Chapter 20: How to Kill a Man
After the residents of Love and Lucky waved the last party wagon off, Mira sighed in relief. Tiredness seeped through her bones as Levy helped her back into the house, no doubt to take a nap before supper. Lucy, who had been standing at a distance, began to move in the opposite direction. Loke growled at her, not sure who to follow. She just gestured toward the house, "Go on." The large cat whimpered before bounding after the other two females.
The blonde crossed her arms, biting her lips unhappy as she strolled toward the barn.
Today had been awful.
The emotional high after her chat with Mira and Laxus brought her close to tears.
Returning immediately to the party wasn't the best idea. Having the girls talk about her engagement made her develop a rather guilty conscience. She hated lying, not able to even enjoy the jokes Cana made, barely able to crack a smile, much less giggle convincingly. Not having time to compose herself, she stayed quiet. The girls, for their part, barely noticed her discomfort. Rather, they offered well wishes to the "cheerful bride-to-be." Lucy humbly accepted the congratulations for the rest of the party, her argument dead in her throat every time she peered at Mira's delighted smile. The thought of disappointing someone caused images of her past to flash through her mind.
Most of the girls ended up drunk, except Mira, who was pregnant, and Juvia, who had Slate, and Lucy, who had been determined to stay in control.
"Ugh! Those girls and their damn shenanigans." She kicked a pebble as frustration bubbled inside her body.
Lucy heard a voice shout her name, instantly freezing as if she had done something wrong by kicking the rock. She sighed in relief when she realized the spirit of the pebble was not actually haunting her. Only Levy calling from the porch that supper would be ready soon since they were only having leftovers.
"I need to go think! Start without me if I am not back." She hollered.
"Okay Lu!" Levy replied, drawing a heart on her chest before disappearing into the house.
The blonde girl hummed softly, enjoying the outside breeze while trying to calm her racing heart. These types of situations always put her in "fight or flight" mode. It was nice to clear her mind for a second, concentrating on the beauty of nature. The blue, cloudless sky brought peace to her spirit. She was stuffed with too many people inside that house for too long.
The afternoon was setting, but night had not approached yet.
She found a spot on the wooden fence to climb and sit, watching two calves frolic under the sharp eyes of two momma cows and one wounded heifer. One animal huffed at her in warning, making the calves run closer to their mother's. The ranch would not put the babies out to pasture until after the cattle drive. Right now they were quarantined away from the other cows for protection.
"Ugh! Something else to worry about." Lucy slid her hands across her face, a stressful habit that many people had tried to break her from doing. "We have to get all these cows to market soon. What am I going to do?"
She yelled into the air, "What do you want? Isn't there an easy answer?" The sky was silent, nature mocking her woes. Lucy locks her jaw, wanting to rant more, but knowing that blaming would only cause her heart to be bitter.
Unexpectedly at that very moment, someone seized her, shaking her before letting go. Startled, she almost fell but regained her balance as a hand reached out to steady her.
"Hey Luc…y!" Sting grunted as she elbowed him halfway his over excited greeting.
"Sting! I could have died!"
"From falling off the fence?" Incredulously, Sting shook his head. "Please. Your face was picture worthy."
He rested a forearm against the wood while rubbing his shoulder. She swung a leg around to straddled the boards in a very unladylike fashioning while studying him.
He pursed his lips as he observed her out of the corner of his eye, "What's troubling you? Is it that pesky time of the month for you.?"
"Sting!" Lucy shouted outraged earning Sting a slap from his cousin. "Would I be sitting like this if were…?" She added sarcastically. Sometimes she worried about how familiar he was with her. Maybe they were twins who had been split at birth?
"Lucy, you are always beating me!" He snorted, defending her attack. "What if I say I am sorry?"
"You're a jackass and no you aren't sorry. You wouldn't have done it in the first place if you regretted it that fast."
"You're right. Not really sorry, but you didn't see how upset you were. Why so down in the doldrums?"
The girl crossed her arms sighed, "Mira."
"Oh?" He shot her a quizzing face, clearly lost for why Mira would have her so depressed.
