Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We’re getting married!” 

A simple three word phrase like that was supposed to bring joy and bundles of excitement. It was meant to bring the guild together, unite everyone in gossip and gift-giving and unfulfilled demands for wedding intricacies. And in a way, it did those things.

In another way, it completely uprooted the carefully constructed stasis that was Natsu Dragneel.

It wasn’t that weddings were bad things, no, from what he understood they were quite the opposite. But the salmon-haired dragon slayer just couldn’t seem to find the point in them. Why spend thousands of jewel to have some flashy ceremony just to prove to everyone that you loved someone else? If your partner already had your heart and your mark, why cement that with a petty ring that might get lost? 

It wasn’t that he had a particular distaste for the idea, it was just one of the many things that he just couldn’t wrap his head around. And so, one day, he took it upon himself to ask.

It had been a day that Lucy was at home curled in bed, under the weather. Natsu usually loathed leaving her side when she got like that, but she’d pleaded with those pretty brown eyes of hers to go to the guild and bring her back a basket of loaded fries. It was like she knew that a single knit in her brow and a hitch in her breath would get her whatever she wanted, would have Natsu bend over until his back splintered to reverse whatever it was that upset her. And so, he left her with Happy and rushed to the guild in her stead.

Since he needed to wait for the fries to be done anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone and ask the question that’d been sitting in his head for weeks?

Levy, the eccentric bookworm, had her nose out of a book for the first time in hours to stare gleefully at the glittery silver band around her ring finger. “It’s so pretty,” her voice was soft, like a schoolgirl holding up the first flower of spring.

“Isn’t it?” Gajeel, her chosen partner, replied with the edges of his chapped lips curling up into a small smile. He usually was one to drink at the bar or start a fight, but for the day he’d chosen to sit beside Levy…and the two couldn’t look more like they should be halfway across the room from each other.

Natsu could’ve spent an hour pondering on how the hell those two wound up together, but shook it off. Instead, he made his way over to their table and plopped down with a small grunt.

“Hi, Natsu!” Levy chirped, closing her book fully to wave at him.

“I don’t wanna fight you right now.” Gajeel snapped with a menacing glare. It was as if he’d never smiled at all. “M’busy.” 

“I’m not here for that!” Natsu whined, leaning forward. “Listen, I just have a question.” 

Natsu, not wanting to fight someone? It had the pair intrigued. When the two look at him curiously with a mirrored head tilt that almost made it look like they shared a braincell, he continued. 

“So…why are you having a wedding?”

“‘Cause I love her.” Gajeel responded matter-of-factly, as if that had been the easiest conclusion he’d come to in his entire life. Natsu could understand that, the love that came so naturally that it rolled off the tongue without a second hesitation.

“Well, clearly.” Natsu shrugged. “But like…we know you both love each other a lot. Can’t you just be married without the wedding? What’s the fuss about having one?”

“We could just skip that, but…” Levy trailed off, giggling to herself, “…I’ve always dreamed of having a big, pretty wedding with everyone I care about invited.” 

Gajeel reached his paw of a hand over to start ruffling her hair. Natsu had never seen the iron dragon slayer be so gentle, yet he doted over Levy like it was second nature. “Shrimp’s never been one to just sign the paper, gihee.” 

“Paper?” Natsu scrunched his face up. Why did they make everything so complicated? “Why would you have to sign a paper to get married?? Me and Luce didn’t do any of this stuff, and we turned out just fine.” 

“Huh?” Levy blinked a few times to make sure she heard him right.

“Me and Luce.” Natsu didn’t blink at all for the couple of seconds that followed, as if the eye contact would make it make more sense. “We didn’t have a pretty wedding, or even sign a paper to get married. We just did it the regular way.”

Natsu had always known that nothing about him was or ever would be considered regular. He wasn’t fully sure why, but he didn’t dwell on that for too long. He’d always had other things to think of like his love for his partner, the prettiest celestial mage that would ever live, Lucy. That was regular for him.

It had been there from the moment he met her, and manifested itself in little embers that only seemed to grow with each passing moment. It was resolute, unchanging, and would stay the unyielding truth long after both of them passed and became the stars in the sky.

“You two are married?” Levy gasped excitedly, clasping her hands together. “Oh, Lu never told me!” 

“Now that don’t even sound right.” Gajeel scoffed, tilting his head. “You never signed a sheet of paper, and didn’t run away to get married. When did you propose to her?” 

“Forever ago!” Natsu barked. 

Gajeel squinted, as if he couldn’t wrap his head around something so simple. “And what’d she say?” 

“She said thanks, and accepted it.” Natsu said slowly, growl threatening to bubble up from the back of his throat. He wouldn’t stand for someone questioning his relationship. It almost seemed like a challenge, and he’d be damned if he backed down from one.

Gajeel snickered to himself. “You mean to tell me you got down on one knee and asked her to marry you, and she said yeah.” 

“What? No.” Natsu jerks his head back, suddenly very confused. Every time Gajeel opened his mouth, it only served to confuse him more. “I pressed our foreheads together and told her I’d always protect her and be there for her when she needed me. Then I pricked both of our thumbs with my teeth and pressed them together to seal it.”

A ridiculously long beat of silence followed. In that silence, Levy fumbled with her ring, Gajeel began to scratch at his hair, and Natsu fumbled with his scarf.

“…you what? ” Gajeel sighs loudly, leaning back in his chair with a dumbfounded look Natsu would never forget.

“Huh?” Levy turns to look at her fiancé with a small head tilt. “What’s wrong?” 

“Salamander here went about shit the wrong way. Well, not the wrong way, but...” He groaned. “Y’know how he was raised by Igneel or whoever, right? Probably taught him to court someone the dragon way, where you gotta mark each other and seal it somehow. I was gonna talk to you about doin’ somethin’ like that when we planned the wedding out more. So now Salamander’s gone and tied himself to Bunny Girl, but I bet she doesn’t even know he’s thinkin’ they’re a thing.” 

With a knit in her blue brows, Levy spoke slowly as if trying to piece together the right thing to say so as to not hurt his feelings. “Natsu, that’s…”

Gajeel, however, did not have the same decorum as he looked back at Natsu with a sharp glare. “Are you fuckin’ stupid?” 

“What?” Natsu rolled his eyes. He knew it was sassy, but he couldn’t stand when people questioned his feelings when they were so clear. “Me and Luce are married. Everybody knows that, we don’t need silly rings to prove it.”

“I don’t think anyone knows that, actually…” Levy mumbled under her breath, whistling softly.

