"Come on, mama!" Lucy whined, stomping her foot on the ground in a child-like tantrum. "I don't want to spend my day with him! I already had enough yesterday!"

"Now, Lucy, that's not very polite or lady-like of you." Layla scolded as she stirred her morning tea, not even bothering to look at her daughter who was huffing and puffing. "Engagement ring shopping is supposed to be fun."

"Yeah, if I was marrying someone I actually wanted." Lucy muttered under her breath with her arms crossed her chest. She chose to ignore the glare her mother had thrown her way and Lucy decided to use her sweet charms on her father, turning to face the man who desperately tried to hide from the entire mess as he hid behind a newspaper and sipped on his coffee in silence. "Daddy!" She whined, leaning towards the man who had stiffened from his daughter's dismay. "I don't want to go!"

Jude had caught his wife's death glare and he choked on his coffee, trying his hardest to please both his favorite women but he was put in a hard spot and he was sweating.

"Lucy, sweetheart, you know the arrangements we had discussed and promised—"

"But daddy!" She whined louder, dragging her words out. "Engagement ring shopping wasn't part of the deal!"

"Would you rather just get one he picks and you just absolutely hate?"

"Not like it'll matter, it's not going to be mine forever." Lucy grumbled, a big pout on her lips as Layla groaned. "You don't even know what kind of a prick he is! He's brash, uptight, whiney, and annoying! He drank a whole bottle of champagne by himself while we were ring shopping and spent the entire time being rude! I can't believe you want me to marry someone like him!"

"He's not all that bad, Lucy," Layla gave her a hard look. "Natsu is a very nice kid. You two are just butting heads at the moment because of your shared feelings about the entire arranged marriage but you'll soon warm up to one another and find love."

Lucy scoffed, almost as if she was disgusted. "Really, mama?"

"You two are already fighting like a married couple," Jude piped in, forcing himself to continue to read the same newspaper twice so he didn't have to be too involved or look in their furious eyes. "It hasn't even been a year, yet."

"This is going to be the worst and longest year of my life!" Lucy screeched as she walked away from her hopeless parents.

Layla and Jude could only share concerned and tired looks as Lucy had departed from the dining room, her angry stomps echoing down the hall.

Lucy had just stomped into her room and let out a frustrated roar, throwing the first thing she saw and ran to her bed to flop down face first and scream.

She was going crazy about this whole thing. She just spent the day with him yesterday and they expect her to do it again today? He was an asshole about the whole thing and his entire mood just ruined it all for her. How was she supposed to be at peace and find something she truly liked with him fuming beside her?

She would much rather be doing anything else than spend more time with him.

So she put on her big girl pants and grumbled and said unladylike things under her breath as she got ready for her day with her boyfriend. Or fiancé, whichever was most convenient at the time and it made her sick to call him her fiancé so she decided on a boyfriend.

Fuming about her day and how Natsu's voice rang in her head about how she had dressed got her determined to actually put something nice on so she shifted through her closet and looked for a nice dress to put on. She spent some time putting makeup on and shimming on a nice yellow sundress that hugged her body like it was made for her (which it was, tailored and one of a kind) and stood in her closet wondering what shoes to pair with her outfit. She wondered if she wore heels, if she would be too tall or if it would be best to wear sneakers and then went through a whole crisis about sandals.

She eventually gave up and decided to wear a nice pair of white heels to pair with her yellow sundress and grabbed her purse where she had nothing but daddy's credit card and lipgloss and she reluctantly made her way back down the stairs where her mother and father were chatting it up with her boyfriend. He was wearing casual white joggers with a black t-shirt and she scoffed because he looked like he was about to go grocery shopping and she was annoyed she had dressed up for this occasion when he did not.

Her mother seemed swoon as she picked at his shoulder for fuzzes and pat him on the chest, all smiles and sunshine as Natsu returned such a smile. It made her angry that he's never been that sweet to her and he was even receiving a warm smile from her own dad which made her feel betrayed.

