#ty for the compromising jude

[daminiqs]

𝐡𝐬𝐡𝐪𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝟎𝟏𝟏 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲

ｔｈｅ ｎａｒａｙａｎｓ ｏｆ ｗｅｓｔ ｂｅｎｇａｌ

                           𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒                            𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝘩𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡𝑠                            𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑠

the koch dynasty ruled over the region that would become modern bihar, assam & west bengal; the narayan line remains unbroken since the early sixteenth century though they did not always rule. after india’s independence from the british raj, bhaskor narayan successful petitioned to have their royal estates returned. he became the duke of west bengal with his younger brother, swapnil, at his right hand as the viceroy. their pride in their bengali culture and heritage made them popular with their people. the next generation is not quite as well liked -- all were educated abroad at one point or another, and the western influences can seem egregious at times. still, the narayans always make a strong showing at events with the other indian royals; their ties to bangladesh through trade and marriage are valuable, as are their investments in the tea industry.

                          𝑘𝑢𝑐𝘩 𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑖 𝑠𝘩𝑎𝑖 𝘩𝑜 𝑗𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑒?

ʰʳᶤᵈʸᵃᶰˢʰᵘ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ˒ ⁶⁵ ⁽ ˢᵃᵇʸᵃˢᵃᶜʰᶤ ᶜʰᵃᵏʳᵃᵇᵒʳᵗʸ ⁾

hridyanshu shares a grandfather with bhaskor & swapnil. his father was the youngest of three sons and uninterested in any political aspirations; he bought a tea farm instead. as the only son ( after three daughters ) hridyanshu was expected to take over the business -- but he wanted to become a photographer. an unexpectedly swift marriage shifted his responsibilities. despite the ill-timing, the scandalous wedding did bring hridyanshu’s father the heir to his darjeeling tea trade back.

ʳᵉᵇᵃᵗᶤ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ ᶰᵉ́ᵉ ᵈᵘᵗᵗᵃ˒ ⁶⁷ ⁽ ᵐᵃᵐᵃᵗᵃ ˢʰᵃᶰᵏᵃʳ ⁾

rebati dutta was a rising star in indian classical dance. there was a rumor that the first time she’d performed at the russian consulate in kolkata, three different generals proposed to her. but her eyes had been drawn to the photographer in the front row. it was a whirlwind affair, seemingly ending dutta’s career. rebati narayan would eventually return to the dance stage as a choreographer and director of her own dance academy. both meenakshi and damini were trained in odissi style of dance. 

ᵐᵉᵉᶰᵃᵏˢʰᶤ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ ⁴² ⁽ ᵖᵃᵒˡᶤ ᵈᵃᵐ ⁾

meenakshi is the apple of her father’s eye, her mother’s baby and damini’s darling. she studied history at the university of kolkota before going to the us to complete her master’s. it was there she’d meet a charming med student who’d lure her away from fields of tea leaves to palm tree lined pavements ( though she kept her maiden name ). currently, meenakshi is a professor in the south asian studies department at ucla. after years of unsuccessful pregnancy attempts, she and her husband have started discussing the possibility of adoption.

ᵖʳᶤᵗʰᵘᵛᶤ ʳᵃᵒ˒ ⁴⁵ ⁽ ˢᵉᶰᵈʰᶤˡ ʳᵃᵐᵃᵐᵘʳᵗʰʸ ⁾

prithuvi’s parents immigrated to the united states in the early 1970s; they opened their own restaurant with money inherited from prithuvi’s grandfather that became reasonably successful over the years. his grandfather funded his education as well -- he met ( and promptly fell for ) beautiful and well-spoken meenakshi while studying at harvard. but it was damini he had to convince of his affections before their marriage could take place.

ᵏᵒᵘˢʰᶤᵏ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ˒ ⁵¹ ⁽ ʳᵃʰᵘˡ ᵇᵒˢᵉ ⁾

bhaskor’s son and the current duke of west bengal, koushik is an effective leader only because he’s a really good follower. he was careful to fill his cabinet with decades of expertise ( including damini before her marriage ) for his particular strategy of political play: listen to the brightest minds because a) they were probably right and b) if they weren’t, they took the fall. luckily, none have failed him yet. he wears his duties seemingly effortlessly, but he’d also be the first to credit his wife for her support in his work and her tireless efforts as mother to their son and daughter ( uncast bc im lazy ).

