My team is...interesting...to say the very least. At least I now have a better idea of what life is going to be like in the immediate future, and it makes the week I spent at home with Natsu seem like a grand vacation. Three two-person teams will alternate protecting me when I am not at the apartment or work - Leo and Aries, Aquarius and Scorpio, and Taurus and Virgo - starting tomorrow. I'm still not really sure how Aries is a bodyguard; she's so shy and reserved, and she is constantly apologizing regardless of whether or not she's done anything wrong (so far she has not).
Also starting tomorrow, I'll be training in hand-to-hand combat with Capricorn three days per week, although I'm not sure why my training is with him. He has a background in business management, and he just seems so calm and put-together. But I trust Natsu, and if he says this guy is the best, then I believe him...even if I'm more than a little skeptical. Apparently he will also be my personal driver, which I tried to argue against, but Capricorn insisted it was safer for him to drive the reinforced car than for me to buy something that may not be up to standards.
The other members of the team have various skills ranging from disguises to surveillance to infiltration. No one has explained to me what Crux specializes in, or why he's part of the team, but I figure I'll find out sooner or later anyway.
What made me a little apprehensive at this point was Natsu. The work day was pretty much over by the time we finished our meeting, so he and I walked back to his office. I shut down his computer, knowing I had more work to do on it before it was ready for use again, and grabbed the few things I'd brought to work with me.
"So…" Natsu draws the word out as we make our way to the elevators. "What do you think of the team?"
For some reason this feels more like small-talk than an actual question. I glance at him to confirm my suspicions. Yeah, he looks a little nervous, which tells me he's stalling for time, but I decide to indulge him. It's not like I have much else to do tonight, and I've already proven that I have the patience to wait out whatever his hang ups are.
"They're not quite what I was expecting," I answer honestly. "Some of them seem a bit…" It takes me several moments to find the word I'm searching for, "eccentric. Though, after knowing you for more than a week - and our mutual friends for much longer than that - I guess I can't really be too surprised."
"Fair point." He pushed the button to call the elevator to us and ran one hand through his hair.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. No, nothing's wrong I just…" He pauses and the doors in front of us open.
We step in together and I look at him expectantly as they close behind us. It takes the ride down, as well as the walk to his car for him to complete his thought.
"You trust me, right?"
"A well-established fact by now. Have I done something to make you think otherwise?"
"No, but...I was thinking a bit - during the meeting - and, after what happened the last two times that piece of crap came near you...I think it would be a good idea for me to show you how to break a hold. Even if he's never near enough to...it's just something I think you should know."
"What do you mean?"
I click my seatbelt into place, watching Natsu as his hands flex around the steering wheel to the point his knuckles are white, then letting them relax.
"You should know how to break away from someone who grabs you." He turns the key, then looks over at me. "Cap is gonna teach you to fight and I trust him to do a damn good job. But when we get home, I want you to either show or tell me every way that bastard grabbed you or held you down. I need your absolute trust, because I'm going to go through each of those holds with you and show you how to break free from them."
My eyes widen as Natsu puts the car in drive and pulls out of the garage. Well, now I know why he wants to make sure I trust him. It takes a lot of trust to allow someone to put you in such vulnerable positions. I take the duration of the drive home to delve into my thoughts, and come to the obvious conclusion: Natsu will not hurt me as Bora has. It's not that I think he is incapable of hurting someone, I just know he would never hurt anyone - especially me - in such a way. So of course I trust him to teach me what to do.
But one thing is still unclear: if Bora will be locked away soon, why do I need to know how to break free? To satisfy my curiosity, I ask Natsu that very question, and I'm not so sure I like the answer I was given.
"We're sure Bora will be going to prison, but for how long? One of two things will happen after his sentencing: he'll die in prison, or he will live long enough to be set free. I don't know how long his need to win will extend if he is ever released. It may be years from now, but as long as he is alive, he is a potential threat, and I'll be damned if I let you get hurt when I could do something about it."
