This chapter contains smut. I will separate the smut scenes with "xxx" if you wish to skip
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Natsu and Happy looked around in amazement, not believing their eyes. It was daytime, but the sky was filled with stars and small planets. The roads looked like they were made of glass, every surface sparkling and shining.
"Is this… real?" Natsu mumbled under his breath, reaching out to touch a tree that looked like it was made of pure light.
"It's a beautiful kingdom, isn't it?" Lucy chuckled, leading the way as they walked through the castle gates. There was an orchestra playing from inside and streamers were littered about the building, a large banner draped above the door saying "Welcome Home" in an ancient dialect of the gods.
When Lucy opened the door, confetti popped and loud cheers sounded, the celestial beings welcoming the trio. Lucy laughed once she caught sight of Anna, they'd joked about having a party, and she didn't think they'd actually do it.
Natsu and Happy continued to look around, both astounded by nearly everything. The castle looked as though it was made from crystal, and it was a little smaller than the fairy castle but definitely the tallest they'd seen.
"Welcome to the celestial family!" A few staff members greeted the boys and presented elaborate jewelry to them. "And happy birthday!"
Happy busied himself with looking through the necklaces and bangles they were given, all of them being a bit too big for him. "Look at how shiny this stuff is, Natsu!"
The demon chuckled at the sight of Happy wearing oversized jewels, turning to Lucy when he heard her giggle beside him. "These traditions aren't too far from what I'm used to." He told her, then narrowed his eyes when he noticed she hadn't taken any jewelry herself.
"How come you don't want any?" He motioned towards the jewelry. "Besides, it's your birthday."
"Well, they wanted to celebrate our birthdays together today, it's no problem for me. And… I don't want to wear any jewelry right now." Lucy's face was pretty unreadable. It was apparent that she was extremely happy to be here, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"It was a long trip, come and have something to eat!" Anna guided them through the castle and to a huge dining hall with a big table in the center. There was a feast spread, and Natsu and Happy drooled shamelessly. "Help yourselves!"
Natsu nearly shed a tear after taking a bite of some crab. "The food… it's so good…"
"Aye!" The two stuffed their faces, Lucy and Anna giggling at their enthusiasm. Natsu glanced at Lucy and back at the table, his brows furrowing.
He swallowed a big gulp of food. "You're not hungry?"
Lucy shook her head lightly, smiling, but her eyes still looked off. "I'll eat later."
Natsu put down the food to get close to her, staring into her eyes intensely. Lucy looked away awkwardly, taking a small step back. "Um…"
"Is something wrong?"
"No..?" She laughed awkwardly, Anna and Happy now confused as they looked at them.
"Are you sure? You seem sad."
"I'm fine, really. There is something I wanna do before we look around some more, though. I'll be fast."
Lucy took off her shoes before continuing down the hall. Natsu sighed as he watched her leave, there was definitely something wrong. Happy plopped down on his shoulder, the exceed thinking the same thing. "Is Lushi mad at you?"
"I dunno…" He looked over at Anna, the blonde still looking at where Lucy was walking through the hall. She sighed as she looked down in thought for a moment before looking back up at Natsu. "You two should join her."
"...Join her?"
"She's going to the garden. You two should go with her, she'd like the company."
Natsu nodded as he caught up with Lucy, walking a little bit behind her in case she'd rather be alone. They went out the back gates and into a garden, the plants and architecture so polished that they almost looked fake.
Lucy ran her hand along a few flowers before turning around. She was still smiling as she motioned the boys to come closer to her. "Could you help me? I want to pick some flowers, but I can't really bend down…" She pointed at her large belly, chuckling softly.
Natsu and Happy looked at each other before kneeling and picking several flowers. Lucy kissed their cheeks when they presented them to her, quickly turning to continue through the garden.
They remained silent as they walked, Lucy seemingly really focused on where she was going and Natsu and Happy afraid of saying something wrong. When her steps picked up in speed, Natsu looked away from her to glance up at the scenery around them, his eyes widening.
There was a trail of flowers leading up to a huge statue, the statue surrounded by a shallow moat. The closer they got, the more clear it became. "This is a memorial…"
Lucy stepped through the shallow water to place her hand on the statue. She stood there for a long while, her hand on the statue and her eyes closed. Natsu and Happy gave her a few feet of space, neither making any movements as they watched her. It made sense now, she was feeling off because the last time she had been to this castle, her mother was alive.
Lucy bended enough to lay the flowers on the foot of the statue before turning around to smile again. "Okay, let's go check out our rooms. I'm a little tired." She walked past the boys and back into the castle, Natsu and Happy choosing to remain silent and a few feet behind her as they followed.
