IT'S THE GRAND FINALE! ENJOY!

I woke up to find that sometime during the night I had rolled over, and my face had ended up buried in Natus's neck. I was slowly suffocating from the heat and lack of fresh air while Natsu's hug was nearing a death grip. I adjusted my position to ensure my survival in the near future and continued to peacefully ignore the servants knocking on the door, trying to figure out why it wouldn't open.

"Sir?" A very high-pitched female voice called, muffled by the door. Natsu nuzzled my hair and softly murmured a long string of slurry curse words. I flipped around, desperate for cooler air, and he made sure to pull me in even more. I felt like a teddy bear.

The door was slammed open to reveal a very proper-looking Erza with a loaded breakfast tray and a smirking Gray. Erza strolled over to a desk and elegantly set her cargo down while Gray slammed the door closed and covered the cracks with a sheet of ice. His smirk widened when he saw me with Natsu and I got the feeling he was suppressing a snort.

"How is he?" Erza began to unload the tray, easily lifting the contents and placing them on the table. She had managed to stack several servings of eggs, ham, and toast into a massive pyramid of food. Natsu's nose twitched against the back of my head as he, no doubt, picked up the smell of his breakfast.

"Just wonderful. Natsu, go eat." I pried his arm off and slipped out from the bed. He murmured something unintelligible and cracked open an eye. "Otherwise Gray is going to eat it for you."

He immediately sat up, found Gray and tackled him with a solid leap from the bed.

"Oi! Fla—" Gray's surprised shout was cut off as Natsu pummeled him. While Erza's attention was focused on three slices of cake, the two rolled around the room in a violent snowball. I calmly stretched and picked out a plate from the pyramid before settling down in a chair to eat while lazily dodging flying limbs when the snowball came too close.

"Natsu! Food!" I shouted. Happy landed on my head, chewing a fish and effectively dropping squishy bits onto my hair. I swatted at him and his fish left a cold trail of slime of my hand.

"Aye, sir!" Natsu landed a strong punch on Gray's jaw and left the ice mage sprawling as he cheerfully walked over and began inhaling the food, plate after plate disappearing into his mouth. Happy left my hair alone in favor of Natsu's and I escaped into the bathroom, taking a refreshing bath before slipping into the same dress I'd worn for the night. Before opening the door, I mentally prepared myself for the terror of another brawl and emerged to view the wreckage. My concern was appreciated but not needed and most of the room had managed to survive in one piece. Natsu had changed into a decent outfit and Gray lost his clothes completely, sauntering around the room in his naked glory. I threw the book I had been reading and it hit the back of his head, sending him face-first onto the floor. Natsu cracked up and Erza yelled at Gray to find some clothes. He broke the door down to do so and I slipped out after him, running to my rooms to find a panicking set of maids frantically calling out my name.

"Lady Heartfilia! Where have you been?" One of them wailed as I made my presence known. I glanced at the clock with a grimace. It was well past noon, and my father would be pissed. Without waiting for my response, the trio of women attacked my hair and face, single-mindedly preparing me for the ball.

XXXXX

Three hours passed in a blur, leaving me tired and irritated. First, my father had yelled at me for missing breakfast and lunch. Then Erza stormed into my rooms, dragging a beaten up duo by the ears and screaming murder. When she finally calmed down enough to tell me what happened, it turned out that the boys had destroyed her ball gown during a spat. I stuffed two cake slices into her hands and told the maids to give Erza a dress she liked. The great Titania left my room in a happy daze, escorted by five nervous wrecks of maids. Natsu and Gray both blessed me repeatedly until I Lucy Kicked them both out into the hallway and they were swarmed by a group of servants. Only when the boys were dragged away for preparations did I finally suck in a deep breath and collapse onto the bed. Before I knew it, my maid trio was back and more determined than ever. They forced me into an outrageous hot pink contraption that my father had chosen and created a masterpiece from my hair. My patience evaporated for the second time that day and I ordered them to leave and summon Erza, who came in with a hunter green and silver gown draped over one arm. She helped me take the hot pink monstrosity off and we chose a new dress, this one with a burgundy top and a cream-colored skirt with a golden border. The sleeves went down to my wrists and ended in a loopy gold border. Erza tightened my corset and I did hers. For our hair, we both decided to leave it down, except for my trademark side ponytail, and we only applied basic makeup. There was no need to be the ladies we weren't.

"You look lovely, Erza." I complimented her as we strolled out of my room. The dark green dress had numerous sharp silver designs that, in my opinion, perfectly captured her preference of swords.

"You too." She said with a smile. "Where are Natsu and Gray? I was expecting them to walk with us."

