Chapter 10
The Eye of the Tiger
"You have to aim Lucy!" I told her as she drew back her bow for the eightieth time. Practice arrows littered the lawn haphazardly, few had even reached the target. We'd been at this for an hour and I could tell Lucy was already exhausted. She wasn't strong enough yet to pull back the bow string accurately, her arms shook and she stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.
"What do you think I'm trying to do!?" She snapped, already frustrated with herself.
"Here let me show you." I nudged her aside and took the bow from her. I nocked the arrow, the bow was light, the tension on it weaker than I was used to. I had to be careful not to over draw, or else I would lose my aim. "Watch the tip of the arrow and…" I released the arrow. It zoomed through the air and made a soft thunk as it imbedded into the bullseye. "…let your body do the rest! Try to aim for the target as a whole right now, after you do that, then change your position slightly to improve your accuracy." I passed the bow back to her and stepped aside. She took her stance, frowning in concentration, the knuckles on her right hand white as she death gripped the handle. She released the arrow, it sailed in an arch through the air sinking into the dirt just shy of the target. Sadly, this was an improvement.
"Aww come on Lucy! Can't you hit the target at least once!?" Chided Gajeel from the peanut gallery. She whipped around to scowled at him, I chucked while she had her back turned to me and abruptly stopped when she turned back around.
"Relax your bow arm." I coached. "Don't be so rigid. And remember, draw to the corner of your mouth not your jaw." She drew again, her eyes zeroed in, her breathing calm and regular. I knew she was going to nail it before she released the arrow. It wasn't perfect, but the arrow pinned into the yellow. Her eyes lit up and she had a sharp intake of breath.
"I did it!" she exclaimed
"You did." I smirked at her excitement, even though her improvement was mediocre at best. "Now, do it again. Just like that, except this time aim a little higher." Right as I was explaining this to her Wendy and Erza stepped onto the field, taking the target to the right of us. The last time I had seen Wendy practice was months ago, she had some serious promise back then. I was eager to see her progress, which was undoubtable under Erza's guidance.
Lucy took aim again. Her next arrow flew over the top of the target, she had over compensated. Right as Lucy was about to turn to me for feedback, Wendy let loose her first arrow. Wendy's arrow whistled through the air, hit the target dead center, then a small, hazy blue force field exploded on impact. The force field only lasted a couple seconds before it crackled like a firecracker out of existence. 'Ooo's and 'Aaah's sounded from Gajeel, Mira and Juvia, who were there to watch today's practice. Wendy's improvement was impressive, a few months ago she had only managed a couple sparks on impact. I turned my attention back to Lucy.
"Your form was better that time, see how the arrow had more travel? Try again, just aim for slightly above the bullseye rather than above the whole target." I instructed. After Wendy's little show, Lucy had tensed, I could tell that a self-consciousness had washed over her that hadn't been present up until now. Wendy let loose her next arrow, the force field that hit this time was strong enough to tip over the target. Lucy stared at it for a second, her lips melting into a down turn.
"Natsu…. How do I….?" She started. I reached out to comb some hair away from her face, letting her silky hair slide through my fingers, parting it slightly as the breeze had caused it to be a little tangled.
"We all start from somewhere, Lucy." I encouraged. I mean, I started when I was eight rather than twenty-two, but hey. "It just takes a lot of hard work and practice. You'll get there. Promise." I attempted to give her what I thought was a reassuring smile, but I felt like it came off cheesy. She set her jaw and determinately picked up her bow again. She was about to let set another arrow, I noticed she was still tense. "Breathe. Relax. Try not to think of anyone or anything else. Take your time. It's just you, your bow and the target." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I could see the rise and fall of her chest as she took a couple seconds to let her body relax, concentrate on drowning everything else out. When she opened her eyes again she immediately let the arrow loose. It hit the target right on the lower edge of where the yellow meets the red, a single spark issued out of the impact.
"I did it!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "I did it! I didn't even know I could do that! Did you see it!? Did you see the spark!?" She leapt for me, hanging her arms around my neck. I beamed despite myself, putting a hand on her back to settle her down.
"You did." I nodded. "Let's take a break and have some lunch."
"To retreat lead with your back foot first followed by your front foot, an advance is the exact opposite. Lead with your front foot, then your back foot… yeah just like that… good…. lean your knees over your feet a bit more."
"Are you sure this is right? It feels funny." Questioned Lucy, an eyebrow cocked. After lunch I had taken her to the fencing arena. I started her out with a foil, the lightest of the swords. The foil in my own hands felt weird and flimsy compared to Igneel's Fury.
