I wanted to spend my break watching Fast & Furious movies, but that didn't happen… Then, I thought "What if Fairy Tail had an AU of Fast & Furious? Wouldn't that be cool!"
And now I'm like, god damn it, Kitty, you had one job. The one job of stop making new fanfictions while I have 10 others to do.
I really want to watch Fast & Furious…
=xxx=
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Ride 'em Hard
Chapter One
"Yeah, well, no way in hell I want to stay in this dirty, old dump overnight anyway!" A young, blonde woman yelled with forced anger as the glass door with neon colors slammed at her face. Stomping her foot, Lucy Heartfilia squirmed with a demonic growl as she twirled around and made her way from the bar; muttering curses and profanities under her breath as she went under a streetlight, looking around to see the whole area deserted.
Brown eyes twitched, realizing that there will be no more buses coming this way until morning.
"God damn it!" Lucy practically screamed into the night, hearing her shriek echo in the otherwise silent street.
Slumping her backpack on the bench and sitting down next to it with slouched shoulders. Sighing, Lucy propped her head up with both hands and closed her eyes. "I knew I should've brought some cash for a hotel, or something… Stupid fart wanted more than a compliment from a pretty girl," she grouched. "No way would I ever go that far for staying inside the bar overnight! I'd rather sleep in the park then take my shirt off, the pervert!."
Opening her eyes, Lucy pouted and looked down to her shoes. Nothing expensive, thank goodness. Just simple, comfortable shoes with a few inches for her height that she would normally wear around during the day. Now that she thought of it, her whole outfit wasn't all that alluring… Skinny jeans and a tanktop with a light sweatshirt on, Lucy couldn't figure out how the owner of the bar would even blush when she asked to stay the night.
"Probably...my boobs," Lucy growled, looking down to her very large breasts with accusation. "Mom was totally right when she said that the women in this family have chests for weapons!" Crossing her arms over her said tools with her black sweatshirt, Lucy whimpered in defeat as she looked off down the street with a longing gaze.
'I'm not going home,' she thought with a strong voice, ignoring the very idea of looking at her phone to see if anyone has tried to call her. 'Not going home. No way am I going home...'
Being twenty years-old, Lucy Heartfilia was raised in the luxury of money since the day she was born to Jude and Layla. That's what it was for her, even after her mother passed away, along with the bonus of having her father try to control every little detail of her life. What she wore, where she went on a daily basis and even being paid to keep herself amused while he went off to work. Although the helpers back at her old home tried to keep her here until things settled between her and her father, Lucy was in too much of a hurry and too angry to stop herself from packing whatever she could into her old school's backpack and leave the estate that felt more like a prison to her.
Lucy never asked to be protected by her father, nor even for his opinion. It was his fault that he pulled her out of college while she wanted to get a degree in writing and journalism. It was her dad who told her she needed to stay home, so she wouldn't get hurt in the streets. He told her that everything and everyone was a danger to the Heartfilia heiress, daughter of one of the wealthiest men alive. It got to be too much for her, actually, with all her life plans and goals to make her life more interesting being taken away by someone who should have encouraged her, and supported her…
'I'm not going back,' she thought, clenching her hands tightly to her sweatshirt. 'That's not home… That place is more hell than home.'
"But…" Lucy's cheeks reddened as she bounced her heel on the pavement, "that still doesn't give me a place to spend the night."
She really didn't have any friends (another joy of having Jude Heartfilia as a father), so she couldn't call anyone and ask to crash on their couch for a night or two. All she really needed was to find a job that can get her enough money to rent out a place…
"God! What am I suppose to do now?" she whined, yanking on her blonde hair in stress. "I don't have anything to my name besides him, and there's no way I can get anywhere without getting him involved!"
During her little display of childish rant, Lucy faintly heard the low humming of an engine coming near her way. Blinking, Lucy brought her head back to see a deep red car with stylish flames dancing across the paint with only the front passenger door, while it was obvious of the back doors were removed to make more room for the flames and firey stars to decorate upward; tinted windows and spinning wheels slowly made Lucy's eyes widen at the sight. Even though she could only see the side of it, it wasn't hard for Lucy to recognize the brand.
"M-Mitsubishi?" she mumbled quietly.
Lucy stiffened when the passenger window began rolling down, revealing the driver behind the wheel looking her way. It was a boy - or man, probably, around her age - with spiky pink hair and pretty tanned skin. Bangs being pushed up messily by a pair of sunglasses, Lucy was able to see the black eyes looking at her with a raised brow. Around his neck, too, was a checkered white scarf and he was sporting a black tank, revealing killer muscles that no doubt could give the old man back in the bar a run for his money in a fight.
Lucy jumped in her seat when the driver turned off his radio, creating a weird silence between the two. Although the hum of the car was soothing to her. Brown eyes locking to black ones, Lucy waited for him to talk.
"Whad'ya doin'?" he said. His voice was mature, but scratchy with a personality that reminded Lucy of her old classmates back in college.
"U-uhm...excuse me?" Lucy stammered, leaning back on the bench and trying to sneakily grasp her backpack, incase she needs to run for it.
"You know that the buses don't come by here until seven, right?" he went on, taking a peek to his car's radio. "And it's, like...almost two in the morning."
Lucy's stiff face fell to a more annoyed look. "Obviously. I'm not waiting for a bus," she replied with a bit of attitude. That made the driver blink.
"Oh, so you're waiting for a client, then?"
