Lucy's life had become peaceful once more.
The six of them had gotten dinner a couple days after finding the ring and it was a whole emotional mess. She was able to show her mother and her future mother-in-law the ring she had picked out and Layla had instantly bursted into tears and wailed for days straight about how her baby girl was to be wed and fly off on her own and it took everything to get her to stop. Whenever she saw her, it was instant tears and her father didn't know how to handle such emotions but when he saw the ring on her finger he was also tearing up.
Dinner was a bit awkward and Lucy could only smile awkwardly as Grandine and Igneel congratulated her while her mother was on her shoulder sobbing uncontrollably. Her father was in hysterics, unsure what to do about his wife but also feeling the butterflies about his baby girl.
Natsu didn't seem to want to be a part of this at all as he shoved roll after roll into his mouth, ignoring the hysterics and conversation.
After they had kissed in the jewelers, nothing has really changed for either of them. They didn't talk about it nor did they start kissing one another whenever. They didn't even hold hands. Natsu just had simply dropped her off back at home and waved goodbye and then it wasn't until a couple days after that they were to meet again with promises of dinner with their parents.
With the ring safe with the Dragneel's, Grandine had reminded Natsu that he was to hold onto it until he was ready to propose and it all started when Natsu started to roll his eyes once more. Grandine made sure to give him an earful as she yanked at his ear and said through gritted teeth that he will listen to her and he will propose when he was ready and he just cried out with promises.
So as the Heartfillia's and Dragneel's sat at the large dinner table Grandine was proud of saying she had made, Lucy had spaced out mid-conversation while waiting for their meals to come out.
Natsu had seemed to notice and he nudged her with his foot from across the table, catching her eyes as she looked at him in confusion. He mouthed 'are you okay' and she just nodded, picking up her water cup to drink from it before she was reaching for a roll herself.
Natsu wasn't convinced as he watched her space out once more.
"Oh, when should we start the wedding planning? Natsu's younger sister is really excited to meet you and really wants to be a part of the planning." Grandine had caught her attention and Lucy was confused for a minute, looking between her and her mother's smiling face.
"Natsu has a sister?" Was all she could say and Layla didn't hide the fact she was scowling at her.
"Yes, Natsu has a sister," Grandine giggled. "Her name is Wendy. She's away right now with my mother for the summer. She wants to follow in her footsteps in medicine and wants to stay with grandma to learn," The woman only rolled her eyes, smiling. "But she'll be home in a couple weeks and I had told her so much about you, Lucy. She's very excited to meet you!"
"Lucky brat," Natsu muttered under his breath and Lucy only glanced his way before looking back at his mother.
"Sounds great. I didn't know Natsu had a sister. I'm very excited to have a sister! I always wanted siblings." She smiled as she looked at her parents who were smiling sheepishly.
"But anyways," Layla cleared her throat, grabbing her daughter by the arm to catch her eyes. "When should we start wedding planning? Mama has her old binder when she was getting married and maybe we could look at wedding dresses once Wendy is back?"
"Yes!" Grandine squealed, leaning in to her girl-friend. "I have a friend in the bridal industry! We could even fly them out here and have Lucy try them on!"
"I don't have to come to this, right?" Natsu sounded wary, making his dad jab at him with a glare. "What? Ring shopping was already a disaster."
"No, Natsu, you won't have to come to this." His mother gave him a look of annoyance.
"You're supposed to see the bride in her dress on the wedding day." Layla held her finger up, winking at the younger lad. "Or else it's bad luck."
"Whatever," Natsu scoffed and he earned another hard jab to his side from his dad and he yelped, glaring at his old man. "Stop doing that!"
"Stop being such a brat," he hissed back at him, voice low and stern.
Natsu just rolled his eyes and scooted away from his dad, fuming as he ripped apart his roll.
"Lucy, when would be a good time for us to try on dresses?" Grandine asked, smile wide and eyes sparkling as Lucy was mid-sip of her drink.
The blonde felt nervous with everyone's eyes on her and she gulped loudly, slowly lowering her glass back on the table. "Uh, I'm not sure.. I'll have to check my schedule. I'm actually taking some courses in the fall and I still have my lessons I attend."
"Oh, Lucy, those lessons are nothing but leisure to you," Layla scoffed, waving her hand at her daughter who shot her a look of betrayal. "We can work around those courses you'd like to take and pick out a date sometime in September!"
Lucy looked at her dad for help but Jude could only offer a smile of reassurance as he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze for support. Lucy only groaned, leaning her head against her father and pouting as she looked lost in thought again. Natsu seemed to watch as he wondered what went through her pretty little mind.
Soon, dinner was served and his mind had pushed back dazed and confused Lucy as everyone had gone into small chit-chat and their meals.
It wasn't until Wendy had come back home a couple weeks later that he had seen Lucy again. He can't say that he thought of her too often but he did catch himself thinking about her once in a while. Especially when he had to break the news to Gray and Erza when they had come over. They sat in his basement, tucked away from everyone else while they played video games and Erza shifted through the catalogs laid out on the table.
"What the fuck do you mean you're in an arranged marriage? I didn't think your parents were the type to do that!" Gray was borderline shouting at the rosy-haired heir who tried to seem unbothered but his pursed lips gave him away. He paused the game they were in and Natsu was annoyed he had to deal with this when he was just trying to casually break the news. "Are you fine with this?"
