Chapter 5

Sitting by the dining table, Lucy fidgets in her seat as she watches her mother move around her kitchen. In her nervous antics, she couldn't help but keep turning the ring on her finger, hoping that it would loosen and miraculously slip out. In that way, she can come clean and say that this was all a farce.

Lucy sneaks a glance at the pinkette, sitting next to her. He was overtly quiet and still as if he had turned into a stone.

Right after Layla caught them in an ill-fated position, cuddling according to Layla's perception, the pinkette had turned mute. It wasn't helping that Layla had started calling Natsu 'son-in-law', making the pinkette even more awkward with the situation.

Nudging the pinkette with her elbow, Lucy kept her eyes on her mother as she whispered and asked, "Natsu, are you okay?"

Natsu slowly turns his head to look at the blonde, as if he was some mechanical doll with rusty screws. He had a blank face and monotonously replied, "Do I look okay?"

Lucy guiltily frowns at him as he says that. When the pinkette turned away from her again, she kept her attention to her humming mother. This was getting out of hand, she thought as she realized that her mother was pleased with what she had seen.

"Mama," Lucy suddenly calls, making the older blonde turn to look at her. Lucy then slowly stands up, to which she notices Natsu watching her. "We need to talk,"

Layla beams in happiness as she nods her head. Soon enough, she joins the duo at the dining table as she sets up the dinner that she has brought.

"I know we had planned to have dinner with your father in Acalypha along with your fiancé's family," Layla then looked at Natsu with a knowing smile.

Seeing the bright face of the woman made Natsu unsure of how to react. Thankfully, the older blonde turns her attention to her daughter again.

"But this night seems to have taken us all by surprise, which I'm going to say is such a lovely turn of events. I am very excited for the two of you."

Lucy could only nervously smile as she waited for her mother to finish her small speech.

"Who would have thought that your high school best friend would be the love of your life? But then again, the two of you have always been inseparable. I had always thought that the two of you harbored feelings for one another and just never admitted it. And yet, here you are, both keeping it a secret from all of us that you both were a couple, and now…" Layla sighs in content, "You're getting married."

Natsu suddenly chokes on his water, making the older blonde jump at the sudden coughing. Lucy immediately strokes Natsu's back before she starts smacking it as he continues to spurt coughing.

When Natsu glared at the blonde at the heavy hand she gave, Lucy could only give a tight smile to the pinkette as she pulled her hand away. She then looked back at her mother, "Mama, I need to tell you something."

"Alright," Layla nods her head in anticipation. "What is it?"

Lucy swallows down the growing knot in her throat before she exhales deeply as she straightens her back, "I am not engaged…at all,"

The trio was then quiet, as if afraid to make any noise as this might cause anyone to burst into flames. When Layla blinked at her daughter for a few more seconds, she slowly started to shake and laugh hard.

"Oh, dear…" Layla huffs as she tries to slow down from her laughter, "That was a good one. You were both serious and almost looked like you were on the edge of your death,"

Lucy awkwardly laughs as she indeed felt like dying at that moment. She then could feel the scrutinizing gaze of her best friend, who still kept mum about what was happening.

"Mama, I'm serious," Lucy says, trying to keep her nervous smile on her face, "I'm not engaged," she repeats as she shakes her head and her left-hand clutches to her chest.

Layla just smirks back at her before pointing at the younger blonde, "If you were going to lie Lucy Heartfilia, make sure that you are believable. You are practically prancing your engagement ring. In fact, now that I know it's Natsu who is your fiancé, I recall seeing that ring back then,"

Lucy then looks down at her hand with the glistening ring before looking back at Natsu and then at her mother.

"That is Auntie Porlyusica's engagement ring from your grandfather," Layla then refers to the pinkette, who was gawking at the knowledge that Layla was familiar with the heirloom. "I believe it has a magical backstory,"

"You know about it?" Natsu confusingly asks, speaking for the first time.

"Why would you know that mom?" Lucy bafflingly adds.

Layla chuckles at the surprised look of the couple, "Of course I know it. Grandine wore it as well, until recently I noticed that she didn't have it anymore." She then turns her attention to the blonde, "Only to realize that my daughter is wearing the heirloom, which solidifies everything."

"No, it does not," Lucy muttered, chuckling as she silently tried to pull the ring again, "It's impossible. As I said, I'm not engaged, Mom. I'm not," she then groaned as she tried harder to pull off the ring.

