Evading Destiny Chapter 3
Lucy stood, shocked, as Natsu kicked in the door to the building and hollered out that he was home. Did he really just do that? How would everyone react? Did he do this often?!
Natsu turned to look at Lucy with a smile, having gained everyone in the building's attention, only to find her just staring at him in horror.
"Why'd you kick in the door?" she hissed at him as she glared. "Isn't that going to make a bad impression that I let you do it?" Natsu was utterly bewildered with the blonde.
"What are you talking about, you weirdo?" Natsu said, scratching his head curiously. "No one cares what you do. Now come on and meet everyone!" and with that, Natsu grabbed Lucy by her upper arm and pulled her fully into the building. People had been walking up to greet Natsu with smiles on their faces, but as Lucy stumbled in, Natsu standing behind her with a huge grin on his face, they stopped and their happy expressions changed to confused ones.
In an attempt to break the ice, Lucy smiled nervously and said, "Hi, everyone! My name is Lucy! It's so great to meet you all!"
The silence seemed to just stretch on as the Fairy Tail members stared the blonde down. Feeling highly uncomfortable that no one did anything after her introduction, she turned back to Natsu with a questioning look, reaching out to grab his hand in a silent plea for help. The silence that had been so deafening and uncomfortable suddenly collapsed as several things happened at once.
"OH MY GOD NATSU BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!" several people around the room shrieked. One, a busty brunette who seemed to be drinking copious amounts of alcohol, quite literally fell off of the table she had been sitting on while another two, older men, one with an impressive mustache and the other with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, just gaped at the Lucy and Natsu. Another, a very small old man, also with an impressive mustache, seemed to have fainted from shock and an irritated looking man with blonde hair and a scar on his face was shaking him in an attempt to wake him up while a woman with long white hair squealed, fainted, and madly started murmuring about beautiful babies with pink hair and brown eyes. Lucy felt herself flushing as she realized just what the white haired girl was muttering about…
"NATSU IS MAN!" a true beast of a man with white hair roared while a woman with light brown hair and glasses sitting beside him hit him with a fan and started hissing at him to stop being an idiot.
"Hi Lucy!" a petite, blue haired girl said as she walked up to greet the pair. A menacing man with long black hair and copious piercings followed behind her with a black cat perched on his shoulder. He was eyeing Lucy in what she thought was an attempt to size her up. She squared her shoulders and looked him boldly in the eye. "I'm Levy!"
Lucy turned back to Levy and smiled, genuinely ecstatic about being greeted so enthusiastically. Levy was the first person to approach Lucy in a friendly manner besides Natsu while the others were all still staring at her.
"You'll like Levy!" Natsu said, smiling at Lucy, "She's a lot like you, I think!"
"Oh my god do you like to read?!" Levy asked excitedly. When Lucy nodded with a large grin on her face, Levy squealed and jumped up and down while clapping her hands. "That's awesome, Lu! Do you mind if I call you Lu?" Levy asked nervously. With a bubbly laugh, Lucy nodded her affirmation. She was sure she had just made her first girl friend at Fairy Tail!
"I'm Gajeel," the pierced man grunted before he gestured to the cat on his shoulder, "And this is Lily."
"Panther Lily is my full name but please call me just Lily," the black cat said in a surprisingly deep voice, crossing his little arms across his chest. Lucy smiled as she told them it was nice to meet the both of them, right before she was barreled over by a blur of blue fur, landing in a heap with the thing cradled to her chest.
"You smell really nice!" the blue thing said to her. Lucy, recovering from being knocked over, stared down at the blue cat in her arms. It has wings, Lucy thought bemusedly as she ran a hand down the small creature's spine. It poked its head up and grinned at her and she saw that it was a cat. This must be the cat Natsu was telling her about!
"Are you Happy?" Lucy asked as she scratched the thing behind its ears. It grinned at her and nodded and she smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Happy!"
"I like her, Natsu! She's squishy and fat!" Happy cried, soaring up to land on Natsu's head. Lucy's eye twitched as she registered Happy had called her fat.
"I'm not fat, you stupid cat!" she yelled, shaking her fist at Happy. Happy wailed that she was going to eat him, and feeling mischievous, she let a hint of fang show in her devious smile. Not that she would really eat the little blue cat; cats weren't really part of her…diet. But it was fun to pretend for half a second and see his eyes widen in horror.
