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Ride 'em Hard
Chapter Four
Lucy didn't hesitate to kick Natsu out of the bed, not screaming this time as she glared at the pink haired man falling and landing on his head, waking him up with a snort and a small shout of pain. She watched him boredly roll around on the carpet, pushing back the quilt, sporting pants this time loaned by Natsu. They were his old pair, from when he was smaller, so they would have fit Lucy's waist and not fall down, and wore the same shirt he gave her.
"You did it again, Natsu! What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucy pointed angrily at him, ignoring the fact that he was in his boxers again. "It's been nearly a freakin' week now, and I've tried everything to keep you out! I propped a chair to the door, locked the bolt...everything!"
"Again..?" Natsu gurgled as he rubbed his hard abs in pain, right where Lucy had kicked him with her heel. "Damn Luce, did you take karate as a kid, or something?"
"Don't change the subject!" Lucy snapped. "Everyday I wake up to find you sleeping and cuddling me!"
The young man's eyebrow twitched and cracked his eyes open. Dark pupils looking to the woman seated on the bed, pouting at him with absolute anger and fury, he sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. "S'not like I do it on purpose, or anything, you know that."
"Yeah, I do!" Lucy 'humph'-ed at him, crossing her arms.
"You're very good at cuddlin', though," he went on, making Lucy flinch and redden in the face and neck. "I haven't woken up feeling this nice in years. Gray isn't comfortable and Laxus would fidget too much in his sleep, now that I think of it. You're soft, you know? Kinda like -!"
Natsu's face was planted with Lucy's sneaker, which she always kept by her bed for the occasion of Natsu joining her in bed. He peeled it off his face, flashing her a big, bright smile that lit up the whole room, making Lucy's chest pinch a little bit on the inside.
"Anyway," he sang as he sat up, putting her shoe back in its proper place, "good morning, Luce!"
It's been six days since Lucy was picked up by a driver named Natsu Dragneel, and brought to join Fairy Tail, an undercover operation that worked for the police department in the idea of them being a street gang with drivers racing in the city streets. A once only child of the prominent family of Heartfilia, Lucy gave up her old life of money and wealth and beauty to find a new path, and therefore took fate's suggestion of getting in Natsu's flamed car and won him his first race by her guidance. It didn't take long for Lucy to be accepted by everyone in the garage and make friends, and was practically adopted into the family and workload everyone takes turns in on a daily basis. She didn't consider herself as an S-Class driver, however everyone around her seems to take her as Natsu's passenger, which would give her the title of an S-Class…
Even being in S-Class, however, Natsu certainly didn't behave like one.
"Natsu, I want to get dressed," Lucy told him once he got to his feet, a bit wobbly from being woken up so quickly. Mirajane, Fairy Tail's retired driver and current cook of the small bar and kitchen in the garage, had given the new member all of her old clothes that were her size and suitable for races and working. Some more flashy than others, Lucy became more confident with her body as she had Cana's help, who usually dressed in a bikini top and very short shorts.
Her roommate and partner saluted with a wink and marched out of the room obediently, closing the door behind him to give her privacy. Lucy could feel her cheeks burn at how stupid, but also very, very respectful and nice Natsu was to her, even though he was totally dumb minded when he said that he would share an apartment with her, have her as his partner on jobs and keeping all the money for herself when she earned it.
Going to the dresser, Lucy opened one of the drawers that Natsu cleared out for her to use and picked out her outfit. A frilly, pastel pink tank and black shorts, Lucy changed quickly so Natsu could come in and find himself something else to wear, opening the bedroom door to see him rolled in his own blanket on the floor. His salmon-colored hair sticking out, and his toes wiggling on the other end, Lucy sighed when his big eyes peeked out to look up to her.
"What are you doing, Natsu?" she dared to ask, picking a white and blue racing sweater from the kitchen chair.
"I wanted to see if I could roll my blanket up faster, if I actually rolled myself in it," he explained simply, blinking as he tried to slip out of it himself.
"And how did that work out for you, Natsu?" Lucy shook her head with a tiny smile, crouching down and holding her head with both hands.
"I'm stuck," Natsu smiled. "It didn't work out so well."
Lucy didn't hesitate to help him unroll himself of his blanket and make him properly fold his comforter before putting it on the couch. Natsu dove into the bedroom and closed the door for his turn, and Lucy strolled over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, where she pulled out a carton of eggs and a brick of cheese. Upon discovering pans and kitchen utensils during their cleaning the other day, Lucy took the chance to clean them up and ask Mirajane if she had any eggs to spare. The white haired woman willingly gave the blonde paper bags filled with food for no charge, letting Lucy think of meals she could make for herself and roommate.
She wasn't expecting the young man to stumble out of the room, shirt still in the process of being put on and fall on his face to the smell of Lucy making omelettes. Granted, this is the first thing Lucy has made in a long, long while, so she was sure she may have done something wrong...but not Natsu sniffing the air like a puppy and instantly drooling with stars in his eyes.
"You cook, Lucy?" Natsu gawked with wide eyes, watching from the floor as Lucy finished one and start another, disposing the first breakfast on a small plate with a fork. "I thought you wanted some of Mira's food! Where did you get the stuff from?"
"Mira-chan gave them to me last night," Lucy explained and grabbed the plate with the finished omelette, waiting for the other to start bubbling. Holding it out, Lucy peeked to see Natsu sitting up robotically. "Here's yours, Natsu. It's just cheese; I don't know if you like any vegetables or peppers in them, so I went with just cheese. I hope that's okay."
