Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. 'the dreamer' owns the plot and the story.

Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Gajeel x Levy

Summary: Lucy lied, saying she was soon to be married to her boss. Now her late father had left her a large inheritance under the name of 'Lucy Dragneel'. Her boss had never spoken to her, let alone proposed to her. What's a girl to do? Make him fall in love with her of course.

Hi guys, Sai here (I wrote that with Zuko in mind lol). I decided to answer some questions people posted in the reviews so here goes:

Meow Orbit: It's not a weird question at all lol. I was referring to finishing my junior year of high school.

Chichiro: Uhm I don't plan on making a sequel because by the time I finish this story I'll be in college lol.

Chapter Seventeen

"Unfold"

"Today should be the last day," Lucy smiled up at him. "Levy's been a huge help. She's been dropping by to help me after work the last two days too."

Natsu didn't think that was all too good for Gajeel but he chuckled nonetheless.

"I can arrange for everything to be moved here tomorrow morning. Oh, and I might be late coming home this evening. I have to wait for the manager to arrive so I can return the keys to my apartment and settle the termination of my contract along with the last of the payments."

"Good. So by tomorrow, you're officially living here."

Lucy gave him a look. It wasn't like she'd been using her apartment much the last few months anyway. Natsu had made sure to keep her in his place 24/7 save for the very rare three or four days a month when she had to stay at her place.

"I'm going to miss having Levy so close though," she admitted with a small frown.

"I can buy out the floor below us and have her and Gajeel move in there together if you want."

Her eyes widened at this. She knew he was joking but she also knew that it was entirely possible. I mean, this was― the Natsu Dragneel after all.

"If they end up married, that would actually be nice," she said and grinned.

"On second thought, I'll have to think about it. I don't mind Levy but I don't know about having Gajeel live so close and in the same building. That sounds like complete torture."

Lucy laughed.

"Yo!"

"What is it?"

"I'm forwarding you that lawyer's number."

"And here I thought you forgot all about it."

Gajeel couldn't help but roll his eyes. It had been what? Two? Three days? He had been looking for the file Mystogan had given him at his home but as it turned out, he'd had it in his office drawer buried underneath medical files all this time.

"I'll send you Precht Gaebolg's number as well if you want to give the guy a thank you call too. Unless you want to give your thanks to his son, then you can ask Lucy for her senior's number."

Silence met this statement and Gajeel had to stifle a laugh as he forwarded the second contact from his phone.

"Thanks."

"No problem!" He replied quite brightly. Natsu's foul mood always did amuse him.

"Oh, and Lucy said today will be the last day they'll be packing her stuff from the apartment. So you can have your woman's full attention as soon as tomorrow."

"Thank you. Please give your wife my sincerest gratitude. Having to share Levy these past few days got me all depressed."

"Just go get married already."

With that, Natsu hung up and Gajeel chuckled. It wasn't that he hadn't been considering marrying Levy. He actually had, it just wasn't the time yet, especially not now when their best friends had only just had theirs.

"Eventually," he told himself and spun around on his office chair.

Lucy kicked the apartment door open all the while trying not to drop the large carton boxes that were folded up under her arms.

Plue gave an excited bark and deftly ran inside when Lucy let go of his leash. She had been taking the puppy with her wherever she went lately ever since she took her out that one time to see Levy.

"Plue! Come back here for a sec will you!" She called after the canine as it ran back and forth. The leash was trailing after her and knocking everything from the boxes on the floor to the walls.

The puppy had taken to Lucy though and had immediately ran back her way when she called even if Lucy knew he didn't actually understand her. Bit when he did, the leash had slammed onto the legs of the small table in the middle of her otherwise empty living room. The leash had twisted itself around and when Plue pulled on it to run back to Lucy, he deftly pulled the table along with him.

Dropping everything she was carrying, Lucy practically lunged to catch the large vase, but-

CRASSSHHH!

Lucy winced at the sound and the puppy nearby gave a tiny yelp before freezing on the spot. She at least knew she had done something wrong.

With a groan, Lucy looked at the mess on the ground from the scattered flowers to the water surrounding it to the pieces of broken china.

"Plue," she said with a sigh and the puppy looked up at her looking quite guilty for a dog. His ears and tail were hanging anyway. Lucy didn't even have the heart to scold her. Instead she bent down and unhooked his leash. "Be careful next time."

