Chapter 4: A slap back to reality

Lucy rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric dreamily, unwilling to open her eyes just yet. She could afford to grant herself a few more sleepy moments, especially since it was so warm and comfortable, and… Wait a minute.

Her eyes snapped open and much to her horror, she realized her head was pressed against a broad male chest. Acting on instinct, the spirit mage bolted away as if she had been burned. Her heart race returned to normal however, as she saw her pink haired partner sleeping ever so peacefully beside her.

Before her mind even had the chance to question the fact of why the two of them were in the same bed, the events from last night dwelled upon her.

Natsu was her customer last night!

"We can share the bed, I don't mind"

Did she really say that? She felt blood rise to her cheeks at the memory, uncertain of why she was suddenly making a big deal out of something so simple.

The truth was, she really didn't mind at all. They had slept next to each other in the past, so why would it matter now? That was what she initially thought… But when he actually slipped beneath the sheets, right there beside her, she knew she wasn't going to be able to hide the wild blush that had captured her cheeks.

Natsu seemed to have been acting like his usual self, so why did she get so flustered about something so silly? Maybe it was this mission that got her so self cautious, or…

"Come here, I'll keep you warm." Remembering the fire mage saying that in an unusual, raspy voice made her heart skip a beat.

He was just being a good friend, offering her a simple favor like he would for any of their comrades. She felt utterly ridiculous for looking so deep into it, but then why where these unfamiliar, tingling sensations dancing inside her stomach at the thought of sleeping pressed against him?

"Hey." A low voice jerked her from her thoughts, and she titled her head to its source urgently.

"Oh! H-Hey!" She stuttered, mentally kicking herself for acting like some kind of a nervous idiot. This was Natsu, for crying out loud! Since when was she so anxious in front of her best friend? "Uhm, sooo… Did you sleep well?" She asked, desperate to open just about any subject, hoping it'd free her mind from these bizarre thoughts.

A long yawn escaped his lips. "Yeah, you?" The fire mage answered nonchalantly, rubbing the sleep from eyes tiredly.

"Uh, yeah…" The blonde replied thoughtfully, eyeing her relaxed partner and realizing how idiotic those new, wild ideas of hers actually were. He was acting normal, so why wouldn't she? She lowered herself down on the bed again, sighing. "So, what's your plan for today?"

The fire-mage turned to his side to face her, leaning on his elbow for support. "I guess I could try snooping around again." He replied, eyeing her from above. "I doubt it'll work, though."

"I'll try to find out more about that room you mentioned." She reasoned, though she had next to no idea how she'd go on about this new, mysterious clue. Who was she even going to ask, Fumiko? She almost laughed at the thought, remembering what the girls had told her about that wench earlier. Still, her new friends didn't seem too eager to discuss the mysteries behind this place either.

What she did know however, was that it'd take a lot more time to learn anything than Natsu was probably willing to agree on. She shifted her gaze back at him, unsure of how exactly to go on about this without causing yet another fight. "You uhm… Probably shouldn't come tonight."

He frowned down at her in confusion, leaning down slightly. He was suddenly so close, it made her insides slowly begin to act up again. "W-We'll talk tomorrow night." She stated, trying hard to focus on what she was saying rather than the fact that he was now almost hovering above her. "T-That'll give us time to actually find out something useful. "

A few moments of silence passed as his dark eyes motioned over her, making it suddenly difficult for the blonde to focus on anything but breathing. He glared down at her with an intense expression, before finally speaking. "You realize that's one more night you'll have to spend with some…"

"I know, Natsu." She interrupted him, figuring it was best to stop the conversation before it headed in that direction. "I'll be fine, just like last time."

"Even if you say that, I…" He started weakly, his voice low and tinged with concern. "I still hate it."

Lucy felt her face fall as she stared at his unusually soft expression. "I know." She whispered as she found herself lost in his gaze. The way he was looking at her made her want to melt away right there beneath him! Why was this happening to her?

Silence crawled as she waited for him to say something or at least move from their sudden intimate position.

Much to her shock, she found him suddenly leaning down towards her. Lucy let out a sharp breath and her cheeks suddenly felt incredibly hot. She knew his intent, but she simply couldn't believe her eyes.

Even so, her eyelids began to drop, slowly…

"MAI!" A loud, recognizable feminine voice came from the hallway, followed by a few knocks on the door. The two mages didn't get a proper chance to react, as the door opened, revealing Yuki who gasped in utter surprise. "Oh, I-I'm sorry!" She let out a nervous chuckle. "I was sure you were alone so I came to get you, uh…" She trailed off, but then decided it'd be better to leave it at that. She turned around urgently, mumbling another sorry as she shut the door behind her.

