"Princess… you were supposed to be ready an hour ago… we should hurry and get this over with." Virgo scolded quietly, she knew Lucy wasn't exactly thrilled about this day, but the longer she dragged it on, the worse things would get.
"I know, Virgo. I wanna get ready alone, please." Lucy huffed as she sat up on the bed, staying in place for a few minutes after Virgo left and shut the door.
Today was the day of her arranged wedding, and Lucy had to stop herself from jumping out of the window and running away everytime she thought about it.
She kept quiet and stayed in her room lately. If she behaved, there was a chance her father would go easy on her and her baby. As she stood, Lucy ran her hands over her belly and looked at herself in her mirror.
Her belly wasn't huge, but the small bulge was definitely noticeable. The dress that hung over her wardrobe was designed to hide her stomach, and Lucy found herself not being opposed to possibly getting morning sickness during the ceremony so she could have an excuse to leave.
She'd never met prince Bora, but after doing some research, Lucy figured he was pretty much an asshole. She rubbed her belly once more before going to her dresser and putting some underwear on. As she sat down on her vanity, she sighed at her reflection.
The bags under her eyes were dark and her cheeks were swollen. She looked horrible, and she knew no amount of makeup would fix the broken expression on her face.
As she began brushing the knots out of her hair, Lucy cringed at how obvious her self-negligence was. She sighed, she really let herself go since she'd been here. Being without Natsu took too much of a toll on her mental health, and she figured her pregnancy brain had something to do with it too. It didn't help that she was always stressed and anxious about something now either.
Lucy snapped her head towards the window, her brows furrowing in concentration. It almost sounded like someone had said something from outside, but she brushed it off. She'd been having daydreams lately, mostly memories of her time with Natsu and Happy or thoughts of what could've been.
She slapped her cheeks, the only way she could come to terms with things was if she let them go. It's been nearly 2 weeks since she left Tartaros, and Lucy was sure this meant Natsu had given up. She was more trouble than she was worth, and maybe he'd seen her as a traitor like every other member of his kingdom.
"Lushi!"
Lucy laughed humorlessly at the sound of Happy's voice. Her little auditory hallucinations have been especially bad lately, sometimes she'd wake up thinking she heard their laughter or the sound of them eating food.
"Lucy…?"
That was Natsu's voice, the sound making her weak. What she wouldn't give to hear him for real, to tell him all the things that's been going on in her head and to hear him share his.
Her head fell on the vanity stand, her feelings numb as she tried not to be overwhelmed. She banged her head on the surface over and over in a desperate attempt to clear her mind. Thinking about her boys would just make things worse.
Suddenly, a hand grasped her head, stopping her from inflicting any more pain on herself. It was probably Virgo, this wasn't the first time Lucy had been caught doing something like this.
"Let go." She muttered weakly, not really caring if Virgo complied or not.
"No way, you're gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that!"
Lucy gaped at her reflection in the small mirror, not being able to see who was now behind her. She caught sight of the hand on her head, though, the skin tanned and calloused.
"Oh no, Natsu! We took too long, Lushi's finally lost it!"
Her head whipped back to gape at the two in her room, the exceed and demon looking worried.
"...N-Natsu? Happy..?" Lucy rubbed at her eyes over and over, afraid that they'd disappear. She looked over to the window, noticing that it'd been opened. "Is this… real?" She mumbled, staring at them incredulously.
"Yes, it's real." Natsu placed his hand on her neck, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry it took so long, Princess. Did you miss me?"
Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood, wrapping Natsu in the tightest hug she could muster. "Natsu… It's really you…" She still struggled to believe herself- they really were here this time!
"Lucy… I'm so sorry…" Natsu held her even tighter, his body shaking. It took Lucy a moment to realize that he was crying, and she pulled away slightly to look at his face.
"Oh Natsu…" She wiped the tears from his eyes, her thumb lingering on the scar on his cheek. "Don't be sorry… I'm so glad you're here."
Natsu shook his head. "Lucy… you went through so much while you were in Tartaros… I should've done something about it… It shouldn't have taken you going back to this kingdom for me to realize…"
"It's okay, Natsu. I was the one telling you that it wasn't a big deal. Besides, all that matters right now is what we do in the future."
Natsu smiled at her, leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer and deepen it, the two getting lost in each other.
"Waah! I was so worried about you, Lushi!" Happy cried, charging into the blonde's chest and abruptly ending their kiss.
"Oh Happy… I was worried about you, too. I feel bad for asking you to leave when I did."
