"Brunch sounds great, Lu," Levy exclaimed over the phone.
"Fantastic! I'll see you Sunday. Bye, Lev," I smiled before I hung up the phone, tossing it onto my bed as I finished getting ready for work.
The penthouse was surprisingly lonely with Natsu gone; I'd been used to waking up to an empty apartment for years, but I lived with him for one week, and I'm already longing for his return. It's only been two days, and damn do I feel pathetic. And it's not like we haven't spoken; they're driving to wherever it is they're going, and Natsu called me the past two nights to talk after they stopped to get sleep. We talked for over an hour last night, and I fell asleep to the sound of his voice.
Glancing at the clock, I had to shake thoughts of Natsu from my head, knowing I had more work to do today, and Capricorn would be downstairs soon to drive me to the office. My phone rang when I stepped off the elevator and into the underground garage. I answered immediately once I saw who was calling.
"Hello, Uncle," I greeted as the car pulled up next to me. I waved Capricorn off, opening the door for myself before sliding into the plush leather interior. The center window slid up as I buckled my seatbelt, thankful for the privacy I was given.
"Lucy, my dear," my uncle replied, his voice gravelly and a little strained. From that alone, I knew this was not a social call. "How have you been?"
"More than a little worn down, but also more hopeful than I have in years," I answered honestly. "And you, Uncle? Have you been well?"
"I'm fine." There was a loaded pause from the other end of the line that I patiently waited out as I bit my lower lip. Whatever he has to say is almost guaranteed to be bad news. "Are you free today? We have a few business matters to discuss."
Knowing I didn't have much longer before arriving at work, I gave my uncle instructions to meet me there for lunch. I'm sure Natsu wouldn't mind if we used his office - since he told me last week his door was always open if I needed anything.
"That sounds lovely," my uncle replied once we had details worked out. "Laxus and I will see you in a few hours."
"What?" I yelped into the phone. The tone of the call ending sounded before I could argue about him dragging my cousin along.
"Are you alright, Miss Lucy?" Capricorn asked as he held the car door open for me. I hadn't even realized we had stopped.
"Just frustrated," I sighed. "Lunch plans with my uncle and he's decided to bring my cousin with him. At least we'll be eating here, so no need to secure a restaurant or anything."
Capricorn just nodded, thankfully not commenting on my familial situation, since I had no desire to explain at this moment.
Once I stepped into my office, Crux and I - as well as the rest of the department - got back to work. Surprising every one of us, Crux figured out the identity of the hacker through his style, and set us to work on setting up a new way to stop him. He called it a labyrinth, and it's set to shift slightly each time someone breaks through a wall; as long as the hacker does not evolve his style - which apparently, the prideful moron is too stubborn to do - he will be caught in a near-infinite series of walls and dead ends. And if he does manage to get to the 'center' of the labyrinth, he will be rewarded with a backup system with nothing but dummy files.
I worked diligently on my part up until lunch time, dreading my upcoming meeting, letting out an enormous sigh as I went down to the lobby to retrieve the two men who have been running my father's company since he was killed. The thought of my father filled me with a familiar grief, and it took all I had to push it down so I could deal with it later.
The lobby was empty of my relatives when I made it down, so I walked to the security desk to get guest badges for them while I waited.
Wakaba and Macao greeted me as I walked up to fill out paperwork. Just a few weeks ago, it felt like I couldn't walk past this desk without both leering at me like creeps. Now, though, they both had a measure of respect, and spent more time looking into my eyes when they spoke to me instead of staring at my assets. When I asked Natsu about it, he said it was because of the night we met; before that night, I always came across as timid and withdrawn, which changed when I stormed into the building. What really solidified the change was how I had put myself in harm's way to protect someone I barely knew. Natsu said I showed a piece of myself that they had never seen, and it was something that drew a measure of respect from both men.
I stood chatting with them, passes in hand, when Macao sat up straight, focused on something behind me.
"Makarov?" He said, shock heavy in his voice. "Damn, is that really you? What are you doing here?"
Turning, I saw my uncle and cousin walking up to us.
"That's what I'd like to know," Laxus said, folding his arms across his chest, sending what I can only guess was a chastising glare directly at me. And this is why I was apprehensive about him coming today. So much fucking attitude.
"We're here to have lunch with Lucy," my uncle spoke up, giving me a warm, fatherly smile.
"They're with me," I confirmed when I turned back to the desk.
