notes: I'm catching up to work. Good.
notes2: I figured out why I wasn't running out of thanks last time. Because it was near Thanksgiving. That would make sense.
notes3: Still, Thanksgiving has come and gone and yet I'm still not running out of thanks. Thank you for reading my story, to those who put this on their Favorites and Alerts list, and to those who reviewed (LuckyLifeSmile, ClumsyMustache, GoldenRoseTanya, Suilen, CupCakesYummeh, xBluieLovex, Yuni-sama, km28ave, bluefire321, xXxAddicted2ChocolatexXx, greetingsfrommaars, and Captain Ea Rayos)!
notes4: And since all of you have been great readers so far, I'm going to explain something trololol. No, okay, when I write angst, I like mystery, so it becomes completely confusing. For greetingsfrommaars (and those who did or didn't understand #3, you could read, too), I'm going to explain the rough outline of #3 (just because I like explaining). Here goes:
Let's just say the dark figure has had his eyes on Natsu, and he used Lucy to get to him (Imagine they were on a mission by themselves: no Happy, no Erza, no Gray, no nothing). Of course, Natsu agrees to come with him (if Lucy gets released), but since the dark figure is, in fact, evil, he still takes Lucy to the same prison Natsu is brought to. I'll leave it at that because I might do Lucy's POV for that. Maybe.
notes5: (6/25)
disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, then I'm a terrible writer/author/Hiro Mashima because I don't know what the hell is going to happen in the next manga chapter. But I'm excited!
summary: Because Natsu's job was to keep Lucy from dating jerks.
"Mira, I have to go home now!"
He heard Lucy tell the barmaid. Sitting a few tables away from the wooden bar, he inconspicuously listened to their conversation.
"Oh my, Lucy, do you have a date tomorrow?" Mirajane asked in her usual inquiring (nosy, in his opinion) manner.
"Yup," Lucy chirped back in her I'm-so-excited-to-go-on-a-date-with-another-asshole voice (okay, maybe that's what he called it).
When the guild doors swung close, he got up from his seat and walked towards the white-haired barmaid polishing glasses.
He had a job to do.
He jumped into the house through the window, feet noiselessly landing on the wood floor. He took pride in himself that he had perfected the art of sneaking.
A startled scream welcomed him, and he knew his job was starting. "W-what are you doing in my house?"
"Thanks for the lift, Happy!" He told the Exceed, pretending not to notice the boy gaping at him.
"H-hey!" the boy said, "What are you doing here?"
He turned to the boy, expression having a harder edge than the usual. "Let's get down to it," he said, briefly cracking his knuckles. This made the boy cower. Counting with his fingers, he started.
"Hold hands with Lucy and I'll—well, Lucy likes holding hands so I can't do anything about that. Hold Lucy's hips and I'll break your fingers. Go lower and I'll break your legs. Go higher and I'll break your arms. Hug Lucy and I'll rearrange your face with a punch. Kiss Lucy and I'll make sure you can't have children."
His face took a more serious edge at the next threat, his voice hard and warning. "Make Lucy cry and I'll break every bone in your body before I burn you to ashes and send you to hell."
After staying a few moments to look the boy in the eye, he jumped out of the window he came from, leaving Lucy's date shaking and peeing in his pants.
"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked no one in particular, "I have a job for us to do."
"Oh, Lucy's on a date," Mirajane answered from across the guild, wiping the bar table that, in reality, was already clean and spotless.
"That answers where Lucy is," Erza said, eyes looking around the whole of the guild, "But that doesn't answer my question about Natsu."
"Of course it does," the barmaid smiled, "Natsu's doing another job of his, a job he only does whenever Lucy's on a date."
The tree provided him with the perfect vantage for his watching over Lucy (Happy insisted it was snooping and stalking rolled into one, so in response, he didn't let the Exceed come with him). The two—Lucy and her date—had just come out of a cafe.
With observing a great number of her dates (he briefly wondered if that was something to be proud of), he knew that Lucy always went to specific places. It was like a default list, and in a way, it helped him with surveillance more. First, the bookstore, then the restaurant, and finally the park. He mused on the fact that the itinerary was so Lucy. It described her so much he couldn't help but think how he should be doing it with her and not some guy.
As if hearing his name within Natsu's thoughts, Lucy's date looked back, eyes trailing upward where he found him sitting on a tree branch. The dragonslayer gave him a tight smile, making the guy visually shudder. Tugging at Lucy's hand, the guy decided, at that moment, to steer her away from where he was perched on. Natsu could only laugh as he descended from the tree, landing on the ground with a soft thud.
Idiot. Didn't he know that he'll follow them even if they went to the farthest tip of the kingdom?
The bookstore was quiet, save for the buzz of parishioners and browsers perusing the shelves of hardbound and paperback books. He was secluded from this, high up in the second floor, looking down at the ant-sized people below. His eyes steadily followed the blond and brown heads walking side-by-side.
