Natsu wasn't really expecting her to submit so easily. He honestly thought that she would fight it a bit more but she was more brainwashed than she seemed. He surely wasn't. He wasn't going to just push everything aside to run his family's business just so they could be happy and content with themselves. He didn't choose this life so he didn't think it would be fair for him to be forced into doing something he didn't want to do. But the difference between running a business and then benefitting it to a greater degree was completely different. Maybe he could make a deal with his father and that was just what came into mind when Lucy asked him to marry him.
"We could just get married on paper and just say fuck it."
"What?" Lucy felt like she was saying this a lot.
"All they need is legal documentation and the merge could happen. We can just write on paper that we're married and give it a couple years and divorce and just live our lives like nothing ever happened."
Lucy was taken back by his proposal and she didn't know how to feel about it. It felt like she was deceiving her family and it hurt her to think how upset and betrayed her mother would feel about this. Especially since they were so close to Natsu's parents and it made her wonder if this was a dream for them or just a business ordeal. But then again, they did this without her consent and without her knowledge since she was just a fetus when this was written up and she was in an internal battle with herself, lips pulled into a pout.
Natsu seemed to get fed up with her silence and stood. "Alright, glad we came to an agreement."
"Hey—"
"You just want to sit there with your mouth gaping like a fish. I made the decision for us."
"Who are you to decide stuff for me?"
"Your husband." Was all he said before he stood up and went over to the door.
Lucy didn't even try to hide that she did look like a gaping fish this time, cheeks red and jaw dropped as she saw the smirk on his face. She felt the embarrassment that flushed within her system along with the sense of annoyance. But she couldn't lie to herself. She kind of liked the straightforwardness.
—X—
"Oh, we knew you two would come through!" Layla gushed, holding her daughter's hand to jump up and down. She looked over at Natsu who offered an awkward smile and she squealed again, wrapping her arms around the two as she hugged them both. They instantly stiffened up, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed that this woman was making this such a big deal. "We have to discuss wedding plans immediately!"
"I'm on it!" Grandine shouted as she rushed out the room.
Igneel and Jude seemed to have their own private conversation away from the couple and Natsu was already fed up with how all this was happening.
"So, I only think it's fair we get to read the document to see what was exchanged for our freedom." Natsu spoke up to catch everyone's attention. He chose to ignore the scowl on his dad's face as he looked over at Lucy for support.
Lucy merely nodded, clearing her throat. "I suppose that's most appropriate for our circumstance."
"I agree," Jude walked over towards them with said envelope between his arms. "Igneel and I were just discussing and seeing if there were any minor details we might have to fix up. Especially since this was formed twenty years ago."
Natsu happily accepted the envelope that was held out to them and he practically ripped it open, looking over the document as Lucy peered over his side. He seemed annoyed with her hovering and tried to nudge her over but Lucy nudged him right back, grabbing onto his arm to steady the documents so she could read it over.
"A grandchild?!" Natsu screamed as soon as he read over the line. "You put a grandchild on the line?!" Natsu looked at his dad who gave him a look, hands shoved into his pockets.
Lucy's face grew red with embarrassment as she looked over the sentence.
"We want grand-children." Igneel corrected, finger in the air. He smirked at his son's fuming expression. "Besides, what's the point? You two could marry but who is to say you won't pull something and divorce in a couple years and then what's the point in that?" Natsu was taken back by his father's quick response and glanced over at Lucy who was baffled they were already caught. "And your mother and I want to be grandparents and I know Layla and Jude would love to be as well. With grand-children," He kept emphasizing. "This could allow us to push further into the industry and claim what is ours and also solidify the ordeal we would be merging for."
"Who is to say we won't divorce with a child?"
Lucy gawked at Natsu, unsure how to process such vital information all at once and the way her mother was looking at her with those eyes of hers was making her feel dizzy. The bickering between the two Dragneel men had her feeling sick and she pulled away to excuse herself from the situation. She didn't even hear her mother's cries of worry or the way Natsu watched her rush out the room but she just went where her legs carried her. She felt like she was on the brink of tears as she came down some hall to come find the garden she was at earlier. She quickly ran out of the home to take in the fresh air and she lifted her head to look up at the sky, allowing the tears to fall from her eyes as she silently cried.