"Yes, I'm sure this is right." I chuckled. She did look a bit absurd, her movements were so stiff and concentrated that she reminded me very much of a crab. I was struggling with getting her to relax, to feel the weapon and her opponent rather than focusing on one thing at a time. "Okay, try again." We were practicing lounges, the easiest, least complicated offensive maneuver I could teach her in a short amount of time. "Good." I praised as she poked the dull tip of her foil at my right pec. "Now when I lounge, retreat and parry…..yeah! Like that!" For several minutes we practiced like that, advance, lounge, retreat, parry. She was getting the rhythm of it down, hardly missing a move, but I could tell she was concentrating too much on the pattern instead of predicting my next move. To throw her off her next parry I countered by swirling my foil around hers, sending her weapon into the air, the balled tip of my foil at her throat. She stilled, her eyes on mine, chin level. "Sword work is like chess. You have to predict your opponents next movements. The longer you cross swords the more opportunity you have to learn about your opponent. Are they balanced? Do the rely more on speed or strength? Are they more cunning or brutish? What skills do you have that you can use to your advantage? Always. Always looking for an opening. If you see a hole in your opponent's defenses, try to corner them into that same position again, it's likely that hole will still be there." I lowered my foil went to go collect hers, handing it back to her handle first.
We sparred for a bit longer, I mainly taught her defensive maneuvers. I really didn't have time to teach her properly, but if I could at least teach her to block, it could likely save her life. "Watch my feet and my shoulders, they'll tell you what my next move is going to be." I had slowed my movements down to what I thought was slow-mo, apparently it wasn't enough because I still caught Lucy off guard more than I had intended to. Sweat started forming on her brow, and her breathing was rapid and irregular, but she was much better at this than she was at archery. I went to parry her next movement, at the last second she had redirected her angle and caught me in my armpit. I smirk tugged at the corner of my lip. "Clever girl."
Lucy stood across from me breathing heavy, her hands on her knees. Her long hair was frizzy from the humidity, baby hairs had escaped the pony tail, curling around her face and ears. "How do you make it look so easy?" She managed between gasps.
"My natural physical prowess." I teased arrogantly, flexing my biceps for her. She rolled her eyes at me.
"I think I'm done for the day. My arms feel like they're going to fall off and I can't feel my butt anymore."
"Want to test that theory?"
"Ha. Ha." She replied dryly. Although we've been sharing the same bed for the past few days, we've hardly made any physical advances despite that one time in her dorm room. She was only living in my room because the rest of Fairy Tail has kind of assumed there's more between us than there really is. Trust me, things were getting pretty awkward. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I minded having her in my bed every night. But it was also pure cruelty for my genitals. There was definitely an electric tension between us, I could tell by the way she sometimes looks at me, the way she stood next to me in the guild hall, the way she snuggled up deep in sleep. Ever since her capture however, there's been a certain distance, a distance that I didn't want to push based on recent events. She was becoming difficult to read, which, I'm not going to lie, only made the situation hotter. The only one that has caught on to the tension between us is Grey, that bastard's been making snide comments around every turn.
"Lucy!" Exclaimed Grey from our table as Lucy reappeared into the guild hall after having showered and freshened up. She had her hair up in a half pony tail, wearing a cropped college crew neck and high-waisted leggings. Grey stood up, wrapping an arm around her waist and ushered her to our table. Lucy took the gesture in stride like it was no big deal. I knew Grey better than that, I knew he was doing that shit to test me, get me to say something about it. Fucker.
"I heard you bested Natsu this afternoon!"
"Yup! Natsu's no match for my slick moves!" She joked, pretend karate chopping the air.
"Yeah… I'll bet he's not." Said Grey, wryly, a dirty grin on his face. I kicked him under the table. "So Luce, you going to 'S' class practice tonight?" Grey deflected.
"'S' class practice?"
"Within guilds there are different ranks, your rank determines what level of job you're a loud to take. In Fairy Tail, 'S' class is the highest rank; an 'S' class wizard can take any job they want. It's more for safety than anything else." I explained.
"Okay, so who are the 'S' class's?" Lucy asked.
"Laxus, Jellal, Gildarts and Erza."
"…And Natsu." Finished Grey. Thanks bro, way to throw me under the bus.
"You're 'S' class!?" Lucy whipped around. "You never told me that!"
"Loosely." Continues Grey. "Makarov was always threatening to revoke Natsu's title due to all the trouble he gets in."
"Will. You. Shut. The. Fuck. Up." I say through gritted teeth.
"What? Afraid I'll embarrass you in front of your girl….Ouch!" I kicked him hard on his shin before he could finish that sentence.
"You know what!" I growled. Grey was getting a little too big for his breeches.
"You don't have to kick me!"
"I'm confused. What's going on?" Asked Lucy, who thankfully seemed to have missed something.
"I kicked you 'cause you were being a twat!"
"What did you just call me!?"
"A twat!" I reconfirmed.
"Why you!" Grey flew across the table at me, both of us landing on the floor, wrestling for top position.
"Nice to see you're confident about our match Natsu, seeing as you have energy to spare." A voice above me said that could only belong to Erza. Shit. I didn't realize I was back in the lineup already. I pushed Grey to the floor, making sure to knee him in the gut on my way to my feet. Last time I spared with Erza, I ate it. Bad.