The scowl on her face never left and she was standing there with her arms crossed her chest and a frown on her beautiful face as the three turned to look at her.

She caught his eye and it lingered a minute too long as she watched her mom come up to her with an identical scowl. She came and fixed her hair and whispered at her to behave and fix her face so Lucy rolled her eyes and straightened her shoulders to plaster one of her infamous fake smiles.

She could see Natsu stifle his snort and her father looked happy, proud even, as he came and brushed her hair away from her face and smiled widely.

"You look beautiful," he said, pushing her by the shoulders towards Natsu. "Now you two have fun!"

"We won't," Lucy muttered as she pushed past and walked away from the three.

Natsu just offered a wide smile and wave before he followed the fuming blonde out and Lucy was in his car before he was out the door.

He got in the car next to her and eyed her as she faced the window. Her knees even were pointed towards the door and he could only roll his eyes at her behavior as he started the car. He fiddled with the air conditioner and the radio, buckling himself in before he was on the road once more.

The silence was nice up until it wasn't. He could just feel her annoyance and the tension was so thick that he wanted to choke. It wasn't like he was so happy to waste his day looking at rings and spending it with his girlfriend but her mother really brightened his spirits up. She was so sweet and such a loving woman, he wondered where this bitch of a woman came from.

"What do you want to eat?" He tried asking and he was only greeted with silence. It pissed him off as he came to a red light, turning to look at the woman who continued to face the window with a pout on her lips. He took the chance to take her in, seeing how her long creamy legs stretched a mile long as the yellow sundress hugged her curves he was grateful for. The yellow really brought out her undertone and he liked how her enormous chests almost spilled out of the top, her golden locks brushed behind her ear as she leaned her head against her arm that her elbow supported against the door. He could see how long her lashes fluttered as she blinked and the shine of her lip gloss on her pouty lips and he appreciated she actually dressed up this time. "You look nice today."

"Thanks." Was all she said and he watched her twist her head even further away so he couldn't see the tint on her cheeks but he did.

He just smiled to himself as the light turned green and he was driving once more.

They pulled up to yet another jewelers, a different one from yesterday, and once he had the car in park Lucy was unbuckling and getting out the car. He just watched her stand in front of his car with her arms crossed and that same pout on her face and he couldn't help but look her up and down.

She looked real good today. Almost sexy. And her anger was kind of becoming a turn on for him at this point.

So he got out of the car and looked at her pouting face and he couldn't help but smile. It looked like it pissed her off even more so she flicked her hair over her shoulder and went in the shop as he tried to get that one hair that stuck to his face.

It was like how it was yesterday, sparkles and glitter in her eyes as she looked in the display cases before a salesman brought the two in the back for a private meeting.

He sat beside Lucy and she slapped her purse into his chest and he scowled, tempted to throw this purse across the room.

"Don't you even think about it," she hissed out to him as if she was reading his mind. He just grumbled and tucked the stupid thing between his arm and leaned back against the chair while she looked at rings once more.

Natsu could only scroll through his phone while she browsed and every once in a while she'll hold out her hand to show him and he would just shrug or grunt. Eventually she just stopped showing him altogether and he buried his head into his arm and felt himself losing himself in the conversation of rings and sizes and diamonds and styles. He just wanted to bang his head against the goddamn wall till he was bleeding out.

Much sooner than later though, she was standing and it caught him by surprise as she looked down at him with her lips pressed together. He could only see her chest though.

"Thank you but I don't think we'd be finding anything here." Lucy said which made him perk his head up to look at the sweating salesman. "Let's go."

"Nothing?" He asked, following the click of her heels.

"Nope." She said while walking out the door with him behind.

"We've been here for over an hour and you're saying you didn't find anything?"

"Are you hard of hearing? I said no." She shot him a look. She snatched the purse from his hands and sighed out loud. "I'm hungry."

"I asked what you wanted to eat." He crossed his arms as they stood outside the jewelers. "You ignored me."