She's never even had anything close to a relationship in her life. How was she expected to jump into a marriage and produce a grandchild for them? Natsu would have to be her first everything! She didn't even have a boyfriend! Straight to fiancé!
Lucy felt sick, taking in a deep breath to pace and chew on her nail.
She could run away.
But they would find her so fast and where would she go?
She could fight this.
But the official document.
She could try to sit her parents down and try to make them feel bad about this.
But then the way her mom was looking at her with those eyes of hers…
Lucy let out a frustrated cry and covered her face with her palms, trying to find a loophole out of all this. Now she felt like she missed out on so much of her life because of everything that just happened. All the dates she passed up on. All the nights out her friends encouraged her to sneak out. All the boys she turned away because she was focused on her studies and managing the family's business for her fate to become this?
Forced into a marriage with some cocky asshole. She saved her firsts for this guy?
Lucy could just jump off a cliff.
"There you are," Natsu's voice brought her back to reality as she whirled around to look at him. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Mine, really." Lucy murmured, arm still crossed as she chewed on her thumb. "Just grieving the life I had and wishing I didn't save my firsts for this stupid twist of fate."
"Saving your firsts?" He sounded confused.
"Nothing, never mind, I just... I was just mourning."
"You should talk to your parents. About compensation for this."
"Like what?"
"I told my dad if I go through with this then I get a choice in if I want to run this business or not."
"You did?" Lucy sounded surprised, parting her lips just slightly.
Natsu's eyes flickered down to her lips to her face and nodded. "You should tell them you'd go through it under your conditions."
"B—but the whole grandchild thing…" Lucy grew red once more as she cleared her throat. "What if… I… Do we have to?"
"It's written in the clause," he ran his hand through his hair, looking away from her. "They won't budge on that. And it's true that grandchildren solidify a lot so…"
A silence snuck past them and for the first time Lucy saw Natsu's cheek tint a bit pink. She could only rip her attention away from him and stare at the space between them, kicking her leg back and forth to occupy herself.
"Is there something you always wanted to do?" He asked, making her bite down on her lip and fidget.
Is this something she could just tell anyone to? She didn't know him… but then again, he was her fiancé.
"I want to become an author." She said, avoiding his gaze in case she saw the judgment. "And I… don't want to run the business either. I.. don't have much interest in business. I did it for them. I was willing to if they wanted me to but I…" She lost her trail of thought, losing her voice in between.
"Then I guess you have something to do." Lucy looked up at him and he was smiling at her. A genuine smile. And it took her by surprise as he took a step towards her. He held his hand out to her and she felt her heart skip a beat as her eyes widened. "Let's go."
—X—
Lucy didn't think her parents would have been so understanding of her. She bursted into tears right in front of them from the pressure and she was embarrassed to be so vulnerable in front of the Dragneel's as they watched her have a melt down.
Layla and Jude were nothing but supportive and held her and wiped her tears away, cooing at her and telling her how proud they were of her to speak up about such a matter. They supported her in her decision and told her she was allowed to have the freedom in that in exchange for this arrangement.
It made her feel a lot better as she cried in her parent's arms, feeling as if she was just a little girl again as her father rubbed her back and her mother kissed her tearful cheeks. She rambled on and on about her firsts and how she deserved to have at least a boyfriend and romantic experience before she was shipped off to marriage and she felt stupid as they giggled at her.
Everyone had agreed to postpone the wedding and encouraged them to take the year to settle on the engagement. They said they wouldn't announce anything until Natsu had decided to pop the question (he argued why he had to propose to her if they were already arranged to marry which he received a smack from his mother) so it made everyone feel a bit at ease with the timeline.
Natsu and Lucy had agreed to use the year to get to know each other. Even with the pressure of marriage in the future, they were to see if they would even be able to last together and produce a child together in a manner of business and it flustered the hell out of Lucy to think about having to have sex with the Dragneel Heir.