"What! No!" Lucy yelled with flushed cheeks. "I'm not a prostitute! Do prostitutes wear hoodies and conceal as much skin as possible?"
"Hey, easy!" the boy raised a hand in defeat to her, waving it off. "I didn't mean it like that, alright? I just don't see chicks like you 'round these parts at this time. You don't look like a hooker to me, okay? How's that?"
"Oh, now you're saying I'm not sexy?" Lucy growled, making him blanch. Sighing, the blonde woman shook her head. "You know what, it doesn't matter. Whatever. I've had a rough night…"
The man blinked and tilted his head curiously at her. "Ya running away from home, or something?"
Lucy sniffed, seeming how much of a silly term it is. "You could say that, I guess," she shrugged sadly, looking to her backpack. "I wouldn't call it 'running away', since it wasn't much of a place to call home in the first place."
"Ahh, so it's difficult. You got a place to stay, right?"
"I wouldn't be sitting here on the bench close to two in the morning, if I had a place to stay now, would I?" Lucy raised a brow at him. She really didn't get why she was talking to his guy with his car (that she will mentally admit that is pretty neat to look at).
"Oi, what are you lookin' at?"
Lucy's eyes snapped back to him, suddenly coming to realization that she was ogling at his sweet ride, even though it was obviously accustomed to his needs and style and a bit clunky for her taste, but still. Her cheeks pinked as she blubbered a moment until she conjured up words. "Uh...ahem. It's just - you know, it's a Mitsubishi Lancer, right? You took the backdoors off, but I can still tell by the handle and lights."
The man nodded, seemingly impressed. "Yeah, it's a two-thousand-two… That's pretty neat, knowing it with the paintjob and stuff," he looked around his interior for a second. "You like driving?"
She shook her head, a shy smile on her lips. "No, but I love cars," she explained. "My mom was big into cars and racing. Not like the American racing, but more like the street-kind, I guess. She would buy tons of car magazines and show me her favorites and let me read her books-! What am I doing?" she snapped to herself, slapping her cheeks with her hands. "God, I need to shut up. I need to find a place to stay; I don't have time for-!"
"Hey!"
Lucy snapped her head to the driver, who reached to his other side and unlocked the passenger door with a press of a button. She watched him smile a big, childish grin that would easily be contagious if she was in a happier mood and wink at her. "Hop on in!"
It took Lucy a moment to register, then narrow her eyes at him. "What?"
"You like cars," he gave a thumbs up to her. "If you like cars, you're a pal of mine! You can stay at my place tonight, if you want. I can't leave a woman alone on the streets anyway, but at least you can crash at my spot."
Lucy pursed her lips, looking more cautious by the second. "What do you want in return? Money? A lap dance?"
He responded with a pained expression, shaking his head. "Nooo," he pressed, shaking his head harder. "I don't need anything from you. You need a place to sleep, and I'm giving you a place to sleep for the night! You seem to like my ride, too, so I can give ya a free ride in the deal."
"But why?" she asked, crossing her arm defensively. "You don't know me, and I don't know you."
He simply shrugged, a smile still planted on his face. "I know what it's like to be homeless and not having a place to go. Besides, you seem like a nice person!"
Lucy thought it over a few times, and then a few more time just to make sure. Since she really has no place to stay, it wouldn't be that bad to stay at someone's house if they offered it to her. He didn't seem to be a serial killer or anything, and if he did try something, she would not hesitate to kick his ass with her shoes.
She broke a window with her shoes once.
Standing up, Lucy grabbed her backpack and stepped closer to the car, looking at him one more time before pulling the door open. Slipping into the car, Lucy was surprised by the warm leather on her back and bottom, the AC giving a relaxing breeze to her face. Closing the door, Lucy placed her backpack on her lap and clasped the buckle in place before glancing her way to the driver.
The man grinned and stuck out his hand. "Name's Natsu Dragneel, by the way. Sorry I didn't tell ya before!"
Lucy tucked a lock of her blonde behind her ear before shaking his hand politely. "I'm Lucy...Heartfilia."
"Lucy!" the guy, Natsu said with a perk and shook her hand with more enthusiasm. "Like that old show, I Love Lucy? There's a lot of songs with the name Lucy in it, too, you know? People probably think you're named after the TV character, though, right?"
Lucy's cheeks redden, feeling a silly that Natsu had such an positive attitude with someone they just met - especially with the fact that he was talking about her first name. Which, isn't all that bad for her if he did not mentioned anything of her last name at this moment. It was weird, but it also gave Lucy the little feeling of joy at how just a minute ago she was sitting on the bench with no idea what to do, and now she's in a really cool car with this guy.
"Oh! Luce - it's okay if I call you Luce, right?" Natsu caught her attention when her gaze wandered around the interior. The inside walls and leather matched with a deep purple color, the dash black and the little lights of the radio were electric blue and neon red. The steering wheel, Lucy noticed right away, had buttons and lights around the pad - she could tell that most did not belong to the original brand.
"Uhm...sure," Lucy shrugged. She never had a nickname before, unless you counted the maids and butlers and security calling her 'Miss' or 'ma'am'.
Natsu gave her an apologetic smile. "I feel bad, since you may want to hit the hay more than anything right now," he started, licking his lips as his eyes wandered to out the windshield and rocked his head from side to side. "I actually have an appointment, and I'm actually running late. Do you mind tagging along? It won't be long, I promise."
