"Why are your teeth so sharp?" Lucy questioned as she caressed Natsu's face. They were in the midst of cuddling in her dorm on a Thursday evening. Natsu's long body always hung off her little twin-sized bed but still, he would tell her that he got the best sleep inside of this room with her.

"My canines are sharp because I was a dragon in my past life." Lucy's eyes twinkled in response he was sure this answer pleased her as she had a knack for fantasy novels. He glanced at the Charmander plush in her bed before meeting her excited eyes again.

"Ok so if you were a dragon in your past life what would I have been?"

"A fairy"

She smiled at him sweetly, sometimes Natsu could be the best boyfriend in the world, other times not so much. The line was so blurred that it scared her, but she would relish in his good mood nonetheless.

The banquet was in 2 days, she had to try on and pick up her dress tomorrow from the boutique. She truly wanted to speak to Mrs. Spetto once more, but she doubted Natsu would allow that. She sighed in defeat, she'd be better off just asking Natsu, but she didn't want to anger him, not now. Especially when he looked so cute slowly dozing off in her tiny bed.

His pink fluffy hair blended in with her bed sheets, pink was her favorite color after all. She was starting to like the color blue quite a bit as well. She stared at little happy as he snoozed peacefully on Natsu's chest. Even though Happy was technically hers, she knew that Happy looked at Natsu as his real owner considering the fact that it was Natsu who found and saved him.

Lucy snapped a cute photo of the two napping then exited the room to prepare dinner. Natsu always preferred the homemade dinners she made for him to anything he could get from a 5-star chef. Perhaps it was because Lucy only knew how to cook with love.

It's Friday morning and Lucy wishes she didn't have school. The banquet is tomorrow and she'll be picking up her gown after class.

"You coming?" Natsu asked from the bathroom as he got the shower ready. He spent the night, he does that a lot. So much so that she needed to dedicate closet space to him so that he always had something to wear the next day.

"Yes but no frisky business!"

That made him laugh.

Now here they were both running late for first period because Natsu couldn't keep his hands off her in the shower. They split up somewhere along the way and Lucy rushed her way to class, that was before she collided with another girl.

"Oh, my I'm so sorry" Lucy apologized sincerely as she went to pick the girl's items off the ground. The girl didn't respond she just watched Lucy grab her items and snatched them away when Lucy handed them to her. 'Oh, she's one of those' Lucy thought morbidly. Most people treated her better since Natsu and her began dating but some people were just going to be snobs regardless. She made her way to class without sparring the rude girl another thought.

After making clear that Lucy walked away the girls in the Hallway began to gossip"Isn't that Natsu's little plaything?" Said one of the girls in the friend group.

"I suppose she is. Nothing special about her... I could have Natsu again if I wanted" spoke the leader of the friend group; the girl Lucy collided with. She and Natsu never dated, but they were fuckbuddies for a good while.

"Of course you could Sorano! Everyone knows that you and Natsu would be a perfect match"

Sorano hummed in response as her friends coaxed her ego. She crossed her arms in thought. "You don't think she'll be at tomorrow's banquet do you?" She asked her group of friends. There's no way Natsu would bring a peasant to such a lavish event.

"Rumors are that she'll be there... wearing all black as well"

"What!?" Sorano was not at all happy about this. Especially when Natsu was hers first, their fathers had even promised that they would wed when they were both of age. So why in the world is Natsu strolling around acting as if this Lucy girl is his bride?!

She's supposed to be his fiancée, someone with wealth and power like him. Why would he stoop so low as to bring this lowborn into his family traditions?

"This won't do" she spoke slow and steady, it was clear she was plotting something. "I wonder if Natsu's father is okay with what he's doing..."

"Well you know Natsu has always been Mr. Igneel's golden child. I'm sure he could do no wrong in his eyes." Said another in the group the girls.

This was true, Natsu's father had always favored him over his other sons. Igneel had three children. His first 2 sons were Zeref and Natsu, they came from Igneel's first and only wife Vieva Dragneel. Igneels last son was Ignia born to a nameless whore. Igneel didn't spare that one much attention.

And while Zeref had once been heartless like his younger brothers he now kept to himself in the countryside with his wife. That left just Natsu and Ignia, two siblings who constantly butt heads, It didn't help at all that they were the same age.

With that being said Ignia would surely take part in anything that could negatively affect Natsu. He was away at boarding school overseas but he was sure to show up for the banquet. Sorano stayed silent deep in thought. She giggled softly as she schemed. Her friends simply looked at her in a haze.