"Don't expect for me to make the same mistake twice." I taunt, folding my arms across my chest.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Erza chimed as she sauntered away.
Rain pitter-pattered off the roof of the pop up tent Mira and Gajeel had pitched in the lawn for the rest of us to watch the match under. I helped Wendy unfold the lawn chairs, already freezing in my light weight North Face wind breaker. "So, how do these things work?" I asked Wendy.
"Well the partners will pick a category, they can pick mixed martial arts, cage fighting, archery, sword work or strictly magical attacks. They used to be just all out brawls, but I guess Makarov decided we needed more structure after Gildarts and Jellal blew up half the guild hall a couple years ago." Wendy shrugged, pulling a soda out of a cooler Mira had set up, and plopped herself in one of the lawn chairs. I sat down next to her.
"Does anyone ever get hurt?" I asked, fascinated.
"Sometimes." Wendy admitted nonchalantly. "Mainly it's just a lot of nasty bruises, I did have to use some of my magic to patch up Jellal last time though."
"How do you become an 'S' class wizard anyways?"
"Simple. You just have to beat an S class wizard in a duel. You can challenge any of them at any time. Apparently right before I joined Gajeel challenged Natsu and lost pretty badly, he was still pouting about it by the time I came around." Wendy held a hand up to her mouth to conceal giggling at the memory.
"Who did Natsu challenge?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Hmm, I don't know. Never thought to ask." Said Wendy, pensively tapping an index finger to her chin. A voice who had been eves dropping on the other side of me said.
"He challenged Laxus." It was Lisanna, she had taken the vacant seat to my left. I tensed, a little intimidated. Her demeanor was very poised, very Vogue to my Sport Illustrated. She had on a Burberry trench coat that I didn't even want to think about how much it cost, and a stern expression. I had a hard time imagining her with Natsu, who wasn't polished and was so spur of the moment. It was a lot easier to see why she would be with someone like Laxus, someone who was always put together.
"Oh." I supplied, at a loss of what else to say to her. Lisanna didn't bother a glance in my direction, instead she was focused on Laxus and Gildarts, who had entered together off the right side of the field, smiling and laughing.
"They're about to start." Lisanna stated, a smile finally cracking across her lips. I sat in my chair, still as a statue, afraid that anything I would have to say would be the wrong thing. This was Natsu's ex, sitting next to me, made more awkward by the fact that whatever my relationship to Natsu was, was kind of up in the air. This was the girl he had obviously loved at one point, if the picture on his dresser was any indication.
Laxus and Gildarts bowed to each other, each wearing some kind of martial arts robe that for the most part seemed to be repelling the rain. Their match took off then, Gildarts sent a roundhouse kick to Laxus's head, Laxus ducked under it and was able to take a jab at Gildarts ribs. "Gildarts can't practice his magic with anyone other than Natsu." Supplied Lisanna unprompted.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Gildarts's magic uses a lot of fiery explosions, it can be pretty damaging for the surrounding property. Since Natsu's magic is based in fire it's not as effective on him." Lisanna explained, I didn't miss the hint of pride her voice implied.
I nodded. "Makes sense."
"Whoa! That was so cool!" Exclaimed Wendy, clapping her hands together and standing up to get a better look. I missed it. Somehow Gildarts had brought Laxus to the ground, his legs coiled around Laxus's head. Their match went on for about 40 minuets, it was hard for me to tell exactly what was going on through the rain, and the speed at which they moved. Ultimately Laxus won, trapping Gildarts in such a way he had to tap out. They both rolled over and stood up.
"Not bad old man." Sneered Laxus as he held out a hand to Gildarts, who clasped it.
"Only took you 27 years." Smiled Gildarts, then they walk off the field together, arm in arm, bragging about themselves and talking about beers they'd share later on that evening.
"BETS! BETS! PLACE YOUR BETS!" Gajeel and Grey walked around the tent, holding up a jar that had folded bits of paper in it. Both of them, had sporting a mischievous grin as they came down our little isle.
"Oh! My money's on Natsu!" Said Wendy, leaping up, eager to place her bid.
"Mine too." Said Lisanna coolly.
"You two are crazy!" Laughed Grey.
"Yeah. No way. Erza wiped the floor with him last time!" Boomed Gajeel.
"And they're fencing, fencing is like Erza's specialty. No way. Natsu's got no chance." Said Grey.
"Something tells me things aren't going to unfold the way they did last time." Said Lisanna, defending herself, shoot me a sideways glance.
"What about you Lucy? Who are you betting on?" Asked Grey, a suspicious twinkle in his eye.
"Oh. Uh. I'm not betting." I say nervously, waving my hands in front of my face.
"Awww why not!?" Said Grey and Gajeel at the same time.
"I don't even know what kind of magic Erza uses. It would hardly be fair."