"I TAKE IT BACK, NATSU!" Happy shrieked while an adorable white cat held in a blue haired little girl's arms shook her head in disgust. Lucy's eye twitched as she realized the crowd around them was growing larger with every moment. "MAKE HER GO AWAY!"
"Why you little…" Lucy began, stepping forward to beat the snot out of the stupid flying cat, but Natsu beat her to it.
"Don't be mean, Happy!" he scolded the blue cat, glaring at him, which was quite a feat since Happy was still seated on Natsu's head, "Luce's nice! I like her and I say she's staying!" Lucy felt her heart flutter at that at the same time she heard the same white-haired girl from before shriek something about pet names before passing out again, a blissful smile upon her face, while another white-haired girl, this time with very short hair, patted her face and said, "Oh Mira…" Lucy figured they were probably siblings; the one with short hair looked almost like an exact copy of the one with long hair.
"Natsu I don't think that's your decision," Lucy said quietly, staring nervously around them. For a minute there, it had been kind of easy to forget where they were. It had just been so easy to love on Happy and then his teasing…it all felt so natural to Lucy.
"If anyone of them thinks you're not here to stay they can discuss it with me," Natsu said, his tone very final, as he cracked his knuckles and wrapped an arm around Lucy's waist.
"I'm Wendy," the little girl with blue hair said with a shy smile, effectively ignoring Natsu's comment and the looks the mob around them were sharing. "And this is Carla," she added, lifting the cat in her arms slightly while the thing huffed and turned her face away from Lucy. Okay… Lucy thought at Carla's actions, but smiled at Wendy nonetheless.
"It's nice to meet you, Wendy," Lucy said warmly, reaching out to grasp the girl's proffered hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet all of you!" the blonde added as she stared around at the people gathered. With Lucy's exclamation, the crowd around them dispersed after people introduced themselves. Lucy discovered that the man with the cigar was named Wakaba, the man with him was Macao, an adorable young boy who looked a lot like Macao was his son Romeo, the woman drinking was Cana, Mira was the one who kept fainting, Laxus was the scarred man with blonde hair, Lisanna was Mira's younger sister and the girl with short white hair, Elfman was Mira and Lisanna's brother and the beast of a man who liked to shout about things being manly, Freed was a green haired gentleman who seemed to wait on Laxus hand and foot, Evergreen was Elfman's companion, the one who kept hitting him, Bickslow was a crazy armored guy who shouted things about Lucy being a cosplayer (whatever that meant…), and Makarov was the short, old man who had initially fainted and apparently was Master of Fairy Tail. He was also the one who approved that Lucy become a member, something she couldn't believe after only a few minutes of knowing these people. And apparently Lucy had not even met all of the members of Fairy Tail. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Lucy escaped the scrutiny of Wakaba and Macao and made her way over to the bar while Natsu began a fight, something he apparently did quite regularly since no one so much as batted an eye at it. Levy followed Lucy, chattering excitedly about how much she was going to love Fairy Tail.
"So Lucy," Mira said with a sweet smile from behind the bar, "How did you and Natsu meet, then?"
Lucy was about to answer when someone crashed into the bar beside her. Startled, she looked to see if the person was injured, only to see much more of the person than she ever would have wanted to. The man who had flown into the bar was someone she had not yet met and must have snuck in while the fight was going on and was quite handsome with his dark hair and eyes, but what Lucy really noticed about him was the fact that he was stark naked. A flush rose on her cheeks as she very quickly averted her eyes as he stood.
"That was a cheap shot, Natsu!" the man yelled, about to go back in the fray, when he noticed Lucy. "Hey. You're new here," he said curiously, eyeing Lucy like she was a fascinating science experiment.
"I'm Lucy," she managed to squeak, keeping her eyes firmly on his. He grinned charmingly at her as he went to extend a hand for her to shake.
"Gray," Mira said with a giggle, "Your clothes."
"Holy shit! When did that happen?" Gray yelled in surprise, looking down at himself like he couldn't believe he was suddenly naked in the middle of Fairy Tail. Lucy's blush deepened as he turned to her and asked if he could borrow her underwear, without an ounce of embarrassment. Before she could do anything more, though, suddenly Natsu was there, smashing his fist into Gray's face and sending him flying back into the fight.
