Two days later and I was heading back to work. Yay? I had all but forgotten about the mess I left in Natsu's office just over a week ago, and I'm not really sure what to expect when I return after disappearing into thin air with no warning whatsoever. At least I know the boss won't fire me.

Speaking of the boss, I didn't realize how long it takes him to get ready for work. I got up at my usual time, made us both coffee, we cooked breakfast together, then went our separate ways to get showered and dressed. I could still hear his shower running by the time I walked out of my room. We're supposed to have left by now, and he still has not reemerged from his room. Fuck it; I double check that I have everything I need, then make us two more mochas to-go.

"Lucy," Natsu calls out before I hear knocking. It sounds like he's in the hall, but why the hell is he knocking? "Lucy, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up." More knocking.

You've got to be fucking kidding me. Setting down the two fresh coffees, I make my way towards him, keeping out of his line of sight as he stands in front of my door. He reaches for the knob and hesitates; it looks like he's ready to just let himself in, and I give him another moment to see what he does next.

"Lucy, are you okay?" His hand pressed against the door.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine," I reply from behind him, enjoying the small shriek that bursts forth from his mouth as he jumps away from my door. "You're looking a little on-edge, though, so I don't know if you need the glorious caffeine I made for you."

"But...your room...I...how did you do that?" Natsu's face is adorably flushed, though I'm not sure if it's from the scare or embarrassment. Either way, I'm enjoying it.

"I came out while you were still in the shower. Do you always take so long in the mornings? 'Cause if so, you're more high-maintenance than Erza."

"No comment," he pouted, standing with his arms across his chest and avoiding eye contact with me at all costs.

"Aren't you the one who was just saying we were going to be late?" I poked at his arm until he dropped his guard, sighing dramatically and reminding me that I'm not nice.

I collected my work bag and our to-go cups from the living room so we could make our way down into the garage.

"I seem to recall," I started up when the elevator doors closed and I'd handed over one piping-hot mocha, "someone flirtatiously telling me that he could spoil me. Yet, here I am, slaving over the espresso machine every morning and cooking you breakfast? I feel as though I may be getting the short end of the stick here."

"Oh, really?" He glances at me from the corner of his eye, his smirk letting me know he's also in a playful mood.

"Absolutely."

"Did you wash your hair in the shower this morning?"

"Why would I have washed my hair if…" I allow my words to trail off.

"If...I washed, dried, and braided it again last night? Is that the 'if' you're speaking of?"

I both love and hate the smug look he's giving me.

"Maybe."

The elevator dinged our arrival at the garage level, and we walked out as the doors slid open.

"Are you just being a brat right now because you can, and it's fun to tease me?" He asked as we slid into his car.

"Maybe."

"Only maybe?" His hand finds mine, bringing it up to his lips so he can kiss my fingertips. "Guess I'll have to work harder at spoiling you." He lets go of my hand so he can pull out of his parking spot and get us to work.

I'm having difficulty figuring out if Natsu was joking or not; I really do not feel a lack of attention or affection from him, and he really is spoiling the hell out of me. Maybe it's not with expensive dinners and lavish gifts, but I am capable of buying myself things if that's what I wanted. It's the little things he does - like when he offered to wash my hair last night, or making a task that is usually boring into something fun.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't really need to be spoiled, but I like the way you spoil me," I admit to him.

"No one really needs to be spoiled," he chuckled. "Maybe I'm doing it because I want to. Have wanted to for a long time."

We were both silent after that, Natsu navigating the streets of Magnolia as we drew nearer to work.

"So," he spoke again as we turned into the executive garage, "now that I have my chance, there's nothing anyone - other than you - can do to stop me!"

The conversation is over now that we're at work. No matter what has happened over the last week, I have no intention of blurring those lines. Whatever is going on in our personal lives needs to stay there, and thankfully Natsu agrees with me on that.

"You're going to be working on putting the computer back together today?"

"Yeah. If all goes well, I should be done with it before lunch."

The usual stream of people are in the lobby this morning, and I find it a little odd that no one seems to bat an eye at the fact that I'm walking in from the executive parking garage with the CEO instead of from the main employee lot. Maybe nobody cares who Natsu is walking with; maybe everyone knows what happened last week. One thing I do know: I'm going to give myself a headache if I keep trying to rationalize everyone else's behaviors.

"Lucy!"

