Warning: Rated M for mature content such as inexplicit lemons, strong language, and violence.
AN: Without giving away any spoilers for the first chapter, I wanted to highlight something real quick! This fic is set in a word without magic, so Natsu has one characteristic that is pretty OOC for him. He doesn't get motion sickness. All characters and any content that references to the anime /manga belong to Hiro Mashima.
Lucy relished in the peace and quiet as she drove the night streets of Magnolia. She was thrilled at the aspect of enjoying several months by herself, free of her role of Jude Heartfilia's daughter and her character of pretend fiancée to Laxus Dreyar.
His and Lucy's fathers are some of the wealthiest men in the entire nation of Fiore and have arranged for Laxus and Lucy to be married next year. The pairing made perfect sense to their fathers—of course, neither Laxus nor Lucy were asked their opinion on the matter. This was a business deal after all; combining the Heartfilia and Dreyar fortune provided more wealth for both families.
Lucy had no romantic interest in Laxus. They've been close friends ever since elementary school when they bonded over their shared responsibility of being the succession to the family business. Expect in Lucy's case her father made it clear that her role would be to find a proper husband to fill the position of family successor since the title of CEO was no job for a female. Fine by her, she has never once desired to run the family business.
If Lucy hadn't developed feelings beyond friendship for Laxus in the last 15 years, then an engagement wasn't going to change anything. More importantly, Laxus has been in a secret relationship with Mirajane since high school. Mirajane was also a good friend of Lucy's and Lucy would do anything for the couples happiness, which is how she ended up being roped into playing along with the fake engagement.
Laxus and Mirajane were ecstatic at the prospect of putting an end to the relentless courting from women and men who had been sent by their parents. The couple would string the courters along for their parents sake and then end it before long, all the while being in a real relationship with each other.
Mirajane also comes from money, but as Laxus's stepmother has put it, Mirajane comes from lower class wealth. Laxus's father and stepmother would never approve of their relationship, forcing Laxus and Mirajane to hide it this whole time.
The notion that anybody would disapprove of their relationship blew Lucy's mind because she has never seen two people more perfect for each other than Laxus and Mirajane. After all, Mirajane is the only person that can coax Laxus out of his many grouchy moods. But Lucy knew all too well the impossible expectations that were placed on children of the rich and famous.
Like most things in Lucy's life, she decided to just go with the flow and play along with the couple's plan—not having any strong feelings in fighting them on the matter. Laxus and Lucy would pretend to be engaged until Laxus could figure out a way to convince his father that Mirajane was the only woman for him. Lucy thought it was a futile effort; the engagement was the business deal of a lifetime for the Heartfilia and Dreyar Groups. Still, she hoped that things would work out for Laxus and Mirajane.
The couple planned a lengthy vacation to Alakitasia, a continent far enough away that they would have privacy, to celebrate their newfound freedom together and come up with a plan to stay in their relationship.
Lucy doesn't have any intentions of going through with the wedding if the two cannot figure out a way to be together, with or without approval from Mr. Dreyar. Since Lucy was 14 years old, she's done exactly what was expected of her by her father. Her mother had always wanted them to get along while she was alive. Lucy did her best to fulfill that wish now after she passed away, feeling guilty that she couldn't just grow up and do as she was told when her mother was alive.
But she draws the line at being forced to marry a man she doesn't love. They will just have to cross that bridge if the time comes, but for now, Lucy was going to take advantage of these next several months of alone time.
She dropped off Laxus at the Celestial Realm airport in Magnolia an hour ago for his and Mirajane's extended trip, Mirajane was one a separate flight so they wouldn't be caught together, and now Lucy was driving Laxus's car to Clover Town where she rented a cabin in the woods for the next few months. She was supposed to be in Alakitasia with Laxus so she couldn't very well remain at home.
She decided that it was time to do a little soul searching in the woods. Isn't that what people did? They got out into nature to find themselves? Either way, that's how she decided to rent a cabin in a small town, since that's as close to nature as she was willing to get. Lucy has felt like she's drifted through life for long enough. Laxus and Mirajane may be on a suicide mission by finally revealing their relationship, but their courage had inspired Lucy to find out what she wants from life.
Lucy's eyes strained as she struggled to see out of the tinted car windows. The illegally done tinted car windows at that. Lucy let out a frustrated sigh. She isn't worried about getting pulled over for the windows. Most cops were aware of who she was, so she isn't at risk for a ticket.
