CHAPTER 14
Natsu groaned as his stomach cramped up, hunger spilling through him uncomfortably. He grabbed his pillow and smothered it over his face from where he was sprawled out over the couch. This sucked.
"Hey move your feet," he felt light hands tap at his ankles and he reluctantly lifted them to make room for Levy.
He dragged his pillow from his face, blinking as he caught sight of something warm and glowing from the woman who had come to live with them several years ago. Levy toyed with the ring around her finger, a beautiful thing given to her by Gajeel. Who had become some sort of weird older brother/father figure in Natsu's life. Way better than the murderous wannabe who had called himself his dad for the first part of his life.
Still, that glow was distracting and Natsu frowned as he blinked at the tantalizing light before he shook his head and it faded away.
Just an odd trick of the light.
His nose twitched as Levy sat down with his ankles in her lap, picking up the scent of perfume.
"Huh, where are you going? You're drenched in that funny smelling stuff again," Natsu complained.
Levy grinned at him, "not me. But Lucy! She's got a date today, one of her friends from school."
Natsu's eyes widened and he took a second to register that before he clutched his sides and began to uproariously laugh.
"What? No she doesn't! Lucy has a date?" He burst out and rolled off the couch, giggling to himself, "she would have told me!"
"Would she?" Levy asked, smacking him with the couch pillow, "or would you have laughed in her face if she told you?"
"Oh I would have definitely laughed in her face!" Natsu cackled and he got up, "in fact I still might! Where is she, I gotta see this for myself!"
"Be nice Natsu, Lucy is very nervous and excited. Don't go spoiling her fun," Levy chided, causing Natsu to scowl and cram his hands in his pockets.
A grin flashed back over his face, "Yeah Alright fine! I can't believe she didn't tell me though!"
"Yeah Gajeel is going out of his mind, he went to go grab a snack before he gets here so he isn't tempted to rip the poor boys throat out," Levy snorted, "and I expect some restraint from you as well."
Natsu's stomach gave a hungry gurgle in complaint and he snorted back at Levy, "fine fine! I can be nice! Swear!"
With that he jogged away from Levy to go to Lucy's room. A room of utter privacy he was no longer allowed in for some reason because Lucy liked to be weird. Of course that never stopped him before, but he had gotten smacked for it a couple of times in the past.
"Oh Lucy!" He singsonged as he threw open the door and marched in, kicking it shut behind her. Lucy let out a shriek from the bathroom and Natsu could already smell the make up coming from there.
He crept around, his gaze falling on Lucy with her hair done up courtesy of Levy and dressed in a very pretty blouse and skirt.
It would have been very lovely if it wasn't for the long streak of black coming from her cheek where Natsu's sudden appearance almost made her jab herself in the eye. The black smudge was dark on her skin and he could help but burst out onto wild laughter.
"You look like a raccoon!" He cried out gleefully.
"Shut up Natsu!" Lucy huffed at him, "Levy!"
Natsu flopped down on Lucy's bed, laughing so hard when Levy came running in and gave Natsu a reproachful look.
"It's okay Lucy we can fix this easy," Levy reassured her and got to work getting rid of the evidence of Lucy's mistake.
"There!" Levy said after a moment, "perfect!"
"You look real pretty Lucy," Natsu grinned at her.
"Yeah no thanks to you," Lucy pouted back, earning herself a raspberry from her demon.
Levy just smiled at the two fussing teenagers and left the room to let her finish getting ready.
"So you're going on a date, huh?" Natsu scooted to the end of the bed, pouting at her, "why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want you to scare him off," Lucy swept out of the room and Natsu thought she looked a lot like a princess like that.
"I wouldn't do that!" Natsu protested, but the fangy smile stretching over his whole face convinced no one.
Lucy let out a huff as she slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse, double checking one last time that she really did look alright.
"You look beautiful Lu." Levy assured her with a smile, "What're your plans tonight?"
Lucy smiled and blushed, "He's taking me out to that burger place near the cathedral and then we're going to the new movie before walking back home."
Levy beamed, "Sounds like a great first date!" She approved, "Now, you remember the rules?"
"If I feel weird or he makes me uncomfortable call and ask if you me to pick up anything on the way home." Lucy recited, "That'll prompt you guys to come get me right away. If he gets grabby in a way I don't like I have permission to break his bones and come straight home."