"Does he really have a choice?" Erza spoke up, shifting through some lingerie catalog. "She seems nice."
"I mean, besides the point that she's way out of your league—" Natsu glared at his best friend while he drank from a water bottle. "You're forced to marry someone you don't know!"
"I mean, her parents and my parents go like, way back. And they wrote up some agreement like twenty years ago before we were even born." He waved him off. "Can we go back to the game?"
"Wait, wait," Gray held his hand up, ignoring his question. "So, what? You're just fine with this?"
"Like Erza said, do I have a choice?"
"I mean, yeah," Gray scoffed as if it was obvious but the way Natsu gave him a look he didn't think so anymore. "So you're really going to marry her?"
"We agreed that we'd take the year to settle in and get to know each other and then we'll be married by next year."
"That soon?" Erza asked, eyes on the male on the ground who nodded.
"Have you told metal-head yet?" Gray asked making Natsu roll his eyes at that.
"No, I don't need his shit right now. I have a lot going on and I'm sure he'll find out sooner or later from our parents or whatever." He scoffed, feeling irritated at the thought of what he was going to bully him about.
"So, have you been getting to know her?"
"I mean," Natsu shrugged, feeling awkward and bashful again. "I guess. Not really. We hung out a couple times but it was only so we can go buy an engagement ring—"
"You already have the engagement ring?!" Erza and Gray shrieked and Natsu was starting to get annoyed with their shouting.
"Do you have it?" Erza asked, cheeks growing red. "Can I see it?"
"It's in my room," Natsu groaned, leaning back against the couch to throw his head back and rub his face. "She picked it out. Took her forever to fucking pick the one she liked. It was so annoying."
"Wait, so why do you call her your girlfriend when she's clearly your fiancé?"
"Because she said it's less personal, I don't really know." He sighed, looking over to see Erza beet red and trembling with the catalog in her hands. "They're part of the Heartfillia—"
"Heartfillia?!" Erza squealed, leaning in shock. "You mean—" She was flipping through the pages like a mad woman till she landed on the right one. "The Heartfillia's? The one who owns the railroads and the Heart Kreuz lingerie line?!" She flipped over to show the model in some skimpy lace lingerie and Natsu just nodded while Gray reached for it to stare at the model a bit harder.
"I don't know why this is such a big deal."
"The big deal is that you're going to marry one of the hottest and richest girls in Magnolia!" Gray was in disbelief, handing back the catalog that Erza was very eager to take back. "And you're acting like it's nothing!"
"It's not like we're going to be together forever. We're going to just marry and pop out a kid or two and then divorce—"
"Kids?!"
Natsu decided he had enough of this conversion and just groaned out loud, getting up to excuse himself to go to the bathroom.
Truthfully, he tried not to think about this entire arrangement because it pissed him off and he was still in a hard spot of whether or not he liked Lucy or not. It's not like he cared for her to the degree he wanted to talk and see her constantly but it's also not like he would just ignore her if she were to show up. And after they had shared a kiss he just felt this was just some casual thing. It's not like she was all over him and calling him or wanting to get to know him so why should he?
Wendy and his mom were already bombarding him with questions and whines about Lucy and wanting him to invite her over for dinner or to play a game of tennis (which he told them she sucks at) but he always just told them she was busy or he was busy and moved on.
So he was kind of surprised that when he had come back from working out that Lucy was at his house, sitting in the sunroom where he first met her, with his mom and his sister and her mother talking about the wedding. She looked like she would rather be anywhere else as she let everyone else talk, excited chattering filling the air while she spaced out once more.
When he had caught her eye, she seemed to perk up slightly and he waved and she waved back.
"Natsu! Perfect! You're back! Come!" Grandine ushered him over, waving her hand frantically. Natsu slowly made his way over, unsure what he had walked into, and hovered over the coffee table that had catalogs, binders, pens, and cut-out photos of flowers laid across every open surface. He glanced over at Lucy who looked bored and looked back at the faces of the women who were all bright and expecting. "We're picking out colors right now and wanted to see what you like. I mean, Lucy has final say but it'll be nice to have your thoughts."
"There are the ones Lucy had already picked out from the others!" Wendy said excitedly, pushing the variety of pink towards her older brother. "She likes these colors and she's unsure which one she likes the best."
"They're all pink." He was confused. "What do I have to pick?"
Layla giggled when Grandine rolled her eyes, a sigh flying out of her lips. "They're different shades of pink, Natsu."
"Yeah… but they're still all pink." He eyed them all with a raised eyebrow. "Does it matter?"
"We should have never asked him," Grandine muttered, leaning towards Layla who just giggled.
"Men are clueless about this kind of stuff. Give him a break." Layla nudged her friend who just sighed.
"I'm going to go get some water." Lucy had finally spoken up, pushing herself up from her seat to gain the attention of everyone. "Excuse me."
"Natsu, show her to the kitchen."
"No, it's alright I—"
"Nonsense!" Grandine cut her off, smiling brightly until she looked over at her son with a sharp gaze. "Take her, Natsu."
