The one thing Lucy was immensely grateful for was that Natsu had a village.
Her family was pretty small compared to her husband's side of the family. Her mother and father were only child's and her grandmother was an only child and so was she so there wasn't anything they could do about that but the Dragneel's had cousins on top of cousins and aunts and uncles and it truly was a blessing for her. She had more than one hand that would help her in a time of need and she didn't doubt that she would be able to rely on each and every one of them if needed.
With the newlyweds now being settled into their new home (with a few panic attacks and anxiety from time to time) it had officially been a month since they had lived in their home. Lucy was now at the point where she was waddling around with her giant swollen belly and she was just out of breath getting out of bed. But with the closeness of the baby's due date, there has been more support than ever, especially since Lucy hadn't fully recovered from her trauma.
The blonde could now comfortably roam around the house and estate without trembling but it was still hard for her to leave the house without thinking someone was waiting to take her. She had been able to go to her parent's house including Natsu's parents without bawling her eyes out but it still made her stiff and kept an eye out for anything suspicious.
Sting and Rogue were instructed to stick around to help out and as much as Natsu hated having his cousins in his house, he was a bit grateful that Lucy felt at ease with the two. Laxus was staying nearby at some disclosed location to keep an eye out and continue to update his security measures but everyone was mainly just excited for the arrival of their newest member.
Natsu said it is pretty normal in his family to gather when there is to be the arrival of a new member of the family. It was just something they liked to do to show the family that they were supported and welcomed into their pack as if they were a hoard of wolves or dragons, Natsu likes to say.
Plue also helped a lot with Lucy's recovery and Natsu had thought about obtaining an emotional support certificate for the energetic pup, especially since he was also growing at a rapid speed. Plue had become very attached to Lucy in a short amount of time and he would find them both on the couch napping with his head tucked on top of her belly or the two of them passed out in bed with Plue taking up the majority of the bed. The dog tries not to leave Lucy's side and he figured it might be because of her constant anxiety radiating off her body but he enjoyed seeing Lucy feel free with her guard dog by her side.
If it wasn't him, it was Plue and if it wasn't her dog, it was one of his cousins. Though, he wishes it wasn't them because Sting loves to get under his skin and continue to flirt with Lucy even though she was now a Dragneel pregnant with his child. He doesn't remember how many fights he had gotten into since his cousins had arrived and he didn't know how much longer he could handle having them around.
"I never thought I would ever find a pregnant woman sexy but damn, Lucy," Sting whistled lowly as the pregnant blonde flushed and shot him a glare. "You sure know how to pull anything off."
"I will stab you with my fork," Lucy hissed, pointing her fork at the other blonde who laughed. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have anything else to do but bother me?" She grumbled while she shoved a strawberry into her mouth, eyes narrowed.
"Just checking up on my favorite pregnant lady," he winked, pointing his finger guns her way and she was rolling her eyes, scoffing. "And I figured Natsu would be with you but I'm surprised you don't have your little guard dog around. Normally Natsu wouldn't let you out of his sight and would be trying to bite my head off by now."
"Natsu went to take Plue out. He should be back soon."
"Oh, perfect opportunity to get him outside with the dog!" He beamed, clasping his hands together. "You just stay here and continue to look pretty."
Rolling her eyes again, the blonde aggressively stabbed at her fruit while responding in a flat tone. "You go do that."
And as much as Lucy loved to have everyone around, she had a difficult time being in a good mood when everything was going to shit for her.
Her ankles were swollen, it was so hot outside that she felt like her skin was melting off, she was constantly gagging at certain scents, she had to go pee every goddamn ten minutes, it felt like she had a watermelon strapped her to her gut, and it didn't help that she couldn't even get out of bed without needing assistance.
She was fed up with pregnancy and she was so ready to go back to her original size because nothing about pregnancy was fun.
Sting offered a wide grin to the mother-to-be, not even caring about her tone of voice or her sour mood. "Try not to throw up or anything. I'll be back before you know it so don't miss me too much!" He winked as he reached for the doorknob but before he could even attempt opening it, the door swung open and slammed into his face with a pink-haired male running in with Plue.
"Hey, babe!" Natsu grinned widely as Plue went right to Sting, sniffing the shocked male who dramatically fell to the floor.
"Sting!" Lucy gasped out in horror and it made her husband's face drop at the mention of another man.
"Sting?"
"Natsu!" She hissed at him while he furrowed his brows.
"Lu..cy?" He said slowly and that's when he finally heard the cries of pain coming from someone behind him. He turned around to see Sting sitting on the ground with his fingers pinching at his bloody nose and Plue circling him. Natsu quirked a brow up and crossed his arms across his chest, analyzing the situation. "What the hell happened to you?"
"You!" Sting held the bridge of his nose, feeling as if the door had broken his bone. He tilted his head upwards and felt the warm liquid coming down his nostrils, curse words flying out of his mouth in a colorful fashion. "You shouldn't be going around slamming open doors! That's dangerous!"
"This is my house, buddy, I can do whatever the hell I want!"
"You broke my fuckin' nose!"
"I highly doubt it." Natsu scoffed while the two glared at each other.
