Notes: Italics is for thoughts and/or a significant word. Plus, Buckstar is totally a legit thing.
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Chapter 1: Caffeinated Revelations
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Lucy's fingers trembled as they took hold of the cup of cappuccino from the barista's hands, who was smiling pleasantly with his green Buckstar hat hanging from the side of his head. It took her a moment to scan through the receipt that lay dead on the countertop, her eyes interested especially in the price of the drink. She kept staring at it until she made sure it would haunt her even in her dreams. Lucy suddenly looked up at the barista and flashed a quick nervous smile before darting away to a seat next to the window.
The blonde tapped against the small wooden table lightly, wondering if she had made a mistake buying the coffee. Maybe she should've just asked for water instead— or hell, even tap water would've been better, at least they were free. She silently cursed to herself as she grimly took a sip of her drink. Though, one thing she couldn't deny was the fact that the cappuccino, tasted fucking good.
Her eyes soon made its way to the view outside— which she couldn't see a thing. The fog from the gloomy weather had obstructed half of the window at the same time showering Magnolia with a layer of snow. The only things evident were the flashing of the lamp posts and the warmness from the small apartments across the road. She hated days like these the most.
Slowly, she took out her purse from the pocket of her trench coat and opened it. Her breath was suddenly caught up in her throat when she saw how much money she had left. It wasn't much, at all. It was enough to last her for at least a few weeks or so, but after that, it would be gone. And it was all because she had to buy that damn drink. Why the hell didn't you ask for tap water?
The door chimed and it somehow managed to snap Lucy from her troubling thoughts. Lucy tilted her head up to the figure who stood by it, who was clearly out of breath as she adjusted the strap of her sling bag. The bluenette's eyes soon made contact with Lucy's and she waved enthusiastically at the lamely grinning blonde.
"Lu-chan!" Levy McGarden, her best friend in this whole wide world and fellow bookworm, literally cried out as she rushed over to the chair opposite of where Lucy sat. Almost instantly, half of the coffee shop customers were staring at the stumbling girl who was tripping through chairs, tables and newspaper (somehow).
Lucy shot her a look, "Keep it down Levy. Everyone's looking at us."
"It's about time you got some attention anyways—" She huffed and pulled out her seat before plopping down on it like dead weight, "—My best friend who's a shut-in and not to mention, single but actually looks pretty gorgeous and could probably score us a few free drinks."
"In your dreams." She scoffed.
Levy giggled and raised her hands up in defence, "Hey, it worked last time didn't it?"
"Well for one, the last time you made me 'ask for a free drink', you literally pushed me into a circle of guys and forced me to socialise, and secondly, I didn't even want to do it!"
"Past tense: you didn't. I bet you wouldn't mind it now would you?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"No!" Lucy cried and glared at her.
"Fine, fine." Levy pouted in defeat, her eyes suddenly darted to the coffee cup in her best friend's hand, "Did you— buy this?"
"I, uh, did." The blonde muttered, shrugging meekly, "It's nothing Levy—"
"What do you mean it's nothing!?" Levy exclaimed as she jabbed her finger at the receipt that flashed the price bright in their eyes, "You could've waited for me to buy it for you. You're broke, Lu-chan. Buying drinks as expensive as this isn't exactly your smartest move."
"I know, I know." She sighed while her hand ran through her hair in frustration, "I just— thought I should treat myself once in awhile, y'know? I get that money's a problem and everything, but it fucking sucks to drink coffee made by Natsu—everyday. Do you know how bitter his coffee taste?" She scrunched up her face at the thought.
Levy grimaced, "Right. I remember. It tasted like shit."
"Exactly. I haven't drank a good cup of coffee ever since 6 months ago."
"Don't tell me…" She started off slow and placed her chin against the palm of her hand, carefully observing the blonde's expression and squinted, "You're still living at his place?"
Lucy stayed quiet for a moment. Her throat felt dry at the memory 6 months ago, where she had ran into his house, soaked in rain and mud with her hand clutching onto a half-ripped sports bag that contained her valuables. She remembered the desperation, the pain she was feeling, the lost she was going through, as her fingers had trailed up to the collar of his clothes and clung onto it while her mouth whispered out: Help me.
The Heartfilia rapidly shook her head, trying to erase the memory out from her mind. For good.
"I am." She replied dryly, "I don't have a choice Levy. I can't go back— back there. That old man kicked me out for a reason, and I can't leave Natsu now, he was barely surviving when I came here. Without my help, who knows what will become of him, and I honestly don't intend to find out."
