I have the strongest urge to go to a street race. I haven't been to one in a few years now and my insides are telling me things have changed since I left. -sobs- I miss street racing!
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Ride 'em Hard
Chapter Thirteen
Lucy felt on top of the world every time Natsu pressed the button on the steering wheel to start up Fire Dragon in the middle of the race. Being cluttered around other cars trying to reach the front lines made her anxious, of course, but Natsu always made it easy as breathing whenever he gave her the heads up and to hold onto something. She couldn't really explain how nice it was being the fastest as they can, just sitting inside a tampered car and dodging people's makeshift weapons and bombs; being inside Natsu's car with him behind the wheel just did some sort of magic on her that told her that everything was going to be okay and the whole world was in their hands.
She took a delight in Natsu's face changing expression from that rare, super-serious look of focusing on his task on driving into that big, dorky and glowing face of pure joy and laughter in placing in the top three ranks. That was probably her favorite part of the whole experience. Seeing her partner just being who he is behind the wheel felt like a secret between them, and it made her heart flutter and lips to break into a cheerful smile when he laughed in victory.
The race Jason had sent out for everyone was done by an anonymous client, purely for amusement, and the payment to the winning driver was far more zeros Natsu has ever seen given out just for one race and no expectations. Those in Fairy Tail who did not partake in the race carefully observed the crowds for any suspicious activity or watchers and would speak privately inside their cars on the same station as the current racers and back to Makarov's office.
So far, everything just seemed like a normal race, as Natsu told Lucy. There was no brawling, no police activity high on their tails when they passed through the night streets of the city. Phantom Lord was not present at the meetup or anywhere in the starting line, making them guess that they were bunking back at their hideout. They also searched for Gajeel too, in the nooks and crannies of the empty factory buildings, alleyways or within the mass of people dancing, drinking and cheering on the race.
Lucy and Natsu placed second in the race, but Erza and Jellal won the prize money and had it handed to them in bricks by Jason into their hands. The third place was a Blue Pegasus racer, Natsu told her, by the name of Ichiya, and didn't come out of his ride as he went back to his small group to head home. It wasn't anything negative about losing, but Ichiya had a habit of wanting to meditate after every race he partakes in the "parfum" of his determination - as he claimed it would be good luck for the next round in the scent of being defeated.
Lucy was incredulous of Natsu's claim, until everyone who was tuned in on the radio agreed with him and began telling ten stories at once that pink haired driver just changed the station to one of Lucy's favorites.
"Enough of those weird-ass stories," Natsu sighed as he spun the wheel to reverse it towards the crowding exit that was overflowing with cars and herds of people. "Can't wait to head back and eat something!"
"Is that all you think about after a race, is eating?" Lucy raised an amused brow to him and seeing him grin. "Don't you wanna come with and see Juvia-chan and Levy-chan? They're suppose to be watching a movie and have snacks."
"We can ask Mira for something to take up there for them, like fruit and drinks. Porlyusica said Juvia needs to eat a lot to heal and also get her blood taken for testing," Natsu suggested with a shrug. "Not too sure how Gray would feel about it, though, bringing food into his apartment like that. He knows I make a mess."
Lucy blinked a few times, processing his words carefully before looking to him with a distraught look on her face. "What do you mean...Gray's apartment," she asked in a low voice. Natsu didn't seem fazed by her sudden change in tone as he shrugged.
"Yeah, Juvia's staying in Gray's apartment instead of Levy's room. Remember when Mira suggested that she stays in a quiet space? Levy's room is basically in the garage, so Gray suggested that Gramps had her moved to his crib once she woke up." Natsu looked to the absolutely shocked blonde, now becoming confused. "What's wrong, Luce?"
"I didn't know she was staying in Gray's place!" Lucy shrieked at him, making Natsu stiffen.
Natsu leaned away from her scrambling in the passenger seat. "Oh, yeah! I don't think I ever showed you where Gray lives! He lives on the floor below us at the end of the hallway opposite of ours; he's neighbors with Cana and Elfman, if I remember correctly. Yeah, and Lisanna lives on that floor too, so I guess it makes it easy for them to switch around in watching Juvia."
"That's not the point! Juvia is living with Gray right now," Lucy fanned herself frantically with red cheeks. "Now it makes sense why Cana is so hard on keeping him out of the bedroom!"
"Whaddya mean?" Natsu blinked. "It's not like Gray is gonna do anything to her. He offered his bedroom for her and he took his own car for sleeping - he's not sleeping in his apartment while she's healing up. Haven't you noticed him napping at all in the garage?"
Lucy shook her head, making Natsu rethink his question a bit. "Now that I think about it, he only naps in his car lately. I haven't seen him sleep any longer than a few hours at most, but that's probably because he wants to make sure Juvia's doing okay.
"Besides, what's so bad about Gray and Juvia staying in the same spot? It's not that much different from what we're doing, is it?" Natsu asked her with a shrug. "We even sleep in the same bed now, and we haven't done anything that would be bad."
"You sleepwalk if you're not in the same bed as me, Natsu," she told him with a sigh. Lucy tried her best not to let her cheeks go bright red at his remark of their sleeping arrangements; it really was just them sleeping and cuddling when she's sad or he was fidgety, so nothing there, right? "I'm not saying Gray would do anything bad to Juvia, but...it just seems like Gray just cares for her."