"I'm really not in the mood for this today." She turned her body away from him, crossing her arms. "Just take me to get food."

Natsu scrunched his face up and watched her walk over to his car to get in and sit in the passenger seat like the princess she was.

He didn't know if he was pissed or turned on anymore and he got back in the car to drive to the first restaurant he saw. Which happened to be a burger joint and he was expecting her to go off about how stupid he was to bring her to a restaurant like this and how'd he expect someone like her class to eat a burger but she didn't say a word as she got out of his car. He was more surprised to see the smile on her face as she entered the establishment and he watched her the entire time as she stared up at the menu and tried to find something she liked.

He didn't know what it was about today but she was catching his eye like the sun and it was ironic because she was in yellow and her hair was golden like the rays.

"What do you want?" She asked again, making him snap out of it to blink.

"Huh?" He sounded stupid.

"You need to order." Lucy huffed, seeing how the cashier was looking at him too.

"Oh," he cleared his throat to rip his attention away from his sun and ordered his meal. He was slow with getting his wallet out as Lucy had already shoved a card in the machine and he was gawking as she took the cup from the cashier and left him at the register. He looked at the cashier who was blushing and holding out the receipt to him and he felt somehow embarrassed as he thanked her and walked away with his own cup. "Why'd you pay for the meal?"

"Because you were too slow at it," she answered while sipping the different flavors the machine had to offer. "You have to be faster than that."

"I was going to buy lunch."

"Then be faster next time." She never even turned to look at him while she went to the next flavor. "It's not a big deal."

"Letting a girl buy my lunch is kind of emasculating." He admitted as she finally found a flavor she liked to start filling her cup up. When she turned to look at him, he felt enchanted by her doe eyes and his throat felt dry.

He wanted to slap himself in the face to get himself together.

"Then be better at being masculine." She smirked before pushing past him to find herself a seat. He watched her leave and felt stunned at the moment, seeing how she found purchase in a booth by the window and she sat there with her eyes on the world.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Even when she was ordering and smiling at the cashier and finding which flavor drink she wanted. And when she was finding a seat in the small burger joint and especially when she was biting into her burger that was bigger than her head.

"You've been staring at me all day. Say what you need to say." She finally said as she was halfway through her burger and squeezing out ketchup on her plate.

Natsu just blinked, unaware that he was staring. "Huh?"

"You're staring at me like I have two heads or something. What is it?"

"I can't stare at my fiancé?" He smirked when her cheeks grew pink.

"I prefer girlfriend. It's less personal."

"How is that less personal?"

"I don't have a ring on my finger so," she popped a fry into her mouth while picking up another. "And you haven't even proposed to me."

"Well whose fault is that?" He ignored the glare she tossed his way. "And we're still engaged technically. We're to be wed by the end of the year." He finished his first burger to crumble up the paper.

"Whatever," she murmured as she smeared her fry in her glob of sauce. "I'm tired of this."

"Imagine how I feel."

Lucy threw a fry at him and he was shocked, seeing how the fried potato hit him in between the eyes that caught him off guard.

"What the hell was that for!" He growled.

"For being an asshole!"

"How was I being an asshole?!"

"For your stupid unnecessary comment! I'm not having fun either, you know!"

"Then stop fucking around and pick a ring out!"

"It's not that easy!"

The two were screaming at each other at that point, catching the eyes of the others who were around but they didn't seem to care as they went back and forth.

"How hard is it to just pick a ring?!"

"I told you that it is! I don't want to wear something I don't like!"

"Then why don't you just custom make one?!"

"Because I don't know what I want!"

Natsu groaned out loud and wanted to slam his head against the wall again and he was fuming and so was she. He could feel the tension again as she crossed her arms across her chest and huffed.

"You are such an asshole. I can't believe my first boyfriend is like this." She muttered and it made him jolt in surprise.

Then it hit him that he was her first boyfriend and this might even be her first date ever and he was making her feel like this.