Natsu felt really bad, it wouldn't be right to stay here if it made Lucy sad. Though, they'd been working on moving in for three months until now, why hadn't she mentioned anything before? Maybe she didn't want to disappoint him? He was the one who initiated moving to the celestial kingdom…
Lucy hummed as they walked up the stairs and through a correder. There were several staff members smiling and waving as they passed them by. If there was one thing for sure, the people of this kingdom were definitely very nice, as expected of a kingdom ran by a Heartfilia.
The room doors were huge, reaching from the floor to the tall ceiling. There were several rooms lining the walls that lead up to one in the center of the hall, each door about 20 meters apart. "These rooms belong to the Zodiac." Lucy explained, and she motioned towards the room closest to the end of the hall. "This is your room, Happy."
When Happy didn't make any move to enter, Lucy continued. "It actually used to be my room when I was little, so that's cool…" She smiled as memories came back to her.
Happy got down to walk up to the door, but he hesitated. Lucy didn't seem to detect anything wrong, so she was completely taken aback when the cat suddenly asked, "Are you sad because your mom's dead, Lushi?"
Natsu facepalmed, that was the most inappropriate way he could've asked something like that. He was going to talk to her about it subtly, but there goes that plan.
Lucy furrowed her brows. "Of course… What kind of question is that?"
"Does being here make you sad?" Happy's eyes were big and innocent as he looked up at her.
"...Well, no. I miss her, but I've been dying to come back here. All of my memories are good ones, so I love being here."
Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "You sure..?"
"Yes, I'm sure! Is this why you two have been so quiet? You really don't need to worry, okay?" She laughed sweetly, taking his hand off of her shoulder and holding it tightly. They decided to trust her, and Happy gasped once he opened his room door. "Fishies!" He scurried in, looking at all of the fish-print decor.
Lucy grinned as she whispered in Natsu's ear, "I told them he liked fish, but I think they went a little overboard…"
Natsu chuckled, "Yeah, but the little guy seems to love it." Happy was draped across his bed, snuggling into the fish sheets.
"He's so cute… let's see what they did with our room…" Lucy walked over to the large double doors at the end of the hall, opening them and admiring what she saw.
The room was huge, about as big as the one in Tartaros. The decor was simple, but Lucy found herself flushing when she noticed the rose petals and candles. "Oh gods…" She groaned, and Natsu chuckled as he walked past her and into the room.
"They left snacks!" He grinned, picking up a candle and eating the little flame.
"No, Natsu… It's supposed to be romantic."
"Snacks can be romantic."
Lucy giggled, shutting the door and getting undressed. "If you say so." She set her clothes on a room divider and took her hair out of the bun it was in. "My back hurts…" She mumbled.
Natsu didn't hesitate to pull her close to him from behind. He rubbed the skin on her neck and shoulders, Lucy sighing in delight. "You probably should rest. We've been on our feet all day."
Lucy bit her lip as she turned around, wrapping her arms around Natsu's neck. "Yeah… but there's something else I wanna do first…" She ran her hands over his pecks, abs and eventually his behind, squeezing the firm muscle in both hands. Natsu's eyes darkened as he pulled her closer to him and dipped his head down to capture her lips.
"Have you two gotten settled yet?"
Natsu and Lucy jolted away from each other, gaping at the maiden in the doorway. Virgo looked at them blanky, her eyes lingering on Lucy's half-naked body. "Are you enjoying the room?"
"Virgo! Don't just barge in here!" Lucy ran to shove the spirit out of the door. "Please knock next time…"
Virgo allowed herself to be pushed out. "Queen Anna would like to speak with Sir Natsu."
"Me..?" Natsu raised a brow but made his way out the door. "For what?"
"She wants to tell you about it herself."
"Uh… okay, we'll finish this later." He winked at Lucy, the blonde simply huffing at the way the mood was totally ruined.
"Would you like me to bathe you, Princess?"
Natsu grinned as he heard them, easily picturing how red Lucy's face must be as he walked down the steps towards the main hall. The closer he got, the easier it was to hear Anna, and it sounded as though she were talking to someone.
The other Zodiac members were gathered around her office, the atmosphere tense. They acknowledged Natsu, but only Capricorn addressed him verbally. "Give her a moment, please."
Natsu nodded and leaned against the wall next to the office door, listening clearly to what she was saying.
"I'm not going to- what? Of course not! She doesn't need to be bothered with any of this." This was probably the most angrily Natsu's ever heard her speak. "Yes, he is. You already know about that." He assumed she was talking about him and Lucy, but with who..?
"Absolutely not. Fine." There was a moment of silence before Anna sighed loudly and opened the door.
"Hey… come in…" Her smile didn't reach her eyes, and Nastu crossed his arms once she shut the door behind them.
"Who was that?" Her irritation rubbed off on him as he held in a growl. He'd never seen Anna so annoyed before.
"...Jude."
Anna let it sink in as she sat back down at her desk. Natsu let out a deep growl as he took the seat across from her. "What does he want?"