Natsu didn't even bother arguing as he was already hightailing it out of that room, Lucy in tow as she offered her thanks and they were in silence, walking through his large estate.
"You having fun picking out flowers and colors?" Natsu asked, trying to break the silence.
Lucy groaned, dragging herself besides the male who slowed to match her pace. "It's hell. I've been here for almost an hour fighting with them about colors and flowers and what kind of theme I want to go for and how I'd like the table arrangements to be. It's honestly draining and I hate it."
Natsu only snickered, turning a corner with her. "Glad it's not me."
"Keep talking like that and I'll request you to be there with me every time." She glared at him and his smirk dropped.
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
"I thought you girls like stuff like that." Natsu had finally brought them to the kitchen where he went to where the cups were stored. He handed her the cup and he jolted when she brushed against his finger to grab the glass, taking a step back when she came in his bubble.
Lucy pretended not to notice as she went to the fridge to pour herself a glass. "Yeah, sure, when it's my wedding day. I feel like this is more for our moms than it is for me."
"Basically," He leaned against the counter to watch her drink from the glass. "I overheard mom on the phone with her friend who works in the bridal industry and she had shipped over a thousand dresses overseas for you to try on. You should be expecting another appointment pretty soon."
Lucy groaned at this as she tilted her head back in agony. "When is this going to stop?"
"Never."
Lucy looked over at him with a pout on her lips and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her lips. He subconsciously licked his, remembering how soft they were when they were pressed against his.
"Could you maybe just get it over with and kill me now?"
"No." He scoffed, crossing his arms. "Then I'll have to deal with my parents and yours."
"We could do what Romeo and Juliet did and do a murder-suicide."
"Sounds like a better plan."
Lucy smiled at him and he smiled back, a silence passing them in a comfortable way till it wasn't.
"So, how have you been?" Lucy asked, surprising him. "It's been a couple weeks."
Natsu didn't know how to feel as he rubbed the back of his neck, casting his eyes away from her pretty face. "Alright. I told Gray and Erza about us."
"Yeah? What'd they say?" She also leaned against the counter, getting a bit comfortable as she took another sip of water.
"They were shocked."
"Figured."
"Erza is more interested in your family's lingerie line than anything."
Lucy laughed at this and Natsu felt himself brightening up at her laughter, seeing how the corners of her eyes crinkled and how her chest vibrated with her. "Yeah, I figured. She's more than welcome to try anything on. I usually get the first pick and look into the newer ones."
"I'll make sure to tell her that."
"Are you planning on introducing me to them anytime soon?"
"Are you planning on introducing me to your friends?"
Lucy was quiet for a minute, a small blush on her cheek as she looked away. "Uh, sure… I only really have one or two close friends."
"Did you tell them about me?"
"Uh… no." Lucy said, playing her the ice in her cup.
"Why not?" He raised his eyebrow at her and she looked nervous.
"I don't know," she shrugged, keeping her head casted down. "I will one day."
"No pressure."
Another comfortable silence snuck between the couple and Natsu was unsure what to say or do next as he looked at his girlfriend. She was more casual today, dressed in a skirt and a black long sleeve. He noticed that whatever she wore she always looked good in it and he couldn't tear his eyes away from those legs of hers that crossed.
"Lucy! Honey! Are you coming back?" Layla's voice was echoing down the hall and it made both of them jump.
Seeing how Lucy looked so uncomfortable made him feel a bit bad as he grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?" She looked down at his hand on her before looking back up at him.
"Unless you want to go back to wedding planning, shut up." He said before he was dragging her out the room.
Lucy didn't say anything as she quickly followed him somewhere, rounding corners and walking down the halls with him and she couldn't help but have a small smile on her lips. She could feel his warmth and how he was rushing to get her out and she felt grateful he was actually helping her out.
After going down many long hallways, Natsu had opened some door for her to see it was stairs so she followed right behind, closing the door, and came down to the basement where she was seemingly impressed.
It was made into some kind of game room, a foosball table in the corner with a pool table right beside it. There was also an air hockey table on the other side and a ping pong table. There was a large television that was mounted on the wall with a game console attached and couches and chairs surrounding it for guests. Posters and paintings hung from the wall and there seemed to be another hallway around some corner and she watched how Natsu had finally let her go to turn and look at her.
"My man cave," he said proudly, smiling. "I'm going to build one of these in our house."
Lucy felt herself blush at his words and she just walked over to the ping pong table, brushing her fingers against the cool surface. "I have one of these at my house. My mom gets pretty competitive. Said she used to play a lot when she was a kid."
"Does that mean you're any good at it?"
"Kind of." She shrugged as he walked over to the other side of the table. "I wouldn't say I'm bad."
"Like you are in tennis?"
"I'm not bad at tennis!" Lucy glared as he smirked at her. "It was just an off day for me."
"Whatever you say." He snickered till he held up the paddle. "Let's see if you're any good."
"Don't go crying to your mommy when I beat you." Lucy said, grabbing her own paddle as he scoffed.
"I'm the king of ping pong in this household."
"Careful what you say, you don't want my mom to hear you."
Natsu laughed and Lucy giggled along with him, smiling as he tossed her the ball. "I'll let you serve. Give you the advantage." He smirked.