"Alright. Enjoy your lunch," Wakaba replied as I led what is left of my family towards the elevators. I heard incredulous whispers coming from the two we left behind, but was too far away to catch what they were talking about.
The ride up was a silent one, in spite of my attempts at polite conversation. Uncle Makarov wore a pensive stare, while Laxus just looked irritated. And though I initially thought it was just being in my presence for the first time in years, I wondered if it went a little deeper than that.
"Someone from my team will be up soon with lunch," I informed them as I led them towards Natsu's office. I seated myself at his desk, allowing myself a moment to feel a connection with the man I was missing a little too much for him only being gone a few days.
"So," I tried once again to break the ice, "what brings you both here today?"
"Is this your office?" Laxus asked instead of answering my question. "It seems a little dark for your taste."
"No, it belongs to the owner of the company."
"Why the hell are we in the flaming idiot's office?"
"There's no need to be rude," Makarov barked at him. "Though I am also curious about this. When did you even start working here?"
The heated glare I sent my cousin could have melted ice, and I was momentarily tempted to jump across the desk and punch him for his disrespect.
Natsu may be a bad influence on my temper, I thought, barely holding back a laugh.
"Natsu is a friend of mine," I stated simply. "And I've been working here for over two years; since just after Dad…died." My eyes burned as I spoke, but I refused to allow the tears to fall.
"But why here?"
"Why not here?" I countered. Obviously these two think they know something that I don't. Well, they might, but at least I'm not as naive as I was a few weeks ago.
The door opened before they had a chance to do more than give each other a sidelong glance, Virgo walking in with our lunch order.
"Thank you, Virgo. I know it's not really your job to fetch my lunch."
"I will do whatever you require of me, Princess," she said as she bowed towards me. I did not have a chance to reply before she was out of the room again.
"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me, Blondie," my cousin growled at me. "What the fuck kinda shit are you mixed up in this time?"
"I like how you say that as if anything has changed," I snapped back, reaching for my lunch. "Really, the difference is that now I at least have an idea of what I'm up against. And if you're interested in an update, I am willing to share, as long as you promise me two things…"
Laxus raised his right eyebrow in reply, obviously curious to know where this was going, but never one to vocalize such curiosity. I turned to my uncle, who agreed with a nod.
"First, you're not allowed to be a dick and interrupt me," I looked directly at Laxus for this. He rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway. "And second, you have to promise not to throw a huge fit and break my friend's office. I'm pretty sure you'll both be a bit pissed at what I'm about to tell you."
Both agreed, and I told them everything that had happened in the past few weeks - well, leaving out a few minor details, since I didn't want to divulge all the cuddling I'd been doing with my new friend. All important information was shared, from the multiple attacks by Bora, to the security team, to my training, to the revelation that Jose is Bora's father and my theory about this whole shit-show being Jose's doing. After I finished my story, I remembered that this wasn't really supposed to be a social call, and that my uncle wanted to discuss something business-related, so instead of waiting for some reaction from either of them aside from utter shock, I pressed onwards.
"So, enough about me," I tried my desperate best to sound chipper; pretty sure I failed miserably, but I tried. "What was it you wanted to talk about today?"
Both looked at me like I'd grown two heads, but luckily it was Uncle Makarov who spoke first.
"I'm no longer certain I should tell you, Lucy. I feel, with everything that's going on…" his voice trailed off.
My right eye twitched as I clenched my jaw. Every drop of blood in my veins boiled that my family thought I was not strong enough to handle this; or maybe that I'm just too emotional to make good business decisions right now. Either way, it's pissing me off, and it takes all my willpower not to scream in frustration - mostly because it would only further the point. Instead, I settle for several deep breaths which slow my racing heartbeat, but do nothing for my seething rage.
Silence fills the space between us, and I take the time to really look at the men across the desk from me. Makarov looks haggard - much more than any time I've seen him previously. And Laxus…well, it still hurts to look him in the eye, knowing that I am the reason he has a long, jagged scar from just over his right eyebrow down to his jawline. There was so much blood, I didn't know if he would survive, and the guilt still eats at me.
Studying them has left me with only one logical reason they would have come today.
"It's Jose," I say to them. "Isn't it? He's looking to get in on the new railway expansion."
It's the only thing that makes sense. If there are no delays, the expansion and upgrades will be completed by early next summer. When everything is said and done, the trains will be faster, safer, and more secure, allowing faster shipment of goods and travel across the continent.
"Yeah, it's him," Laxus confirms. "Not sure how you figured it out so quickly; that brain of your is going to get you into trouble some day."