"What I'm hearing is; you don't believe in Natsu." Tested Gajee, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Not enough to put my money where my mouth is." I teased back. Grey flashed me a brilliant smile and said.
"Don't let him hear you say that."
Erza and Natsu stepped onto opposite ends of the field then. Grey and Gajeel scurried back to their seats, and a hush fell over the tent. Whatever this was, was about to be intense. Erza looked magnificent, she was wearing a deep red plated armor with a long sword that seemed to be made of matching material. Her hair was braided up into rows, and she walked towards the center of the field with all the regal grace befitting a queen. Natsu seemed uncharacteristically focused. He was shirtless, the rain water making the muscles on his torso gleam, his wet hair plastered to his head, dripping onto his face. He held his katana unsheathed, relaxed at his side in his right hand. As the both approached the center, they nodded abruptly at each other and bowed, never breaking eye contact.
"Flame Empress Armor." Whispered Wendy under her breath.
"Huh." I whispered back.
"Erza uses a kind of summoning magic. She can summon from an arsenal of legendary armor and weapons. She can even summon them directly onto her body! It's awesome!" Explained Wendy. I got a sharp kick to the back of my seat from Juvia who was seated behind me.
"Hush!" She scolded.
I turned to give her a nasty glare, but then whipped back around when I heard the first clang of metal on metal. The red and black blades flashed in a blur through the air. Both expertly timed, expertly blocked. The two wizards locked in deadly dance, equally matched. It wasn't until Erza sliced at Natsu's abdomen, only missing because Natsu sucked in at the last second, that it registered they weren't using practice swords. I gasped, caught on the edge of my seat. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Relax." Said Lisanna. "He's got this." She assured me confidently. Vaguely I wondered why she had so much stock in Natsu, was it because she knew him better than I did? Was it perhaps because she still had feelings for him?
Erza lunged forward, aiming for a jab at Natsu's right shoulder. Natsu advanced forward as well, but he leaned left out of the way and maneuvered his sword through a hole Erza had left under the right side of her left arm. A horrible metal on metal screeching sound told us that Igneel's Fury had made contact with the Flame Empress armor. Everyone in the tent audibly sucked in a breath, all of us locked in, fixed on the match. The rain kicked up, bringing with it an eerie mist. Water poured off of Natsu and Erza's heads, dripping from their blades as they engaged again. Their movements were faster than I thought possible, it took all my concentration to keep up, and I still missed parts. Although we were outside there being an odd stillness to the surrounding nature, no birds chirping, no wind rustling the leaves, no sounds of distant traffic. Other than the splattering down pour, beating like a drum against the roof the tent, the clash of swords and the labored breathing of opponents were the only sounds. It was like the whole world had stopped, there was nothing, nothing but these two in an empty field.
Natsu went to spin around out of one of Erza's attacks, Erza didn't hesitate, she swiped up ready to lash out at Natsu's back. Natsu caught her blade with his own by drawing his sword over his shoulder. Another horrible metal screeching as the wet blades slid off of each other. Losing no time Erza attacked, fiercely, arching her blade upwards, again, targeting for Natsu's right shoulder. Natsu's blade erupted into flames, making the katana look demonic and possessed. Using the leverage Erza's arch had given him, Natsu knocked the sword in Erza's hand. I had assumed that would be it. That was the end of the match. Instead a golden light spun quickly around Erza, casting her only for a split second in a goddess-like glow. When the golden threads of light slithered away Erza's armor was gone, as well as the sword Natsu had knocked loose. What replaced them is what appeared to be a kind of yellow cargo pants and a bandage bra. Instead of the strange red blade she had been using earlier, she now had a katana, although this one looked more traditional than Natsu's.
Erza came at Natsu with a new found speed and fury. Natsu often had to duck, or leap out of her way. I don't know how long they spared like that, what could have been hours seemed to transpire in minutes or seconds. They were both entirely focused, unwavering, immersed in a universe were only the two of them existed. Natsu's advantage in strength was met evenly by Erza's speed. Natsu was right, this was not a game of sword or skill, this was a game of wits. What had Natsu said?
'Sword work is like chess. You have to predict your opponents next movements. The longer you cross swords the more opportunity you have to learn about your opponent. Are they balanced? Do the rely more on speed or strength? Are they more cunning or brutish? What skills do you have that you can use to your advantage? Always. Always looking for an opening. If you see a hole in your opponent's defenses, try to corner them into that same position again, it's likely that hole will still be there.'
Like a light bulb, Natsu's strategy went off in my head. Twice now Erza had gone for Natsu's right shoulder, and twice now she had been bested. She had an opening when she made that move, the right side of her left arm…... all Natsu had to do was….
"Aaaggghh!" Cried Erza, her right arm clasping over a gash on her left, blood spilling over her fingers. She and Natsu stared at each other intently, chins level. Natsu lowered his sword to his side.
"First blood." Natsu stated. A shit eating grin breaking the tension in the air. "I finally did it! I finally bested you Erza!"