Lucy was first to break apart their quarrel and staring contest as she snapped at her husband. "Natsu, get some tissues and go bring the first aid kit!" She really wanted to get up to tend to her annoying cousin-in-law but it was hard enough to walk and sit, she knew she wouldn't be able to stand up without something hurting and or bend down. "Sting, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine except for the fact I'm having a fucking nosebleed and my nose feels like its broken; I'm fucking fantastic!"
"Hey, don't yell at my wife!"
"Natsu, you're the one who caused this, apologize to him!"
"Me?" Natsu placed his hands on his chest, looking at his wife in disbelief back to his cousin. "What did I do?"
"You slammed the door on my face, fucking - ouch!" Lucy cringed as she heard Sting shriek.
Lucy frowned as she looked at the bleeding blonde on the floor and then back to her husband. "Natsu, go with Sting and take him to the hospital."
"What! Me? No way! I already have my hands full taking care of you!"
"Well I can take care of myself for a couple hours, can I not?"
Natsu gave her a flat look and she rolled her eyes, sighing.
"Rogue is still here. I'll be fine, Natsu, I promise."
"But Lucy—" He started to whine and he stopped when he saw the glare she was giving him.
"Go."
Natsu frowned and mentally cursed his stupid cousin for being dumb enough to stand right behind a door and his wife who was too scary to fight with. "Come on, you big baby." He mumbled, leaning in to plant a kiss on the crown of his wife's head before leaving the room with Sting trailing behind him. "And if you get blood anywhere inside my car," he stopped to turn and face Sting who nearly crashed into his behind. "I'll kill you." He jabbed a finger against his chest and Sting looked like he was one second away from bursting into tears.
—X—
"Is my nose broken?" Sting asked, wincing slightly as the doctor put pressure on his nose, examining it closely. He scribbled a few things down as he went back to the computer, typing in some things while Natsu sighed, leaning his elbows against his knees. They have been here for almost one hour and he was tired. He missed Lucy, he was sleepy, his butt was numb, and he was hungry.
And it didn't help that his stupid cousin was constantly whining the entire ride there and at the hospital.
He groaned and dragged his hand down his face, ignoring the glare Sting tossed his way.
"Well, it's not broken but you have fractured your cartilage so it might hurt when you apply any sort of pressure on it so I suggest you be careful. It might take two to three weeks to completely heal."
Sting groaned, tilting his head up to stare up at the ceiling while Natsu sighed, standing up on his two feet to stretch. "So, he's fine, right?"
"For the most part, yes."
Natsu turned to smirk at the blonde who didn't find any of this funny, his eyes narrowing at the heir who had his hands planted on his hips. "See? You're fine."
"I suggest wearing this for the first week since your nose is pretty sensitive right now." The doctor held out what looked to be a nose brace and Natsu slapped his hand across his mouth to hold back his laughter while his cheeks puffed out. Sting looked like he was seconds away from bawling his eyes out and jumping on Natsu to give him a taste of his medicine. "Please refrain from moving around too much that will require heavy attention anywhere near your face. I suggest bed rest and over the counter painkillers can assist in any soreness or pain."
"Come on, buddy, I'll buy ya an ice cream cone on the way."
Getting discharged and finishing up paperwork took longer than expected as the two made it back to the car. Sting held an ice pack the hospital provided for him against his face, whicing slightly when he would press too hard. The two sat in the car in complete silence, Natsu sighing as he stared at the steering wheel.
"Sorry 'bout all this. You know I didn't do it on purpose, right?"
"I know," Sting huffed, turning his head away to stare out his window. "Just karma I guess."
Natsu chuckled half-heartedly as he started his drive, leaving the parking lot of the hospital to continue his journey back home.
"I'll stop by at the ice cream shop right down the street. My treat. Think of it as a peace offering."
"Yeah, right. You're only going because you're trying to bribe Lucy."
Natsu glared at Sting as he side-eyed him while ensuring he was driving safely down the roads. "I'm getting my pregnant wife an ice cream cone because she likes them, not because I'm trying to bribe her."
Sting scoffed, leaning against the door while muttering under his breath. "Liar."
"I'm not lying."
"You so are. You're scared she's going to be pissed when she finds out that you actually hurt me and I have to wear this stupid shit for two weeks."
"I—I am not scared of Lucy." Natsu tried to sound confident but his voice wobbled and he stuttered in the beginning making it sound unbelievable. "Like I said, she likes ice cream cones so I'm going to get her one while we're here."
"So, you're saying if she's mad when we get back, you're not going to use the ice cream cone as a defensive mechanism?"
The silence mushroomed itself between the two and Sting nodded his head.
"Got it."
"Alright, alright. I apologized and said I didn't do it on purpose. What do you want from me?"
Sting just continued to grumble under his breath like the childish brat he was and Natsu could only sigh repeatedly, getting tired of everything in between.
In a way, he also felt like this may be preparation for his future since Sting was acting like a child who got his popsicle stolen from him. But the fact that his cousin Sting was an adult and acting like this just made him more annoyed and frustrated than anything. As if he didn't have shit to do but lets add take Sting to the hospital and hear him bitch about it the entire way there and back.
The way to the ice cream shop was silent but as soon as Natsu had bought Sting a vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles, he was back to smiling and humming to himself as he licked it clean.