"My father demanded that they enter with the rest of the guests." I reassured her quickly, hoping that they would be spared from facing her wrath later. A relieved sigh escaped when she nodded in understanding. We reached the ballroom doors and a maid obstructed our way to issue her last instructions.

"Lady Scarlet, you will enter first and be introduced. Please join the guests after your name is announced. Lady Heartfilia, you are to follow one Lady Scarlet reached the ball floor. I will tell you when." She said quietly, bowing in a grand curtsy. We both nodded and Erza shot me a bright smile before striding through the doors like she owned the place.

"Introducing the great Titania, Lady Scarlet of Fairy Tail!" A deep male voice boomed and Erza dipped her head before slipping out of my sight as she took to the staircase in her usual elegance and poise. Polite applause accompanied her descent, and then any doubt I had of my father's intentions began to slip. The room was probably choke-full of single men all looking for a chance to place their bid on me. The maid gave her signal and I strode through the door, squashing any fear or discomfort I had. I would show all of them that I was no weak lady, and, besides, I was long since taken.

I walked up to the railing and let my gaze sweep commandingly over the room. A smile touched my lips when my eyes landed on Natsu, and the pink-headed pyro shot me his mile-wide grin in return. A few of his neighbors shot annoyed glares at him as they noticed him smile at me, and when they saw me smile in return their glares became a strange combination of angry and disbelieving. Natsu either didn't notice or didn't care; I was placing my bets on the latter.

"Introducing Lady Heartfilia, daughter and heir of the Heartfilia Konzern!" The announcer boomed. How convenient, leaving out my connections with Fairy Tail and laying emphasis on my heritage. The applause was more interested this time. I could feel the multitude of hungry, perverted stares that were all glued to my body, no doubt scanning over every feature they could. The stairs ended with a smiling dragon slayer, him arm extended for me to take.

"Such a gentleman." I whispered, so quiet that only Natsu would be able to hear, and linked my arm with his. His smile only widened and the light in his eyes took on a playful touch. The sea of men all watched with open malice and jealousy as the Lady Heartfilia willingly accepted the arm of a mere peasant. Somewhere to the side an orchestra began to play a slow waltz and Natsu led me to the center of the room before placing his warm hand on my waist and leading the way into the dance. I had no idea he knew how to dance a waltz, and since when did he have manners?

"Mira taught me." He explained with an innocent shrug, noticing my surprise. I smiled at him and mentally thanked the barmaid for making my job that much easier. "Don't worry, I won't keep this up for long." He added with a knowing smirk. I giggled softly, earning several shocked stares from nearby spectators.

"I would never expect you to." I replied teasingly and he shot me a cheeky grin. The waltz music merged into a different tune but kept the pace and Natsu seamlessly transitioned, ignoring the typical custom of switching partners. I made no attempt to get away from him and we stayed a dancing couple until we both decided that we'd had enough and slipped away to get some food. Standing next to Natsu and sipping a light cocktail from an impossibly thin glass, I let my eyes roam the dancing crowd. They nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw Gray's dancing partner. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and turned to Natsu, who was busy demolishing any and all food he could get his hands on.

"Hey, Natsu?" I called, grabbing his attention instantly. He swallowed a large bite of meat and wiped his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Is that… Juvia?" I asked incredulously, pulling him over and quickly pointing at Gray when he looked at me strangely. The moment his eyes landed on the blue-haired water mage he cracked up. I had to admit, the sight was pretty hilarious. Juvia looked absolutely stunning in a deep blue gown with hanging sleeves, but she kept alternating between drooling over her beloved Gray and glaring daggers at any passing women who dared to so much as glance in Gray's direction. I completely understood why each victim shuddered in fright and scurried away – I would've too. Anything to get away before she started with her Love Rival paranoia. Gray, on the contrary, looked incredibly uncomfortable and freaked out and made absolutely no effort to get away. I felt a smirk curl my lips. Those two were a definite item, even if one side refused to admit it.

As the ball progressed, only Erza kept up with tradition and changed partners for every song. Juvia skinned any woman stupid enough to come to close with a single-minded malice and I firmly turned down any man who came to ask for a dance. By the time I declined my thirty-something offer, Natsu had had enough and asked me himself, a request I happily accepted. He led me back out into the center and we joined the swirl of color in an elegant and effortless waltz. We passed Juvia and Gray more than once, and each time we were greeted with a muttered "Love Rival" and a whimpered "Help me". The music ended and we slowed to a stop, both smiling and eyes locked on the other. That's when the real party started.