It's not like he was a bad looking guy or anything but she's never experienced anything like that besides what she's read in her novels and she wasn't sure if she would even be able to do something like that.
Especially with someone she didn't even know or had feelings for.
It made her feel sick all over again and she decided not to think about it as turned on her side, looking out her window for the moon to greet her.
Did this mean she finally had a boyfriend?
Her blush wouldn't go down as much as she wanted it to.
The next time Lucy had seen her boyfriend was a week later. She honestly didn't have much time to think about when she would actually see him again since she had all her extracurriculars she was going to occupy her time so when she had come back from her tennis lesson, she was surprised to see her boyfriend in her home.
He was sitting by the window that was facing her backyard, a good view of the tennis court along with her own garden and pool. It looked like he was sitting there for a bit as his cup of tea was basically gone and he had finished off whatever snacks they had brought him.
It made her cheeks grow red at the thought of him watching her.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as he turned to look at her. She cursed herself for feeling flustered when his eyes racked up her body and squeezed her tennis racket in her hands. "How long have you been here?"
"Almost an hour. I was watching you play tennis." He said nonchalantly, turning back to reach for his teacup. "You suck."
Lucy felt the annoyance build up again and she gripped her racket even harder, wanting to hit him across the head with it.
"I'm actually pretty good, thank you very much."
"Not that I could see. You're slow and you missed half the time. You need more practice."
"Is there anything I can help you with or are you just here to insult me?" Lucy growled, planting her hands on her hips.
She watched how Natsu downed his now cold tea and placed it down, standing up from his seat to face her. She had forgotten how much taller he was than her and she craned her neck up to look at him, taking a step back as he stepped towards her. He smirked at her flustered expression and he crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side. "I dig the tennis outfit."
"What do you want!" She hissed, trying to cover herself with her arms and racket.
"I'm taking you out so go get ready." He pushed past her and it made her turn and look at him with eyebrows knitted.
"Out? Ready?"
"Yes," he let out a sigh. "So could you hurry and get ready? I've already been waiting for an hour."
"You could have said something!"
"And you talk way too much." He said before he rounded the corner and waved at her goodbye with a smirk on his face.
Lucy could just scream and break her racket but she didn't. She just got this racket and it was pink and it had cute stars on the side and she loved this racket. But she didn't love her boyfriend. Like is even hard to describe him.
So while Lucy went back to her room, she took her sweet precious time to get ready. She took a nice hot bath instead of a shower and even took the time to scrub her body and pluck her eyebrows. She did her skincare in spite of it being well over forty minutes and she stood in her closet to try on multiple different outfits just because she wanted to. Once it was past an hour she was content with herself and left her room in a pleated skirt and a t-shirt, a smug smile on her lips as she went down her stairs. Her smile widened when she saw the look of annoyance stretched across the male's face, obviously fuming as he sat on the couch.
She came over to where he was and offered an innocent smile, standing in front of him. "Ready?"
"What the fuck took you an hour to get ready?" He was pissed. "And for you to come down looking like this?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" She looked offended as he stood.
"If you're going to take an hour to get ready then you should at least come out looking presentable. You look like you're going grocery shopping." He scoffed and he walked off making her fume instead.
She narrowed her eyes and followed him to god knows where and she was most annoyed that he wasn't saying a word to her. It's probably best this way and she wasn't sure where they were going but she got in the car with him and rode in silence. She tried her best not to look at him as he drove but it made it hard when she could just feel his heated gazes. And the way he gripped the steering wheel and had a hand on the gear shifter had her melting just a slight bit.
Curse her and her book boyfriends who have taught her to see the naughty goodness in simple pleasures.
"Where are we going?" Lucy finally spoke up after a while of deafening silence.
"To the jeweler."
"Why?"
"So we can go get a ring." He said nonchalantly and Lucy turned to look at him with her jaw dropped. "Close your mouth, you'll catch flies."
"I—I thought we agreed to have a year before we got engaged." Lucy felt flustered at the thought of wearing an engagement ring. She absentmindedly fingered her ring finger and felt her heart pound as she looked at the face of her boyfriend.