Natsu took the plate and practically inhaled the breakfast, pupils dilating and cheeks pinking up at the flavor of the eggs and cheese, Lucy swore that he was going to start purring. Once finished, Natsu stared wonderingly at the blonde.
"What?" Lucy blushed, snapping her head back to her own breakfast cooking, preparing to flip it over. "Just because I was raised with chefs and maids doesn't mean I can't make my own food, you dork -!"
"This food is even better than Mira's stuff!" Natsu declared loud and proud, holding the empty plate above his head with a cheeky smile on his face. "Lucy, Luuuce! This is the best breakfast I've ever had in years!"
Lucy flushed dark and folded her omelette, ignoring Natsu getting up and putting his dishes in the sink, still talking about how she should be a professional cook or something. "Jeez, you're such a dork, Natsu…"
"But it's still the best breakfast I've ever had, okay?" Natsu pouted, finally slipping his other arm through the sleeve hole. Lucy didn't notice that his shirt was half on, exposing his seriously, seriously ripped stomach and chest and -! Slamming her omelette on the plate with a little extra force, Lucy stabbed the breakfast with her fork and began eating her breakfast in silence while Natsu scrambled around to help clean the kitchen once she finished.
After cleaning their dishes in their spotless apartment room, Natsu and Lucy slipped their shoes on and slipped out to get to the garage. Being that it's still the morning (nine o'clock, exactly), the garage doors were open to let in fresh, morning air and sunlight in and some of the members of Fairy Tail were lounging around or working.
Lucy saw Levy with 'her boys', as she would call them, working the repairs of Gray's car that had yet to be tended to, practically praising her cousin's work on the damage as she ripped the door out and instructed Jet and Droy to ready the table for the 'operation'. Laxus, Makarov's grandson, was at the bar and talking with Mirajane as she carried trays of food on her shoulder and a bright smile on her face. Gray was picking at his plate boredly while everyone else in the garage was minding their own business.
"Good morning, you two," Mirajane sang as she handed Cana two plate for her to take to Gildarts and herself by their car. "You two hungry at all? It's breakfast burrito day!"
"Nooo, Mira! Luce made breakfast for us, and it was amazing!" Natsu practically shouted before Lucy stiffened and whacked her hand at the back of his head. Wincing in pain, the young man groaned and pouted to the blonde. "What was that for, huh?"
Her cheeks pink, Lucy crossed her arms. "Don't go telling people that I cook! You'll hurt Mira-san's feelings if you say that!" she hissed darkly as the two made their way to the bar, closer to Mirajane and her fiance. Looking to the white haired woman, Lucy offered a shy smile. "Sorry about that, Mira-san…"
"Oh, I'm very much used to it," she smiled sweetly in response. "Natsu's been like this ever since he was itty bitty. It's just nice to finally have mornings without Natsu waking Laxus up."
The blonde man with the jagged scar grunted and glared over to the two. "It's 'bout time that the little shit stayed out of my bed. Feel sorta sorry that you have to deal with it now, kid," he said heartlessly, making Lucy cringed and bite back her anger. She wondered how Mirajane and Laxus were planning on getting married when they're polar opposites.
Mirajane lightly flicked her finger to Laxus's nose. "Now, now, I'm sure Lucy-chan and Natsu are getting along just fine, even with Natsu's little habit of crawling into bed."
"It's not a little habit, Mira!" Laxus gaped at her, and she simply giggled and waved it off. Pointing a finger to the salmon colored man, Laxus ignored how Natsu glared at him. "The shit always wakes me up atop of me, like he's a dog and I'm the freakin' bed!"
"Oi, it's not just you, moron," Gray snapped from the other end, startling Lucy and making Natsu swing his head to the other side boredly, sticking his tongue out to him. "Hothead would sneak into my place and try to get snuggly with me, too!"
"Not my fault!" Natsu whined and crossed his arms. "I've tried everything to stop it, but nothing ever works! Besides, Luce is a lot nicer to me than any of you, dorks! She throws shoes at me."
Lucy was about to stop him when both men blinked and finally nodded in agreement. Mirajane whispered casually to the blonde how Laxus tried to stab Natsu at one point waking up, and Gray tried to throw him out his bedroom window. Lucy paled and glanced to Natsu, who didn't seem affected by it. Once Laxus started offering Lucy ideas, perhaps mouse-traps? Tying Natsu to a flagpole? Gray rolled his eyes and left the bar to check Levy's work, making Lucy and Natsu excuse themselves quickly before following him.
The dark haired man twitched at seeing the two scurry after him. "What do you guys think you're doing?" he snapped, but Natsu grinned cheekily at him in response while Lucy ignored them both. Lucy learned pretty quickly that Gray is Natsu's best friend, there is no doubt about it, but the way their friendship works out is by constantly fighting or bickering with each other. Trying to get under their skins was their best way to communicate and get along, even though Lucy has trouble trying to be the same. Gray, however, seems to already accept her as a pal already, so she didn't need to try too hard.
"Gray!" Levy cheered happily upon seeing him enter, with Lucy and Natsu in tow, which made her brighten even more. "Lulu-chan! Natsuuu, did you come to see if you needed some weapons for today?"
"Mm? What's today, Levy-chan?" Lucy blinked at the mechanic, who began unbuttoning her welding suit and slipping her arms out of the sleeves.