Levy nodded, knowing her past life all too well, but that still didn't stop her teeth to sink into her bottom lip in worry. "I understand. But still, why did you choose him out of all people? Juvia could've helped you, I could've helped you."
She shook her head, "You guys were still in college. I didn't want to cause anymore trouble to your lives. Juvia was studying her ass off and I know you were facing money problems too. Plus, I'm pretty sure your boyfriend wouldn't have liked it." Lucy chuckled.
"I—" Levy tried to retort but words had failed to escape her lips. Her back straightened slightly, trying to brighten up the mood. "I still don't understand why you guys aren't dating yet. I mean, you've been living together under the same roof for what, 6 months now? And neither of you have popped the question yet." Her lips had curved into a smug smirk.
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, confused, a light blush painted her cheeks, "What are you talking about? We're just friends, you know."
"Sexually frustrated friends."
Lucy practically choked on her drink, "Sexually frus- what? We're really nothing like that."
Levy raised her eyebrow, clearly not believing a thing she just said, "Sure."
The blonde sighed in defeat, not bothered to argue about Natsu (especially out of all things) any longer, "How's Gajeel?"
For some reason, the mention of those two simple words had sent shockwaves down Levy's spine. Lucy could read it in her best friend's eyes, she seemed somehow—conflicted, if that was the word.
"Levy?" Lucy voiced out her name softly, trying to shake Levy out of her trance, "Levy? Hey. Earth to Levy."
Levy seemingly snapped out of her trance and looked at her, a surprised expression graced her features, as though suddenly realising she was not alone and she was indeed in a crowded coffee shop with her best friend sitting right across from her. Something was definitely going on.
"I-I'm fine. I just remembered how Gajeel has been acting lately. It's starting to get pretty suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Lucy asked as she shifted closer.
"Yeah. He's been coming home pretty late nowadays and it's apparently because of 'work'. It's usually around midnight, the time he knows I'm asleep."
"Have you ever tried staying up?"
"Only once. And he came back in his normal business suit but he also brought along a large black bag. It looked heavy— maybe a little too heavy. I never knew what it was though, it somehow disappears every time I wake up."
Lucy was curious now, more than curious. Gajeel wasn't the guy to do things behind Levy's back and she was pretty sure he wasn't cheating on her best friend. No, he loved her way too much and she loved him just as much. Maybe he was gambling? Or doing something—dare she say it—illegal. She wouldn't be that surprised. His appearance was already frightening enough.
"Do you think he's—?"
"I don't know." Levy shrugged, "But no matter what, I'm pretty sure he has a good reason— he better have a good reason or I'll have to kick his sorry ass out of the house."
Lucy didn't doubt her best friend for a second.
"I think I have to run. Natsu's going to be back anytime soon and I need to make dinner." Lucy said, noticing the time.
Levy laughed, "Alright, don't have too much fun you two."
"Sure thing mom." She rolled her eyes and she rose to her feet, "And isn't that what I'm supposed to say about you two?"
"Oh shut up."
Once Lucy was at the entrance she opened the door by a crack and looked back at her friend who was fiddling with her phone. "One more thing Levy."
"What's that?" She asked, peering up from her screen.
"If he does anything shitty, remember the pepper spray I gave you?"
"Got it with me right now." She winked, patting her sling bag.
"You know what to do."
"He won't be seeing anything for a week, I guarantee you."
"That's my girl."
(-o-)
The air was cold, bitter and unpleasant.
It was during the late hours of Magnolia when Lucy had finished buying the groceries and started to amble through the troubled part of the city. From above, she could see the fluorescent glows of red and blue flooding the dark road ahead, the rays of moonlight sprinkled the streets like silver dust.
The walk home was filled with paranoia as she clung onto the dirtied brown paper bags hoping and praying no one was following her. A shiver ran through her spine when Lucy heard the sounds of hounds barking in the dim alley ways, their ragged teeth barred out and snarled at her as she passed by. She hated this part of the city, absolutely hated it. There was nothing but trouble and danger that ran through the streets. Gunshots were fired at least once a day and an occasional gang fight would break out. It was a nightmare.
Though, it wasn't as if they could move. Although she knew it was one of the more poorer neighbourhoods that were filled with crime and petty theft, Lucy had to admit, she made more friends than she could ever imagine. To a certain extent, yes, she did feel safe there. Not because she had a bulletproof vest or a back up gun, it was because she felt at home. If they were to move, what in the world would she do without Levy by her side?