Words escape me yet again. It hadn't occurred to me that he might one day get out of prison. I try not to let the debilitating fear overwhelm me, but it's difficult. And at present, it's not a battle I'm winning.
Natsu takes my hand again once we're out of the car and doesn't say a word until we're back in the privacy of the penthouse. After leading me to the couch, he sits facing me, holding both of my hands. His warmth is as soothing as always, and though I'm not precisely calm, I'm worlds better than I was even a few minutes ago.
"Lucy, have you thought about what I told you last Monday?" Natsu's eyes find mine as he asks his question, and he must see my confusion, because he clarifies before I can even open my mouth. "What happens to Bora is ultimately up to you. We can roll the dice with the trial and hope for the best, or we can be proactive at taking care of the problem. I need to know that you understand what both of those mean."
I feel my teeth sink into the corner of my bottom lip as I think on Natsu's words. Yes, I know what he means, but I don't know if it's what I really want. My eyes wander aimlessly about the room, as if the answer I seek can be found anywhere other than within me. I know 'taking care of the problem' will not solve all of my problems, since I'm certain Jose is ultimately behind what has happened. Even with Bora gone, his father will still be an issue, and not just for me, but for everyone affected by his so-called company.
Natsu waits patiently while I work through everything going through my head. The thoughts are dizzying, but I'm able to pull one truth out of the chaos.
"I know what you mean," I finally answer, my words a little halting as I try to word this correctly. "But no matter what happens with Bora, there is still a larger threat out there that will need to be taken care of."
"You're talking about Jose?" I nod in reply to the question. "We've been trying for years to bring him down. And he's far more dangerous than his son could ever hope to be."
"Maybe, but you have resources at your disposal that weren't available to you for those years."
"Wha-?" The question dies in his mouth before he can even start it, then understanding blooms on his face. "No. Lucy, no. You don't know these people like I do. You can't put yourself into harm's way like that."
"I won't be." I pull one of my hands away from his and rest it on his cheek. "How many lives has Jose destroyed, Natsu? Can you even put a proper number on it at this point?" His silence is all I need to keep going. "And it's not like I'll be alone; I have you, I have the Zodiacs, we have our friends. You're the one who told me that it's worth it to keep fighting; are you telling me it's no longer worth it, now that the stakes are higher?"
Natsu closes his eyes and lets loose a sigh before turning his head and pressing his lips to my palm. "It's cruel to use my words against me," he whispered before looking back up at me. "But no, I don't think you should stop fighting. Knowing what you know now, I think you're too stubborn to stop even if I suggested you do so."
Even if his words are solemn, there is a fire in his eyes, as if he is suddenly ready to take on the world.
"But," he added, "before you can jump out of the frying pan, we need to teach you to defend yourself. Get changed; choose something that's not too loose, but is still comfortable to move in."
Once I'm in my closet again, I look through what little workout gear I own, settling on a pair of leggings, a sports bra, and my sneakers. As soon as I'm dressed, I grab my water bottle, since I have a feeling this is going to take a while.
Natsu is already in the kitchen filling his own bottle when I walk in, wearing shorts and a tank top which shows off the rather glorious muscles of his arms. The smile he gives me when he turns my way sets butterflies fluttering in my stomach, and I try not to let it show - now is not the time for romance, it's time for training. Stupid butterflies.
"Ready?"
"Yeah." I've managed to calm myself during the brief walk into the gym. "So, what's first?"
"First, you're going to tell me how you've been grabbed, and show me how he did it. In turn, I'll show you how to break free from each hold he used. And we're going to practice each one until it's muscle memory for you to escape."
It took nearly an hour to go through everything, Natsu easily breaking away from every position I showed him, even the way I was pinned down last Monday morning. By the time we got through each one, I was irritated.
Of course it would be easy for him, he's bigger and stronger than I am. I thought bitterly.
"Let's take a break," Natsu said, grabbing my bottle and handing it to me before taking a drink of his own. "It's not about strength, you know."