I look up to find the owner of the familiar voice who called my name, and spot Gray hurrying over from the elevators.

"It's nice to have you back," he said, wrapping me in a hug. "How are you doing? Are you really okay to come back to work? 'Cause the rest of the guys can handle the load another week if you need the rest."

"It's good to be back," I said, returning the hug. "I'm doing fine, and I'd rather be here than sitting home alone all day. I would probably just end up working remotely if I had stayed home, so this is better by far."

"Shouldn't you be greeting me first, since I'm the one who pays you?"

"Whatever, Pyro, keep your shirt on over there while I talk to my friend."

"I'd worry less about my shirt and worry more about your pants if I were you, Popsicle."

Gray's face turns even more pale than usual when he looks down to realize his slacks are halfway down his thighs. I can't hold in my laughter, and Natsu - as well as many others in the lobby - follows suit as Gray fixes his wardrobe malfunction.

"Damn, I really need to get that under control," he mumbles. "Anyway, Lucy, I was wondering if you had plans for lunch?"

"No, but I think Juvia would be upset with you asking me on a date."

"You've been a bad influence on her sense of humor," Gray commented to Natsu. "Not a date. There are things that need to be discussed, and you're meeting your security team today. It'll be an extended lunch. I'm ordering from 8-Island; you want your usual?"

Fuck. I had forgotten I'd agreed to that, though Natsu was vague on the details. Though the 'team' part is still eating at my brain, I'm sure it's just two - maybe three - people who will work in shifts. Hopefully they'll be nice and I won't have to deal with anyone crazy.

"Yeah, my usual."

"What am I, chopped liver over here?" The tone Natsu used lets me know this is all in good fun; and from my experience so far, I'd guess this is their norm.

"You'd probably smell better if you were chopped liver, Flame Brain."

I rolled my eyes and excused myself from their weird, bullshit posturing and went straight to Natsu's office to start the reassembly process. Natsu was in and out of the office all morning. Twice he took what sounded like important phone calls, but assured me it was alright to stay while he worked.

Nearly four hours later, and the desktop was up and running again. And I found the culprits for the poor thing running so slow: cookies, unnecessary applications, outdated operating system, and so much more. Natsu received a glare for each new issue I found - and there were many. Thankfully, I get a break - sorta - in the form of a working lunch. At least there will be food, and I can let the antivirus clean all the random shit off the computer while I'm away.

Before Natsu and I are even at the door, his phone rings. He checks the caller ID, then swears under his breath.

"I have to take this," he tells me, ushering me out of his office. "We're in Conference Three. I'll be there as soon as I'm done with this call."

The door is closed again before I have a chance to respond, and I try not to be a little hurt by the abrupt brushoff I received. Oh well, it's not like he has to answer to me every time he talks to someone or has work to do. It doesn't take long for me to get to the conference room, but the din coming from behind the door has me hesitating; none of the voices sound familiar, and there are far too many of them to be my security team. Maybe Natsu got the room wrong? Or perhaps the group inside didn't realize this one was already reserved for lunch? Only one way to find out.

I take a deep breath, then turn the knob and open the door slowly. The din from before becomes a dull roar. There are around a dozen people sitting around the table arguing over each other. A couple of them look vaguely familiar, and I stand in the doorway trying to figure out where I know them from. It's likely I've just seen them around the building.

After reaching the conclusion that I'm in the wrong place, I take a step back to leave. Or, I try to anyway. My back met with a wall of muscle.

"Running away already?"

"No," I said, turning towards Natsu. "I just thought I was in the wrong room, since there are a fuck-ton of people in there. I thought I was only meeting my security team?"

Natsu peeked over my head at the people sitting in the room, then looked back down at me.

"That is your security team."

"Natsu," I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. This is not what I was agreeing to. "What the fuck?"

"What do you mean? You seemed like you didn't want me to go overboard, so I picked a small, elite team to assign to you."

"How is a dozen people considered a 'small' team, Natsu? I thought it was just going to be maybe three." My anxiety is creeping higher as I recall the people in the room behind me. Twelve people in an extremely broad age range, over half of whom are men. The blood of eight more people will be on my hands if I allow this; nine, if I consider how much danger I've put Natsu in as well.

As if he could sense my distress, Natsu stepped closer and pulled me into a tight embrace. I wrapped my arms around him in kind, trying desperately not to allow myself to fall into the usual pattern of self-loathing and despair.