ᵏᵒᵐᵃˡ ᶜʰᵒʷᵈʰᵘʳʸ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ˒ ⁴³ ⁽ ᵏᵒᶰᵏᵒᶰᵃ ˢᵉᶰ ˢʰᵃʳᵐᵃ ⁾

the bangladeshi socialite turned duchess-consort handled everything gracefully. her nature was sweet and amenable; she was a rather perfect match politically and in temperament when introduced to koushik. the two didn’t live together until a few years after their marriage so komal could have time to complete her mba. she serves on the boards of several non-profits, most focused on increasing access to education in rural areas with a specific interest in girls’ education.

ᵃᵃʳᵘˡ ᶰᵃʳᵃʸᵃᶰ˒ ⁵³ ⁽ ʳᵒᶰᶤᵗ ʳᵒʸ ⁾

though older than koushik, as the son of the younger narayan brother, swapnil, aarul always knew he would only ever be meant for viceroy. and he was genuinely pleased with this knowledge -- all of the connections and influence with half the effort and responsibility. after serving in the indian air force, aarul returned to west bengal upon his father’s retirement. though he never married, he’s had several girlfriends throughout the years.

ˢʰᵃᵍᵘᶰ ʳᵒʸ˒ ³⁴ ⁽ ˢᵃʸᵃᶰᶤ ᵍᵘᵖᵗᵃ ⁾

aarul’s latest girlfriend, though the first to have made it to “live in.” there’s nothing wrong with her by any means: shagun is a whip-smart, modern bengali delhiite. as a journalist she’s already one of the more intelligent partners aarul’s has introduced. but still, none of the narayans are comfortable with the age difference OR their live in status and thus, tend to treat her coldly. 

ᶠᵃʳʰᵃᶰ ᵠᵘᵗᵇ ˢʰᵃʰ˒ ³⁸ ⁽ ʳᵃʰᵘˡ ᵏʰᵃᶰᶰᵃ ⁾

farhan fell in love with damini over tutoring sessions in secondary school. it seemed like fate when they both ended up in delhi within 10 km of each other; she was studying economics at delhi university while he completed his engineering degree from iit delhi. they’d meet for chai, then eventually films until finally in her second year he brought her flowers outside her hostel. he’d been ready to wait for her for the rest of his life, but damini knows now she made him wait too long. (on a less sad note: reasons why damini married farhan << this link is nsfw [implied nudity] )

ᵐᶤʰᶤʳ ᵠᵘᵗᵇ ˢʰᵃʰ˒ ¹³ ⁽ ᵛᶤʳᵉᶰ ᵛᵃᶻᶤᵈᵃᶰᶤ ⁾

( okay i know the actor is a totalreach age wise but also....pics like this exist so u can’t make me cast anyone else ) mihir doesn’t remember much of his father -- he was only four when farhan passed. damini adores him, but struggles with motherhood without her partner. her parents would have preferred to raise mihir with them, but his position as the heir to the hyderabad duchy made it complicated. damini ended up sending him to boarding school when he was eight; he doesn’t understand why she can call him every day, show up for every cricket match but somehow can’t keep him with her.

[celestialspiritqueen]

Gym Class Disaster

Word Count: 3593 Pairing: Nalu Summary: Modern school AU where Lucy gets hurt in gym class but luckily Natsu is by her side! In this one shot Layla is still alive just because I can ;) AN: Hope you enjoy I’ve been working on this ALLLL week so let me know what you think. I’ll post it on fanfiction as well. Here ya go @mama-dragneel!

Gym class had to be Lucy’s least favorite class of the school day. She disliked it even more than math class which said something. It’s not that she hated exercising or playing sports even if she wasn’t as physically adept as her friend Erza, but it was people like Erza that made her dread second period every day.

The red head and most of the guys in the class would become so competitive no matter the sport they were playing. Once, Erza sent some poor kid to the nurse playing ping-pong. Lucy shivered at the unpleasant memory, attempting to rub her goosebumps in an effort to ward of the goosebumps forming up her pale arms as she trudged towards the gym. Slipping into the girl’s locker room, the blonde found her locker, quickly changing into the required gym uniform. The outfit consisted of slippery red tee shirt with the school’s name Fairy Tail stretched across her chest accompanied with black shorts with the school’s emblem on the right leg.

