"How was the meeting, Father?" Lucas asked in a calm tone.

He was sitting on the opposite side of the leather-covered cushion seats of the black limousine.

In the afternoon after the meeting with the Americans, Natsu stopped over Atlas Crius to pick Lucas up. Along with the other children of the Family.

"Hm?" Natsu opened his eyes as he tiredly faced the smaller version of him.

His firm arms were folded over his chest.

"It went perfectly well." He answered.

Lucas nodded his head at this.

"Aren't you going to ask me what it was all about?"

"I was about to."

His father chuckled at his straightforwardness.

He then let out a breath.

"Andelman suggested that our Families would be better if we merged. That our power and influence would be much better."

There was silence between them as Lucas was trying to comprehend. 

"Better?" he repeated. "We're already the best even if we don't merge with any family, father."

Exactly.

Natsu looked into his brown eyes as a smirk started to play in his thin lips.

"I know, Lucas. That's what I told him."

The Don poured himself a glass of vodka.

Thanks to Laxus' driving, the road back to the compound was as smooth as an expensive silk fabric.

Their cars were passing by the city. A lot of people were already walking by the buildings at that time, all busy going home and doing their normal life.

As Lucas watched the buildings through the tinted window of the limousine, he realized something.

He turned back to his father who was staring at him all the while.

"When the American offered to be our ally..." he started, "What was his condition, father?"

Natsu just looked at him, not saying a word. He already knew his son had an answer to his own question. He wasn't a dull boy.

"Was it...an arranged marriage?" Lucas spoke slowly.

His father smirked at the idea of it.

"Yes." He answered.

The heir was silent for a moment.

Of course, he knew he was one of the two candidates. Who else? He was his father's only child.

"Did you agree to it?"

Lucas' voice was quiet.

The atmosphere went serious for a few moments.

And then he heard his father chuckle in amusement.

"Do you really think I'd marry you off just like that?" he answered. "Never. Besides, your mother would hate me if I did."

Lucas let a suppressed breath out. He felt somehow relieved. A smile went to his face.

Although he believed Natsu would never allow something like that to happen, he still wanted to be sure.

Now that he heard his father clearly say it, he felt much lighter.

"Can I ask you something?"

Natsu took a sip of drink from the glass he was holding.

"Fire away." he answered.

"How did you ask mother to marry you?"

For a millisecond there, the Don was startled at the question.

He placed the glass of vodka by the limousine's compartment.

A smirk went to his lips as he intertwined his fingers, sitting comfortably on the leather.

"I didn't."

The heir was confused with his answer.

What did he mean by that?

The Head could see the curiosity in his little orbs.

"I didn't ask," he made it clearer. "I told her to."

Lucas imagined him just telling her to do so. It didn't seem impossible, considering what his father was like. To him, the words 'told' and 'order' were quite the same.

"What did she say?" Lucas was now tilting his head. "What did she do?"

Recalling that night...that night when he told Lucy to be his forever, Natsu smiled.

The memory was still fresh.

"She ran away." he answered.

Yes, that memory.

"W-what?"

The Don chuckled, remembering the scene when Lucy was running away from him. He could still remember how her cheeks were so red that night as well.

"I probably scared her or something. I'm not sure."

Lucas sighed at this. Instead of ordering her, he should have just asked. That's what he thought.

"So how did you get her to say 'yes'?"

Natsu stared at the tinted windows.

"I went to your late grandfather and told him I wanted her."

Jude Heatfilia.

Lucas had seen his pictures in the Family albums. He had blonde hair like his mother. He would have loved to see him once before he died.

"What happened next?"

Natsu remembered that time when Lucy got so drunk that they ended up fighting.

"She got mad." He said, looking at his firm hands.

And when he said this, he was smiling. Lucas didn't understand why he was smiling about the fact that his mother was 'mad'.

"In the end, we made up." Natsu looked back to the boy. "Turns out she wanted to marry me as well. Exactly the same as what I wanted."