As much as he didn't want to care, he did. He felt bad and he was now seeing why she was being such a bitch because he was treating her so poorly that she felt she had to react this way. And he felt bad because they've only known each other for a week and she was miserable and angry and he knew she probably didn't want to do this as much as he did.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out before he could even process what he was going to say and he knew he had the same expression she did as she looked at him with wide eyes. He cleared his throat and looked away from her, feeling his cheeks grow hot as he tried to focus on his burger but he could feel her heated stare.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry." He tried again and it was hard to swallow as he set his burger down and sucked down his drink.

She looked skeptical as she slowly pulled a fry to her mouth and chewed.

"I don't mean to treat you so poorly. I get it. You're pissed. I'm pissed. Neither one of us wants to do this but have to. I get it."

"If you get it then why do you do it?"

"I'm not that great with controlling my emotions or my tongue."

"No kidding." Lucy scoffed, making him frown.

"I'm trying over here." He felt irritated. "And since I'm your first boyfriend and stuff," he caught the way her face scrunched and blushed. "I'm going to apologize and I'll try better."

Lucy was quiet, as if she was processing and thinking things through and just a bit of doubt wavering her thoughts. She was eyeing him up and down and he tried to ignore the stank look she was giving him but she eventually slumped and let out a sigh before drinking from her cup.

"Thanks." She said while she leaned back against the booth. "If it means anything, you're not the worst boyfriend."

"How would you know? You've never had one."

"I read a lot." She said, setting her cup down. "And I lied. I had a boyfriend before."

"Really?" He sounded surprised. "Who?"

"His name was Dan. We were in the second grade and he held my hand and was my knight in shining armor he liked to say."

Natsu could only snort as he took a big bite from his meal.

"He moved away a week or two later. Didn't even tell me. Just kind of disappeared. I think that was pretty shitty of him. Worse than you, I guess."

"Gee, thanks," Natsu rolled his eyes. "Glad I'm not the worst boyfriend you've ever had."

Lucy could only smile and it felt genuine in his eyes so he flushed and looked away immediately. He made a mental note that he actually liked her smile.

"Natsu?"

Looking up to see who had called his name, Natsu felt all the color drain from his face and he could only feel the panic rush within him. "Oh, fuck." he muttered out making Lucy's eyes dart to him before landing on the couple in front of them.

There stood a dark-haired man who stood tall and broad next to a woman with scarlet hair which she wondered if this was the town destroyer he was talking about. She saw the look of confusion and wonder in their eyes as they looked at her back to her boyfriend who swallowed hard and sat up straighter.

"H—hey guys," he was stuttering and Lucy wondered what was going to happen as she crossed her arms across her chest. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Getting lunch." His ink-colored friend looked over at Lucy who offered a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

"On a date?" The scarlet one asked and Lucy looked to see what Natsu would say and he looked so panicked it made her want to laugh.

"Y—yeah," he admitted and it made Lucy's eyebrows raise. "This is, uh," he cleared his throat, trying to force down the redness crawling up his neck. "This is Lucy. She's my… girlfriend."

It was his friend's turn to be sputtering and they were very openly shocked as she kept looking from the two to her boyfriend who looked too embarrassed to finish his meal. Lucy caught his eye and it was almost like a plea and she just smiled, standing up to offer her hand out to them.

The guy's jaw dropped when he took her in and she could see how the woman's face rivaled the color of her hair.

"Hi, I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you guys. Any friends of Natsu are friends of mine. And your name..?" She first looked at the one whose jaw was dropped and he was sputtering and shaking as he reached for her small dainty hand.

"G—Gray." He swallowed hard. "And this is Erza."

"Gray," she nodded and she saw him shiver. "Erza." She nodded at the woman who squeaked. "It's very nice to meet you. Natsu had mentioned you two before."

"He has?" They looked over at the uncomfortable one who turned his gaze away. "I'm sorry, we haven't heard anything about you. You're Natsu's girlfriend?"

"Yep." She offered another dashing smile.