"Of course he does," Natsu grinned. "We all care for Juvia! Gray just cares a little bit more than he would like to admit. He kinda has a stick up his butt for that."
Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement at his snarky comment on their friend's personality. Leaning back on the chair and hugging her legs close to her, Lucy thought of something that began tickling her brain. "You don't find it odd?"
"Find what odd?" Natsu blinked, not taking his eyes off the road once they were able to enter the streets on the pathway to the garage.
"Sleeping in the same bed together," she whispered a bit shyly, unable to look at him when he stole a quick glance her way. She knew for a fact that her face was red, so she used one of her hands to fake an itch to her temple.
Natsu's lips twitched a little bit as he kept his smile down. "Nope! I actually like it a lot," he confessed casually, no doubt a hint of his tiny humor to make Lucy go to a brighter shade of red. "Really, not only do I sleep better at night but you're like the best cuddle buddy ever. Don't go cuddling anyone else but me, okay?"
"Oh my God, Natsu!"
They both broke into laughter after that, wiping stray tears from the corners of their eyes and clutching their stomachs. Every time they caught eyes they would snicker and poke fun at each other until they made it back into the garage and parked into their usual spot.
Realizing that they were still a bit early in coming back from the races and Mirajane was nowhere present at the bar, Natsu just shrugged and took hold of Lucy's hand and pulled her to the elevator laughing like the dork he was. Going to the floor, Natsu guided Lucy in a military march to Gray's apartment before knocking on the door rather loudly.
Lucy was able to hear Gray's irritated voice shouting behind the door to knock it off, along with some familiar feminine laughs as the dark haired racer yanked the door open and glared darkly at the two visitors. Dressed in his pajama pants and an old shirt and his shoes, Gray looked pretty ready to make himself comfortable with no interruption.
"What do you want, moron?" Gray directly snapped at Natsu, who remained his grinning self. "Next time you try busting down my door like that, you'll be shitting wood chips for a month."
"We're here to see Juvia and everyone else," Lucy chimed in sweetly, using her free hand to wave in greeting to him. "Can we come in, please?"
"Makin' it sound like this is a club," Gray grumbled in annoyance as he opened the door for the two of them to enter. "Just stay quiet, got it?"
"Yeah yeah, ice prick," Natsu snickered as they entered through the doorway to find the living room area occupied with the TV on with Lisanna and Levy on the couch with Juvia in between them, who was bundled in thick blankets.
Lucy could see how Juvia's face was still badly bruised, but she had much more color to her skin and brightness in her eyes as she watched the screen with a distracted gaze. Being noticed by Lisanna quickly, the two girls waved excitedly before the other two looked up to the newcomers.
"Lulu-chan!" Levy grinned brightly as she hopped on her spot on the couch, making Juvia blink away from the TV to see Lucy and Natsu approaching. The injured racer offered a polite smile in greeting, but made no move to get up like Lisanna and Levy did.
"How did the race go?" Lisanna asked as she hugged Lucy first and made room for Levy to jump onto Lucy for her turn. "We forgot to call Makarov to ask in his office. We're watching an old musical and it's pretty interesting."
"I picked it out - the book was much better," Levy grinned as she let Lucy go and returned to her spot on the couch beside Juvia. "Juju-chan hasn't seen it though, but read the book. I'm waiting for her conclusion on this debate; Lisanna seems set that the musical version is better than the book."
Lisanna made a teasing face to Levy, which the mechanic stuck her tongue out and make Juvia giggle lightly, being careful with her sore face. Lucy shook her head as she let go of Natsu's hand for the white haired woman to pull her to the couch. "We came in second, but Erza and Jellal took first place," she said as Lisanna got her to sit beside Juvia. "We were nearly blocked in this ring that the other racers were trying to do, but Natsu was able to escape in time and chucked a small grenade out. It was an absolute mess until the end!"
Looking to her companion while Lisanna sat on the armrest of the couch, Lucy offered the sweetest smile to Juvia. "How are you feeling, Juvia? I'm sorry I couldn't visit you earlier but I heard you were sleeping, so I didn't want to be a bother."
"Juvia feels fine, thank you for asking," she responded in a soft voice, hugging herself better with the blanket nearly engulfing her.
Levy sniffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you'd feel better if you ate everything on your plate, Juju-chan," she crossed her arms, slightly scolding her cousin who blanched and shook her head. "Speaking of which, Gray!"
The said racer stopped his conversation/bickering with Natsu and side glanced to the mechanic. "What do you want now, nerd?"
"Go get some fruit or something light for Juju-chan to eat or a flavored water, since you're not even paying attention to the movie. She needs to take in more water and fruit is healthy!" Levy declared with a pointing finger to him. "And some for me, too! Lisanna, you want anything?"
"Oi, I ain't a fuckin' butler!" Gray snapped in annoyance. "This isn't a restaurant or anything, so -!"
"Lisanna, you like strawberries, right?" Natsu asked before looking to the blonde. "Luce, I'll grab ya something too! I can help Gray out with carrying stuff up."
"Don't encourage them to -!" Gray was silenced when Natsu brought him into a headlock and scurrying an unwilling racer out of his own apartment. Natsu closed the door and Lucy watched with confusion as the distant fighting faded out to silence.