"I thought Erza or Makarov told you guys last night," Levy frowned, tying her sleeves around her waist. "Weren't you guys awake?"
"Nah, we crashed after we dumped trash out from cleaning," Natsu boasted and swung his hands behind his head. He looked to be very proud of himself. "It took days, but we did it! We practically fell asleep by ten, isn't that funny?"
Levy rolled her eyes with an amused smile on her face. "Well, Makarov announced that there's a job today, and she's putting you two plus Erza and Jellal on the menu. Seemed pretty serious, so I guess he went for S-Class only."
"Aren't you an S-Class, too, Gray?" Lucy looked to the dark haired man with a raised brow. The man nodded and jerked his chin towards the car that was missing the driver's door.
"The job requires partners, and my ride is being fixed right now, so I can't officially ride," Gray explained with a bored tone. "There's a race that's going to happen tonight, though, along with the job opportunity and the whole garage wants to go as support for the gang. Levy included," he looked to the short woman, who beamed with excitement.
"And no one bothered to wake me up?" Natsu gaped.
"Of course we tried to wake you up, but you must've been sleeping like a rock," Erza's voice came from behind, making everyone turn to see the red head woman dressed in a crop top and torn jeans with boots. Next to her was Jellal, Lucy remembers, her husband dressed in a black t-shirt and a dark pair of jeans with his hands in his pockets. He was usually the quiet type from the other times she has seen him, but was fairly polite to Lucy overall.
"Erza wanted to bust inside," Jellal said coolly, "but I knew you two probably didn't want her seeing you two...you know…"
Lucy flushed at the face while Natsu scoffed. "Not like I was doing anything bad to her," he responded with a pout. Looking to Erza, Natsu cocked his head to the side. "So what's the job we're going to do?"
"Simple highjack of a train car carrying drugs, if I remember right," Erza said calmly, while Lucy gasped horridly at the response. "There's a private investor that's wanting to test out the gangs and pick out one to hire. Makarov wants us to participate and see if we can direct the employee with any major drug industries."
"The narcotics are suppose to be heading to a rivaling drug lord, and the person whose wanting drivers to get it for him wants to put him out of business," Jellal went on, looking to the small group of young adults listening. "The train we're suppose to target is passing through a specific route, so we came up with a plan that will have myself and Lucy, if she wishes to participate, to get in and grab it. After, we return to the meeting space given to deliver and receive a reward."
"How much?" Gray asked, genuinely curious.
"About three thousand to each driver to gets a package," Erza answered, watching as Lucy's jaw dropped. Smiling, the redhead turned to the blonde. "Trust me, Lucy, that's rather small compared to other jobs we do here. Besides, the police department have been looking to the drug lord's case for a while now; if we can also snag the one driving the delivery, we may be able to get extra."
"But who's participating with us?" Natsu blurted.
"Phantom Lord, of course. Trinity Raven and Blue Pegasus are the ones who responded to the job." Erza closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to think of more details. "Jose will obviously have Gajeel and Juvia, and perhaps a couple more from their pack; Ichiya is sending out his three usual boys, and I'm not too sure about Trinity Raven…"
"If anything, that gang will try to attack the others once they've seen that they got what we're looking for," Jellal crossed his arms and Erza shifted her weight to one leg and pressed her side to her husband. "Since this is Lucy's first job, you can just stay in Natsu's car and pretend to have the package to drive them off. You're still getting used to things here, right?"
"U-uh… No! I can help out, no problem!" Lucy stammered, having all eyes on her as she struggled to keep herself together. Swallowing thickly, her brown eyes darted to Natsu, who was being patient yet concerned for her. "Really, it's not a big deal. I took self-defense a few years back for a little bit, and I was really good in gym in high school."
"This isn't some obstacle course, Luce," Natsu reminded her slowly. "You can get seriously hurt, if you're not careful."
"Says the one who drives like a maniac on energy drinks," Lucy retorted coolly, earning a snarky laugh from Gray and a smile from Erza and Jellal. Looking to the man with the tattooed face, Lucy clenched her fists close to her chest. "I can help you out, Jellal. I gotta get use to the ropes here sooner or later, right?"
Erza looked to Jellal with a concerned spark in her eyes, yet said nothing as she offered a smile to the blonde with a slow nod. Grabbing her husband's hand, Erza gently tugged him to follow her with their hands tangled. "Be sure to prepare for today, then. We have to head out at three, but I wish to leave early."
"Lucy," Natsu started, "I -!"
"Ya hear that, Lucy? Your first official job!" Cana sang, twirling into the automotive area with a bottle of beer in her hand. "Let Cana-neesan fix you up, okay? M'gonna make you look like a real race-chick, got it?"
"Cana, why are you drinking now?" Gray snapped at the gurgling woman, who hushed with a finger to her lips and muttering that he's going to wake everyone up. Gray rolled his eyes and waved her off. "You better hope Gildarts doesn't know about this - I thought you were cutting down."
"It's beer, not rum this time," Cana slurred with a cheeky grin. Now that Lucy could see it, the young woman didn't seem as drunk as she usually was, probably because she grew a tolerance for things with light alcohol. Swinging her long, wavy brown hair - whacking Gray with her locks in the process, causing him to sputter - the chick looked her over, humming in the process. "Sooo, I think you're okay, but change your top to one of Mira's, got it? I know she has a laced bra top that's blue with gold trimming. It'll look nice with Natsu's ride. He has gold sparkles on the flames of his car, so wear that."