Lucy released a sigh of relief when she got to her apartment block. As she made her way up the flight of stairs and passed by the broken elevator, the scent of alcohol, cheap perfume and cigars filled her nostrils. She inhaled deeply and held her breath until she made it up to her door. The journey up wasn't pleasant either, the sounds of amplified radios, television and shouting hit her eardrums which made her cringe slightly at the explosion of noises.
Finally, fucking finally, she made it to her door. Almost immediately, she yanked it open and slammed it shut, sliding against her door and slid to the ground, breathing in harsh pants and tried to convince herself that she was indeed safe.
Lucy looked around the messy apartment, surprised that Natsu was nowhere to be found. It wasn't often he would be gone at such a late hour, at least not without texting her or leaving a note on the fridge door—right the fridge, she should go check that.
Settling everything on the counter and hanging her trench coat on a small hook by the entrance, she walked into the kitchen and eyed the fridge door warily, realising that the kitchen door had been swamped with pieces of paper overnight. Each of them were bills and reminders of what to buy, there some post cards and cute magnets, but yet no note from him. Lucy shrugged and tried to reason his sudden disappearance. Maybe he decided to go for a drink with his friends? Or maybe, he was at his job? However, Lucy doubted the second option, Natsu hated his job with burning passion. He would never try to stay later than usual, even if the problem with money was involved. Lucy couldn't blame him though, his boss was an asshole.
Her eyes darted to the living room and saw the game consoles were still tucked neatly under the coffee table. He was never home. Weird. Her suspicious thoughts had gone away once she heard the rumble of her stomach and decided to get cooking, quickly scribbling down a reminder and taped it to the door of the fridge to remind herself to save some spaghetti for Natsu.
He did love spaghetti.
(-o-)
After a few hours, Lucy was harshly awoken by the door of the apartment slamming shut. She would've gotten up if she didn't hear Natsu's voice speaking in the softest voice she had ever heard him muster and automatically assumed he was on the phone. Lucy immediately squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to fall back asleep.
"I don't know about this," He mumbled and rubbed the crook of his neck slowly, "I mean, we did almost get caught."
Get caught?
"What the hell do you mean you want to do it again?" He hissed, "First of all, Gray has the worst getaway vehicle—ever. Secondly, you almost let that guy leave because you were too caught up in your phone! What—Look I know your girlfriend means the world to you and I don't—you literally see her everyday! Even that fucking ice cream has one and you don't see him texting her every 5 seconds."
Oh no. Her body felt weak. Was he—?
He sighed, "I honestly don't want to do this—right, I know but—you have a point." Another long sigh, "I'm just afraid, y'know? If she finds out. I don't know what she'll do… I don't what what I'll do."
Is he talking about me?
"In all my life I never expected to… to…" He seemed hesitant, quiet and unsure, "To hold a gun."
Lucy didn't bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. The word gun had already brought her to shake uncontrollably, a soft buzzing went off in her head and her eyes went wide and her mouth was open, eating air. She tried, she desperately tried to understand what he meant by that. But most importantly, she struggled to support him. What was she supposed to do? Encourage her friend to use a gun? Although she was juggling through a few options on what he was doing that night, she was still afraid of what really was the truth.
After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence and battling with her inner thoughts, she decided enough was enough and stretched her arms out and released a loud yawn, signalling him that she was awake.
"Gotta go man. Yeah, yeah tomorrow. Same time, same place—Fuck you too." Those were the last words Lucy heard him whisper into his phone. Almost immediately, he snapped his head to her side and smiled.
For a minute, Lucy looked at his attire and surprisingly, it was normal. There wasn't any bloodstains or anything dirty patched onto it, there was literally nothing suspicious about his outfit.
"Yo Luce. Did I wake you?" He asked sincerely as he hung his jacket onto the opposite hook of Lucy's trench coat.
She shook her head slowly and tried her best to flash him a smile, "Sorta, but it's fine. And— oh right! I forgot I saved you some spaghetti!" She quickly rose up from her sofa bed and dashed into the kitchen, carefully taking a bowl of spaghetti out from the microwave.
He grinned and leaned against the small dining table, looking at her as she took out a fork from the drawer, "You made my favourite?"
"Yeah, well I was kinda craving some spaghetti too." She answered, placing the bowl in front of Natsu and quickly went to sit across from him.
"How are you such a good cook again? Shouldn't you be in one of those cooking shows?"
"I'm not that good."
He raised his eyebrow, "Uh, you totally are."
"This is literally the only food you like from me."
"Well maybe it's because this is the only thing that doesn't have carrots in it, you add carrots to everything! Who the hell does that?"