"What's wrong dear? You seemed to be struggling," Layla then tried to check what Lucy was doing. When she realized that Lucy was trying to pull off the engagement ring, she just laughed and shook her head.

"See, even the ring is telling you that you cannot lie to me that you both are not engaged now," Layla grins at the two, smartly, "The ring is magical, and it says it all."

When Layla had finally left the apartment, Natsu and Lucy were left staring blankly in the living room. It was such a disastrous night. Lucy did what she should have done weeks ago, confess. She told everything to her mother and yet, for some odd reason, a magical engagement ring was more plausible than the fact that Lucy wasn't really engaged to Natsu. It was more possible that the ring dictated her and Natsu's eternal love for one another rather than the fact that she and Natsu had never been involved with each other in that aspect, ever.

So, when Layla left the apartment with the belief that Natsu was indeed, realistically, absolutely the fiancé of Lucy, the two best friends were left defeated and confused as to what happened.

"What the hell just happened, Luce?" Natsu mumbles as he stares at the abyss.

"I'd like to explain but unfortunately, I don't understand it either," Lucy sighs before she slips down on the couch to rest her head behind it, "I tried, and yet…nothing worked,"

"Luce, your web of lies just keeps on getting bigger," Natsu crosses his arms over his chest as he slumps back to the couch.

"Don't you think I know that?" Lucy retorts, opening her eyes to glare at the pinkette, "As you can see, I already told the truth to my mother. Yet, still, she won't believe me until this ring—" she then pulls out her left hand to glare at the jewelry but somehow ends up dote on it. She knows Natsu was looking at the ring as well, quietly admiring the gem on her finger.

"Until that ring still sits there on your finger, it will look like we are engaged," Natsu mumbles tired, keeping his eyes on the ring.

"Exactly," Lucy heaved as she dropped her hand. "What is wrong with this ring? It won't come off,"

"It's magical—"

Lucy quickly ribbed the pinkette with her sharp elbow, making the pinkette grunt in pain. When she glances at her best friend, she gives him a raised brow.

"Don't tell me it's magical because I don't believe in that stuff. And please, for goodness' sake, tell me you don't believe in that eternal love backstory."

Natsu chuckles at the frowning face of the blonde, "You know if Baba heard you say that, she'd give you a lecture about the history of that ring," Natsu chortles as Lucy rolls her eyes.

"I just…" Lucy exhaled tiredly as she kept her gaze at the high ceiling, "Eternal love ring? Seriously, who still believes in those things?"

"Your parents," Natsu answers, with his eyes trained on the blonde. He then nudges her on the shoulder, "Shouldn't you be inspired by their love story or something?"

Lucy turned her head, making her and Natsu look each other directly in the eyes, "So you're telling me, you love me?" she then smirked when Natsu scrunched his face almost in disgust but then he relaxed his face as if he remembered his facial expression.

"Yeah," He replies, "I mean, I do love you as…a friend," Natsu then swallows hard as Lucy never breaks her gaze.

"That's different from romantic love," She then turns her head away and stares at the ceiling instead, "But who said eternal love is meant for romantic affections only? It could also mean, eternal love for a friend. It just so happens, that people assumed eternal love as romance, hence, used the ring as an engagement ring,"

Natsu stared long at the blonde before copying her and turned his attention to the ceiling too, "Right…"

"Give me days and I'll fix this," Lucy utters and Natsu nods his head. When Lucy sat up straight and turned to look at him, Natsu then shifted his head to return the attention.

"I'll talk to Mama and explain everything, starting from the beginning." Lucy then placed her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry I brought you into this,"

Natsu slowly sat up and gave a soft smile at her, "Hey, it's better that you ended up getting engaged to me rather than some other douchebag out there,"

Lucy chuckles at that, remembering what they had planned the other day, "It's a good thing that I wasn't matchable to any guy,"

Natsu's eyes grew wide, "Wait, what do you mean? You said yesterday you joined Cana for a casting session for her new show?"

Lucy laughed, "Yeah…the new show was about me, finding a fake fiancé,"

"What?!"

As the Saturday morning came, Lucy woke up with a full rigor of purpose in her blood. She quickly did her morning routine and then called up her mother. Fortunately, Layla was staying in their residential house near the outskirts of Magnolia. Relatively far from the city and away from the media radar.