"That's too revealing, isn't it? We're racing, not trying to attract anyone!" Lucy blushed deeply, her hands instinctively coming up to hold her breasts. "I-I tried that on, and it's really revealing on my chest, Cana."
"Truuust Cana-neesan!" Cana licked her lips. "You gotta look like you're serious about the races and jobs, so you gotta dress as sexy as you can. Ya saw some of the girls from the other night, right? Like that, but you'll make it look twenty times better with that body of yours."
Lucy's face went red as she crossed her arms over herself, and Cana smirked. "If you don't," Cana purred cutely into Lucy's ear, "then I'll put it on for you, and I won't let you out of the car until it's on!"
"I will, jeez!" Lucy shrieked and Cana snuggled up to her. She learned fairly quickly that Cana was very affectionate to other girls when intoxicated, but she's also a lady of her word, sober or not. Looking to Natsu, who was oblivious to the whole ordeal, as usual, Lucy sighed. "I'm going to go and get the top, Natsu…"
"Ah? 'Kay!" the young man grinned and dove into Gray's car, sitting in the leather interior and grasping the wheel. He seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say before Cana interrupted him, his whole attention of sprouting ideas to Gray about changing his car, who in return threatened him to get the hell out of his ride so Levy could fix it.
Sighing, Lucy shook her head before going back to their apartment to find that top Cana ordered her to wear. She knew where it was, in one of the drawers Natsu gave her to stash her clothes in...but she still wasn't sure if she would look normal with it on.
Despite Mirajane and Lucy being the same size, even in breasts, it felt so constricting on Lucy's boobs!
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"Natsu, what's this?" Lucy blinked as she buckled her seatbelt, only to have a little box shoved in her face by her driving partner. Looking at it, it was poorly wrapped in material of newspaper that he obviously tried to do himself with Luce written in sharpie on top of the comics. Taking the small, rectangular box, Lucy raised a brow at him with suspicion.
The young man frowned and retracted his arm. "I was hoping to give it to you later, once you're comfortable taking jobs like this," he said lowly, crossing his arms as he watched her unwrap the newspaper. "But, I think now would be the best time to have it, since anything can happen on a train."
Opening the small cardboard box, Lucy pulled out a small taser that would easily buckle to her belt loops of her shorts. Blinking, Lucy looked it over and saw that the taser was decorated with stickers of glittery stars and a couple hearts, making Lucy imagine Natsu trying to place them on the tool with a concentrated look on his face.
"You know how to use it, right?" Natsu asked, jerking his chin to it as Lucy looked back to him. "It should be charged with a full battery. I asked Mira if she had any leftover stickers from when she went crazy for scrapbooking, you know, to make it look nicer."
"Why are you giving me a taser?" she asked softly, looking it over again and mentally counted the stickers.
Natsu sighed and ran his hands through his salmon colored hair. "I know how you feel about guns and bombs and all that, so I figured a taser would be better for you to deal with until you're more comfortable. You do get that you're going to jump onto a train, right? There is a high chance that there will be people trying to guard, and I can't be in there to watch you, since I'm driving the car…"
Lucy smiled at him and rolled in her seat to balance on her hip, buckling the taser to a loop on her shorts so he could see it. A faint blush was on her cheeks as she grinned at him. "I'll be fine, Natsu," she assured him. "I took gymnastics for a while and I've done some crazy things whenever I got out of the house in high school. Even if it's a moving train, it won't be much different as jumping cliffs and exploring caves with no ropes."
"I just don't want you to get hurt, Luce," Natsu grumbled and started the car. He had changed a while ago into dark red jeans and a black sleeveless shirt that clung to his hard body pretty tightly. "It's your first job, and I have no idea why Gramps would call you to do it. Not like I'm talking down about you or anything, but we are suppose to be a gang, remember?"
"I know, and I'm not going to get hurt," Lucy's brown eyes softened at seeing him being tense and stiff, which was new to Lucy having someone worry for her openly like this. It felt nice. "Jellal said he'd take care of me, as ordered by Erza, if anything were to happen. Him and Erza looked at the case file of where it's the safest place to enter the train, so I'm not doubting them."
Natsu sighed again, but didn't say anything. Lucy perked and hugged her legs up to the seat. "And you're going to be driving, right? You'll catch me if I have to jump off of the train because of a bomb, or something, wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would!" he exclaimed, hitting the gas as he sped out into the road. Lucy took a peek in the rearview mirror to see the last remaining members of the garage getting ready to head out to the destination: an abandoned parking lot outside of the city that is close to the rail tracks, as ordered by the anonymous employer to group up. "No way would I let you fall or get hurt, Luce. I hate to sound like a hounding mother and all, but please, please be careful!"
"You got it, Natsu. I'll make sure to stay with Jellal the whole time and I'll use the taser on anyone who tries to get to me," Lucy gave him a thumbs up, adjusting the straps of the small backpack on her shoulders, instructed by Erza to carry the packages easier than by hand. "It's going to be fine. I'll be tough as you and kick some ass. You've done stuff like this before, right? Jumping on trains and stuff."
"Trains, trucks, trailers...and every job I did on foot was pretty difficult," Natsu sighed again. "Although...a few times I've kinda got into it with Gray while we were suppose to get these other guys, and they were just as confused. Erza would get mad about that, and scare the crap out of us."