Levy's smile widened, "Good girl."
Lucy smiled, "Don't worry." She assured her big sister, "I'm sure it'll be fine. And even if it isn't I can always call Leo."
"Try not to do that except as a last resort." Levy replied, "We've managed to avoid the council so far, but that won't last long if Leo gets into a fight."
Lucy nodded, far to nervous to care about Levy emphasizing the rules, and felt her heart nearly jump out of her chest as there was a knock on the door.
In seconds, Gajeel had appeared, licking the last of his snack off his fangs, and went to answer it as the same time Lucy rushed over.
"Hey!" She greeted breathlessly as she caught sight of her date, a blush dusting her cheeks.
"Hey yourself." He greeted with a smile, "You look extra gorgeous tonight Lucy."
"I want her home by ten." Gajeel rumbled ominously from where he was guarding the door, "Any later and I'm coming to find her."
"I'll see to it she gets home on time." Her date replied and held his hand out to Lucy, not even trying to go inside, "Shall we?"
"Yeah." Lucy half giggled as she took his hand and waved to the other three watching from the doorway.
She never noticed the sly look her date gave her out of the corner of his eyes, or the way Natsu's expression darkened at the sight of it.
He stood there for several minutes after they left, uneasiness sliding through his spine. His stomach growled restlessly, and he crossed his arms over his chest. Fingers tapping across his biceps his scowl only deepened.
"What's your problem runt?" Gajeel asked with a smirk, seeing Natsu's unhappy expression, "not thrilled that Lucy is off doing something without you?"
"We're not joined at the hip," Natsu muttered reluctantly, but his eyes remained focused on the door.
"Then why so irritated?" Gajeel smirked at Natsu, poking the temperamental dragon's cheek. It sparked a flash of fire in his eyes and Natsu pouted at Gajeel.
"I'm just hungry is all," Natsu shook off Gajeel's arm and stomped past the vampire to get some fire from the stove. It soothed the hunger in his stomach a little and cleared his head.
"I'm going out," Natsu spun in his heel, "gonna go shoot some kids in laser tag or something."
"Fine, but same rules for you runt. Back by 10 or I'm coming to drag you back by the ears," Gajeel threatened. Natsu just smirked and waved off the vampire as he grabbed his jacket and keys.
He closed his eyes and let his feet guide him once he was outside, walking out wherever they wanted him to go.
Gajeel was right. Natsu didn't like Lucy's date. Not even one bit.
But there was something sneaky about him. Something not right. And it wasn't something dumb like jealousy either like Gajeel was stupidly implying.
That guy stank.
Natsu sped up his pace, walking directly to the arcade which happened to be next to where Lucy would be on her date.
Lucy and her date were already sitting down and waiting for their food, Natsu's stomach whining for something of more substance when he caught the scent of the hamburgers.
"Again?" He glared at his stomach, "you just ate. Seriously!"
He ducked into the arcade and played a distracted game of laser tag like he told Gajeel, the flashing lights of the arcade beginning to hurt his eyes.
He irritably scrubbed at his eyes, that weird glow he spotted before on Levy beginning to shimmer over the humans around him.
He shook his head, his heart hammering as he walked out into the street to watch the couple grumpily from the side.
"That's true," her date paused and seemed to consider it, "the previews are the best part though. But if you're scared we can always go around..." he teased.
Lucy's cheeks flushed at that and she pouted at his cheeky smile, poking him right in the chest, "I'm not scared at all I'll have you know!"
She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, lifted her chin to the air and then marched right in. Natsu frowned from where he was hanging back, watching them disappear into the alley.
He didn't like that at all, but also knew Lucy wasn't likely to back down from a fight.
Or a challenge.
Natsu ducked in after the couple, his eyes feeling better without all the light burning into his retinas.
He turned the corner, swearing quietly as he realized Lucy and her date were walking slower than he anticipated. Lucy's steps were sluggish as her date held her hand, and Natsu frowned at the dazed expression on her face.
That light burst back into his vision as Natsu realized Lucy seemed like she was slowing down even further.
But that light, that beautiful, tantalizing light he had been watching... it was pulling out of her and directly into her date.
Natsu's heart stopped as he realized what he was watching. That was Lucy's soul.
How dare he touch her spirit!