An equally snide grin spread across her face. "Yeah…. With my left arm."
"OH SHIT!" Exclaimed Grey, as if he just now realized Erza had been fighting with her left arm this entire time. Gajeel's laughter echoed into the sky, scaring away birds in a nearby tree.
"See. I told you." Said Lisanna, standing up and smoothing out the wrinkles of her trench coat. "Maybe you should learn to have a little more faith in him, Lucy."
"…All that jazz about model's having it rough is utter nonsense. I do it because I think it's great fun!" Replied Mira. I had just asked her what being a Victoria Secret model was really like. "I do think it helps being in a guild though. Keeps me humble you know." She said through a handful of fries. Fries. This woman ate fries.
"Wow that does sound awesome." I say putting down my beer. Apparently it's tradition to get trashed after an 'S' class match. Gajeel, Grey, Cana, Lisanna and Juvia were playing flip cup. Wendy, who wasn't old enough to drink yet, was playing chess with Jellal, and all the 'S' class wizards hit the showers.
"I can tell my agency about you if you want?" Continued Mira. I threw my hands, up turning beet red.
"No! No! I couldn't"
"Don't be shy! I see what you're sporting under those clothes." Mira teased, giving me a wink, the head of her beer sloshing over the rim of her mug as she nudged my shoulder with hers. "Come on! Don't tell me you've never thought about it!?"
"Well… over the summer I do work at a sports bar I have to wear a uniform for."
"See! What bar!?" Mira exclaimed. I told her. "You're kidding! I used to work at that same bar when I was your age!"
"No way!" I exclaimed.
"Yes way! Actually… I think I still have the uniform…."
Maybe it was the beer, or that I was spent from today's events, or maybe it was because I was caught up in the thrill of making a new friend, but somehow I found myself in Mira room sorting through her clothes trying to help her find her old uniform. The room it's self was a girly girls dream. She had a king sized bed with satin sheets and a velvet, grey, pleated head board. Her end tables and dresser where mirrored, she had a plush peach colored rug in the center of her room with a large floral pouf on top of it. The walls were lined with gilt framed copies of her magazine centerfolds, and through a door off the left side of her bed was what I could only assume was the envy of the whole guild. Her own private bathroom.
"Hey. Mira?" I say, plucking up the courage for what I was about to ask her. "Can I ask you a question?" She popped her head out of the mountain of designer clothes that was her closet.
"Of course Lucy! What is it?" She said cheerfully.
"Lisanna…." I say simply.
"Oh. That." She said, returning to sorting hangers. "Why do you ask?"
"We just had an…interesting interaction at the match today. I'm trying to make sense of it."
"Well. Lisanna and Natsu were together for a long time, and they were best friends for a long time before that. Everyone, including Natsu, assumed they'd end up married one day."
"Oh." Was all I could manage. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, I'm not sure what kind of answer I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. Seeing Natsu in his guild, as an 'S' class wizard no less, made me feel farther away from him than I had when it was just the two of us. All the sudden I felt nervous, and intimidated by him, when I hadn't before. Now knowing that things with Lisanna had been that serious, made me feel stupid for even entertaining the possibility of any kind of anything with Natsu. "What happened?"
"Um. Well, it's kind of a sensitive subject within the guild." Mira took a pause from her searching to look at me. Something in my face must have goaded her on because she sighed and her eyes softened. "I'll tell you because I doubt Natsu will. Lisanna and Laxus somehow ended up going on a mission together, no one really knows what happened between the two of them on that trip but Lisanna came back acting all strange. Her and Natsu were starting to have issues anyways, that just seemed to be the icing on the cake so to speak. I'm not exactly clear on who broke up with who, but two weeks later Lisanna moved out of Natsu's room. Two weeks after that Lisanna and Laxus were pretty much an item."
"Wow." I said softly, letting it all soak in. "That must have been hard for him."
Mira nodded. "It was. And, you know Natsu. He doesn't exactly handle emotions well. He's either happy or angry, there's no in between."
I chuckled. "Ain't that the truth. So. Is that why he left?"
"What did he tell you about it?" Mira countered.
"Just that he didn't agree with Makarov appointing Laxus. Something about guilds not being meant to be monarchies."
"Oh, Natsu." She said almost endearingly, rolling her eyes. "Well I'm sure that was part of it. I mean, it was poor timing on Makarovs part, he should have realized…. Makarov made the announcement the day after Laxus proposed."
"What!?" I say, incredulous.
"Yeah." Mira gave me a knowing look like she agreed with me. "I mean we all kind of knew it was coming. Makarov had been hinting about moving to Florida, and he's been grooming Laxus to take over for years. Natsu acts like that was such a surprise, but I think the real surprise was how soon Lisanna and Laxus got engaged. Can't blame him. We were all kind of shocked." It all made sense now, I had always felt like Natsu wasn't telling me the whole story. Everything just seemed to click into place, the mystery solved. Why he acted the way he did. Why he had much contempt of Laxus. Who could blame him? Anybody would feel that way if the person who was supposed to be your brother stole your girlfriend. Why he left made total sense. What I was curious about is why he even came back.