“First off, the rings ain’t silly.” Gajeel snarled, eyes flitting down to the silver band on his ring finger. “Second off, yer not married. Y’all aren’t even dating , I bet.”

“Huh?!” Natsu growled,  standing to his feet rather violently. “I don’t give a damn if you’re getting married, you won’t let you talk—“

“Sit yer ass down.” Despite the tension in the room basically tripling, all Gajeel does is cross his (rather muscular) arms with a steely look. Natsu tried to ignore the way Levy practically drooled over that.

He slowly sat back down with a low huff. 

“Did you or did you not look at Bunny Girl and say some variation of I wanna date you, be my girlfriend ?” Gajeel says slowly as if explaining something to a toddler.

Natsu shook his head, laughing to himself. Amateurs . “No, why would I need to do that?” 

“Then y’all aren’t dating.” Gajeel said simply. “And dating comes before marriage, so…” 

“You’re not making sense.” Natsu muttered. “We dated and have been married forever, I did it how you’re supposed to. It’s not my fault you guys are weird.”

Levy frowned, pursing her lips. “Think of it this way. Unless you explicitly say that you love and are dating Lu, how’s she supposed to know how you feel?”

“She should just know!” Natsu scoffed. “I do everything a good partner should. I make sure she’s well fed, bring her gifts, keep her safe…”

“And that’s great, but—“ Levy started slowly, but Gajeel cut her off.

“If you don’t say you want her like that, she’s clearly just gonna assume you’re doin’ it as her friend.” He said as if that’s all there is to it.

“Why would I do the things I do for friends ?!” Natsu groaned, flabbergasted. Do regular friends share a bed every night, spooning until the sun rises? As far as he knew, they didn’t.

“Because!” Levy exclaimed. “You could just be that nice of a guy!” 

“Women are just dumb when it comes to shit like that.” Gajeel grumbled, shrugging to himself. 

“That’s rich coming from you.” Levy rolled her eyes playfully, gently punching at his side. He flinched back playfully as if she’d really wounded him, and Natsu had to fight an eyeroll. “I had to ask you on a date because you couldn’t get it through your skull that I wanted you!”

The pair glared lovingly at each other, having a wordless argument through intense stares. Natsu would’ve found it a little cute if he wasn’t preoccupied with the possibility of his entire livelihood being a lie.

“You can make googoo eyes later.” He snapped a hand in their face. “I just feel like I don’t have to make things fit into how you guys think they should.”

If looks could kill, Natsu would’ve been skewered and dead four times over with the glower Gajeel shot his way. “Then don’t. But shit has to fit so that Bunny Girl gets it, and she clearly doesn’t.” 

“Clearly?!” Natsu yelled, banging his fists on the table. It was such a normal occurrence that nobody in the guild even glanced up, continuing on with their own conversations as if his whole understanding of his livelihood wasn’t being tested.

He was sure Lucy felt the same way, there was no way she didn’t. So why did they insist that their relationship wasn’t real, at least in Lucy’s eyes? It made his blood boil more than it already tended to, and that was never a good sign.

Before Gajeel and Levy can say something else to upset him further, Natsu hears Mira’s voice ring out from behind the bar for him. Lucy’s fries are done.

“I gotta go,” he huffed, standing abruptly from the booth. He didn’t need to waste any more time with this conversation — things with Lucy were as they always had been, and that wouldn’t change just because Gajeel thought it was dumb and Levy didn’t understand. If he kept arguing with them, then her fries would get cold, and that just wouldn’t do.

Natsu thanked Mira with a tight-lipped grin, and headed back to he and Lucy’s apartment. It’s warm and a generally pretty day, and that’s enough to get him thinking about her. He always did, no matter the circumstance…but that time the sun on his skin made him think of her hair, how it smelled like joy and strawberries and their future that he would never stop fighting for. It makes him think of her lingering touch on his arm when she fell asleep, her beautiful hands that held cosmos of power beneath each swirl of her fingertip.

It made him think back to what Levy said, that Lucy might not know how he felt if he never explicitly said anything to her.

He’d never been good at expressing himself in a way that made sense to others — he was always too blunt or not enough, always had a thousand ways of understanding or missing certain cues, a culmination of a different time and different culture blended into one — and had just grown to accept that. But he thought Lucy was the person that understood him better than most. Surely she knew what they were.

Right? 

It didn’t matter. Natsu was happy with the way things were, and that was that. Lucy appeared to be happy, and as long as she kept that pretty smile on her face he didn’t care what anyone else had to say. 

Natsu eventually climbed up the window into her apartment, a childlike grin tugging at his lips the moment his eyes caught onto the heap of blankets on the bed. There was a tuft of blonde hair poking out of the top. There she is . “Luce! I brought your fries!” 

“You’re so loud, Natsu,” she whined, her voice soft. 

Natsu stumbled in, setting the fries next to her in the bed. He sat at her side, poking at what he assumed was her shoulder. “You’re welcome,” 

She poked her head out from the blankets and smiled at him, giggling to herself in that adorable way that she always did. Natsu’s eyes softened as she dove for the bag and dug in almost immediately.

Who knew someone could be the spitting image of beauty with her jaw unhinged, shoveling down food like she hadn’t eaten in weeks?

“Did you bring me something back too?” Happy, the vibrant blue Exceed exclaimed as he shot out from underneath the blankets. 

“Ah!” Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He was supposed to ask Mira for a fish from the cooler in the back, but got caught up with a positively meaningless conversation. “Sorry, buddy, I forgot.” 

“Huh?” Happy whined, flying in circles around him. “No fair! I even watched Lushie like you asked!” 

“Quiet, you.” Lucy laughed, offering Happy a fork as if her hands weren’t already coated in cheese. Natsu’d never loved anyone more. “I’ll just share.” 

He gagged, shaking his head with far too much enthusiasm. “And get cooties? No way!”

“Get your ass over here and eat the fries, cat.” 

Natsu snorted as Happy practically shrieked and rushed to her side. The two of them enjoy the fries, chatting happily. Happy started telling stories about the feats he’d accomplished in his dream, with Lucy chiming in with questions every now and then.

Natsu’s smile softened even further than it already had. He really did have the perfect family, was blessed to the point of unbridled joy. He didn’t need anyone else to understand, so long as he could continue to return to this every day.

“Oh, Natsu.” Lucy hummed suddenly, mouth full as she pointed her fork at the door. “There was a knock at the door a little bit ago, probably a package. Can you go and grab it for me?” 