"An appointment?" Lucy blinked. "For what?"
"It's actually a meeting, and I'd probably get my butt kicked by Erza if I'm any later than now," he shrugged. Lucy noticed his fingers drumming on the wheel of the car, as if imagining what is to come when this Erza gets ahold of him.
'Must be his girlfriend, or sister...' Lucy thought, watching at how Natsu was mumbling about how he won't be able to sit down for three days. She smiled, nodding to him. "Sure, I don't mind - you're already doing so much to help me out, so I don't mind."
"It won't be long, I promise," Natsu explained as he checked to make sure she had her seatbelt on before changing the gearshift to Drive. "You can toss your bag in the back, if you want. I kept the back seats in, thank God. Had to beg and pay extra for that - Something about lookin' stupid…"
"I think it's pretty neat," Lucy peeped in with a smile. She took hold of her backpack and placed it in the seat behind her, displaying her bag in the back. "See? No one would think to peek back here because it lacks doors. No one will take my bag now!"
Natsu looked to Lucy, then to her back, and back to her again before grinning ear-to-ear. There was a little twinkle in his eyes as he looked to the street, both hands on the wheel and a tiny, tiny snicker slipping from his teeth. Without another word, he put his foot on the gas pedal and took off into the night with a new friend.
And Lucy was not expecting to be pushed back in her seat by the obvious illegal speed Natsu was going.
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Lucy originally thought she was in the shady part of the city.
She takes it back. Natsu brought her to the shadiest part of the city in his cool car. Even though the windows were tinted and no one could see inside the car, Lucy still felt super uncomfortable with odd characters of people walking in the alleyways and beside the cars, yelling and shouting incoherent words that almost sounded like a song or chant.
"N-Natsu…" Lucy's brow twitched as she looked to her 'friend'. He seemed completely relaxed while driving slow with one hand, the other resting on the windowpane of his side, waiting for a crowd of hoody-looking characters crossing the front of the car. "Natsu!"
The salmon-colored hair man blinked and looked her way, completely confused. "What's wrong, Luce? Do you not feel good? You kinda look like you're gonna cry, or some -"
"Where in the fucking hell are we, kid?" Lucy snarled, grabbing him by his scarf and pulling for them to be nose-to-nose. Fear and anger written in her face, the blonde not having anymore of this. "Huh? You picking up lonely women and bring them to docks to kill them?"
"What? No way!" he said, obviously offended. He gently grasped her wrist and pried her hand to let go of his white-checkered scarf. "Ya make it sound like I'm gonna kill ya, or something! Jesus Christ!"
"Then what are we doing here?" Lucy demanded with a jabbing point out the window, more directed to a man with dreads slamming onto Natsu's hood with an excited howl before jumping off. "What is this place, god damn it! Tell me, or I'll call the cops!"
"Luce, calm down!" Natsu said in a hushed voice, turning back to the narrow street and slowly made his way in a much slower pace of the pedal. "Jeez, I didn't think you would freak out over something like this. I thought you said you like cars!"
"I do!" Lucy growled, clenching her fists. "I've seen the movies, though. This is totally bad news! You're going to kill me!"
Natsu rolled his eyes and sighed with a red face, keeping his eyes on the road. "S'ppose I should've explained a bit, huh? You don't need to worry about nothin', Luce. You're safe."
"It doesn't look - !"
"I'm in a race, Luce," he interrupted her, shutting her up quickly. He stole a peek to her disbelief frown. "I'm a racer, 'kay? Figured you'd catch that with my car pretty quickly, but I guess you like those movies, huh?"
When Lucy didn't respond, he went on with a shrug of his shoulder. "It's nothing dangerous for girls like you to be here," he pulled his resting arm up and pointed to a small group of girls wearing revealing clothes and heavy makeup, making the blonde blink in surprise to see pretty young women here at this time of night. "It's underground racing. Have you ever heard of that?"
"You mean," Lucy swallowed and looked out the window with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks, "the actual street racing? Like in those action films? Those are illegal, Natsu!"
This caused the driver to smirk. "That depends on who you ask, Luce."
"B-but, that would mean you're part of a gang, right? No way you would have hot wheels like this on a normal paying job! You gotta be in a gang; you're a gangster and you're doing illegal racing in city streets, aren't you?" Lucy rambled before falling quiet at the sight of Natsu trying to contain his laughter. She twitched. "What the hell is so funny?"
"Do I really look gangster material to you?" he asked with genuine curiosity, turning the car around the corner. "Yeah, I have one tattoo - " he jerked his chin to the red ink on his right bicep, which Lucy noticed a weird shape of an insignia. "Maybe a couple of scars and scratches, but do I honestly look like someone who would, like, smuggle drugs and be a pimp?"
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, and it took Natsu a good minute to register her answer before whining like a child. "Oi, don't be mean like that! Look at this face, Luce, I'm like a puppy!"
"Puppies don't have muscles," Lucy grumbled. "Puppies don't drive a Mitsubishi Lancer with flames and offer a place for a homeless woman like me so innocently and bring her to the docks!"
Natsu thought it over before nodding. "Yeah," he said with a sudden chirp of realization. "Now that ya mention it, it sounds pretty sketchy."
"No shit, Sherlock!"
He grinned, giving her a playful wink. "But, I'm not sketchy, so you don't need to worry about a thing."