He made sure to get Lucy's waffle cone with her favorite flavors, strawberry and chocolate, to offer as a peace offering because yes, Sting was right. He was terrified of Lucy, especially pregnant Lucy because that woman can snap at anything and everything. She's already been crabby the past couple of days due to her pregnancy symptoms and it didn't help that she would wake him up every single night to find something she was craving that night.
His right eye has been twitching since the arrival of his cousins and even though they were there to help, he felt like he was doing more nowadays.
Nasha was to be born in less than a month and his anxiety was high.
He second-guessed everything he did, including her bedroom he spent months on trying to perfect for his little girl. He wondered if the crib was good enough. He wondered if the pale yellow was going to be fitting. He wondered if his Nasha would be happy in the house. He wondered if Lucy would be alright after birth.
The past year kicked his ass and he didn't know how it got to this point but now he was a married man with his own home and a baby on the way.
As Sting and Natsu entered the house with the blonde finishing up his own cone and Natsu holding the doggy bag of ice cream, the house was awfully quiet and they wondered where everyone was. Plue wasn't even coming to them when normally he would be barking up a storm when someone came in or out.
"Luce?" Natsu shouted from the bottom of the stairs wondering if she was up there but when the two heard yelping from the kitchen they booked it, both panicking thinking something might have happened.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted, panic clearly painted across his features as he slammed open the door for the second time that day.
When they entered the place, they saw Rogue having Lucy's right hand nearly pinned down while the newest Dragneel was repeatedly saying ow.
"Let her go!" Natsu shouted, about to run over to rip his cousin off his wife but Lucy had stopped him.
"Don't you dare, Natsu!" Lucy shrieked, turning to glare at the two dumbfounded males standing by the door. "I will win this arm-wrestling match!" Lucy declared, making Sting and Natsu stare at her in disbelief while looking back at the dark-haired male who shrugged.
"Lucy, you're going to hurt yourself." Sting tried to say but he was brushed away just like everyone else.
"I won't!" She hissed out, her arm trembling against Rogue's hand who was as steady as he could be, forcing her hand to hover right above the surface of the table.
"Baby, you're going to hurt yourself, let it go."
"Are you really saying that, Natsu Dragneel? I can pin you against the floor in ten seconds or less." She shot him a glare and he was sighing, shaking his head.
"I'd like to see you try. You couldn't even get out of bed this morning without my help!"
"Only because Nasha! I'm strong!"
"Yes, you are strong, but you're not going to be able to win against Rogue—"
"No! I will win—Rogue, don't let go!" Lucy panicked as she felt his grip loosening but Rogue just sighed and held her hand again, keeping the position. Sting pulled a chair up and sat down, crunching on the last bits of his cone while watching the two arm-wrestle. Natsu stood there, staring at Lucy as if she was crazy.
"Lucy—"
"Shush, Natsu. I'm concentrating." Sweat was beginning to outline her hairline and her face was becoming flush with how hard she was trying to push herself.
Natsu worried she might give birth right then and there and he realized he still had her ice cream cone in his hands so he held up the bag, crinkling it slightly to catch her attention.
"I brought your favorite ice cream cone."
Just then Lucy slammed Rogue's hand on the table causing Rogue's eyes to widen and yelp while Sting jumped back, the two of them startled at the sudden loss.
"Ice cream cone!" Lucy exclaimed loudly, jumping up on her seat for her to squeal and clap her hands. "Gimme gimme!"
"H – How'd she do that?" Sting asked, looking at his brother who was still in shock as he held his wrist in his other hand. He rubbed his wrists, looking at the blonde that was being kissed by her husband while also handing her the ice cream cone she's so desperately in love with.
As Sting and Rogue continued to try and wrap their heads around this innocent looking woman who happily hummed and licked at her cone, Natsu could only grin as he brushed her hair behind her ear.
"That's my girl."
"You doubted me too."
"Only because I was worried about you and our baby."
Lucy snorted as the cool sugary treat cooled her down and brought her joy, a smile curling on her lips. "How was your trip to the hospital? Is his nose—oh my god!" Lucy shrieked when she turned to look at Sting with the nose brace attached to his face. "Is it actually broken?!"
"Yes, it is—"
"No, it's not." Natsu rolled his eyes, cutting off his cousin who was plotting to get his ass in trouble. "Just fractured. He needs that one for the next week but should be fine by the second."
"You poor baby," Lucy said but she didn't make any motion to move or do anything else other than that. "Maybe now you'll be more considerate of doors and next time won't try to prank my husband."
Sting's jaw dropped while Rogue was laughing with Natsu, the younger blonde pushing his bottom lip out into a pout. "It wasn't entirely my fault." He grumbled under his breath, his arms crossed while he tipped his chin down. "Why in the world does he have to go around slamming doors open like that?"
"It's my house—"
"I don't care! You shouldn't be slamming doors open like that! What if it was Lucy on the other side?!"
"Lucy isn't dumb like you to stand right behind a door."
"Wait, I missed so much. What happened?" Rogue piped up to stop the arguing between the two but it made things so much worse as Natsu and Sting whirled around to start shouting at Rogue at the same time to put their two cents in.