"He keeps calling me. What with you two going public about the engagement and pregnancy, he's been losing his mind. Of course, he found out about our plans to inaugurate Lucy here, and he's livid. He keeps calling and telling me to let him talk to her, but he doesn't need to bother her with his antics." She rubbed at her temples in exasperation.
"Let me talk 'em." Anna gaped at Natsu's request, shaking her head frantically.
"No! I don't want any trouble to start here. I'm technically still in alliance with the angel kingdom, if I let anyone inflict any harm…"
"I ain't gonna fight him. I can just get him off your back."
She didn't like the look in his eyes, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him accusingly. "Just what are you planning to do?"
Natsu leaned back in his seat, grinning easily. "I'll just tell him to fuck off."
"How exactly would you do that?"
"Like… 'Hey Jude, fuck off.'"
Anna thought over her options before picking up her phone. "I called you in here to warn you, but if you think you can deal with it now... I trust that you won't do anything brash."
Natsu winked at her as she handed him the phone, and she found herself starting to sweat when he turned to leave the room. The Zodiac stared at him intensely, and he held up a finger to signal them to wait.
He walked down the hall as he searched through the contacts and held the phone to his ear to listen to it ring. It wasn't long before the line was picked up, but it was completely silent.
Natsu spoke after a few minutes. "Jude…"
"...You..."
"Yeah, it's me."
He could hear Jude shuffling around on the other end. "Why're you… calling..?"
"I should be the one asking that. Really, why can't you just take a hint?"
"I've been calling about my daughter, I have a right to know about her well-being."
"We don't owe you anything, though, so you're just gonna have to deal with the fact that she doesn't wanna talk to you."
It was quiet again, and Natsu was sure that Jude was holding back. He didn't bring up the betrayal or the compromising of the peace treaty, it was clear that Jude was already nervous about that. Natsu wouldn't start any fight over it- the angel king was more trouble than he was worth- but it wasn't like he'd just forgive and forget.
"...Does she know that I've been trying to speak with her?"
"No, and she doesn't need to. There's a lot going on right now and I don't wanna add to anything for her to stress over. You know how she's 9 months pregnant, right?"
Jude grumbled something incoherently before clearing his throat. "I don't want any trouble…" Natsu rolled his eyes. "All I ask is that you mention me to her, and let her decide if she wants to talk to me. I'll wait for her call and won't reach out anymore."
"Meh… I don't really trust you, y'know." Natsu let his statement set in for a moment. "Just don't call again. I get angry pretty easily." He hung up then, releasing a long breath. Talking to that asshole after all that's happened was too mentally exhausting.
"What did he say?" Anna had been waiting patiently on the other other side of the hall, trying to gouge the tone of the conversation.
"He's still a little bitch, but it's okay. He shouldn't call again, but let me know if he does." Natsu tossed the phone back to her, casually making his way back up the stairs to his woman.
"Thank you." Anna's voice was quiet as she knew he'd be able to pick it up with his dragon-hearing. He turned slightly to grin at her before carrying on his way.
Natsu opened his room door, noticing that the lights were dimmed down and the candles he ate were relit. He could hear water running, and he undressed himself before walking into the connected washroom.
The tiles were sleek and marbled and the room was accented in navy blue, this bathroom was definitely much prettier and feminine than the one in Tartaros. He walked up to the tinted glass of the shower, knocking softly. "Can I join you?"
Lucy opened the sliding door and smiled at him as he got in behind her. "What did Anna want?"
Natsu ran his hands through her damp hair as he debated on whether he should tell her or not. When she turned to look him in the eyes, he looked away hesitantly.
"It was about Jude…"
"Oh…" Lucy turned to face him fully, running a cloth down Natsu's front to wash him. "He's been bothering her?"
"Yeah, but i dealt with it, don't worry." He ran his hands along her skin, relieved to see that she didn't seem too bothered.
"I figured he'd do this. Well, I honestly expected him to come here in person, but he's probably scared of you." Lucy's giggles had him grinning dumbly as he abruptly pulled her into a kiss.
The kiss started off gentle but began to heat up and Natsu caged her between his body and the glass of the shower door. "Why don't we continue where we left off..?"
Lucy poked him on the nose before hoping out of the shower, walking backwards into the dim bedroom. She motioned him to her with her finger, her brown eyes darkening with lust. "How about you come dry me off, first?"
He was out of the shower and wrapping his arms around her in an instant, using his hands to heat up her skin. Lucy hummed happy as she leaned into him, but Natsu let out a whine once she pushed him away.
"Go turn the water off, silly." She giggled, and he nearly sprinted to turn the shower off and come back into the room. He was unable to take his eyes off her naked body as she built a little pile of pillows on the bed and laid in the center. She shamelessly spread her legs and bit her lip, unable to take her eyes off his body.
xxx-
"So… hot…" Natsu mumbled as he crawled over to her on the bed and settled between her legs. "How are you so fucking hot..?"
