Lucy waited with hope at the front of the Main House. Her white dress that ended on her knees faintly swayed with the cool fresh breeze.
It wasn't just her, the others were there as well.
All awaited the return of the Head.
The sky above them was already painted with the colors of dawn. In a moment, the sun will be rising soon.
And she couldn't help but feel worried as she stood still, her fair hand clutching the cloth near her heart.
As the earliest warm ray of sunshine finally rose up and shined on their faces, two black cars arrived before them.
One which Laxus was on, and the other one which the Head drove.
Everyone sighed in relief.
It was finally over.
As he got out of the car, Lucy's face radiated with happiness and her worried eyes instantly disappeared. There he was. Her Natsu.
She hastily ran up to meet him halfway as he walked towards them. Crashing her body to his firm built as she trapped him in a sweet embrace. He gladly returned it.
On her face was a pleasant, contented smile.
She noticed the stains of blood on his slacks, but she didn't care. She wasn't worried that it'd ruin her dress, it did not really matter.
"Welcome home," Lucy smiled as she slowly placed a space between them to look up to his face, "Let's get you cleaned up."
"I believe everything went well?" Mirajane asked in a knowing tone as Laxus went to her and the others.
"He dead?" Jellal asked, referring to Invel.
Laxus nodded, noting the expectant eyes of everyone else that waited for his response.
"He's been taken care of," he answered, "We won't be seeing his face in this lifetime."
And he meant it literally.
There was nothing left of Invel's head. Besides, he burned the headless body himself.
"I hope Rufus is doing alright back in China," Freed spoke.
Before the merging of the Dons, they used to belong to different families, but now they all seemed to get along even better.
"You mean him?" Rouge smirked as he motioned his head towards the person who just arrived.
Rufus Lore.
And heck, the look on his face was still the same as always.
He looked confident and satisfied. It was obvious that he was able to carry out Natsu's instruction with not a single problem at all, if memory served him right.
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MASTER'S CHAMBER
They stood by the king-sized bed.
Natsu's coat and necktie were now on the floor.
She was undressing him, determined to get the bloodstained clothes off him and clean him up.
Lucy was too occupied with unbuttoning his shirt that it took her long enough to realize that he was looking at her the whole time.
She was already halfway down the buttons when she noticed him staring.
"Is something on my face?" Lucy asked, her voice in concern.
Nothing was more agonizing than remembering Invel's words all over again... "The Lady will die as compensation for the lives you took!"
He let out a sigh.
His firm hands then went to her cheeks, feeling the softness of her skin as he bent his head down and kissed her forehead. Eyes shut to savor the moment.
"Yes," he whispered, "it's called beauty."
Lucy giggled at this, her cheeks warming up. She gently placed her fingers over his hands.
"It's finally over..." she said, staring into his eyes.
And silence came.
He looked into her brown orbs deeper. If only she knew...but no. He would not let her. Never.
"Yes, it is," his voice calm, like it used to be.
Somehow, Lucy had a feeling that he was distracted. That he was occupied with the thought of something else.
"What's wrong? You look unhappy," her face and voice went back to being worried again.
Natsu saw this. And he felt bad for making her feel that way.
"I do?" he made his tone bubblier.
She nodded.
"I just didn't get much rest," he smiled and gave her a look of reassurance.
Emotions.
He was good at concealing them. However, in some cases where he loses self-control, there was no point in hiding them at all.
"Ohh," she hummed, buying it.
"Is Lucas still asleep?" Natsu diverted the subject away from him.
"Yes," Lucy answered, "He's in his bedroom."
"Good."
She then turned towards their bathroom, deciding to get the ivory Jacuzzi ready for her husband.
"Let me prepare your bath first," she said happily.
Before she could take another step away from him, he stopped her and made her look at him again.
This startled her.
What's even more startling was when he kissed her. She was caught off-guard.
Although it was sudden, Lucy didn't give any sign of protest, instead she returned to him the passionate kiss he gave her. Her eyes were closed, as were his.
How long had it been since they felt the warmth and softness of each other's lips?
A while, it had been.
And it still felt and tasted as good as the first time on their wedding day.
Slowly their lips parted, just as their eyes opened again to look at the other.
"Don't die..." he whispered quietly.
"What?"
He stared deeper into her eyes.
Something that Natsu never dreamed of looking forward to was the day when he would never see those brown orbs again.
"You are not allowed to die unless I say so," his unruffled voice and cool smell of minty breath brushed her face.
She smiled.
"Silly. There is no one there to hurt me when you're around."
He just continued to stare.
Knowing that he'd keep looking at her if she didn't say something else, she added,
"Okay, I won't. I promise."
A second passed and his face finally softened.
But it quickly disappeared when he remembered something.
"Are you...still drinking that tea?"
Understanding that he was talking about the traitor's gift, Lucy shook her head.
"Invel's tea? I may have drank a cup or two," she answered in a carefree manner, "But not anymore."
A sigh of relief was what he gave back.
"And umm..." she continued, "Can we go visit Father's grave today?"
As if the matter with the tea was forgotten, he smiled earnestly and placed a quick peck on her cheek.
"Of course, baby."
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LIVING ROOM
The men were seated on the red couch, circling a short round table.
"You really burned their entire household into crisps?" Freed asked, his arms crossed as he stared at Rufus.
