[where time doesn't apply]
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Everyone was staring. I never noticed. The room always went quiet. I never noticed that either.
Perhaps I'd been working too hard; the loud buzz of public chatter, the coffee machines whirring and the harsh snap of my landlord's tongue whenever my steps were too slow. It all had turned into white noise. A distant ring I'd learned to phase out for the perseverance of my sanity. My days working as a barista were a blur. Could you blame me? It was low pay, I had to live as a neighbor to the worst boss in the world, and I knew virtually no one in town, despite having moved in months ago.
I just didn't have time to notice all the tiny details.
Faces came and went in a haze, so did my plastered smiles. Even with myself looking like an utter mess, a flash of a smile was enough to get decent tips, thankfully. That's what I forced myself to focus on—money. I wanted to be a writer, and in order to do that, I needed to open myself up to the world. Travel. Meet new people, experience new things. It was just a rough start so far.
I hadn't planned on this step of my life being of any importance.
Men hit on me nearly every day. It wasn't something new, or anything I had paid any mind too. In fact, they tipped me better than anyone else, so I couldn't complain. I was nice to everyone, that's just how I was. But, until today, I realized that maybe that wasn't something I should be doing so casually.
He came in every week. Somehow I always got his table. He was never alone, two men stationed on the opposite side of his booth like how the President was flanked by secret service. They were never as friendly as him.
I spoke to him as I did with anyone else. Ringing out laughs, shining a smile, complimenting his shoes. Admittedly, his face was just another blur. Another good looking man I didn't have time for.
Though today, I found myself noticing those details I'd never bothered with. Like the way he wore his suits. Rumpled, like he'd gotten in a scuffle before walking in the door. The ruffles of his wild hair, pink and startling. The way he'd seemed so hopelessly bored at the table before catching my eye, and perking up slightly.
The scars that crossed his skin. The dangerous flash of his green eyes, like he was some untamable beast with a thirst for unpredictability. The loud and harsh slap of his words as he made simple conversation. Short words. Blunt. But, meaningful.
Do you know who you're talking to?
I didn't know. I didn't even know it was a thing to know people around here. His friends definitely weren't as nice as him.
"Should I?" I had asked. The quiet room went even quieter. My heart squeezed at all the looks tossed my way.
Was he some celebrity? Political figure? Not someone you make cute jokes with, obviously. He seemed like a relaxed guy though. One who could take a joke. He never laughed out loud or anything, but I noticed the hint of a smile that almost always crossed his lips. He didn't hate what I said, just never acknowledged it.
He's the Salamander.
As if I were supposed to know who that was. Dozens of gazes burned my back. I felt embarrassed, though I didn't know what for. That was all his friends said to me then, and I could see the curious gaze he prodded me with. He said nothing. No type of explanation.
I left to go check on their orders.
Salamander. All it took was one google search to understand what the big fuss was about. I floated through news reports, images, all about the Salamander of Magnolia. Blurry pictures of that wild pink hair and even a few mugshots.
Renown criminal kingpin, my ass. I couldn't believe it. The same man who ordered hot sauce for his scrambled eggs every brunch. I knew his favorite coffee. How many sugars he liked in it. I realized, with a start, that those men he sat with probably weren't his buddies. Hired guns most likely, even though the sign on the door said no weapons allowed.
I was back at their table before I finished comprehending the new news. I handed him his plate with trembling fingers, now sorely aware of the bulges in their coat pockets. He noticed, and frowned.
"Am I not allowed tabasco today," he prodded, "Or are you just losing your touch?"
My mind blanked at the question. He was joking. Or completely serious. I couldn't tell. I felt myself freeze up.
He was staring at me. He had the eyes of a Medusa. I felt rigid. He was unreadable. I rubbed my fingers together in a sorry attempt to move my feet. Get the bottle, stupid.
I plucked the tabasco from an empty table and gave it to him. He lifted a single eyebrow. "You seem different."
I didn't know what to reply, or how I would even go about it. About the same time I found myself shrugging, I found words spilling from my mouth. "Well, I just didn't know."
His guards tensed. He didn't seem to react.
"Know what?" he simply asked. His mouth was full of his brunch.
"Who you were."
Now that made him grow a smile. His teeth were white and perfect. "I told you my name was Natsu," he said.
Natsu. I'd forgotten his name. Didn't think it mattered. Just another good looking man I didn't have time for.
"Don't tell me you forgot," he chided. I froze a bit at the glance he gave me.
If I knew anything from movies, it was that power hungry leaders like him were very sensitive to not being respected. For example, not even bothering to remember their name once already said.
"It's alright. I forget your's too most days. Those name tags really do come in handy."
I glanced down to my shirt and saw what he gestured at. Lucy H.