"What isn't?"
"Getting away. It's about leverage, and using your opponent's strength and weight against him. I can bring in Aries and Taurus next time we train, if you don't believe me."
"Why them?" Taurus is easily the largest member of the Zodiacs, he towers over the rest of the team and he looks to be all muscle. Aries, by contrast, is one of the smallest. She's shorter than I am and seemed rather delicate, if I'm being honest.
"Because," Natsu gives a snort at my confusion, "she can put him on his ass, and I think it would do good for you to see that it's possible. It's pretty funny to watch; I don't know why it surprises him anymore, she's been doing it for years."
I decided to suspend my disbelief until I saw it for myself. To the best of my knowledge, Natsu hasn't lied to me - misled, yes, but not outright lied - so I have no reason not to trust his words as truth.
Returning to our feet a few minutes later, Natsu showed me two different ways to free myself from Bora's favorite hold - grabbing a fistfull of my hair. He had to show me each move several times, and I only practiced one of them, but I had to do it over and over again until my muscles were sore from the repetition.
After more than an hour, I confirmed with Natsu that we were finished, and he left to take a shower. Instead of doing the same, I decided to turn on the sauna, then grabbed a towel off the rack and stripped out of my workout clothes before stepping into the sweltering room. The fluffy towel was huge and wrapped fully around me as I sat back on one of the benches, enjoying the heat soaking into my tired body. When I felt my eyelids getting heavy, I knew it was time to get out of the sauna and go take a shower.
Securing the towel tightly around myself, I gathered my clothes and shoes and made my way to the door. Upon opening said door, I came face-to-face with a rather imposing man who I did not recognize. My eyes went wide as I realized this was an intruder, and I was practically naked and extremely vulnerable. At this point, there's only two things to do.
"NATSU!" My volume was painfully loud, if the way the man clasped his hands over his ears was any indication. But not nearly as painful for him as my foot connecting with his groin a second later.
As soon as he was crumpling to the floor, I slammed closed the door of the gym and, noticing it didn't lock, braced myself against it. When the handle began to turn, I grasped it as tight as I could, praying I could keep the intruder at bay until Natsu came to help - which wouldn't be long, as I heard his quick footsteps getting closer.
I thought this was supposed to be a safe location...how in the hell did someone get in? Panicked thoughts raced through my head, and soon they were the only thing I could hear aside from the blood pounding through my veins. The handle tried turning again and I tightened my grip, fighting desperately to keep the man on the other side at bay as long as I could. My hand throbbed from the effort, and I hoped I wouldn't have to hold out much longer.
An unexpected sound found my ears, and all I could do was freeze in disbelief. What the actual fuck?
Natsu's laugh filtered through the door again, but not just his normal laugh. No. It was a near-sadistic cackling. Keeping my grasp on the handle, I pressed my ear against the door, thinking I must be wrong. Why would Natsu be laughing at a moment like this? Our home is under attack...what is there to laugh about?
"Damn, old man, she got you good," Natsu cackled as he spoke, and the familiar way he spoke to the man I'd encountered just increased my confusion.
The handle moved once more, and I resisted the movement, not trusting what I might find before me if I allowed it to open.
"Lucy," Natsu laughed again, "open the door, it's alright."
"Natsu, what the fuck is going on?" I can't help the tightness in my voice. "Did you incapacitate the intruder?"
Another snort from Natsu was accompanied by a soft groan - presumably from the unknown man.
"Nah, you did a pretty good job incapacitating him. There's no threat here, I promise."
Looking down at the fact that I'm still wearing nothing but a towel, I flushed in embarrassment. My clothes were still too sweaty to try to put back on, so I made sure the towel was secure before cracking the door open and peeking out. Natsu was wearing nothing but his boxers - his hair still dripping wet from his shower - as he helped the unknown (to me, anyway) man off the floor.
Both of them looked up at me, causing both to quickly avert their eyes and Natsu to start laughing even harder than before.
"This is too great! You got your ass kicked by an untrained woman wearing a towel!"