"Damn it, Natsu…"
"There was also this one time Gray left his pants while we were suppose to be sneaking in and out of this trailer that was carrying guns, and we had to do back and get them because the idiot has a freakin' stripping habit," Natsu said outloud, shrugging. "Then, we couldn't find his freakin' pants, and we started arguing and we didn't realize that the guards showed up."
Lucy snorted. "Then what happened?" she asked.
"We took care of them eventually, but they stood there like idiots watching us… They thought that ice prick and I were a couple, or something," Natsu gagged. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, please, Luce."
Lucy nodded and turned on the radio, twisting the knob to the station that connected Natsu's Lancer with Erza's Toyota Supra, where they could hear Jellal and Erza conversing. "Erza!" Lucy chirped with a bright grin on her face.
"Oh, Lucy," the red head spoke with a small amount of surprise. "Are you two on your way?"
"Yeah," Natsu answered, spinning the wheel to take a sharp turn to a new dirt road, letting Lucy to be able to see the city skyline from her passenger window. "So, what's the deal on the job, then? Did Jason give anymore details?"
The blond man from the recruiting race, Jason, works as the racing coordinator and announcer for jobs that are opened to the gangs, as well as the only one to meet the employers face-to-face with rules and guidelines for the work being handed out. Jason acts like a paparazzi reporter, but with cars and girls and pounding music instead of camera flashing and invading celebrities space - his whole personality just screamed Cool! Cool! Cooool! and Lucy wondered if he was a reporter for a star magazine at one point. Even then, she wondered how someone like Jason got mixed up with the whole gang life and nighttime races and crime.
Looking back to Natsu talking to Erza through the radio, Lucy listened in. "The cars are separated by gates, which will make it easy for you two to get in through the doors. Jellal can open the doors, if they're locked," Erza spoke. "Jason sent out photos of the train to the Masters, but no one knows which car has the drugs in, so that will be a challenge. You'll have to search the whole train, probably."
"Is it guarded?" Natsu asked tensely. Lucy saw how his hands gripped the wheel a bit tighter. "Could you guys tell at all, or Jason?"
"We can only expect a few inside," Jellal answered. "Don't worry, it's a simple job, Natsu. I'm pretty sure Lucy can handle it."
"And Jellal can watch over her," Erza said strongly, just like a mother, and Lucy smiled a bit at that. "It's not going to be anything new to us, anyway. She's as safe, as a piece of cake, Natsu."
"But -!"
"I swear to God, Natsu, if you think either Jellal or myself would let a precious girl like Lucy get touched by disgusting thugs, I'm going to rip your pink hair out in chunks!" Erza snapped with venom, making both Natsu and Lucy freeze in their seats. "Listen now, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!" both of them chanted out together.
"Jellal is going to head up onto the car first, then Lucy will follow so he can catch her," Erza said sternly. "We're going to try to head to the front, so follow me on the way there and don't get trashed. The goal is to get the goods and deliver them back to Jason first, then we get hired by the employer and figure out the face. That's what Master Makarov wants."
"When I get onto the train, Natsu," Jellal called out, "bring yours to have Lucy be able to climb out the window, and I'll pull her up. Lucy, you can sit on the window, right?"
"Yeah, no problem," Lucy nodded confidently, making Natsu steal a glance to her before looking back to the road, where a faint light and humming cars were starting to erupt as they got closer.
Natsu slowed down and entered the lot, where they could see Jason atop the hood of the convertible and speaking through a megaphone, just as he did the last time. Lucy could pick out Erza's decorated car, covered with a armor-like pattern of metal feathers across the doors to the back fender. Lucy was surprised to see motorbikes this time, and the riders heavily dressed in leather and safety padding on their heads, elbows and knees with their steel-toe boots.
Natsu parked where he pleased, in the middle of the second line and between the motorcycles. Lucy saw Erza and Jellal outside of their ride and leaning against their ride, along with some other colorful characters while other people grouped in clusters with music and on the sides and small tables with drinks and food. To Lucy, it could probably be like a giant barbecue to any passing trucks, trains or whoever saw this taking place with the sun setting in the day. She had to admit it with the underground racers: they were completely capable of making jobs and obvious illegal activity look like a friendly get-together.
Turning off his car and disconnecting the radio, Natsu got himself out of the ride and stretched. Lucy watched him kick out his legs before bending like a stick to give her that ball-of-sunshine smile. "C'mon out with me, Luce. You'll like it, I promise," he told her brightly, making Lucy remember at how serious he was just a moment before about her being on this job, but now he's all excited. Tilting her head at him with a firm line to her lips, Lucy raised a brow at him in a silent question in regards to it. "Lets not make a big deal about this...Save it for later, 'kay?"
"You won't worry about this?" Lucy asked him, crossing her arms.
Natsu rocked his head. "Worry about you? No, I'm gonna worry, whether you like it or not, but I won't tell you you can't do this, because I know you can," he shook his head with a pout on his lips. "I do think you can do it, Luce. I just don't want to see you get hurt - it's your first job, you know, and yeah."
Her eyes narrowed. "You promise you trust me, Natsu?"
He smiled brightly, with true honesty. "Cross my heart! Now come on out. Sue's out here with Juvia, and you haven't met her yet."
Sighing, Lucy let out a smile as she got herself out of the passenger seat and hurried around the car to catch up to Natsu's side. Her smile grew a little more when he started jumping on his feet and started guiding her to the small group of one of the spare cars Levy had for the gang members to ride over to the lot, the one Lucy knew that Gray had drove himself, Levy, Elfman and Lisanna over.