"Lucy probably thinks she has the whole world in her hands right now. Hmpf I suppose she needs a little reality check."

Lucy wakes up to the sun beaming on her face Saturday morning, she's always loved sunshine but right now it can kick rocks. She was sure she looked a mess right now, especially after her heated night with Natsu. He took her up to his penthouse after getting fitted for her gown. She stared at the pretty gown hanging up on the door. It was a black silk dress like Natsu requested but it was tailored to such perfection that it clung to every curve of her body flawlessly. Mrs. Spetto was truly an expert at her craft.

She smiled while thinking of how beautiful it looked and it helped to ease her fear about meeting Natsu's family today.

Natsu was still deep in slumber one heavy arm draped over her torso, the sun was beaming in his face too but he still slept peacefully. He certainly loved sleep, especially with Lucy wrapped in his arms. She silently slipped from his grasp with the intent to make coffee, that was until two strong arms locked around her pulling her right back to bed.

"Up so early" he spoke groggily. His morning voice sent butterflies to her stomach.

"Well, the banquet is tonight! We have no time to waste!"

He laughed at her enthusiastic response. "It's not until 8 you know, we have plenty of time to get ready."

She calmed down at this fact after all it was only 8 am, she had an entire 12 hours to prepare. Erza was coming over to do Lucy's hair and makeup for the banquet later. Natsu claimed she was good at that sort of thing, and Lucy never minded spending time with Erza, she looked up to her in considerable ways.

"Ok I'll make breakfast then," she said gleaming a pretty smile at him.

Natsu softly smiled in return. 'She'll make this stupid banquet tolerable'

"Are you excited Lucy?" Erza spoke calmly while she curled Lucy's hair.

"Well yes, but I'm more nervous than anything. Everyone there is gonna be wealthy and high class, meanwhile I'll just be there... I hope no one asks about my family." Lucy vented honestly to Erza, she knew she was one of the rare people in her life who truly showed no ill will towards her.

"Hm. Don't worry about such things." She said while pinning the curls in place. "Once everyone sees how gorgeous you look hand in hand with Natsu people will feel far too inferior to interrogate you." She smiled as she looked at her through the mirror.

"Thank you" Lucy shyly replied.

"I think you underestimate how influential Natsu's presence is since you spend so much time around normal Natsu. Most aristocrats fear even gracing him."

"Normal Natsu?" She questioned.

"Yes, the Natsu you spend your days around is normal Natsu. To the public, however, he's much more prominent than that, I'm sure you know this"

Lucy nodded in silence. Erza was right, as long as she stuck by Natsu's side no one would bother her. "And Natsu's father...Igneel. What is he like?"

"A good man when he's sober. And the only person's opinion that will hold any value at the banquet. Be polite and pretty and he'll approve of you. Of course, approve as a girlfriend, not a wife... Natsu will have to marry a noble woman in the future" she said that last part quietly to ease Lucy's heart.

Lucy already knew Natsu wasn't hers though this fact didn't bother her, while it was true she'd grown accustomed to being with him she couldn't imagine marrying the psychopath. Lucy didn't mention to Erza that Natsu intended to keep her even after he got married. Mostly because she hoped he wasn't being serious, she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her days as his mistress.

"You look lovely," Erza said gently meeting her eyes in the mirror. Lucy truly did look gorgeous. Erza did an amazing job dolling her up. Her long blonde hair had been softly curled at the ends while half of it had been pinned in an elegant bun. Erza put a bit of gold eyeshadow to bring out her chocolate brown eyes and applied red lipstick to her plump lips. She looked more mature than usual and even more so she looked rich, no one would be able to tell she came from nothing at first glance. She smiled at this fact, not so much because she wanted to be rich, no, she just didn't want to be targeted any longer.

Now all Lucy had to do was fit into the dress. She quickly made her way to Natsu's room to slip on the pretty gown. Natsu was out at that moment he said he had to run some errands. She knew he would be enamored by her appearance. He usually was but this was different.

The dress fit like a glove; Erza helped her to zip it up. The dress hung off her shoulders with a sweetheart neckline and flared sleeves. The gown clung tight to her curves except for the bottom which flared out much like the sleeves. She stared at herself in awe, never would have thought she'd wear something so expensive and gorgeous, yet here she was. Erza just smiled at her endearing reaction.