"Juvia isn't hungry or thirsty," the blue haired woman protested to her petite cousin with a frown. Lucy smiled warmly at the sight of Levy chiding her to stay quiet. "Juvia doesn't want to be a bother."
"It's not a bother, especially when you're not eating everything we give you for meals!" Levy huffed.
Juvia rolled her eyes and rest against the back of the couch in defeat. "Juvia is not used to eating so much at a time…"
"You'll get used to it eventually, Juvia-chan," Lucy said sweetly. "If it helps with anything, we drove by the Phantom Lord bar and it looks like they're safe from whatever is going on. They weren't at the races, but they had customers in the parking lot and Sue and Boze were on break by the small tree."
Juvia's eyes sparkled as a small smile perked on her lips. She shyly nodded and closed her eyes to reduce the incoming tears as she tucked her nose with the blanket. "Thank you, Lucy-chan. It makes Juvia feel so much better hearing that Toto-sensei and Sue-chan and Boze-kun are safe as of now…"
"Did anyone notice you driving by?" Lisanna asked the blonde worriedly.
"No, but Natsu and I are hoping to try and get ahold of someone from the bar and see if they're really okay," Lucy shook her head, lightly resting her hand on Juvia's lap in comfort when she sniffed and rubbed under her eye. "Things are looking good as of right now, right, Juvia?"
Juvia nodded slowly. "Juvia is still struggling to remember everything, but she's happy that the bar is okay."
Lucy smiled when Juvia curled up slowly on her spot, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder as she dried her eyes. Lucy settled herself comfortably between Juvia and have Lisanna slip on the cushion to share. Levy carefully lifted Juvia's legs over her lap to properly fit all of them on the couch, turning back to the TV and resume watching the musical.
"By the way, Lucy-chan," Juvia peeped softly.
"Mm?" the blonde woman breathed softly at the comfortable, contented position of being with her friends and having a 'normal' night of watching movies. It made Lucy feel like she had actual friends over for a sleepover, minus being where she actually is now. It felt nice.
"Juvia noticed that you and Natsu-san were holding hands pretty comfortably," the blue haired racer said in a somewhat teasing voice, cueing in Levy's snickering and Lisanna's surprised gasp. "Is there something you're hiding from all of us, Lucy-chan?"
Lucy paled in horror.
"You mean both Lisanna and Levy refused to let you sit on the couch?" Natsu snorted a laugh before getting elbowed in the gut by Gray. Ignoring the brutal hit to his abs, the pink haired man laughed hysterically as he teased the other racer in the elevator with a pointing finger and silly tears in his eyes. "Man, can you just imagine you getting whipped around your own apartment like that? Hahaha! You're such a whipped slave!"
"It ain't like that," Gray growled darkly, kicking the laughing man on the shin. "They claim that I would take up too much space on the couch and risk Juvia getting squished and hurting her. Didn't have a problem taking the floor, but then I see Lucy joining my furniture like it was a throne and no one stopped her!"
"You'll get over it, man," Natsu sighed as he wiped his eye, a doofus-looking grin on his face as he forced himself to calm down. "Girls are always like that, ya know? Remember when we were sixteen and we had our asses handed to us when we tried getting into Erza' bachelorette party because Jellal's party was going to a club that required ID?"
"That's because Mira hired a stripper without telling Erza and she didn't want you to slip it to Jellal. Thank all things holy Erza told him eventually, or I wouldn't have been able to handle more of Mira's threats of confidentiality."
"It was freaky seeing Erza cry and Mira laughing in the background," Natsu remembered with a nod. "Anyway, besides that, everything has been fine?"
"Yeah, for the most part," Gray shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "She's been fairly quiet, as you probably already know. She's talking and smiling a bit more, but she won't eat everything during meals and is very sore, even where the bruises aren't on her."
"Probably from being in a seizure," Natsu shrugged. "Porlyusica said something, like the whole body tightens for however long she's conscious and then stops, so it's gotta be pretty sore for her."
"Juvia tries to walk on her own when no one is looking, to the bathroom and stuff," Gray sighed. "I'm thinking of crashing on the couch incase she tries to make a break for it."
"Probably better for your back, too, than sleeping in your car, huh?" Natsu smirked teasingly when Gray gave him the finger. "Ya know Lucy was shocked when she found out that Juvia is staying in your apartment?"
"Ah?" Gray blinked in confusion.
"She probably thinks you two are gonna cuddle and you're gonna kiss all her booboos," Natsu whispered loud enough for him to hear, making his friend go red in the cheeks as his brow twitched in annoyance. "I'm actually impressed that you're pushing yourself to make sure she's alright, man. Kudos to you."
Gray rolled his eyes as the elevator dinged and open the doors to the main floor of the garage. "Not like I missed how cozy you and Lucy were comin' in my place. Yeah, I saw you two having happy faces and holding hands like two kids at recess!" he snorted at Natsu's paling expression as he left the elevator. "Don't tell me you two are gonna go to Make-Out Point and nuzzle your noses together? Natsu and Lucy sittin' in a tree -!"
"Shut up. It ain't like that, you shithead!" Natsu roared as he jumped on Gray's back, fully ready to kick the life out of him for his teasing.