"Gee, thanks," Lucy caught the ball to hold it in her hands. She got into stance and she started off slow, hitting the ball for it to fly to the other side of the table in a calm manner before Natsu had reeled his arm back to hit the ball with so much force, it flew right at Lucy who just screamed and ducked down as the ball hit the wall behind her. She shot back up and looked behind her before turning back to look at her boyfriend in disbelief. "What the hell! That was too hard!"
"I told ya I'm good." He smirked, arms crossed his chest. "Point one for Dragneel!"
"That's not being good! You're just hitting it too hard!"
"It's ping pong," He scoffed, looking at her glaring eyes. "I thought you said you were good at this."
Lucy growled at him before she was stomping over to grab the ball on the ground, coming back to the table to not even say a word before smacking the ball hard towards him for it to fly right at his face. Now it was Natsu's turn to duck as the ball barely grazed the top of his head, standing back up to look at the bouncing rolling ball on the floor before he looked back at his girlfriend who had a smug expression on her face.
"Point one for Heartfillia."
Natsu felt some sense of pride in his chest for his girlfriend and he couldn't help but grin. "Alright, I see you. We'll see who is the winner in the end."
"Bring it on."
Natsu was pleasantly surprised that she could go back and forth with him a bit. She was competitive and aggressive with her hits at first, diving back and forth to hit the ball and it reminded him of when she was playing tennis. She had such a wide smile on her face as she played round after round with him and he was starting to enjoy himself as he laughed along with her whining when he would score a point. He stopped trying to hit it so hard to make her believe he was playing soft and then at the last minute he swung his paddle as hard as he could to hit the ball and it was like it was all in slow motion as the ball flew right at her for it to smack her right on the forehead.
She dropped her paddle with a thud, putting her hand on her forehead as she cursed out loud.
Natsu started laughing out loud and clutching his gut while she hissed out.
"That's not funny! That actually hurt!" She cried out, hand pressed to her forehead as her eyes became glossy.
"B—but that was so funny!" Natsu howled with laughter, throwing his head back as his body shook. He started to laugh even harder when she pulled her hand away for him to see the red dot on her forehead from where the ball had hit her.
Lucy growled at him before she picked up her paddle and chucked it right at him, the flat board coming in contact with his face as his laughter died off. Now it was Lucy giggling as she saw the look on his face as he pressed his hand against his nose.
"What the hell was that!"
"Payback!"
"The paddle is so much harder than that stupid plastic ball!"
"It still hurt!"
"Why you—" Natsu growled before he was running after her and Lucy just squealed, making a dash around the table as he ran after her. He was a lot faster than her as he reached for her but she barely dodged him, running across the room as he chased her. She rounded the foosball table as he stood on the other side, a glare on his red face as Lucy stuck her tongue out.
"Serves you right for hitting the ball that hard!"
"I'd rather get hit in the face with the ball than the paddle!"
"Suck it up princess!"
Natsu was chasing her again, the couple running around the basement like children as Lucy squealed and laughed. Natsu couldn't help but have a smile tug on his lips as he finally grabbed her while she was rounding the pool table and he embraced her from behind, picking her up as she kicked and squealed.
"Let me go!"
"Oh no you don't," he flipped her around to toss her on his shoulder. "I'm getting you back!" He brought her kicking figure over to the couch.
"There's no getting me back! We're even!"
"You threw a hard paddle at my face! You only got hit with the pong ball!" He tossed her onto the couch and she didn't even have time to react before he had her pinned on the cushions and started to tickle her. Lucy squealed as she thrashed around, trying to push him off as she laughed. "I don't play to get even! I play to win! Say you surrender!"
"No!" She said in between her fits of laughter. "You're a sore loser!"
"I am not!" He said while she wiggled underneath him and she was starting to get out of breath. "Say I won!"
"No! Stop! Please!" She begged, trying to ball herself up but he was quick with his hands to have her squealing. "Okay! Okay!"
"Okay what?" He had a devilish grin on his face, continuing his torture.
"Okay! You win! You win!" She shouted and he finally stopped as she fought to catch her breath.
She was red in the face from her actions and she was giggling to herself as she looked up at him. He felt his own air get knocked out of him as he saw how she looked up at him through those long lashes hers and he suddenly realized he was on top of her on the couch with his girlfriend panting below him. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears again and he was stiff as she stared up at him as if she was expecting something.
He felt the urge to kiss her again and he swallowed hard, shifting so he sat on the couch so she could sit up. He was very aware of how she looked as she sat up to come face to face with him, his own cheeks burning pink as she gave him a shy smile.
He swore she was leaning in to him or he was, he didn't know or cared, as he could feel her breath tickling his chin. His eyes darted from her hooded eye to her lips and he reached up to grab her by the side of her face, pushing back the hair that hung over her face.
"There you guys are! Mom and Mrs. Heartfillia are looking everywhere for you two—!" Wendy's voice had them both jump and reel back from one another.
They were wide eyed and flushed red as they looked at one another before turning to peek over the couch where Wendy had come over. She didn't seem to notice what they were doing and she smiled widely, hands locked behind her back as she hopped over.
"What are you two doing?"
"N—nothing!" They both shouted at the same time. Lucy was quick to be one her feet, straightening herself as she rounded the couch to come over to her future sister-in-law.