All of them were in the front of the car, Lucy saw, along with an unfamiliar woman who Levy was hugging tightly and snuggling. Her hair was almost the same shade as Levys', but far more longer and wavy compared to the mechanic. The woman was a bit paler than Levy, and she was wearing a dark purple bra-top and shorts with heeled shoes that added on a good inch. Approaching the group, Natsu grasped Lucy's wrist and hurried over to join them, catching the attention of Gray, who was leaning against the hood with his arms crossed.
"It's 'bout time you made it, flamebrain," Gray called out to his friend with a frown. "You're almost on time."
"Shut up, ice prick!" Natsu snapped back before looking to the two young women with blue hair. "Juvia! Oi, Juvia, I want you to meet someone!"
Levy detached herself from the other woman, smiling brightly as she waved to the new arrivals. "Lulu-chan, come here! I want you to meet Juju-chan," she bounced in her own heels, dressed in a orange sundress. "Well, her name is not Juju, of course, but it's like your nickname, Lulu-chan!" Levy grinned with a tint to her cheeks.
The woman, who appeared to be Lucy's age, turned with her hands tangled in front of her. Her eye makeup was smokey, bringing out her pretty dark-blue eyes as she offered a small smile of greeting to the blonde.
Natsu wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders, as well as giving a thumbs up. "Juvia, this is my new partner," he announced proudly, making Lucy's cheeks flame in embarrassment. "This is Lucy!"
Juvia smiled at Lucy, bowing her head a little bit. "Hello, Lucy-san," she greeted politely, raising her head back up to tilt. "My name is Juvia Lockser. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Levy-chan was just telling Juvia about you!"
Noticing her slight odd of speech, Lucy blinked and offered a small smile in return. "N-nice to meet you, too…"
Levy snickered proudly as she wrapped her arms around Juvia's elbow. "Juju-chan is my cousin, Lulu-chan," she stated proudly. "Our moms were sisters, if you can't tell some of the family resemblance by now, but Juju-chan is one hell of a racer!"
"Yeah," Lucy remembered suddenly. "You were the one who broke Gray's car, right? With a stabbing weapon, or something."
Juvia's cheeks reddened as she heard Gray grunt from behind, looking anywhere else but at the blonde. "W-well, yes, Juvia is the one who speared Gray-sama's car the other night," she stuttered, fiddling with her fingers as Levy grinned bigger and leaned herself on her cousin. "But she didn't mean to! J-Juvia just wanted to… Uhm, J-Juvia was just doing her job!"
"And you did great with it!" Natsu snickered, glaring darkly at Gray. "Kinda wish now that ice princess was racing again tonight, so I could've seen it in action."
"Shut up, hothead," Gray snapped stiffly.
"Why am I the hothead when you're the one shirtless, ice princess?" Natsu snorted when Gray stiffened and looked down to see him stripped of his leather coat. Lucy noticed the same tattoo Natsu had under Gray's left collarbone, but black in color. Gray prickled and looked around to find his coat back inside the car.
"The hell did that get there?" Gray grunted and Juvia bit back a squeal as she covered her eyes and Levy laughed noisily. Snapping his head between himself and Juvia's reaction, Gray stammered and rolled off of the hood to scramble to where his coat was.
"Juju! Juju! Open your eyes," Levy teased and tried to pry her cousin's hands from covering her eyes. "Come ooon, Juju-chan! You've seen Gray shirtless before - pantsless even! It's nothing new!"
"Don't tease Juvia, Levy-chan!" Juvia whined softly as she noticed Lucy watching her with wide eyes. She stiffened at being stared at, and covered her eyes again. "Ohh, and now Lucy-chan thinks Juvia as a-a...a fangirl of Gray-sama, or something!"
"What? I-I don't!" Lucy jumped and smacked Natsu when he started laughing at the whole situation. "Shut up, Natsu! Juvia, no, I think you're pretty nice. Don't cry!"
"So, yeah, anyway!" Natsu snickered with Levy, waving a hand in front of his face. "Juvia, what'cha think about Luce here?"
Sniffing, Juvia covered her mouth with her hands instead, and looked to the two. Nodding, Juvia gave a watery smile to the blonde, cocking her head to the side with Levy, who was grinning brightly. "Juvia thinks that Natsu-san's partner is very sweet. Juvia likes Lucy-chan already…" Collecting herself, Juvia cleared her throat and stood straight with Levy, who was still clinging to her bare arm with both hands. "Juvia will make sure that Lucy-chan gets a milkshake when she visits the bar."
"Great!" Natsu smiled. "Can you also do me another favor, too, Juvia? I promise I'll make it up to you." His tone suddenly went serious, as his expression went blank. Lucy looked up from his hold and could tell where it was going.
"Mm?" Juvia blinked, taking a glance to Levy who shrugged. "What is it, Natsu-san?"
"Natsu, please don't," Lucy nudged an elbow to his belly very softly.
"Can you just make sure, whatever happens on the job tonight, that Luce here doesn't get hurt at all?" he asked, staring at Juvia with wide eyes.
"Natsu! J-Juvia, don't mind him," Lucy blushed darkly as the blue-haired women blinked to each other. Juvia looked between Natsu and Lucy with a raised brow. "It's just my first job and all, and he thinks something will -!"