Lucy just tuned everyone out as she happily lapped up her frozen dessert, humming along to whatever tune that popped up into her head.
—X—
Natsu didn't mind Levy or Cana. He thought they were actually very nice girls and complimented his wife fairly well so he didn't mind if they were to come barging into his home unannounced but the one thing he did not care for is how they treated him as if he was chopped liver most of the time. Cana obviously didn't care to ask if she could drink any of their nice alcohol as she chugged through his very nice and very expensive collection and Levy was more than happy to lecture Natsu about preparing for the arrival of his daughter.
That bookworm was lucky she was dating his cousin because he would have absolutely thrown an entire fit if he had to sit and listen to how to properly burp a baby for another second.
It didn't help that he had to spend that morning driving his idiotic cousin to the hospital to tend to his stupid nose and now he had caught himself in this stupid baby lesson.
Since Lucy isn't comfortable leaving the house by herself (and or able to since she was so large) the girls have opted to come to their house a couple of days out of the week. With Cana spewing whatever nonsense she had up her sleeve and Levy going through her cluttered brain to educate him and his wife about birth and child care.
Honestly, how hard is it going to be to take care of a human being? He takes care of Lucy just fine and who is to say he won't do the same, maybe even more, for his baby girl?
The attachment he had for the child was unmatched since he hasn't even met the baby yet but he knew deep down that this baby will be the love of his life. If he felt this deeply for Lucy, how could he not feel even deeper for their creation? Another version of her. A version of them.
But the only reason why it made him so annoyed is because Cana liked to get drunk and rile up Plue and then Levy would go on and on about this or that and Lucy was too preoccupied to even say anything but let him rot away in hell as he sat there trying to wrap his head around all the noise.
He did not think tea parties were like this when he agreed to join the girls for tea time, he thought it was just going to be a bunch of snacks, tea, and gossip but it seemed like Cana got her tea mixed up with alcohol and the gossip was more about them than anything else.
"Cana, stop riling the dog up!" Levy scolded, turning her head to glare at the brunette who was trying to playfully attack the fluffy dog. "I'm trying to read this passage to Natsu and Lucy."
"Keep riling the dog up, Cana, please." Natsu gave her a pleading look and he ignored the way Levy shot him a glare in the process.
"I am trying to help you and prepare you for Nasha's arrival."
"On top of the hundreds of books Lucy reads and the many lessons I got from you," the heir rolled his eyes and Levy swatted at him causing him to yelp and pout. "Hey!"
"Maybe we could take a little break," Lucy suggested, offering a smile as she placed a hand on Natsu's leg to catch his attention before he was going off on her friend again. "I need to pee."
"I'll take ya, pretty girl," Cana offered up as she got up out of her seat, stretching in her spot. "I need to use the can, too."
"Maybe because you've already had five mixed drinks and two cups of tea." Levy shot her a look and Cana was just smiling sheepishly as she helped Lucy to her feet with Natsu right beside her.
"I'm drinking Lucy's portion for her since she can't."
"You're too kind, Cana," Lucy giggled as she linked her arm around Cana's. "I'll be back, you two. Try not to kill each other." She gave them both a pointed look and Levy and Natsu both turned their heads away from each other to huff. She sighed and then looked down at her growing pup, a smile curling on her lips. "You're in charge, mister. Make sure these two don't kill each other." She held her finger up to him and Plue was yapping away as if he was responding.
Lucy waddled away with Cana in tow, leaving the two alone with their tea and frustrations.
It was silent between them and Natsu tried his best not to look at Levy since partially he was afraid of her (what is it with tiny women with such fierce personalities?) and of course nobody would ever know he was. But it was also due to the fact that he was so annoyed with how he was left with the one person he was loathing at the minute that he would burst if she were to try and educate him on parenting.
"Are you ever going to propose to Lucy?"
The question caught him so off guard he choked on his tea as he lurched forward and coughed up the liquid that got caught in his throat. He set the cup down as the glass clattered loudly against the table and he pounded on his chest, trying to relieve the burning pressure in his chest.
"What?" He spat, inhaling loudly. "We're already married."
The frown on her face was deep and he furrowed his brow, clearing his throat of any other obstructions.
"But you two had to get married fast. The plan was for you to propose to her before the end of your first year."
"Well, plans change."
Levy was glaring at him again and he had to turn his attention elsewhere, sweat brimming his forehead.
"Wow, what beautiful weather we have today! Honestly!"
"Natsu," his body grew rigid as he slowly turned to look at the menacing woman. "Lucy deserves a nice proposal."
"And I was going to give her one. I know it meant a lot to her but right now she's a bit too crabby with pregnancy and I don't see a point in doing it when we're already married."
"See, this is what is wrong with the male population." Natsu scrunched his face up at her in distaste, staring at the woman who sighed and shook her head. "Let's not forget that you're the one who impregnated her early on and had to do this entire process."
"Uh, excuse me, but this was a team effort." The look Levy gave him clearly showed she wasn't amused nor was she going to take his answer as a good one so he sighed. "Alright, but I still don't understand why I need to propose when we're already married."
"Because Lucy deserves it. She wanted a nice proposal and when is she ever going to get one? You took that away from her."