"We got a bit distracted playing ping pong. Come on, let's go." Lucy had started to push the younger one away, walking over to the stairs. Wendy just started to talk nonsense about how they had picked some flowers and narrowed down colors and Lucy didn't even hear anything as the pounding of her heart echoed in her ear.
She looked over her shoulder to glance over at Natsu one more time and they locked eyes before she turned her head back and scurried out of the basement.
It left Natsu alone with his thoughts and he just slapped his hand against his forehead, running them through his hair before he laid down on the couch to stare at the ceiling.
After the ping pong incident, Lucy had been catching herself thinking about her boyfriend a lot more than she liked. She was starting to imagine his lips on her, his large hands on her waist and her face, and that stupid smile on his stupid face that was creeping into her head ever so often. It caught her off guard and she would jump when she would realize it and she was more than embarrassed as she furiously blushed and covered her face with her hands.
She's gotten hit with a tennis ball one too many times for thinking about him. Caught lacking in her classes when they would call on her and she even overpoured a cup of tea and burnt herself as she cursed out loud (which mother reminded her was unladylike) and she just gave up altogether.
It frustrated her how much she was not in control of her emotions as that idiot crept into her mind whenever she least expected it. It wasn't like they were anything. And she certainly did not have any feelings for him! (She was in denial)
So what if they kissed one or two times and almost kissed again that one time on the couch? That meant nothing! And so what if she thought he was cute and she was imagining him actually being a boyfriend to her. He wasn't really her boyfriend. Or fiancé or husband-to-be. Just some guy she was going to marry to please both families and to seal the deal on this business transaction.
But with the amount of novels she read about romance and true love and acts of love made her squirm and think about her boyfriend.
She didn't miss him. She didn't care if he was around or not. She just thought of him in the way she wanted and needed. Someone sweet, caring, and gentle. Like a Prince Charming to her Princess status.
Natsu was brash, cocky, and arrogant. Stuck up brat. Annoying. Always trying to argue. Totally not her type at all.
Lucy was a bit excited when her mother had announced sometime mid-october, a couple weeks later, that they were going to the Dragneel household to try on wedding dresses. She hadn't seen Natsu since the entire ping pong incident and she was somewhat excited to see him as much as she didn't want to admit it.
Trying on dresses was somewhat appealing to her as well since she loved dress up but it also made her nervous because now it's been about three months since the entire exchange was made and she and Natsu barely made any progress. She was supposed to be wed in nine months and they only were one step ahead. But wasn't the man supposed to be making the move? She wouldn't dare to ask him out or even call him up first. And she sure as hell won't be asking her parents for any help.
She also did have to eventually tell her friends about this and she let out a sigh just imagine how angry Levy was going to be at her. Cana would most likely laugh at the situation.
Lucy was a bit disappointed to hear that Natsu wasn't home when she arrived with her mother. He had gone to pick Wendy up from school.
Grandine was so excited to see her, kissing her cheeks and hugging her as if she was her own daughter and practically dragged them in the house. She was overflowing with emotions as she talked so loud and much that Lucy didn't understand a single word she was rambling about. But Layla seemed to as she was talking right back about wedding dresses and other wedding things that Lucy got lost in.
She was absolutely floored when Grandine brought them into a room where it was nothing but wedding dresses. Every corner of the room was packed with racks of dresses from every style to even different colors of blush, white, ivory, and even some pale pinks. Lucy barely even heard what Grandine was saying but caught the end of: "want other colors we can always arrange for it but white is traditional."
And somehow she didn't know if she was excited anymore as her mother began to sob once more and Grandine said there were over a thousand dresses and a thousand more on the way so there's no pressure to find one that day.
Lucy gasped for air as a maid tightened the corset on the dress, the blonde barely breathing as small whimpers came out of her mouth. The maid quickly tied the corset into a cute bow and stepped away for her mother and Grandine to frown, looking at Lucy's face becoming a red complexion.
"Honey, this dress is too tight on you."
"Y—You don't say?" Lucy wheezed out, desperate for some air but her mother didn't move to do anything about it but stood in front of her with her best friend and stared.
"Your chest…" Layla bit her lip trying to see what she could do.
"She gets that from you." The blue-haired Dragneel nudged the blonde next to her as Layla giggled.
"Well I hope it's not from Jude."
"The dress is nice. The ballgown gives it such a Princess vibe. I also love the detail of the gown and I do like the strapless top. We could always add straps or even sleeves if Lucy really wants." Grandine fiddled with the top to try and pull it up but the way Lucy gasped and felt the air escape her lungs she stopped. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her top and they were pressed flat like pancakes. "Let's get you out of this."
"Please..!" Lucy said as she hiked up her dress and went behind the divider to start undressing with the help of one of the maids. Grandine untied the corset for her while Layla shifted through the rack once more, looking for one she really wanted Lucy to try on but she was too absorbed into the magic of the dresses.
She grabbed a shimmering sheath style gown that had lace and delicate flowers decorating the entire dress. With a sweetheart neckline and the long sheer sleeves, Layla wanted to try the dress on herself as she squealed and came over to shove it into her daughter's arms. Lucy let out a groan and her mother didn't hesitate to chastise her before she was back sipping wine with her girlfriend. They sat on the loveseat and picked at a bowl of grapes, chatting about whatever came to mind.