"No," he sighed, obviously frustrated. "We agreed to give it a year to settle into the engagement before our engagement was announced."
"We agreed to wait till you proposed! Are you planning on proposing?!"
"No," Natsu was growing more irritated. "We're just getting a ring."
"I don't get it. You're not proposing but we're getting a ring—?"
"If it was up to me I would get you a fucking ring pop for all I give a shit." Natsu raised his voice, keeping his eyes on the road. "But my parents insisted I take you so you can pick your own and when I'm ready I can propose to you with it so that's what we're fucking doing, alright? So keep your panties on and stop going on about whatever nonsense."
Lucy grew quiet once more and she pushed her lip into a pout, crossing her arms across her chest while she turned to face the window. "You don't have to be such an asshole about it." She muttered out and Natsu felt just a tad bit bad about it but he just ignored her and kept going to his destination.
He was grateful for the silence because in all honesty he was a bit nervous about this entire thing. He never thought he would be off buying an engagement ring at twenty years old nor did he think it would be for some woman he barely knew or even liked. He was forced into this and when his mother woke him up this morning and basically kicked his ass out to the curb on the note of not returning without an engagement ring, he was pissed. He was also annoyed that he had waited over two hours for this woman to get her shit together and while it was nice to watch her hop around and play tennis, he was not happy to sit around for another hour while she got ready.
And he knew she did it on purpose so he didn't really care that he was being an asshole to her nor did he care that she was upset about it.
So when they had pulled up to the jewelers and he got out of his car, he was a bit irritated that she was being a bitch again and giving him a glare as she stomped away from him. He just rolled his eyes and followed her as he held the door open for her, not a thank you thrown his way making him press his lips into a tight line to avoid saying something to hurt her fragile feelings once more.
It was like a switch had been turned on and she was all smiles and sparkles as she looked around like a kid in a candy shop. She was wide eyed looking at the display cases in glee and cooing at the ones she liked and a salesman approached them.
"Mr. Dragneel," he sounded pleased, offering a wide smile. "Please, follow me this way."
"Let's go," Natsu yanked her arm while she was pressed against a display case, dragging her with him towards the back of the place.
Lucy jerked her arm away from him and shot him a look. He returned the same heated glare and they were brought into a back room, the door locked behind them as a chair and a wide table with a lamp sat in the middle of the room. There was an entire box casted to the side and the man ushered the two towards the seats, champagne being offered to the couple. Lucy was in awe, grabbing onto the flute while Natsu downed the glass in one gulp, stopping the one to place it back on his tray and asking for another.
Lucy scowled at his behavior and offered a polite smile before she went over to the chairs to sit across the salesman.
"So, I heard we're in the market for an engagement ring," he perked up, a wide smile on his lips. "Congratulations are in order."
Natsu and Lucy both looked stiff, Lucy forcing a smile on her face while Natsu didn't even try to hide his displeasure. He pressed his lips into a tight line and leaned back into the chair, crossing his leg over his knee in disinterest.
"Whatever the lady wants," he waved his hand around and Lucy just huffed.
The salesman looked a bit awkward as his eyes darted from the couple. "Is there a particular style or cut you like, madam?"
Lucy flushed, feeling bashful all of a sudden as she scooted towards the edge of her seat to lean over. "Um, I don't have my knowledge when it comes to rings. I haven't really put too much thought into what I may like."
"No worries, there are a lot of women out there who don't. We can try whatever styles you like and see what suits you the best. Now, are you more of a gold or silver?"
"I'm more of a gold."
"Beautiful." He smiled before he opened the box on the table and started to pull out different types of rings and lay them out in front of her.
Lucy seemed more interested as she leaned in, eyes wide and laser focused while Natsu tried to look uninterested but he was peeking over as well.
"Now with all of these rings they could also be customized. From the carat size to the placement. We could also add more or take off and of course sizing. Are there any that catch your eye?"
"I'm not a big fan of the pear shaped ones. Nothing with pointed edges. I think I'd prefer more of a round or oval shape." Lucy was cooing at the rings. "May I?"
"Yes, milady, please!" He pushed them towards her so they were closer.