"Don't you be doing anything to Luce, you pervert!" Natsu roared as he jumped back into the brawl with a maniacal grin on his face. Lucy just shook her head, wondering what kind of family she was entering, but finding herself excited to discover it all the same.
Mira giggled again as Lisanna sat down in the spot Gray had been standing in with a smile. Lucy smiled back at Lisanna as the four women, she, Mira, Levy, and Lisanna, began to talk about various books they had read and shopping they liked to do. Lucy already found herself falling in love with the people of Fairy Tail and, when offered, she excitedly told Mira she would love to fully become a member and get a tattoo that showed it. A slight sense of trepidation overtook her heart when Mira came back with a giant stamp, apparently that would give her the tattoo, but she pushed it down and chose the color and placement for the mark without hesitation. Pink, and on her right hand, front and center. Once the mark was on her skin, Lucy stared at it in wonder while the girls around her gushed about how beautiful it was and they couldn't wait to start working with Lucy.
Lucy was just about to turn to show Natsu her new tattoo when a very intimidating looking woman with fiery red hair blocked her line of vision. Lucy gulped as she looked up and met the woman's eyes.
"Who is this?" the newcomer asked with an arched brow as her blue haired companion with a vibrant red tattoo on his face sighed at her rather menacing tone as he stood next to her.
"Erza this is Lucy, Lucy this is Erza," Mira said, introducing the two women with a smile. "Lucy just joined Fairy Tail. Oh and this is Jellal," Mira said with a giggle, gesturing towards the blue haired man, "He and Erza are…"
"That's enough, Mira," Jellal interrupted tiredly, "I'm sure Lucy has other things to worry about besides Erza and myself." Lucy wondered why Jellal had stopped Mira from talking, but from one look at the blush on Erza's face, she figured it out. The two must like each other. She giggled at the thought.
"It's nice to meet you, Lucy. I hope you like being here at Fairy Tail," Erza said solemnly once her cheeks stopped trying to rival the color of her hair, "and that we can become great friends."
"I'm sure I'll love it here! And that would be great, Erza!" Lucy told her with a genuine smile. The red haired maiden then gave Lucy a dazzling smile that made Lucy wonder how it was possible for Fairy Tail to have so many ridiculously gorgeous women. She had to restrain herself from giggling again when she noticed Jellal looking at Erza with an awestruck expression before he schooled his features and excused himself to a far-flung corner of the room, although Lucy noticed he never once took his eyes off Erza.
Erza decided to join the other women who then decided to move to a table instead of the bar so they could all talk. As they did so, another blue haired girl joined them, a woman named Juvia who liked to speak in the third person, Cana, Wendy and Carla also joined them once everyone was seated. In no time at all, they all fell into easy conversation, laughing and enjoying one another's company while Natsu riled up the entire male population and then proceeded to fight every single one of them. Lucy was surprised, though, when Erza finally stood up and put an end to the fight while waving a sword she had apparently summoned out of nowhere. She shuddered to think about what kind of supernatural Erza must be and didn't feel ashamed about it, even though she was a vampire.
Natsu, having been thoroughly threatened by Erza to knock his ridiculousness off, went to join Lucy only to find her surrounded by the other women of Fairy Tail. He felt a twinge of jealousy that they were monopolizing the blonde's time and figured he should remedy the situation while Happy flew over to try and monopolize Carla's time. With a trickster's smile upon his face, Natsu plopped down on the bench beside Lucy before wrapping his arms around her and dragging her into his lap, red faced and spluttering about being completely capable of sitting by herself. He decided to ignore her and just wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, trapped her legs between his, and rested his chin on her head before he inhaled deeply. Lucy smelled unlike anyone he had ever met. She smelled like strawberries and chocolate and just an undercurrent of copper, but he figured that was because of what kind of supernatural she was.
Lucy couldn't believe Natsu had just dragged her into his lap without so much as a word and felt her face heating to a level that she was sure would outshine Erza's hair at the smiles on the other women's faces. Was it possible to die of embarrassment? Lucy wasn't sure but she was pretty sure Natsu was going to see if she could… What was the idiot thinking, anyway? Why would he drag her into his lap like this? They just met! Was he always this affectionate?
