not respond.

"Lucy, I'm just glad that everything worked out for you and Natsu." Mira took another dress from the bag and showed it to Lucy, a white corset mini dress with thick straps. "So, I thought you should dress more like this when you're with him to remind him that you are a total package, and if he fucked up again, men will surely be lining up on your doorstep."

This time it was Lucy who was laughing.

"But I know you don't really need any of this to seduce Natsu.."

"Right.." Lucy whispered while smiling. "I appreciate it but you know…this collection of yours Mira will get me in trouble… "

"I bet that's good trouble." Mira joked while putting all the remaining dresses inside the cabinet. "Do you also want me to buy you some handcuffs…"

"Mira!" Lucy exclaimed and she turned red upon hearing this.

This made Mira laugh and she responded. "Why?" Mira continued laughing. "I was just thinking maybe you can handcuff him so he'll slow down with his work sometimes… oh my gosh Lucy, are you thinking of something else?!"

Lucy chuckled. "I didn't know that you're also like my friends who most of the time have perverted thoughts…"

"Well, I think I'll take that as a compliment," Mira answered while giggling. "By the way, would you like to have lunch with me?"

"Sorry girl, I have a lunch date with my husband.."

Mira looked at Lucy confused.

"Didn't Natsu call you?"

Lucy frowned. "No… is there something wrong?"

Mira sighed.

"Someone asked to have a lunch meeting with Natsu. An important investor and who's been a pain these past months."

"Oh.." the disappointment in Lucy's voice was so obvious that Mira felt the need to elaborate on the situation more.

"Natsu has been avoiding this person since he announced his marriage with you in public. He was quite adamant about knowing if there really was Mrs. Natsu Dragneel. He wanted to meet you but of course, Natsu wouldn't allow that since you know.. both of you weren't really in good terms and he wanted to protect your identity til the end. So it will still be easy for you to live a normal life if you decide to file for a divorce."

Lucy sat on the sofa while keeping her silence and Mira followed.

"He wanted to pull out his investment because he believed that Natsu was lying about the marriage and he didn't appreciate that."

"Is his investment that big of a deal?"

"Well, of course, all investments are but.."

"But what?"

"He's not just some investor.."

"What do you mean?"

"He's like a father to both Natsu and Zeref…"

"Huh? Natsu never mentioned him…"

"Gildart was their father's best friend and he was the one who helped Zeref start this company... He's not always here because he travels a lot but he makes sure to keep tabs on both Natsu and Zeref."

"Oh…" Lucy responded in a low voice. "Like a father huh?"

"Yep."

"Well… you know what. Let me end my husband's suffering. There's really no need to hide my identity now since I'm quite sure I'm not leaving him again." Lucy said while walking to the closet.

"Lucy, are you sure?" Mira asked with a worried face.

Lucy smiled while responding. "Yep and besides, this is our first day together again after a long time. I think going out there and introducing myself as his wife would be a nice start to prove that this time I won't be running away. Whattya think?"

"Hmm.. well.. If that is what Mrs. Dragneel wants then you have my 100% support." Mira stood up and started walking towards the door with a small smile. "You should get going if you want to meet them before their meeting is over... I'll arrange your ride.."

"Then I'll just have to change quickly.. It's a good thing you got these clothes…" Lucy said while browsing the clothes that were neatly hung inside the cabinet.

"Sure and by the way, his name is Gildart and.. He is the embodiment of a pervert old man." Mira said with a laugh.

"I said it earlier, Mira told me that you ditched me for some old guy who's been bugging you since your public announcement of being married." She explained. "I wouldn't have cared if it's some other day but today… I don't appreciate it given that I stayed at your office the whole morning waiting for you because I wanted to be near you as much as possible.. This is the first day of being "Us" together again."

Lucy did not wait for Natsu to respond and she shifted her focus to the older man.

"And you good sir, tell me.. Why are you so obsessed to know if Natsu's really married or not?"

Gildart took a glass of wine and handed it to Lucy before responding. "I guess this idiot hasn't mentioned me even once to you, before eh?" he asked. "Well.. it doesn't matter now. I'm relieved that he's not lying and may I ask, did you have any photos of your wedding ceremony? I'd like to have one…."

"We don't have one," Lucy responded in a plain voice.

"Oh.. that's just sad. How will you remember your wedding if you don't have even a single photo?"

"Well.." Natsu sighed and looked down. "We didn't really have a wedding ceremony... We… I.. I just asked Lucy to sign the marriage contract."

That statement made Gildart raise his eyebrow. "You son of a…. Tch. I knew it. I should've taught you how to be a mature gentleman and not a crappy one."

Lucy smiled and responded. "Yep, you should've done that if you're really acting as his father. So, you're partly to blame for all his shortcomings."