After switching clothes, Lucy headed into the gym that never seemed to have good air conditioning so she tied up her long blonde hair. She could just be standing there and begin to sweat! The boys per usual changed faster than the girls so they were already out on the basketball courts, itching to play whichever sport that was on the agenda for that day. “Hey, Luce!” A pink haired boy waved her over.

“Hi, Natsu,” Lucy greeted her long time best friend. The two had met in junior high when Lucy finally convinced her parents to allow her to attend public school rather than being trapped at home with boring tutors her father hired. Layla was fine with the idea but it took Jude quite a bit of convincing. Eventually they compromised that Lucy could go to school as long as her grades never went below a B-.

“Are you still coming over for dinner?” the blonde asked, not like it wasn’t normal which for them it wasn’t. Her parents, more specifically her mother, adored having Natsu over for dinner and it helped that he wasn’t a picky eater and praised Layla’s cooking skills at every meal. The boy would inhale any plate of food placed in front of him.

“Damn straight!” Natsu pounded his fists together, eyes lighting up. “I’m so excited for your Mom’s cooking!”

“You don’t even know what she is making,” she pointed out with a light giggle.

"Don’t matter. I love anything your Mom makes!” A whistle pierced through the air forcing their conversation to end and causing Natsu to cup his hands over his hypersensitive ears.

“Everyone get in line!” a short, white haired old man yelled. Lucy did not understand how someone so tiny could be so loud. Despite being small, the gym teacher was still intimidating so all his students did as he asked. Lucy stood with her arms folded under her chest beside Erza while Natsu started picking a fight with Gray.

“I just hope we aren’t playing dodgeball,” a small freshman spoke in her soft voice as she stood on Erza’s other side.

“You have nothing to worry about, Wendy,” the scarlet haired woman assured the younger girl. “As long as you stay close to me I’ll make sure you are safe.”

“Thanks Erza,” the girl with dark blue hair visibly relaxed. Even though she was younger, Wendy fit right into their friend group. Erza, Natsu and Gray were all seniors, Lucy and Juvia were juniors and Erza’s boyfriend, Jellal, was a freshman in college so he was hardly ever around.

“All right you brats!” Mr. Dreyer grabbed their attention again. “Today we will be playing soccer outside on the fields. Teams will not be picked today by you all,” his only response was a chorus of groans and mumbled complaints which he ignored. As a teacher he was used to unhappy teenagers. “Now quit your complaining so you can hear the teams I’ve assigned! Team A will be Erza, Natsu, Wendy, Juvia, Lisanna and Kianna. Team B will be Gray, Gajeel, Elfman, Levy, Mira, and Lucy.” The old man ointed his fingers towards the doors. “Head on out to the fields.”

Lucy moaned, dragging her feet against the ground, trying to avoid the inevitable. Not only was Natsu on the opposite team, Erza was as well. This was going to be plain awful.

“Why couldn’t Juvia have been on Gray-Sama’s team?” the blue haired girl practically had tears dripping down her cheeks at the thought of having to face off against her beloved.

“It will only be for a little bit, Juvia,” Gray wrapped an arm around her, giving his girlfriend a side hug.

“Any time away from my Gray is too long for Juvia!” she protested.

“How about we get some smoothies after school?” her boyfriend asked, hoping to appease her. At the thought of spending time outside of school with him, Juvia calmed down.

“Ready to get yer ass whooped icicle pants?” Natsu interrupted the couple, a wild gleam in his eyes at the thought of beating his rival.

“As if that would ever happen flame brain!” The raven haired boy shot back.

“Droopy eyes!”

“Lava breath!”

“Ice Princess!”

“Fire Hazard!”

“That is enough!” Erza boomed, having grown tired of their constant bickering. To break them up she smashed her fists a top of each of their skulls, leave the boys to whimper as they nursed their newly formed bruises.

“S-sorry, Erza!” Natsu and Gray both squawked in fear of angering her further. Pleased with how they listened to her, Erza smiled, cracking her knuckles with a satisfying crunch.

“Now then, may the better team win,” her brown eyes flashed dangerously. “But I do not plan on losing. Even though she constantly scolded the guys for fighting, a challenge excited her just as much.