"So Lucy…" Mira trilled, her tone suggesting she was about to go down a road Lucy really didn't want to explore, before she was interrupted by Gajeel, who had chosen that exact moment to plop down on the bench beside Levy, causing the petite girl to blush at the proximity but smile nonetheless.
"You look about as intimidating as a bunny," Gajeel said with a snicker as he looked Lucy over, "It's no wonder you let Natsu wrap you up like that. Are you even a supernatural?" Lucy felt her blood heating at Gajeel's insinuation. He couldn't possibly be saying she wasn't strong enough to fend off Natsu, was he? Why would he even care? Did they all care if she was a supernatural or not? No one else had brought it up.
Just as she was about to furiously open her mouth and tell Gajeel off, Natsu beat her to it, shooting the dark haired man a ferocious glare.
"Lucy is intimidating! She's a damn vampire, you idiot! Or have you lost your sense of smell, with all that metal in your nose?" Natsu said with a vicious smirk at Gajeel's annoyed expression. Lucy's jaw dropped as she realized that Natsu had announced, to everyone, what kind of supernatural she was, and that she didn't know what anyone else was. Was this it, then? Would they reject her now? She waited with bated breath as she slowly closed her eyes and then opened them again.
"You're a vampire?" Levy asked curiously, tilting her head to the side while elbowing Gajeel in the ribs, hard enough to get him to shut up, "That's awesome! I'm a witch." Levy grinned at Lucy while she let out the breath she had been holding.
"I am a Valkyrie," Erza stated, her head held high as she summoned a sword out of nowhere, again, and began to run a finger over the blade as she eyed Gajeel intimidatingly.
"I'm technically a succubus," Mira said with a wink, "Although I have more forms than typical succubi and I can feed off of any kind of romantic energy." Lucy found herself not at all surprised that Mira was a succubus; it seemed to fit her fainting when she had first entered the guild.
"Changeling," Lisanna said with a smile.
"Juvia is a naiad," Juvia stated proudly, "Juvia controls water like other naiads but Juvia is more powerful than her sister naiads. Juvia's control over water mimics her dear Gray's power over ice and is another reason why she and her dear Gray are meant for one another! Juvia will drown any rivals who try to take her dear Gray from her!" Lucy gulped at Juvia's passionate, and kind of crazy, speech, but refrained from speaking. Hopefully Juvia would never think Lucy was a rival for Gray's affections. Sure the man was handsome, but the whole stripping thing she had been told about…well that was a bit much for Lucy.
"Gajeel, Natsu, Laxus, and I are all dragon shifters," Wendy said shyly. At that Lucy outright gaped. Dragon shifters? Weren't those supposed to be extinct?! Although it did explain Natsu's rather violent tendencies…
"I'm an oracle," Cana slurred, taking a deep drink from the tankard of alcohol in front of her. Lucy was having trouble comprehending all of the information being shared with her, but she figured she would eventually take it all in stride. After all, her friends back home were all legendary supernaturals, so this didn't really surprise her all that much.
Natsu grinned as he listened to his family all tell Lucy what kind of supernaturals they were. He had figured back in the car that Lucy was nervous about everyone finding out she was a vampire, but really he didn't understand it. There was nothing wrong with being a vampire and they didn't have any other vampires among their members, so Lucy was unique and Natsu thought that was awesome. He inhaled deeply again, taking in more of Lucy's intoxicating scent contentedly.
"You guys have quite a range of supernaturals here," Lucy said quietly after everyone who was seated with her told her their specification. She had never met quite so many different kinds of supernaturals outside of her friends back home and she found herself very excited about finding out more about them. She had grown up around vampires and her other friends and thought this was a great opportunity to learn.
"We do," Levy agreed with a wink, "Although we've never had a vampire. You're our first!" Lucy blushed as suddenly all eyes were on her again, especially when Cana blurted out a question about whether or not she really drank blood.
