Chapter 38
Back at Lucy's apartment, Natsu is still there with other people. Gray has since joined them since Natsu called him not long after he learned the news about Lucy. Natsu had figured that he will want to know since he and Lucy kind of act like siblings.
Capricorn and Jude are currently have a conversation about places Daphne might have Lucy. They do not have much to go off of. Using laptops to do research, Gemi and Mini are seeing if any new information about Lucy will pop up. No such luck as of now. Natsu is sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling while Gray is sitting against the nearby wall.
No one knows why Daphne has yet to reach out to Jude for a ransom. It has been hours. No one can figure it out. And no one likes it at all.
Natsu sighs deeply, wondering how Lucy is doing wherever she might be.
Gray is trying to be positive for the both of them. "Lucy will be all right. She's tough. Maybe she'll get out of this mess herself. Who knows?"
"She's more than tough," Natsu comments. "She's Luce." After all, she is his Luce.
Gray nods. "Exactly."
Even though he is trying to sound positive, the atmosphere starts getting to Natsu. The typing away of keys on the laptops. The low conversation Capricorn and Jude are having. It is becoming too much for him to handle. Like it is all suffocating him. Maybe he will open a window and stand by it for some late night fresh air–
From inside of Natsu's pocket, his phone starts going off. Judging by the ringtone, it is Gajeel. "It's Lug Nuts…" he groans, already reaching for his phone.
"So answer it," Gray says.
When Natsu answers the call and holds his phone up to his ear, his friend is not the one on the other end of the line. "Hi, Natsu," Lucy greets warmly.
Bolting into a sitting position, he opens his mouth to speak, but words do not come out. He is too stunned to utter a peep.
Gray notices the odd state Natsu is in. "Everything all right?" he asks.
"Natsu?" Lucy asks after a moment of silence. "Are you there?"
He starts nodding, but stops when he realizes that she cannot see him. "Y-yeah," he chokes out.
The others in the room start noticing Natsu, but they go back to what they had been doing before the small interruption.
So what if Natsu is starting to tear up. He is hearing his girlfriend's voice? He no longer has to think that she is in danger. All of his worry just dissipates.
"Where are you?" Lucy asks.
"Where am I? Where are you? Why are you calling me from Lug Nut's phone? Are you both okay?"
Now Gray is intrigued. He knows Natsu is definitely not speaking with Gajeel. "What's going on?"
"Long story short, I escaped Daphne and ran into Gajeel while he was out patrolling," Lucy replies.
"Talk about right place, right time," Natsu muses.
"He's already called for backup, but he let me use his phone to make a call."
"So why call me?"
"I couldn't remember my father's or Capricorn's number…" she admits lamely.
"At least you have mine memorized." Speaking of which, he needs to memorize her number. He will have to do that sooner rather than later.
"Oi, Natsu," Gray says, raising his voice. "What's going on?"
"Is that Gray?" Lucy asks, having overheard his voice from her end.
"Don't mind him," Natsu answers.
"Natsu!" she chides.
"Natsu, who is that?" Capricorn asks.
"It's Luce," he replies. Now that he thinks about it, he should have vocalized it sooner. "She's okay."
Now Natsu really has everyone's attention.
"She escaped Daphne and ran into Lug Nuts while he was out patrolling," he adds. "They're waiting on backup, and she's with him. She's safe."
Jude might cry in relief. His daughter is all right.
Then Natsu scrambles to his feet. "Luce, where are you? I'll come to you."
Gray stands up as well. "Me, too."
"I'm not entirely sure where I am," Lucy admits. "Gajeel, where are we?" She is quiet for a moment. "By the docks near Lilac Way. Daphne has some kind of workshop lab here."
"The docks near Lilac Way. Got it." He says that just so the others know. "I'll be there soon."
"We'll be there soon," Gray corrects, already fishing out his keys.
x-X-x (POV change) x-X-x
Backup has since arrived. Daphne is handcuffed and sitting in the back of a cruiser, a brooding look on her face that her plans have been foiled. She is refusing to give out information on the people who are interested in bidding on Lucy. One way or another, the police are sure they will come up with a list of names from her computers.
Lucy is currently leaning against Gajeel's hood, wearing a spare tee of his that is rather large on her body. She is more than eager to shower and crawl into bed to rest. She is ready for this twisted reality to be over. She wants to go back to normal. Well, her normal anyways.
"How you holdin' up, Bunny Girl?" Gajeel asks as he approaches her. He just wants to check on her well-being since it has been a bit since she gave her statements.
"I'm so ready to be done with this place," she admits, and then she holds out Gajeel's cell phone for him. "Thanks for letting me call Levy."
He pockets it for now. "I found out because Salamander called Shrimp. She then called me. Totally hysterical. It was hard to understand her at first."
"I can only imagine…"
Gajeel looks towards the building that she escaped from earlier. "Wanna leave this all behind, huh?"
She nods. "The sooner the better." As if Lucy will have any good memories about what had happened to her. She can only hope that nightmares stay away from her. She does not need to relive what she experienced. Likewise, she does not want to either.
With headlights approaching, more vehicles are pulling up to parked police vehicles that have their lights going.
Lucy straightens up and takes a step away from the hood in anticipation. She does not even notice that she is holding her breath.