“We didn’t feel like getting it.” Happy added, voice singsong.

“Yeah,” Natsu nodded, rising to his feet.

The apartment was enveloped in his scent, as he’d already marked it as his territory. Everyone’s clothes were scattered everywhere, silly trinkets from odd jobs placed here and there. There were three toothbrushes, three bottles of shampoo, three of most everything…and it would stay that way forever, if it were up to him.

He opened the door, seeing a small letter and a box. He picked them up and brought them back to Lucy without a hitch in his step, flopping back in bed next to her. 

“Yes! My perfume!” Lucy exclaimed, smiling brightly. 

Natsu tilted his head with a knit in his brow. Lucy had worn the exact same perfume for practically the entire time he knew her. Why change it now? “...you bought new perfume?”

“Mhm,” she nodded eagerly, motioning for him to hand her the box.

“Why?” He asked, giving it to her gently. He tried not to hesitate too much, but was almost entirely sure she noticed.

Lucy pursed her lips with a small laugh as she went to open it. Her thin fingers fumbled with the tape, picking at it unceremoniously. “Because? I…just wanted something different, I guess.” 

There was a twinge of something in Natsu’s chest that said that was a lie, but he forced it back. As if on cue, he took the box from her to rip it open as he always did. Who else would open packages for her, if not her dutiful husband? 

“Um, well.” He handed it back to her, as well as the envelope that’s…strangely rose scented? What the fuck ? “You…you got this letter, too.” 

“Oh?” Lucy took them hesitantly, setting the perfume down and sniffing the envelope. She looks as confused as he is, which is probably a good sign. Right? Right?  “Roses? Is it enchanted?”

“Oooooh, Lushie’s got an admirer!” Happy gasped loudly, pressing his paws to his mouth. Natsu’s eye twitches.

She opened the letter, reading over it. The further she read, the wider her eyes grew. A small blush began to creep up her ears. Despite that dreadful feeling that gnawed at his spirit, Natsu still found Lucy — his Lucy — effortlessly beautiful.

“She really does!” Happy yelled, snatching the letter to read over it. “A fisherman at the pier liii~iikes her!! Awww, but that’s so sad. He’s going away soon,” 

“Is he, now?” Natsu responded dryly, voice thin with barely contained rage. The room reeked of roses, and new perfume. It smelled like change, like his wife leaving him to go gallivant on the ocean with some insignificant loser that probably couldn’t protect her from something as simple as a boar. 

Happy hid behind Lucy playfully. She just shakes her head. “It’s fine. I don’t have to respond, but if I was going to, I’d turn him down. I don’t even know him,” 

“Right.” Natsu grumbled, his nerves a bundle of Christmas lights ripped from the tree. “No, that’s fine.” 

“Eeek!” Happy cried out, voice giddy as always. “Natsu’s gonna blow your apartment up!” 

“I am not!” He yelled loudly.

Within seconds, Natsu and Happy fell into a vibrant argument about whether or not Lucy’s apartment would be reduced to ashes in the next half hour or so.

“You’re gonna tick the neighbors off with all that noise!” Lucy whined, crossing her arms. “If you don’t blow my apartment up, I will!”

Watching her cross her arms in that ridiculously pretty fashion…it prompted a small growl to threaten to tug from Natsu’s throat. If he found her that beautiful, it was no surprise that others would as well. And if she apparently had no idea they were together, then what would stop her from leaving? 

“Lushie’s a terrorist?!” Happy shrieked.

Lucy looked up at Happy like he was insane. “ HUH? ” 

Natsu slowly sat up, pulling Lucy to him in a tight embrace. She squeaked but stayed perfectly still, unmoving in his hold. With dark eyes, he gently nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, trying to get their scents to blend in a way that would tell others to get away from his partner. He didn’t know why he fed into the impulse to do it, just that he needed to or he’d go insane.

“N-Natsu?” Lucy finally broke the silence.

With that, he pulled back, hiding his face from her to glare at nothing. “Sorry for being loud, Luce. So please don’t yell anymore or blow the apartment up. I think Erza’d be really mad at you.”

“She’d kill you!” Happy said gleefully as if he wasn’t describing Lucy’s brutal murder.

“She would,” she parroted, huffing to herself. “You’re forgiven, Natsu.”

He did his best to smile as he usually did, and flopped back down. He spent the next couple of hours just chatting aimlessly with the two of them – about jobs and jokes and what fish they’d like to catch. Eventually, when the sun slipped under the horizon, the entire town of Magnolia slowed down, lulled to sleep by the song of the waves. The entire apartment should’ve been asleep, but past twilight, Natsu found himself awake staring at the ceiling. 

He didn’t understand why he was so hung up on this. He didn’t know if it was sleep deprivation or some kind of anxiety, but for some reason, nothing would click in his head. Natsu’s carefully constructed stasis was thrown off, and it seemed like there was only one way to fix it…

He couldn’t believe he’d be believing anything that stupid Metalhead had to say. But since Levy was behind him, and she was his Lucy’s best friend, the very least he could do was hear them out.

He was already married, sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to go the extra mile and make sure. Would it? Surely not.

Hopefully. 

Natsu was almost entirely sure he was going to claw his eyeballs out within the next couple of days.

Chapter Text

It’s ridiculous.

Natsu sat at a comically long booth with his leg bouncing, teeth grinding together. Behind his onyx eyes was nothing but shame, embarrassment, and a thousand other negative feelings that he didn’t quite feel like putting a finger on. 

When Lucy and Happy had fallen back asleep, he couldn’t help but stare up at the ceiling. Who was that fisherman who had eyes for his Luce? If he caught a big enough fish for her, would she backflip into his arms and sail away into the sunset with him? And what was up with that perfume? From his understanding, women changed their scents to attract potential mates, or to hide from something. He assumed it was the former (if she wanted to hide, he’d for damn sure know why), and figured that maybe she just wanted to impress him? But the longer he thought on it, the longer every road led back to Levy’s frown. 

“Unless you explicitly say that you love and are dating Lu, how’s she supposed to know how you feel?”

Natsu tossed and turned for hours, until Lucy began to lightly slap him with a low groan. He settled to be still in his agony instead. He would’ve enjoyed going on a walk, but gloomy walks alone past midnight were more of Gray’s thing. Plus, what if someone broke in while he was gone? 

Lucy was his wife — the one and only Lucy Dragneel. He’d done everything right, the way Igneel had taught him. That was the only thing that made sense. 

But did she really not know? 