"My Lady, if I may say that I find you absolutely stunning, then I would like to follow up with an irresistible offer." I reluctantly looked away from my dragon slayer to find the arrogant, self-conceited prick better known as 'the son of the Jullenel family', or Duke Swarre, striding forwards and bringing my hand up from a wet and sloppy kiss. Honestly, even Happy could do better with his mouth stuffed with fish. Where was the damn cat anyway?

Swarre proceeded to lower down onto one knee and pull out a small velvet box with the most extravagant flourishes I'd ever seen. The dreaded question left his lips with a practiced sliminess and the lid slid open to reveal the biggest and ugliest ring in the world. This man spent his fortune on the wrong things, that's for sure.

"Marry me, Lady Lucy Heartfilia, and I will shower you with riches. You will be the wealthiest woman in the world."

"No." My refusal flew out of my mouth without a second thought. Swarre's eyes narrowed in fury and the crowd of guests gasped in shock. Gray smirked and Erza nodded slowly, her mouth full with cake. The glittering eyes spoke of harsh punishment for causing such a scene, not showers of riches.

"I will offer one last time, my Lady. Mar—"

"What if she's already taken?" Natsu asked sharply, his voice right behind me. I turned my head to see him frowning slightly, hands in his pockets and a deadly fire raging in his eyes. I hadn't been the only one to read into Swarre's expression. Noticing my glance, Natsu gave me a warm smile and I took a small step back, leaning against his stoic frame. One of his hands slipped down and his fingers intertwined with mine, squeezing lightly. I returned the gesture and rubbed my thumb in circles across his palm, hoping to slightly calm him down. Swarre's overconfident demeanor cracked at the unexpected obstacle.

"Taken? She was promised to me, you peasant. She can't be taken." Swarre's voice was edging on dangerous. The surrounding audience murmured in agreement and I felt a wave on disgust sweep through me.

"But I am." I snapped. Natsu's free arm slipped around my waist and I leaned back into his embrace. Swarre looked ready to explode and my father was nowhere to be seen.

"I see no ring on her finger, no mark of your claim. You would never be able to give her what a Lady of her class deserves." Swarre hissed. More muttered agreements from the crowd. I felt Natsu give a carefree shrug.

"Luce?"

"Hm?" I looked up at him.

"Will you marry me?" He said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I loved it.

I smiled softly. "Of course."

He grinned and our lips met in a passionate kiss. Somewhere to my left Gray began to gag and Juvia began to coddle him. Reluctantly, we broke apart. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Erza applauding our little moment, and when someone glared at her she absentmindedly pulled out a sword from her magic airspace. All eyes found something else to glare at.

"See?" Natsu swept me off me feet, catching me by surprise, and gave Swarre an innocent grin. "She's taken!"

"You little brat…" Swarre's fists clenched and he threw the little box to the side. Natsu laughed and Erza cut a path through the guests by simply prowling around in her Heaven's Wheel armor. Happy finally showed up with a fish in his mouth, breaking a window in the process. Juvia understood that we were leaving and eagerly pulled Gray towards an exit door, muttering something about Love Rivals and her precious Gray. With Erza as a literal bodyguard, Natsu strode towards the door, only stopping when my father called my name in outrage. Natsu spun around so I could see the furious man and gently set me on the ground.

"Sorry, papa, but I'm already with Natsu. Thanks for inviting us to your ball!" I gave a cheery wave and ran out after Juvia and Gray, pulling Natsu along with me. Erza exited last, slamming the door shut behind her and pulling out a large suitcase from behind the bushes.

"I got our stuff!" She called, walking over and carrying the massive box with ease. Natsu cheered and we set off, all happy to finally be freed from the mansion.

"So, when do you want to get married, Lucy?" Natsu asked, a smirk wide on his face.

"I think that first we need to admit to the guild that we're a couple." I giggled, tapping him on the nose. He grinned easily, his eyes trained solely on me and full of so much love and adoration that I wouldn't have expected from my little dragon.

"Yeah, or Mira's gonna have our heads." He planted a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Definitely. But then…"

"Don't get too excited. Mira's going to go insane and demand the wedding of her dreams, you can count on it."

"But Luceeeee…" He whined and threw in a pout for good measure. I rolled my eyes in response.

"Relax, Natsu. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Let her indulge her fantasies."

"She's going to kill us!"

"Oh yeah…" It was my turn to worry. Just then I heard a low boom and the heat from the explosion swept across my back. Spinning around revealed a chunk of the mansion going up in flames. "NATSU!"

"It wasn't me!" Natsu squeaked when I leveled a deadly glare at him. "It was Erza!"

"Erza?!" I whipped around to face the supposedly sane mage, who only shrugged.

"They didn't give me cake." She said simply, sending Gray into a fit of laughter. I groaned and rubbed my temples. She did the exact thing I brought her along to prevent…

THE END