Lucas rubbed his temples. The face he was giving off told Natsu that he was confused.

The Head just smiled at this. He was still too young to understand all about it.

About love.

Lucas let out a sigh, giving up on analyzing his parents' backstory.

"Don't think about it too much." His father spoke, getting his attention. "You'll understand when you get older."

Who knows? After all, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

"My grandfather," he started. "What was he like?"

"He was a good man." Natsu answered with a sigh. "A loving father, and a loyal husband."

As Lucas listened to him, he could only imagine how great it would be if he were still alive.

"He would have loved you, too." Natsu spoke in a knowing tone of his voice.

.

.

.

DRAGNEEL COMPOUND

The cars stopped just at the front yard of the Main House. Tires slowly rested on the vast space of ground covered in white pebbles.

The sun had already set when they arrived at the territory. Now the sky was turning darker by the second.

As the Head and Heir entered the huge doors of the household, Levy greeted them in acknowledgment.

"Where's Lucy?"

It was the first thing out of Natsu's mouth the moment they arrived. He removed his black suit jacket, handing it over to Gray.

"Oh, she's outside. In the Red Orchard." Levy answered.

The Don slowly nodded.

Out of all the gardens in the compound, the Red Orchard was his wife's favorite.

"Go change your clothes," he said, looking down at his son.

With an obedient nod, Lucas turned away.

"Wait," Natsu stopped him. "Are you reading the book I gave you? The one about Sovereign Governing."

"Yes, father." He nodded. "I only have one chapter left."

And with that, Lucas walked away.

"Seriously, that boy knows a whole new level of universe more than I do," Jellal exaggerated as he walked over to the Don. His arms folded in his chest.

The Head chuckled, turning to the blue-haired.

"He got it from me," he said.

"You don't say," Jellal spoke with sarcasm, shaking his head. "Anyway, don't you think he should be playing with kids his age?"

Natsu just shrugged.

"Lucas is different," he answered. "He's the one who told me he'd rather read and practice shooting guns than play tag."

Well, Jellal didn't doubt that.

"I believe you," he agreed. "You were the same when we were kids."

"See?" Natsu gave him a smug look.

"Still," Jellal's face was still in amazement, "You're making him read stuff like that? I thought those books were for much ooolder people."

The other just smirked.

"Don't misunderstand, I didn't make him read it," he clarified. "My son was the one who requested that I buy it for him."

"W-What?" Jellal's eyes didn't hide his surprise.

Natsu patted him on the shoulder.

"I better see my wife now." He said as he left Jellal there standing with pure astonishment.

.

.

.

RED ORCHARD

Natsu's black shoes made light sounds against the bricked pathway.

He could see her figure standing near the thick bushes of roses lined up on one side.

Lucy was wrapping herself in a blue cotton cloth. Her hair was untied and flowing freely.

He went to stand beside her. He knew she noticed, even when she didn't look.

"They're withering away," she spoke softly, not turning to look at him.

Lucy was holding a rose.

Its petals were going brown and dry. Just like the other roses in the orchard, Natsu noted.

"I love roses," she said with a gentle smile.

And he knew that.

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "I'll have someone replace them with a fresh new set."

Lucy shook her head.

Now she was looking at him.

"No need. I still love them in this state," she said. The smile not leaving her lips.

A light breeze of the evening wind joined their presence. It swayed her hair and the white flower-patterned dress she was wearing.

"Let's go inside," he said. "It's getting cold and it's already dark."

He placed his hand on her back and gently pushed her back to the Main House.

But she stopped on her tracks. Her flats firm on the bricked ground.

"Walk with me," Lucy spoke in a quiet tone as she looked up to him.

He could see the calmness of her brown orbs and the honesty of her smile.

The stars were now slowly appearing on the sky. It felt like he could see their reflection in her eyes.

"Alright." he granted her what she wanted.

Natsu had a smile of his own when he said it.

Both of them turned away from the house, walking along the paths of the garden.