"Do you think Lisanna still has feelings for Natsu?" I asked boldly.
Mira shrugged, returning to her closet. "I mean, even if she does, she's kinda made her bed don't you think?"
"I guess so."
"Speaking of Natsu. What's between you and him anyways. And don't feed me that 'we're just friends' bullshit like you did before."
Heat trickled down my ears and my heart started to race. Could I trust her? Was it wise to spill my laundry here? What if by telling Mira it got around the whole guild? How embarrassing would that be, especially if Natsu didn't feel the same way. At the same time, confiding in Mira was tempting. I mean, I had confided in Levi, but Mira knew Natsu better than I did. Maybe she could see my situation with a fresh perspective. "I. I don't really know." I confessed. "I thought we might have had something before coming here, but now that we're here I can't really say."
"Well. Have you guys talked about it?"
"Uh. No."
"Natsu can be pretty dense sometimes. You might have to give him a little shove in the right direction…. AHA!" Mira exclaimed twirling around and brandishing the uniform she had finally unearthed. Her gaze turned wickedly sinister, holding up her uniform to her body and admiring it in the floor length mirror. "And I have just the idea….. Want to go put yours on and give me a hand behind the bar tonight? Could be fun!"
What. The. Hell. Do. They. Think. They're. Doing?! Mira and Lucy were behind the bar, in matching uniforms, serving Gajeel, Grey and Gildarts, all of whom were practically drooling. Here I come back from my shower, fully expecting an entire evening where everyone recounts the details of my victory, only to be out shone by this atrocious scene. My mood promptly soured, those bastards. Naturally I had to investigate.
"NAATHU!" Slurred Gildarts, already hammered. "Look who finally decided to grace up with his presence!" Gildarts stood and waved his hand in front of his chest before dipping into a sarcastic bow. I playfully jabbed an elbow into his side.
"Cut it out Grandpa! Whatcha doing today letting Laxus beat you like that, eh?"
"Ahh circle of life! Even you will surpass the sensei one day, young grasshopper." He acted nonchalant about his loss, but I knew Gildarts well enough to know, deep down he was having a midlife crisis. "What are you doing without a beer!? Mira, honey, can you grab this fine champion a beverage?"
"Sure thing!" She came over to our spot on the bar, pouring into a pint sized mug out of the tap. Her outfit was almost exactly the same as Lucy's uniform, it suited Mira perfectly. Mira had always been appealing to look an, but man was she high maintenance. She once went on a date with George Clooney and I think he's the one that was left at the doorstep.
"So Mira.." Said Gildarts as he, not so smoothly, leaned his elbow on the bar. "Still waiting for that challenge." It was no secret that Gildarts has had a crush on Mira for a while now. He was always trying to get her to challenge him for an 'S' class trial. I think it's just an excuse for him to get closer to her. She had no chance, even I didn't choose to challenge Gildarts for my 'S' class trial for a reason. Interestingly she never exactly turns him down though.
"Hmm. I might now that you've finally lost to Laxus. I'd have a fair chance now!" She flirted back with him as she handed me my mug. "Seems to me you've lost your edge..."
Gildarts snorted. "No way baby! I'm still in my prime!" We both rolled our eyes at him.
Lucy's laugh drew my attention away from the both of them. Grey was leaning over the table to hold the ends of Lucy's hair; Lucy was leaning away from him laughing nervously. I don't know why but that enraged me. All I wanted to do was Spartan Kick Grey off his bar stool and wipe that stupid grin off his face, the only thing stopping me was social affect. "It's so soft!" Grey cooed, his hand inches away from Lucy's breast. He caught a glance at me out of the corner of his eye. That bastard. Lucy also shot a look in my directed and pulled away from Grey, her hair slipping out of Grey's fingers. She quickly turned around and busied herself making a drink nobody ordered. Grey sat back down on his bar stool and I walked over.
"Haha! Natsu! How does it feel to be bested by Erza again!?"
"You idiot! Were you even paying attention!? I won the match!" I say, puffing out my chest.
"Relax… he's just salty you lost him some coin." Said Lucy, turning around and handing me a glass filled with some kind of concoction she had made up.
"You bet against me!" I exclaimed. "Some best friend you are!" I took a sip of the cocktail Lucy had handed me, now double fisting. I had pretty much expected it to be syrupy and gross, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was strong with a citrus punch that wasn't too sweet. "Wow Lucy! This is actually pretty good!"
"Don't act so surprised." She said dryly.
"Whoa! Really!? Can I have one too Lucy?" Grey asked, overly excited about a stupid drink.
"Yup!" Lucy chimed. Grey winked and her, and she went about behind the bar regathering all the ingredients.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" I hissed at him, socking him in the shoulder.
