"But in order for there to be complete honesty I also need to follow those rules. Lucy…" Natsu struggled to find the right words. His tone became serious and his gaze held a determined glint, "There's something I need to tell you."
Natsu braced his hands against his chin, pondering on what words would best break the news, in full honesty he hadn't expected to tell her about this until much later, but after hearing about Hibiki, her father, and Lucy's struggle being a single mother, it was about time that he told her about his past. She was opening the doors and letting him in, it was his turn to do the same.
"Lucy, I want to be 100% transparent with you, I don't want this to come up somehow and be mistaken as something else completely. I want us to be comfortable talking to each other if something is bothering either you or me. So I ask that if you have any questions if you could save them for the end, and if you feel uncomfortable with anything just tell me and I'll stop. Sound okay?"
Lucy nodded her head, pulling Natsu's hand away from his face. She held it firmly, basking in the strength she felt from his calloused hands from hard days at work, to the warmth they radiated. They felt sturdy, like they could hold the weight of the world in their hands but gentle enough not to break it. She loved the way her hands were dwarfed against his but felt perfectly whole all at the same time. It was funny, she thought. That you can tell a lot about a person by the touch of their hands. "Natsu, I will say the same to you as you did to me. If you are not ready to talk about it then you don't have to. I appreciate you wanting to tell me, but just because I told you about my traumatic past doesn't mean you have to match me. You can tell me on your own time, when you're ready."
Natsu looked at her in disbelief, and there was that look again. The adorning look he always got when she said something positive about him, or that he can take his own time if he needs to. Something sparkled then, it welled up just beneath the surface, and he smiled then and she couldn't help comparing it to the warmth of a fire on a cold winter day. She wanted to bask in that warmth forever and it was his turn to take their adjoining hands and place a kiss to the back of her hand and hold it to his lips. He closed his eyes and seemed to be soaking in the moment.
"Lucy. You make it incredibly hard not to fall in love with you, you know that?" He looked at her then, and it clicked. The emotion behind his eyes, it was love. Love that brightened his features and made his dark eyes shine a brilliant forest green.
Registering his words, she felt heat rush to her face immediately, making her feel as though she was on fire from the inside out. It wasn't fair in retrospect, Natsu just admitted that he loved her, shouldn't he be blushing? But she couldn't help but smile then.
"Try being in my shoes then. Not anyone can pass the Kade test as well as my own. Natsu Dragneel you've passed with flying colors and it scares me at how fast you sailed through all my barriers. Do you know the last time I was vulnerable with someone as much as I am with you? It's terrifying how easily I fell for you. I know it hasn't been an easy road for either of us, but I want to thank you for protecting something that only one other person owns."
It was Natsu's turn to blush, however his was more refined and only the tips of his ears were any indication that he was at least as affected as Lucy was. Natsu raised a brow at the last of her words, "What would that other person be holding if I might ask?"
"My heart."
Natsu sucked in a breath, feeling as all the remaining air had decided to take a nice long vacation out of his lungs, he released it slowly after a moment. "You know, as cheesy as that was, I gotta admit you've had mine from almost day one."
"Really now." Lucy matched his expression. "Well you've made yourself quite clear on that outlook."
"Well I mean why did you think I wanted to hangout with you so much? Or take you to meet my parents. Or dote on your kid."
"I thought you meant to be good friends at the time!" releasing a hold on their hands to fail around to prove a point.
"Geez Luce, what kind of weirdo friends did you make that made you formally meet their parents?" He snorted.
"Uhh, did you miss the part of me growing up in a very formal household, that's how things were done."
"Well you and your social circle were all really weird, but It's okay Luce I still like you the way you are." Cackling at the end of his sentence.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up while you get the chance." She pouted. "I don't even know how I'm the weird one?! You're the one that loves being a child." she crossed her arms in a feigned 'hmmpf'.
"Hey being a kid is great!"
"Sure, sure. Raising one was already hard enough."
That seemed to sober Natsu up a bit, "Luce, I do want to tell you about something that happened to me a while back. I was stupid back then and have learned from my mistakes."
"Natsu I will gladly listen to anything you have to say, as long as you're willing."
"I am, but I'll be straight with you, you I'm a touch nervous of how you'll react."
"Whatever it was, it was in your past, I'm here now and will tell you that the person I see is an amazing coach, son, friend and boyfriend that looks after his own and will do anything for them. And there isn't a lot besides maybe murdering someone or being a serial killer that will change that opinion."
"Well I'll have you know that I am neither one of those things." He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders out, releasing as much pent up tension as he could. "Back when I was in I don't know, junior year? Senior year? I was in with a rough crowd of people, I wouldn't have called us a gang but some of those guys acted like we were, called ourselves Tartarus. For the most part we didn't do much harm but this one kid that only would respond if we called him Jackal, he would steal from stores, pit-pocket, harass the other kids, the works. He had serious anger issues so if anyone tried stepping up to him he'd jump them the very same day. He had already been suspended multiple times and went to Juvi, but it didn't matter to him. So one day after school he told us to meet at a parking garage later in the evening. I thought nothing of it until we saw what he had…"
Natsu walked up with the rest of his group, Mard Geer hot on his heels along with Tempester, and Keyes. Some of his other friends were gone for the night, so it was five of them, not that he cared too much.
"Jackal, what are we doing here?" Natsu shouted across the parkway, the noise reverberating off the concrete walls.
"Shut up Dragneel and let me show you." Jackal lit something then with a fuse and he didn't know what it was till Jackal stepped away far enough to see the canister.