"Um…" Lucy said, unsure of how they would take her answer. She did drink blood; had to if she wanted to stay healthy, but it wasn't the only thing she could eat. She could eat regular food too, but if she didn't have any blood, she would eventually starve herself to death because regular food didn't have the appropriate nutrients. "I can eat real food, too," she muttered, snuggling in closer to Natsu in an attempt to disappear. This only made the dragon shifter smirk, not that Lucy could see, and tighten his grip yet again.
"So you do drink blood?" Erza asked, although, unlike Cana, she seemed truly curious, not morbid.
"Yes," Lucy admitted softly, letting her bangs fall forward to cover her eyes as she suddenly felt ashamed. None of the others before her needed extra sustenance, except maybe Mira, and drinking blood was one of those…things that made people uncomfortable.
"Do you need to drink directly from someone?" Mira asked, her face thoughtful as she placed a finger on her lips, "I don't have to be…involved to get my extra nutrition, I just have to feel other's feelings by being in close proximity. Can you have bagged blood? And does it have to be human or can you drink animal blood?"
"Mira is the bartender here at Fairy Tail," Lisanna whispered conspiratorially to Lucy with a wink. "She's asking, not to make you uncomfortable, but so that she can provide for you."
Lucy couldn't help the stinging sensation she felt behind her eyes. These people not only accepted her, but they wanted to make sure she stayed healthy. It was far more than she ever could have asked for and she was so grateful, even as she refused to let them see her cry.
"Um I do have to drink directly from a source and it does have to be human," Lucy confessed, refusing to let herself feel ashamed for it, though. She was a pureblood vampire; others, who were considered "made" vampires would be safe with bagged blood, but if she wanted to maintain her full strength, she had to drink direct and it had to be human.
"Hm…that may take me a little bit to work out, but I'm sure I'll figure out something!" Mira announced with a smile, even as people around the room began to leave, the sky beginning to lighten minutely. Lucy stifled a yawn even as she felt Natsu stiffen behind her. Curious, she turned to the man questioningly only to see him gritting his jaw.
Natsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mira was going to try and find someone for Lucy to feed from? What was wrong with feeding from him?
"Luce can feed from me," Natsu said with a growl. He wouldn't let her go without the blood she needed and he most certainly wouldn't let her feed from some random stranger… He shuddered as the thought of her lips on someone else, even for the purpose of feeding, filled him with revulsion. Her lips shouldn't be anywhere near anyone else, ever. He felt her gasp and try to turn to him, but he refused to let her go from the cage of his arms. He would do this for her.
The others around the table weren't nearly as surprised at Natsu's proclamation as the vampire in question. They all smiled knowingly while they watched Lucy's eyes droop, even as she fought to turn and look at Natsu fully.
"Natsu," Lucy murmured as she felt her body tiring quickly; she gave up on the whole feeding thing for now, but she knew she would be bringing it up to him again, "I need to go. I'm so tired…"
"Oh sorry, Luce," Natsu said, rubbing his cheek against her hair as she practically collapsed against his chest, "Vampires and sunlight don't really get along, huh?"
"S'not that…" Lucy muttered, turning fully, finally, to bury her face in the crook of his neck and breath in his delicious scent of smoke and burning wood, "Just get…sleepy…" With a colossal yawn, Lucy fell asleep against Natsu's shoulder, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck and her legs draped across his hips. With a smirk, Natsu placed his hands under her thighs and cradled her to him as he stood.
"We'll see you guys tomorrow," Natsu said, waving at his friends as he made his way out of the building, "I've gotta take Luce home now. Come on, Happy!" With an "Aye, sir!" Happy shot off after Natsu, giggling at the sleeping blonde in his best friend's arms while the remaining members of Fairy Tail gaped after them.
"What the hell just happened?" Gray asked no one in particular as he stared, wide-eyed, at the door Natsu and Lucy had just exited, completely oblivious to the fact that Juvia was unabashedly staring at his naked body and drooling.
"Ooo just imagine the babies!" Mira giggled, hearts in her eyes and hands clasped to her chest while Laxus rolled his eyes at the succubus he loved. He could just see the matchmaking plans floating through her hopelessly romantic brain…that new chick, Lucy, wasn't going to know what hit her…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well this took much longer than I thought it would to get posted…sorry about that. I hope you all enjoy it, though! :) Fairy Tail does not belong to me; it belongs to Hiro Mashima. The only thing I own is the idea behind this story. ;)