"Matchmaking and other stuff. She told me about what happened to Lisanna." Lucy did not want to tell him about selling the ranch if Laxus had not included him. Even though Laxus had apparently conversed with Jellal, he might have reasons for not telling Sting. Temper tantrums in the past taught them all to be cautious around him.
Sting's face fell. "Uh?" He batted the back of his head, suddenly short for words.
"How did matchmaking and Lisanna come up in the same conversation?"
"How she met Laxus. Comparing my relationship to Natsu with her and Laxus."
"Only Mira would make that connection," he turned toward the cow family. "Should have thought she would eventually do that. You know how she is a serial matchmaker."
"She wants me to marry Natsu."
Sting patted her shoulder in a sympathetic way. "She means well, but don't let anyone push you. You got a good head on your shoulder. A lot better than mine. That's for sure. Although I have noticed how you two observe each other when you think the other is not watching."
Lucy blushed before stuttering, "What do you mean?"
"I mean you two are clearly interested in each other but everything is so strange at the moment. Romance is not even an option unless you wanting a quick roll in the hay. And you aren't that type of girl. If this had been difference circumstances, then maybe you two? I don't really know? He's not the type I would think for you."
"Why? What kind of person would you think I would fit with?"
"Maybe someone who likes books and is fancy? Kind of boring? You never really fit with the men out here."
"I fit with you and Laxus."
"Well yeah. But you are so much better than us. You need someone who takes care of you. Someone with money who can take you traveling. Fill your life with adventure, not work you to death."
"And Natsu isn't it?"
"He's too much like an older version of me. Except way cooler. And way more experience in the world. Plus a dark past."
"But that's what I want. And if he is interested, maybe I should do something?" The red color on her skin intensified as Lucy searched for what she wanted to say. She hung her head before asking timidly, "Do you think I should try to woo him?"
"What the fu… fudge? Why would you want to woo him?"
"Because he apparently isn't making any moves on me." Lucy deadpanned. Sting began laughing uncontrollably, earning him another slap. "I am being serious!" She groused.
"Natsu is a pretty impatient, hands-on kind of guy. If you are something he wanted, he would make it happen. There is a reason he beat me in a dual. I am fast. Maybe not as fast as Laxus but let me tell you... Natsu is faster. They call him Salamander for a reason. When he has a goal, he doesn't let it go. He puts all his energy into accomplishing it. He's killed tons of men. They say he's like a dragon with the fury of hell burning behind him. His father was like that too. The original Salamander. The only difference is Natsu works for the law while Igneel was against it. And I have heard he isn't just fast with the gun. He's fast with women too. He's the type of guy that would leave you with more scars than you already have, Lucy.""
"Natsu doesn't like the person to make scars on a person. He seems more like the type that would make the scars go away. How do you know so much?"
Grinning that he had her complete attention, Sting began to recount stories of the Salamander's seduction and leaving a whole town of women satisfied. Ending with how scores of women were left heartbroken across Alvarez.
"Wait? We are talking about Natsu, right?"
Sting nodded eagerly while Lucy just shot him a disapproving frown.
"Are you sure? Old wives' tales have more truths."
"I know my legends, Lucy."
"But Natsu….He doesn't exactly," she thought a moment, "scream 'Cassanova.'"
"Appearances can be deceiving. Plus women enjoy alpha males, dark yet sweet, hero types. It makes all their panties w…." Lucy whacked him with his own cowboy hat before he could finish.
"Anywayssss, you need to work."
"I am going." Snatching his hat back, Sting avoided her punch before running off, yelling "See I am gone."
Lucy sat a bit before sliding off the fence. Out in the open, she would attract every noisy family member so she head to the barn intending to lay in the loft, a nice private location.
Natsu observed Lucy climbing up to the loft. Her backside providing a pleasant view to the closet pervert inside him.
She passed him with a nod that was a bit unfriendly as he exited Happy's stall, briefly wondering why her attitude constantly seemed to changed.
"I dunno. Maybe she's bipolar?" He questioned to no one as her legs disappeared into the top.
The sky was starting to darken outside but had not fully become night yet. A couple of stars peaked out. He headed toward the house for some grub. His stomach angry at the lack of attention.
After supper, Natsu asked why Lucy did not come to eat, thinking she might have forgotten. Mira had excused herself early to take a nap so maybe Lucy was too tired.