Of course, Erza herself looked ravishing as well she got ready before arriving at Natsu's to take care of Lucy. Lucy had been surprised when she found out Erza did her hair and makeup on her own, most aristocrats preferred to have a stylist on hand, however, Erza wanted her appearance to be held in her own hands. She wore a silk strapless dress much similar to Lucy's, Erza's dress was a navy blue color. It cinched in at her waist and draped straight down past her hips.

Lucy enveloped Erza in a tight hug." Thank you Erza. Thank you."

"There there now we don't want to ruin your makeup."

Natsu arrived shortly after and he brought Jellal with him as he was Erza's date for the banquet.

"Come here" Natsu motioned to Lucy with a hand. She shyly made his way over to him she wasn't sure if he liked her appearance as he had yet to compliment her. He did a full body scan of her with his piercing eyes. She could only look at the ground awkwardly waiting for his approval.

"You look beautiful if that's what you're waiting for me to say." He admitted tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. They turned red at the touch.

"It was" she muttered embarrassingly.

"They're spilling out though," he said referring to her ample cleavage.

"We-well that's unavoidable... I can't hide them so Erza and Mrs. Spetto say I should flaunt them."

He laughed "Of course, you should do whatever you want after all you're the princess for the night" he caressed her soft cheek admiringly the pretty shimmers on her eyelids. He separated from her ultimately, he was sure that if he ogled her any longer they would never make it to the banquet.

Lucy watched as Natsu walked away to grab a luxury bag that she wasn't familiar with, he delicately pulled a box out of the bag. It was a piece of jewelry. gorgeous shimmering gold chains layered with a cross pendant hanging in the center. He meticulously placed the chain around her neck.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. He softly kissed her jaw in response not wanting to ruin her pretty makeup.

"We're ready then," Natsu said. He took Lucy's hand as they made their way to the main room where Erza and Jellal sat. They gathered their belongings and took their leave from the penthouse.

Erza pulled Natsu to the side as they walked to the limousine. "You're changing you know" she whispered.

"No im not."

"Yes you are. You've grown softer, it only makes sense since you spend so much time with such a soft girl, don't be ashamed change is good... why do you think Zeref is so happy now?"

"Just shut up Erza" he wasn't growing soft. There wasn't a soft bone in his body.

He glanced at Lucy who was chatting away with Jellal. She had a natural vibrance about her that could get anyone out of their shell. Maybe that's why Erza thought he seemed soft, but when Lucy's out of the picture he's still the same old Natsu. He knew that for a fact.

Sorano wore a sexy yet elegant gown it was a periwinkle color and had a deep v-neck that went down to her mid stomach. Silver gems connected the deep neckline gorgeously. She knew she looked good, good enough to steal a man.

"M'lady," said a deep voice from behind her. 'Just the man I was looking for' she thought.

"Oh Ignia, please don't act so proper with me. I'm happy you could make it after being so far overseas." Sorano greeted politely.

He chuckled, "well after that lovely message you sent me I had to show up."

"Right. I'll show you the girl when she arrives. But I'm sure you'll be able to smell the peasant the second she walks in the door." She whispered. Ignia grinned at her devious antics, she was his favorite kind of woman.

Lucy wasnt really familiar with Dragneel manor Natsu only ever brought her there once. She noticed he didn't like spending time in his family home. She observed from the limousine window and gulped.

'That's a lot of people.'

Just entering the manor there were hundreds of people at the entrance some she had even seen in magazines before. There was also an abundance of paparazzi, that was something she wasn't prepared for.

"Don't be afraid." Natsu said as the limo came to a halt. The coachman opened the door for the two couples and there was an immediate barrage of flashing lights from cameras. Lucy did not like this.

Natsu exited the car first seemingly unfazed by all the chaos. He held out a hand to Lucy and guided her out the vehicle. She squinted from all the lights and squeezed Natsu's hand with a death grip she didn't know she possessed.

"Mr. Dragneel! Mr. Dragneel!"

"Is this your bride to be?!"

"What's her name!"

"Will you be getting engaged this year sir?"

Natsu ignored all the invasive questions from the paparazzi as he strutted into his home. He never paid them any mind, they were just fleas that leeched off the success of his father. He observed Lucy. She looked uncomfortable and slightly frazzled. He would make sure that there would be no more paparazzi for the next banquet.

"You look stunning miss! May we know your name?!" Questioned one of the paparazzi shoving a microphone in Lucy's face. Natsu was ready to push the man away before Lucy spoke.

"T-thank you. My name is Lucy."