"Don't make it sound like it's all okay like that!" Lucy practically screamed, making Natsu pout and continue on driving in silence for a good minute as Lucy crossed her arms. Sitting back in her seat, Lucy refused to look at him anymore, but the silence was bothering her…
"So," she said with a force angry tone, "you're a racer."
"Uh-huh," Natsu responded casually, not looking her way.
"You're not gonna kill me, right?" Lucy's brown eyes narrowed to slits.
She could hear the tiny amusement in his voice. "Nah, I don't have a reason to kill you, Luce. Unless you want to kill me, then I may try to protect myself."
Lucy's shoulders relaxed a little bit, but kept her guard up. She looked at Natsu, her lips pursed. "What gang are you in?"
Natsu tilted his head to the side, as if trying to think of proper words. "It's not much of a gang, so to speak. Erza can probably explain it a lot better than me, or Gray, I dunno. It's more of a public statement for us, I guess, being a gang." He clicked his tongue at the idea, as if he wasn't sure.
"So what's this race you're suppose to be doing?" Now her voice held no bitterness, only curiosity.
"It's a recruiting race," Natsu explained, smiling again. "Basically the best drivers from all over race newbies - or wannabee drivers, if you wanna call 'em that - to see if any of them has what it takes to join them. Kinda like a try-outs for sports back in high school."
"I-I see…" Lucy blinked. "So you're a head racer, I guess?"
"Well, sorta," Natsu huffed. "More in-training, but I'm also racing as an S-Class driver! No way that I'm gonna be trying out. But this is my first time recruiting drivers with Erza and Gray, so it's gonna be fun!" Pointing out, Natsu made Lucy follow his hand to see rows of cars and herds of people cheering or dancing around. Music blasted from cars or stereos of different songs, making the whole atmosphere alive and bright with neon lights and bright colors.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Natsu cursed under his breath. "'Cuse me, Luce, I should probably get in contact with them." Pressing a button on his radio, Lucy watched him dial the knob to a certain station, when static sparked from the speakers until voices began to come out clearly.
"Make sure you watch out for windows," a calm woman's voice erupted. "I have no clue what they're going to pull this time since they banished handheld weapons."
"Yeah, yeah," another voice, a male and sounded bored, sighed in response. "Not my first time driving, Erza."
"Hey guys!" Natsu called out with a loud grin, making Lucy jump at his sudden excitement. "So, what's happening? Did they go over the rules yet?"
"Natsu!" the woman, Erza, Lucy guessed, snapped.
"Yo, flame-brain," Gray's voice grumbled sourly. "You're a half an hour late, dumbass."
"So what else is new, ice-prick?" Natsu howled back with a childish tone. "But I made it, right? The race hasn't started yet, so I'm all good!"
"I told you to come here at two," Erza said with a sigh. "Remember when I said that the race starts at two-thirty? Do you even remember where to even place yourself, Natsu?"
"In the back," Natsu groaned, his whole body slouching and making Lucy smile. "Keep out of your way and don't do anything stupid to the other S-Class drivers. But if Gray tries to shove me into a ditch again, I'm gonna -!"
"Ya gonna what, shithead?" Gray snapped back, making Natsu growl at the radio. "Not my fault you weren't lookin' in your mirrors when I was comin' behind you!"
"You both shut up," Erza hissed, making Lucy see Natsu pale and shut his mouth. With another sigh, the woman's voice collected the two. "Natsu, no interfering with Gray this time. Gray, no trying to cause problems with anyone tonight. We're recruiting and Master Makarov wants this to be as clean and easy as possible."
"Got it," Natsu hummed before checking himself out, flipping the tune to a quiet alternative station on a much lower volume. Lucy assumed that Erza and Gray couldn't hear them anymore.
"Who were they?" she asked with a raised brow, meeting his eyes. "Erza's your girlfriend, or something?"
"What? No way," Natsu sniffed with a lopsided smile. "Ya kill me, Luce. No, Erza's more like my mother than anything else. Gray's just an ass, but he's a pal of mine. They're both S-Class racers for Makarov."
"Your boss?"
"More like grandpa, in my opinion," Natsu shrugged with that silly grin on his face, making Lucy's chest tighten just a little bit at his happy-go-lucky attitude about his friends. "But, yeah, he assigned me to join Erza and Gray tonight after I begged him for the past six months. We recruit racers twice a year, and give 'em a taste of what the real pros do!"
"She...Erza said something about weapons? Handheld ones?" Lucy said with a questionable glance. "What did she mean..?"
Natsu perked and began driving to an open lot, where lines of cars were arranging by guidance from men with bandanas wrapped around their heads. He couldn't help the impish grin on his lips when one with a red bandana beckoned Natsu over to the back rows, where other brightly-colored cars were lined and revving their engines. "Yeah, the point of racing is to not crash or get caught by the cops, so we use measures to take out our opponents. We use stuff like guns, batons, spiked chains and sometimes we tinker with our cars to have secret weapons. Ain't that neat?"
"No! You'd get killed, you idiot!" Lucy scolded at his happy snort. "That makes racing, like, three times more dangerous than it already is!"
"And three-times more fun!" Natsu laughed as he stopped his vehicle when instructed by the guy in the bandana, right next to an overly decorated convertible with big wings and over the top decorations. He gave her a smile in return. "It's okay, though. We're not using guns in recruiting races. That'd be unfair to the newbies."
"Oh my God," Lucy shrieked. "I'm gonna die. That's it! I'm gonna die before I can do anything!"