At some point, Natsu realized that he didn’t even care if she was his wife or not, so long as she knew his feelings clearly. She wouldn’t leave, wouldn’t give any other guy the time of day if she knew that she was his, and he was hers. So if that meant just telling her… confirming that he loved her and trying to do things her way, then that would have to work for him. They’d still be married in his eyes regardless. But wasn’t there a way that girls like for confessions to be? Surely, if he woke her up to say Luce, I love you she’d kick him out the window.

Sometime past three Natsu resolved to go to the guild and ask, throwing together the perfect plan to keep her away from him for the day.

Levy had been more than ecstatic to bring Lucy and Happy out to the markets for a fun day of shopping as a distraction. They’d spend a ridiculous amount of time in every shop, take a conveniently long stop at a bookstore, and go out to eat after. Natsu was glad that at least Lucy would have a good day, and so he resigned himself to sitting at a booth of shame surrounded by just about every member of the guild that was present at the time. He’ll never forget their chuckles for as long as he lives. 

With a slight blush threatening to creep up his face, Natsu mumbled, “So, yeah. That’s the issue, I think. What am I supposed to do?”

“Only you can wind up in a situation like this.” Gray shook his head, snickering to himself. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you’re dating. She’s not a dragon slayer, y’know.” Cana slurred from the bar, guzzling down her fourth bottle of straight gin. Mira slid her another one with an all-knowing grin in his direction. “So obviously the option ever is just to ask her out.”

“I know that!” Natsu exclaimed. “But how ? What am I supposed to do?”

Sure, she had already been his wife forever, but asking her out seemed impossible. He felt like a teenager again, stumbling over his feelings. What if she said no? How was he supposed to cut the tie with the person he was sure he’d spend his life caring for?

Gray was the first to respond, leaning forward with a look of absolute conviction in his eyes. “The key here is to not ask her out at all and be as nonchalant as possible. Really makes a lady go wild,”

“…didn’t you ask Juvia out though?” Someone muttered. 

“That was a slip up on my part.” Gray said with a small shrug. “I could’ve drawn it out longer.”

“It’s no wonder you and Natsu are besties.” Gildarts groaned. “You’re both idiots.”

“Screw you!” Gray exclaimed. “That’s what I get for being helpful.”

“No, I kinda side with Gray here…unfortunate as it is.” Laxus sighed, standing near the end of the table with his arms crossed. “Don’t say shit to her, all women do is trap and steal.”

Everyone turned to look at him as if he’d just admitted to single-handedly almost causing the collapse of the guild at one point. Oh, wait. 

Natsu sighed to himself, tilting his head. “…dude, what?”

“Don’t look at me like that, dumbass!” He barked, eye twitching. 

“You kids don’t know a thing about love.” Makarov shook his head with a low chuckle. “Listen here, boy. Make sure you both are alone, light some candles, dim the lights, the usual…ambiance is important, yknow?”

“Uh huh.” 

“And then you gotta practice a smolder, so you can look at her and tell her how you really feel.” He continued, taking a sip of beer. “Confidence is key.”

“You writing this down?” Someone nudged Natsu’s shoulder.

“And here’s the most important part,” Makarov smirked, clearly reminiscing, “you gotta make sure you have some nice oil on hand, maybe a real good scented kind. Then you grab her by the—“

“ Okay , that’s enough from you!” Laxus groaned loudly.

“You need to be a real man about it.” Elfman said after thinking for a long while, gently rubbing at his chin.

Natsu sighed to himself. “Yeah, but how?” 

“By being manly.”

So helpful.

“We know Flamebrain struggles in that department,” Gray laughed.

“Okay, screw you!” Natsu was quick to his feet, ready to flip the table. He needed to fight to relieve some of the stress anyway, so it was perfect! Maybe bashing Gray’s head in would help him figure out what to do.

“Are we fighting?” Erza said with a raised brow, setting down her fork with a type of calmness that sent a shiver down the entire guild. “It almost looks to me like you’re fighting.”

“What? We would never! ” Natsu and Gray exclaimed in unison, hugging and giggling together like children. 

Erza cleared her throat, resting a reassuring hand on Natsu’s shoulder. “You should just be yourself. But maybe with a little more tact,”

“Alright, let’s maybe hear advice from people in relationships.” Natsu groaned, head down. He was getting nowhere with this.

“A-As someone with a devoted fiancé who loves him very much,” Jellal said loudly, fist pressed to his chest, “the most important thing is…well…transparency, I guess.”

Erza looked over at him, rubbing her temples. “Why did it sound like you had to think about it?”

“I think he just likes hearing himself talk.”

“Well, Juvia thinks that Natsu should bake Love Rival a cake!” Juvia chirped happily, practically swaying in her seat with joy. 

“A cake..?” Natsu said thoughtfully. He was an awful baker, but he could try and throw something together for her if that’s what women nowadays were into.

“Yes, yes!” Juvia continued, nodding. “Natsu must put his all into it, so that his feelings are shown. The most important ingredient is—“

“Love, right?” Wendy swooned, kicking her feet like a schoolgirl enjoying gossip. That’s exactly what it was, actually.

“Huh? No.” Juvia said simply, brows furrowed as if that was insane to even suggest. “It’s a vial of  Liquid Passion Potion from a black market magic shoppe. Just mix it in the batter, maybe decorate the cake with Love Rival’s face, sew a couple Love Rival dolls, get her name tattooed…”

“ Please tell me you don’t have a Gray tramp stamp.” Gajeel deadpanned. When Juvia didn’t respond and instead settled to give him a brief side eye and keep rambling, his voice grew strained. “ Juvia. ”

“You next, daddy!” Asuka beamed, looking up at her father like he was the greatest man to ever exist.

“What you gotta do is get her a bouquet of wildflowers,” Alzack smiled softly, “pick ‘em yourself in the colors you know she loves, and watch how her eyes light up. Then when she gasps and tells you how pretty they are, you take her hands in yours and tell her just what she means to you.”

“Oh, you gotta get her a nice gift too!” Bisca hums, thinking about something. “Flowers and somethin’ else, really show your dedication.”

“Maybe see ‘bout gettin’ her a cow. Women love cows.” He continued. “Y’know, a real fuzzy one. Highland, m’pretty sure it is.”

“I don’t think Happy would take too well to having a cow as a brother. He might try to eat it!” Carla giggled loudly. “Or Lucy might just kick you out for bringing a farm animal home.”

“True, she is one of them city girls.” Alzack hummed, lost in thought.

“What did you do, Gajeel?” Natsu sighed.