Lucy. The name was being spread around like wildfire. The paparazzi looked flustered at the fact that she even acknowledged his question.

"And your last name Miss Lucy?"

This time Natsu took the opportunity to push the prying man away. People already knew Natsu had a violent streak, the paparazzi invaded his women's space at their own risk.

He greeted his cousin Gajeel and his uncle Metalica. Metalica was the brother of Natsu's late mother. Lucy happily greeted Levy glad to see a familiar face.

"How's married life treating ya?" Gajeel jested with Natsu.

"Fuck off". Marriage. It was all anyone talked about now that her was 17 people wanted him to get engaged and soon. Luckily for him he was Natsu Dragneel, he would move at his own pace and get married when he's ready, and nobody could do shit about that. He stared at his pretty Lucy, the most beautiful girl in the room and it wasn't even a competition. There was already a rumor spreading that she was a famous foreign model. He snickered at that, knowing she would bust her ass on a runway.

"Let's see my dad now" he suggested. Lucy nodded her head but felt uneasy about this. They made way to the second floor of the ballroom where the banquet was being hosted. Igneel stood tall and strong in the center of the room drinking booze. He had two women one under each of his arms. Men crowded around him waiting to get a chance to speak with him. Natsu quickly shoved the people in his way to get to his father.

"My son!" Igneel said loudly greeting his not so subtly favorite son. Natsu grinned with his father. "Come now have a drink my boy. And introduce me to your pretty lady."

'Be polite and pretty be polite and pretty' she chanted in her head.

"Your name darling"

She gave him a full bow before attempting to speak.

"Lo-lu- um so-sor-" she embarrassingly fumbled her words.

"This is Lucy, dont mind her nerves." Natsu answered on her behalf.

'Ah I screwed up so bad I only had one job and couldn't even do that' she would make sure to punch her self several times when she was alone for that.

Igneel gave her a firm look before breaking out into laughter. "Hahaha! Lucy you say! Cat got your tongue I know I'm a big man but I promise I won't eat ya!" He half joked, he was very big, scary too. But at the same time he was surprisingly easy-going. Lucy shot a shy smile in his direction. "A drink for the little lady to calm her nerves." Igneel commanded one of the servants. She never drank before but she wouldn't dare deny a drink from Igneel Dragneel. Igneel grabbed 2 cocktail drinks from the servant for Natsu and her.

"T-thank... you" She said as he handed the drink to her. She took a sip and was revolted.

"It's a martini, what do ya think Lucy?"

She subconsciously just made a sour face at Igneel's question before realizing. Her eyes widened. "Oops I didn't me-mean"

"Haha! I appreciate the honesty girl! It's a good trait to have." Igneel said patting her back with a large calloused hand.

"She couldn't lie even if she tried" Natsu joined in with his father. He gave her a silent thumbs up when his father turned his head. She let out a sigh of relief at that.

Lucy didn't understand how Natsu turned out so terrible when his father didn't seem too bad. Igneel was a big man, with the same green eyes as Natsu. A large scar resided across his right eye. She wondered how he got it. His red hair was slicked back much similar to Natsu's. Lucy could see where Natsu got his good looks from. Even in his 40s Igneel was a total dilf. Lucy blushed at her own terrible thoughts, Natsu had been rubbing off on her for the worst.

The majority of the the ball went smoothly Lucy thought. She clinged to Natsu like the plague. Lucy met the rest of Natsu's immediate family after meeting Igneel. She was surprised to meet Zeref, Natsu's older brother. From what Mrs. Spetto told her Zeref stayed out of family affairs. Accompanying Zeref was his tiny wife, Mavis. She looked young but her big green eyes held a certain maturity to them. The last family member Lucy met was Ignia Dragneel. He attended a prestigious boarding school out in Alvarez she was told.

Ignia gently kissed Lucy's hand as he introduced himself to her.

"Move." Natsu said rashly pushing his brother away.

Ignia smirked, "Scared I'm gonna steal your little girlfriend?"

Lucy knew Natsu had anger issues, but she could tell Ignia had the ability to trigger him easier than usual. She observed the man clench his jaw. She placed his large hand in hers with the intent to calm him down. He immediately met her eyes at the soft touch. She tenderly smiled at him as he visibly calmed down.

One of Ignias favorite things to do while he's in Magnolia was to irritate his brother. So of course he would flirt with the girl his brother was oh so obsessed with. He found it hilarious in retrospect, all his life he was ridiculed for being the son of a peasant whore. His brothers were always held above him, always treated with more respect because their mother was a noble woman. They had everything they could possibly want. But they still needed more.