Everyone took their places, Lucy sticking to defense with Levy while the more competitive players, Gajeel, Gray, and Elfman, all took on the role of offense. “Is gym over yet?” Levy’s whines were covered by Mr. Dreyer’s whistle to start the game.

“This isn’t so bad,” Lucy thought, watching as mainly the offensive players fought one another for possession of the ball. Sadly her luck ran out as Erza broke free with the ball, hauling ass towards the goal. Afraid of being trampled, Lucy jumped out of the way as Erza took a shot at the goal. Poor Mira caught the ball against her stomach, grunting from the powerful blow but gave no other sign of discomfort.

This continued on for a while. Erza was able to score three goals on their team and Natsu two. On the other hand, Gray and Gajeel scored two each leaving the score at five to four. With the score so close, everyone seemed to become even more riled up. Natsu barged towards her to shoot for another goal, moving to pass Lucy. On complete instinct, she shrieked, “Lucy kick!” and sent the ball flying to the other half of the field, allowing Elfman to score and tying the game. Natsu stood there, mouth gaping open like a fish, staring at Lucy in shock. He had totally expected her to jump out of the way like she normally did, not assist in scoring a goal with a powerful kick. Instead of getting annoyed that he didn’t score another goal, Natsu patted her shoulder.

“Good one Luce! Just know I’m not going easy on ya next time,” he laughed, running back to his side of the field.

“Great…” Lucy sighed dryly, using the back of her hand to wipe away some sweat that had formed on her forehead.

True to his promise, the next time Natsu came down the field with the ball, he made no effort to slow down. Her last kick boosted her confidence so Lucy instead of jumping away, stood her ground. When he came close she stuck out her foot to try and steal the ball except Natsu was ready this time. His leg shot out as he kept the ball in his possession except on accident he hooked her leg along with the ball. Lucy fell face first into the dirt with a loud thump, her face contorting in pain as her ankle throbbed in pain. It felt like a fire was burning her from the inside. Seeing that she wasn’t getting up, Mr. Dreyer blew the whistle and jogged over, bringing the game to a pause.

“Lu, are you ok?” Levy who was the closest got to her first, helping her sit up.

Lucy shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes from the pain. “M-my ankle,” she managed to get out, clutching her leg close to her body.

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” Natsu slid over on the ground to her, his usual playful expression turned worried and serious.

“Her ankle hurts,” Levy explained, keeping a soothing hand on her friend’s back. Natsu’s eyes widened, realizing that he was the reason she was hurt. “I’m so sorry, Luce. It was an accident I didn’t mean-”

“I know it was,” Lucy interrupted him as Mr. Dreyer made it over. He bent down, examining her ankle. When his fingers grazed the sensitive area the girl hissed in pain. “It’s at least sprained, maybe even broken,” the teacher frowned, his bushy eyebrows pulling together. “Natsu, get her to the nurse right away.”

“Got it,” the pink haired boy slipped his arms underneath Lucy and carefully picked her up. The movement sent fresh waves of pain up her leg and Lucy was surprised she didn’t pass out from the pain. She rested her head against Natsu’s shoulder, praying that it was only a sprain. “Don’t worry I gotcha Luce,” he murmured down to her. He began to carry her back inside the school. Lucy noticed that he was being careful to not jostle her with each step, which was greatly appreciated. Her thoughts were cloudy, the pain taking over. All she wanted to do was sleep so that she wouldn’t have to feel anything. Natsu kept talking to her the entire way but Lucy barely paid attention, only giving him occasional grunts or head bobs so he knew she hadn’t passed out.

At their arrival to the nurse’s office, an old woman with pink hair a shade lighter than Natsu’s had him set Lucy on one of the cots. The nurse, Porlyusucia examined the girl’s ankle more thoroughly that Mr. Dreyer had and with a straight face told them, “That ankle is definitely broken. You’ll be lucky if you only have to wear a cast for a month.”

“W-what?” Lucy gasped, shocked by how blunt the woman was and at the fact that she was going to need a cast. At this rate her parents will never let her return to a public school ever again.

“Are you deaf as well girl?” Porlyusucia snapped, getting a soft whimper from Lucy. “Hmph,” the old woman sighed, retrieving an ice pack from the freezer in the room and setting it on Lucy’s injury. The cold seeped into her skin, almost numbing the pain much to her relief. “This is all I can do here. The paramedics are on their way to bring you to the hospital. I’ll inform your parents and they will most likely meet you at the hospital.”

