Chapter 12
Hello everyone! Happy Sunday! I'm sorry I posted this so late, time seemed to escape me this week! I've figured out that I'll be posting once a week, on Saturdays. Hope you have a wonderful day/night depending on the time you read this. Also Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!
~Baccei
Natsu wakes up the next morning, rays of sunlight just peaking through the curtains of his window. Groggy from sleep he stretches, muscles shaking from the sudden tension. With a final huff he makes his way to his dresser getting ready for the work day ahead of him. He had a full seventy-two hour shift that he was not looking forward to. But having the rest of the week off it was worth it, plus the bunks at the station weren't too uncomfortable, however nothing beat your own bed. Shoving his head through a basic black t-shirt and some navy distressed jeans he made his way to the station. He didn't live too far and seeing as watching a car move gave him motion sickness he prefered to walk. It was a good mile and a half away but he didn't mind in the slightest.
Hands behind his head and a sleepy grin resting on his face he began the trek to work. Cars whizzed by, in the early morning sun. Not everyone had awoke yet besides those with a long commute, and the birds beginning to sir in the trees near him. He loved mornings like these, there weren't a lot of people out and the streets were practically empty leaving him without any noise pollutants. He hated rooms that were too loud, his sensitive ears picking up everything all at once, it was exhausting to deal with all the time but there was nothing he could do about it.
o0o
Natsu walked into the fire station arms swinging lazily at his side and a swagger to his step. He pulled the entrance doors open and stepped inside, the station came alive within, men and women wailed orders between halls, and those on duty began to start their day with breakfast or a morning exercise.
Following some of their lead, Natsu makes his way to the kitchen area to raid the cabinet for his first meal of multiple. As he entered the room he noticed a certain raven-haired man with an annoying look on his face. At least to him it was annoying. Natsu sauntered up to him, "Mornin' Dairy Queen! Looks like someone didn't get his beauty rest." he gave a snort, "Who am I kidding, not enough sleep could fix your ugly mug." Natsu finished with a winner's grin.
Shoving Natsu out of his face Gray replied, "Oh yeah flame princess you wanna go?"
With a smirk Natsu challenged "Wouldn't be much of a fight anyways against you."
Cracking his knuckles Gray cooly finished, "Those are fightin' words. Careful what you wish for Natsu," Gray gave a smirk, "Cause beating you up would make my morning all the better."
With a competitive smile donning his face "Bring it on snowcone!"
Before Natsu even wound his arm up a feminine hand grasped his forearm. Natsu turned to see who was connected to said hand holding him back from giving Gray a well deserved beatdown when red flashed in his peripheral view. Natsu paled at who the owner of that red hair belonged to.
Natsu managed to stutter out, "E-Erza. What are you doing here?"
Erza remarked him with a deadly glare. If looks could kill, Natsu would have been dead a long time ago. She was the current Captain on his crew, and along with the feral looks she would cast his way when him and Gray were fighting she was kind and soft hearted to those she was helping. She went inside burning buildings and dominated them as if she were part of the flames themselves. She put out wildfires as if she could talk to them and knew their every secret. She was a remarkable young lady, and an even better Captain. But she was scary as shit when she was angry.
"Natsu…" she said with a sugary voice, "you weren't about to start a brawl in the kitchen now were you? Because if you were, I'd rethink that option. Don't you?"
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
"Good. Now if we're finished here there's a strawberry tart with my name on it, and if you caused me to miss out on one of those tarts there will be hell to pay." her tone shifted to dark and menacing, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." he meekly nodded.
With a final hmmf, she walked past him scarlet hair flowing behind her as she walked.
Natsu faced Gray, embarrassment clearly written on his face. "Not a word."
Gray held his hands up in surrender, "Hey man I'm not going to poke the beast."
Sitting opposite to Gray, Natsu looked around the room, taking in the sight of everyone shuffling to grab their breakfast.
Gray waved a hand in Natsu's face, "Oi, whats knockin' in that head of yours?"
"Hmm." he gave a slight shake of his head, focusing his attention on Gray once again. "Nothing really."
Gray muttered under his breath, "Nothing surprising there."
"You say something?" natsu quirked a brow.
Gray gave a half hearted shrug, "Don't know what you're talking about man."
Natsu slouched back in his seat, debating it it was worth the risk of Erza's wrath to throttle the man in front of him. Before he could make up his mind Gray said, "By the way who was the blonde chick with the kid you brought to the station?"
Natsu frowned, "That" -he air quoted- "Blonde chick, you're talking about has a name you know. It's Lucy."
Gray's tone eased some. Noticing how defensive Natsu had gotten. "Look I'm sorry I didn't know. I was just surprised that you'd bring anyone, especially a girl to the station. And I was even more surprised that said girl would have a kid. That's all."
Natsu flushed at the insinuation. "Lucy's a nice is all girl" he scratched his head nervously "and her boy Kade…" he trailed off, furrowing his brows as he registered what Gray had stated about Lucy and her boy, he said defensively "What do you mean you're more surprised that she has a kid. What's that got to do with anything?"
"Nothing, dude I was just saying it's surprising that you're going after someone with a kid. I thought I'd never see you date. Ever. I'm proud of you man. Seriously."
With an awkward cough Natsu began explaining how they met, "Her kid is on my soccer team that I coach, I offered to show her around since she's new to the area, one thing led to another and I noticed that I liked hanging out with her. Eventually we went on a date and while neither of us is ready for a relationship right now, we're working on it."
"Good for you Natsu. I thought you'd just grow old and alone." He gave a small chuckle.
"Well it was about time that I'd start talking to someone that isn't your pansy face, or lug nuts over at the police station."
Gray gave a gruff agreement and the two began talking about what tasks they had to do today.