No, the sigh is aimed at the silly masculine urge of men to have blacked out tinted windows. It's like they all think they are Batman; like it's some big secret as to who is inside the vehicle.
Even though Lucy's train of thought was laced in annoyance at her friend, she knew that Laxus got the darkest tint he could because it was indeed a secret about who was inside the vehicle. He blacked out his windows so that he could have Mirajane in his car with him.
It didn't stop Lucy from teasing Laxus about his car being the batmobile though because she knew that his windows would be that dark even if he didn't need to hide Mirajane.
Lucy had Laxus's car because she took it to drop him off at the airport; they all knew that Laxus's father would be suspicious if Laxus didn't drive himself to airport and have his car stored at one of the airport's parking lots like he always does when he travels.
Now Lucy was the cars temporary owner as she embarked on her own extended vacation. She knew the car was beautiful, and she snickered to herself as she remembered Laxus's threat of a slow and painful death if anything were to happen to the car, but she didn't even know the model of the car. All she knew was that it was a yellow Lamborghini, stunning, and expensive as hell. A combination sure to win over any mans heart.
The sun started to rise in the sky and Lucy knew she was making good time—speeding tended to get you where you needed to go quicker. She never intended to speed. It's true what they say about sports cars, they kind of just summoned the speed demon out of you.
She'd been driving for a few hours at this point. She dropped Laxus off at the airport at 4:45 am this morning to avoid as much attention as possible. Laxus was gorgeous and rich, and he photographed very well. This made him a juicy target for paparazzi. Lucy was less popular with the public, but she still ran into problems from time to time. Fortunately, they managed to keep the vacation a secret from the public, so they didn't have paparazzi waiting for Laxus at the airport.
Within a short time, trees started to occupy the scenery and not long after Lucy arrived at her destination. She pulled up to a cabin. The closest neighboring cabin was barely visible. Lucy parked in the dirt driveway, subconsciously aware of how it would make Laxus's blood pressure skyrocket, and observed the adorable log cabin from inside the car. As she switched off the engine, she could feel the tension in her shoulders release a little bit. She had a feeling that this vacation was going to be very good for her.
Lucy got out of the vehicle and treated herself to a nice long stretch; reaching her arms high up in the air and feeling a few satisfying cracks in her stiff bones from her effort. As beautiful as the Lamborghini was, the car was incredibly uncomfortable. There must be come kind of magic that allows Laxus to fit in the car at all.
She walked up to the cabin's porch and entered in the code into the key lock box hanging from the door handle that the rental company provided her. A tiny bing sounded out, indicating she entered the right code and she opened it up to retrieve the cabins keys from inside. Lucy opened the front door and she was delighted at the homey aesthetic of the cabin—the exact opposite of the modern style mansion that she spends so many lonely days inhabiting.
Lucy wondered if what she was feeling was similar to what other children must feel when they come home to their parents house after being away for a while, and her shoulders instantly tightened up at the thought. She released a small, annoyed huff at the intrusive thought and went to retrieve her luggage from the car.
Her maid Virgo would be outraged that she was retrieving her own luggage. She would say that it was a servant's responsibility. Lucy hated when Virgo would say those things because Lucy wholeheartedly disagreed with the eccentric maid's mindset. She does not want to be a grown woman who can't even grab her own luggage; rich or not, that was just plain outrageous. She'd be a waste of oxygen if she couldn't do such a simple task for herself when she was fully capable.
The cabin was quaint in size with two bedrooms and one bath. There were a few other larger cabins she could have rented in Clover Town but she wanted something small, something cozy, and she fell in love with the photos of this cabin when she was doing her research for a place on the internet.
Lucy made quick work of putting her things away and glanced at the time on her cell phone to see that it was 9:30 am. It'd be a little late for her morning workout but she didn't have anything planned for the day, so she gathered an exercise outfit and her running shoes and got ready.
During her research of Clover Town, she discovered the town had some nice running trails; she's never ran any trails before, typically just running the grounds at her estate or using the treadmill or peloton bike in her home gym for her cardio, so she was excited to try something different. She enjoyed finding new ways to spice up her cardio routine to keep it interesting. Lucy didn't do cardio for fun, she did it to keep herself sane. It was the only thing short of medication that kept her anxiety at bay.