Now here his brother was being consoled by this girl that comes from nothing. Why was everyone okay with him being with this girl, but it was wrong that he was born from a woman of the same status as Natsu's new little girlfriend. It boiled his blood how Natsu always got his way.

He observed as the pretty blonde calmed Natsu down within seconds. It was obvious she had a strong effect on him even if he denied it. Ignia than took a glance at his older brother, Zeref giggling and smiling with his wife off in a distant corner. Both of his brothers were soft. Entirely too soft to run Etherion cooperations, Natsu would never be able to handle it. Perhaps this Lucy would reveal to his father that Natsu wasn't fit to be the heir. Even if Natsu tried to hide the way Lucy made him feel, the glint in his eyes as he locked hands with her was more telling than any words he could speak.

His brother loved this girl, the same way Igneel loved Ignia's mother.

"All my boys are here?" Igneel asked gathering his sons together. Zeref reluctantly made way to his father. Zeref wouldn't have even shown face at this banquet if his father didn't personally command him to come. Obviously he had something important to talk about.

Zeref sighed, "I'll be back Mavis" he gently kissed her forehead . She nodded her head.

"I want to speak to that girl. Natsu's girlfriend."

"O-okay," Zeref wasn't sure what kind of business Mavis would want with Natsu's girl but he wouldn't interrogate her. Mavis almost always knows what she's doing.

Zeref followed closely behind his father and younger brothers, they were going to the basement of the manor, he knew what that meant.

Lucy watched as Natsu traversed out the room. He glanced at her one last time before making his exit. Now Lucy was nervous and alone, she needed to find Erza or Levy asap. Her thoughts were interrupted as a small hand crept up her shoulder. She quickly averted her head only to meet the eyes of Mavis Dragneel. Lucy politely smiled at the sight of Mavis. Mavis was friendly enough to ease Lucy's nerves. She handed Lucy a raspberry pastry which said girl happily accepted.

"How did you and Natsu meet?" Mavis asked

"At school. He... sort of bullied me at first." Lucy answered honestly.

"Of course he did," Mavis said rolling her eyes, "you don't even wanna know how Zeref and I met."

But now Lucy was curious. So Mavis sat her down and explained the beginnings of her relationship to the girl. Maybe the miserable story would help Lucy in the future.

"I was thirteen when Zeref showed up on Tenrou Island, my birth country. We were a small nation that inhabited the island, my father was the Chief so maybe I was a princess in a weird sort of way" Lucy giggled and Mavis continued on. "Tenrou people are very in touch with Nature, and we didn't disturb the wildlife, we coexisted with it" Mavis said in a serious tone. Lucy nodded wide eyes, giving her full attention to Mavis.

"Zeref and Igneel came to my homeland to trade us, we had an abundance of ethernano, which is of course used to power a lot of technology today." Lucy knew this, ethernano was the most valuable products distributed by Etherion, Its where they got the name from. Though she had never even heard of this Tenrou Island.

"Ethernano is considered the best source of energy only needing a small amount of sun to power it. My father was under the impression that Igneel would be attempting to make trade with tenrou, by trading us for the ethernano that we collected ethically from the Tenrou tree..." Mavis let out a deep sigh and took a sip of her drink before continuing.

"...Of course I was naive and so was my father to believe a businessman could do anything ethically. They killed my father and all the men of tenrou. They took the woman and sold them as slaves before claiming Tenrou as their own territory where they set up factories" Lucy gasped at the horror story. The Igneel that she had just met was a man who could casually commit genocide on a nation. "I became Zeref's trophy wife without any say." Mavis' big eyes were dim as she spoke reliving the tragic memories.

She met the innocent eyes of Lucy and smiled. 'They haven't yet destroyed her spirit.'

"I don't mean to tell you this to upset you or make you pity me, just consider this a warning. If you can ever escape a Dragneel then do it. Do it and don't look back." Those were Mavis' last words before she took her leave from the table leaving Lucy stiff in place horrified from the story. She regained her composure quickly before chasing Mavis down and pulling her into a gentle back hug. She glanced at her with sad eyes.

"Please don't give up Mavis... I know we just met but... I feel for you please know that you're not alone." Lucy softly spoke.

Slightly shocked Mavis responded with a tiny, thank you meeting the younger girls eyes. 'She doesn't need to go through what I went through.'