"Of course Juvia will make sure Lucy-chan is safe," Juvia smiled sweetly, clapping her hands together lightly. "Anyone from the Fairy Tail gang is a friend of Juvia's, Natsu-san."
"It doesn't have to be big or anything," Natsu shrugged, ignoring how Lucy was frozen in shock by Juvia's willing response. "Like, if someone is trying to shoot at her, or push her out of the train…"
"Natsu, please -!"
"It is no problem for Juvia, whatsoever," she raised a hand to silence him. Looking to Lucy, Juvia offered a kind smile to her, her eyes soft like she was looking back in time. "Juvia remembers when she did her first job, and it was somewhat like this. Juvia was very lucky to have Nii-chan around, though, so Juvia understands where Natsu-san is coming from."
"Speaking of your brother," Gray's voice interjected them, coming back with his coat on, but not zipped this time, "you should probably get back to him, Juvia."
"Juvia is aware of the job, Gray-sama," Juvia pouted to him. "She doesn't need to hear any more of the crap they talk about - Juvia left that to Nii-chan, since he's driving."
"Yeah, but they're going to finish soon and then he'll be looking for ya," Gray reminded her, and the woman sighed in understanding.
"But, Gray-sama..." she whined and Lucy couldn't help but think about how cute she sounded. "Juvia wants Levy-chan to see Nii-chan, too, before we all have to go home!"
"We can hang out some other time, Juju-chan," Levy winked to her cousin. "Don't worry about it this time, m'kay? Do your best tonight, for me - and remember to get enough sleep! You haven't been sleeping well, have you? You look dark under your eyes!"
"It's Juvia's makeup, Levy-chan," Juvia smiled warily, hugging her cousin tightly to her. She was happy when she returned it. Taking a step back, she nodded to Natsu and Lucy and gave them a small wave. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy-chan. Don't worry about tonight...you're going to do just great!"
Hurrying off to the lined cars, Juvia was out of ear's reach when Lucy finally popped the question. "So that's Gray's girlfriend? She's very nice!"
"Yeah, I told ya Juvia-chan's the pal!" Natsu grinned to her, finally unwrapping his arm from her shoulder. "And she promised milkshakes… We gotta go get Gramps to hold an appointment soon, before she forgets."
"Juvia never forgets -! Wait! She's not my girlfriend, you asshole!" Gray growled at him. "You askin' for a asskicking?"
"Maybe after the race, Gray!" Natsu stuck out his tongue to him and grasped Lucy's wrist. "Luce and I got a job to do and you don't! Suck on that, ice prick!" He hauled Lucy away and back towards their car, where the drivers were getting into their rides and began to start their engines. The bikers readied themselves, some with a passenger behind them and others without, and Jason stomped his foot on the hood of the convertible to get attention.
"Alriiight! Ya all ready for tonight's race, everybody?" he shouted through the microphone as Lucy and Natsu dropped into their seats, pulling the doors shut. "Make way out of the front line, folks! The train is 'bout to get here!" The driver of the car Jason was standing on slowly went in reverse and pulled them back to the sidelines.
Natsu quickly started the car and amped up the volume of the radio. "Yo Erza!"
"Okay, Natsu," Erza's voice spoke through the speakers, making Lucy's heart start speeding up because this is the time. "You know what to do, right? Follow me and let Jellal onto the train first, and get to the front. Then, Lucy will get on the train with Jellal's help, as promised."
"Got it," both Lucy and Natsu said together.
"On my signal, you cool drivers need to make a break for it, cool?" Jason spoke joyously, throwing his fist up into the air. "Trains come by fast and they sure as hell won't slow down for us!"
"This is it…" Lucy whispered to herself, the corners of her lips twitching with excitement and adrenaline. "My first official race!"
"You're gonna do great, as long as you're careful, Luce," Natsu smiled to her. "Don't forget my present, m'kay? If anyone tries to come after you, and it's not Jellal or Juvia and they look like they're gonna hurt ya, I want you to taze the shit outta them."
"Roger that, captain," Lucy saluted before colliding her palm to his open one, a given gesture of a high-five.
"Be readyyy!" Jason yelled over the sound of engines and cheers of the crowd behind them.
The sound of the megaphone siren went off suddenly, making Lucy jump in her seat as Natsu hit the gas with his right foot, both hands gripping the wheel tightly as all the cars surrounding them kicked up dust and gravel and took off down the lot and into the large ditch and Lucy couldn't help but watch in fascination as everyone outside the car was driving gracefully; the bikers keeping absolutely straight as they sped and weaved through the little openings left in the ditch before pulling back behind Natsu's car.
"It's like I thought," Erza's voice radiated off the radio. "They're waiting for someone to come out to grab the drugs. Natsu, keep an eye on them for me - and don't be shy if they try anything on us, got it?."
Natsu peeked to his rearview mirror sternly, dark eyes returning to snap at the trail ahead of them. "Got it."
Ahead of the packs of cars and motorbikes, Lucy could make out the familiar lights of a train rolling into view. It looked to be a simple traveling train, with all it's lights on in the cars in front. She could see that all their curtains were drawn to a close, frowning at the small idea of probably seeing the thing they were looking for through the windows being terminated in her head.
"That's it over there?" she asked, suddenly regretting at how childish she sounded.
"Yeah, that's it," Jellal answered to her. "We're going to the first car behind the driver, Lucy. There's a gate that we can get on easily and more safely."