Lucy stopped in front of a part of the shelf to look at a book, and he just knew it was the Romance section. She frequented there when he came with her, throwing subtle looks he would never understand.
Resting his head on his hand, he looked down at the river of people once more, only to find a hand reaching for a curve of a hip and his eyes widened because those were Lucy's hips and the bastard's hand was slowly inching closer towards them. Picking up the book next to him (and unconsciously setting it on fire with anger), he threw it at the boy's head, successfully halting his hip-holding and making him fall down on a bookshelf, but not without bringing Lucy with him because he freaking had his arms around her waist and when did that happen?
Seeing them leave the bookstore (and the toppled shelf), Natsu vowed to make the boy's face unrecognizable when he's done with him.
Irritation was starting to creep up to Natsu. They were in a classy restaurant halfway across the city, so that meant he had to walk for miles (not that he was complaining. He'd rather walk than take the train, or ride any transportation for the matter). By the time he arrived at the restaurant—trying to be inconspicuous, of course—it was already packed with customers and the only table available was at the very corner of the restaurant, tables and tables away from Lucy and her date. It was like the boy actually planned it, preparing for his arrival. Grumbling, he took the table anyway.
His view from the table was terrible. Lucy's back was directly facing him, and he could only see a little of what the boy was actually doing, even with his sharp eyes. His sense of hearing could still pick up what they were saying, which made the location seem not as bad. Then again, he had an exceptional hearing, and he would still be able to hear them from a mile away.
He was in the process of tuning out everything the boy said (because nothing he said mattered to him) and only listening to Lucy's voice (that wasn't very hard; he did that everyday) when another voice intercepted with his eavesdropping. "Sir, how may I help you?"
"Not now," he grumbled, trying to go back into the two's conversation. When his ears successfully stopped listening to the waiter (or the waiter stopped talking), he was already picking up Lucy's not-too-calm voice.
"W-what are you doing?"
And when he looked back, the boy's face was leaning towards Lucy's.
.
.
.
"Lucy-san," the boy said, his face close to Lucy, "You have something near your eye." He closed his eyes and blew, soft wisps of air touching her skin. His fingers wiped at the part, brushing away loose strands of blond hair. "Okay, it's gone."
.
.
.
Natsu became a hundred degrees hotter, literally. The bastard just kissed Lucy. He sure as hell won't be letting him get away with it. After he punched him in the face, he's gonna castrate the bastard and make sure he can't have children. Then, he's going to—
"Sir, you're melting the knife!"
Sure enough, there was a puddle of gray liquid which could only have been the metal knife he was holding in his hand. Still, it didn't calm him down one bit, his anger still rolling in waves around him (and really, the whole restaurant could feel it; the customers were already sweltering).
"Why is it suddenly so hot in here?" He heard Lucy say, his selective view only picking up her hand fanning her face.
The boy's eyes roamed around the room, accidentally making eye contact with him. Another utensil from the table was broken. His intense glare shook the boy. "I-I-I don't know, but let's just g-go to where you want to go next, okay?" Standing up, he gripped Lucy's hand and bolted out the restaurant, leaving him fuming in his seat (and with two separate bills to pay).
In an unexplainable manic sensation, he chuckled darkly, scaring the customers near him. Lucy's date wanted to disregard every single threat he said? Then he'll make sure he remembered exactly why they were called threats and not requests.
The park was so full of life for a typical weekday. Kids were playing on the grass, running around with little feet and so much enthusiasm packed in small bodies. The day seemed so perfect and Natsu hated it (okay, maybe his thought process was becoming negative, but it was all that boy's fault). Intent now, his eyes searched the different masses of people for signs of brown and blond hair, not that difficult from high up a tree. He found them shortly after, casually strolling through the park. A sudden rush overcame him the very moment his eyes laid on the boy, and the only thought running in his mind was that he had to get back at him somehow.
And so, the silent assaults started. Every time the boy was just about to sit down, the bench would 'accidentally' catch fire without any way of lighting it on fire whatsoever. At two completely random times, each of his shoes stuck to the pavement, and upon further inspection, he realized that the rubber at the bottom was melted. Sometimes he felt his back burning and it really was because his clothes were scorching hot. His pants were frayed at the bottom because of some fire appearing right beside him. It seemed like every sort of fire accident happened to the boy, and Natsu was enjoying every minute of it, especially since he was the cause. He took pleasure in seeing the boy's frightened, anxious face. Good. He was getting his message.
Another not-so-tiny flame was sent the boy's way when Lucy abruptly stopped, forcing him to eat his fire back. He groaned at what he had to do, but he wouldn't have ever in his life risked Lucy being hurt. Gazing down, he heard her excuse herself.
And she was going towards his tree.
Oh crap.
"Natsu!" she called, "You're in there, aren't you?"