"You're going to invite the Redfoxes?" Layla asked in surprise, picking off a grape before popping it in her mouth.
"Natsu is good friends with their son and Igneel is quite fond of Metalicana." Grandine took a sip of her tea. "But don't tell him I told you that." She giggled, holding a hand up to her lips. "I figured we could start up a guest list. I'm sure Natsu wouldn't care."
"I guess I should start thinking about who to invite as well." Layla sighed. "But Lucy does not want to do anything! I asked her to sit down with me and go over venues and guest list but she always finds a way to get out of it. I'm unsure what the girl is up to…"
"I'm sure it's not easy having to just start wedding planning. That girl hasn't had any boyfriends or experiences. Imagine how that must feel."
"I know," Layla pouted, thinking about her little girl. "I feel like her and Natsu could really hit it off if they tried. I just don't know why they won't."
"Natsu is being difficult about it, too. I wonder if we need to intervene." Grandine shook her head and the look Layla was giving her was one she knew all too well. "Should we?"
"No, you should not!" Lucy cried out as she came out behind the divider to stand in front of the two gossiping women who looked as if they were trying to plot murder.
Layla and Grandine gasped, seeing the younger blonde in the beautiful wedding dress as she stood there red faced and scowling. She looked a lot more comfortable in this dress, loose enough for her to breath and have her girls not squished like pancakes against her chest. The sheath style showed off her curves in the best way possible along with the sweetheart neckline that accentuated her generous breasts.
Layla had gone right back to crying as she bursted into tears, Grandine seemed as if she was even spilling tears of her own as she sniffled and wiped the tears away.
"You are so beautiful, Lucy."
Lucy flushed, trying her best to squeeze out a thank you. "So, are we done?"
"Oh, sweetheart," Grandine stood up, giggling to come spin her. "We haven't even gone through half."
"How am I going to try on five hundred dresses in one day?" Lucy whined as her mother was getting tissues passed her way from maids.
"We don't have to try them all but I think sheath style suits you the best. What do you think, Layla?" The Dragneel turned to see her best friend, a sobbing mess. "Layla?"
"She looks so great," She blew her nose loudly. "Lucy, you are such a beautiful woman. I can't believe how much you have grown." She was whimpering as her words stretched out.
"Mom," Lucy groaned. "Please stop crying."
"It's just so hard when you—when you—" She started to tear up once more and started to wail, making the woman cringe at her high-pitch cries.
Grandine and Lucy shared a knowing look and let the woman get it out of her system before the door burst open and Wendy had run in the room.
"Mom, I'm home!" She was all smiles and giggles as she ran right into the arms of the gasping woman.
"Welcome home my sweet Wendy! How was school?" She cooed, hugging her tight and rubbing her cheek against the giggling girl.
"Hi Lucy!" She waved brightly before her eyes widened and she was in awe. "You look like a princess."
Lucy flushed, smiling as she bent down slightly to come eye level with her. "I am a Princess." She whispered, winking.
Wendy's eyes were wide in awe, nodding excitedly as she looked over to see Lucy's mother still in tears, wiping away at her face. "Is she okay?"
"She's just very happy about seeing Lucy in her wedding dress." Grandine explained, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You'll understand when you have children one day." She smiled at her sweet baby. "I hope everything went well with Natsu picking you up?"
"Yes! He even bought me an ice-cream cone on the way home!"
"He what?" Grandine groaned, slapping her hand against his forehead. "He knows you're lactose intolerant!"
"Don't worry, I got her dairy free." Natsu's voice had joined in and the women all looked to see the said heir.
Grandine and Layla were immediately on their feet, trying to block his view of his girlfriend and they were screaming to catch his attention but it was already too late. His eyes were glued to the woman who was in said dress and her face was red as she stared right back at her husband-to-be.
Even with the amount of screaming and Grandine grabbing his face to rip his attention away, his eyes remained and it wasn't until his own mother had slapped him in the face that he was now looking at her. He looked offended, hand against his cheek while he looked at his mother who was now shoving him towards the door.
"What the hell, mom!"
"Natsu, you can't be in here! You shouldn't have come in here!" She said while trying to shove him out.
"I already saw her in the damn thing!" He cried out and Grandine groaned out loud.
"He's right, Grandine, he already saw her in it. As long as he doesn't see her in any more that's fine." She grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her aggressive shoving of her son. "And besides, it's not like this was the one."
"It could have been." The woman fumed, crossing her arms across her chest while she turned away from Natsu who had walked back in the room.
Layla tried to console her as the Dragneel woman whined, seeing how the two were in a hush conversation back and forth while Wendy was already browsing the many wedding dresses lined up on the racks.
Natsu approached Lucy and the woman seemed to grow even redder, seeing how her boyfriend walked up to her to look her up and down. She felt nervous and she hugged herself, leaning back away from him.
"What?" She hissed, trying her best to keep it together.
"You look…" He trailed off, trying to form the right word as he crossed his arms and studied her. His eyes trailed up from the train of her dress up to her full hips, past her large chests and up to her red face that looked mortified at the fact that he was checking her out. "Beautiful."