"So it's like the 'Nura bombing' all over again," Midnight added as he chugged down beer, recalling that he was one of those who dropped explosives on the estate that fateful night.
Rufus was sitting among them, his legs crossed as he held a cigarette in his right hand.
"Don's orders," he answered with a smirk, "It wasn't so difficult to fake an 'accident' when all of them were asleep."
He was about to take a whiff of the cigar again when Mavis took it from him. She was giving him a disapproving look.
"No smoking, Rufus. There are children present," she said, pointing to the kids running about.
He sighed in defeat.
"Fine, fine," he waved his hand dismissively.
"Here, have some snacks," Mirajane then arrived with a tray of pastries, setting the food down on the bronze table at the center.
"Best part of being in this family," Gajeel murmured as he started digging in.
Mira also placed a tray of desserts on the other table where the ladies were.
Just as she did, she noticed Erza standing by the window, arms folded on her chest. Her gaze looking through the outline of their land.
"Erza..." Mira slowly approached her, a look of concern evident on her face.
The redhead, now Mrs. Fernandes, turned to acknowledge the new presence beside her.
"Don't look at me like that," she spoke, smiling at the silver-haired, "I'm fine."
Hearing this, Mira's worry faded. She always knew when Erza was lying, and at that moment, she wasn't.
"Where's Jellal? I didn't see him leave."
"He didn't want anyone to notice," Erza answered, "He headed back to the estate."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave him alone?"
She gave a confident sigh.
"He's stronger than he looks. Besides, I think it's better to let him be for a while. He's probably in Wendy's laboratory...skimming through her belongings."
Mira slowly nodded in understanding,
"I see..."
And that was when Laxus came in.
The expression on his face showed that he was on work attitude.
"Gray, round up the boys and gear up," he started, getting everyone in the living room's attention, "Don and Lady are heading out. We need full security. Move!"
The men started scattering out after that.
"I'm going as well!" Cana volunteered.
Well, if it's the brunette, then there's no point in stopping her spirit.
"You sound like you're going to war," Mirajane joked as she walked closer to his tall figure, "Was that really necessary?"
A faint hint of the color red crossed his cheeks. Too faint that nobody noticed it, not even his wife who was staring at him with bright blue eyes.
"Nothing wrong with being prepared," he countered, folding his arms in the process.
Mira silently laughed.
"That's cute," she said as she pinched his nose.
Nothing could be manlier than that word.
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MEMORIAL PARK
The cemetery was quiet.
No other people were there.
At the middle of the vast green grass of land laid the square-shaped granite with the name of late Jude Heartfilia. The name was carved in a golden cursive font, contrasting the dark granite.
Two people stood before it.
The Lady with the white coat, and the Head with the black one.
Their men in suits were scattered all over the field. Some were stationed just by the cars parked at the graveled lot.
Lucy bent down on her knees as she placed the bouquet of red roses on her father's grave.
"Next time, we should bring Lucas with us," she spoke, standing back up.
"Mmm," Natsu hummed in consent, "His last visit was a few months ago."
There was short silence.
The place was peaceful. There were even butterflies and birds minding their business in nature.
The weather was perfect. Not too cold, not too hot.
Pine trees were situated at the farthest part of the park, indicating the dead end.
"Are you hungry?" Natsu cut the quiet atmosphere.
She shook her head.
"I don't feel like eating anything."
"How are you feeling?"
Lucy thought he was being uneasy, being too alert after what happened to their baby.
"Natsu, I'm fine," she smiled in amusement, "You're still worried, aren't you? Everything's okay now."
He sighed in relief. A little weight was lifted from his shoulders.
She turned her eyes up to the sky. Meeting the blue heavens with her brilliant browns.
She found the sound of birds chirping and flying above them quite soothing. Truly, nothing could be more pleasant than knowing that their family was finally rid of the enemy.
Everything was going so well.
Everything felt perfect,
until a wave of headache suddenly hit her like a hard book fell on her.
She slowly bowed her head down, in an attempt to ease the pain. Her fingers started pressing on her forehead. But instead of making it go away, it only worsened.
Now her eyes felt like burning as she looked down to the ground. To her, everything was moving as if there was an earthquake.
To make things worse, the pain accelerated. It moved down from Lucy's head to the very soles of her feet.
Before she knew it, she lost her control over her body and slowly felt herself collapse. Like the nerves of her system loosened.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted her name as he caught her body before it hit the ground.
His eyes wide.
He was not expecting this to happen.
No.
Not that soon.
It was exactly what he feared the most.
"LUCY! Sweetheart?!"
He continued as he touched her cheek, his hands shaking.
She was now laying on the grass as Natsu held her upper body with the support of his arm.
Lucy wanted to speak, but no, she couldn't say a word.
She could not calm him down.
She could only watch in a blur as his face looked down on her.
"BABY!"
Lucy wanted to keep her eyes open. But the burning feeling behind them was hurting her.
She had no power over them as they slowly gave up and closed on her.
Now she only heard the sounds of running and shouting around them. The thick hint of panic in the atmosphere was not something she could simply miss.
"CANA!!! GET YOUR FATHER ON THE PHONE! NOW!!!"
It was Natsu's voice, screaming.
And it was the last thing she heard before her consciousness drifted away.