As Lucy strides inside the house, with full conviction of telling the whole truth, she only had one objective for the day, convince her mother that this was all a sham. All the news article that came out about her being engaged was nothing but a complete misunderstanding from the perspective of the media. She was ready to expose the truth. Until she sees the fierce pink-haired elderly, the third-generation owner of the ring.

"Baba-Porlyusica?" Lucy whispered as she froze in her spot, right at the entrance of the dining room.

"Oh, hello there Lucy," Porlyusica grins knowingly before looking down a little and spotting the infamous engagement ring, "I see that you have something that belonged to me once,"

Lucy couldn't breathe but she tried her best to give a smile, even if it looked sloppy.

POP! POP!

Natsu startles in his bed as he hears a loud popping sound near his ear. As soon as his eyes open, he sees confetti fall from above. He bafflingly looked around his room and to his surprise, he saw Gajeel hunched over him, grinning from ear to ear.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Natsu bellows as he sits up and nearly tackles the raven-haired man. But Gajeel stepped back as he chortled at Natsu's displeasure.

"You've got to see your face!" Gajeel laughed, holding his guts trying to help himself breathe as well.

"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu then throws his pillow at the man, but the pierced guy doesn't care as he is hit in the head. He just continued to laugh as he struggled trying to stand up straight. "Why the fuck are you here, barging in my room?"

Gajeel finally slows down from his laughter and then stands up straight, showing their height difference. He then crosses his arms over his chest as he gives a mischievous grin.

"If you do not start talking, I will punch your stupid face," Natsu grunts as he grabs his pillow on the floor and tosses it on his bed. He then faces him again, crossing his arms as well. "Well?"

"Congratulations, idiot," Gajeel states, his smirk still there, irking the pinkette even more.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu quickly turns away as he searches for a shirt around the room. As he finds one, he quickly wears it and leaves the room. He knows Gajeel was behind him, trailing. "Did I get promoted or something? What're the congratulations for?"

"You really don't know?" Gajeel asked with a teasing voice, making Natsu roll his eyes.

"Would I be asking if I knew, iron face?" Natsu then peeks over his shoulders before shaking his head, "Quit being a riddler and just answer my question,"

Gajeel huffs in exasperation, "You are impossible. I wonder how that bunny girl keeps up with you,"

"Excuse me?" Natsu abruptly turns around and glares at the man, "Don't call Lucy that—"

Gajeel smirked, knowing that it would get him a reaction from the pinkette, "Sorry," he raised his hands in surrender, "I shouldn't be calling your fiancée like that, should I?"

Natsu was stunned for a second as he tried to take in the man's words. "Hold up, what did you say?"

"I said, I should probably not call Lucy bunny girl anymore," Gajeel was playing with the pinkette, earning him a more intense glare from him, "After all, she is your fiancée."

Natsu's eyes grow wide at the term, "Fiancée?"

"Yeah, idiot. The whole clan knows it now," Gajeel's smile slowly got bigger as Natsu's surprise expanded as well.

"FUCKING WHAT?!"

"I'm really glad that you could join us today, Auntie Porlyusica," Layla says as she settles down on her chair and encourages everyone at the table to begin eating.

The pink-haired elderly gladly nods her head as she takes a piece of scone, "Well when certain news such as this comes, it requires a personal inquisition," she then ends her gaze at the younger blonde, who stiffens at the sudden attention. "Right, Lucy?"

Lucy swiftly hums and nods her head. She then looked away and pretended to be preoccupied with her breakfast.

"It is quite surprising to hear that my grandson is all of a sudden engaged," Porlyusica looks back at Layla, who was nodding her head in agreement, "Have you ever guessed this is the situation?"

"No," Layla answers definitively, "In fact, I didn't know Lucy had a boyfriend, which made me wonder if I knew my daughter at all,"

Lucy then glances at her mother, guiltily. All of a sudden, she had that urge to clear things up. But being around Porlyusica made the situation a little difficult. She was afraid that a sudden revelation of truth might cause the elderly to burst in anger and then bring a medical condition to her. She would hate herself even more.

"Well…" Lucy tries to begin, then bites her lips in hesitation, "Um…"

"What is it dear?" Layla curiously asks, reaching out to her daughter's hand to give assurance, "Is everything alright?"

Lucy had this nagging conscience that she'd say no immediately. But just one look at the pink-haired elderly in front of her made her less impulsive.

"The truth is…" Lucy begins again. Her hands were trembling as she tried to slow down her erratic heartbeat.

