Lucy sighed, listening to the clinking and occasional crash coming from the kitchen. He had insisted he make them something to eat, even though it was nearing one in the morning. She was tired, but she felt as though she couldn't turn down his offer when he looked so hopeful that she would agree.
Adjusting the bag of frozen peas on her throat, brown eyes scanned the spacious living room. While large, it still held a cozy atmosphere. A large beige couch lined the wall in front of the bay window, the love seat against the wall directly in front of it. An older looking flat screen TV was mounted on the wall above a fireplace, and several soft rugs covered a good portion of the hardwood flooring.
What really drew her attention were the picture frames placed face down on the stone ledge above the fireplace. Part of her wanted to go and take a peak, but knowing that Natsu could walk back in at any minute kept her sitting on the couch. She knew there must be a reason for them to be that way, and the writer in her was dying to know the back story. The other part of her knew it was most likely a personal reason, and she respected Natsu enough not to intrude.
The man had saved her, risking himself in the process, when he didn't even know her. Cared enough about her, a complete stranger, to offer a place to sleep and food to eat.
No, she wouldn't intrude.
She owed him that much.
But still, she couldn't help but be curious.
Forcing her eyes to scan everything but the picture frames, Lucy wondered if it was only Natsu that lived in the home. It was large enough, from what she'd seen, to house at least a family of five. It seemed odd that he would live in such a large place alone, with much more space than he really needed.
Her mind was abuzz with questions and it really wasn't helping how exhausted she was.
Grimacing, she closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead when it gave a dull ache, knowing that if she didn't get some sleep soon she'd more than likely would wake up with a headache.
Lost in her thoughts, eyes still closed, she jolted when Natsu's voice sounded much closer than the kitchen.
"I didn't have much, but I was able to throw together some spaghetti. It's just store bought sauce. I hope that's ok."
Brown eyes honed in on the two heaping plates of noodles as he set them down on the coffee table in front of her, and her stomach growled. Loudly.
Pink dusted her cheeks and she placed a hand against her abdomen, as though the touch alone would silence it.
A fork was thrust her way and she plucked it from his fingers, avoiding eye contact in embarrassment.
Natsu only chuckled good-naturedly and took a massive fork full of his own pasta.
She watched with wide eyes as he barely chewed before swallowing loudly. "Dig in before it gets cold."
As he inhaled his food, she ate hers at a more subdued pace. The only sounds in the room where the ticking of an antique looking clock on the wall and their forks occasionally scraping against their plates.
It wasn't the best pasta she'd ever had, store bought had never been her favorite, but it was sustenance. She had nothing to complain about, aside from the way her bruised throat ached whenever she swallowed.
The pink haired man finished well before she did and left the room with a haste "Be right back."
Lucy had just swallowed her last bite when he reentered the room, a bottle filled with an amber liquid in one hand, plastic cups in the other, and a two liter of cola tucked under his arms.
He grinned at her when she raised her brow inquisitively, her head tilted to the side.
Natsu set everything down and began filling their cups. "I figured that after everything that happened tonight, a few drinks is just what the doctor ordered."
Realistically she knew that drinking with a complete stranger, and already suffering from lack of sleep, was not the best idea.
But Natsu hadn't given her any reason to not trust him, and she was still feeling rather wound up from the night's events.
With the shrug, she took the cup when he handed it to her, taking a large sip.
}{}{}{
Natsu was regretting giving his new friend alcohol about a half an hour later.
After the first sip, she must have realized how badly she'd needed a drink and proceeded to chug the rest. And the one after that.
Now, she was leaning back against the couch, talking his ear off about the pros and cons of instant coffee.
It was a tad annoying, and maybe it was the nice buzz he was feeling, but it was sort of amusing listening to her.
His favorite con had been: It's fucking disgusting and smells weird.
The pinkette's musings were cut short by a sniffle. His head snapped up to search her face, wondering when it had gone silent. He noticed a tear silently streaming down her face.
"Hey, why are you crying?" He asked gently, brows furrowing.
She jolted, as if she'd forgotten she wasn't alone, and red rimmed chocolate eyes met his.
"I'm not crying." She muttered with a slight slur, even as she wiped her cheeks, more tears replacing them instantly .
Natsu snorted softly, shaking his head.
"Well, I'm pretty sure eyes don't just leak like that for no reason."
She sniffles again, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her hoodie that she'd put on at some point in the night.
"Well I'm pretty sure you're mistaken." She says stubbornly while sitting up, glaring at him, yet there is no heat behind it. "Because I'm not crying."
Lucy takes the bottle and takes a healthy gulp, and he has to stifle laughter when she sputters and coughs from the taste.
As she recovers, he pours another drink for himself and gets more comfortable.
It's an odd feeling, having someone else in the house with him after going so long only having himself for company.
He'd thought of selling the house and getting a smaller place, but pitched the idea the moment it crossed his mind. There may be some awful memories here, but there were also great ones. Natsu didn't have the heart to get rid of the place he grew up in.
But while he had an attachment to his childhood home, the urge to leave this town constantly gnawed at him.
He wanted to get away from all of the heart-wrenching memories, all of the whispers people thought he couldn't hear, and all of the things he could no longer do because people thought he was some sort of monster.
Yeah, he needed to leave this place, even if that meant leaving the good memories behind as well. It was lonely, he was lonely, never having anyone to even just talk to.
With a heavy sigh, he downed his drink, closing his eyes as the liquid created a path of warmth from his throat to his chest, making a home there.
"You know, it's really hard trying to do something you know you might not survive."
Her slurred words snapped his eyes open wide as they registered in his mind.