Before Lucy could even comprehend what had just happened, she felt Natsu slowly distance himself and sat up herself, letting out a long breath. She could practically feel his own confusion radiating as she tried to find the least awkward words to break the almost suffocating silence that lingered around them.

However, the dragon slayer was the first to speak. "I, uh… I should go." He mumbled out, not looking directly at her as he got off the bed.

"Uh, yeah…" She muttered, watching him put on his scarf as he walked towards the door. "Till tomorrow night, then." She offered a weak smile, as he turned to look at her again.

"Yeah." He replied quietly with an unreadable expression on his face, before disappearing behind the door, leaving her blushing and utterly confused, with those damn butterflies still fluttering inside her stomach.

Lucy stared at the basket of fruit in front of her silently, as her new friends chatted in the background. She would've gladly joined them in their usual gossip session, but the spirit mage wasn't sure if she'd be able to form a coherent sentence. Her mind was still too baffled by what had just happened in her room for her to manage to think about anything else.

"Sooo, Mai-chan…?" Rin broke her thoughts, poking her shoulder teasingly. "Who was the handsome hunk you entertained last night?"

"Huh?" Lucy blinked. Handsome hunk? Was she talking about Natsu?

"Gosh, I wish all of our customers were that good looking!" One of the girls exclaimed with a sigh, not giving the blonde a chance to properly react. Were these girls really going to talk about Natsu in front of her?

"You sure seemed to be enjoying yourselves when I stepped in…" Yuki teased, making the others giggle in amusement. Lucy could feel her cheeks growing warm again and wondered how much of this she could take before her face turned tomato red.

"Come on, spill it!" Rin urged her on, leaning closer. "How was he?"

"Uhm…" She breathed out, trying to collect her thoughts, but found it extremely challenging with all of them staring at her in such great anticipation. What was she supposed to say exactly? "He, uhm… He was…" She tried again, forcing her mind to dig deeper and find a believable answer fast. Then suddenly, it hit her. Why should it be so hard, anyway? She just had to tell them what they wanted to hear. "Honestly? He was amazing." She stated, her lips curving into a satisfied smirk.

The girls gasped in amusement, giggling happily to each other. Yuki grinned at her, giving her a light push in the shoulder. "Give us some deets!"

"Well…" These girls really are something else, aren't they? She thought with a nervous smile. She knew she'd just have to keep playing the part, but couldn't help but ask herself: what would Natsu be like? She felt her cheeks grow warmer at the thought.

"He was gentle, and sweet." She answered thoughtfully, imagining the dragon slayer in a way she never had before. "But it was hot and fierce, too." She added, remembering how passionate and determined he was in every other aspect. "It was perfect." She sighed, letting her mind slowly wander off...

"Wow, you sound like you're in love with this guy or something." Rin suddenly exclaimed, making the spirit mage almost choke on air in disbelief. Did she just say…?

"He sure left quite an impression, huh?" Yuki added teasingly, an amused smirk plastered on her face.

"I don't know about you guys, but… I wouldn't mind if he dropped by again!" One of the girls joked, earning sounds of approval from the others. And as her friends chuckled and continued their light chit-chatting, Lucy could only sit there in silence, with shades of pink still visible on her face, hoping this torture would end sooner than later.

This day had just started, but it had already gotten so bizarre, the blonde wasn't quite sure if she was still dreaming.

Realizing she needed something else to focus on fast, she decided to open a completely different, somewhat risky subject. "Hey, do you guys know what's in that room behind the bar?" She asked, gaining the girls attention again. "Fumiko's always creeping around there, but I've never seen anyone else enter."

The girls were immediately silenced by her statement, their expressions turning a bit too serious for the spirit-mage's liking. "Oh, that's…" Yuki started unsurely, her eyes motioning over the others, as if asking for approval to continue. "That's the owner's room."

Lucy raised her eyebrows at her reply, instantly remembering what Natsu had told her about the unusual scent coming from that room. "That's where the owner lives?"

"Yeah." Yuki nodded. "He never leaves that place."

"Look, you're better off not asking around about this guy." Rin told her earnestly, leaning towards her. "Just hope he doesn't ask for you."