Away and away they go. Into their own world where no one else would disturb them.

Everything was peaceful.

It was just the two of them.

And he held her smooth hand the whole time.

"Look at the stars, Natsu." She said, looking up to the heavens.

"They're beautiful." He absentmindedly spoke.

Lucy giggled at him.

"Of course they are."

They walked slowly in the night, with nothing but the stars guiding their way.

The moon wasn't out. Maybe it was still sleeping. It was the only thing that was missing from the scenery.

The sky may be enchanting, but the Lady's thoughts still trailed off to that particular day.

She was thinking about it again.

About the blood that she saw on the ivory.

The blood that looked familiar back from years ago. 

She told no one about it.

But if it's him...

If it's Natsu...

Then it's alright.

She stopped her feet from moving, looking down on the ground. 

He felt her hand slightly shaking as she grabbed his arm.

He parted his lips to speak, but she cut him off before he could.

"Baby..." she sounded quiet. "I'm not getting any better."

It was like a whisper but he heard her very clearly.

"The medicine isn't working anymore..." she continued.

Listening and staring at her downcast head, he could feel his heart ache as he heard her trembling voice.

"That's nonsense," he said. "You are getting better each day."

He knew he was lying to her...and also knew that he was lying to himself.

Now Lucy looked up to him, meeting his eyes.

She wasn't crying. But her orbs had emotions that no word could describe.

She was smiling. But the words she said told him something else.

"I'm scared."

And he could see that.

It was all in her face.

In her eyes.

In her smile.

In her trembling voice and shaking fingers. He could feel it in his grieving soul.

He cupped her face with his firm hands. The hands that always made her feel safe.

With gentleness that he showed only to her, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm here, Lucy." He closed his eyes. "Don't be scared."

She trapped him in her embrace. Crumpling the back of his shirt with fragile shaking hands.

"You won't be alone. Never," he continued. "I will never leave you."

He could now feel her head shaking as she buried his face in his chest. She was crying now.

"You are getting better..." he whispered. "You are."

Soft sobs were being muffled by his shirt.

They stayed that way.

Letting the silence surround them.

She didn't want him to worry about her. She didn't want her weakness to take the smile on his face away.

"Alright..." she gently nodded her head, "If you say I am getting better... then I am."

He hated himself for being a liar.

But if it was for her...

If it was for Lucy's sake, then he'd lie a thousand times if he had to.

He was afraid that if she found out about the truth...about how sick she really was...she would lose the will to live. And lose the will to smile again.

"I don't regret anything at all." She said.

Her crying had stopped. Her tears had dried up. She could smell his scent on his shirt.

"I'm glad we met each other. I'm glad I met you." Lucy said as she looked up to him.

She was smiling now.

The smile that he always loved.

The smile that one day he would never see again.

The day he always dreaded.

"Even though I've never really been a good person...even though men like me don't deserve to be this happy..." he felt the words straight from his heart,

"You are the greatest blessing that the heavens ever gave to me."

Lucy understood that he was never really 'clean'. To people who knew nothing, he was the kind of person that needed to disappear from the face of the earth.

But to her...he was never cruel.

He was never evil.

"Let's go inside. It's bad for you to be out any longer," Natsu decided.

She slowly nodded her head at him.

Then she remembered about something he did on their wedding.

Lucy smiled at the recollection of it. It wouldn't be so bad to try it again, right?

"Natsu, carry me." she said.

He was surprised at her sudden suggestion, for this reminded him of their wedding day too.

He let out a quiet chuckle.

"Of course, M'Lady."

He bowed playfully as he swept her off her feet.

.

.

Lucas watched through the second floor's balcony. He was holding a book on one hand.

Although the stars only gave off a little shimmer of light, he could see his parents' figure in the garden.

His father was carrying his mother now, walking back to the Main House.

And even though they were far, he could still see it.

It was like they were surrounded by a halo of light.

A light that was as bright as the smiles on their faces.

They were happy.