"Why are you lighting a-"
BOOM! A firework went off cutting off anything else he had to say, the colorful gunpowder going off in random directions and the noise bouncing off the walls making the noise come from every direction. A car alarm could be heard nearby from the reverberations of the fireworks. NAtsu growled as he stormed up to Jackal and slammed him against the wall. "What do you think you're doing?!" There are cars here! What happens if a firework goes off underneath one of those things huh! There are people around as well as buildings! You're more of an idiot than I thought you were if you think this is okay." he snarled.
Jackal brushed off Natsu's retort and batted his hands away, smoothing out his shirt when he let go. "Relax Dragneel, we're up high enough to make sure that nothing goes wrong, besides I didn't know you were this much of a baby. Did your daddy say not to?" he mocked sarcastically, jutting his bottom lip out, "Poor Natsu, whatever will your Pops say?"
"Whatever I'm leaving." Natsu turned and walked several paces before the sound of a lit fuse went off, turning around Natsu saw the sparks of a rocket pointed at him by Jackal. "If you leave Dragneel you can't hang with us." he spit with enough venom to put a poisonous snake to shame. "You hear me, you walk away, you are never coming back."
Natsu turned around and continued to walk, holding his middle finger up for them all to see. "Then so long. Have fun getting torched."
"Believe me, I won't be the one who catches the smoke."
That's the last thing Natsu heard before a firework whizzed by his cheek, the embers kissing his skin for the briefest of moments. Natsu turned back around to find another headed his way, he dodged it in time to see it slam into the side of a building outside of the garage. Mard Geer and Keyes looked faintly amused at the interaction while Tempest stood with stoic expression as usual.
Jackal cackled madly at the scene, not noticing the next rocket launch and hit the wall right next to him, the sound made him drop the firework in surprise and curse beneath his breath.
Natsu didn't care anymore, he could shoot those rockets all he wanted, he wouldn't be a part of this any longer. Gray was right, they weren't worth it.
As he stepped out of the garage and begin his walk home he noticed a faint glowing at first but brushed it off as Jackals dumb entertainment, but then he heard sirens in the background and so curious he turned around and looked up.
His eyes widened in disbelief, no, he thought. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. The building next to the garage. It was on fire. It had to be at least 3 stories and the fire was spreading. Natsu's legs carry him to the entrance of the building and scrambled to find the nearest fire alarm. Minutes. He had minutes before the trucks were here. He raced up the steps taking two at a time, his heart thundered in his throat. His pulse quickened with adrenaline. He had to tell the people on the top floor if they didn't know already.
People began coming out of their rooms, confused on the fire alarm but as he passed by all he screamed was, "Fire! Everyone out!" he just hoped they'd heed his warning, he made it to the next flight of stairs, following the directions hanging from the ceiling, he raced up them again, reaching the top floor, smoke was already seeping from the door frame clouding the air.
Banging on all the doors possible he yelled from the top of his lungs, "FIRE, THERE'S A FIRE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW."
Most doors opened quickly, the hinges swinging open and hitting the back wall, good. Everyone will leave and be safe.
Next was the door that the fire was in itself. He felt the handle, learning from his dad that if the handle is hot then to keep it closed. It was warm but not scalding, he took a deep breath and entered the lion's den.
Opening the door he felt scorching heat like never before, the fire climbed up to the ceiling and ate anything it could get its greedy hands on.
"Hello!" he called out. "Is anyone here?"
He walked into what he would assume would have been the dining area, "Hello!?" he called again. Nothing. Natsu walked into the hall where more doors awaited him, the fire licking the backs of his heels.
He opened all the doors, not finding a single person, then a faint noise was heard from the opposite side of the room.
Where the fire was the worst.
Backtracking, Natsu made his way to the opposite end where he heard something he shouted again, his lungs seizing at the smoke, and his eyes burning with the intensity of the heat. "Is anyone here?!"
"Help…" could be heard scarcely from an adjoining door that the fire decided was going to be its next victim. He didn't know how long he had before help arrived. He hoped soon. Natsi creeped around the most damaged floor boards and made his way over to the door, the fire roaring around him and singeing his shirt and pants, his skin felt absolutely on fire, but that didn't even begin to compare to his lungs. They felt alight themselves, but not being able to fully inhale was absolute torture. His vision was beginning to blur around the edh=ges and his ears were ringing.
Kicking at the door because there was no way in hell he was going to touch that door knob, he thrusted his weight into the kicks. One, two, three, on the fourth kick the door finally gave and coughing could be heard from within the room, running through the fire he found a seven maybe eight year old covered in soot and ash, but for the most part seemed to be holding up as well as he was. "Is there anyone else here?" he asked urgently.
The little boy shook his head no, thank god. "Mommy went to the store for a quick second to bring back food. Is she here?"
Natsu, in quick thinking to get this boy out made up a story, "She's outside with everyone else but asked me to come get you. Do you mind if I carry you?"
"I'm scared." his eyes warbled and teared up, he began sobbing uncontrollably.
"I know bud, but you have to trust me okay? I can get you out of here in no time. But I need you to do two things for me. I need you to take a deep breath and close your eyes. Can you do that for me?"
"I think so."
Natsu picked up the little boy, his brown hair lighter from the cinders. "Okay buddy, one my count. 1...2..3!"
A/N: Alright everyone! What did we think of this chapter! I certainly loved getting to write more action scenes! They're soooo fun! Hope you can feel the tension like I can!
We also got some love admissions! Whoop Whoop! Alllll aboard the fluff train!
Thank you as always to the lovely people, Copperreign12, rao hyuga 18, Guest, and FairyTailxFanGirl! Loved y'alls comments!
See you next week! Happy Saturday!