"I didn't take—"
The glare she gave him again made him clamp his mouth shut and curse her out in a colorful array of explosions in his mind, his eyes narrowing. Promises of going off on Gajeel for his batshit scary girlfriend and future complaints to his wife was on the tip of his tongue.
Lucy did mention more than once that a nice proposal was what she wanted but with the circumstances they got themselves into, it kind of was out of his hands. They had to get married fast and take engagement photos so he really didn't see a point in having to fake a proposal for his wife. He had a big thing planned out but tossed it all out the window as soon as they had found out they were expecting. Wouldn't it be weird for him to propose to his pregnant wife?
"I think you should still do it. It'll really make Lucy happy and I'm sure she'll love it even though you two are married already. Besides, aren't you two having your 'wedding' once Nasha is born?"
"Well, yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned back into his seat, looking at the blue-haired bookworm in nervousness. "But.. I don't know. Did Lucy mention something?"
"No, but I can see it bothers her. She was a bit sad on your wedding day," Levy gave him a tight-lipped smile and it made him frown, pangs of guilt and sadness edging itself into his heart. "I just think it might be really nice for her. Something the two of you can have and she can cherish. She always wanted a nice proposal."
"Did she ever mention anything she would like?"
"Nothing in public," Levy reached for her teacup to bring to her lips, softly blowing to cool it down before sipping from it. "And of course, make sure she looks nice."
"She always looks nice."
"In her standards," she rolled his eyes and he scoffed. "So, I think you should maybe try to do something for her before Nasha is born or you might forget or wait too long because you two are scrambling around with a newborn."
As much as he didn't want to admit it, Levy was right. She had known Lucy a lot longer than he has and he knew she would probably tell her girlfriends before him with such things like this. And if she was sitting here telling him to do this, he should maybe consider it but a part of him wanted to be petty and say screw you and not do it but this wasn't for her, it was for Lucy and he would move mountains for that woman if she asked.
"Alright, fine," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How do you expect me to get her to take that ring off her finger for me to propose to her?"
"Just get her another ring."
"Are you crazy? Do you know how long it took for us to find that one?" Memories of their earlier days of him driving around town and spending hours on top of days trying to find a ring for that woman came flooding in and his irritation was building once more. "It would take a goddamn miracle and years of searching to find another engagement ring to propose to her with!"
Levy scoffed, muttering something under her breath that sounded something like 'idiot' and he was glaring at her while she glared right back.
"Honestly, just hide the ring from her a couple days prior so she doesn't find it suspicious and she thinks she just misplaced it."
Natsu's mouth rounded as he looked at her as if she had just explained quantum physics to him and Levy was sighing, rolling her eyes again.
"I guess Cana and I can help with the proposal but don't expect us to do all the work!"
"I wasn't expecting you two to do all the work," yes he was. "All I need is for you two to bring her to me when the time comes and try your best so she doesn't find out, alright?"
"Great! Now, here are some simple requirements for a nice proposal!" Levy suddenly sat up in her chair, bending down to grab for her backpack she had brought along with her to start shifting through her many books she had in there. It took her a minute to fish out a binder and Natsu's eyebrows shot up as she opened it up to rip out a page and hand it over to him. "Nothing big, just must-needs."
Natsu furrowed his brows as he read down the list, seeing how detailed and thought out this was. So he had to ensure it wasn't in public where too many people were to be around just in case Lucy was conscious about others watching but if he were to do it in public he had to make sure there were less than ten people around. He also had to make sure her nails were done and she was dressed somewhat decent so the photos (oh, and a photographer is a must apparently) came out nice. He had to prepare some kind of speech and dress nice himself and try to not fuck any of this up but his hands were shaking as he read through the requirements.
He remembered being nervous as hell when he first thought about having to propose but he had pushed all that to his archives when Lucy had gotten pregnant but now the unwanted familiar feelings of fear bubbled back up.
It's not like she would say no but he was still scared shitless to get down on one knee and profess his undying love for her.
Especially if there were to be others around. He can't be seen looking like some big softie—nobody would let him live that down. Especially stupid Gray and his idiot cousins.
Seeing how Lucy was now returning with Cana, he quickly folded up the paper to shove it into his pocket. He stood to meet them halfway, helping Cana guide his wife back over to the table where Levy was happily waving her over.
As if he already didn't have a bunch of stuff to do—now he had to plan a proposal for his wife?
Natsu could feel his eye twitching once more.
Planning a proposal was not for the weak.
Natsu felt like he was one second away from jumping off the building because who knew women were this strict about something as small as a proposal?
Okay, sure, proposals weren't something 'small' but still—why did it have to be so thought out and perfect? He was literally planning on taking her to a nice dinner and then proposing to her in a nice quiet park where her favorite stars would shine and greet them but of course Levy and Cana had to shut him down because that was too 'simple'.
He just scoffed but he's been at this for a little over two hours and he was fed the fuck up because it was already hard enough to sit down with these two with Lucy but having to meet them behind her back was torture in itself.