“Me?” Gajeel dragged a hand through his hair, clearly still trying to recover from the Juvia hiccup. “I didn’t ask Shrimp out. She asked me to go for dinner with her, grabbed me by the collar and made out with me at the end of the night. Shit went from there, but I sure as hell didn’t initiate shit.”

Laxus visibly shivered as if that was the worst story he’d ever heard. “Like I said, all women do is trap you.” 

“...you need to relax.” 

Natsu left the guild that evening just as confused as when he arrived. He knew what he needed to do, just not how to go about it. What he gathered was that love was passionate, unchained. But that only described how he knew he felt about her before. What did he need to do to show that to her, in a way that’d make her want to be with him forever? 

“Natsu!” 

He turned at the sound of the familiar voice that had been the sole topic of his most wonderful dreams for months now. A grin tugged at his lips as he watched Lucy jog over to him with Happy in tow. Both of them held numerous bags. 

“Luce,” he said, stopping to allow her to catch up, “there you are. I thought I was gonna run into you at home.”

“Me too,” she chuckled, hands behind her back as she walked. “But it’s lucky that we get to go home together!”

“What’d you do today?” Happy chirped, gnawing on a fishbone.

“Oh, me?” Natsu almost hesitated with his answer, but he couldn’t give it up. Not yet, at least. “Not much. Just sat at the guild, started a couple fights, the usual. Did you have fun with Levy?”

“Of course!” Lucy exclaimed. “We got some good shopping done, and at lunch we talked about Levy and Gajeel’s wedding planning so far! It’s going nowhere, by the way. They can’t even decide on a color, hehe.” 

Weddings had colors now? Wasn’t it just supposed to be the bride in a pretty white dress? 

Before he could give himself a headache over it, Natsu grinned at her. “Nice! I’m glad you had a good time,” 

“It feels like it’s been forever since the two of us had a good girl’s day.” Lucy sighed happily.

“Hey, me and Lily were there too!” Happy pouted, much to Lucy’s amusement. 

“Right, right.” She waved him off with a small giggle. “So not quite a girl’s day, but it’s always great to go out with your bestie and your cats. You had fun too, right, Natsu?” 

“Oh, duh! I always do!” Natsu lied through his teeth. He still had no idea what to do.

“Did you eat a bunch?” She raised her eyebrow with a playful smirk. “Surely you didn’t give Mira too much of a hard time, did you?” 

“I would never,” he scoffed as if he didn’t order six honey baked hams last week. It wasn’t like Mira couldn’t handle it! He was sure she was glad to put the hams on the spit or however she cooked it, and he paid for every last one, so why did it matter?

“Riiiiight.” Lucy trailed off. She knew better than anyone that Natsu didn’t have a regular appetite, but she didn’t mind it. After all, it just made it seem like she ate less. “Levy and I ate at this really good buffet, and stars, they had this giant dessert tower…”

He listened eagerly as she began to list all of the different foods and desserts that they tried. He always loved the way Lucy seemed to describe her food. Maybe it was because she was a writer, but anytime she spoke it felt like he could taste whatever she was talking about. She talked with a little glimmer in her eyes, almost like she was already fantasizing about her next visit. 

Wait, don’t girls like going to dinner on dates? Since it’s just free food? Natsu remembered seeing something like that in a movie once. 

It had potential to be the perfect plan, didn’t it? That, and some wildflowers? Lacing a cake would be an awful idea, but he was sure she would love to have a regular one, baked with love and flour and whatever else went into them. 

Natsu, for what felt like the first time in his life, had a major revelation. In order to confess his undying love for Lucy and confirm that she was actually his, he’d use all of the knowledge gained from gossip, movies, and random scenarios. It’d work! He knew it would.

“Woah…” Happy whispered loudly, to the point it really couldn’t be considered one. “Natsu looks like he’s hard at work. What do you think he’s planning?”

“You tell me,” Lucy waved a hand in his face. “Hellooooo? You in there, Natsu?”

“Hm?” He blinked a few times. He wasn’t sure if he made it too obvious. He probably did. “S-Sorry. I’m starving. Speaking of, what’s for dinner?”

“Don’t ask me that, you’re on your own!” She exclaimed, continuing to walk. “I already ate. I thought to bring you something back, but the restaurant had a rule about no takeout.” 

“What?” Natsu groaned as he followed along, jogging beside her. “No way, that’s not fair!” 

“Well too bad.” Lucy said, voice singsong. “Let’s go eat there sometime, then you can try it. Just make a sandwich tonight,” 

“That’s my only option, huh?” He pouted, shoving his hands in his pockets. That action made Lucy laugh lightly, and for a moment he thought that he’d do that over and over again if it meant he could hear that sound every second for the rest of his life. 

“Mhm,” she nodded. 

On a normal day, Natsu would have fantasized about what his sandwich would be like. But on that day in particular, he spent the entire walk mulling over the intricacies of how to ask his wife to be his girlfriend. He had the plan…sort of…now all that mattered was the execution. 

By the time they made it back to the apartment, Natsu’s sandwich tasted like nothing but anxiety and confusion. What joy! And when he finished eating, instead of laughing and playing with Lucy and Happy as usual, he instead gave his all into planning out his confession. He stared at a wall in the shower, laid down and stared at the wall in bed, and then stared at the black wall that was there when he shut his eyes for hours. 

Lucy and Happy looked at him like he was insane, but it didn’t matter. He barely even noticed when they started whispering. It didn’t matter, things were in motion. The ball was rolling, and he’d be damned if he let it stop. Not now, when it was this important. He was determined, almost to the point of immolition. 

At least he didn’t want to claw his eyes out anymore. Clearly setting them ablaze would work just fine. 

Chapter Text

Things started to look up for Natsu, slowly but surely. 

The guild hadn’t been the most helpful, but they helped him get to the conclusions he needed to reach. He’d never planned anything so thoroughly. He went back to the guild the next day and started asking around about what women were into nowadays (he'd gotten a lot of information he was sure he didn't need, so just took note of what he figured was important for his Luce), found newspaper clippings about what made men heartthrobs…all of it, just to be the perfect potential partner for Lucy so that there was absolutely no way she’d say no. 

He’d take her on a nice sunset walk, give her wildflowers when they ate dinner with a great view of the water and all of the pretty light, and confess sometime there. Lucy loved the stars and maybe she’d feel like Aquarius was watching her somehow, so it’d be perfect for her, right? He’d spend the whole night being the perfect gentleman, flirting but still being himself, and then would finish it off by running her a nice bath and telling her how much she meant to him again. He hoped that it would be enough.