"Oh, please, don't tell me that this is just an impulsive engagement?" Porlyusica suddenly says, making the young blonde still in her seat. The elderly woman had her brows raised, ready to reprimand her. "When Natsu asked for that heirloom, I knew that there was some ridiculous thing going on. Did he ask you randomly that you were left baffled to say yes?"

Lucy was indeed baffled. Natsu asked for the heirloom? I thought he said he didn't have a girlfriend. So why would he ask for the engagement ring?

"Lucy?" Layla calls, startling the young woman and snapping her out of her thoughts, "Auntie Porlyusica is asking you. Were you left too surprised that made you say yes?"

"Huh? No," Lucy then shakes her head.

Suddenly, Lucy had this growing curiosity and annoyance for the pinkette. All this time, was Natsu just lying to me? Did he really want me to keep this engagement ring because he was going to propose to someone soon? Did he just keep a secret girlfriend from all of us? Even from me?

Lucy's fist suddenly tightened as she felt annoyance and a tinge of betrayal for lying. There was no reason for him to lie to her, even if they tend to always make comments about each other's love life. She would have wanted to meet the girl even if she would have to step back from being his best friend.

"Lucy," Porlyusica calls this time, effectively shattering her out of her thoughts, "Why do you look angry? Is there something wrong?"

Hearing the woman's comment, Lucy forced herself to breathe out and calm her raging heart. She then flexes her hand and puts on her sweet smile, "Sorry, I just remembered something that Natsu told me. But that doesn't matter. The truth is, Natsu did propose to me spontaneously at the Magnolia Carnival when we were riding the Ferris wheel. Obviously, being on the air made him ask randomly and I, said yes. It was sweet and random," she then shrugged her shoulders, "well, before he became sick due to his motion sickness,"

Layla suddenly chuckles, while Porlyusica just raises a brow in doubt. But then she sighed in defeat when the blonde didn't flinch at all. The story did sound like Natsu. The only thing that Porlyusica wasn't certain about was the beginning of Natsu and Lucy's relationship. Either way, it did look to her that the two were engaged.

Lounging on her balcony, Levy hums in satisfaction as she lets the sun warm her up. It has been a nice start to her weekend. No loud noises from her neighbors and no loud boisterous shouting from her somewhat like boyfriend but not really, Gajeel. After everything they had been talking about for the week, it was a nice change of pace to have this slice of serenity.

Pulling out her book, Levy quickly falls into a trance with the story she was reading. It had been hours when suddenly her phone rang. At this sudden sound, the petite blunette jumps in her seat as she snaps out of her reverence.

Looking at the phone and seeing her blonde best friend's name, Levy could only guess that another trouble had come upon her. So, sighing as she puts her bookmark within the book, Levy lazily takes her phone and answers the call.

"Hello," Levy greets cheerfully yet sounding tired as well.

"Natsu lied," Lucy immediately says without even caring for pleasantries. At her words, Levy then raises a brow at the odd comment.

"Uh, he lied?" Levy repeats, trying to figure out what the topic is really about, "About what?"

"He said he didn't have any girlfriend and that the ring was just handed to him. But apparently, baba-Porlyusica said that Natsu asked for it,"

Levy's eyes then grew wide as it finally clicked in her head.

When Lucy said to them that she had obtained the ring through Natsu, requesting to keep it safe, it was weird for her that Natsu would have such an heirloom out of random. She wasn't a traditional person, but she had an idea that family heirlooms weren't given away unless that family member was dead. But having Porlyusica alive and well, it was odd that Natsu would be given such treasure. Unless, it was asked, and given a blessing from the family.

"Holy shit," Levy mumbles, astounded, "So he has a secret girlfriend?"

"Apparently," Lucy then sighs in defeat, "Why would he lie to me? I mean…"

"Come on, Lu-chan. You know why Natsu wouldn't tell you," Levy purses her lips as she felt bad for the blonde, "He would hate that you'd step away and be less of his best friend,"

"Levy-chan, which girl would want to hang around their boyfriend's girl best friend? No one. It goes the same way for us. No guy would be comfortable hanging around their girlfriend's boy best friend,"

Levy then gave a dubious look, despite not being seen by the blonde. She knew that Lucy had an idea of how she looked, "Is that what you've been telling yourself after Raito left?"