"I know you're scared," he whispered, "but I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing. Please, Lucy…"

"Can you two hurry it up with that sentimental crap? Some of us have better things to do than sit in meetings all day."

Natsu chose to ignore the woman speaking and looked down at me.

"Don't mind her, she's always in a pissy mood," he said. "We'll go in whenever you're ready."

"I guess it's as good a time as ever," I told him and pulled out of his arms. Before I could get even a step away from him, he let his left hand trail down my right arm and laced his fingers with mine. It seems like everything Natsu does makes my heart flutter, and as I look back up into his eyes, my mind wanders to what life would have been like if I hadn't run away eight years ago, or if I had stayed a little longer the night of my party and said 'yes' to a date with him.

"If you two are going to stand there looking all googly-eyed at each other, could you at least step out of the way so we can bring the food in?"

Gray's sudden comment jolted me out of the happy place my brain had gone, and Natsu led me through the door into the conference room.

Natsu quickly introduced me to my security team while Gray passed out the food. Apparently this elite team is called Zodiac Squad, and each member goes by a designation from one of the twelve Zodiac constellations - with several exceptions. 'Gemini' was actually a set of twins who look like they can't be older than nineteen, 'Pisces' is a mother and son team (who are currently on assignment elsewhere, along with 'Libra'), and 'Crux' who looks like he's been around for at least one hundred years and has been sleeping through the entirety of the meeting so far.

This is all too much for me to handle, but every time I feel overwhelmed, I get a gentle squeeze on my fingers from Natsu. It's such a small gesture - a little pressure, a little warmth - but it keeps me grounded and reassured that I'm not as alone as I once thought I was.

Everyone settles into easy conversation as we eat lunch. Except me. I'm still nervous and uncertain about how this will end, but I am determined to fight for my freedom. Hopefully it will not cost the life of another friend.

For once in the admittedly short time I've known him, Natsu is not the one to take charge of this meeting, instead deferring to Gray.

"We have just two things on the agenda today," he began. "First up is the dossier on Bora Upland. His family has been under surveillance for several years, but we have never been able to collect enough solid evidence to take them down."

"What do you mean? I've been compiling evidence on Bora for years," I argue. "You know what happened. And what does his family have to do with any of this?"

"Lucy, you're like my little sister," Gray said, looking at me with a stern gaze. "And, just like a little sister, you're a huge pain in the ass. We tried to get more information so we could get started on this, but you would never cooperate until Flaming Cheeto over there got involved."

"Watch it…" Natsu started, but I barrelled right over whatever he was going to say without a second thought.

"Eat a dick, Gray! You know why I never said anything. It's not my fault you didn't tell me what this company really does. How the hell was I supposed to know you could actually help instead of just ending up with a bullet in the head?"

I could fucking slap him, and would have if he wasn't on the other side of the room. And if Natsu didn't have such a tight grip on my hand.

Gray slammed his hands on the table as he stood.

"You were supposed to trust your friends! Instead you go off half-cocked and-"

"Enough, Gray." Natsu's tone is absolute, and leaves no room for argument. "This bickering isn't helping the situation."

Looks like Gray might be arguing anyway, as he left eye twitches slightly. The muscles in his jaw clench, and just when I think he's going to continue his tirade, he instead lets out a heavy sigh and sits down again.

"I know." His eyes meet mine across the table. "Sorry, Lucy."

A heavy silence hangs in the air. Every member of the Zodiacs looks more than a little uncomfortable, and I'm just hoping this meeting is over soon so I can get some actual work done today. Natsu made a motion for Gray to continue, and that particular brand of tension slowly left the room, only to be replaced with something far worse.

"We didn't know Bora was connected to any of this until you gave Natsu his last name - something you hadn't shared with even Levy. He has used his mother's last name for years, though I haven't uncovered why just yet. What I did learn is that his father is none other than Jose Porla, head of the Phantom Lord Group."

A shiver runs down my spine. I remember meeting Jose when he came to the house to meet with my father just after I turned nineteen. Oh gods...

"Isn't PLG one of the major players in human trafficking?" The question came from a man with spiky orange hair; I think his name is Leo?

My skin begins to feel damp, and my stomach twists itself into painful knots. Natsu's hand, which has been a comfort over the past week, has become a hindrance. It pains me to free my fingers from his grasp - almost as much as my stomach, at this point - and I push back from the table.