"Wasn't my ass she kicked, you little shit," the man growled. "By the way, nice kick, Lucy. You've got some power in those legs, just make sure next time you follow through instead of just connecting; you'll do more damage."
I look between the two men, still confused as I was before. There are so many options to how I could react to the scene in front of me, but I'm sore and tired and practically naked and I can't fucking deal with whatever is going on here.
"Alright, fuck this, I'm going to take a shower, and you two can do," I paused searching for words, "whatever the fuck you want. I'll be out soon and expect an explanation." Holding the towel tightly to my chest, I strode past the men and to my room, locking the door behind me.
Twenty minutes later, I emerged clean, dressed, and with a fresh towel draped over my shoulders as I fluffed my hair to help it dry a bit. Walking into the living room, I see Natsu and the other man sitting on the couch - the former properly clothed, and the latter with a bag of peas settled on his lap - talking. I make myself comfortable in one of the chairs and look at them expectantly.
"Sorry about this whole mix-up, Lucy," Natsu said as he raised one hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "So...yeah, this is my dad, Igneel. I wasn't expecting him to show up today. Obviously."
Oh gods. I kicked Natsu's dad in the balls. Natsu's dad, who owns the building we're currently sitting in. The man who so kindly is allowing me to live in his penthouse indefinitely. And I kicked him. Oh fuck...I kicked him as hard as I could. And now I'm casually sitting on one of his chairs, in his living room, after I did that to him.
I'm starting to feel dizzy...maybe I should sit down? But, I think I'm already sitting...so why am I dizzy?
"Lucy," Natsu's voice startles me. When did he get so close? "Hey, Lucy, I need you to breathe."
I am breathing. Sorta. My breath is coming out in gasping pants, and I can't seem to find a smooth rhythm to calm myself. Still breathing, though.
"No, she'll be fine," I heard Natsu say as I was pulled to the floor with him and cradled on his lap. "It's gonna be alright, I gotcha."
My hand was pulled slightly upwards to rest on his chest. Natsu's heart was beating almost as frantically as mine, but I could feel the rise and fall of his chest against my hand as well as the right side of my body. I know immediately what Natsu wants from me, and do my best to focus on his breathing so that I can slow mine to match it.
"There you go, nice and slow. Inhale...exhale." Natsu's breath is warm on my face as he exhales slowly.
Eons pass before the dizziness fully fades, and now I'm just embarrassed. Natsu held me against him the entire time, whispering patient words of encouragement as the anxiety left me. Now that it has passed, however, I am reminded of the fact that Natsu's father is likely still in the room. With that knowledge at the forefront of my mind, I can see only one possible thing for me to do, so I promptly bury my face against Natsu's neck in order to hide.
"You doing alright?" Natsu asked, obviously concerned for my wellbeing. I could hear Igneel laugh from nearby.
"I'm fine," I mumbled against his neck and immediately felt a slight shiver pass through him.
"What are you doing, then?" He asked while trying to pull back.
I refused to allow my hiding place to relocate, so I held on tight enough to let him know he was not allowed to leave his current position.
"Hiding."
Both of them are laughing, though Natsu is just slightly more reserved about it.
"Not sure what you're hiding from, but I'm pretty sure there are better places to hide."
I know he's right but refuse to give up the thought that - just this once - the 'if I can't see you, you can't see me' method will be successful, and stubbornly stay put.
"Well, if you're planning on staying there, would you at least tell me why you suddenly forgot how to breathe?"
"I don't want to get kicked out."
The silence that followed my statement had me relinquishing my position enough that I could glance at both of the men in the room. They wore a matched set of confused looks, so I continued, looking up at Igneel as I did.
"I assaulted you in your home after you were kind enough to let me stay here without an exit date in mind. Why would I be allowed to stay after that?"
"Many reasons," Igneel told me as he gave me a soft smile. "Your first reaction to a threat in your home was to call for backup, attack the intruder, and find a safe place to stay until help arrived. Not everyone has instincts like that; many people merely freeze. You fought back, and I admire that fire...even if part of me currently disagrees with your methods when they apply to me."