Lucy took the opportunity to grab the first ring she had seen, slipping the ring on her ring finger to hold her hand out to see the shining piece. It was a beautiful classic round diamond ring with a twisted band. There were smaller diamonds that decorated the band which twinkled with the lighting. Her heart raced inside of her chest as she saw the engagement ring on her finger and she felt like a little girl again, achieving one of her goals in her hopeless romantic life. She couldn't help but grin widely.
"What do you think?" Lucy turned to show Natsu. He looked bored as he looked at her hand.
"Too small."
"That is only a two carat diamond. We do have larger ones." The salesman was quick to interject.
Lucy hummed, eyeing the piece on her finger as she twisted it in every direction. "Maybe a size bigger? Could I see what a three carat looks like?"
"Certainly," he picked up another ring on the mat to hold out to her. It was an oval ring this time with a plain thin band and delicate border around the diamond.
Lucy was happy to slip this one on, her eyes wide at the precious diamond as she held her hand out in front of her. She turned to look at Natsu and his eyebrow was raised.
"Really? This is the best you could do?" He sounded almost offended and the salesman began to sweat.
Lucy could only glare at him but he ignored her as another champagne flute came his way.
"As expected of Mr. Dragneel, of course," he sputtered, collecting the rings to dump back into the box. "Is there a specific size you'd like?"
"Anything but those fuckin' pebbles."
"Natsu!" Lucy hissed out and he didn't seem to pay her any mind as he sipped from his glass. "I'm so sorry about this, he's just a bit cranky today."
Natsu only scoffed as she apologized and she tossed him another hard look.
The salesman seemed to pull out a drawer from underneath and started to pull out much larger pieces, ones that could be seen a mile away and Lucy was wide eyed seeing the rings. She reached for yet another oval piece that was almost as big as her finger, holding out her hand to see how she felt. She turned to look at Natsu and he didn't say anything this time, watching her with his head leaning against his hand. His eyes looked up to lock with hers and she felt her cheeks grow red, turning away to look back at the rings.
"I feel like this one is a little too big."
"That is a whopping seventeen carats."
"H—how about something smaller? Maybe… thirteen?"
Natsu snorted at her and she turned to look at him but he didn't say anything as he sipped from his champagne flute. She turned her attention to the man and she went to try another ring on, admiring the beautiful cut and the shimmering jewel but it didn't feel like the one so she put it back down. She continued to do this for a while, trying on rings to put them down to try it on again after trying on other ones.
It felt like forever and Lucy started to sweat as she tried to feel for the ring.
She asked for other shapes and even different colored gems just to compare and try on and even tried on a couple of silver pieces and Natsu was already four champagne flutes in and she was still deciding if she liked gold or silver.
Eventually after an hour, Natsu was getting impatient and he was now leaning in, hovering over her to pressure her a bit. Lucy tried to ignore him but she could feel his heat and see him eyeing her so she just huffed and pulled the rings off and leaned back into her seat.
She was glaring at Natsu and the said fiancé just stared at her, confused and a bit irritated.
"Could you be more obvious?" She scoffed. "I don't like any of them."
"You heard the lady," Natsu snapped, turning to look at the beet red face of the salesman. "Don't you have anything better?"
The salesman was sputtering, unsure how to handle such criticism and he was up on his feet, promising his return while leaving the couple in the room.
"It's nice to know you're also an asshole to everyone else." Lucy said and it made Natsu scowl at her. "I don't understand how your loving parents produced such a dick like you."
"I'm only being an asshole because you're pissing me off. You take forever to do anything!"
"I'm not going to just buy any engagement ring or the first one I see! This is important!"
"It's not even a real marriage!"
"Yes it is!" Lucy cried out, slapping her hand against her forehead. "And it's also my first so I'd like for it to be nice!"
"Oh save it for your second marriage," Natsu waved her off and she felt the irritation build in her chest. He yelped when he felt her swat at him and he turned to look at her, glaring at the red-faced blonde. "What was that for?"
"Take me home! I'm done with you!"
"What? No!" He cried out. "I brought you all the way out here and we're not leaving till you pick a stupid ring!"