"Every now and then he asks for a night with one of the girls and…" Yuki started, reading the puzzled expression on the blonde's face. "Well, we told you what happens to them…"

Lucy nodded wordlessly, deciding it'd probably be best to close the topic for the time being. She didn't want to force the girls into talking about something that could get them in trouble.

Well, more trouble than they were already in, anyway.

Still, everything she'd heard so far made absolute no sense to her at all. What in the world could have happened to the poor girls that ended up in the owner's room? And what could a weird scent only a dragon slayer could sniff out have to do with any of this?

It was almost as if… As if this owner person isn't even human…

"What to you think this is, a holiday inn?" A cold, all too familiar voice stopped her thought process, and the stellar mage turned to see the one person she was hoping to avoid. "Clean all of this up and start getting ready for tonight." Fumiko's sharp gray eyes motioned over them, and all the girls immediately obliged, not daring to say a word to their ferocious boss.

"A group of rail workers is in town for the night." She continued. "The place is going to be full, so you better step up your game, or else…" She didn't bother finishing her sentence, judging her point came across by the terrified looks she received.

Smirking to herself, she turned on her heel and headed back to the room they had talked about moments ago.

Lucy frowned as she stared at her leaving, before joining the others in washing up. She sighed heavily as she realized her analytic skills just had to wait to be put into action.

Another day in the brothel had officially begun.

Natsu might have gotten the best sleep in a while last night, but that certainly wasn't enough to get the dragon slayer into a particularly good mood.

As he tossed and turned in his tiny bed in Hingaro's potion shop, he just couldn't get one single, painfully distressing thought out of his mind.

Why the hell did I have to try to kiss her?

The fire-mage buried his head into the pillow with a heavy sigh. He felt chills rush down his spine as he remembered the moment he started leaning down towards her.

What in the world happened back there?

It was as if he was put under some kind of a spell; the sudden need to kiss her was so overwhelming, there was no way he could've managed to stop himself.

Damn it! He clenched his fists in utter frustration. Why did this have to happen? Why did he have to fall for her? Why couldn't it all just go back to the way it was, when he didn't have the need to hold her or kiss her every time he saw her? When he didn't spend all of his time thinking about her in a way he had never though about anyone before?

Natsu frowned at the most terrifying question his mind could bring up: Could their friendship survive this?

He couldn't be certain, but he thought it was pretty safe to say his bold action had freaked the living daylights out of her. She might not have tried to stop him, but he could tell she was uncomfortable during the awkward conversation they shared as he left. Could he blame her, though? It wasn't exactly her fault he started acting like a lunatic…

Natsu wouldn't dare even think about the possibility that she might return his feelings. There was no way she could ever want him the way he wanted her… Right?

The fire-mage shook his head at the ridiculous idea. He wouldn't let himself get caught up in wishful thinking. He had to at least preserve the little dignity he had left.

He let out another frustrated sigh as he flipped onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

This mission truly couldn't get any worse.

The blonde mage let out a long breath as she stepped out of the bath tub and quickly grabbed a towel to warm her wet body. As much as she detested the horrific place she was now working at, she had to admit, this bath was something she could get used to. It was all in white, luxurious and large and the best part was, she had it all to herself for the entire afternoon.

She ran her fingers through her damp blonde locks, enjoying these rare moments she had for herself. The spirit mage couldn't believe just how exhausting and mentally draining this mission turned out to be, considering it had next to no physical challenges so far. The constant acting and pretending, not to mention the fears of getting caught that were boiling inside her stomach continually… There was just too much at stake.

Still, the blonde would've been grateful if those were the only troubles she was facing. Blood rose to her cheeks as a particular memory flashed inside her mind…

Natsu almost kissed her! And the weirdest part was, if they hadn't been interrupted, she would've actually let him do it!

She wasn't an idiot. She knew she had started developing some sort of new, unfamiliar feelings towards the dragon slayer recently… But the only logical explanation was to accept them as a passing phase of physical attraction…

"Wow, you sound like you're in love with this guy or something."

The terrifying words echoed inside her head and Lucy bit her lip anxiously. In love…? With Natsu?

He was the best friend she'd ever made, the person who came into her life unexpectedly yet managed to change it forever, in the best way she could've ever imagined.

He was a bubbly, dense idiot, but he was also the bravest, most determined and loyal person she'd ever met. She knew he'd give his life to save her, and she also knew she'd do the same for him…

Could it be that the butterflies that tickled her stomach every time she was around him weren't there because of a simple, platonic crush like she had thought? Could it be that the perfect guy she had wished for for so long was right there beside her this whole time?