"Ow!" Grey complained, holding his arm. "What are you talking about?" I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head in Lucy's direction. An evil smirk tugged at the corner of his face. "Oh. That. Well, I figured since you weren't doing anything about it, I would."
"Well cut it out!"
"What are you love birds whispering about over here!?" Interrupted Gildarts, wrapping an arm around both of us for support.
"Natsu's just mad he's got a little competition." Sneered Grey.
"Competition about what…...?" Started Gildarts. Right then Lucy bent over, searching for a clean glass in a lower cabinet. Her hair falling forward over her shoulders, a hint of her ass peeking out from under her skirt, her shirt riding up revealing a generous amount of her midriff. The curve of her hip, the smooth softness of her skin. I dry swallowed. My attention was regrettably dragged away by Gildarts heavy hand on my shoulder. "Aahh, Natsu, my boy, you are sooo fucked!" Chuckled Gildarts.
"I'm confused. What?" Asked Grey, oblivious. I knew what the old man was getting at, Gildarts had a dirty mind, even for my taste.
"I'm just saying, that girl over there." Gildarts jabbed a thumb in Lucy's direction. "She's got Natsu by the testicles pretty bad."
"Huh?" Said Grey, the conversation still going over his head.
"Ah! I'll tell ya when you're older kid." Said Gildarts, slapping Grey affectionately on the cheek. At this point Lucy had returned with Grey's drink and I prayed that she hadn't heard any of our conversation over the clinking of glassware from behind the bar.
The evening drummed on for hours. We played some drinking games, and raved to some music thanks to DJ Gajeel. Eventually Grey inevitably got pulled away by Juvia, Gajeel lost an arm wrestling match to Gildarts, and Mira and Lucy kept pouring us drinks. About 1:00am things started to wind down, the music got softer, the games stopped and the conversations lulled.
"Hey Lucy! We're out of lemons up front. Do you mind going to the kitchen for me and getting some more?" Mira asked Lucy. Lucy perked up.
"Yeah sure!" She lifted the part of the bar that was hinged and ducked under it. Suddenly Mira locked eyes with me and trailed her gaze off to Lucy, then back to me. As if to say 'Go with her you idiot!'. Alright, alright I can take a hint.
"Hey Lucy! Wait up!" I say, sliding off my stool and jogging to catch up with her. "I'll come with you!"
"Oh. Okay!"
After that we walked into the kitchen in an awkward, tense silence. The electricity between us was palpable. We walked together close enough that our arms brushed once. It was crazy to me how such a simple touch set my body on fire. Not literally, but you get the idea. By the time we made it to the large, empty kitchen my mind was going crazy, frantically thinking of something to say. Should I say anything? Should I just kiss her? I wanted to. There was such a distance between us, such an awkwardness that I was admittedly self-conscious the gesture wouldn't be welcome. "What did you think of the match today?" I finally settled for. She had made her way to the fridge, opened it and pulled out a sack of lemons.
"Hmm. I would say it was insightful." She said, her eyes meeting mine, twinkling with intelligence.
"Why do you say that?" My throat had gone dry. The fire in me begging me to just bend her over the counter and take her. My skin broke out in a cold sweat as I fought the urge. I was clammy and jittery being alone in the kitchen with her, and she was wearing that skirt I've been dreaming about sliding up her hips for months. For days we had been sharing a room, and that had been a slow torture sure, but for some reason right now lust had reached an intolerable level that could only have been fueled by booze. For a moment I got stuck, fixated on the gap between her shirt and the top of her skirt.
"Right before you won. I figured it out. I knew you were going to go for that hole Erza has on the right side of her left arm. You knew it was there a few minutes in didn't you?" She asked, she had caught me staring, and despite herself bit her lower lip. I took a step forward, pinning her between my body and the counter. I couldn't help it anymore, the fire in me was stocked, prodded on by her breaths, the way she nervously rubbed her knees together. Everything in my body just wanted to shut her up and shove my dick in her, the will of my mind the only thing holding me back. The world started to spin, not from the buzz of the alcohol, but from the effort. She didn't move, she didn't flinch, she just adjusted her gaze.
"Maybe." I teased, I wanted to be proud of her for catching on so quickly, but I was instead focused on the delicate hollow above her collarbone that was just visible from beneath her blouse.
"Anyways." She continued. "I think I've learned enough to be able to take you." She chided confidently. Her breaths becoming shorter, her heart beating faster. A smile spread across my face as I loomed over her, leaning in. She dropped the sack of lemons on to the counter.
"Oh yeah?" I said, more huskily than I had intended.
"Yeah." She breathed, her chin tilted upwards towards my face. I was so close I could feel heat of her breath on my neck, the hairs on my arms stood up on end.