"Oi, oi!" Natsu whined at her, "I've been racing since I was fourteen, Luce! I've never got into an accident. I may have caused a couple bumps on this baby, but nothing too serious!"
Lucy's brown eyes swelled with tears, making the pink haired man stiffen at the sound of her hiccups. "I'm going to die!"
"Nah-ah! You're safe with me, Luce. I wouldn't let anything bad happen, I promise!" Natsu pleaded, clapping his palms together as he leaned to her with a pout. "You gotta trust me, okay? Just this race and I swear I'll take you anywhere you want - I'll take ya to a hotel, if you want, if you still don't trust me. But after the race! I can't miss my chance after I begged for it! Gramps will hold it against me for years!"
"Why can't we just - ?"
"Hey, hey, everybodyyy!" a voice shouted into a megaphone and stung Lucy's ears. Both looking out of the windshield, Lucy and Natsu saw a blond man with a pointed hairstyle, wearing a pink shirt and shorts bounce on top of a hood of a car. With his megaphone, he created a silence within the crowd, minus some people humming a pleased tune with the rumble of engines. "Listen up, everybodyyy! Let's be cool now and get ready for the race. That's what we're all here for, right?"
When shouts of applause and cheers erupted for a good minute, the blond man raised his free hand to quiet them down a notch. "Cool, cool! C'mon, guys, let the man Jason speak the rules so we can go!" a shout of boos echoed into the air, making Jason nod in understanding. "Yeah, not so cool, right? Don't worry, folks! It's gonna be simple and cool for everyone tonight!"
Lucy watched as the blond man waved his arm in the air, turning the volume up on his megaphone. "Tonight's race is simple, folks! Newbies racin' the S-Class from gangs all over the city and through the city streets! Cops are gonna be lurkin' tonight, ain't that cool, folks? The goal is simple for the newbies: Race the S-Class and don't get caught by the police, don't get into a crash and don't die! When you make it past the finish line back here at the docks, the S-Class drivers will pick ya out and take you back to their HQ!"
With a snap of his fingers, a projection of the city map with a neon-light path going all over the city limits were put on the building's wall. Lucy looked at it with a tilt of her head, seeing that the trail...is marked off by blocks and not just by streets.
"W-what is that map?" Lucy asked, looking to see Natsu scan the picture quickly before nodding.
"Races around here don't usually go by streets," he explained. "You can take certain alleyways, parking ramps and anywhere else they put on the map to make it through the race. Most spots are pretty tricky to get through, since we usually set traps along the way. Spike strips are pretty common to stop racers, if you don't have the right wheels."
Lucy blinked sorely when Natsu tilt his head. "I wonder if anyone brought dynamite or bombs this time."
"God damn it…" Lucy exhaled when he smiled at the idea.
The map disappeared from the wall and Jason forced attention back. "Ya got the trail, so stick to the map! Rules are for the newbies to make it to the end, and S-Class gives them everything that they got. No guns on the tracks tonight, folks! Any gunfire from newbies will be shut down by S-Class and S-Class will forced to quit for the night and not pick out recruiters. Easy, right? Cool!"
Natsu gave off a childish snicker and began bouncing in his seat when Jason ordered a clear space. The car he was standing on moved slowly to the sidelines, and Lucy could hear some drivers actually starting their engines. "Drivers, on my mark! Start your cool engines!"
"N-Natsu?"
"I'm all fired up now!" Natsu laughed maniacally, making the blonde woman stiffen at how happy he was behaving. "Can't back down from this now, Luce! I'll keep to my promise for you, so don't you worry!"
"Natsu! No! Let me out -!"
The sound of Jason's megaphone shrieking an alarm set them all off; Lucy screaming at the top of her lungs as Natsu's feet slammed on the gas pedal, as of everyone else beside and ahead of them performed the same ordeal. The screeching of tires of pavement and people cheering at the side set off as racers took off down the lot and up the ramp that led to a tunnel.
Being set in the back gave space between Natsu and Lucy's ride from the other drivers, who steered clear of the Mitsubishi Lancer with flames as Natsu flipped a switch on his steering wheel, and a soft jump of the car made it speed past four drivers that were in the same row at them. Lucy flinched when her bottom fell back on the seat, snapping her head at Natsu with wide eyes.
"The hell is that?" Lucy demanded, hugging herself and trying to shrink in her seat.
"It's just a little extra kick to get started," Natsu grinned at the fierce honks from the drivers he passed. "It only lasts for a moment, but I should be in the middle of the crowd when we get out of the tunnel and into the streets!"
"Shouldn't you steer clear from everyone? You questioned if they had bombs!"
"Nah, then that just makes me look like a wimp. Gray would totally get on my ass about it if I played gentle," Natsu shrugged before reaching over and opened the glove box, all while keeping his eyes on the road and steering with one hand. Opening the box, Natsu sat back up and let Lucy see the mass amount of tools inside; hammers, nailed leather, spike strips and chain and so many more unnameable items made her head spin.
"Luce, you wanna pick out something and throw it out?" he asked casually, like he was asking her if she wanted lunch or something.
"What! No!" Lucy screamed at him, trying to move her seat back as far as she could from the exposed glove box. "I'm not gonna take part in your freakin' game! What kind of question is - What the hell is that?" Lucy shrieked in horror as she pointed to an incoming light heading towards their window.