"Sorry," I murmured a moment later. "I would've remembered if I knew."
Natsu looked amused. He still busied himself with his meal, shaking a copious amount of salt onto the plate. "Knew?"
He wanted me to say it. I could see it in his eyes.
"That you're the most wanted man in Magnolia."
The Salamander.
The smirk that crawled to his lips was cocky and prideful. Playful, even.
"Wanted?" he said, "I'm just a guy having brunch. I've never done a wrong thing in my life. Aside from a few scrambles at a bar, but who doesn't have those."
Of course. According to his record, he was probably as clean as I am. It just paid a lot more to keep it like that.
"Though that does make an impression, doesn't it?" his gaze slid to me. I could feel his eyes pooling into mine. For some reason, I felt my cheeks heat.
"Certainly does." My throat felt . "Though if I'd known before, I probably wouldn't of complimented you like I do my grandma."
He shrugged, "I don't mind a compliment every now and again. Nice change of pace to the ones I usually get."
Like what? I wondered. Nice gun you got there? I really liked how you killed that guy so ruthlessly.
"Especially coming from you."
He had said that so casually, I almost didn't know what to make of it. The room seemed quieter again, but I couldn't look to confirm all the eyes I felt on me. Was the great Salamander hitting on me?
He took a spare glance from his plate to flick his eyes up and down my frame. "I like you."
I didn't have to look around to know people were staring. I was staring myself. "Me?" I found myself asking.
It was, well, a ridiculous concept. He was probably the most well known, powerful, good looking man I'd ever come across in this town. Surely he had other…options. Someone better than a barista who made minimum wage, who didn't even attempt at looking nice today.
"I like the way you talk to me. You're nice." he said. "Why else do you think I come back here?"
"For the food?" I questioned.
He chuckled. "The food's good, but not that good."
He still ate everything on his plate.
He had returned every week for me. I thought this with an alarm ringing through me. The town's worst criminal, suspected for a number of murders and illegal deals, taking time out of his busy day to come and see me?
I had no idea what to make of this. Flattery creeped into my stomach, but I knew better than to let my thoughts travel.
"You…" I began, nearly speechless. I sputtered out a harsh laugh. "You're ridiculous."
The bewildered flash of the guard's eyes were mimicked by everyone nearby. They dissolved into anger, but Natsu eased them. He wasn't offended in the least. Thankfully, because I was beginning to forget who I was talking to. Or perhaps I knew very well who I was talking to.
The Salamander of Magnolia.
"As interesting as it is having you come to visit me, I'm afraid I don't have time for crushes." I said honestly. I picked up his empty plate. "Too much work to do and bills to pay. And me getting mixed up into all your criminal shenanigans isn't in my long term plan, unfortunately."
"Really now?" he challenged. He leaned back in his booth seat, spreading his arms across the sides with a satisfied sigh. I couldn't resist picturing sliding in next to him, his arm closing around my shoulders. "It's pretty fun being bad. You should try it."
"And what? Become your right hand girl? Paint the town red?" I nearly laughed. I cleaned up the space of their table, and gave a unladylike snort of my nose. "Thanks but no thanks."
"I like to think we'd have more of a partnership." he proposed. "'Course with some extra's thrown in."
Something unknown flickered in his jade eyes. Something unpredictable. Something daring. Something I didn't have time for. I felt my feet melt to the floor.
"As promising as that sounds," I said truthfully. I couldn't deny the curiosity of what a single day with him would be like. "I'm afraid I don't have time to be in love."
Natsu stood up and his lackeys followed suit. I stepped from his path, dishes propped on my hip as he brushed by me, but not before turning when he was a little too close. I could smell his scent: smoke and earth.
"Time doesn't really apply when you're with me." he spoke. "I do a damn good job of stopping the world when I want it to."
Power. Confidence. Danger. If he were an ocean, I would be drowning in him. Loving and cursing it all the while.
For the second time that day, he smiled. It was crooked. Perfect, white teeth. Sharp at the canines like a wolf ready to the draw blood. Like a dragon eyeing a golden coin. My skin shivered as I felt a brush against my hip, and I saw the last few seconds of him slipping something into my apron.
"See you next week, Lucy." he said, and like that, he was gone out of the door. Back into his criminal life. The room let up a breath of tense air. I was one of them.
Fishing through my pocket, I pulled out the hundred dollar bill he slipped me. Ridiculous.Biting my lip, I rubbed the course paper between my fingers.
Reckless. Arrogant. Dangerous. Something I didn't have time for. Definitely something I didn't have time for. But nonetheless, I found myself pining for the week to come. Whatever. He was just another blurred face. No matter his reputation. Just another customer who liked hitting on a pretty blonde.
I didn't mind it. Or his visits.
He always tipped well.