She threaded her hands through his hair and gently lowered his head closer to her core, causing him to laugh cheekily. "Eager, huh?"
"I'm really horny right now…"
Natsu was a little surprised with her bluntness. Those pregnancy hormones have definitely done a number on her. "I'll help you with that."
He licked along her folds slowly, savoring the taste. Her hums and sighs had him speeding up as he found it hard to hold back. He'd have to be a bit more gentle than usual, and sometimes she made it so hard for him, literally…
"Natsu…" She breathed heavily and dropped her head down into the pillows as he sucked on her clit roughly and pressed 2 fingers into her. "Just like that…"
He curled his digits inside her, rubbing against her sweet spot with each stroke of his wrist. Her whimpers began to raise in volume and her grip on his hair tightened, causing him to nip at her sensitive clit harshly.
"N-Natsu… I wanna… c-cum around your cock…"
Natsu had to gape at her words once again. It was so different to hear her talk like that, but he wouldn't deny how hard it made him. He rose to mount her, taking in her flushed expression. "What happened to my shy little princess?"
"She's horny and begging you to fuck her, that's what." Lucy eyed him dangerously before forcing him down into a hot kiss, her tongue fighting with his and almost too much for him to keep up with.
It was Natsu's turn to moan now, pregnant and horny Lucy being his greatest weakness. He held her hip as he entered her slowly and used his other hand to rub at her clit, smirking when she immediately came.
"Dirty girl…" He pretended to complain as he started a steady pace. "I should fuck some sense into ya."
Lucy gripped the pillows beside her as he began to thrust harder, crying out and already feeling another orgasm coming. "P-play with my tits…"
She didn't need to tell him twice, her boobs were some of Natsu's favorite things to sink his teeth into. He squeezed and kneaded each globe in his hand, leaning down to suck on a nipple as it began to leak. Something about watching her full breasts dripping in the white substance of her milk drove him crazy.
"I'm gonna go harder." He warned through clenched teeth, waiting on any signs of her wanting him to stop. He bucked roughly, afraid of hurting her but not able to contain himself as she continued to cry out.
Lucy ran her nails over his back, likely breaking skin but too drunk on pleasure to think about it. She squealed when he sat up to hold her as he began to plow into her at a fast, rough pace. "Ah! Oh f-fuck!"
Her breasts jiggled with each thrust, painting her skin white. Natsu bared his teeth as he felt himself reaching his breaking point. "Cum with me..!"
Lucy almost didn't hear him over her own moans, but she arched her back and let her orgasm take her, the sensation being prolonged as she felt him fill her up with his seed.
Natsu panted heavily and shook his head to clear his lust-fogged mind as he pulled out. He'd gone a little too hard there, they were supposed to be taking it a little easier during these last stages of her pregnancy. Judging by the dazed expression on her face, Lucy had kind of lost it, too.
-xxx
"I didn't hurt ya, did I?" He ran his hand over her belly as he laid down next to her in her hoard of pillows.
"Obviously not." She giggled, turning to kiss him sweetly. "I don't really know what came over me, though. Oh well~" Lucy sighed as she snuggled against him, constantly shifting her position to get comfortable.
"Turn around." She turned away from Natsu so he could spoon her. "Is that better?"
"Yeah~" she sighed again, loving the feeling of being in his arms. "You're really warm."
Natsu rubbed circles into her belly and breathed in her scent. "It's still like, the middle of the day, and they set up a party for us…"
"Just a quick nap. Then we can go out and let everyone know we haven't died."
"Eh, I think they know perfectly well what we've been doing."
Lucy rolled her eyes, the staff here really could be a little too nosey. Her breath stilled when she felt the baby move around, right where Natsu's hand was.
"I think they're trying to say hi." He joked, continuing to follow the movement with his hands.
"Maybe." Lucy snickered softly, "But hopefully this means they're ready to come out soon."
"They'll be here before you know it, Luce." Natsu's voice fell into a mumble as he slowly began to doze off.
"I hope so." Lucy was getting over being pregnant, and she honestly couldn't wait to meet their child. Hopefully the birth wouldn't be too bad, that was really her biggest concern. Her due date was in a couple weeks, and the closer it got, the more anxious and excited she became.
"Happy birthday, by the way." Lucy's face broke out in a big smile. She'd never really dwelled on her birthday, but it was a reminder of the day she left and found her way to Natsu. In two days, they'll have known each other for a year, and she honestly couldn't believe it.
A lot had happened, and she almost couldn't fathom how far they've come. It felt like only yesterday she was presented as a concubine and dealing with her crush on the king, and now they're lying in bed together, engaged and a baby due any day now.
As Natsu placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, Lucy sighed blissfully. She was the epitome of contentment.