Lucy had been progressing very well on her own since the entire kidnapping incident and now with them moved into the home, she was coming out of her broken shell more and more. He was able to leave her alone in the house without her crying or going into a full on panic attack. He also thinks it's because of Sting and Rogue who had been staying at their place so he would be able to take advantage of this time and plan this goddamn proposal but it seemed like they couldn't find a middle point at all.
Some days Lucy was more inclined to leave the house but most days she refused. She hated being out once the sun was down and she absolutely would not step foot outside their home if nightfall was already there. She was skittish and always on edge and he figured it wasn't good for the baby at all so he allowed her to do whatever she wanted.
Her parents always came over and so did his so it wasn't like they were locked up and Lucy had made the trip back and forth as well.
He just didn't know how he would be able to take her out of the house to a nice dinner if she didn't want to step foot outside once the sun was down.
"How about we just stick to your backyard?" Cana said, making the other two look over at the burnette. "Lucy obviously isn't comfortable enough to stay out once the sun goes down and especially with how big she is, she won't be able to walk around too much without complaining or getting tired."
Natsu nodded his head in agreement, his lips twisting in thought as he curled his finger under his chin.
"I think that's lovely. It's very intimate and she wouldn't have to worry about anything else."
"Maybe we can decorate the backyard with fairy lights or something?"
"I was going to order a bunch of flowers and candles so I could make a walkway or something so she can come out to it." Natsu shrugged and Levy gasped dramatically making the two turn and look at the starry eyed woman.
"Ooh! Maybe you should get one of those large light up signs that say: will you marry me? That'll be so romantic!" Levy squealed excitedly.
"Oh! Maybe you can hire some violinist to play a song while she comes out!" Cana suggested and Natsu's head was bouncing back and forth between the two girls who were excitedly shouting out suggestions. His head was starting to hurt and he just kind of wished he was back at home with Lucy.
"So, Lucy is due in twenty seven days exactly." Levy said, making him come back to his senses and look at her with wide eyes, his skin prickling with goosebumps. "That's about three-ish weeks we have to plan and execute this proposal."
"Damn, she's only three weeks away? That was fast."
"Yeah, you're telling me." Natsu grumbled and Cana was smirking, nudging him with her elbow as he leaned away from her and glared.
"You ready, daddy? Baby girl is going to be here!"
"I've been ready!"
"How about we aim for this weekend?" Levy suggested, a wide smile on her face as she looked at the two who stopped mid-way from arguing. "It's Tuesday so we can plan on stealing her ring and that way it'll give her a couple days to kind of forget and stuff and also give you a couple days to get everything together. I'm sure Lucy's parents would be willing to take her for the day so you can have time to set up."
"My only issue with the ring is: what if she starts crying because she can't find it or thinks it's lost?"
Levy and Cana exchanged an uneasy glance before looking back at the heir who raised his eyebrows at them. The silence itself was his answer to his question and he was gawking at them.
"Well, then, guess you're going to have to work extra hard to keep her happy."
"What!" Natsu shrieked, disbelief stretching across his face. "You want me to just lie to her and comfort her while she's crying her eyes out?! She's already very sensitive!"
"Well, it's either that or go find a new ring."
"You are so not helpful," Natsu growled at the bluenette who stuck her tongue out at him. "How about you guys keep her distracted for me so I can get all this done?"
"No thanks." The two said in unison and his jaw was dropping again.
"Why not?!"
"Have you seen that girl? She literally screamed at Sting the other day for breathing too loud and then bursted into tears right after because it was making her head hurt." Cana scoffed, waving her hand at him to brush him off. "Hard pass."
"I already have my hands full trying to help you plan this." Levy waved him off, too, and Natsu was groaning out in frustration.
He tilted his head back and covered his face with his palms, dragging them down to try and get himself together.
Why did this have to be so complicated and why did he have to agree to something as stressful as this? Especially when he had to prepare for his baby girl's arrival and his wife was already snippy as it was, he really couldn't catch a break. His right eye had been twitching for two weeks straight at this point and he had his cousins breathing down his back, his parents, Lucy's parents, Cana and Levy, Gray and Erza, and of course he couldn't forget his lovely wife who was scarier than ever with her mood swings.
He hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in months and a lot of it had to do with Lucy's night terrors, her pregnancy, and overall the mountain of work he had to do to ensure they would be fine once Nasha was born.
He swore he aged at least ten years after this past year because honestly, what the hell?
"Fine. I'll get Sting and Rogue on this and do damage control. I'll hide the ring from her till this weekend and contact her parents to keep her away for the day. I need to call the florist and see where I can get some candles and the signage for her, too."
"Maybe we can take her to get our nails done on Thursday!" Levy looked over at Cana who nodded excitedly. "And maybe we can find her a nice outfit, too."
"Please find her a nice outfit." Natsu held his hands together, pleading with the two girls. "It's like a constant battle every day trying to get her to find something nice to wear. Even before she made some associate cry and she spent two hours crying and screaming about how fat she was and I just don't want—need to deal with that." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nothing too nice so she isn't suspicious, Lucy hasn't worn heels in months anyways so maybe a nice sundress or something."
"Don't forget about a photographer." Levy pointed out and Natsu sighed out loud. "Actually, I'll call a photographer for you."
"Do you have your speech planned out?" Cana asked and Natsu was back to sweating once more.