"Since when?"

"About a week ago."

"How come you've never told us, flame brain?" His attention was now back on the scowling male who narrowed his eyes.

Natsu grumbled under his breath and avoided their eyes. "It just kind of happened." He said and he was back sipping at his drink until it ran dry. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Gray echoed, shocked.

"Natsu, you have a girlfriend! That's kind of a big deal and I kind of expected better from you than to find out like this." Erza said, making him stiffen and keep facing the window. "We've never even heard about you seeing someone or anything like this so this is kind of a surprise."

"It's not his fault," Lucy leaned over to stand up for the sulking one. "Like I said, it just kind of happened."

"How does this kind of stuff just happen?" Gray asked, eyebrows raised as Lucy laughed lightly.

It stunned the three at how airy and sweet her laugh sounded and it was like she was harmonizing to them as they leaned in to her.

"It just does." She smiled and they were swoon.

"I don't believe this one bit." Gray crossed his arms, looking at Natsu who was glaring at him. He looked back at Lucy who had her head tilted to the side and she looked so adorable he had to shove the blush down his throat. "This idiot had never mentioned anything talking to some girl, he was just bragging about his bachelor lifestyle not that long ago so for him to just suddenly have a girlfriend is suspicious."

"How did you two even meet?" Erza asked, eyebrow raised.

"We met through our families. It was love at first sight. I'm sure when Natsu has more time he can explain it to you guys. I wish you two could have joined us but we kind of have a busy schedule." She looked at Natsu for him to take a hint and he was immediately on it, gathering up the trash to stand up and shuffled out of the booth. He was throwing the trash away and back at the table to gather his things at lightning speed.

"Yeah, we kind of have an appointment to get to." Natsu stood by his friends who were staring at him in disbelief. He stiffened when he felt Lucy wrap her arm around his and he looked to see she was pressed against his side with a bright smile on her face.

"Have a great lunch! Hope to see you again soon!" She was tugging at him and he let her pull him away as the faces of his friends burned in his mind.

Once they were out of the place and a safe distance away, Natsu let out the breath he was holding and he ran his hands through his hair. "They're going to fuckin' kill me." He muttered and Lucy was confused as she stared at him. "Erza is going to murder me."

"Why? What was that all about?"

"How would you feel if suddenly one of your best friends just got a girlfriend and didn't tell you?"

"I mean…" Lucy rubbed her arm as she watched him groan. "Does it really matter?"

"And what was that about? You were so… so…" He couldn't find the right words as he stammered. Lucy waited for him with her eyebrow raised as he groaned and threw his arms in the air. "Who was that in there?!"

"What?"

"You were so nice and sweet and all bubbly… you're so fake!"

"Fake?" Lucy reeled back, offended. "I think you should be thanking me for saving your ass back there. You didn't know what to do!"

"I had it handled." Natsu crossed his arms. "I just wasn't expecting to see them or even have them meet you for that matter."

"Don't you think I should meet your friends if we're going to be married?"

"Yes, eventually, just not… so soon!" Natsu groaned, running his hand through his hair to walk around in a small circle. "Now I have this to worry about."

"Well, it's not my fault. You could have told them I was just a friend. You told them I was your girlfriend."

"I'm a terrible liar! What was I supposed to say?! That our parents arranged a marriage between us and you're my soon-to-be wife?! Don't you think that's kind of a lot at once to tell your friends?!"

"I don't know, that's up to you! It's the truth! They'll find out sooner than later!"

They were back at it again, fighting out in the open as people walking by looked at them bickering back and forth. They were practically shouting at one another, in each other's faces.

"Yo, Natsu!" Gray's voice echoed and Natsu gasped. He reacted too quickly and without thinking, he grabbed Lucy by the face and pulled her in to kiss her square in the mouth. Lucy only made a noise of surprise from the back of her throat as Natsu kissed her and she was stunned at the warmth. "Oh, sorry," his voice was now closer and they pulled away when he was right behind her. "You forgot this."