Lucy dressed herself in a pair of black biker shorts and light pink sports bra, laced up her running shoes, and sprayed her exposed skin with some sunscreen. She loved the feel of the sun on her skin, hence the lack of a workout top, but she didn't want sun damage.
And because Lucy had seen too many news stories about attacks on women running alone, she grabbed her bear spray to hold in her hand as she ran. Not that she expected to run into any bears on her excursion; bear spray was more potent and had a further steam than pepper spray.
She locked up the cabin and set out for the closest running trail. According to Google maps there was one not too far from her cabin. She started out with a light steady pace to warm up her cold muscles, enjoying the warm sun on her skin and the beautiful views around her. She never knew how fairytale-esque Clover Town was, with its many large oak trees that had whimsical branches exploding from the tree trunks in intricate swirls.
As she ran, Lucy imagined herself as the main character in a wonderful adventure novel as she rushed past the oak trees. The thought was so reminiscent of the former writer in her that it brought a smile to her face. She was starting to really understand the appeal of getting out into nature.
Natsu felt a rough kick on the bottom of his foot jolt his leg. He rolled himself out from underneath the Chevy Silverado pickup that he was working on. He wiped the sweat and grease off from his forehead with the back of his hand as he glared up at his brother Gray.
"Fuck do you want? I'm workin' here." Natsu grumbled as he sat up on the mechanic creeper he was using to work underneath the truck and grabbed a swig of water from his water bottle, feeling dehydrated from the summer heat and lack of AC in the garage.
Gray tossed the cordless front desk phone onto Natsu's lap. "Phone call for you, Boss." Gray knew Natsu hated when he called him boss. Natsu wasn't the boss of this place; all three of the siblings inherited the shop from Igneel when he passed.
"Don't be a douche." Natsu snapped and grabbed the phone. He placed his hand over the mic so the caller wouldn't hear what he said. "Who is it?"
Gray placed his hands together in a prayer pose and brought them up to rest on top of his head like a shark's fin. Natsu's heart dropped into his stomach at his brother's antics. He knew exactly what he meant—the loan sharks were calling about the payment again.
Natsu cleared his voice before he released his hand off the phone. "This is Natsu."
"Naaatsu. This is your pal, Frank." The males thick Italian accent made his words charismatic, but Natsu heard the under tone of threat in Frank's voice. "I've been really patient with you because I like you Natsu, I really do. You're a good guy. But my patience is running out."
"I have half of what's due Frank." It took all the will power that Natsu possessed to keep his tone neutral. He had a fiery attitude that was difficult to control when he was speaking with somebody that he liked. And Natsu did not like Frank.
"Half is half too little." Frank retorted with displeasure, letting his nice guy act slip away.
A year ago, Natsu's father Igneel passed away from pancreatic cancer. The doctors didn't find the tumor until it had metastasized; common with this type of cancer as the symptoms don't usually occur until the tumor is large and has spread, resulting in a poor prognosis. The doctors knew radiation and chemotherapy was a long shot, but they tried anyways. It didn't work.
Igneel owned an auto repair shop called the Iron Fist. The shop was his pride and joy—that was until he became the father of Natsu, Erza, and Gray. Natsu, the oldest of the three, was the first child he fostered. His parents died in a car crash when Natsu was 4 years old. Igneel knew Natsu's parents well, having been their mechanic for many years. He thought of them as more than just customers, they were his friends. Having lived in the small town all his life, Igneel thought of all his costumers this way.
Igneel knew that the young couple had no extended family and that Natsu was fated for foster care, bouncing from family to family until he was old enough to be on his own. Igneel went through the process to became Natsu's foster father and loved him as if he was his own son, and a few years later he legally adopted Natsu.
Igneel and Natsu lived together for 5 years before Igneel came to learn of two uncontrollable children whom no foster house wanted to take care of. Igneel simply wasn't willing to give up on two young souls because of their rowdy nature. He had good practice teaching Natsu how to handle his fiery spirit, he knew he would be able to do the same for these two children. This was how Igneel became foster father to both Gray and Erza.
At the time when they came to live with Natsu and Igneel, Gray was 8 years old and Erza was 4. Since Gray lost his parents at an older age he never wanted to be legally adopted by Igneel, having had too strong of a bond with his mother and father, but Erza was ecstatic at the prospect of becoming his legally adopted daughter. Igneel never held this against Gray though; his love wasn't contingent on Gray becoming his son legally though the court system. In Igneel's heart, Gray was as much his son as Natsu was.