"Certainly not you." She shot him a glare, "Carrots are nutritious. They're good for your eyes."
Natsu rolled his eyes, "I don't need them. My eyes are perfect. Great. Amazing.""
"Well how about you? Shouldn't you be in those baking shows? Because we all know your cakes taste absolutely delicious."
His expression lit up, "They do?"
"No way. They taste like shit."
He narrowed his eyes and pouted, "I'll have you know the guys at work absolutely love it."
She scoffed, "I find that hard to believe. You complain about my carrots and I'll complain about how you literally put spice in everything. Does your tongue ever catch on fire?"
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Luce." He grumbled and jabbed his fork into the spaghetti.
She smiled, "Just shut up and finish your food. You're making a mess."
As he ate and slurped in every strand, Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wrestling with a thought in her mind. During the conversation, she had almost forgotten entirely about his phone call, she had almost forgotten that her friend had carried a gun. She felt her face pale slightly. Had Natsu ever shot with a gun? Did he even know how to use one? Did he… kill someone? She shook her head at the last thought. No he wouldn't. Sure he did punch a few guys before, but she knew he wouldn't go as far to killing someone. Even if he did… she was sure he had a good reason.
"Say, Natsu," Lucy started off, her eyes locked onto his and her fingers played with the hem of her shirt, then she asked in a tone that was sharper than intended, "Where have you been tonight? You don't usually come back this late."
"I've been hanging out with a few friends." He shrugged as he replied nonchalantly. "Sorry for coming back so late today. We were caught up in traffic." She knew he wasn't entirely lying. At least there was some truth to it.
Instead of questioning further, she decided to change the subject. "The landlord told me this morning he raised the rent price."
Natsu frowned, "Shit." He grumbled and pushed his empty bowl aside, his hand dug into his hair and dragged it back in frustration.
"I tried asking him to tone it down, but he already said that was his last offer." She shrugged looking just as troubled as him. "Are we… still broke?" She asked softly.
There was a short moment of silence, both deep in their thoughts as a cool breeze swept in from the open window. She had to admit, it felt weird to be at home without him, she supposed it was because she was used to it but that still didn't explain the constant ache in her heart.
"Yeah, we are." He finally replied, his frown deepened but attempted to offer her a smile anyways. "Work's pretty shit lately. My boss isn't paying us much, he's being a bitch. Plus petty theft isn't going to work anymore. The stores here aren't as good as the ones at the centre."
She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively, "It's fine. We'll just pay for the rent with the money we have now, we'll work through it together."
"We don't have a lot of money left, do we?" He mumbled.
Lucy hesitated. "It's better than nothing."
Another course of silence ensued. She cringed slightly at the thought of the money in her purse, how little there was and the only reason why there was so little was all because she had to buy that damn cup of cappuccino. Treat herself? Who was she kidding. For a cup of coffee she might've cut them off a week of food. Lucy mentally slapped herself, I should just live with Natsu's shitty coffee or the tap water there, I heard they're real good. She groaned softly.
Why the hell did I do that?
As he stood up to put away his plate, he looked over his shoulder and glanced at her with a grin that made her heart twist and flip, "One day, you won't have to worry about money anymore, we won't ever have to worry about it." He disappeared into the kitchen, "I promise you Luce."
The last words made her forget the events of that night. He wasn't a killer, he never carried a gun, he never had a phone call and she didn't buy the cappuccino. Nothing had happened, the day had went as usual.
She wished.
(-o-)
2 days had gone by since the night Natsu arrived back late and the days that came after weren't any better. In fact, the first night was an hour later than before but Lucy failed to notice his full entrance and quickly went back to sleep. The second night was even later and she had only notice his presence at around 1 in the morning, if she could recall clearly, he seemed extremely worn out and for some reason, he smelled like something that resembled metal.
She knew what it was, and yet she was afraid to admit it even to herself.
Lucy was sprawled across her sofa bed with a long 't-shirt' that stopped to her knees and one loose sock on her right foot. She was exhausted from her job and all she wanted to do was talk with Levy, eat pizza, watch netflix and wear nothing but underwear underneath. She knew Natsu wasn't going to be back until 11 or 12, so she figured that was the best way to pass time.
"I'm telling you lu-chan! He's starting to act really weird. It's like he's hiding something—no correction, he's definitely hiding something." Lucy heard her best friend scowl in the phone that was pressed against her ear.
"Actually, Natsu's been acting really weird too." She mumbled as she pursed her lips, "He's starting to act kinda like Gajeel, he's been coming home at around 11-12 since a few days ago, that isn't like him at all."