“I have to ride in the ambulance alone?” Lucy’s lip quivered, not liking the idea. Porlyusucia opened her mouth to answer but Natsu cut her off.

“No, you won’t. I’ll ride in the ambulance with you. I won’t leave you,” he promised.

Lucy’s heart fluttered at his words, a smile forming on her lips. “Thank you so much Natsu.”

“Don’t thank me,” he looked away, a look of sorrow on his face that confused Lucy. “It’s my fault you’re here anyways.”

“No, it’s not,” Lucy argued. She may be injured but that didn’t mean she didn’t have the energy to scold her best friend. “It was an accident. I tripped and I fell the wrong way.”

“But I was the one who tripped you,” he reminded her which earned him a glare.

“You weren’t trying to trip me,” she pointed out. “Now stop feeling bad ok? You are not to blame for this.” She could tell Natsu wanted to argue back but he pressed his lips into a thin line. Smart move on his part.

During the wait for the ambulance to arrive, Natsu was cracking jokes to cheer her up which seemed to be working. Currently he was telling her about his chemistry class yesterday and how he accidently set his test tubes on fire.“Only you Natsu Dragneel!” Lucy laughed, shaking her head at him. “How did it even catch on fire you were using water?”

Natsu threw his arms up in the air, looking just as confused. “I have no idea!” he exclaimed. “I was mixing ingredients and I turned to grab another test tube. When I turned back around it was on fire!”

Lucy only laughed harder hearing that. Natsu continued telling her about his day up until three paramedics came into the room with a stretcher. Seeing that, the blonde couldn’t help but make a face. It wasn’t as if she was dying! Noticing her apprehension, Natsu took it upon himself to lift her back up in his muscular arms. “There’s no need for that. I’ll carry her out.”

“Sir, there’s really no need for-”

“She wants me to carry her,” he glared at the three men who grew uneasy. Reluctantly they agreed to his wishes and lead the pair out to the car. Natsu made sure he was careful with the pretty blonde when he set her in the ambulance. He made sure she was comfortable before taking a seat beside her and holding onto her hand.

“Natsu?” Lucy called as the vehicle began to move. “What about your motion sickness?”

“I’ll be fine,” Natsu forced out, a smile plastered on his face. A few beads of sweat ran down his forehead but he would endure it for her.

“Are you sure?” Lucy raised a blonde eyebrow at him.

Natsu let out an uneasy chuckle. “I think I’m the one supposed to be worrying about you. Not the other way around.”

“It distracts me from the pain,” Lucy shrugged her shoulders. The paramedics had stuck an IV in her arm to give her some painkillers so her ankle didn’t hurt as much.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to keep talking,” Natsu smiled weakly, doing just that.

“AAAGHHH!” Natsu groaned in frustration, pulling at his pink hair as he paced around the waiting room. The moment they had arrived at the hospital, Lucy was whisked away from him and he was forced away since he wasn’t ‘family’. Friends were basically family so why couldn’t he stay with her? “I can’t wait any longer!” he growled, glaring at anyone who looked at him strangely due to his odd behavior. At least Lucy wasn’t alone. Her parents were already waiting at the hospital when they arrived so they were with her while she was being treated.

“This fucking sucks,” he grumbled a little too loudly, a mother with her two children sending a glare his way which he ignored but he did try and keep a tap on his language. When he saw Lucy’s doctor come talk to another patient, he jogged over. “How’s Lucy?!” he practically yelled, scaring the poor doctor.

“She’s getting an X-Ray done now so it’s still going to be a while.” Finally at least he got some answers. Who ever said intimidation was a bad thing? Mumbling a quick thank you, Natsu decided to check out the cafeteria. Hopefully some food would distract him from his worried thought for a moment.

The pink haired man stepped into line, his eyes sweeping over the menu. He heard hospital food wasn’t the best but he didn’t care about that right now. When he arrived at the front of the line he realized he hadn’t picked out his order so he picked the first thing on the menu, a hamburger and fries. He handed over a wad of cash to the worker and waited at the counter for his food to finish cooking. His thoughts drifted back to Lucy again. He was so lost in thought they had to call his name a few times so that he would grab his tray of food.