"No fighting!" Erza's voice startled the two young men into a straight stand as she glared darkly from her spot by the bar, along with Jellal and Mirajane and Laxus. Majority of the members were back in the bar already while the others are still out. Evergreen and Elfman were helping themselves to drinks in the kitchen while Freed was checking over his female teammate's ride for any damages, having been hit during the small collision caused by Natsu.
With their heads bowed, Natsu and Gray hurried over to the small group of older racers and bowed in apology to Erza. Natsu sighed as he stood up and looked to Mirajane with puppy eyes.
"Hey Mira, can ya get some fruit for us and maybe some water?" he asked. "Levy wants Juvia to try eating or take in more water."
The platinum blonde smiled warmly when Gray nodded in agreement, his head still bowed. "I can make a small mixed bowl. I have some flavored water that may suit Juvia's taste for her to at least drink half the bottle," she said before slipping from her fiance's arms and going behind the counter.
Laxus, eyeing the two, stared at them in confusion. "What did ya mean by Juvia?"
"Oh yes, honey! I forgot to tell you," Mirajane giggled cutely as she pulled out a bowl from under the counter. "You remember Juvia Lockser, Gajeel Redfox's sister, yes? She is going to be staying with us for a while to recover from her injuries."
"What the fuck!" Laxus snarled with wide eyes, making everyone else stop to look to him. "Since when did that fuckin' happened?"
"The night you were running errands for Master," Erza told him with furrowed brows. Watching as something sparked in Laxus' face, the redhead tilt her head at him. "What's the big deal? Juvia is no threat to us, if you're worried about that."
"Well, she did hit Jet with her foot," Jellal said, making Erza look at him pointedly for him to clear his throat. "She didn't know where she was or who Jet is, but that's not important."
"How did she get here?" Laxus demanded to Natsu, towering over him with a serious voice that the younger racer rarely heard within the garage.
"Whoa, Laxus, there's no need to be -" Evergreen tried to stop his rising attitude from the bar, leaning against Elfman who was equally confused for the man's health.
"Answer me!" Laxus snapped, grabbing Natsu by his scarf and tugging him closer.
"Gajeel brought her here, saying she needed to be hidden," Natsu shrugged, completely calm while Gray was about to burst. "He didn't tell us what was happening, but Juvia was in bad shape when she came in and Gramps said we'd take care of her for him. He took off after that."
"Shit," Laxus whispered under his breath, dropping Natsu. Standing straight, the blond man cupped his hands around his mouth and practically imitated a megaphone. "Old man! Get your ass down here right now!"
Gray and Natsu turned to see the familiar head pop from the opening of his office, a rather incredulous look on his elderly face as he narrowed his eyes at his grandson. "What's got your balls entwined, boy? You know where I am!"
"Why did no one tell me we had a Phantom Lord here in our garage!" Laxus shouted angrily, making Mirajane sigh and whisper for him to stop shouting so loud. "Shouldn't ya have told me first, if you're taking all this shit seriously?"
"Didn't you listen to my announcement before the race, you idiot?" Makarov snapped as he made his way down the stairs. "You're just like your father, you know! Don't listen to anything I have to say and miss all the important shit - it's like talking to a fuckin' rock, boy!"
"Honestly, Laxus-kun, why are you so upset over this?" Mirajane scolded with her hands on her hips, a sign that she was becoming truly irritated with something.
The man snorted angrily as he crossed his arms. "I found Redfox being held on confinement at the police station when I stopped by before coming back." Looking to his woman, Laxus jerked his chin towards her. "You were in the bathroom when I caught sight of him. He looked like absolute shit!"
"What?" Makarov blinked as he got closer to the group.
"Ya heard me, right? I asked what was up with him and they told me he broke into a jewelry store," Laxus explained. "They wouldn't tell me anything in detail, but I guess his arm was badly damaged or something because they were putting stitches on. He wasn't talking or anything like he usually would, from what they were able to tell me."
"Which station?" Makarov asked seriously.
"Other side of the city, near the exit that heads off to the coast," Laxus shrugged. "I was checking in on the stuff you asked me to look at and the chief had something for me to look at."
"Son of a bitch," Makarov groaned and rubbed his hands on his head.
"Should we tell Juvia?" Erza asked with furrowed brows. Seeing Makarov shake his head, the woman frowned at his response and looked to her husband. "Why wouldn't we? She's been worried sick about Gajeel, and Levy, too!"
"We can't cause and suspicion from the FBI, Erza," Makarov reminded her sternly. "If either Juvia or Levy knows where he is, there is no doubt they will try to get out of the garage and go see him."
"Wait, suspicion from the FBI? The hell is going on here?" Natsu frowned and looked to the older racers, who went still for a moment at his presence in the room. "Since when did we hide stuff from them? What's goin' on?"
"Don't worry about it, Natsu!" Makarov and Laxus snapped together at the pink haired man, only then he noticed that his friend wasn't around.
Turning his head to one of the opened garage doors, Natsu found Gray leaning against the doorframe with the familiar glow of his cell phone in his hand. Blinking, Natsu figured it was best to leave him alone, knowing fully well that Gray had a complicated relationship with his cell phone. Looking back to Mirajane scolding both Makarov and Laxus for snapping rudely to Natsu, holding her kitchen knife and waving it under both of their chins, he took a spot beside the counter and waited for the fruit and drinks.