"Oh, that's probably Phantom Lord's bomb," Natsu said when he noticed it, pushing the speed a little bit more and the blue pipe landed on the hood. Looking closer with a pouted lip, Natsu's eyes widened with a smile perking on his face. "Ah, it has a ghost face on it. It's Juvia-chan's bomb!" He laughed and turned on his wipers, casually pushing the lighted bomb off his car like a leaf. Lucy watched as the blue pipe fall off the car and towards a driver trying to catch up to them…
And the dynamite exploded on the hood of the contestant's car, lighting up the tunnel behind them.
"What the hell!" Lucy shrieked, looking to Natsu and the fire starting in the distance constantly with large eyes. "What was that? How are you not freaked out by that? Oh my God, he's probably dead!"
Natsu shrugged, passing another driver with ease. "It's Juvia-chan's bomb, so it takes a while for it to actually go off," he stated simply. "I think she's in the middle with Gray, or something, but I guess she wanted to take out the weaklings right away this time."
"She threw a bomb, you idiot!" Lucy scolded, grabbing Natsu's scarf again and shaking him, yet he was still focused on the tunnel. "She killed someone!"
"Juvia-chan's bombs don't kill anyone, unless they actually make it inside the car," Natsu rolled his eyes. "She just bangs up cars with her bombs, honestly. She wrecks engines really good, now that I think of it - beyond repair sometimes! It's Gajeel's dynamite you wanna watch out for, but I think Juvia took it away from him… Wish she could take Gray's stuff away and give 'em to me."
"Is she part of your gang, too?" Lucy asked, squinting her eyes as she looked ahead, trying to spot out where the dynamite came from.
"Nah, she's not part of Fairy Tail," Natsu huffed. "But she's a kickass driver. She beats Gray a lot in races and it's the funniest shit ever!"
"Hah? Fairy Tail?"
"That's the name of our 'gang', Luce. Fairy Tail!" Natsu smiled as he went up a ramp, suddenly glowing with city lights and flashing cars zipping around the corner into the main street, where some normal vehicles swerved out of the way or crashed into a parked car or pole. "It's a pretty neat place, Luce. It's this old building on the outside but it's totally shiny and new on the inside! Like those secret, undercover building you see in spy movies, you know? Half of it is a auto shop and bar - which I should let you try Mira's burgers. They're awesome! - and the other half was converted into rooms for us to live in, like an apartment!"
"You sound so relaxed, and you caused, like, fifty crashes!" Lucy howled him.
"They shouldn't be out around this time, unless they want trouble!" Natsu whined as he twisted the wheels to miss an incoming racer who tried to collide with Natsu's car. "Everyone in this city knows that!"
"Well, I'm not from this city, you idiot!"
"Really? Then I really need you to try Mira-chan's burger with fries!" Natsu gaped in utter shock, looking her way for a good minute with a haunted stare that made her cringe. "You haven't visited this city until you've eaten Mira-chan's cooking!"
His foot full of lead, Natsu pressed harder on the gas pedal and pushed his car faster. "We gotta finish this race ASAP! You gotta eat the burger! I'm hungry now!" Flames were in his eyes as he turned back to the road and past another driver, who jerked his car away and lost control with another one, causing another accident, which didn't affect Lucy this time like the dynamite did.
"You're thinking about food at a time like this?" Lucy grumbled and slouched against her seat, arms crossed. "Honestly, it's like talking to a child…"
"Ha!" Natsu laughed. "You'll thank me once you take a bite, Luce!" He dashed through a red light, ignoring how a couple of drivers screeched to a halt. Lucy noticed flashing lights of police cruisers a bit farther back. Swerving to the right, Natsu made into a alley that she hadn't noticed before.
Even after walking for hours in the daytime, exploring the city, Lucy didn't pay much attention to little hiding spots, like alleyways. She blinked at the towering walls of buildings on either side, and at how perfectly Natsu's driving skills were in making sharp turns and not even touching the bricks.
"This alley is on the map, but I haven't seen any traps in it for a long time," Natsu spoke for conversation. "Hey, Luce, what kind of music do ya listen to? We can turn on the tunes, if that will make you feel better!"
Lucy grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes as he sped around into a more opened street, where he joined back in the group of cars; a light honk took her attention, and Lucy looked to see a blue-colored vehicle ahead of them with icy designs on the fender.
"That's Gray's car," Natsu explained to her, seeing how Lucy's head tilt at the sight.
"An '09 Subaru Impreza..?" she spoke out with a blink. "Impreza WRX STI!"
"Heh, you're really good at telling cars apart, Luce!" Natsu chuckled with amusement. "I like it! See, there's Erza's car over there!" He pointed to an overly-decorated car that reminded Lucy of armor for a knight. "What car is Erza driving, Luce?"
"Toyota Supra," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "I can't tell the year with all that...stuff all over it."
"Yeah, she likes to decorate her ride for every race. I don't know why, her husband doesn't decorate his - it must be a chick thing."
Lucy's eyes narrowed at him with his thought. When she huffed outloud, Natsu stiffened and tried to keep a small smile on his face as he reached over to his radio and turned up the volume. "Oh, look. Music. Heh…"
"Turn left."
Natsu blinked and took a peek to the hardened woman with a raised brow. "Huh? What'cha say, Lucy?"
Raising a pointed finger, Lucy dragged her hand over to an upcoming intersection. "The map said you can take a left over there into that street, where there is a block of alleys. By the sounds of it, everyone is gonna be heading straight, which I think I saw cops there earlier today."