With that she proceeded to clean up the mess. Maybe it was her mistake to keep the flowers she had received from Gildarts and the Gaebolgs in her apartment. But then again, Lucy didn't want to keep it in the place she now shared with Natsu either. It didn't feel right for her because every time she saw it, it reminded her of her primary intentions of being with her current husband. Just the memory of Natsu handing her the flowers that time days ago was enough to revive her guilt.

Lucy also knew that Natsu had read the card since the envelope it had come in was torn open. But he never questioned her about it though, much to her relief.

"Is this it?"

"Yes sir," Mira replied before taking the documents her boss just signed. "I'll return later with the compilation," she added before bowing and taking her leave.

Natsu leaned back onto his chair and took out his cell. He may as well make the call he intended to give earlier. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate though. The flowers they sent may have been addressed to them both but they were sent to Lucy and he was pretty sure Lucy had given her thanks already despite not telling him about it. But he felt like it was the right thing to do...being her husband and all.

With deft fingers, he opened the contact Gajeel had sent him earlier that day and pressed a finger on the screen to start the call.

It had only rung around two time before the person on the other end picked up.

"Clive & Alberona Law Offices, this is Ms. Risley Law speaking. How may I help you?"

Natsu had to try not to sigh exasperatedly. He had expected Gajeel to give him the man's personal line at least.

"Hello, may I speak to Mr. Gildarts Clive?

"May I have your name please?"

"Mr. Natsu Dragneel." He wasn't personally acquainted with the man but he did send the flowers, he'd at least know it was him after hearing the name, right? "My wife is an acquaintance of his," he added just to be sure.

"Okay, please hold."

Music had started playing but it didn't last more than ten seconds or so when an older man's voice started speaking.

"Mr. Dragneel, good morning! This is Gildarts Clive speaking."

"Good morning Mr. Clive, I just wanted to personally call and give you my thanks for the flowers you and the Gaebolg family sent the other day."

"No problem at all. It was the least we could do. Lucy's such a sweet girl and we're really happy it all worked out for her in the end."

Natsu didn't quite understand what he meant by this but it was probably how the guy normally expressed his words.

"She had been troubled for a while. I mean, I don't blame her. The condition her father gave her wasn't something easy to deal with after all. But then even you gave your support on the matter so all's well."

Now Natsu really didn't understand what he was talking about. What condition from her father? And what did he mean when he said Natsu gave his support on the matter? He didn't even know there was a "matter" to deal with.

"Yes, about the condition set by her father," Natsu started unsure. He didn't know exactly how to ask about it when he didn't exactly know what he was asking in the first place.

"Yes, you don't have to worry about that. I've spoken with Precht, Mr. Precht Gaebolg I mean. He's the Acalphya branch's bank manager of the Bank of Magnolia and he's also the one personally handling the late Jude Heartfilia's account. We spoke and settled matters on the day of your wedding with Lucy. He should know the final details however since he personally handled the transfer."

"Thank you for the trouble then," Natsu said, trying to keep his voice casual although his insides had already begun to churn uncomfortably. He still didn't understand what was going on but something was definitely up.

"You're very welcome Mr. Dragneel. Please don't hesitate to call again if you have anything else to discuss."

"Yes, goodbye then Mr. Clive."

The man on the other line gave his farewell and hung up, leaving Natsu to stare at his cell somewhat dumbstruck. From what he had taken from the conversation, it clear to Natsu that money was involved. Lucy's father's money to be precise. But why? He personally had nothing to do with Lucy's late father or his money, so why did her father's lawyer talk as if he had a role to play regarding it?

Natsu never really did have much patience when it came to serious matters and this was definitely one of those. It somehow involved him after all though without his knowing it.

Without another thought, he proceeded to call on the second number Gajeel had given him.

"Good morning, you have reached Mr. Gaebolg's office from the Bank of Magnolia's Acalphya branch. How may I help you?"

Inwardly, Natsu felt grateful. At least the call connected within the office of the man he was looking for this time and not the company's main line.

"Good morning, I would like to speak to the bank manager, Mr. Precht Gaebolg."

"May I know who is calling?"

"Mr. Natsu Dragneel."

"Oh! Yes sir, of course, just a moment please!"

It wasn't hard to notice the woman's voice flustered and Natsu could only assume she knew exactly who he was and why he was calling. Although it was muffled, he could hear people talking in the background.

"Hello Mr. Dragneel!"

The voice this time sounded even older but more enthusiastic than Gildarts Clive.

"Good morning. Is this Mr. Precht Gaebolg speaking?"