When Igneel became ill the shop was already not doing well. The economy was struggling and people tended to put off getting their cars worked on until it was absolutely necessary. To make things harder, his medical expenses were astronomical. Igneel had nobody to turn to for help, and he refused to ask his children for financial help, so he borrowed money from what he thought was a reputable loan agency. In reality, he borrowed a substantial amount of money from the cruelest loan sharks in Fiore.
Having passed away soon after he borrowed the money, Igneel never realized his mistake. Natsu has never once felt any resentment toward his father for what Igneel left behind for him to deal with. He was a desperate man who made a desperate decision.
Half is half too little, huh? Natsu's blood boiled at the threat, his instinctual urge to respond back with a threat of his own had Natsu gripping the phone so tightly it almost snapped it in half. A slight awareness that flickered somewhere in the back of his mind about how he couldn't afford a new phone for the shop was the only thing that made him loosen his grip.
A long sighed sounded out from the phone. "Since you have only been short for one payment, I'm going to let it pass. My company allows 3 strikes and that is it. That will be the end of my patience. I feel that this is very generous."
Natsu has been able to make the full payments for the last 11 months. It mainly came from his own savings that he had stashed away for his dream car—a bitchin old Chevy Chevelle. He wasn't anywhere close to having had enough saved up, only about 25 grand, but it was all gone.
After paying the bills at the shop and Erza her bi-weekly paycheck for working part time, all the left over profit went towards the loan payment. Natsu worked as a security guard at the popular night club Dragon Force in Oshibana at night where he made decent money, and everything he made there also went towards the payments.
Natsu tried applying for jobs that paid better but he never had any luck. He didn't have a college degree, just his high school diploma, and the only job experience he's had throughout his 28 years of life was with the Iron Fist. Fixing vehicles didn't quality you for phone sales or pencil pushing he guessed.
Gray helped as much as he could, but he was a married man with his first baby on the way soon. Gray and Natsu decided to keep Erza in the dark about the whole situation. She worked at the shop part time while she went to medical school with the goal of becoming a psychiatrist.
Erza was only 23, still young and vulnerable, and she was under constant pressure from her schooling. Natsu and Gray thought it was in her best interest to focus on school, while they handled the financial troubles. Her knowledge of the debt wouldn't solve anything and would only add more stress for her.
"Gotcha." Natsu deadpanned, unaffected by the danger looming from Franks words.
3 strikes and then what? Natsu considered. His wild side sparked at the possibilities, eager to retaliate against whatever the Italian pansy had in store. The only thing stopping Natsu from handling Frank like he handled everything else that pissed him off was the thought of losing Igneel's shop, or Frank and his men hurting Erza and Gray.
"We will be there tomorrow to pick up the payment." The phone went silent as Frank disconnected the call.
Gray had left in the middle of the phone conversation. Natsu knew that he only stopped by to drop off his portion of the loan payment. Gray once worked at the shop with him and Erza and now he would still answer the phone if he was around, but he had stopped working there when he finished his marketing degree and began working for a company that specialized in product design.
Natsu stood up and walked out to the front of the shop where the waiting area and front desk were located. He hung the phone back on the wall mount. Anger still surged through his veins as he sat on the stool behind the desk and glared out of the large window at the front of the building. Something golden and beautiful ran by that surprised Natsu out of his rage. He jolted up off the stool and stared in wonder as a lovely blonde female jogged across the street in front of the shop and made her way to the running trail down the road.
His pulse quickened as watched her tight figure glide effortlessly down the street and enter the trail. He marveled at how feminine she made jogging look—oh her form was spot on, she wasn't running like a limb noddle or anything—but she moved with such grace. Now who might that be? He wondered as the all-consuming rage he had experienced mere minutes ago took a back seat in his mind.
AN: I really enjoy this type of AU with my favorite anime characters in a real world setting so I thought I would give it a try. I couldn't help but think how hot Natsu would be as a mechanic after the Edolas arc lol. Even though this is a real world AU fic I will try to keep all the characters as true to their original character as possible! With that being said, I'm not an experienced writer. I just like to do it for fun! It's a good outlet for my wild imagination. I hope anybody who reads it enjoys the story! I'm college student and my last semester starts next week but I really want to start including more of my old hobbies back into my life. So I will be continuing this story! I won't have an upload schedule, but the story will definitely be finished over the next few months or so :)