A hand came on his shoulder, prompting him to look up to see Erza offering him a small smile. Leaning down, she whispered softly into his ear, making sure no one but them could hear. "If you want to know, stop by our place while everyone is asleep. Jellal and I will fill you in on whatever we know, alright?"
Sighing, Natsu rest his chin on his upright palm. "Okay…"
Inside his personal bubble, Gray tapped his thumb on the screen of his cell phone in a frantic speed as he dialed the numbers. Checking to make sure no one was nearby him, Gray slipped outside of the building into the cooler air, taking a deep breath as he brought the phone to his ear.
Waiting for the other line to pick up, the dark haired man tapped his foot impatiently on the dirt, kicking up dust as he stared hard at the night sky. A click occurred on the other line, making his back straighten at the background noise of a groan and some swear words.
"The fuckin' time, man…" the voice grumbled in annoyance, obviously woken up from sleep. "Who is it?"
"Oi," was all Gray said before a long moment of silence.
The voice sighed long and deep, making Gray's jaw tighten a bit as he forced himself to remain calm as the other line seem to become more active in the conversation.
"I was wondering when you were gonna call me back, Gray. Your mom has been wanting you to come by for dinner," the voice said quietly.
"Keep that for another day, Dad," Gray grumbled in response, his eyes closing. "We need to talk about something."
"Yeah?" Silver snorted on the other side of the line. "You wake me up when I've just found time to sleep from my day job - out of the blue I might add! - and don't want to talk about how you basically ignore your mother and my calls just to see if you're still alive? That's nice to know right off the bat."
"You have a tough one in your station," Gray ignored his father's retort. "His name is Gajeel Redfox."
Silver was quiet for a second before grunting in response. "Yeah? What do you know about him?"
"Probably a lot more than you do, since he's not talking at all and has a injury on his right arm," Gray shrugged casually, a somewhat snarky grin on his face.
"And I'm going to take a wild, wild guess that you have something to do with him getting arrested, boy?" Silver said. "Or does this have something to do entirely different when it comes to Fairy Tail…"
"All I know is that you want the man to talk, right? I have someone who can probably get him to sing like a bird, if you'll do me a favor and keep the higher ups out of our business."
"So it has something to do with Fairy Tail. I get that," Gray heard his father chuckle under his breath. "Sounds like you know his friends, with what you're offering."
"Can you keep the FBI out of it or not, Dad?"
"Boy, I'm the chief of my station. Nothing goes through me to the heads unless I say so," Silver laughed into the phone. "My station is my fortress. They would need to put me in solitary confinement for weeks to get anything through me."
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"Nii-chan, you need to be careful when you leave your car."
"Yeah, yeah," Gajeel groaned in annoyance through the cell communicator installed in the car. Juvia warned him in her mother's language that no doubt made him stiffen in his seat once they pulled into the shipyard parking ramps.
The ramps were underground, connecting to the canals that lead to the river that housed ships and delivery cargo in stacks that could touch the sky. The building was small, a two story brick building with a single light in the ramp of the entrance and exit, no single form of life in the rest of the dark parking lot where the coordinates set them to be.
"The hell is everyone?" Gajeel grumbled in annoyance once he came to a park near the lit entrance. Juvia parked her own vehicle beside his away from the parking lot's exit, looking around for anyone in those fancy suits and shades.
"Probably inside," Juvia guessed in a cautious tone of voice. "Master Jose didn't mention anything about going inside."
Her brother seemed to agree with it and opened his door, making her blink at his casual behavior as he kicked his polished door shut. He made a hand gesture that was familiar to her, telling her to remain inside her car the whole time in case for any emergency. Juvia was grateful that her brother and herself took the time to practice hand signals and codes to figure out what to do or say in situations such as this. It made her feel a bit better that her step-brother was taking it seriously now.
Though the windows are tinted, Juvia signaled back that she understood and wished him luck. Carefully watching Gajeel approach the door, Juvia saw him click the button on the small, black panel until the door unlocked. Seeing Gajeel slowly disappear around the corner where she couldn't see, Juvia leaned back on her seat and let out a breathy sigh and run her hands over her face.
Looking to her passenger seat, Juvia eyed her guns and magazines carefully with tired eyes. Peeking through her fingers to the weapons made her stomach turn uneasy as she tried to think of better thoughts. As paranoid she was, Juvia still had no way to shake the feeling of the uncomfortable tickle in her body that just screamed to her that something wasn't right.
Closing her eyes, Juvia sighed deeply and rubbed her temples. "Just hurry up, Nii-chan. Please, please…" she whispered to herself, tapping her naked foot on the floor of her car. She didn't bother to put on shoes, since she had no intention of leaving her car for anything tonight.
A weird noise began to stir into her thoughts, making her reopen her eyes and blink herself back to her surroundings. Looking to her brother's car to see if his ride was behaving abnormally in the engine, seeing it perfectly fine with his headlights on and still as it could be.
Frowning, Juvia looked behind her to see if there was any cars left in the lot, although remembering that the area completely deserted and dark saved for the light from the entrance of the building. "What the hell…"
Echoing noises of tires screeching on pavement brought the blue haired woman to snap her head to the left - right outside her driver window - to see the smallest glimpse of a windshield and the front fender reflecting just the littlest bit of light from the lamp. Eyes widening, Juvia scrambled to put her feet on her seat and attempt to crawl and escape through the passenger door as the vehicle came at full speed her way, her mouth opening to scream…
The impact plunged right into Juvia's left side, shattering the driver's window and rocked Juvia until her head smacked against the breaking window before falling forward. Her head instantly spun in circles as she exhaled a scream with her arms stretched ahead of her, her face landing on her hard wheel as she coughed in pain.