Lucy looked like she was dizzy and not entirely there as Natsu looked from her flushed face to Gray's where he also looked flustered while holding up his wallet. Natsu let go of the blonde and patted his pockets to find out he really didn't have it and cursed, wiping the corner of his mouth to take the wallet from his dumbfounded friend's hands. "Thanks popsicle. Now, do you mind? I was kind of in the middle of something."

"Right." Gray just looked back at the red-faced blonde to the scowling face of his best friend. "Hit me up. We have a lot of catching up to do."

And with that, Natsu watched Gray leave and he looked back to see Lucy looking up at him with those wide brown eyes of hers with her face so red she would have burst into flames any minute. She had her hands over her mouth which he knew was probably gaping and he couldn't help but find her cute.

"W—wh—what was that?!" She stuttered, trying to calm her racing heart. "Why'd you kiss me?!"

"Gray was coming over and we were in the middle of a fight so I did what I thought was best!" Natsu said, trying to cover his own blush.

"T—that was my first kiss!" She shrieked and Natsu couldn't hide the large blush that decorated his face any longer as he whipped his head to look at her in horror.

"Are you serious right now?!"

"Yes!"

"Well—!" He didn't know what to say as they stared at one another in huffing silence. "I'm sorry!" He grabbed her by the arm to start dragging her along. "Come on! Let's go!"

Lucy didn't have the words to say anything else as she allowed him to drag her back to the car, face red, heart pounding, and lips tingling.

—X—

The rest of the day was somewhat peaceful. Awkward. Quiet. Natsu didn't say anything else about the kiss nor did Lucy dare to mention it. They didn't bother saying anything to each other unless they had to and it was awkward when they bumped shoulders or found each other staring and they would turn red and look away as they went from jeweler to jeweler.

Now as Natsu had pulled up to his fourth shop of the day, he was feeling irritated that he had spent the majority of his day going from one store to another for Lucy to be picky about a stupid ring.

He honestly didn't care about rings and he didn't understand why women were so adamant about finding the perfect ring because it's just a stupid ring with a stupid rock on it. He couldn't care less what he wore but his mother insisted that this was important so he did it so he didn't die.

"This is the last one we're going to today," Natsu said as they got out of the car. "If you can't find something here then we're going to have to resort to something else."

"I'm sure our parents will find a way." Lucy sighed as she went ahead of him. The click of her heels echoed and they were once again brought to the back of the store where they sat down with the salesman and went through one of the many rings he had to offer.

At this point, Lucy knew what she liked and didn't. She tried on so many rings and seen so many different designs, she would be damned if she couldn't find one single ring she could like.

Maybe it was because she was marrying someone she didn't love or maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

She knew she liked a large ring rather than a smaller one. Nothing too big that could blind someone but something big enough that people could definitely see it from across the room and know she meant business. She liked the gold over the silver. Nothing sharp or with edges but rather round and soft. Like an oval or traditional circle. She liked the multi diamonds and she liked them dainty, nothing too thick or crazy with designs. She didn't mind colored gems and she also didn't mind the complexity of the design as long as it was something unique and beautiful.

But all the rings started to look the same to her and she was growing frustrated with her soon-to-be hubby downing champagne flutes and sighing out loud whenever she took them off.

And as she went through the many rings with this salesman, she was at a loss once more with a frown as he had left to get more.

She looked over at Natsu and felt hopeless, the sting of hot tears threatening to fall and Natsu was mid-sip when he caught the look. "What's wrong?"

"What if I never find something I like?"

"I'm sure you will." He tried to reassure her but he didn't know what to do or say as she wiped at the couple of tears that pooled in the corner of her eyes. "It's nothing to cry about."