"Really?" Natsu blinked.
Lucy simply shrugged out of mere annoyance. "No one is slowing down, so I doubt anyone is going to -!"
Natsu stomped on his brakes at the light, screeching his tires as he spun his steering wheel to turn the car on it's side. Lucy's side slammed to the door, her face smushed by the window as she muttered curses as they turned left and into a new street, then creeping another sharp turn to the right to enter the alley Lucy was speaking of. With that force, Lucy nearly slipped out of her seat belt and landed on Natsu, yet it didn't stop him from his driving.
"Sorry 'bout that, Luce!" Natsu apologized, yet made no move to push her off, keeping both hands on the wheel. "If I knew I was havin' a passenger, I would've replaced the belts with something more suitable."
Forcing herself to get off, Lucy's arm brushed the knob of the radio station, overhearing the voices of Erza and Gray conversing. "Oi! Where are ya guys?" Natsu said in a cheerful tone.
"Natsu? Where did you go?" Erza asked with genuine surprise in her voice, making Lucy think at how motherly she sounds. "We saw you turn."
"The fuck you goin', tabasco sauce?" Gray shouted at him. "Ya scared of Juvia and Gajeel throwing shit at ya?"
"I ain't scared of your girlfriend, Gray!" Natsu growled back, swerving around the alley and coming to an opened parking lot, where a ramp stood open for him to go, but Natsu stopped his car. "Shit!"
"Juvia's not my - ! What now?" Gray blabbed loudly, and Lucy watched and followed Natsu's peek over the dash. "You crash, or something?"
"No, man, there's spikes! Bigass ones blocking the ramp!" Natsu fumed and slapped his palms on the wheel.
"Most likely Gajeel's spikes," Erza suggested. "Just turn around and go back, Natsu."
"But that'd put be in last place!" Natsu cried, slapping his forehead on his window. Lucy blinked and kept her stare on the spikes. "Where are ya guys, haaah?"
"I'm right behind Gajeel," Erza explained carefully. "I'm about twenty feet and we're about to enter the lot to the docks, and Gray is tied with Juvia behind me as of - Oh, wait."
"God damn it!" Gray howled in the distance, a faint noise of tires screeching in the back. "She pierced my car! When did she install a sphere in her backseat? No fair!"
"Juvia is in third now. You okay, Gray?"
"Drive over them, Natsu," Lucy said to him in a confident voice, ignoring Gray's rambles about how unfair it was and Erza stating that she was just doing her job. Silence took over, and Lucy simply sat back and looked to the driver with a cool demeanor. "You can drive over them. They're fake."
"Hah?" Natsu squeaked. "Are ya serious?"
"Your wheels are much more thicker," Lucy stated, crossing her arms. "The spikes there are made of plastic; they won't damage your wheels whatsoever."
"Natsu, who is that in the car with you?" Erza asked, being ignored overall.
Natsu didn't answer as he did as he was told by Lucy, driving over them and hearing little snaps of plastic breaking underneath as he drove over. Eyes widening, a weird, gurgling sound erupted from his throat as he hit the gas and sped up the ramp with full force.
"Natsu, are you even listening to me?" Erza spoke a bit louder out of the radio. "Who is in the car with you, Natsu?"
"Hahaha! You're a genius!" Natsu cheered brightly to Lucy, reaching the top and back into the street that remained empty, but sounds of cars could be heard. This caused the blonde woman to blush a little and look away. "Sorry, Erza, I'll see ya and ice princess in a bit!"
"Natsu, don't you -!" Erza's voice was shut when Natsu changed the dial to a hard rock song and turned up the volume, letting the vibrations spread throughout the car and making Lucy look back to him.
"We got this, Luce!" Natsu cheered and stomped of the gas, swerving around the empty street as he followed the mental map inside his head. Ahead of them, there was a leveled spot of the street came to a dead end, fenced off with simple wired fence. The docks were on the other side of the fence, where it would have been a little bit longer to the finish line.
Lucy blinked and looked to Natsu, who had a hard gaze set ahead. "Natsu…"
He kept up to the speed, no intentions of slowing down or stopping the car, which made her throat feel thick and her heart hammer in her chest. "Natsu, don't you even think about it."
"Hah, I dunno what'cha sayin'," his eyes hardened and a grin stretched across his face. Ohh, the little brat knew what she was saying!
"Natsu!"
"I've been through tougher material, this is nothing!" Natsu laughed brightly as he kept going, making Lucy whimper and cover her eyes with her hands.
However, she peeked through her fingers and watched how Natsu's hands tightened on the wheel as he broke through the wired fence and practically flew to the lower level ground, jerking around within the car. It took him a second to gain control of the wheel and keep on when he caught sight of the cars whizzing past them, then catching back onto the trail just as easily.
Lucy yelped when the glove box clattered on the landing and a few sharp items fell out, her legs curling up to the seat as she complained to the driver who only kept his sights ahead, where he caught sight of two cars. Slipping his right palm to the pad of the wheel, where tons of decorated buttons glowed in the dim light inside the car.
"You're crazy!" Lucy exhaled, and she swore to herself that she didn't laugh in delight of her adrenaline rush. The smile, though, was a lot tougher to hide from him. "You're an idiot!"