Feeling blood begin to build up in her mouth, Juvia's eyes rolled closed as she tried to regulate her breathing from the shock and lean forward to deny any blood falling into the back of her throat. Her whole left side felt like she was being stabbed, throbbing intensely in unison with her pounding head. A hard ring occurred in her ears, her lips beginning to feel numb as she dropped her left hand to her seat, feeling the shattered glass beneath her fingers.
'The airbag...didn't go off…' Juvia slowly processed, suddenly remembering how she actually removed the bag from the steering wheel when she was connecting wires and gadgets while she tampered with her car. Swearing under her breath, Juvia tried to cover her mouth with her hands to resist the purging she felt building up in the back of her throat.
A flash of light blinded Juvia, making her wince and shake harder at the sudden disruption to her sense of sight. Her whole body was beginning to react into a seizure, she knew, and she couldn't do anything to stop it with her body reacting to the sudden trauma.
Fingers tangled into Juvia's hair and yanked her head up and out of her window, making her let out a choked cry from the blood in her mouth. Another hand grabbed her top, peeling her out of her seat and through the sharp edges of the glass remaining in her window, piercing her pale skin and making her let out a gurgled scream of pain. A zipping pain in her left thigh made her shriek and attempt to squirm out of the unknown hold on her body.
Once Juvia was dropped to the hard ground, she tried to set herself up with her tingling arms and try to adjust her eyesight to see better. A weight came on her back and pushed her back down, making her groan in pain as her nerves began to lose its feeling in her body.
"Hah, look at her shaking like a newborn lamb!" a voice stung her sensitive ears, almost distant but still hard for her to register.
"Move off her, you idiot," another ghost voice snapped and the pressure on her back disappeared. "Sounds like a fuckin' dying rat, if you ask me… Lemme at her."
Tight yanks on her hair once more, Juvia whimpered another mouthful of blood from her lips and felt it dripping from her nose, making her choke. She tried to grab the hands in her hair and fight back, but her fingers wouldn't work correctly and she couldn't feel her legs anymore as she was being dragged across the ground like a sack of sand. Juvia could swear she felt a pressure on her side, as if being pressed against something short, and an change of smell in the air to something more humid.
"Take a little dip, darling," the voice cooed to her. "You got something on your face you should wash off."
Suddenly she found herself submerged into darkness, unable to breathe at all as she opened her mouth to scream and try to claw for freedom. It felt like forever until she was brought back up, her vision static as she coughed for air.
"Oi, don't ruin her too much. I want a turn with her when you're done!"
"Not like you've ever had fun with a limped body before, dumbass," the voice snapped back. "Just think, if she doesn't breathe anymore you won't have to worry about her fighting back, right?"
Juvia felt herself unable to breathe again, her mouth filling with liquid and stung the inside of her cheek. The ringing in her ears grew louder until she realized her body was now taking effect into shutting down, making her start to slow down in her struggle and see red in her vision.
Faint, soft pops happened somewhere, Juvia could tell just a little bit, and the tightness of her numbing skull disappeared to ache in its wake as she slowly began to sink further into the darkness. Distant shouting, screaming and more popping noises could be heard before the engulfed darkness removed itself completely from her head, making her weakly gurgle out the liquid from her lips with her eyes closed.
"Juvia! C'mon, open your eyes for me, kid!" a familiar voice Juvia couldn't remember at the moment yelled at her, but it just seemed so far away. She couldn't feel anything. "Fuck! You're bleeding! Come on, Juvia! Say something to me!"
She wanted nothing more than to tell the voice that she would be okay. She wanted to cover the voice's mouth and tell it to shut up, but the numbing discomfort and the throbbing in her leg seem to overtake her ability to move or even register where she was. Juvia can't for the life of her remember what was going on, all she knew was that she tired.
"You're gonna be fine, squirt," the voice told her in a strained tone. "We're gonna get you somewhere safe, okay? Just stay awake?"
Was Juvia in danger? She just felt weird, is all.
"Juvia, try to focus on me, alright? I'm gettin' ya outta here."
The blue haired racer couldn't see anything, so what was the point?
"Juvia, wake up!"
The blue haired racer snapped awake, shuddering in fear as she sat up in the soft bed in the darkness of the bedroom. Swallowing dryly, Juvia glanced to the small chair where Cana was curled up with her bottle of Jack Daniels on her lap, sleeping away and grinning in her sleep. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, the Phantom Lord woman let out a soft breath and rubbed her face, feeling the small film of sweat on her neck and forehead.
"Nightmare," she told herself in a quiet voice, not disrupting the sleeping woman just a few feet away from her. She has been experiencing small memories of what occurred to her on the night she went out with Gajeel to get the bonus money while she slept, and she always woke up feeling sore and confused of her surroundings.