Natsu let out a snort, still obviously amused at my tactics...or lack thereof.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are currently under Natsu's protection, and he has a team working on helping you?" I nodded and he continued. "Until recently, I didn't know Bora was still a problem for you. If I had known what was going on, I would have assigned you a protection detail five years ago, and would have made sure they stayed with you until the threat was dealt with."
I pulled slightly away from Natsu at that statement. Five years ago? But that was when…
"What are you talking about?" Natsu beat me to the question, but I was just as invested in the answer.
Igneel looked at me, then back at Natsu before speaking.
"You were out of the country on business when Jude contacted me about Lucy being missing. It took us over a month to even find the general area she was in, and another to find the exact location. As soon as it was confirmed, I sent in a small retrieval team. It was discreet - in the middle of the night - and they were in and out in well under an hour with Bora none the wiser. The police went in the next morning, and I thought that would be the last of it."
Silence fills the room at Igneel's admission. I can't fault Igneel for not knowing; what happened to me was kept from the public at my request; I didn't want the attention that would have come with news of my captivity and rescue, it was all too much at that point.
"I'm not the type to leave a job unfinished, Lucy. Whatever resources you need will be provided to you, including staying here as long as you need or want. Once this mess is cleaned up, you're free to continue living here as long as you like." A mischievous smirk - not unlike the one Natsu has given on multiple occasions - planted itself on Igneel's face as he added one last comment. "Besides, what kind of asshole would I be to kick out my son's damsel in distress?"
"A big one," Natsu answers and I just laugh. "But Lucy is nobody's damsel in distress."
"Yeah, at this point I'm pretty sure Natsu is the damsel and I'm the knight in shining armor."
"I'm not a damsel," he pouted.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're my dragon in distress," I corrected.
"Damn straight I am."
All three of us had a good laugh at that, after which Natsu helped me off the floor. We both stretched, sore from sitting on the floor for so long.
"Mister Dragneel…"
"Igneel," he interrupted.
"Igneel," I began again, "Natsu mentioned not expecting you today...is there a reason behind the surprise visit?"
"Yeah," Igneel sighed, "I was initially planning on coming in this weekend, but when I called my son earlier today for a sitrep on what's going on with you, he informed me that Jose Porla is involved with the situation. I presume this is something you were made aware of today?"
A shiver of revulsion wracked my body and I stepped closer to Natsu, who immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"I was told, yes."
"Is there more to this than I was told over the phone?"
The question was likely not directed towards me, so I allowed Natsu to answer as I turned my face into his chest for an entirely different reason than before. His other hand slid protectively around my waist before he spoke up.
"A bit more than anticipated, yeah. But can we discuss it after dinner? Neither of us has eaten since lunch, and Lucy didn't really get to keep what she put down."
I can only guess that Igneel agreed to the suggestion, since soon after we were headed out of the penthouse. And though I knew I needed to eat, my appetite was gone yet again.
I have no fucking clue where my inspiration for this is coming from, but I've decided not to question it. Whatever Muse has been assigned to me is working overtime right now, and I"m thankful for it. So, yeah, this chapter is out much more quickly than anticipated, and as promised, published as soon as it was ready. For once I had my Hubby read through this chapter for input, and it almost made him choke on his coffee (which was a nice reminder to him not to drink whilst proof-reading what I write, lol). I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as he did.
Than you to all who fave/follow this story; without you, I would not know I was any good (seriously, I love Hubby, but sometimes I'm not sure if he's just humoring me). And, as always, a special thanks to everyone who reviewed: jessifer89, Copperreign12, RequiemMage, and LadyNerdyNerf.
Tomorrow is a busy day at work, so probably no more writing for a few days (yeah, I said this last time and was writing in under 24 hours). Thank you for your patience as I wait for inspiration to strike.
TTFN, Lovelies!