"That's why you're a genius, Luce!" Natsu chuckled cheerfully, jutting a thumb behind them before putting it back on the pad. "Take a look at where we are! Oh? Hey! That's Erza and Gajeel up there, Luce!"
Lucy dared to take a peek and see the remaining contestants' headlights blaring at them at top speed, making her jaw drop. "So...that means we're third?"
"Probably," Natsu grinned, flipping open a cover for a red button to light up. "Let's see if we can catch up to them."
"What?" Lucy sat back.
"Fuel is ready," a robotic voice erupted from the radio, stopping the music completely. "Please press the button to ignite."
"Ignite? Ignite what?" Lucy shivered.
"My secret weapon, Luce! Watch this!" the young man sang as he slammed his thumb on the button, an odd noise of what seemed like a click or pop triggered something under the hood and dash and a zipping through the whole car to the back...and then a rumble. "You should hang on to something!" he cooed in an excited voice, making Lucy flinch.
"To what?" she seethed.
She wasn't ready, but she did hang on to something. And that something just had to be Natsu, since he doesn't seem to be struggling to hold himself in place.
Both her arms and a leg wrapped around him, Lucy in no terms held back her scream as she felt her insides lift from the immense speed of the roller coaster. It blew her mind, her gut and probably Natsu's eardrums at the volume of her scream as time seemed to be in his control, and space did not matter anymore.
Her heart stilled, eyes relaxing as she slowly fell silent and watched in the rearview mirror of Natsu's expression. It stunned her, really, at how he looked. His dark eyes opened and focused with the determination of someone who has worked in his life; his jaw tight and the small sight of his upper teeth biting his lower lip as he gripped the wheel so tightly that his tanned hands bleached at the knuckles and joints of his fingers. Brows furrowed and shoulders hunched to the point that his muscles rippled under his skin, Lucy saw someone completely different from the guy who rolled down his window when she sat on the bus bench.
It seemed different for her now. Instead of fearing for her life and looking around at the true power and amazing feel of her heart becoming part of the car, too, Lucy could breathe fresh air. Air that wasn't like when you take a step outside…
Not the air of going away from polluted cities and into the countryside…
Not the scent of the beach, the smell of freshly cleaned laundry, flowers, baked sweets…
Lucy inhaled and exhaled, her nerves relaxing and all the troubles she previously thought were erased as she tasted the air with a soft breath. Blinking, Lucy unconsciously rest her head on top of Natsu's hair, her eyes softening as they passed between the two cars with ease.
'It's like...when Mom was alive,' Lucy thought softly, changing her gaze to the sight of the crowd of people growing at each second she could conjure in her mind. 'When we use to run in the hallways back at the manor and pretend to race...'
Blame it on her senses being heightened by her adrenaline rush, or even herself going crazy, but Lucy swore that it smelled and felt like home.
"AND THE SALAMANDER HAS WON!"
Time reverted back to its place, bringing Lucy's attention to the present as she realized that Natsu's car slowed down to a stop. Slipping back to her seat, Lucy looked out of the tinted window to see Jason screaming into the megaphone with wide eyes; people crowding around the car, slamming their hands onto the car and windows and cheering at the top of their lungs as everything came together.
"Oh...you won, Natsu," Lucy spoke quietly. "Do you go by Sand Blaster..? No, it's Salamander, right? It's like the lizard! Ohh, they're kinda creepy, but cute at the same time!" Lucy laughed lightly at the little memory of seeing them in a book and thinking at how adorable and silly they looked. "Is that really your...street name..? Natsu, you okay?"
Her driver - Wait, the driver, had his hands hovering above the wheel, where they had only moments ago held on for dear life. His face, too, looked to be more in shock and utter disbelief as he stared at his hands. Jaw dropped and cheek twitching, Natsu shakingly turned his head to look at Lucy.
"Natsu, what's wrong? You look like you're going to pop," Lucy blinked and leaned away from him. "Did I hold on too tight? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
He said something then, but Lucy couldn't hear a single word he said. She leaned her head to him, trying to hear a bit better. "What did you say? Speak up a little, Natsu…"
"I won…?" he whispered, but she could hear it this time. Barely, but still, she could hear him a lot better. "I won? Did I just win the race?"
"Uhm, yeah, you did," she nodded to him, now just as confused as he is.
Natsu's head turned back, blinking a few times and Lucy swore that tears were starting. "I can't believe it…"
"What's wrong?"
"I won…" Natsu smiled, his eyes shiny with a little shake of a giggle in the back of his throat. "I won my first race."
"Huh?" Lucy blinked. "What do you mean by that? I thought you raced a lot before tonight!"
"Yeah, but...this is my first race that I've actually won, or even placed as top three, Lucy!" he said softly, his brows creasing and frowning for a second. A dry laugh barked out of his mouth as he suddenly grinned even bigger than before. Dark eyes snapped to Lucy, bright and cheerful, like a child.
Kinda like when Lucy was a kid, and it made her chest tighten on the inside.
Their eyes held, and Lucy could feel the excitement on the outside. But, inside the car, just the two of them was much more quiet and calm. Still feeling the joy, but this was much more different to Lucy.
"I won my first race," he exhaled. "I won because of you! I officially recruit you to Fairy Tail, Lucy!"
Wait, what?
.
.
.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - I never really wrote about races before, but this was very fun to write nonetheless. If you enjoyed this chapter, please feel free to Review, Follow or Favorite. Any of the sort motivates me to keep working.
Be happy and healthy, babehz c: I love you all!