The Demon's Concubine

Chapter 34

"That's good… I noticed that there seems to be a lot of boys being born lately, so maybe you'll break the cycle and have a girl..?" 

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts, her eyebrows raising. "Then Natsu could braid her hair."

"Huh?"

"Oh, Natsu said… He learned how to braid so that if he had a daughter, he'd be able to do her hair. You just reminded me." She smiled, it seemed like so long ago when he first did her hair, and she idly played with her golden strands when she realized he hadn't done it in a while.

"Oh, that's so sweet! Natsu will be a great dad, he's really good with kids. And babies, apparently… he kept finding ways to help out with August!". Mavis grinned as Lucy began to giggle. "Really? He's so adorable…" She sighed dreamily, imagining how Natsu would be with their own baby. If he was by her side, she knew they could do this.

"Who's adorable?" Right on cue, Natsu strolled into the dining hall, Happy half asleep on his shoulder. 

"You~" Lucy stood up to give him a kiss on the cheek and pick up the drowsy cat. 

"Why'd you get up so early?" Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her close.

"I was thirsty." He kissed her back before turning to the table, watching Mavis grin at him cheekily while Zeref cooed at August. 

"Since we're all here, let's get started." Zeref laid his son on his chest as he looked at the couple. 

"I literally just woke up." Natsu grumbled but sat down anyway, Lucy following behind him. "And I'm hungry."

"We'll have breakfast with everyone at the designated time, but it's better for us to talk about this in private, anyway." 

"Alright, what's up?"

"We'll be going to Tartaros."

Everyone turned to look at Lucy, the blonde flushing under the sudden attention. "Um…"

"Is that alright with you, Lucy?" 

"Yeah, I'd have to go back there eventually, anyway." 

Natsu pouted as he ran his hand through her hair. "You don't have to. If you're not comfortable going back there, then we won't make you, Princess." 

Lucy shrugged, "It's really fine, if I'm gonna marry you then I should get used to going to your kingdom." Her voice was nonchalant, not understanding why Mavis and Zeref were gaping at her and Natsu's face was a deep red.

"Marry me?" 

"Hm?"

Natsu cleared his throat and turned his body to face her fully. "You want to marry me?" 

Lucy stared at him for a minute, her eyes slowly widening as she realized what he said. "W-what?" 

"You just said… Nevermind…" He looked away awkwardly, rolling his eyes at the way his brother was looking at him.

"Wait, I do!" She rubbed her hand down her face in embarrassment, her outburst being way louder than it should've. 

"You do?"

"Yes! But, um, you don't- I mean-"

"Wait," He went to reach into his pants pocket only to realize he was just in his pajamas. "Hold on." Natsu sprung out of his seat and down the hallway, leaving Lucy completely confused. 

She looked over at Mavis and Zeref, the couple shrugging as they were just as confused as her. As she laid Happy down on the table, Lucy got up to go see where Natsu ran off to, only for him to come rushing back towards her. 

"Lucy…" 

"Yes..?" 

He stood in front of her awkwardly, looking around the room before finally meeting her eyes.

"I…"

"What's wrong, Natsu?" 

He wasn't sure why he was being so nervous, she just said she wanted this, so…

"Um… I planned on doing this after everything was settled in Tartaros, but…" He kneeled down on one knee, grabbing her hand in his. Lucy's eyes widened, immediately catching on to what's happening. 

"I didn't think you'd want to. I mean… well, I don't know, but hearing you say it…" He gulped, trying his best to ignore the looks he was getting from the table behind Lucy. 

"Am I supposed to say a speech? Or is that too much? Shit, I should probably say something, this is getting awkward…"

"I really love you, Lucy. You… You've changed me, and I've never felt this way before I met you. I was afraid at first, I knew you were worth so much more than I could give, but if you would have me…"

He held out the ring, presenting it to her. "Will you marry me?" 

Lucy's body shook, fat tears trailing down her face. It was expected, but it was just such a Natsu way to propose, she couldn't help her emotions. "Y-yes." She whispered, nodding fervently in case he didn't understand her under all the sobs.

He slid the ring on her finger and stood up to wrap her in a tight embrace. They held each other for a moment before sharing a deep kiss, separating in a fit of giggles. "I love you." Lucy sniffled, caressing his scarred cheek. 

They stood there admiring one another before Lucy looked over the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful." She mumbled, "How long have you planned on proposing?"

"I've imagined you'd be my wife for a while now, but I got the ring last night. It's a stone from my dad's kingdom, Erza, Gray, Wendy and Gajeel helped make it. Sorry this is so soon, I really was planning on giving you some time."

"That's so kind of them! And I'm glad you didn't wait." Her big smile was contagious, the two getting lost in each other before the sound of Zeref clearing his throat brought them back to reality. 

"Um… congrats…" He coughed, Mavis' jaw practicality on the ground and Happy wide awake as he stared at them."Thanks for interrupting the discussion to do that, I guess." 

"Oi, don't ruin the moment." Natsu huffed, bringing Lucy back to the table with him.

"Oh my gods! That was so spontaneous!" Mavis wiped her eyes, grabbing Lucy's hand to examine the jewel. "You two are so cute, getting engaged in the middle of the dining hall in your pajamas." She laughed. 

"What about the plan, Natsu?" Happy whined as he looked at the ring too. 

"I dunno… She mentioned that she wanted to get married and I just…" He trailed off with an unapologetic shrug. At least she didn't say no.

"Wait, you had a plan?" Lucy giggled, she had assumed this was the plan. Knowing Natsu, he'd impulsively propose anywhere or anytime he saw fit.

"Yeah, I was gonna make it super romantic. I couldn't help myself, though." He grinned, definitely not regretting proposing prematurely. She'll officially be his queen!

Zeref sighed, this would certainly change things, but he was glad to see it. Natsu has never looked so happy lately, and he was thankful for Lucy coming into his little brother's life. He had a feeling she'll make an excellent queen, too, but they still had important business to discuss.