"Yes and good morning to you as well. What can I do for you?"

"I'm simply calling to express my thanks for the flowers your family and Mr. Clive sent the other day."

"Ah, yes. I'm honored that you gave the time to personally call Mr. Dragneel. But it was the least we could do. Lucy is the beloved daughter of a dear friend after all. It was such a surprise when we found out that she was engaged to be married to the Natsu Dragneel himself."

Judging from how the man spoke, Natsu was sure he was a chatty type of person. Normally this would irritate him but at the moment, that was a good thing.

"Imagine my surprise when Lucy came in with that friend of hers last year. I mean, I already knew she was to be wed to a Natsu Dragneel but it never occurred to me that it meant you of all people."

The man on the other line heartily but it was the last thing Natsu felt like doing. Lucy visited Acalphya months before he even proposed to her so how can they talk about their marriage?

"Mr. Gaebolg, I actually gave a call to Mr. Clive a few minutes ago to thank him. He mentioned that you handled the transfer of Lucy's father's account."

"Ah, yes! I haven't spoken to Lucy yet about it but the matter is already settled. The condition of Jude's will was met so I immediately did as he had instructed and transferred the total amount of 300 million jewel to Lucy's bank account. The transfer of ownership of Jude's property in Desierto as well as the one here in Acalphya has also been officially turned over to her name. Gildarts had already filed the necessary documents and had given the official copies to me which I will hand to Lucy when she decides to drop by unless she'll have some other person pick them up for her which is fine too. I understand you two must be busy with one thing or another considering everything."

Natsu tried to calm himself. It wouldn't do him any good to jump to conclusions when he didn't exactly know all the necessary details yet. But now he at least knew a large amount of money and properties were involved and that they were successfully transferred to Lucy. What he wanted to know the most was why he was necessary for all this to happen.

"Mr. Gaebolg, about Jude's will," he started hesitantly. "I'd like to know its full contents if possible. I know it hardly matters now but being Lucy's husband, I'm concerned for my wife and I just want to make sure everything's all settled."

"Ah, well you are directly involved so I suppose there's no harm in confiding in you the details. Would you like me to send you a copy?"

"Yes, can you fax it to my office as soon as possible?"

"It's confidential so I'll do it myself."

"Thank you very much," Natsu said sincerely before giving him his office's fax number. "I'll be waiting for it then."

"Alright, thank you again for taking the time to call Mr. Dragneel."

"No, thank you."

Lucy checked her cell. No texts or calls. It wasn't like she was expecting anything and it wasn't exactly late but she thought Natsu would've tried to contact her at least once but he hadn't all day.

"What's wrong?" Levy inquired as she placed a plate of spaghetti carbonara on the table.

"It's nothing," she reassured and pocketed her cell before resuming setting the table. "I'm glad I finally finished packing everything. Sorry you had to help me all this time though Levy."

"It's fine. I actually enjoyed myself. Who knew that much stuff could pile up after a couple of years though."

"I know. I didn't even think I had that much stuff."

"When are the movers getting here?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"You know you could've had a couple of Natsu's people do all that for you instead of paying for a moving company to do all that."

Lucy shrugged. "If I hire a moving company, it just feels more...official I guess. I don't know...that's just me. I also don't want to bother Natsu with more unnecessary stuff. He's already a busy man as it is."

"You sure Natsu won't mind you having dinner with me tonight?"

"I'm sure it's fine. He didn't try to call me all day. I won't be surprised if he's still working up until now."

"Where's Lucy now?" Gajeel asked, still frowning and looking very serious which in itself was unusual.

"Who know," Natsu answered as he swirled the glass in his hands before downing the rest of its contents and silently picking another bottle from the bar in his office for another refill.

"Talk to her about this Natsu," he suggested to which Natsu merely snorted. "I'm serious. Maybe there's some explanation for this."

"I fail to see any. And if I think about it anymore, the more everything makes sense."

Gajeel's frown deepened. He had come to Natsu's office from his, rare, invitation, saying that he had something important to discuss with him. The moment he stepped through the doors, he had already been drinking and looking half murderous, half helpless.