Grandine choked on her spit from behind and Layla was pounding on her back, trying to help the woman breath.
"Since when do you call me beautiful?" Lucy looked away from his heated gaze to hug herself tighter, a small pout on her lips.
"Since I've seen you in your wedding dress."
"I—it's not my dress. I haven't picked one yet."
"Well, you look good." Was all he said and Lucy could only mutter out a weak thanks. He tugged on his collar as it suffocated him, feeling a bit hot from seeing his girlfriend in a wedding dress and on top of that for the first time in a while. "Um, I meant to ask, when are you free? I figured we could—" Natsu felt eyes on him and he turned around to see his mom, Lucy's mom, his sister, and the eyes of the two maids that were in the room all staring at the couple.
His mother had a wide grin on her face that pissed him off and her mother looked as if she was going to cry once more, tears brimming her eyes. His sister just tugged on his mom's shirt to catch her attention about something and the two maids just smiled and giggled as he scowled.
"Do you guys mind?"
"Not at all!" Grandine giggled, waving her hands around as if she was some kind of school girl.
Natsu scowled, grabbing Lucy to pull her away from the peanut gallery and they shifted behind the divider to hide from them. Lucy felt her heart pounding in her chest and she prayed Natsu couldn't hear it as she fumbled with the train of her dress and fiddled with it so it wasn't tripping her constantly. She looked up at her boyfriend and couldn't help but blush even harder as he was so close and so handsome and he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her.
"Can you stop looking at me like that?" She hissed, turning her head away. "It's embarrassing."
"Like what?" He blinked in confusion and he could only watch her grow even more flustered and red and he just found her super cute.
"L—like… like you're going to jump me."
Natsu then realized how he must have been looking and he flushed red, taking a step back to create space between them. He cleared his throat and looked away in embarrassment, trying his best to take his mind off his beautiful bride. It was a bit awkward between them and Natsu suddenly felt very shy out of nowhere.
"So… you were saying?" Lucy spoke up to snap him out of it.
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere else but her. "Oh, right. Uh, I was saying, if you're free anytime soon, I figured we could meet up with Gray and Erza to get you acquainted with them and then whenever you can gather up your friends we could meet with them, too."
"Oh," Lucy could only say, blinking in surprise. "Um… Sure, I guess that's alright…"
"It's not like you have to be friends with my friends or vice versa. I just figured we should just properly introduce our friends to each other so it doesn't make it awkward or weird when we get married and… stuff." He felt awkward and he cleared his throat once more as Lucy nodded along.
It was silent once more and he cursed himself for being so awkward.
"Um, you've been alright?" Lucy asked him to look at her again and he quickly looked away because he felt his blush returning and he was cursing up a storm in his head. "It's been a couple weeks."
"It usually always is." He offered a small smile. "Are you at least having fun trying on dresses?"
"Kind of. It's hard when my mom cries at every single one and getting in and out of them isn't easy." She let out a sigh and he could feel his smile widening. "You kind of came at a good time to save me."
"I guess it's what I do best." He looked back at her to see her smile softly. "I like the dress."
"Thanks," she was fidgeting in her spot. "I guess I should stick with this style then if you like it?"
"Pick what you want, it's your wedding day. I think you'd look good in anything you wear."
The two grew silent once more and jumped when they heard a loud groan. "Just kiss her already!"
Flushing red, Natsu slid the divider away to see his mom, her mom, Wendy, and the maids have all inched closer to be eavesdropping on their conversation and he gawked at them. Lucy looked mortified as she saw the crowd smiling and she just wanted to burst right then and there.
"Are you fucking kidding me!"
"Natsu Dragneel, you watch your language!"
"Stop eavesdropping on our conversation!"
"It's not eavesdropping when you're in the same room!"
"That's exactly what eavesdropping is!"
—X—
Trembling in her spot, Lucy stared at her phone where she debated if she should call her girlfriends now or later. She's been sitting in her room for the past hour debating on whether or not she should call up her friends to tell them she was going to get married. She was pacing around the room when she thought about having to ask them to meet her hubby-to-be and she was shaking in fear just knowing how it was going to go.
She wasn't ready for the earful she was going to receive, especially since she had been dodging them for the past couple of months since the arranged marriage was announced.
And the way Natsu had complimented her today had thrown her into a whole other loop where she was still trying to wrap her head around.
He looked so good today and she was shamelessly thinking about kissing him the entire time he was talking to her. She kind of wished he did until his mom wanted to make it awkward and start having a screaming match with him in the middle of the room until he stomped out of there.
Lucy laid down on her bed and let out a soft groan, rubbing her face with her hands to think back on her life.
Her first (official) boyfriend was someone she barely knew and saw every couple of weeks. She's trying on wedding dresses and picking out color schemes. She'd be wed in less than nine months and she still didn't know anything about her husband-to-be. She had so much to do with such little time and now Natsu wants her to hang with his friends to get to know them and he wants to meet hers.
Next thing she knows, she'll be Mrs. Natsu Dragneel and popping out kids and living as Lucy Dragneel in some big old house that had his man cave in the basement.
She was steaming from her ears as she imagined that, stuffing a pillow in her face to roll around.