Natsu had never understood the nuances behind these things, all the different rules people seemed to make up on the daily. But he’d put up with them, do his best to learn them for Lucy’s sake. He knew he didn’t really need to ask her out and honestly found the idea ridiculous, but since he loved her he would. 

Or rather, it was because he loved her that he ended up in this situation in the first place. Lucy wasn’t a dragon slayer, so maybe she wouldn’t understand his nuances either. But that wasn’t a bad thing, it was the furthest thing from it. He knew she’d try, knew that she’d do her best to understand things from his point of view. So it was only right that he did the same for her, even if it did overly complicate things. Whenever one of them fell short, he was sure the other would be right there to help uplift. 

And that was the beauty of it all, wasn’t it? That was where the love was – in the want to make things easier for one another. From opening packages for her, to her using a lighter cleaning spray that would give him less of a headache, to leaving fishbones in dinner for Happy to gnaw on…to asking her out formally despite knowing damn well they were together. He was glad to have her in his life, to drill things into his skull even if he found them dumb.

She’d been changing his life since the day they met.

Sometime that evening, Natsu walked alongside Lucy, her hand in his. With each step, he heard the drum of his heartbeat grow louder, so much so that the world begun to spin. But he wouldn’t lose focus. Lucy had to know, for his sake and hers.

He spent the entire day going through the plan in his head, and had Gajeel and Gray clobber him whenever he was wrong. He somewhat planned what to say to her (Mira said too much planning and reading off a script would be fake), took a nice shower to smell good, rechecked where the restaurant was fifty-four times…he was ready. Or so he thought.

He hoped he was ready. 

And so he walked with her, holding onto her hand like a lifeline. 

It was when her steps slowed that he turned to look at her. “Luce? What…”

“Hm?” She said softly, gazing out at the horizon. The sky was a flurry of orange and pink hues, clouds strewn across like mounds of cotton candy. The sun was about to slip underneath the sea, being both reflected and absorbed in the brown of Lucy’s eyes.

Natsu’s throat ran dry as he watched her, her hair dancing slightly in the wind as a smile tugged at her lips. 

She turned back to him with a small quirk in her brow. “What are you staring for? Is there something on my face?” 

He knew he should’ve stuck to the plan, should’ve done everything right and perfect the way women obviously loved. The candlelit dinner had been waiting, the stars were supposed to bear witness to their new union. He knew what needed to be done…but his lips formed the words before he could stop them, resolve crumbling under her impossibly stunning eyebrows. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” 

Lucy blushed and broke eye contact to look back at the horizon and then her feet. “Oh. Thanks, you are too.”

“No, really.” Natsu took a step closer to her, grip on her hand tightening. “You’re so pretty it feels like it’ll kill me from nervousness one day. But I guess that’d be a great way to go out, right? Having you close to me long enough to give me a heart attack.” 

“Natsu…” she giggled and opened her mouth to say something else, but he kept going.

“L-Lucy.” His throat was dry, and he honestly felt like she might curbstomp him for the fun of it. But somehow he knew that he’d love her even more for it, that he’d suffer endlessly by her hand if this was the last thing he got to see. His Lucy, bathed in the warmth of a thousand lights. His eyes softened. “I…you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen in my life, where I seriously doubt you’re human more than I should. And I don’t mean that in looks, I mean you as a person, too.” 

Natsu took her other hand in his, standing so close that he could have kissed her if he wanted to. He did, more than anything. “Getting to go on adventures with you, to laugh and cry together, get food poisoning together as partners…it’s been a real honor to spend almost every day alongside you, good and bad. And I wanna keep doing that with you, for as long as I live.” 

“Luce.” He slowly leaned down, resting his forehead on hers with a look so intense it could’ve stopped time. And yet his eyes were still gentle, still soft in the way that Lucy knew. It was the only way he could show his affection to her without losing his mind — it served as a way to calm himself and pass some of his overwhelming heat onto her for just a few moments. “I love you. I don’t think there’s a time, or a universe, or some kind of cursed thing where I don’t. Every step, or breath, or broken bone leads me to you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

He chuckled. “Though I guess I’m kinda rambling, huh? What I wanna say— no, what I wanna ask is, will you be mine? O-Or will you let me be yours?” 

Lucy stared at him, unblinking for what felt like a ridiculously long time. She then started laughing, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck to lean in for a kiss. In between giggles and kisses, she responded, “Yeah! Of course I will, dummy. What kind of a question is that?”

It took everything in Natsu not to burst into tears. He didn’t know if they were tears of joy, or stress, or some other thing, but instead of wasting his energy on crying, he picked Lucy up by the waist and spun her around with a loud whoop of excitement. “Really?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, grinning like an idiot. 

Natsu couldn’t help but kiss her again. And again. And again , so many times that all he could taste for hours was the strawberry flavor of her lip balm and the scent of flowers fogged his mind. Eventually, when Lucy had to push him off of her because she’d started to get dizzy, he took her hand in his again and practically dragged her to the restaurant.

She’d tripped and stumbled, but laughed the whole way. He mirrored her action, and hoped to laugh with her like that for the rest of eternity. By the time they got there, she’d been stunned to learn that Natsu went through the ordeal of making a reservation, and found a beautiful table nonetheless. It was on the rooftop of the restaurant, dotted among five others. Their table in particular had a view of the pier, and all of the glowing lights that came with it.

He’d been too proud to hand her a hand-picked bouquet of wildflowers, and told her that if she wanted a cow he’d find her one from somewhere. And so, the couple spent the evening ordering the entire menu, and laughing over good food.

“You know, you really are weird.” When they were waiting on dessert, Lucy sat with her belly and heart full. She snickered, eyes drifting over to the wildflowers for just a moment. “I could’ve sworn we’ve already been a thing.”

“Huh?” Natsu almost choked on the fishbone he was gnawing on, coughing. “Wha-what do you mean?” 

“Aren’t you the one who asked me out?” She scoffed, tilting her head with genuine confusion. “ Seven months ago?”

“SEVEN?” He yelped, slamming his hands on the table so roughly it almost clattered over. Other diners looked over at them with a mix of irritation and confusion, but he couldn’t have cared less.

“…um, yeah?” Lucy sweat slightly as if this were the dumbest thing he’d said in a really long while. “You don’t remember? I mean, I guess you were drunk off your ass, but you always remember everything even when you’re trashed. And you’re literally such a boyfriend, it’s kinda more surprising that you didn’t know we were together somehow.”