"It already does," I mutter. "Okay, so, I'm not really ready to deal with him yet. We need a plan, but I need to help finish off some security upgrades." I bit at my lip, thinking if this was a good idea or not. Only one way to find out. "Don't tell Jose 'no.' Instead, let him know we're not considering contracts until a later date - he'll probably still try, but he may not be as persistent if he knows we're not looking at contracts for the new line until a few months before completion."
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. To what end are we doing this, Lucy? I'll send him a letter telling him to fuck off, and that we're not interested. End of statement."
"No, Laxus, you won't. I don't have a plan yet, and I'm trying to buy time. Damn-near everything that has gone to complete and utter shit in my life for the past six years has been because my father said no to him. Do you really think he's just going to accept it and move on if it's done again?"
Uncle Makarov sat back and watched, used to our heated disagreements which had been happening since we were children. He knew it was only a matter of time before we came to some sort of stalemate or truce. Today one one of the few times it was forced instead of reaching its logical conclusion.
A knock on the door preceded Gray's head poking through when it opened.
"Thought I'd find you in here," he gave a knowing smile as he spoke. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah," I stood from Natsu's chair. "We just finished lunch, and were catching up on a few things."
"It sounded an awful lot like a screaming match to me," I heard him say under his breath. "Try to keep the volume a little lower, a few people were thinking of calling security."
"Sorry, Gray. We'll keep it down," I promised.
Makarov stepped up after Gray left the room, calming Laxus from starting up again. We settled on another lunch date to discuss everything in a few weeks before I escorted them back to the lobby.
The remainder of my day flew by. Between work and training with Capricorn, I was exhausted and ready to fall into a coma after my evening shower. I was working on doing just that when my phone rang on the nightstand. Checking the caller, I fumbled with my phone a moment before excitedly swiping to answer.
"Natsu!"
"Hey, Lucy," his deep voice answered from the other end. "How was your day?"
"It was fine," I couldn't keep a disgruntled noise from slipping out. Sighing, I sat on my bed as I considered whether or not to tell Natsu what was going on.
I bit my lower lip when he asked what was wrong, and just like that, I was spilling my day. He was less than pleased with the turn of events at lunch - not because of anything I did, but because Laxus had yelled at me. Though Natsu did seem more than amused to find out that I yelled right back.
"That's my girl," he said with a soft chuckle.
His words planted a seed of warmth in my chest. Natsu considered me his girl? Usually people being so possessive of me pissed me off, but somehow Natsu made me feel special when he said it. That tiny seed sprouted as we spoke about our days, my entire being filled with light at the sound of his voice.
I didn't really want to ask, but this call seemed to linger longer than the others, and I had to know.
"Will this be the last call for a while?"
"Yeah," Natsu answered with a sad sigh. "I don't want it to be, but we're already closer than expected, so we should reach our first destination tomorrow. Communication blackout starts then, but I won't have time to call again."
"Hey, don't sound so sad. Three weeks will be over before we know it, and then you'll be home again." I knew I was being ridiculously optimistic. After all, he said it would be at least three weeks, but a girl can dream, can't she? "How much longer do we have on our call?"
"Until you fall asleep."
Another thirty minutes passed, and my eyelids were so heavy I could barely keep them open. I knew my time was growing short.
"Natsu?"
"Yeah?"
"Promise me something," it came out as more of a demand than a question.
"I'll do my best."
"Be safe while you're away, and come back home to me."
"I will. I promise."
"'M getting sleepy," I yawned into the phone.
"It's alright. Lie down and get some sleep; I'm not going anywhere."
I did as he told me to, putting the call on speaker so I could still hear him, even to just hear his breathing. Natsu spoke softly a little longer as I cuddled the plush snowman he won on our date, holding it tight as I drifted off, wishing he was here with me instead of so far away.
This chapter seems a little short to me, but I prefer to have a good place to break instead of a high word count. This story has kinda gotten away from me. I'm not sure if I said anything previously, but this was initially supposed to be a one-shot (possibly two)...and now I have this. It's kinda crazy, but I'm glad y'all are enjoying the crazy along with me.
As always, thank you to everyone who fave/followed my story. It really means a lot to me that so many people are enjoying my writing. Special thanks to my reviewers: , Copperreign12, Guest, and galactiaconstella.
My brain is fried, and I have to start prepping for next week (Holiday travel...wish me luch, lol).
TTFN, Lovelies!