The twist of the herd of cars opened into spreaded pairs. Natsu, of course, started to head after Erza's Toyota Supra, and Lucy watched as a black Dodge Challenger Hellcat's window roll down and Juvia's long hair flowed out as the young woman began to climb halfway, sitting on the window.
"Whoa!" Lucy gasped and gripped Natsu's scarf, lightly tugging for his attention. "W-wait, what's Juvia doing?"
"What she usually does," Natsu chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road as he passed the Hellcat, where Juvia raised a hand in the air and summoned a Nissan Silvia, where Lucy could see Sue and and Boze inside. Lucy saw that Juvia has a black backpack on, in contrast to Lucy's pink on, and she could guess that Sue did too, since Boze was the one driving. "They're probably going to try and take off the other drivers by going the opposite way, most likely to throw off Trinity Raven."
"Where are they?" Lucy asked.
"In the back with Blue Pegasus," Erza's voice and Lucy followed and saw a Dodge slowing down behind the motorcycles, who sped up frantically and out of their way. "They're not going to waste time getting onto the train, so there's nothing to worry about."
"They're that bad, huh…" Lucy hummed and sat back in her seat, seeing how Natsu inhaled sharply and had an angry look on his brow.
"They tried killing us last time they participated in a race a month back," Natsu explained briefly. "Gray got a sick scar to prove it. He was just lucky that Mira is taking medical schooling, or he may have been done for."
"What happened?" Lucy gasped, raising a hand to her lips.
"Stabbed twice below his ribs and nearly pierced an artery. He couldn't leave the couch for a good week and Juvia and Totomaru got really worried for him," Natsu rolled up behind Erza's ride that made it to the designated area where they were going to enter. "I remember Gray asking me to visit Juvia and make sure she was okay, and she was upset to hear that he got hurt. She didn't know how bad though, and the fuckin' idiot snuck out before Mira could say so to get a drink!"
"Don't go talking bad about Gray now, Natsu," Erza spoke sternly. Lucy looked up to see Jellal climbing out of the passenger window and onto the hood, making her heart thud against her chest. "You're on the job right now."
Lucy watched as Jellal crawled across Erza's decorated hood, using the armor to set his footing before hooking a leg into the driver's window. She could barely see Erza's hand grip onto Jellal's leg as he professionally hung the upper half of his body out and grasped the bar gate of the walkway. Lucy nearly screamed in shock when Erza let go and Jellal kicked himself off of Erza's car and she sped away from the train while her husband climbed over the gate.
"Oh my God!" Lucy heaved and tightened her hands into shaking fists.
Erza's chuckle made her flush. "Impressed, Lucy?" she asked through the radio. "Okay, Natsu. It's Lucy's turn."
"M'kay, Luce," Natsu nodded once as he made his way up where Jellal was waiting. "You're going to climb over me and go out the window; I'll have a hold on you until Jellal can pick you up, okay?" He glanced to see her still with wide eyes at him.
Swallowing, Lucy nodded to him and proceeded to climb over him when he opened an arm for her, urging her to his lap. She bit her lip as the window rolled down and the gust of speeding wind hit her face. Her chest was hurting now, with her blood pumping and heart hammering. Looking at the distance between the window and Jellal, it looked miles apart…
I don't think I can do this..! her thoughts screamed inside her head.
"Oi, Luce. Look at me," Natsu's breath tickled her neck, making Lucy shiver as she slowly turned her head. His eyes were sharp, but he had a toothy grin on his face.
In that moment, Lucy felt that same fluttering hum in her belly, like when she and Natsu crossed the finish line. That feeling of how everything in Lucy's world was going perfectly, and nothing could stop her from doing the impossible.
"I believe in you, Luce, 'kay?" he told her brightly, his head tilting to the side. "You got this in the bag. I'll be waiting for you out here when you're done, okay? You're gonna be fine, I promise."
Her heart slowed down to a normal rate, and Lucy smiled bravely. "Yeah!" she nodded before grasping the rim of the car, bringing herself out halfway. She could feel Natsu switch arms, wrapping his strong muscles around both of her thighs and holding her in place as she twisted herself around, arms reaching out to the blue-haired man.
Jellal round their arms, gripping her biceps in a vise-like clench. "When I say so, support your feet on these railing and kick yourself up," he instructed in a shout for her to hear, and Lucy gave a curt nod and readied herself, feeling the adrenaline spike through her body and soul.
"Now!"
Natsu let go of Lucy's legs and she slipped out of the window fully and flipped her legs to land her feet on each rail. Lucy could hear Natsu letting out a shout of cheer as his flaming car pulled away from her, and she used her feet to kick hard.
Jellal lifted Lucy over to railing, catching her quick enough to place her gently on her feet. Until she found balance, Lucy let go of the breath she was holding and grinned brightly. Looking over, Lucy saw Natsu giving her a brief thumbs up before speeding off with Erza, and she waved quickly before looking up to Jellal.
"You did good, kid," Jellal nodded with approval. "You ready to get in and get working?"
Lucy's world was lit up with colors and fireworks. Stepping back from Jellal, Lucy held up her fists to her chest. "Let's go!"
With a nod, Jellal grabbed the latch of the car's door and yanked it open, and both of them slipped into the train to obtain their objective.
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=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - Trains can vary speed from 150-250 mph usually, so try to think of jumping from a car to a train at that speed. Whoo, adrenaline rush! c:
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