Porlyusica did blood testing on her and sent a message to Makarov to give to Lisanna to tell Juvia as she remained stuck in her current living space. No sort of STDs, HIVs, abnormality to be detected or any infections in her blood, but was still pressuring Juvia to keep sleeping and eating since her memories were a bit difficult to recall. Really, Juvia was grateful for Fairy Tail's kindness - even though they do work for the cops and FBI, or whatever tries to put her behind bars - but she hasn't really felt herself until she knows what happened to Gajeel and if he was safe or not.
She remembered hearing voices, but she couldn't point them out on who they were. Thinking about it, Juvia could easily recall her step-brother's pleading to stay awake and all that; however, the other voices, the ones who got her the injuries in the first place, remained faceless in her dreams and any time she tried to remember something.
Juvia told Makarov everything she could remember every time he stopped by to visit her and see how she was doing. The older man seemed to understand her irritation to not knowing who attacked her and promised her that she is in good hands of being cared for - which cued in Cana or Lisanna to snicker cheekily and give them the peace sign. When she asked him if they have ever heard anything from her gang, she was told that no such contact has been made to him from Jose; prompting Juvia to guess that Jose was trying to keep his members out of the light until things were figured out, being that they haven't been to the races or even calling to have their usual meeting between leaders.
Laying back down on the soft bed, Juvia rest her sore head on the uninjured side of her body and brushed her fingers against the bruises on her shoulder. They were healing slowly, thankfully, but were very sensitive to the touch. Even the lighted touch from her fingertips made her bit her lip to keep back from a whimper.
Juvia closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself back home at the bar. Being back on her lumpy yet still comfortable bed with all her blankets and the sounds of Gajeel complaining about something; the sounds of drinks and drunk men heard faintly from the floorboards and even the noisy pipes that rattled in the middle of the night.
It felt weird being in this soft bed, but the scent was still pleasant to her little nose as she turned her cheek into the cushion. If she could think like her normal silly-lovestruck-self, Juvia would pretend that it somewhat smelled like Gray's cologne from all the times she stood close to him before races or whenever he visited her at the bar.
Thankfully, Juvia was able to fall back to sleep at her little crazy imagination.
=xxx=
Natsu's hand on Lucy's back carefully rubbed her clothed back to soothe her when she began fidgeting in her sleep. It didn't take long for the blonde woman in his arms to relax and sigh against his shoulder with his ministrations, making him half grin at how easy it was to comfort her whenever she got fussy in her sleep.
He has noticed whenever she was stressed, she would show it in her sleep. Granted, Natsu would sleepwalk to bed with Lucy when he took the couch, but he does recall all the times he woke up to go use the restroom and unconsciously crawl back into bed and snuggle his face into her soft hair.
Not that he would tell Lucy that, of course.
Resting his head back on the pillow, Natsu stared at the ceiling as he recalled the private conversation he had with both Erza and Jellal in their apartment. It was after Gray returned from whatever he was doing outside and took the food and drinks back up to the girls that he excused himself to check on something, hurrying to the married couple's room and knock on the door quietly before being allowed inside by the man with the facial tattoo.
From what he gathered from the conversation behind closed doors, Makarov suspected Acnologia to be in the city or someone in close relation to the notorious gangster that has plagued Natsu's mind for months when he was a kid. For the safety of the gang itself and especially towards the younger members, he recalled, Makarov didn't want to risk any lives of his members incase it happened to be Acnologia in the midst of all this chaos happening in the streets.
Really, Natsu couldn't be mad at the old man or hold it against him. If Natsu was what he used to be years ago, he would most likely end up dead in a ditch or hanging from a hook in an abandoned factory for sure with his intention of looking for the gang master in question for his father. When Erza forced Natsu to think about the reason behind Makarov's intentions, the more he understood and promised to himself and to Erza and Jellal that he wouldn't do anything drastic in sorts of looking for Acnologia and blowing his cover.
Taking a deep breath, Natsu felt how he raised Lucy's body on his chest and gently lowered her when he exhaled. Her soft hands moved from the spot of gripping the blanket she liked wrapping herself in to rest on his chest, making him think that he did something wrong and tilt his chin down to see her brown eyes slowly open and blink a few times.
"Natsu…" Lucy mumbled before sniffling a little.
He offered a small smile to her, his thumb rubbing her spine soothingly. "Didn't mean to wake you, Luce. Sorry about that."
She shook her head. "You didn't. Don't worry about it…" she whispered quietly. "Are you okay? You look like you haven't fallen asleep yet."
"Just after-race rush," Natsu shrugged casually. He didn't like lying to her about his real reason of being awake, but he didn't want to have to explain everything to her about Acnologia and what could possibly happen in the future.
"Do you need me to do anything?" she asked worriedly and Natsu could swear that his heart did something different at her concerned gaze on him. Even if she's tired, Lucy made it a goal to make sure he was okay…
"Just keep doing what you're doin' now," Natsu grinned. "Your cuddles are like magic. I'm feeling better already."
He watched her brown eyes sparkle and her cheeks go a bit pink as she quietly called him a dork, which made him more relaxed than before. It was when she leaned forward and pressed a sleepy kiss to his cheek that he held perfectly still and she found herself on a more comfortable spot on top of his, resting her head where his heartbeat lulled her back to sleep. A contented sigh escaping her lips, Natsu waited for another minute to make sure she was back asleep before wrapping his arms more securely around her body.