The exceed shook his head, crying into Lucy's chest. "Jackal snuck up on me! I didn't even realize he took my key before it was too late, and the next I knew I was in an infirmary! I wish I was stronger so I could defend you…"
Lucy's eyes darkened when she remembered what happened before she left, hugging Happy tighter. "...Don't blame yourself, Happy… What… what's happened to Jackal now?" She looked up at Natsu, the demon's expression dark.
"I haven't been in Tartaros since I woke up, so he hasn't been dealt with yet."
Lucy looked down, a little hesitant as she muttered, "Did you know… that he killed my mother..?"
Natsu and Happy were taken aback, looking at each other with wide eyes. "...I did not know that…"
"You didn't know that a member of your royal court had been the one to kill the celestial queen?"
Natsu rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. "Back then, I never really paid attention to that kind of thing… I'm sorry. If I knew, I would've gotten rid of him on the spot."
Lucy shrugged, bygones will be bygones. "You're not going to take me back there, are you?"
"Of course not! We're going to the fairy kingdom, but I'll explain more later. You should put something warm on, it's cold."
Lucy looked down at herself, blushing when she realized she was only wearing panties. She covered her breasts with her arms, causing Natsu to laugh."I've already seen much more than that, Luce." He chuckled, Happy gagging next to him.
She blushed as turned to grab her dress, looking the material over to see how she'd get it on. As she was turned to the side, Natsu's eyes widened. He got a good view of her body, and there was definitely something different…
Her breasts look bigger, he'd never fail to notice that, but that wasn't the most drastic change. "Has she always been this… round?" He looked over her no-longer flat stomach. It wasn't an issue for him, but it was odd to see her gain that much in not even 2 weeks, and the weight seemed to only be in one place.
"You must've been stress eating while you were here, Lushi! You're totally fat now!" Happy giggled. Natsu paled as he gaped at the exceed for his rude comment, Lucy gasping loudly.
"Shut up, cat. I'm not fat, I'm-" Her words caught in her throat as she realized. Her hands came up to cover her mouth, dropping her dress.
"Oh my gods… I haven't told you…" She muttered, Natsu raising a brow at her sudden emotional reaction.
"Told us what?"
Lucy placed her hands on her belly, a watering smile making its way on her face. "I… I'm pregnant…"
"...Huh?"
"Don't you 'huh' me! I'm pregnant, Natsu!" Lucy pouted, his expression was totally unreadable! "Is he upset? Please don't be upset…"
"...You're pregnant…" Natsu repeated, his eyes growing wide and his cheeks flushing. "What..?"
Lucy grabbed his hand, placing it over the curve of her stomach. "There's a baby in here." She said slowly, hoping he'd get it. Natsu's brain was running a mile a minute, his breathing heavy as he processed this. "No way…"
"Is it mine?" He chuckled when Lucy whacked him on the shoulder, her cheeks puffed out in an adorable pout."I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Oh my gosh, Lucy, you're pregnant! How did this happen..?"
"Um… I think you know how it happened…" The blonde flushed, looking away shyly.
"No, I know, but I thought you were on birth control…"
"I got pregnant before then, actually. You should talk to your aunt, I have no idea why she didn't think to tell me about it! I'm about 15 weeks along, I even have ultrasounds, here-" She turned to reach into a dresser drawer, searching for the pictures.
As he watched her pull out a thread of photos- black and white pictures of what looked like blobs- Natsu began to feel light-headed. She's pregnant. With his baby. She's pregnant!
"Holy shit." He gasped, looking over the ultrasound pictures and then back at Lucy's belly. "We're gonna have a kid…"
Lucy bit her lip as she nodded, leaning in to give him a good look of the pictures. "We are…"
Natsu eyes were still wide, his shock having yet to wear off. He was just thinking about having a baby with Lucy, it was surreal to know it's actually happening! "I'm gonna be a dad…" He whispered, Lucy smiling at him brightly.
"You're gonna be an amazing dad, I just know it. Here," she handed him the pictures, "Father made me get these because he didn't believe me when I told him. I didn't want to find out the gender, but look," she pointed to one of the blobs, "This is the baby."
It didn't exactly look like a baby to him, but Natsu stared at the ultrasound in amazement. This is his kid. His kid with Lucy.
"I'm so sorry, Lushi! I wouldn't have called you fat if I knew you were gonna lay an egg!" Happy wailed as he hugged her again in apology, his actions a bit dramatic.
"It's fine, I know how you can be, Happy. And it's not an egg!" Lucy hugged him back, mumbling about educating him on human babies sometime.