Natsu let out a roar of fury as he sprang forward from his hiding spot, ripping Lucy's date away from his dazed mistress. With one hand he slammed him into the opposite wall, brick cracking under the force of his strike.
"Natsu!" Lucy shrieked, horrified by his sudden appearance and the way he was manhandling her date, "what're you doing? Put him down!"
"No," Natsu snapped at her, "it's an imp Lucy. One that was devouring your soul."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Her date wheezed in confusion, his eyes wide with terror.
"Liar," Natsu hissed at him, creeping in close as that light burned in his face like a maddening flame.
"Let me show you what I saw you doing if you don't believe me," Natsu growled, stepping in closer as his lips parted to show sharp fangs.
He felt a sort of haze drift over his mind, a hunger in the face of the terrified eyes that fell to him.
"Natsu stop, what're you doing?" Lucy's voice sounded far away from him.
Natsu didn't know really. Except he did. The bright light was right there and somehow he just knew how to bite into it. Like eating fire. And just like fire when he was little, it had hypnotized him.
He almost didn't even notice the imp he was holding as his stomach cramped painfully and he reached out to take a bite.
It landed a good three inches above the imp's shoulder, but Natsu wasn't paying any attention to that. All of his senses were consumed by the sweet tart taste. He could taste the imp's fear. His helplessness to fight back. He could feel it flowing down his throat and warming his belly in a way he hadn't felt in months.
The pleasure of it was almost sexual, and in his distraction the imp moved to get away.
Natsu immediately zeroed in on that, his aura pulsing as his instincts realized his first filling meal in months was trying to escape. And just like the fire elementals he used to prey on, he lunged forward to grapple his prey back down. He distantly felt a hand he registered as Lucy's on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away as he sank his fangs firmly into the imp's soul again.
The second bite was as exquisite as the first and Natsu's control snapped as he tore into chunk after chunk, desperately devouring every bright scrap he could, frantic to fill his aching belly until it popped.
It wasn't until the last sliver had slid down his throat that he became aware of anything else. He pulled away and realized with a slow churn of horror that the imp was dead, every scrap of life energy that had once been the imp's soul crammed into his belly.
He jumped as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and jerked around to find Gajeel staring darkly down at him and felt a shiver of fear trickle through him as he realized Levy was also there and holding a hysterically crying Lucy.
He'd never felt an ounce of doubt about his welcome with Gajeel, not after he'd taken him and Lucy in and all but formally adopted them. But now...
"C'mon runt." The vampire grunted, dispelling much of Natsu's sudden worry, and pulled him to his feet, "What happened?"
Natsu glanced over at his distraught mistress, "Her date was an imp." He replied, "I saw him trying to eat her soul Gajeel." He looked up at the vampire, "I swear. And I lost it." He looked down at the body, "I don't understand what happened?"
"You frenzied." Gajeel sighed, "I shoulda seen the signs before now, but it wasn't the same as a fledgling an' I never met your kin before they were old enough to handle their appetites."
"He ate his soul!" Lucy sobbed and Gajeel nodded.
"Aye he did." He replied evenly, "And it's my fault for not realizin' he'd grown into some of his other hungers. I ain't gonna scold him for savin' your own soul though. You're worth a hell of a lot more to this family than some damn imp."
Levy shot Gajeel a slightly exasperated look as she escorted Lucy away from the scene and Gajeel shook his head.
"This is a right clusterfuck Salamander." He sighed, "Now, go ahead an' take the body to hell. Dump it somewhere out of the way so it don't get traced back to you. When you get back, you an' me are gonna have a real long talk."
"What about Lucy?" Natsu asked, his gut twisting a little at how upset she was. He hadn't seen her like that since their first serious fight when they were kids.
"Give 'er some space for now." Gajeel advised, "Let Levy calm her down. You gotta remember that she ain't a soul collector, so seein' you eat one is gonna upset her."
Natsu nodded unhappily and bent down to grab the imp before vanishing them both back to hell.
Natsu hated coming back to hell for any reason, but this time he couldn't help but linger even when he hid the body of Lucy's boyfriend. Gods he had fucked up really badly.
Even though he was an imp and trying to eat Lucy's soul, how was she supposed to know that? How was she supposed to react? He hadn't even given her the chance before he snuffed out the life of her very first boyfriend.