"What do you mean?" He asked, a cautious edge in his tone.
Her eyes closed and she ran a hand through her messy golden locks, fiddling with the ends.
"There are certain things out there in the world that most people don't know about. People that are capable of doing either great or terrible things. I was told if I tried to run, I probably wouldn't make it. Tonight was an example. If you hadn't been there, I might not have been able to get myself out of that mess." Lucy turned her face away from him, as though her closed lids weren't enough to shield herself from his gaze. "And who knows if I will next time. Because there will be a next time. There always is."
Natsu doesn't know what to say. Words attempt to leave his mouth, but they tangle on his tongue.
He was confused, and had so many questions.
Why was she running and from where? Was she saying she would be attacked again? Were people after her? Did she get into some kind of trouble? What the hell did she do?
Before he could even attempt to respond, the blonde laid sideways on the couch and closed her eyes, nuzzling her face into one of the decorative pillows.
"Mm. Night." She slurred drowsily, before falling quiet.
Natsu just sat there, gaping at her.
"Lucy?" He asked quietly, leaning forward in his seat to poke her shoulder.
She didn't budge, her only movement being the rising and falling of her chest with her even breathing.
Incredulous, Natsu slumped back in his chair.
"You can't just say something like that and pass out!" He grumbled at the sleeping woman in front of him.
He knew, even with the alcohol in his system, that it would keep him up tonight. He'd thought that his only worry would've been her falling asleep at the wheel, but now all he could think of was her being attacked again. If it happened again, like she said it would, he wouldn't be there to save her this time.
What if she died?
His blood ran cold at the thought.
If only he could just go with her…
Bursting from his seat, his knee smashed into the coffee table but he didn't let it slow him down. He threw one last glance at the blonde on the couch, before limping to her purse and snatching her keys.
He didn't stop to think about how creepy he was being, instead limping up the stairs to his room.
There was a lot he needed to pack.
}{}{}{
"You're what?!"
Natsu grinned, leaning back against the passenger side door and running a hand through his disheveled pink locks. "I said I'm coming with ya, weirdo."
Lucy sputtered at him, eyes wide, and irritation making her pale cheeks flush crimson.
"You can't just decide to come with a stranger on a really long road trip, steal her keys, and pack all your shit in her car while she's asleep!" She practically shrieked, stomping her foot on the paved ground.
"Well, I kind of already did." He said, laughing nervously.
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as her glare sharpened dangerously.
"Are you insane? Why would you do that!" She seethed, unaware that a few of his neighbors were starting to watch the scene from their windows.
Ignoring them as best as he could, he gave her the most serious face he could muster. "I don't know how much of last night you remember, but you told me that you didn't think you would survive the trip and that you'd get attacked again. I can't just sit here and go on with my life like that's ok with me, because it's not. It will drive me insane not knowing if you made it or if you got hurt because I wasn't there." His shoulders slumped and he started fidgeting with the white scaled scarf around his neck. "Besides, there's nothing for me here anyway. There hasn't been for a long time."
The heat left her glare and her eyes softened at his admission, her arms coming to wrap around her midsection. "That can't be true."
Smiling sadly, he gestured around vaguely with his hands. "But it is. Everything changed once some shit went down with my family, and now that they're gone, this town looks at me like I'm unstable. Like I could just combust at any moment and become a danger to society. I'm hardly able to find work, much less keep a job for long. No one will hire me, and when they do they get shit for it so they fire me. Hell, certain stores won't even let me inside."
Slender arms wrapped around him and he jolted in surprise as her body crashed into his.
Before he could even react, he was surprised even further by the sound of her sniffling into his chest.
"That's awful. How could they be so cruel to you like that?" She asked, voice muffled by his shirt.
He lifted his arms and wrapped them awkwardly around her, unsure of where to place his hands.
But he soon found himself melting into the embrace. He couldn't really help it. It had been so long since someone had hugged him, he couldn't even remember the last time. Natsu hadn't realized how badly he'd missed such a simple action.
The embrace was over before he was ready to let go, but he forced himself to remove his arms when she took a small step back. Wiping her eyes, she gave him a soft smile. "What about your house and the rest of your stuff?"
He shrugged, gazing up at the home that held such conflicting memories. "I locked everything up and armed the security system. It should be fine. I'll figure out what to do with it whenever we get to our destination."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her gaze up at the house as well, the wind making her long hair sway from her ponytail.
Suddenly, she twisted around to look at him with a look of fierce determination.
"Alright! If we want to make some good distance today, we better hit the road."
Natsu couldn't help but smile brightly at her enthusiasm. "I'm all fired up!"
Her brow quirked up. "What does that even mean?"
Sticking his tongue out at her in a childish manner, he started ushering her to the car. "It means whatever I want it to mean!"
Sliding into the drivers seat after he'd opened the door for her she grinned up at him, mirth dancing in her eyes.
"That doesn't even make sense!"
Cackling and feeling giddy about the whole situation, he jogged over to his side and hopped in.
"It makes perfect sense!" He declared, taking a final glance at his childhood home as Lucy started the car and began backing out of the driveway.
"Whatever you say, Natsu." She giggled, shaking her head.
As soon as she was on the road, she sped off.
And he didn't even look back.
Sorry for the long wait! I'm trying to write whenever I have a spare moment, but those are hard to come by lately. We are currently in the process of buying a home! So, if everything goes according to plan, we will start moving in at the end of next month.
Uhg. We've been going back and forth between staying with my parents and my in-laws. The kids are acting out because of all the change and I'm a big ball of stress. Fun times.
Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter and I'll see you next time!
Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! They make my whole day.