As he watched his two- soon to be three- favorite people hug, Natsu felt a sense of contentment wash over him. He pulled the two in his own embrace, chuckling as they squeaked from the tightness he held them with.
"I love you." He muttered to both of them. This was his family right here, and he never felt this protective in his life. "We gotta get you outta here, Luce."
The blonde nodded as she released Happy. "Yeah, what's the plan?" She continued to get dressed, cringing as she picked her dress up from the floor.
"There's a small airship hidden in the woodland area around the front of the estate. Happy will take you there, Igneel and Anna are already in the airship and they'll keep you safe while I deal with Jude."
As she zipped up the back of her dress, Lucy looked down in thought. "...I think I should speak with my father."
"...Why? It's clear that Jude won't give in if we just 'talk'... There's really only one way to do this."
"I know you don't like my father. I don't really like my father, either, but… he's still my father."
Natsu stared at her blanky. "I don't see your point."
"Just let me talk to him, okay? I really don't want this to resort to violence, and he'd take it better from me than if you were to confront him."
"Lucy…" He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. "What makes you think the whole 'talking' strategy will work now? Jude is a lost cause, I'm sorry, but it has to be this way."
She sighed, looking over to Happy, the cat clearly agreeing with Natsu. "I can't just… Look, this'll only make things bad again. Once his castle is fixed, father will just start another war, this will carry on forever! But, if we end things on good terms, then maybe..."
"Today is literally your arranged wedding day, Lucy. There's no getting through to him."
"Just, at least let me try…" She pouted, her puppy eyes impossible to resist. Natsu ran a hand down his face as he groaned. "Fine, but it really is a waste of time. I have to be nearby in case we have to go through with my plan after all. Where is he?"
"He's in the courtyard waiting to… walk me down the isle…" Lucy's eyes widened when she realized the situation she was in, looking down at her dress and then back up at Natsu.
"Wait… I have a plan…"
~
"There you are! Do you hear the commotion? Everyone thought you weren't going to show!" Jude scowled as he held his arm out.
"Sorry. I had… morning sickness…" Lucy mumbled, reluctantly wrapping her arm around his. "Father… I need to talk to you about all of this-"
"After the ceremony." Jude left no room for argument, and the music started quickly. As they walked down the isle, Lucy kept her gaze down. She looked pretty horrible, and considering how she's hardly able to go outside, the people here probably think she always looks this way. She made a mental note to come back here once everything is settled, just to show herself off.
Once they reached the altar, Lucy held in a gag at the way prince Bora looked at her. Just as she expected, he only saw her as a piece of meat. The officiant began to talk, his words falling on deaf ears as Lucy tuned him out. She looked around, the courtyard filled with the new, unfamiliar angel staff and members of the elf kingdom.
Virgo stood at the very back next to the estate doors, the maiden's body stiff and her eyes boring into Lucy's. Her hand hovered over the door handle, prepared to assist the princess in their plan. Virgo would be joining them in the airship, too, the poor maiden really deserved a break from this place.
Lucy glanced at her father, the king's face blank and his body a bit slouched. He looked rather uninterested, considering this was his idea. Her ears twitched when she caught the officiant say the words she'd been waiting to hear.
"If anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
Lucy grinned widely, a loud voice from the crowd exclaiming, "I object!"
She held in her laughter, the words "I object" sounding so unnecessarily formal. Everyone fell into a dead silence, looking at the intruder with wide, confused eyes.
"What the hell…" Jude muttered as he stared. "What even are you?"
"I'm a Happy!" The blue exceed said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Anyways, Lushi can't get married because… because I say so!" Jude paled, wondering what the hell this creature is even doing here at all.
"Good enough for me." Lucy chirped, practically skipping through the isle and meeting up with Happy, the two scurrying away as they made it to the doors. Virgo was quick to join them, rushing Lucy to her room to get her something to change into.
The crowd stared in stunned silence, minutes going by before they fully registered what just happened. "Is this some kind of joke?" Bora fumed, the rest of the guest breaking out into a loud commotion.
Jude stood up, looking around frantically. "Don't worry, I'll settle this all out." He assured, rushing through the doors to find his daughter.
It was cold, early, and Jude was especially irritated today- he was not in the mood for this. Lucy had been so behaved lately, why would she be pulling something like this now? The press would never let them live this one down, and Jude felt his irritation spiking the more he thought about it.
It was time Lucy stopped playing these childish games and finally took her future seriously.