"Let's test that theory, shall we?" I descended on her like a predator. Like the beast I really was. My fire making its demands impossible to disobey. My mind consumed by her smell, by her skin so velvety and soft that I was drowning in it. She leapt up my body to meet me half way. I put my hands at her waist to lift her onto the counter so I wouldn't have to bend down so far, her long legs wrapped around my torso. Unlike our little make out sessions before, there was nothing gentle or tender about these kisses. They were the act of a starving animal, and I was starved, starved for her. It seemed like she was just as hungry for me, her body arched against mine, her arms pulling on my traps to bring our bodies closer together. This wasn't just about sex; this was an emergency. I felt like I would die if I didn't have her, a wild urgency I hadn't experienced before. The fire going crazy inside me, barely in check. Not even bothering with her blouse I hiked her skirt up her waist. Oh fuck! She was wearing a thong. By the saints I didn't know how I was going to maintain control.
Her hands shook and fumbled on the buckled of my belt, in her desperate attempt to release me. I let her struggle for a minute, taking advantage of the time to try to cool myself off. I dug my fingers into her hair and plunged deeper into her mouth. My erection finally springing free, seeming to line itself up of its own accord. There were times for foreplay but this was not one of those times. I reached down to pull her thong to the side and without hesitation plowed inside of her. She cried out, I growled. My gums startled to tingle and my muscles became sore the way they did when I was transitioning. I froze, fear spreading like a disease through my veins. Because I had already done this before, I had given myself a false confidence that I could do this without hurting Lucy again. But I was wrong. I was so wrong. The dragon side of me wanted to fuck her as badly has the human side of me, and it was a constant grapple for who was in control.
Lucy started to writhe against me impatiently. I moved my hands to her hips to steady her, pushing downward slightly to secure her position. Bravely, slowly, I slid back out of her, leaving just the head in place. Before I lost my nerve I thrust back up into her. Lucy made a little moaning noise, and I gritted my teeth. She was so tight, so mind bendably perfect. Flames licked up inside of me, white hot, ready to escape… but they didn't. Every muscle in my body shook with restraint, clammy and nervous. I thrust up again and again, my hands around her hips pulling her onto my dick. Lucy's breathing was sharp and heavy, her whimpering becoming more desperate. God she was beyond perfect. This. This wasn't just sex; this was my salvation.
My rhythm became faster and harder as I was slowly building up my confidence to keep my furnace under control. I took a hand and wrapped a handful of Lucy's hair around it behind her back, pulling her head backwards, exposing her throat. I couldn't explain why but my eyes became fixed on a spot above her collar bone. My movements became even more rough as the fire started to escape my grasp, my vision blurring a haze of red. There was a screeching noise as the force on the impact started to scoot the granite island itself across the kitchen floor. My control was slipping through my fingers, but like a freight train, it was too late to stop it. The only consolation being the noises Lucy was making, and the fact that she seemed to enjoying it. I pushed her shoulders back so that she was lying flat on the counter surface, so that I could get a deeper angle. I fucked her raw, like an animal, like this was my only purpose, like I was pouring a bit of my soul into her. Her nails dug into my biceps as though she was clinging onto me for dear life as she writhed underneath me. My dick started to pulse, which seemed to set her off. Her insides started to close around my shaft, my red vision focused on the side of her neck, my teeth sharpening, the muscles in my shoulders and arms growing, the sane part of me was powerless to stop it. I sank as deeply into her as possible, practically climbing onto the counter with her. I was snarling as I started to cum, long jets of semen pumped out of me, and with it was all of my anger and frustrations, all my tension and anxieties. It was like I had melted back into a human being.
We were both gasping for breath, Lucy's death grip on my arms finally slackened. Slowly, she pushed herself up and I leaned my forehead against hers. Completely spent. I her kissed again, but this time it was more tender, more careful. "You know how long I've been wanting to fuck you in that skirt?" I finally managed, my breathing still labored.
"What took you?" She panted as I finally pulled out of her. Now that our bodies were separated I took a step back at the horror of what I had almost just done. I had lost control. Like I knew I would, and I did it anyways. I pulled my pants up. It was only by some miracle that Lucy was alright. I was afraid of myself, afraid that after this mind boggling session I knew I would want more. Afraid that like this time, the flames would find an outlet. Afraid that next time, Lucy wouldn't be so lucky. Lucy noticed that something was wrong. "….Natsu? What's wrong?" She asked, hopping off the counter and shimmying her skirt back down.
"Are you…. Are you alright?" I asked, grabbing both her shoulders and crouching down to look at her straight in the face. I needed her to be okay, I needed her to tell me she wasn't hurt. She searched my faced, concern for me flooding her features.
"Yeah. I'm Okay. Why? What's wrong?" Her brow furrowed and she looked confused, and maybe a little hurt at my reaction.
I ignored all her questions. I scooted the island back into its original position, and grabbed the sack of lemons off the counter. I took her hand in mine, trying to reassure her without words. "Come on." I sighed. "Let's get to bed." Luckily there was no one left in the hall, everyone else had gone to bed already. Poor Mira never got her lemons, though I had a sneaking suspicion Mira knew what she was doing.