The weeks sped by for Lucy, until she had all but forgotten about her trip to the pub. It was nearly time for graduation by the time she was reminded of Natsu again. It was on the last day of April when her father called her into his office. She hadn't seen him for days, his stressed yelling the only sign he was still in the house.
The thick oak door swung open at her knock, and she tentatively stepped inside. It was dangerous to be the first person her father interacts with after times like these, but he had never completely snapped in front of Lucy. She hoped that wouldn't change. "Father?" Lucy whispered, scared she would spook him. He was sitting at his desk, trying to stare a hole into a letter sitting on his desk. Her murmur sent his head shooting up, dull brown eyes focusing on her. A strained smile formed on his face.
"Lucy, honey. I'm sorry to call you in here at such a late hour." Lucy figured she shouldn't mention it was almost noon, and nodded. "Do you remember the place I sent you a few months back? The pub?"
A few fleeting images ran through Lucy's head: screaming drunkards, a body flying through a window, a quiet walk home with a tall boy with scars. "Yeah, vaguely. What about it?" Dread and excitement battled within her at the prospect of being able to see that boy again. Her father hummed distractedly, and she knew he didn't hear her answer. "The owner seems to finally be cracking. He sent me this letter…—"
Lucy tuned him out, knowing that he could go on for hours, whether she paid attention or not. She didn't care one bit about his business empire. 'Three months, then I can leave,' she chanted in her mind. 'That's it. Just three months.' The drone of her father's voice was replaced by silence, and she quickly focused back on him. He had an expectant look on his face. 'Not good,' she thought, panicked. She quirked an eyebrow, hoping it would be an appropriate response to whatever he had said.
From his sigh, she assumed it was. "Look, I know you've already gone, but I just need you to go and give the owner this envelope. It won't take more than an hour, tops." He slid a sealed envelope across the table, and she picked it up, bored. "Tell him the time is up to him." She nodded and excused herself, going back to her room to get dressed. 'It's a good thing it's a Saturday, because he would've made me go, school or no.'
Lucy plucked at her tank top's strap distractedly, matching an imaginary beat as it thumped against her collarbone. She had chosen to lean against the wall in a corner, half-watching the fights. She didn't see Natsu anywhere, and she wasn't sure if the disappointment she felt was from her lack of entertainment or the fact that she wouldn't see him. She tapped the envelope against her leg, just as one of the fighters landed a punch to his opponent's jaw.
"That guy sucks," a voice stated, startling Lucy so much she jumped. She swiveled her head to meet dark eyes shining with amusement. Trying to still her trembling pulse, she glared at him and hit his shoulder with her fist. His eyes flicked down to her tiny fist on his arm, smiling even bigger. "So do you."
Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "You scared me!" She looked back at the ring, and saw the same guy getting hit again in the chest. "You're right about that guy, at least. He can't land a single punch." Jaw, arm, thigh. 'This guy's getting creamed,' she thought, pitying the boy.
Natsu's chuckle caught her off guard. "No, not the kid. He's gonna win it with one hit."
Lucy quirked her eyebrow up, unsure if he was kidding. "Uh, what? Look at him, he's getting—" She turned back to see the bruised, beaten kid crush his attacker's wrist and fling him out of the ring. The swarm of drunks cheered, sloshing alcohol all over each other. She grimaced before looking back at Natsu in amazement. "What just…" 'How did he do that?' "That guy must have an impressive pain tolerance." Lucy mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant about the fact there was a man with a broken wrist writhing around on the ground, laughing.
She heard Natsu laugh beside her again, and she decided she liked how he looked when he laughed: it made him look cuter. "No way. I think you punched me harder than that guy could've, and you're pretty weak." He laughed again, and Lucy made another decision. She wanted to punch him in his insanely cute face.
A voice, that Lucy assumed to be the announcer, yelled so loud she thought her ears would bleed. "—vs. the one, the only…Salamander!" Lucy watched as Natsu shoved himself up off the wall beside her, popping his knuckles and smiling. Without being fully aware of what she was doing, she reached out and grabbed his arm, like that night so many weeks ago. Curiously, he tilted his head back to look at her, expectant.
"You can't seriously be thinking of going out there," she asked, feeling something like fear for him. "That guy crushed his wrist in one go! You'll get hurt!"
Natsu had frozen, and something flickered in his dark eyes, before the same easy amusement graced his features. "I'll be right back." He gently shook her hand off and took off his T-shirt, tossing it on the floor. Against her will Lucy traced the contours of his body with her eyes, drinking in the toned muscles. She retreated back into her dark corner after grabbing his shirt to watch. His opponent was jumping up and down excitedly, darting back and forth like he'd had 6 shots of espresso.
"This could be it for our Salamander, folks!" The booing that followed was deafening., and the announcer laughed as if he hadn't heard it. Lucy looked over at Natsu, who was all easy confidence as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Next to the hyper kid, though, he was completely still. Lucy noticed how he was favoring his left ankle, and that his forearms and knuckles were swollen. She tightened her grasp on his T-shirt, and caught herself.
Why was she so worried for him? She didn't even know this boy, and here she was fearing for his safety. He was a street fighter, and a dangerous one from what she could tell. He had kidnapped her and ran nearly a mile with her on his back without breaking a sweat, yet here she was, preparing to watch him get pummeled by a kid who couldn't be older than fifteen.
A bell dinged, pulling her focus back to Natsu, and she made a decision. She would stay friends with Natsu until her father's transaction forced the pub to close down. Then she could graduate and leave him and her father and everything else associated with the Heartfilia name behind to live her own life.