He didn't regret killing him though. No, he would have absolutely killed Lucy and stolen her soul the moment he had her alone. Hell he had tried to.
But the fact that Lucy couldn't snap him out of eating the soul... she hadn't needed to see him devour her date in an alleyway.
He had just been so achingly hungry, starving for something more filling than fire and mortal food. For the first time in ages his hunger felt like it was satisfied.
What was he going to do? Natsu hadn't been able to stop himself from feeding on the imp until he was a husk. This was going to happen again, and Lucy would never forgive him.
It had been intoxicating to eat that soul, and Natsu knew he couldn't go backwards. He had only been curious when he took that first bite, wanting to only prove a point and maybe beat up the imp.
But he had been delicious, and Natsu knew he would want more.
He sighed before shimmering away back him, popping back into place in their living room as he yanked off his jacket and raked his fingers through his hair.
He returned with just enough time for Gajeel to get home. Lucy and Levy were already back and locked in Lucy's room where Natsu could still hear her crying.
"Why did I follow them," he whispered plaintively to Gajeel, who was locking the door and pulling off his shoes.
The vampire gave Natsu an even look and tossed his keys in the dish by the door.
"I shouldn't have followed them. Then I never would have—"
"Then we'd be recovering Lucy's corpse in the alleyway instead," Gajeel grunted, cutting Natsu off before the teenager could go on a spiel he couldn't escape from. Natsu flinched and stared at Gajeel.
"What, it's true," Gajeel grunted, "and it shouldn't have gotten that far but it did."
He steered Natsu into the living room and sat him down before settling down next to him, "You did the right thing." He growled firmly, "The fact you frenzied wasn't your fault. That's on me. I knew apocalypse dragons didn't just feed off their elements. Your old man and all the others had several appetites. Considering how powerful a full grown dragon is it ain't surprising."
He rubbed the back of his neck, "But like I said, I never met them when their appetites were first coming out. So I didn't know the signs. That ain't an excuse, it just is."
"But what do I do now?" Natsu half pleaded, "I can't do that to Lucy again. I know I can't."
"But at the same time you want it now." Gajeel replied knowingly, "You're desperate for another taste of that sweetness. And you know eventually you'll cave."
Natsu nodded morosely and Gajeel clapped his shoulder, "That's why, starting now, you're gonna start training with me in all this." He said firmly, "I'm going to teach you how to hunt and feed without fatal results."
Natsu jerked his head up in surprise and found Gajeel flashing him a warm smirk, "What? You're the closest damn thing to a fledgling I have. You seriously think I'd leave you dangling? Not a chance brat. This is as much a part of you as drinkin' blood is me and magic is our ladies."
Natsu had to swallow back the lump that rose in his throat at that. He'd screwed up, but he wasn't in trouble. Not with Gajeel at least. And instead of screaming at him about it, he was going to get help.
"Thanks Gajeel." He managed around the lump and was rewarded with a squeeze on his shoulder, "I just... I don't want Lucy to hate me."
Gajeel snorted, "She don't hate you brat." He replied promptly, "She's upset now yeah, but she's got cause to be. Just go slow and patient with her. Eventually she'll understand that for all that you look human most of the time... you aren't. Humans sometimes forget."
Natsu nodded a little uncertainly, "I should apologize to her." He said quietly, "I don't feel bad for saving her, but... I ate her first boyfriend." He winced a little as he said it, "That... I'm not sure how easily she'll forgive me for that."
"Actions speak louder than words brat." Gajeel replied, "Apologize to her for sure, but when she sees you actually following up your apology with action so it don't happen again that'll go much further." His lips twitched into a wry smile, "You'll probably have to put up with a cold shoulder for a while though."
Yeah, Natsu believed that one. Lucy could do not speaking to him better than anyone's business. He normally didn't mind, but this was different. Still, at least Gajeel seemed to have a plan in place. That was something he could focus on for now. And when she thawed enough to let him apologize... he would.
"So what do we do to train?" He asked after a few moments.
Gajeel chuckled, "Only way to learn is by doing." He replied, "Now that you're sated you'll be fine for a couple days. Starting tomorrow night I'm gonna take you out and start teaching you the ropes. These lessons will apply to all your hungers too."
He would ensure it. Natsu was about to get a very thorough education on feeding his appetites. Even the ones he might not have yet. Gajeel wasn't about to let them get caught off guard again.