When he didn’t respond, she deadpans, looking at him like he was the biggest idiot she’d ever met. 

“We literally spoon every night.” 

“Well, yeah, but—“ Natsu stammered, slamming down the fish bone to lean forward, “how were you supposed to know if I never said anything about it?”

“You did, though.” She chuckled. “And bedsides, some things really just go without saying.”

He wanted to be angry, because he had said damn near the exact same thing to everyone. But instead, he laughs so loud that he’s sure all of Magnolia can hear, throwing his head back. “You’re the best. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she giggled, shaking her head to herself. 

“Hey, but tell me…” Natsu asked, picking the food from in between his teeth with the fishbone. “If you thought we were together already, what was up with the new perfume?? That wasn’t to impress someone or something?”

“Seriously?” Lucy deadpanned. “It was for you. Dumbass.” 

“Me?” He snorted. “But I love how you smell already. And what about the letter?”

“I have nothing to do with that, I went and turned him down with Levy and that was the end of it.” She responded nonchalantly, as if it really weren’t that big a deal. 

So he was really stressed over nothing? Nothing at all? He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry, but just settled on scratching the back of his head sheepishly while he laughed to himself.

“Dumbass,” Lucy muttered under her breath. “Is that why you did that thing where you hugged me? What was that about?”

“Scent claim,” he replied simply as if it were common knowledge. 

She blinked a few times, but just decided to drop it. “...dragon slayer thing?”

“Dragon slayer thing.” He parroted. Was it supposed to be that easy? Lucy wasn’t a dragon slayer, but she sure could be intuitive like one. 

When the waiter brought them the cake, Natsu knew he outdid himself. It was four tiers, with pretty pink frosting, hearts, and sparkling candles to celebrate. He had been terrified that Lucy would hate it, but when he saw her eyes glitter and a gleeful gasp fall from her lips, he knew he did well. He could’ve downed the entire thing in one sitting, but decided that he’d let her have her fill of it first. A wonderfully wide grin was plastered on her face as she cut into it, and she practically danced in her seat with each bite.

“You gonna have some?” She asked with her mouth full.

“Of course,” he cut a ridiculously large chunk out of it, eating like he didn’t just have multiple courses that could’ve hospitalized a small child. 

“Y’know,” Lucy hummed absentmindedly before forking more cake into her mouth, “with how shifty you’ve been being lately, I was starting to think you were planning on proposing to me.”

Shit. They were dating, not married. And since he just asked her out to date, didn’t that mean they couldn’t get “engaged” today? When was he supposed to ask her about that? Tomorrow? Stars, humans were so complicated …

“...Natsu?” She stared at him when he didn’t respond, but he was far too busy having paragraphs of internal monologue to conclude this story to really respond to her. 

It seemed that by being with Lucy, things would never be normal. But Natsu wouldn’t have it any other way. Because he would look forward to going through life with his Luce, regardless of the labels or the ordeals it would take to reach new ones. He hoped she’d feel the same for as long as he did, and would continue putting up with his freakish revelations. 

And even if he was confused, he knew that there would always be respite in the brown of her eyes. It didn’t matter what others said or thought, Lucy would be his stasis always and forever. He’d be patient, whatever she needed him to be. So if that meant waiting a little longer to tell her that they were married (and propose with a pretty ring if that’s what she wanted), then that’s what he’d do even if it did drive him insane.

…he did really need to go back to the guild and beg for more help though.

Chapter Text

No more than 15 hours after the confession of a lifetime, Lucy sat surrounded by virtually everyone at the guild who wasn’t on a job. Apparently, everyone but her had known of Natsu’s troubles and did their best to help, so it was only natural for them to want to know every little detail of how things went down thanks to their doubtlessly impeccable guidance.

“I’m so happy for you, Lu!” Levy giggled. “I knew he could do it!” 

“I mean, I knew he could too,” Lucy laughed alongside her after eating the cherry that sat on the top of her milkshake, “but he really didn’t have to. I swear we’ve been together a while, don’t see how none of you knew.” 

“...you two are a match made in heaven.” Gray sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Wait, tell us how you originally got together!” Mira chirped, stopping to listen closer after she handed Cana her seventeenth ale that afternoon.

“Huh?” Lucy tilted her head. “Mmm, it’s not that great of a story.” 

“But there is a story,” Wendy leaned forward with stars in her eyes, “so you gotta tell us all of it! Pleeeeeaaase?” 

“C’mon, Lushie, storytime!” Happy chimed in, adding to the clamor of guildmates begging.

“What– shush, cat!” Lucy snorted, swatting playfully at him. “You were probably there!”

After a few seconds of the guild growing increasingly louder, she sighed, obliging. “I guess, but don’t get mad at me when it’s not the super heartthrob story you’re wanting…”

It had been a night where the guild was steeped in booze, laughter and drunken emotion bursting from almost every window. 

Gajeel had been on the stage scatting and screeching off-tune notes, being booed by everyone but Levy who watched eagerly with stars in her eyes. He was coated in tomatoes and other miscellaneous trash, but he did not stop singing lest the petite bookworm stopped giggling and cheering him on. 

Gray was in the corner naked as the day he was born, drifting off. Juvia, with her rosy due to being tipsy, peeked around a corner to watch his every breath. If he weren’t half-dead due to a drinking game that he played with Cana, he might’ve found it cute and told her to get the hell away from him because her eyes made him nervous.

Erza appeared to have her very own section of the guild that she chose to operate some kind of fighting ring in, smashing a chair over Laxus’ head as she screamed about how she hated his coat despite not even remembering his name. Jellal watched in terrified stupor, silently wishing he could’ve been in Laxus’ place instead just to see how much more passionate she could get. However, he did really enjoy still having his head attached to his body, so that could wait for another time.

But – strangely enough –  Natsu and Lucy snuck off on their own. The fire dragon slayer had developed a headache mid brawl, and wanted to go home to sleep all the booze off. He was stumbling and sighing the whole way, but Lucy didn’t mind it. She’d carry him the whole way to her house, just so he wouldn’t wake up alone on the street with an abysmal hangover and all his jewel gone. 

Thinking back on it, she could’ve just had Happy fly him home…but that detail had been lost on her at the time. Plus, it didn’t help that she hadn’t seen the annoyingly cute cat anywhere for a while, and he didn’t respond to any of the yells of his name. She guessed that he was having a sleepover with Lily and Carla again.

About halfway through the trek home, Natsu’s steps grew heavier. 