Lucy was silent, taken aback that the blunette had brought up the man. When the blonde sighed in defeat, Levy could only sympathize with her best friend, "Look, we don't know what really happened back then, but Natsu had no intention of ruining things between the two of you. Raito left because he chose to leave."

"Levy-chan, let's not talk about this," Lucy sternly says and Levy suddenly feels embarrassed for bringing it up.

"Sorry," Levy then fumbles with the corner of her book as she patiently waits for the blonde to speak up. But when Lucy just sighed, she decided to go back to the topic, "So, about Natsu? Why are you talking with Porlyusica anyway?"

"Believe it or not, Levy-chan, the lie has gotten worse." Lucy heaved, "My mother dropped by the apartment last night and saw Natsu and I in a conspicuous romantic position—"

"What—?!"

"He was just helping me with the ring," Lucy counters, knowing that the blunette could overthink, "But given that, we were looking like cuddling for my mother. And now, she assumed that Natsu is my fiancé."

"Woah, wait…" Levy tries to grasp the whole story as if falls into place, "So, Auntie Layla thinks that Natsu is your fiancé? And now baba-Porlyusica is aware of it?"

Lucy hums in agreement, "Which only means, that Natsu's family knows about it too,"

"Oh, bollocks!" Levy expressed.

"Even worse," Lucy says with a tinge of sarcastic amusement, "I told the truth to my mother that I wasn't really engaged, and yet does not believe an ounce of what I said,"

Levy's mouth was agape as to how everything transpired without her realizing it. "Oh, well…that is real shit, Lucy-chan."

"Tell me about it," Lucy grunts over the phone, "I don't know what to do anymore Levy-chan. I tried my best. I came clean to my mother, but it didn't work. And now, baba-Porlyusica thinks I am engaged to her grandson,"

"What did Natsu say? Will he help out?" Levy questions.

Lucy moans again in displeasure, "Obviously, Natsu was surprised and now I had dragged him to this mess. I promised him that I'd fix it. But I think I just made it worse and now his family knows…" Lucy suddenly trails off, to which Levy knew she had a burst of epiphany. "Oh, my goodness, Levy-chan. He'd be mad because his real girlfriend would find out. I can't let this news reach the media!"

"Okay, hold on," Levy quickly says as she senses the panic in the blonde's voice, "One thing at a time. Um, talk to Natsu immediately before he starts babbling to his family. You both need to agree on what you'll both do,"

"Right, right…" Lucy sounded out of breath, "Which is, to tell the truth,"

Levy hums in agreement, "Which is to tell the whole truth," she corrects.

"Yes…right. But one problem," Lucy pauses for a second before she continues, "I have told a false proposal story to my mother and baba-Porlyusica,"

"Lucy!" Levy bellows in frustration.

As Natsu paced in his room, the pinkette couldn't help but grumble as he tried to think of a way to explain what was happening.

They think I'm engaged to Lucy?!

Natsu groans in frustration as he walks back and forth. He glances at his phone on his bed, contemplating whether to contact Lucy or not.

A loud laughter was then heard outside his room. Natsu lets out another frustrated moan as he recalls what Gajeel had told him early that morning. His family somehow heard the rumor that he was engaged to Lucy out of the blue. He knew that Layla had something to do with this. After all, the older Heartfilia had innocently assumed that he and her daughter were a couple.

What he didn't expect was that his family would hear about it as soon as the sun was up. He'd expect that Layla would keep the information to herself or at least to their family still. However, he was mistaken. His parents and sister were obviously at his apartment, waiting for him to come out and celebrate the news.

Knock! Knock!

"Natsu, dear, aren't you ready yet? The food is getting cold," Grandine asks behind the door.

Natsu shuts his eyes in vehemence of annoyance. He then tries to slow down his breathing before he talks. "I'll be out there in a minute, Mom," he said.

"Alright, don't take too long. I'm excited to know the story!" Grandine then giggles in excitement before she walks away from the door.

When he was sure that his mother was out of earshot, he groaned again before grabbing his phone and dialing Lucy's number.

After a few rings, Lucy finally picked up. Natsu didn't mind for sweet greetings, "Luce, what the hell is going on?"