By the time lunch rolled around the two men were happily -though hard to admit- eating lunch together when the alarm rang.
The two share a look and hustle towards their respective lockers. Putting their protective clothing and the iconic yellow gear they both head towards the truck where Erza waits with a diligent eye. "Dispatch got notified. Two story house, upper room is the one with the fire. The family has evacuated the structure safely and from what they told us no injuries to any of the residents."
"Alright then let's get rollin'!" Gray shouts.
Natsu turns green from the mere sight of the truck, riding it at high speeds was his own kind of hell. Begrudgingly he loads up with the others and within minutes they make it to the coordinated address.
From the outside of the house everything appears normal but gray smoke floods the back of the house. Gray and Natsu assume the lead, while Erza and the others on her crew get situated with the hose and its connecting valves.
"You ready."
Natsu shook his shoulders to loosen the tension. "Always."
o0o
Natsu sprints up the stairs, taking them 2 at a time his equipment jingling with the movement. Gray hot on his heels, behind him. Natsu, already at the door, sees the glow behind the frame, an orange yellow light that sways and moves as if there were a creature inside. The only reason he hadn't barreled into the room yet is because this is the only room with the fire. Opening the door will allow the fire to jump to other places. Natsu hesitantly reaches for the door handle, then pulls away with a curse.
"Looks like it'll be fun in there by the way that handle just roasted your hand there flame brain." Gray drawls.
"Like you'd do much better popsicle, think you can handle the heat," Natsu quips back. "Brace yourself, cause it's 'bout'da get a whole hell of a lot hotter." He rumbled.
Gray straightens up and nods at his friend. Grateful that even in the most dire situation he can make the bleak seem lighthearted. Natsu throws the door open, the knob hitting the back of the wall with a loud thud.
Fire burns all around them, even through their protective clothing they can feel the heat of the blaze. Embers wicked their way through the air, like leaves in a hurricane, swirling and floating trying to find another thing to burn.
Natsu glances at Gray from the corner of his eye, a competitive grin working its way onto his face. "Okay stripper, time to go to work."
"Don't have to tell me twice pinky."
Natsu tackles the fire with the air of meeting an old friend. "Pinky?! Who the hell you calling pinky?!" He stamps out the ground fires while the fire creeping its way onto the ceiling is smothered only moments later by Gray.
"Oh I don't know Natsu, maybe the fire," he drawles sarcastically, "Oh my bad sorry, I meant this pink plushie. A beat passed between them, Natsu turned towards Gray, "Really!?" his brow quirked.
"No not really! I'm talking about you, you idiot! The smoke getting to you already?"
"Them's fightin words ice queen."
"Yeah you'd think so. I'd love to take the opportunity and make you lose the few brain cells you do have but in case you haven't noticed there is currently a fire we need to put out."
"Oh I know. But your laggin behind, I can put this fire out before you can even say brain freeze." he challenged with a grin.
"Oh you're on flame for brain."
The duo work in unison and before they knew it the fire was put out and all that remained are ash and tattered bits of what the room used to be. The walls are covered in soot, but no longer burn with the ferocity of what it once was.
"Nice work Frosty, almost couldn't've done it without ya." A heavy note of sarcasm not to be missed.
Gray glared, "Almost meaning not at all, if I hadn't been there to help your sorry behind you would have been literal toast." he stalked forward and jabbed Natsu in the chest raising his hand. "I can count on both hands the times I've had to save your butt. Your welcome by the way."
Natsu growled and buttheads with Grays, "Oh yeah! Well if that how we're gonna do things then how do I remember needing to shove you out of the way on burnin' rubble," he ground out, "or the time you caught on fire," he bagan ticking off his fingers, "or the time that your crotc-"
"You said we'd never bring that up again!" Gray roared.
"Well I'm doing it now, cause apparently I can't do anything without you." He air quoted..
A voice came from outside the building, "Alright you two! Time to go!"
Gray marched down the stairs, not waiting to see if Natsu was following. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, even Natsu couldn't hear.
He came down the stairs slower than Gray and reached the front door, what he saw broke and melted his heart at the same time. The Mother was clutching her children close to her chest, her body shook from feelings she was trying to contain. The teenager, a boy that was a head taller than his mother had stopped trying to hold back the tears and violently sobbed into his mothers shoulder, the younger one not far behind, just confused and overwhelmed from the situation.
Natsu thought the woman looked similar to Lucy, albeit older she had a hair color only a couple shades darker than Lucy's. He could just imagine them there now, her clutching little kade in a deathgrip, kade sobbing and asking what happened. His ears began to roar, and white knuckles shook from an unknown rage. He didn't know why it was causing him to react this way, they all made it out safe and sound, but he'd be damned if anything like this happened to Lucy and Kade. Not on his watch. Natsu drew his eyes away from the family and another firemen was on their way to greet the family anyways.
It took maybe 20 more minutes before they deemed it safe for the family to go back inside and return to the house. Gray and Natsu fistbumped on a job well done and went back to the station where they showered, ate and went to catch a nap in the bunks. Or at least Gray did. Natsu was still in the kitchen pandering the fire.
He usually decompressed after a fire by working out, but something still irked him. Natsu shook his head and went to the fridge to grab another water. Well if he can't figure out what it is now then he'll see if he can sweat it out. Deciding thats what he was going to do, he went to the gym for a good workout. 'Maybe I'll text Lucy if she wants to hang out tomorrow.' With that thought a small grin wound itself on his lips and didn't want to leave. Not that he minded.
A/N: I just wanted to thank those of you who took the time to review this story, it meant the world to know that me continuing it has made everyone so happy! Hope you all have a great week! I'll see you next Saturday. (Hopefully on time this time.)