As far as he could remember, Natsu recalled all the times when he was just a kid and would share a bed with his friends - usually Lisanna, Cana or even Erza, since Elfman took up too much space on the couch or Gray felt more comfortable elsewhere to sleep - and never had he experienced these weird feelings going on inside him. Sure, he had cuddled girls before and would even spend a few hours at a club or a stripping establishment with the boys of the gang for fun, but never was he really...attracted to any women?
Natsu saw all of the girls in Fairy Tail as his sisters in some way, thinking of the gang as one big family he could look to for support. However, with the slumbering blonde in his arms, it felt completely different than what he was used to. He felt protective (not like he wasn't protective of all of the other girls in Fairy Tail, of course not), but he felt like he had the responsibility to make sure that Lucy was safe no matter what, that no one ever tried to hurt her or have her shed any tears infront of him. If anything, Natsu thought the world seemed brighter every time she smiled or laughed, even scolding him for his stupid behavior would make him feel a lot better than before.
Thinking over again of the deal with Acnologia being in the city, Natsu felt like he had to do whatever it took to make sure the sleeping woman in his arms was safe. Really, Natsu knew he wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for Lucy if he had the option on who got to live, and it confused him greatly as to why he felt like he needed to do so with just Lucy.
Ever since he picked her up from the corner the night on his way to the race, Natsu felt something that made him feel like he and the blonde runaway were connected in some way. Like Lucy was the other half of Natsu that he could never be in directions and thinking things through to lessen the chance of destroying something; Hell, Natsu began winning races left and right when Lucy was by his side and accomplished more jobs and tasks a lot better and more efficiently when Lucy was with him.
Even sleeping in the same bed with her now, Natsu feels like he has no worry in the world while she slept soundly in his hold.
Feeling his cheeks grow hot a little, Natsu recalled the small teasing Makarov and Gray have been giving him in regards to his partner and roommate. He has even noticed Levy and Erza keeping a close eye on him every time he's next to the blonde woman or bring up their living conditions at the most random times. For the most part, Natsu didn't think twice about it and shrugged it off as both him and Lucy just being tight-knit partners.
But now it just seems different.
Lucy has changed to be more open and relaxed around Natsu and his crazy antics of being wild, never hesitating to put in her two cents when he really fucked something up; he was in love with her cooking and never hesitated to reach for her hand or try and hug her or even hold her close - which has become natural as breathing to him at this point. If he were to really think deeper, Natsu enjoyed Lucy living with him and sometimes dressed in his clothes for pajamas. He liked it when he tells Lucy he's going to take her shopping or go out on a job and make sure she had her taser attached to her pants: or even when they would race and dedicate both of their energy into Fire Dragon together and create a massive crowd of cheers chanting 'Salamander! Salamander!' for the performance both of them knew.
Granted, where Lucy was from of being sheltered by her father and controlled for the most stupidest things ever, she had grown immensely into a much more confident and strong woman that Natsu has ever met. She maintained her kindness and soft personality, but she has definitely grown a backbone in taking risks and facing problems when needed. Not to mention that she gets prettier every time Natsu just as so much as look at her.
Closing his eyes, Natsu came to realization that he was fucked.
Getting himself more comfortable, the pink haired man came to the conclusion that he didn't care about how fucked he was. If anything, he was more than happy to have an attraction and feelings for Lucy and wouldn't really wanted it in any other way.
Tilting his chin down to the sleeping head nuzzled into the crook of his neck, Natsu pressed a long, thoughtful kiss to Lucy's forehead and another short one to the crown of her head. When he felt her sigh blissfully in her sleep, he couldn't resist the grin on his face as he relaxed in his spot and looked back to the ceiling with a content gleam in his eye.
'If only Dad can see me now. He'd give me tons of shit about it…' he thought with a mute snicker at the idea of his father seeing his own son being so soft and gentle with a fragile-looking woman such as Lucy.
The thought of his father also brought back the issue at hand. Acnologia, or whoever is causing this mess among everyone, is posing as a threat among Fairy Tail and Natsu could nearly taste the upcoming stress and fighting coming soon to their doorstep. It won't be long until the heads get ahold of what's going on and will take in their own actions and interfere with Fairy Tail's operation, if not endanger everyone involved with them, counting Lucy and the Phantom Lord members who have grown close to Natsu personally as good friends and allies.
Closing his eyes, Natsu told himself that nothing was going to happen to any of his friends, his family or even to Lucy. No matter what was going to get thrown in their faces in the upcoming battle and possible danger that could risk lives or hurt those he cared about most, Fairy Tail will endure the hardships and do whatever it takes to remain standing in the end.
Fairy Tail, although a secretive operation, was still a gang and they will not go down without a fight. That very motive was etched into each brain and brawn of every man and woman to take head on ever since they've received their insignia tattoo of their gang's symbol.
Even though Lucy didn't have her own yet, let alone a streetname to raise her reputation, Natsu wouldn't doubt that she would give it her all when it comes to it.
Resting his cheek to the top of her soft hair, Natsu vowed to himself that he would be there for Lucy, unlike the man who was suppose to be her father. No, in no way would he would leave Lucy alone in fear or let any harm to come to her.
Not while he's alive, Natsu won't let any harm come to the woman who has his heart in the palm of her hands.
.
.
.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - Someone kill me and bury me in a coffin made out of warm muffins. Things are about to get seriously serious shit and I'm probably gonna die.
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