Lucy gasps at the harsh introduction, "Okay, I know you are angry,"

"Yeah, well, who wouldn't be?" Natsu retorts back and then hears Lucy whimper in guilt. At that, Natsu suddenly felt mortified by the tone he was using, "Sorry, Luce. I just…I'm completely lost with what is happening and I don't understand how this happened,"

"I know, I'm sorry…" Lucy then pauses. He could only imagine Lucy biting her lower lip, guilt-ridden, "I don't know how it happened too, but I'm assuming it's my mother's doing. I came to our house to talk to her, but surprisingly, baba-Porlyusica is here too,"

"What?!" Natsu bellowed with his eyes wide, "What is she doing there?!"

Lucy grunts, "We had breakfast and started asking questions…"

Natsu was stunned. Everything was getting out of hand, and it seemed hard to control the damage that was happening. It seemed like the dam had been broken and they couldn't contain the rumors from spilling over. All because they were seen together, like the usual. Except that there was a missing picture in Lucy's rumor, and he was the fallen victim to fill in the gap.

"Luce, please tell me that you have clarified it to my grandmother," Natsu mumbles and waits for the blonde to agree. But then Lucy only whimpered and never said yes. At that instance, Natsu's eyes grew even wider in bafflement, "Lucy Heartfilia, what did you do?"

"I…I got so lost in my thoughts that I ended up making a proposal story,"

"Luce!" Natsu exclaimed, "What proposal story are you talking about?!"

"The one you've always told me!" Lucy counters.

"What?! The Ferris-wheel joke? Proposing to you on air, leaving you with no choice but to answer yes before I think I would puke?!"

Lucy huffs a laugh before shaking her head to focus, "Yes…weirdly enough that's what I probably told them,"

"Oh, come on Luce…" Natsu places his left hand on his hips, "That was a ridiculous proposal story joke,"

"I know, but obviously, baba-Porlyusica bought it because it sounded certain like you would do,"

Natsu then paused and thought about it. It was true. He'd probably do that if he were going to randomly propose to his girl. But still, this was not supposed to happen. Before Natsu could react, Lucy then said something.

"Baba-Porlyusica said something to me,"

Natsu raised a brow, "What?"

"She said you asked for the ring," Lucy then paused as she checked if Natsu was going to rebut. But when he didn't, Lucy continued, "Are you lying to me?"

"Lying to you about what?" Natsu annoyingly retorts.

"Seriously, Natsu. You've been caught red-handed already and you're still keeping up this farce?" Lucy questioned with doubt in her voice.

"What farce? I'm not lying to you about anything," Natsu counters, sounding so defensive that Lucy couldn't help but snort in annoyance.

"Right, so, you asking for your family's long-generation engagement ring has nothing to do with you, actually proposing to a girl that none of your friends know about?"

Natsu was silent as he internally groaned. He then questions why his grandmother would tell her that in the first place. Now, things were getting more complicated.

"Wait, so, you told that lie and prolonged this weird engagement story because you're angry that I might be lying to you?" Natsu questioned as he finally realized that Lucy was getting back to him for some personal reason.

Lucy didn't respond immediately, "…Well, are you lying?"

"No," Natsu firmly answers, "Never in my life would I lie to you,"

"Even about a girl you like?" Lucy rebuts.

Now this made Natsu pause for a second before he caught up and replied, "Yes…I would tell you about her…if she ever existed,"

Lucy grunts and drops the issue for now. She then sighs, "Well, I'm sorry that I am dragging you into this. You can tell whatever you want."

And with that, Lucy drops the call, leaving the pinkette baffled and conflicted.

Sitting quietly in the restaurant with her parents, Lucy kept her eyes down. She wasn't ready to spill her guts out again and then be snubbed. It would be a little tougher, as she didn't know what to do.

Natsu had called her, and he seemed ready to turn her out to his family. If he did that, then it was only right to come clean. Whatever criticism or judgment she'd get, especially from her dad.

Jude Heartfilia was a kind man, but he was stern as well, especially in protecting their family's image and legacy. No one knew that, except them. In front of the public, he is this sweet and endearing husband and father. But behind closed doors, Jude was strict and very conscious of ensuring a good image for the name Heartfilia. The only thing Lucy wouldn't criticize about her father is his genuine love for her mother. Despite all that serious and unyielding attitude, Jude Heartfilia was irrevocably in love with Layla Heartfilia.

Right in time, Jude suddenly clears his throat, snapping the young Heartfilia out of her thoughts. Glancing up, she could see the stoic look of the older man. But she knew better as she figured that Jude wasn't thrilled with the news of her being engaged.