Her lips curved upwards as the somewhat frightening, yet undeniable truth became more and more obvious. That idiot…

Just then, a sharp metallic clang broke her thoughts. Something stirred inside her stomach as she heard footsteps slowly approaching her. "I-Is someone there?"

"You bet there is."

"Uh?" Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she heard a low, seemingly drunken male voice coming from the other side of the room. She swallowed hard, anxiously waiting for this mysterious figure to show, suddenly realizing the only thing she had on was a towel and there was no way she'd manage to get dressed in time before…

"Oh, look at you…" A short, bald man appeared in front of her, his dark eyes quickly motioning over her revealed skin. "You're a real cutie, aren't you?"

Lucy exhaled sharply, taking a few steps back, trying to find her voice. "I-I'm sorry sir, you're in the wrong room…"

"I don't think so…" He countered, his unfocused gaze never dropping from her exposed curves, making her skin crawl in anxiety. "I'm right where I want to be, girly…" He continued, slowly approaching her. "Come here…"

Lucy felt her bare back hit the cool wall tiles and realized she was trapped. Her first instinct was to grab her keys, but then it hit her.

Her eyes widened and she felt her whole body slowly go numb from head to toe as she remembered.

She had left her keys in her room.

"No, wait…"

"What's the problem…?" He trailed off, pressing his body against hers. "This is your job, isn't it?" He murmured against her neck line, his hands traveling down her sides, making the spirit mage tremble in disgust.

"Please…" She breathed out as she felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Her eyelids closed shut as she felt his hands grab her thighs firmly, sending shivers of terror down her spine. "Don't..."

"Listen up, you little slut…" He pushed her further against the wall, his voice growing louder and the vile expression on his face turned even darker. "If you keep this up, I'm gonna have to get real rough…"

The spirit mage let out a shaky breath, realizing this pervert's intentions were about to become reality if she didn't do something fast. Her mind raced as she desperately tried to figure out a way to save herself from the horror that was about to go down, but the truth was there was no way to physically overpower him, and without her magic…

She felt one of his arms travel to the curve of her breasts, and let out a sharp breath. Her mind was in a turmoil, unable to accept the fact that this was actually happening to her, yet terrified that it was getting more and more real by the second. Was it really going to end like this?

Suddenly, an image of a certain dragon slayer flashed before her eyes. Natsu…

"S-stop it!" She screamed out as one of his mischievous hands tried to slip underneath her towel.

"Be quiet."

"L-let me go…" She whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she squirming beneath him, her hands desperately trying to push him away. "Uh…"

"SAI!" A loud male voice suddenly echoed through the room. "Get your drunken ass back here, the boss is calling us…"

The man grunted angrily. "Can't you see I'm busy, you bastard?" He snapped back at his companion as the other man appeared in front of them.

"Leave it for tonight!" He replied frustratedly. "Come on, move it! Or do you want the boss going crazy again?"

"Damn it!" Sai growled out, finally pulling away from the spirit mage. Before he joined his companion, he turned to look at her one last time. "Don't think you've seen the last of me, girly." He smirked smugly, before finally disappearing from her sight.

Lucy swallowed pass the lump in her throat as she listened to their footsteps leaving the room, unaware that she had fallen to her knees. Tears kept pouring down her pale cheek as she tried to compose herself.

She buried her head into her knees, gripping her towel as the disturbing images came back to her in a flash, causing her skin to crawl in disgust.

The still rational part of her frazzled mind kept trying to convince her just how lucky she was that all of this ended up the way it did, but somehow, not even that could make her feel better.

The stellar mage would sit on the cool bathroom floor for hours, unable to rid herself of the memories of her worst nightmare coming true.

To be continued….

A/N: There are two things I need to apologize for! First, for the fact that I took ages to update this time. I'm REALLY SORRY! I won't bore you with excuses; I can only promise I'll try to be a little more productive next time.

Second! I know a lot of you asked me not to let anything bad happen to Lucy. Well… I'm sorry I couldn't exactly oblige, although I had originally planned on writing something more explicit so I think this is acceptable... Wouldn't you agree?

The story now has an official cover, as you can see! The lovely Vauny-chan Loves Art is behind the awesome image, so check out more of her art (the link to her deviantart is on my profile). I encourage all of you artist out there to draw your own version if you'd like to, that'd be awesome!

THANK YOU all again for your wonderful reviews and for being such amazing readers! I hope you're not too mad at me!

Take care everyone! xo