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

I can only shake my head at Natsu's question as I try to keep myself together long enough to make it to a restroom. As soon as I enter, I fall to my knees in the first stall as my body relieves itself of the contents of my stomach. My throat burns due to the acid, as well as the copious amounts of jalapenos I ate less than an hour ago.

After I have nothing left to give, I sit on the floor panting for breath, knowing I will need to peel myself up soon so I can get cleaned up. Not yet, though; I still need to process this revelation, and I know I have to share it with the people in the conference room I abandoned.

A soft knock on the door is followed by a voice I don't know yet asking to come in. Soft footsteps followed my reply, and one of the women from 'my team' crouched near the stall next to me.

"Would you like some help, Princess?"

"Yeah," my voice is hoarse, and it still burns a bit to push the words out.

The woman - I can't remember her name - helps me to my feet. She already had a bottle of water for me to rinse my mouth with, and a cool cloth so I can clean up my now-ruined makeup and wipe the sweat away.

"Thank you…" I said, once I was cleaned up and feeling a little better.

"Virgo," she replied kindly.

"I'm just glad it wasn't Natsu who came in, I might've died of embarrassment if he found me curled up hugging the toilet."

"Prince Natsu did try," she explained, "but I assured him that he was more needed in the meeting than holding back your hair."

I nodded and gave Virgo a small smile.

"We should get back," I tell her, though I'm still shaking and I would rather just go home at this point.

"Of course," Virgo bows as she says this, then opens the door. "After you, Princess."

Upon our return, all eyes are on me. I clutch my water bottle like a safety blanket as I make my way back to my seat.

"Are you alright?" Natsu leans over to ask. "What happened?"

"I...I've met Jose before," I answer, loud enough for all in the room to hear. "The summer I turned nineteen. He met with my father several times, wanting to use Heartfilia Railways for his freight shipments. I had an arrangement with my father to at least learn how to run the business even if I wasn't going to be taking over, so I sat in on one of the meetings."

"Your dad," Natsu's voice was quiet, but could still be heard clearly in the dead-silence of the room, "was working with PLG?"

"Absolutely not. After the first meeting, we talked and I told him my apprehensions - even if the contract was extremely profitable, he would never specify what he wanted shipped, only saying shipments would occur regularly, and the goods varied. It didn't feel right, so I advised we turn down the contract. He agreed."

Unscrewing the cap on my water, I took a long drink in an attempt to settle my nerves for what came next.

"I wasn't present for their final meeting, since it was the day after I moved back into the dorms to begin my second year of college, and just over a week before a back-to-school frat party I attended."

Gray and Natsu wore matching horrified expressions, while the rest of the team just looked confused. Natsu took in my appearance after he composed himself and must have come to the correct conclusion that I had no desire to continue telling the story, so he asked if he could fill in the blanks - leaving out some details as he did so.

By the time he finished explaining the situation, I was alright enough to pick up where I left off - with the epiphany that drove me to the restroom what seemed like hours ago.

"I think Jose planted Mary in my dorms - as well as my program - so that he could track my movements and send Bora to 'woo' me. My theory is that, if he and I were married, he would try to persuade me to accept his father's contract - or convince my father to accept it." Another realization hit me then. "My dad was firm in his convictions, and would have never accepted the contract after what Bora had done." My voice cracks as I continue, "they would have killed him anyway. If I had accepted the proposal...he would still be dead..."

Sorrow filled me until it overflowed. My face fell into my hands and I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. I felt Natsu's arms pull me towards him and did not resist, welcoming his warmth and comfort. It took a while for me to calm down, and sometime during my breakdown, Natsu sent everyone else out of the room so I could have some privacy.

Virgo knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"Are you ready for us to come in again, Master Dragneel?"

"Not my name, Veggie Burger…"

Her gaze darkened.

"My apologies, Prince Natsu. But are you ready for us to continue the meeting?"

"Close, but still not my name, Venmo. Try again."

While I'm still not really alright, I do have to stifle a giggle at the names he's calling her.

"Fine, Natsu, are we alright to come back yet?"

"I dunno, Virgo, let me ask," he turned his eyes to me. "You good to start again?"

"Sure."

"You heard the lady," Natsu then told Virgo. She glared for several seconds before leaving the room to gather the others.

"That wasn't nice," I whispered when we were alone again.