Natsu tried to find he most private table he could so that he could eat in piece. Claiming a table by the window, he dug into his food. “Not as good as Lucy’s mom’s,” he thought bitterly. That reminded him that he was supposed to have dinner at Lucy’s house that night. With everything that happened he figured that was out the window. He sighed, barely tasting the food he was shoveling in his mouth. When he finished he set his tray where he saw other people putting them before returning to the waiting room to well, wait.

“At least it’s appropriately named,” the boy let out another long moan as he flopped into an open chair. He was sick of waiting. All he wanted was to be by Lucy’s side and to hold her hand. He decided that the moment he saw her he was going to give her the biggest hug ever!

“Mama! Mama!” a little boy yipped, tugging on his mother’s arms. Natsu glanced over at the two, watching them interact. “Can we go to the gift shop? I wanna teddy bear!”

The boy’s mother laughed quietly and smoothed the boy’s hair back lovingly. “If you are a good boy the rest of the time we wait I’ll buy you one,” she promised. Her son erupted into cheers which made the gears in Natsu’s head start turning.

“Natsu!” a familiar voice called out to him, jarring him awake. He must have dozed have in the waiting room. His vision cleared and his thoughts began to return when his eyes locked on Lucy being pushed in a wheelchair towards him by her father.

“Luce!” Natsu scrambled to his feet, almost falling out of his chair in his rush to her. The blonde giggled as he frantically ran over to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” Lucy smiled at him. His gaze traveled to her leg which was covered in bright pink plaster. “Of course she would pick pink. It’s her favorite color,” he thought fondly.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he leaned down to give her a squeeze that she returned. When they embraced for too long, Jude cleared his throat so Natsu pulled away slowly. He didn’t want to anger her father more. “Oh! I have something for ya!” he suddenly remembered, hurrying back to his chair where a gift bag lay. “This is for you!” he thrusted the present in front of her face.

Lucy blinked, taking the bag in her hands. “What’s this?” she asked, looking up at him.

“A ‘Get Well’ present,” Natsu blushed a little, turning his head away. “J-just a little something I gotcha.”

Lucy smiled, noticing his blush. “Thank you,” she pulled away the tissue paper, reaching for the gift inside. Her hand clamped around something soft and when she pulled out her gift she gasped. “Oh Natsu…” she breathed, admiring the little blue cat stuffed animal that had white wings attached to his back. “It’s so cute! I love it!”

Natsu watched her squish the stuffed animal to her chest, warmth spreading through his body at the sight. She was absolutely adorable. “I’m glad you like it,” he grinned at her. Before anything could go farther, Layla interrupted the two.

“Natsu, are you still coming over for dinner?” Lucy’s mother asked kindly.

Natsu’s jaw dropped. “You mean I’m still invited?!”

“Of course you are,” Layla laughed along with her daughter who joined in.

“Then count me in!” Natsu grinned so wide his cheeks hurt.

Even though the day began horrible they were still able to come together in the end for a wonderful meal thanks to Layla. Over dinner Lucy kept teasing Natsu about him being the reason she was hurt which made him all flustered and guilty. When she went too far, Natsu pouted, staring down at his plate.

“I’m only kidding Natsu,” Lucy chided reaching her hand under the table to squeeze his hand. When he didn’t respond to that she leaned over and kissed his cheek when her parents weren’t watching. “Thank you for everything you’ve done today.”

“Lucy…” he breathed, his breath catching in his throat from her affection. She looked so beautiful in that moment even though she had dark circles under her eyes from being over tired and her hair was in a messy bun. Acting on impulse, he leaned over and captured her lips, compelling a gasp from her. Quickly she relaxed against him, kissing him back, both oblivious to her parents watching them. The kiss was kept short and sweet, nothing crazy or overly passionate.

“I really like ya Luce,” Natsu tucked her bangs behind her ear.

“I really like you too, Natsu,” Lucy smiled as Laya watched on with a pleased expression. She always knew this day would come but it certainly took long enough. Unfortunately, the mood was ruined by Jude clearing his throat loudly. Natsu sprang away from Lucy, his palms sweaty as he shoved food in his mouth. Lucy had a blush covering her face but was still smiling. Maybe it seemed, gym class wasn’t so bad after all.