Lucy sighed softly, patting his shoulder. “Come on, don’t add extra weight. We’re almost there,” 

He growled under his breath. 

She frowned softly. His skin felt hotter to touch than normal (which said a lot), and he seemed a lot more agitated than usual. Exactly how much did he have to drink? Did he feel under the weather? Eventually, his steps came to a stop. 

“Lucy,” Natsu’s voice cut through the silence suddenly.

“Hm?” She squeaked. Since when did he use her actual name, and so gravely? It’s not like they were on the battlefield, with one of them teetering on the brink of death. This was a leisurely walk home, where she’d be scolding him in the morning for drinking himself into a coma like he didn’t know any better. 

He glanced up slightly, and when her eyes met his Lucy felt a part of her soul burn hotly with that all-too familiar bashfulness he seemed to rouse effortlessly. He looked at her under the curve of salmon eyelashes, onyx eyes dark under the warm streetlights. Out of every expression she’d seen him make, the one on his face was a total mystery to her…like she was some kind of object being claimed by a dragon in a castle.

Fitting.

“Yeah?” She cleared her throat, trying to keep her heartbeat steady despite her growing nerves. 

“I’m not too good with words, but…I want you.” She could smell the whiskey on his lips, yet his eyes held not one ounce of fogginess. Not anymore. Had he been faking it, just to get her to hold him close? She doubted he was that smart.  “I…you’re everything to me, Lucy. Really. A day without you by my side would be hell.” 

He held her hands in his, his palms warm as ever. “I love you, Lucy. So much. Since the day we met, I knew you’d be super important to me, and that hasn’t changed. You’re my other half. Always have been, always will be. No matter what.” 

“I…” Lucy started to speak, but Natsu gently reached for her cheeks, holding her face in his hands to pull her to him and gently press his lips to hers. 

His voice was just above a whisper when he spoke next, as if he were afraid of speaking too loud lest he lose her forever. “Please. Won’t you let me be yours?” 

Her lips curled into a warm smile. She’d never seen him look so tense over something so unserious. How didn’t he know that her heart was already his? She was just waiting for him to ask the question. “Of course I will, Natsu.” 

“You will?” There was a fire behind his eyes that burned bright, as if it were the first ember of forever. That’s exactly what it was, actually. There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that he and Lucy would be together until the very universe came undone. “Really?” 

“Really.” Lucy parroted, patting his head. “Now then. Since you have the energy to make out with me, get up and walk normally. Drama queen.” 

“What?” He groaned. “But I don’t wanna, it’s all dizzy out here!” 

“Too bad!” She exclaimed. “You’re heavy!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“What does it sound like?” She rolled her eyes, resting a hand on her hips. “You’re heavy.” 

“You’re so pretty when you’re sassy,” he grinned with half-lidded eyes, leaning closer for another kiss, and another, and another until Lucy had to remind him that they needed to get home. 

“So yeah.” Lucy said simply, taking a healthy sip of her milkshake. “That’s what happened.”

“Really?!” Wendy cried out with both glee and secondhand embarrassment. “How do you even forget a confession like that?!”

“Beats me,” she shrugged.

“Men.” Mira grumbled, earning a ridiculous amount of hums of agreement from the women of Fairy Tail. How anyone put up with any of the shenanigans the men of the guild tended to string along would remain a mystery.

“No, I think that’s just Natsu.” Gray huffed.

“If it includes Salamander, then you’re lumped in too, gihee.” Gajeel snorted. “You both share a fucking brain.” 

“You wanna go?” Gray made a motion to roll up his sleeves, but was a little less than surprised to notice that he was indeed not wearing a shirt. Or pants, for that matter. Huh. 

“Damn straight I do,” Gajeel grinned, the two of them getting ready to brawl in the corner. 

“But y'know,” Lucy hummed as if nothing was happening, tapping a finger to her chin absentmindedly, “Natsu could look me dead in the eyes and tell me we’re married and I’d believe him. Like, once he did this thing, and it was real proposal material. And then he started showering me with gifts for a little while after,”

When Gajeel saw the way she stared at her finger with a little smile, he immediately collapsed as though Gray had given him a concussion, despite not having been touched. “You’re fucking joking.” 

Levy laughed brightly. “Aw, Lu, you’re the best! You both are gonna make each other so happy,” 

“I feel like there’s some kind of insider knowledge you guys have that I don’t, but it’s whatever.” Lucy sighed happily. “I’d be pretty happy to marry him. I know it’s kinda early, but when you know you know.” 

“Where even is he right now?” Laxus snapped at no one in particular. 

Natsu, smart as he is, was trapped in the bathroom due to eating a basket of baby back ribs, two honey baked hams, ice cream, a couple sandwiches, and chicken and dumplings that was washed down with a soda float. That mixed with the previous night’s extravagant dinner, and the release of essentially all tension he’d been feeling inevitably led to a couple hundred thousand jewel in repairs to the guild’s mens restroom. 

If he had waited outside and had the conversation with the guild instead, he likely would have avoided the next year of meticulous planning for the proposal of a lifetime. He could’ve just told Lucy that they were married already, had her jump into his arms and kiss him, and throw a party right there. But instead, on a weekend where he sent her, Levy, Juvia, and Erza on a spa retreat he traveled to countless towns to find the perfect ring before welding one himself. It had taken days just to get the shape and size down and he was sure she would’ve hated it…but the way she cried tears of joy when she laid eyes on it made all the sleepless nights worth it. 

Over time, they attended Levy and Gajeel’s wedding, and took notes for theirs. Those few months were the best of Natsu’s life, spent spoiling and chatting with Lucy about a ton of things he would’ve never considered. He thought all wedding cakes were just the plain white flavor, but when she opted to have a chocolate one, he loved talking her head off about why she wanted that. Watching her eyes twinkle like the brightest stars he’d ever seen when she explained how her mother used to bake this really good chocolate cake made him want to hear about every little thing that went on in her mind, about the different ways she thought the world and weddings worked.

Natsu decided on that particular evening spent wedding planning under the covers with the love of his life, that he simply wouldn’t tell her that they’d been married forever. Seeing how happy it made her to experience it for herself, watching the glee of getting to be a newlywed from her eyes made all the confusion worth it. So she wouldn’t ever know, it would just stay his little secret until the end of time. 

(That is to say, Lucy was totally aware the entire time. Especially after he went through the wedding rituals the traditional way, but she loved seeing him smile at her like she was just the most precious thing in the world…so he wouldn’t ever know, it would just stay her little secret until the end of time.)