"Uh…"
"It doesn't have to be planned out," Levy said, making him sigh in relief. "Just speak from the heart."
"She's going to cry regardless."
"I don't know if that's supposed to make me feel better or not."
"Most women cry during their proposal. It's a good thing!"
"Yeah, not when your wife is three weeks away from giving birth and cries over the smallest things." Natsu ran his hand through his odd color locks. "I'd like to keep the tears at a minimum if possible."
Coming to a conclusion took way too long for his liking as he realized they had spent four hours on planning a proposal. He didn't even know why he agreed to all this and why he spent so long arguing back and forth with these two women as if this wasn't his wife or his proposal. Then again, this was for Lucy and she did deserve a very nice proposal. She had been looking forward to this and he remembered the many screaming matches the two would get into just because of a goddamn proposal.
And he didn't want this shit to come back and bite him in the ass because he could see it now: Lucy wanting to be petty and throwing it in his face one of these days and he would most definitely feel like shit afterwards.
He really was going to do it. He had a plan and everything. He just didn't think that she would get knocked up so fast nor did he think his parents would say they would have to elope as soon as possible.
But since they spent so long on this, it had to be fool proof. He spent the majority of the week calling this person or that person and ordering this and informing those around. His mother-in-law bursted into tears and he wondered if this was just a Heartfillia thing because he really was getting tired of the pointless waterworks these women are known for. Jude just kind of gave him a large bear hug and kind of sniffled but at least he had his dignity to not cry in front of him.
He had to threaten Sting to comply since he wanted to taunt him but reminders of his already fractured nose were still there so he surrendered pretty quickly. They were to be the ones to help him set up and keep an eye out for the heiress so things went smoothly.
Levy had found a very nice photographer for him and he was grateful that he didn't have to waste time looking for someone since his hands were already full. Levy had instructed the photographer to be hidden so he wasn't even sure what was going to happen but all he knew was that they had it handled.
The hardest part was having to hide the ring from Lucy and boy did he feel like a real piece of shit the next morning.
He had waited for Lucy to fall asleep so he could sneakily take the ring off her nightstand and tucked it away in the original box he had purchased it with. He had placed it way up high in their closet so she couldn't see or reach it and the next morning it was like hell.
He woke up to her wailing and screaming and of course that set off his panic alarms. He bolted out of bed to see her on the floor of their bathroom sobbing her eyes out and he was so tired and still half-asleep that he forgot why she would be so distressed in the first place. It took her a good ten minutes to even catch her breath to let him know that her ring was missing and then it finally clicked for him to let out a large sigh of breath before bursting into laughter.
He felt crazy, truly, and this better be worth it or else he was going to have some very strong words to say to Levy and Cana.
Even reassuring his wife that it was fine and it would eventually turn up she would not stop wailing. She rambled on about how stupid she was and how she could lose such a precious important thing and she was going through a whole crisis while he sat there with her in his arms. He could only think to himself how dumb this was and he was cursing Levy and Cana out for leaving him to console his very emotional and very pregnant wife.
Revenge was implanted in his brain and they wouldn't even know what was coming till it smacked them in the face.
Literally.
So he spent three very long hours on the floor of his bathroom comforting his distressed wife and he was worried it was going to be bad for Nasha but he kept his mouth shut.
It wasn't until he offered to buy her another ice cream cone with their favorite jalapeño poppers that she stopped her waterworks.
But it didn't stop there because she spent the next few days wailing about her ring and telling everyone she had lost it and forced everyone to help her flip the entire house inside out. Unknowingly, everyone already knew where the ring was but in order to keep her happy they played a game of scavenger hunt.
Even with him telling her over and over again that the ring wasn't important and he'll get her a new one, she refused to listen and eventually screamed at him till he was on the brink of tears.
Natsu Dragneel was fucking exhausted and he was going to make sure he took a really long and really nice vacation once everything settles. And Lucy better be tending to him afterwards because honestly, this entire year was a shitstorm and he really did age ten years.
And then finally the day of the proposal came and he was up bright and early because he was nervous and had a lot to do. He cuddled his wife and cooed at her for an hour, rubbing her belly and speaking with Nasha before he was getting her up and ready for her day. Her parents said they would be there around noon to pick her up and he was frantic, trying to find a nice outfit out of all the stuff Cana and Levy had bought for her. He didn't understand why she needed all these new clothes considering their closet was already on the brink of bursting and she was about to give birth so she wouldn't be wearing any of these again anytime soon but he forced himself to calm down because his goddamn eye twitch was back.
He settled for a very nice pink sundress that was comfortable enough for her to move around and thin enough to keep her cool on these hot summer days. God forbid she wore something that made her go into sensory overload and make the entire street miserable along with her.
Thankfully her nails got done the day before with the girls so he didn't have to worry about her crying about her nails not being done once the whole thing was over.
He was a wreck all day, screaming at Rogue and Sting to get their asses up and help out while he ran around trying to perfect the assignment. He had tripped over the sting of lights more than twice and spent a good ten minutes cursing it out while his cousins watched in confusion and worry. The flowers arrived later in the day and they had it set out very nicely as they had a petaled path down a runway where she would be able to walk out to a flower arch that had light up words that shined 'I love you'' in bright letters.