"Gihi, looks like your backup arrived," Gajeel lightly jokes.
Before one of the cars even stops and parks, the passenger's front door is thrown open and someone races out. "Luce!" Natsu shouts.
Her heart nearly leaps out of her chest. "Natsu!" She takes off for him, leaving a smiling Gajeel behind.
He is running full speed right for her. "Luce!"
Natsu makes it to Lucy first of the arriving bunch. Gray casually approaches the couple so they have time to be reunited. Capricorn and Jude are approaching police officers to be filled in on details.
Lucy jumps and Natsu catches her. She wraps her legs around his waist for support while his arms wrap around her torso to help keep her in place. He starts showering her with kisses. "I love you," he murmurs. "I love you. I love you so much."
Oh, she is definitely feeling the love from him. "I love you, too."
"I really really love you."
"I really love you, too."
"So much."
"So very much."
Then he tucks his face into the side of her neck, taking a moment to hug her. He is holding her. She is back, safe and sound in his arms.
Muffled shouting sounds from inside of a car. The couple turns to look, only to find Daphne shaking the vehicle she is inside of from thrashing around. She is trash talking Jude and Lucy, but no one can really understand her. She is entirely bitter about her plans going up in smoke.
"Oi, will somebody stop her?" Gajeel hollers.
"On it!" a woman responds, walking over to where Daphne is being held.
As much as Natsu wants to keep holding Lucy, he reluctantly puts her down since Gray is patiently waiting for his chance with Lucy.
The two of them hug, not making a big display like she and Natsu just did. When they finish their embrace, Natsu stands next to Lucy, their arms touching.
"It's good to have you back," Gray comments.
"Oh, it's totally good to be back," Lucy responds.
"So what was up with Daphne?" Natsu asks.
"Yeah, why was she talking her time with the ransom?" Gray adds.
Lucy flinches. "Uh, she didn't plan on doing that…"
The two seem highly confused. "What?" Gray asks, just as Natsu says, "Huh?"
Lucy takes a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. It is creepy to think about it even now. "Long story short, she was going to sell me to the highest bidder for money."
Natsu looks towards Daphne and flips her the bird even though she does not notice. He uses his other hand just for good measure.
Gray resists the urge to join him. He does have a bit more class.
Lucy rolls her eyes. "You're such a weirdo."
"She deserves it," he simply responds.
"She does," Gray agrees, now wishing he did the thing with Natsu.
"But you're fine, right?" Natsu asks, switching the topic.
She nods in reply. "I just want to go home and go to bed."
"That's understandable," Gray comments.
"Luce, do you wanna check in with your pops and Goat Man before ditching this place?" Natsu asks.
"That… sounds nice."
Gray holds up his keys, jingling them. "Let's blow this popsicle stand then."
x-X-x
Lucy and Natsu are the only ones inside of her apartment. A sleepover is already planned and since Natsu keeps extra clothes at the place, he has pajama pants and a plain tee to wear. All because Lucy does not want to be alone, Natsu has volunteered to keep her company. Well into the night, in fact.
The couple is currently cuddling on her bed, facing one another. The light behind Natsu is on, providing light so they can see the other one. He is running a hand through her hair, keeping her in a calm state.
"Hey, Luce?" he says, breaking the peaceful silence between them.
"Yes?"
"What do you think about…?" But he does not finish his sentence. He is deciding if he will say what he wants to say.
She opens her eyes to look at him. "Think about... ?"
Natsu looks her in the eye for a moment. He is considering his words carefully. "What do you think about going on a vacation with me? Like, a mini one?"
She had not expected him to go there at all. "Vacation?" Then she starts smiling. "Sure. Let's do it."
He grins. "Great. That's great."
"Where do you have in mind?"
"Doesn't matter. As long as it's the two of us."
"I like the sound of that." After all, it is more fun when they are together.
A/N Part 1: Not gonna lie, I do enjoy adding in little easter eggs about other works I've done XD Sometimes they fit in perfectly well! I originally was gonna have Igneel as the officer, but decided not to since he'll be one in Ink & Icing. So I went with Gajeel XD
A/N Part 2: The next arc (idk how many chapters it'll be) will happen before the arc where the Dragneel family goes to Paris (I'm excited for that one)! In the meantime, prepare for fluff :D I'm eager to get back to that. Why I ended this chapter with a sweet scene.
A/N Part 3: So the first chapter to a 5-chapter work is now up! It's not Ink & Icing, but it'll still features NaLu. It takes place in the Fairy Tail universe (not an au like I typically do). I wrote it all in 4 days, and I'll hella pumped for it! Oh, and it's called I Promise You.
Guest: THANK YOU :D Ayy, Lucy got herself outta that mess at least :P But now you know about the officer!
Katie1043: But the cliffhanger gave a chance to guess the officer XD
TigerArrowgirl: Ayyy, you guessed right! :D
LITTLEMIZZPAIN: Nope, not Dan :P
Anon: Yass, be proud of her! She got out on her own! Omg, that monologue was kinda fun to write XD Not what I'm used to, but still good! Aww, you're welcome :D
Fairy Tail Lover: SAME HERE :D Whelp, now you know about the officer!