Hearing her phone ring, Lucy reached for her phone without a single thought and answered the call, pressing it against her ear as she sighed. "Hello?"
"Someone doesn't sound too happy. Did I catch ya at the wrong time?"
Shooting up in her bed, Lucy felt her heart throb as she recognized the deep voice on the other line. She pulled her phone away to look at the contact to see she had picked up an unknown number, her hand trembling as she pressed the phone back to her ear.
"Natsu?" She said in a hush, holding her breath.
"Yeah," he said and it made her heart flutter. "I got your number from my parents. Hope that's alright."
"Y—yeah!" She slapped herself for her stutter. "I mean, I should have my boyfriend's phone number, right?" She wanted to slam her head into a wall for being so awkward.
Natsu's chuckle made her want to melt and she gripped her phone tight in her hand. "Yeah, took me a bit. My mom wouldn't shut up about it and she practically was screaming about it till she finally gave it to me."
"I can already see it." She giggled, a small smile on her lips. "So, what's up?"
"Did you talk to your friends yet?"
"Uh… no." She said a bit sheepishly. "I've been meaning to. It's a bit hard to kind of announce that I'm getting married and ask them to meet my future husband."
"No, I get it. Erza and Gray were the same." He sighed over the line and she heard some shuffling. "I figured we could do this sooner than later. Don't want it to be more awkward than it already is."
"It's just weird."
"Nothing you're not used to."
She could just hear him smirk and it made her pout, hugging her pillow closer to her. "I am not weird! Stop calling me that!"
"You kind of are. And you suck at tennis."
"Stop saying I suck at tennis!" Lucy groaned, laying back down on her bed. "I bet I could beat you any day."
"Like you beat me in ping pong? Oh right, you didn't. You just chucked a paddle in my face."
"You hit me on the forehead with the ball!"
"The ball is plastic! You threw a wooden paddle at my face!"
"It doesn't mean it didn't hurt!" Lucy huffed, pushing her lip out into a bigger pout. "Besides, you look like you have a hard head. I'm sure it didn't hurt that bad."
"I'll make sure to throw a paddle at your face next time I see you and you tell me if it hurts or not."
"Try it and you're dead, buddy!"
Natsu's laughter over the line had her heart fluttering and she found herself smiling as she hugged her pillow closer, rolling on her side to listen to him. She felt warm and giddy about the phone call and she was grateful he had asked for her number.
"Did you find a dress you liked?" He asked her and she sighed, fiddling with a string that stuck out of her comforter.
"No, I tried on so many today and none of them was like the one. I thought it would be easier than ring shopping."
"Well, with how you were with ring shopping, I'm not surprised you didn't find a dress."
"You wouldn't understand. It's more complex than that."
"I'm sure you'll find one soon." He assured her and she smiled. "I meant what I said."
"About what?"
"That you looked beautiful."
Lucy felt her breath hitch in her throat and her whole world come to a stop as she blushed furiously. She remembered how flustered he looked and how at awe he was when he first saw her. It made her feel the butterflies in her stomach at the way he was staring at her and she wanted to scream into a pillow.
"T—thanks," she sputtered and she squeezed her eyes shut from how pathetic she probably sounded. "It's too bad. I didn't pick that dress."
"That's alright," he sounded breathless over the phone and she was chewing on her bottom lip. "You'll look beautiful in any other."
Lucy was melting in her bed and she didn't know how a simple phone call was making her so weak.
"Gee," Lucy laughed awkwardly. "You've been real nice to me today. Did you do something wrong?" She tried to tease and when she was greeted with silence she panicked slightly.
He finally spoke after a minute of silence. "No," he said softly. "I guess I just want to be a good boyfriend to you."
Lucy pulled the phone away from her to mute the call to shove her face into her pillow and scream. She kicked her feet back and forth and the blush that swallowed her was hot and heavy as she finally unmuted the call and pressed it back to her face. "O—Oh, okay." She sounded so stupid and pathetic that she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"So, uh, the reason why I called…" He trailed off making her perk up. She heard him clear his throat and he sounded kind of nervous. "I'm kind of on this basketball team with a couple of my buds. Gray and Erza will also be there and we have a game coming up this weekend so I wanted to see if you wanted to come."
"You're on a basketball team?" She asked and she slapped herself on the forehead.
"Yeah, it's nothing official or anything like that. Just a group of people playing a friendly game of ball. We play Sabertooth."
"What's your team name?"
"Fairy Tail." Lucy giggled and she could just hear Natsu smile behind his words. "Don't ask me why that's our name."
"Well.. Okay. I'll be there." She had a smile on her face, hugging her pillow close to her again. "Can I bring my friends?"
"Yeah, of course."
A silence ran through them and Lucy tried so hard to think about something to continue the conversation as she didn't want the phone call to end. She started to feel nervous after the silence started to stretch out into an awkward one. She found herself opening her mouth to shut it right after, at a loss of words all of sudden.
She finally gave up and decided the silence had been way too long and she opened her mouth to say her goodbyes but he beat her to it.
"So.. how'd you get into tennis? Ever think about getting into something else?" He asked and she suddenly felt relieved at his conversation starter. "Not everyone is good at everything. It's alright to accept that you're not good at tennis."
"I am good at tennis!"