"If I think back on it, Lucy was employed into my personal office around the time of her father's death. That would explain why she's been fairly straightforward with wanting to date me. True, I can't make certain as to why my name is even in her father's will but I have several possible conclusions. One, her father wanted her to marry into a rich family. I know that doesn't really sound convincing since he could've chosen a much more accessible person besides myself. Also, it isn't like they're strapped for money either which take me to two, Lucy most likely lied to her father about dating me which ended up with my name on his will. That makes much more sense, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Gajeel replied. He really didn't want to add more fuel to the fire going on inside his best friend but in his opinion, what he had just said did make sense. And if he himself thought about it, all those times he heard Levy talk to and about Lucy fit this situation very well. So this was the marriage just to get money? Really?

Gajeel didn't realize his fists had tightened to vice-like grips until he heard the file in his hands crumple. He tried to smooth out the the fax paper though it wasn't like he was interested in reading its contents again. Jude's will was clear and straightforward, a ten year old would've understood it the first time it was read.

What he was concerned now is what would happen to Natsu and Lucy. This was a big blow to Natsu not only to his image for ending up married to a scheming woman, but also emotionally for he knew just how deep his feelings ran for her.

"Have you read everything," Natsu suddenly asked.

"Do I have to? I get the point without having to," he said rather bitterly.

Sure he wasn't affected by this much as Natsu but he had gotten a hint of something wrong going on. If he had done some further digging on the matter, he could've found out enough to at least delay their wedding or something. The thought of that really hurt his pride. He had been so close to making a difference. Things wouldn't have gotten this bad if he had.

"The last pages are instructions from Jude Heartfilia in the event Lucy didn't get married to me."

Gajeel rifled through the pages until he reached what Natsu meant. It wasn't a continuation from the will but seemed more like a second part since the last page had Jude's signature yet again just like the first part. These instructions must have been given separately is what he thought.

The second part was more detailed than the one Gajeel had read earlier but it had a lot of different schools, groups, and instructions listed with a large amount of money written next to it. This ran a few pages.

"Three hundred million jewel," Natsu spoke again. "I could've just given Lucy that amount if she asked me. It also states that the properties her father owned would have still gone to Lucy even if she hadn't married me but it's just that the money would've been donated to the organizations and companies on that list with a portion of it left to her. But apparently she isn't satisfied with that much and would rather have all of it for herself than have some part of it given to just a cause instead. Even I didn't know she was that kind of person. I think I might have just married the worst possible female in the world. She makes those gold diggers and fame whores I've previously dated seem like outstanding women."

"What are you gonna do about all this? If it gets out..." Gajeel trailed away. It wasn't exactly the time to mention Natsu's reputation but it was something that needed to be considered.

"I already took care of it," he said much to Gajeel's surprise. He had been there since late in the afternoon and had been with Natsu since but he hadn't made a call or given any instructions so he must've done something before he arrived. That wasn't good. Natsu wasn't thinking properly since he had just dealt this huge blow and Gajeel was quite sure he couldn't have done something remotely rational.

"What did you do?"

Natsu merely shrugged.

"We're home," Lucy told Plue as she ruffled his fur before settling him down free of his leash on the floor of Natsu's apartment - or rather their - apartment. "Natsu?" She called out into the silent space. It was darker than it usually is if he were there. "Not home, huh."

It wasn't unusual for Natsu to stay at the office late but he would usually tell her beforehand if he did though.

She was about to head to the bedroom when the doorbell rung behind her. Half expecting Natsu, Lucy opened it only to be face to face with one of Natsu's bodyguards. She wasn't exactly acquainted with anyone from Natsu's security team but she was fairly certain that this guy was the one in charge. She had seen Natsu talk to him personally a number of times before.

"Ma'am," he said rather gruffly and handed her an envelope.

"Oh, uhmm...this is?"

"For you."

Without another word, he turned and headed towards the waiting elevator where another one of Natsu's other bodyguards stood.

Lucy watched as the doors closed and the lights above it indicated they were heading back down the building.

"Okay?" She asked, struck dumb at the situation, before closing the apartment door once more. Well now she was 100% sure that those guys were Natsu's bodyguards. They wouldn't have access to this floor without Natsu - or herself - if they weren't.

She looked down at the envelope in her hands. It was most likely from Natsu and it felt like there was nothing inside it. When she opened it to check its contents, there was only one thing inside.

"A check?" She asked herself before pulling the rectangular piece of paper out.

It was indeed a check, and it was addressed to her.

The total amount was for 300,000,000 jewel.

Author's Note:

Well Natsu doesn't seem too happy, rightfully so though, I kind of feel for him in this chapter.

Hopefully he calms down and talks to Lucy about it before making anymore rash decisions.

So that's it for this time, hope you all are staying safe and don't forget to leave a review.

Sai