"Eh," he shrugged, "maybe not, but I've asked her not to call me by either of those names, so she brought it on herself. Plus, it put a smile back on your face, no matter how briefly."

Everyone filed back into the room and took their seats before Gray looked at me. It took several seconds for me to realize he was quietly asking if I was okay, and waiting for permission from me to continue. I gave him a small smile and a nod.

"Alright," Gray began again. "All the information we have on Bora is in the folders I gave to each of you. Right now, he's still admitted to the hospital awaiting reconstructive surgery on his face."

"What do you mean?" I couldn't help but interrupt.

Gray made no effort to hide his proud grin.

"What, did you think you only broke his nose? Seems your aim was a little off-center with the rest of your hits, as you also fractured his cheekbone and his eye socket."

Natsu let out a snort beside me, and the rest of the team was looking at me with confusion.

"What the hell did you hit him with to cause that much damage? Did you have a bat with you or something?"

Both Natsu and Gray laughed again at that, and I just flushed.

"I...I hit him with the back of my head," I stuttered out, embarrassed that it was the only thing I could think to do at the time. "Um...several times...until he lost consciousness."

"Wait," said a woman with bright blue hair that rivaled Juvia's. Aquarius, I remembered, as it was my mother's star sign. "You're telling us that you broke this guy's face with the back of your head?"

My body trembled involuntarily as I remembered that morning; the fear that fueled my determination. A gentle squeeze on my hand brought me back to the present, and I looked at Natsu.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's your decision."

My decision? I look at the people sitting around the table, waiting for my response. Even Gray is patient, probably knowing I've been pushed too far recently. If this is going to work, I have to trust every person in this room with my life, and they have to be able to trust me, too. I squeezed Natsu's hand; he obviously knew Bora attacked me last Monday, but he didn't ask for details and it became unimportant as the days passed us by. Now he will find out, and I know he's going to be pissed.

"As I'm sure you all know, he attacked me in my hotel room last Monday," I paused to see them all nodding. "Before I could do...well, anything, really...he had pinned me face-down on the bed. I knew what was going to happen if I didn't fight back, and the only part of my body I could move was my head. So, yeah, I gave myself a concussion breaking that bastard's face so that he wouldn't be able to rape me again."

No matter how many times I say that particular word, I always feel my throat constrict, always feel my chest tighten, always feel disgusted, and always feel ashamed that I allowed it to happen so many times.

Aquarius surprises me by reaching over and patting my hand that is resting on the table. Her look was still harsh, but there was something in her eyes that said she was proud of me. The warmth I felt in my chest seemed ridiculous, almost as if this woman's approval of my actions felt the same as it would coming from my own mom. When Gray spoke again, the moment was broken and the motherly affection rescinded, but my heart remembered it and held onto it tightly.

"So...his surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, and he is expected to stay in the hospital for several days in recovery. With the recorded evidence from the incident last Saturday, as well as physical evidence from last Monday and witness statements, he will be arrested as soon as he is discharged from the hospital."

"That won't last long," I sneered under my breath.

"Actually, it will," Natsu countered. "Gildarts has been working hard and had your case transferred to a different precinct, with detectives who are not…" his words trailed off, but I heard a low growl emanate from him. "The detectives have already verified the validity of several of the videos you acquired, and that is enough evidence to arrest him for multiple cases of assault and harassment, as well as violating the protective order. He will be going to jail this time, Lucy, and hopefully he will stay there for a very long time."

I took some time to let this information settle in. Bora would be going to jail soon, and after that, prison. I'll be free; really and truly free. This seems too good to be true, and as I look around the table, it occurs to me that it is too good to be true. There has to be a catch somewhere. Gray had stated that we had two items on the agenda, and though this discussion took much longer than anticipated, there is still something else to be talked about. It hits me: if this was all it would take for me to be free from Bora and his reign of terror, then I would not need such a large team.

Even knowing this, I give Natsu a smile. The fact that that prick will go to prison is still a win - it's not the war's end I was hoping for, but it's still going to be a major victory for me. And when I look into Natsu's eyes, I know that it's not just a victory for me, but for us.

This was done a lot sooner than I was expecting. I think that's what happens when I neglect work and housekeeping in favor of writing. lol

ANYWHO, thanks to all who fave/followed my story. And a special thanks to my reviewers: snowfairy65, jessifer89, and Copperreign12.

Hope y'all like this chapter. TTFN, Lovelies!