Already discovered, he jumped down from the tree, landing right in front of Lucy. She only stared at him as he (on impulse) grasped both her hands, intense resolution in his eyes. "Luce, for whatever he did wrong to you, I swear I'm gonna beat him—"
"What do you mean?" Lucy cut him, "He didn't do anything wrong!"
Natsu could only stand in shock as she defended the one person he wanted to punch in the face so badly. By going against her damn date, he's also going against Lucy, and that did not sit well with him. "Lucy. . ."
"I know you, Natsu," she continued, tone softer yet harder at the same time, "Look, I know you're only looking out for me, but please, stay out of my love life." She pulled her hands from his slackening grip, and turned around, walking away from his still-shock figure.
Being dropped like a hot potato, the walk back to the guild seemed so depressing. Head bowed, shoulders hunched, hands in pockets, his position said 'desolate' in clear, bold letters. There was only one thing he could think of.
If Lucy herself didn't like what he was doing, then what was the point of doing it?
Suddenly, his ears perked up at a sound. He swore he heard a sniffle from somewhere. The next thing his hearing picked up only confirmed his suspicion, and his feet had already started to run back.
He's been too familiar with the sound for more than he liked.
It was Lucy's strained voice, the voice she used when she was about to cry.
The sight that welcomed him when he arrived at the very edge of the park was a curled-up Lucy, sitting against a tree trunk that could only provide her with little shade from the sun's rays. The sniffles had evolved into hiccups, and he was sure now that she was crying. Her date was nowhere in sight.
Kneeling down in front of her, he reached out for her shoulders. "Lucy. . ." was the only thing he could utter.
"I'm so stupid, Natsu." She laughed, void of humor and full of pity, and he didn't like how it sounded. Lucy's laugh wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be bubbly and sweet and bright.
His hand tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear, a thing he usually did to comfort her. "No, Luce, you're not," he said, "He is."
Her head snapped up to look at him, eyes wide and angry. "I am, Natsu!" she shouted, pounding her fists at his chest. He received the blows willingly, only letting her vent out her frustration on him and holding her shoulders comfortingly as she did. "I believed that he liked me!"
When she calmed down enough, breathing heavily from emotion, he gently unfurled her clenched fists, his thumbs caressing the back of her hand. "Lucy," he said tenderly, "You are one of the most wonderful girl I've ever met," his eyes hardened, "And that bastard is stupid not to notice that."
More tears poured from her eyes. "Natsu. . ." And she clung to him, crying on his shoulder, gripping his shirt for comfort. His arms engulfed her in an embrace, his hand stroking her hair. Everything stopped for a moment.
Once her hiccups came less frequent, he pulled back and wiped her tears away. "Are you feeling okay now?"
Her head nodded. "Yeah," she said, voice still scratchy from crying, "I'm fine." She stood and hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hands, dusting her skirt off. "I better go."
He looked up at her, dumbly nodding his head. "S-sure, Lucy."
His eyes followed her as she walked away, but not without turning around to give him a small smile, saying a soft "Thanks, Natsu, for everything."
When she was almost gone from his view, her figure steadily shrinking, he let out a sigh. Lucy always got her feelings hurt, no matter how bad he threatened those bastards. If he had Lucy, he'll make sure she won't get hurt. He won't ever make her cry, and he'll love her—
He stopped his thoughts. What the hell was he doing, standing there and thinking about stupid things? He still had to ask Happy to help him cheer Lucy up, like they always did.
"There, I won the bet," the boy said, holding his hand out for his winning, "I went on a date with Lucy and I'm still not in the hospital."
"You might want to return the money."
Natsu stepped out of the shadows, but still had enough of them to give a harder edge to his face. Arms crossed over his chest, he gave the now trembling boy a hard stare. The others around them had already scampered away, knowing just how tense the atmosphere was. And, they knew that when the fire mage did such a face, it never promised mercy.
"S-salamander!" the boy squeaked, stepping back to get away from the heated mage.
"You made Lucy cry, you bastard." An almost maniacal grin appeared on his face, showing his sharp fangs. "I'll never forgive you for that."
The boy's trembling worsened when he cracked his knuckles. The bastard deserved it. Lucy didn't deserve someone like him. "W-wait, Natsu-san! S-stop!"
"How about I do all of the above? Just because I'm feeling extra giving today."
With every step he took towards the boy, he shrank more and more against the wall, wide-eyed and terrified. Satisfaction coursed inside him at the sight.
It's been a while since an idiot didn't take his threat seriously.
notes: We all know how overprotective Natsu gets when it comes to Lucy.
notes2: And we all know what jealous dragons do.
notes3: I get overprotective about something, too.
notes4: That's right, reviews.
notes5: It's weird, I know.
notes6: Because you can't possibly be overprotective of something you can't touch or hear.
notes7: But you could see it. Okay, not so weird anymore.