"Not with that attitude! You're being an asshole and making the guy nervous. You have snarky comments about everything and you've also drunk a whole champagne bottle all on your own! I don't want to be around you anymore." She crossed her arms across her chest and huffed in annoyance. She turned her head away and Natsu could only groan, throwing his head back.
"You are such a princess."
"And you're such a prick!"
The two were growling at one another, shooting daggers and daring one another to keep going as they balled their fists up and gritted their teeth. Soon, Lucy turned her entire body away from him to keep from looking at him and Natsu was facing the other direction, huffing and cursing under his breath as the salesman had returned.
"We have these one of a kind rings we had custom made to show you." He was hopeful, sweating as he felt the thick tension in the air. "I hope one of these are more suited for your taste."
"It better be." Natsu grumbled under his breath and it made him sweat even more, frantically trying to find his seat and pull the rings out.
Lucy scooted up into her seat and she looked at the rings in slight interest. Some of them were colored gems, sparkling in the light and shining brightly. Some with more detail and more thought into the making.
When she couldn't even find one that she truly loved, she turned to look at Natsu with a bored expression and that was the last straw for him.
—X—
"It's not my fault, mom! Lucy didn't like any of them! We were there for three hours!" Natsu was screaming, following his irritated mother around the large home. "Three hours, mom. Plus the two I had to wait for her to get ready and finish her stupid tennis lessons. That's five hours of my life I'm never going to get back!"
"Natsu," Grandine was hissing, trying to lose him off her tail. "I told you not to come back unless you had an engagement ring for Lucy."
"How am I supposed to bring one home when she doesn't like any of them?!"
"Take her to another jeweler!"
"Who is to say they didn't have the same crap?!"
"Not every store has the same rings, Natsu!"
"What are you two on about now?" Igneel's whine was a desperate cry for help. He watched how the two had aimlessly walked into his office, ignoring the man sitting at the desk doing work while screaming at one another. It also made it hard for him to leave because he knew he was next in line to get yelled at and knowing how stubborn and ruthless his wife could be, she had purposefully come into his office to ruin his night, too.
"Your son had one job!" Grandine shouted, eyes ablaze. "One job!"
"She didn't like any of them!" Natsu repeated, groaning out while throwing his head back. "You said she had to pick the ring! And she did not pick a ring!"
"Did you try another jeweler?" Igneel asked and Natsu looked like someone had stolen his last candy bar.
"Your idiot son thought they would have the same thing so he didn't." Grandine hissed, arms crossed as she glared at the pink-haired one.
Natsu only groaned out loud, throwing his arms in the air. "Then why don't you take her?! Or you can send Wendy!"
"She's your fiancé, Natsu! You are not sending your twelve year old sister to get you an engagement ring!"
"Not by choice!"
"Alright, alright," Igneel had enough of their bickering. "Listen, son, I get it that you're frustrated and you have to do something for someone else for once in your life—" He ignored his whines and protests. "But we have talked about this and come to an agreement so you need to live up to your side of the deal and part of that deal is finding an engagement ring for Lucy. The sooner you get this done the sooner you don't have to deal with it. The hardest part is finding an engagement ring. The only reason we asked you to take Lucy out with you is because you don't know one another and the least Lucy could have is an engagement ring she would actually like. And knowing you, you'd just probably buy her the first one you see without a thought."
"Not true—"
"A ring pop doesn't count."
Natsu shut his mouth and he was fuming, arms crossed his chest while he looked away from his red-haired father.
"How about you try again tomorrow? I'll call around and give you a list of places in case Lucy doesn't find one in any one of them. And why don't you take her out to lunch, too?"
"Really?" He was groaning already but the look his mother gave him made him resort to grumbling under his breath. "We have a whole year. I don't understand why we have to rush this."
"Natsu," Grandine sounded so fed up at that point.
"Just go." Igneel sighed, saving both him and his son the trouble of having to go through another shrill of insults and nonsense. "I'll put in a word with Jude and Layla that you'd be there to pick Lucy up around noon so don't be late and be nice."
Natsu just left his father's studies, fed up and tired from this terrible day.