"I'm just so frustrated because it's just supposed to be a ring and I can't even pick one because… because… because I don't know!" She cried out, throwing her arms in the air. "Maybe because deep down I know this doesn't mean anything and it's not real or meant to be or maybe because I'm forced into a marriage with someone I barely know or even love at all and maybe that's why I'm feeling like every ring isn't the one because I'm not with the one and the ring shouldn't even matter but I should have the choice in my ring at least right? But no, every stupid freaking ring I try on and look at is all the damn same and it doesn't matter if it's round or square or gold or silver or ten carats or twenty!" She started to grow hysterical as the tears fell. "Because I'm never going to find a ring and I'm going to be stuck in this loveless marriage because our parents are forcing us to be in it and what if another man doesn't want me because I'm used good because I've already been married and then divorced and if I pop out one or two or how many stupid kids and then—"

"Alright, alright, Lucy, take it easy." Natsu held his hands up for her to stop rambling but she kept going. "Lucy," he grabbed her by the shoulders to shake her slightly and have her look at him. "Lucy, calm down. Relax. Take a deep breath." He inhaled to exhale to demonstrate and she was just hysterical.

Watching how she wiped the tears away and took in a deep breath with him to exhale.

"Lucy, it's alright to feel hopeless about something like this. To be honest, I don't understand the entire stigma surrounding engagement rings and all that. I think it's just a stupid ring but I understand that things like this are important to you girls and I want you to find a ring you like because even when we don't have a choice in this, you could have a choice in certain things. Like the ring you wear or even your wedding dress. Color schemes and your pick in your bridal party and what day you want to have it on and—and the house we live in!" He tried as his hands slid down her shoulder to rub up and down her arm while she cried. "And you can pick what furniture we have and what we name our cat and—"

"What if I want a dog?" Lucy pouted as Natsu scoffed.

"No way, we're going to get a cat."

"Can we have a cat and a dog?"

"Maybe." He definitely was not going to get a dog. "But you see? You have choices. And then you can write your book and become a published author and everything!"

Lucy could only laugh through her tears and Natsu found her cute as the tip of her nose glowed red and she was starting to look better. He found himself letting out a sigh of relief when she was back to smiling and he pulled away from her to have her grab his hand. He looked at her in surprise as she brought it back to her face and held it against her cheek. Natsu blushed beet red as he looked at the woman in shock and horror, feeling how warm and soft her skin was against his.

"Thanks, Natsu," she smiled warmly. "I appreciate it."

"D—don't mention it," he turned away, cursing himself for feeling so bashful all of a sudden.

He missed her warmth when she pulled away from him and he was feeling bubbly from the action, staring at his hand as the salesman had returned with yet another box of rings she could look at. He didn't really even pay attention besides feel his heart pound in his chest and the heat nipping at the tips of his ears.

He downed two more glasses of champagne and before he knew it, Lucy was at a loss once more and the two were leaving the back room.

"I'll see if my dad could get us appointments to jewelers in the next town or something." Natsu said as Lucy followed him out in a pout. "Maybe this town just has similar rings or something."

"I don't know, I guess we could see…"

"Like I said, don't worry so much. I'm sure you'll find a ring you really like one of these days and then—Lucy?" He turned around to see she wasn't behind him anymore but stopped at a display case way back. He could see she was staring at it in interest and he came back to where she was, looking down at the case where rows of rings and jewelry twinkled. "Which one caught your eye?"

"That one," Lucy pointed at a ring that he least expected.

It was a golden oval ring with a large dark gem with smaller diamonds on either side of it. The crystal looked almost like a galaxy just how the blue crystal shined and the twinkle in it must have caught her eye. He didn't know how to describe it but it looked like a ring Lucy would wear and he called over someone to take the ring out and once Lucy had put it on he's never seen her look so in love.

She was beautiful.

Natsu was caught off guard by the way she looked at the ring on her finger and how radiant she was as she held her hand out and twisted it so the gem would twinkle in the lighting. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. He felt his heart pound again and he was willing to do whatever for this woman if she asked and he didn't hesitate this time to take out his wallet and hand his platinum card to the salesman who happily accepted it.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

And Natsu really wanted to kiss her again so he did but this time she kissed him back.