"Really?" Levy asked, intrigued, "Did he say anything?"
"No. Not really." That was a complete lie. "I barely see him anyways, so the conversations have been pretty short lately."
Levy hummed in agreement, "I totally understand. I only see Gajeel in the mornings now, mostly during breakfast and he looks pretty nervous when he's around me. He's always nervous when he's lying."
My eyebrows drew in confusion and started to take in her words, one by one, then suddenly, something clicked. "They're friends right?"
"Mmhm, along with this guy called Gray."
And that was when Lucy paled. The name, Gray, the name he had said a few nights ago when he was on the phone. If this… Gray was there that would mean the person he was talking to was most likely Gajeel.
She inhaled sharply, "A few nights ago I overheard a conversation he had on the phone and… Gray was mentioned." A pause. She was aware that Levy definitely knew what she was about to say. As the saying went, great minds think alike. "I think the person over the phone could've been…"
Lucy could hear the gasp in her best friend's voice. "Do you think—?"
"They are really good friends. I wouldn't be surprised if they did plan something together," Lucy stretched my back and sighed, "The real question is, what?"
For a moment, she heard Levy still slightly. Her breathing had softened and from her side, Levy seemed to have tensed.
After what had seemed forever, Levy finally spoke, "Remember the large black bag I was talking about the other day at the coffee shop?"
"Yeah? What about it?" Lucy questioned.
"Well, this morning I found where he had hid it and it was under the floorboards and— oh God. I remember. Oh God." Her voice cracked and a small pause, "Lu-chan what have I done!?" Levy cried out.
Immediately, Lucy sat up and her eyes widened, "Levy? Lev? Are you okay? What did you see?"
"There was so much—there was—oh my God. Why would he do such a thing? It was a whole bag of it, a whole bag."
Before Lucy could even comfort her friend and inquire her more about the situation at hand, the front door had four loud, vicious knocks and strangled cries came from the other side. Without thinking twice, Lucy opened the door and for a minute she had regretted it, wondering if she had invited some random stranger in. But her doubts were cleared almost immediately when three, limping figures burst in, almost breaking the door in the process.
In the middle the man who was dripping with blood and reeked of mud, was held by two others who were by his side, the one of the left had his left leg injured and a jacket wrapped around his knee, the one on the right didn't seem too bad but it looked as if he had a deep cut on his right arm—
Oh no.
It was Natsu.
Soon she realised the remaining two were Gajeel and Gray. The one in the middle was Gajeel and she assumed the one on the left was Gray the name did fit him after all.
"What the hell happened!?" She asked, stepping aside as she watched in confusion and horror while they dragged the man in the middle to Natsu's sofa. Her heart dropped when she saw Natsu's darkened eyes stare right back at hers.
"There's no time to explain." He mumbled out as he ripped away Gajeel's sleeve, looking at the horrifying wound that was put on show there, blood trailed all the way down to his elbow.
"Sh-shouldn't you bring him to the hospital or a—a doctor?" She spluttered out, still trying to grasp the gravity of the situation.
"No that won't do. They know. It's all over the news." Gray pointed out, inspecting the wound on his arm.
"'What' is all over the news!?" She exclaimed and slowly backed away from the three in the living room.
Then, Natsu stood up and looked at her, a small, nervous smile curved against his lips. "Say, Luce, do we happen to have a first aid-kit?"
Before she replied, her shaking hand snaked its way to her sofa bed and held onto her phone so tight that it made her knuckles turn white. She slowly raised it up and pressed it to her ear.
"Levy, I think I know where your boyfriend is."
Author's note:I've been planning this story for a really long time and I finally got to write it! This is probably one of the longest intro chapters I've ever written. Which was why, I had to cut Lucy and Levy's first convo short (even though they're my fave besties in the whole series ;;u;) and a few other paragraphs too which will be shown in the next chap!
What actually got me inspired to write this was GTAV, lol. Well, it's actually more evident in the later chapters whereas the whole squad will be doing heists and kicking ass. I'm trying to get most of the main characters from Fairy Tail involved and so as the story progresses, each of them will have a special way of meeting.
Although Lucy's character at the moment isn't as developed, there's a reason for that. One of the main parts of the story is to see Lucy slowly change with the environment around her and that will be explained later on.
Also, please forgive my horrible grammar as I'm still trying my best to improve! Whilst english is my second language, I'm trying my hardest to be more fluent at it so if there are any repetitive mistakes make sure to let me know.
Please drop a follow, fave and review (I would love some constructive criticism!) if you have the time!