"You my dear, is the opposite of your mother…" Gildart said with a small smile before drinking the wine he was holding. "You look the same but you are fiercer than her."

"I'll take that as a compliment... And how do you know my mom?"

"I tried to woo her back in the day but she was already engaged to your father." Gildart frowned before continuing. "So I never really had the slightest chance…"

"Oh.. sorry.." Lucy whispered but there was a small smile on her lips.

"Well, that is all in the past now." Gildart stood up and extended his hand to Lucy. "Let me make up for the shortcomings of my idiot son and let's start by properly introducing myself."

Lucy also stood up and accepted his hand. "My lady, I am Gildart Clive, it is my honor to finally meet the woman who made my son a better man." Then he kissed the back of Lucy's hand.

"The pleasure is mine, sir, and yeah I have to agree with you that he's a better man now," she responded with giggles in the end.

"Hey! I'm offended guys. Am I not a good man before?!" Natsu retaliated but that only earned him laughter from both his wife and "dad".

The lunch meeting that was supposedly for business turned into a storytelling between Gildard and Lucy about Natsu and time flew by fast. Lunch was over and Gildart was about to leave first.

"It was really nice meeting you, Lucy," he said while standing in front of the door then he turned to Natsu.

"Schedule a meeting with the Heartfilia's, we have to meet Lucy's parents so we can plan your wedding." before Natsu can respond, Gildart already left and he heard Lucy say

"Oh… I didn't know he was the traditional type. Thought he was just a pervert old man."

Natsu laughed at her remarks but was distracted when Lucy stood up and started walking to the door.

"Let's go Natsu, it would be better if we'll go back to your office early so you can also finish work early then…" Lucy stopped her sentence when Natsu did not stand up and was just staring at her intently.

"Husband? What is it? Is there a problem" she asked.

"What will I do to you, Luce?"

"Huh?"

Natsu stood up and took off his coat then he used it to cover his wife.

"You're beautiful wife but what are you wearing?" he asked then hugged his wife from behind and he rested his head on her shoulders.

"Uh.. spare clothes?.." Lucy answered while trying to escape from his embrace so she could face him but he tightened his embrace and responded.

"Spare clothes? Hmm.." He lifted his head and Lucy looked at him questioningly and before she could say anything, his lips already silenced hers. He kissed her until both of them were out of breath. "It suits you well but this is too much…"

These are the most revealing clothes that he's seen Lucy wear in public and he has no complaints. It was a feast for his eyes but he's already hungry for his wife and seeing her with this dress is igniting that hunger. He's been wanting to touch his wife since early that day before they even left Ultear's inn but he didn't want to rush. He was planning to take his time with her but her little red dress is making it hard for him to control himself.

Lucy who was still trying to catch her breath was able to break free from his strong arms then she turned to face him. She snaked her arms around his neck and this time it was her who initiated the kiss. It was a gentle kiss at first but every second she's getting more greedy. Her left hand started to crawl up to his hair while her right hand traveled from his nape to his shoulder, and chest but before it could go further down Natsu broke the kiss and stopped her hand. He brushed his lips lightly to her right hand then he reached for her other hand which was still playing with his hair and did the same thing.

He looked at Lucy whose lips were still partly open and eyes that were seducing him. He covered her eyes with one hand and his other hand went to her back to support her and pull her closer to him, which earned him a smile from Lucy.

"Dragneel. Do you hate my eyes?" she asked then bit her lips.

Natsu gave her a peck on the lips before removing his hands from her eyes.

"It's the opposite Luce.. I'm truly and madly attracted to your eyes.." he was distracted when Lucy bit her lips again and responded in a whisper "Hmm…"

"Actually not just your eyes... I'm very very attracted to you wife and if you continue to look at me with those eyes and you won't stop doing what you're doing with your lips…." he leaned to her ears before whispering "You will end up on top of that table…"

Lucy blushed but she still managed to tease her husband by licking her lower lip before biting it and saying "Like this, babe?"

Natsu closed his eyes and just shook his head while smiling. He turned Lucy around and guided her out of the room, to his car. It took a lot of his strength to resist his wife and when they were already in the parking lot, Lucy opened the passenger seat door but Natsu opened the door in the backseat.

"You're not sitting there Luce.."

"Why should I stay in the backseat?" she asked confused.

Natsu ignored her question and said. "Get in, wife."

She did not argue and just followed. She was already sulking when the door on the other side of the backseat was opened and Natsu sat beside her and before she knew it, she was already on his lap straddling him.

She's no longer wearing her husband's coat and she can already feel her husband showering her neck with kisses.

"Natsu..wait…"

Natsu stopped his assault on her neck for a moment and with a coy smile he responded, "Wife, I'm not a saint. Did you really think that your little show back there won't have any consequences?"