He didn't even bother with a violinist (nobody tell Levy) because why the hell would he pay for someone to come play some music when the main point of this was to just give her back the ring she had been wearing for months?
By the time the sun was setting and time was approaching, Natsu was a ball of anxiety that was drenched in sweat.
Obviously Lucy wouldn't say no and reject his proposal because she was already in this with him and she won't—can't leave him but the idea of having to get down on one knee made his insides twist painfully. He didn't even know why he was wearing this goddamn monkey suit because he was just in his backyard but the girls insisted he wore this so the photos looked nice but who gave a damn about the photos?
Levy and Cana were definitely on his list now and he for sure will be paying them back double for all the stress and unnecessary shit they put him into.
"They're coming!" Sting hissed at him behind a bush and Natsu was glaring at him.
"They're pulling up right now." Rogue confirmed and he didn't know why the two were hiding in the bush and spying on his wife and her family. As if he couldn't hear the car driving up or the headlights flashing.
But they were here and he wasn't going to cause anymore trouble because he was worn out and his cousins weren't going to take this away from him. This was for Lucy and he would be damned if one of them ruined this for him. He worked way too hard for this to fail now.
"They're walking up!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu hissed and Sting was pouting at him from the bush faraway and the rosy-haired hair was glad he was far away enough for him to not see his facial expression. He pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled a few curse words under his breath.
"They're coming!" Rogue informed and Natsu cleared his throat and got himself in position, shoving his hands inside his pocket to grip the box tight.
"Hey, why did you yell at me but not at Rogue?"
"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu had to hiss again as he heard the door slide open and he immediately stood up straight, forcing a smile to curl on his lips. As soon as he saw his confused looking wife come and look around to find his own eyes, his smile had melted into a real one and his expression grew soft as he watched her gasp.
She slowly made her way over to where he was, following the trail of flower petals and candles he had laid out for her and even though the sun had just gone down and the night sky hadn't turned completely dark, the glow of the candles burned brightly in the evening. The beautiful mixture of orange, purple, and pink brought everything together as he watched her gasp and look at him, her eyes wide and her hands flying to cover her lips.
He offered a wide grin, holding out his hand for her so she could come to him and he hid his giggle as she tried her best to waddle her way over to him, carefully avoiding the many lit candles that made a trail right to him.
"Hello Mrs. Dragneel," he purred as she finally reached him and placed her dainty hand in his larger and warmer palm. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand making her cheeks tint pink.
"What is all this?"
"This," he motioned towards the entire headache he had been planning and setting up for. "Is for you."
"For me?"
"For you." He confirmed, nodding his head and smiling. "And more."
"More—?"
Lucy didn't get to finish her sentence as Natsu took a step back and dropped down on one knee, kneeling in front of the woman who had to yank her hand away to cover her gaping expression.
"I know we're already married because we had to rush things and I know how much a proposal meant to you." He dug into his pocket and held onto the box tightly, looking down at his knuckles that turned white with his grip and then finally looking up at his wife who hadn't moved from her baffled state. "I love you, Lucy Dragneel. I want to spend the rest of our lives together and see what adventures are in store for us. I'm proud to call you my wife and soon to be the mother of my child and I couldn't have asked for a better partner to do this with. I know that we're already married and you can't escape me that easily."
Lucy giggled with unshed tears brimming her eyes and she smiled down softly at the nervous pink-haired heir.
"But please do the honor of being my wife and marry me."
Lucy gasped when he opened the box and presented her the ring she had been looking for the entire week, a mixture of disbelief and excitement bubbling inside of her.
"Oh, Natsu…" she cooed, tears streaming down her face. "Of course I'll be your wife!" She said in between sobs and laughter and Natsu sprung to his feet to grin widely, taking the engagement ring out to grab for her left hand.
Slipping the ring back onto her own finger, Lucy felt whole again as her empty finger had made her so distraught during the week.
"Luce—" Natsu tried to say but got caught off when he suddenly felt his shoes get drenched and the two of them looked down in between them to see water had started to pour out from her. There was a long pause as they stared at the increasingly growing puddle and then Natsu finally gasped, his eyes widening as he realized what was happening. "Your water broke!"
"What!" Screams from Rogue and Sting, who was still hiding around and watching the entire thing, came rushing forward.
Natsu didn't even realize his in-laws were still here until they were running to the couple in the backyard and everything was going blank as he stood there gaping at his equally surprised wife.
"The baby is coming." Lucy whispered with wide eyes and a pale face and Natsu knew he looked exactly like she did.
"The baby is coming." He echoed and they were just staring at each other until they were surrounded by the four others.
"The baby is coming!" Layla shrieked in half-panic and half-excitement.
"The baby is coming?!" Sting and Jude screamed and Rogue looked like he was one second away from passing out as he swayed.
"The baby is coming!" Natsu shouted excitedly, his lips stretching into a wide grin. "The baby is coming! Come on! We have to go! The baby is coming!"
Notes: hi everyone! We are approaching the end of this story and I just wanted to give a heads up and a huge thank you to everyone who has continued to follow and re-read this story as I clean it up. But the baby is coming and Lucy has finally gotten her proposal! See you in the next chapter!