Lucy lets out her breath before she speaks, "Papa, I'm happy that you came down here in Magnolia, to be with us,"

Jude finally focuses on his daughter, with a questioning expression, "Well, this wasn't the plan. But after hearing from your mother that you are engaged, I think it calls for a family meeting."

"Jude," Layla calls lovingly and places her hand on his forearm, "You don't have to feel bad about not knowing immediately about Lucy's engagement,"

"Whoever that guy is never asked for our permission," Jude retorts, firmly, before looking back at his daughter, making her still in her seat, "You didn't even tell us that you were dating someone,"

Lucy gaped as she tried to think of an excuse. But then she ended up with none, as Layla eyed her and waited for her explanation. After all, she had never explained how it all started.

"…about that," Lucy bites her lower lip in nervousness. She thought this was it. It was a do-or-die situation. She could only hope that her father would be a little more tolerant of her antics. "Umm—"

"Oh, finally!" Layla suddenly exclaims, cutting off her daughter. She then stood up as she gleefully greeted her guests.

Lucy then turns her head and to her surprise, she sees the familiar faces of the Dragneel family as her mother's guest. She quickly locks her gaze with the pinkette and raises a brow.

"Hi, Layla!" Grandine calls back, stepping ahead of the group, "I am so thrilled we're all gathered here tonight together,"

Lucy suddenly stands from her seat and stands behind her mother. When Grandine pulled away from Layla, her attention quickly dropped on Lucy. "Oh, my goodness. I couldn't believe that I would be calling you my daughter-in-law," she then cups Lucy's face, making the young blonde shriek softly.

"Hi, Auntie Grandine," Lucy shyly mumbles.

"Oh, please, I'm now like your second mother. You should call me mom," Grandine then grins widely before she chuckles at the reddened face of the woman.

Soon enough, Grandine and Igneel return their attention to Layla and Jude and begin their casual catch-up. As the parents got busy talking, Lucy quickly stepped up to Natsu.

"What is your family doing here?" Lucy questioned, almost sounding accusingly.

"Your mom called," Natsu simply replies, before glancing at his sister, who was eyeing them together. Natsu throws a grin at Wendy as he slowly encircles his arms on Lucy's waist. He then tugs the blonde closer to his chest, making her stumble and place her hands on his shoulders.

Lucy gawks at the pinkette, "What are you doing?" She whispered as she noticed how close they were. She then tries to step back, but Natsu's hand on her lower back prevents her.

"Stay put, Luce. Wendy is watching," Natsu says as he watches his sister, before looking back at the blonde.

As he gazes at her brown eyes, his wide pretentious grin slowly melts and turns into an amused smile, as if sees her eyes for the first time. He was quickly absorbed into her eyes when he realized he felt Lucy's chest heaved against his. Only then did he notice their faces were extremely close, making him loosen his hold on her.

The two were silent for a second before Lucy cleared her throat and averted her gaze to pinkette instead, "So, what if Wendy is watching? Haven't you told your family yet how this is just a lie?"

"I couldn't do it," he replies. Unbeknownst to himself, Natsu was gently caressing Lucy's back as if reassuring her. Lucy could feel it, but she didn't know what to say about it. But of course, her body knew more what to do, which was to blush gradually.

"Why?" She asks, looking back at him while trying to ignore the growing warmth in her chest as she continues to feel Natsu's gentle strokes.

"Because I didn't want to betray you," Natsu then dropped his hold on her and kissed her cheek instead. Without waiting for the blond's reaction, he stepped back and greeted the Heartfilia couple next.

Lucy abruptly turns to catch Natsu's attention again. But the pinkette was already cordially greeting her parents and exchanged pleasantries. Sighing in defeat, as Lucy figured that the fiasco was still on, she took her seat again and waited for everybody to settle back.

Natsu was seated on the right side of Lucy, as Jude settled in the middle of the table with Layla on his left side. Igneel, on the other hand, sat opposite the blonde-haired man, while Grandine sat on his right side, and Wendy sat on his left. Everyone was now settled and grinning, and Lucy could feel the impending explosion of secrets.

"So," Grandine begins, "This is the first Dragneel-Heartfilia family dinner,"

Layla and Grandine giggled enthusiastically, while Jude and Igneel preferred to smile at the notion. Lucy and Natsu just cautiously watched everyone around the table.

"Since this dinner is about your engagement," Layla then referred to the two young duo, "How about you tell us your story?"

To be continued…