Washing dishes, Levy did not even raise her head as she replied, "She's been acting different all day. Mira and her talked about something in the middle of the party. I am not sure what."
The man's heart froze as he thought about what they had said this morning. Groaning, he realized he made Lucy the butt of too many jokes. Maybe Lucy was feeling pressure from the conversation? It had never been his intention for her to take the words seriously. On the other hand, she was gung-ho about not falling in love with him. The women of the house were obviously pushing for some type of relationship between her and him. Maybe his good natured fun crossed the line? He didn't want something like that to ruin their friendship.
Sure...
She was sexy as hell. Smart. Sassy. Able to throw a mean punch.
He just never thought about settling down. He flirted to punish her for all that talk she did in town about marrying him. She had to learn to respect him, but it wasn't right of him to play around so much, especially in front of her neighbors. There was a good chance her reputation would be ruined once the fake engagement came out.
Natsu stared at his empty plate, a little sick to his stomach. Perhaps he needed to apologize?
"Maybe I should check on her?" He sat his plate in the sink before Levy stopped him.
"Here take this food." Levy threw a basket in his hands. "She might be hungry."
He merely nodded taking his belt from the bar, checking his gun before holstering it. The girls had a rule that all guns weren't allowed in the kitchen, only worn in the den and the bedrooms. Natsu had always found that rule weird, but he didn't argue with a bunch of crazy women.
The last place he had seen Lucy was the barn.
He sought her there, but detoured to see Happy first. The horse nudged him whining at the food in his hands.
"It's not for you, boy." He smirked tempted to give the apple to Happy. Then he shook his head. Lucy needed food, even though she probably ate enough at that female party. Although knowing the women, they probably nibbled like birds without eating real food.
Leaving the stall, he finds the ladder. Slowly with a nervous breath, he ascended the ladder, cursing when he reached the top. The loft was a lot darker than he imagined, and he did not bring a lantern. Natsu stumbled, regretting the loss of his twenty-twenty night vision, only to almost trip over Lucy.
He stared at her. Admiring how her hair was starting to spill from the side ponytail. Wishing she let it lose like she had this morning when they had the mud fight. It was so long and golden. He tried to imagine what it would look like fanned out around her. Then he noticed in the shadows that her eyes were staring straight at him.
"What are you doing?" He asked awkwardly after realizing he had been quiet too long.
"Viewing the sunset," Lucy pointed to a window where twilight clearly shone. One shutter barely hung to the side. The other must have already been lost. "The hay is soft, and I get a closer look at the stars when they appear"
Natsu was curious so he sat down, wanting to know why she had sought solitude. Lucy stiffened. Anyone would not judge the distance inappropriate between them, Natsu reasoned so he did not understand why she was so skittish. .
"Plus, I get to be alone." She added somewhat harshly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her roll away. Much to his amusement, she stuck her face in the hay like an ostrich.
"Apparently, the word 'alone' translates into 'Natsu sit boy.'" Her words were a bit muffled into the straw, but he could hear her clearly.
A bit irritated, he followed her, tickling her side, "What crawled up your butt and died?"
She sat up sharply. "What?"
"Your attitude is snippy." He held up the bag. The two were really close now. Their legs practically touching. "I just brought food. And thought we could talk. We have not had a real conversation since that night under the stars."
Natsu watched the emotions play on her face: anger, blanching, hunger, embarrassment, sadness. He hated that she decided to end on that emotion. Pain shot up his spine. This one did not even have to cry. If he saw her merely unhappy, he wanted to change her.
She seemed uncomfortable with his presence, fidgeting and such. So, he asked her what was the matter as he unwrapped the food. Handing her a few items, he moved away.
"That's a lot. I don't think I am hungry enough to eat this." She said, munching on some cheese. "Is some of this yours?"
Natsu lied, "Yea. I ate in the house but I was going to eat out here too." He grabbed the apple to add weight to his words. She giggled at him, no doubt thinking of his large appetite.
The two relaxed, eating the meal. Then she lay back down, motioning him to lay as well. He propped himself sideways to her, not sure how close he needed to be. Natsu, at ease with the silence, started daydreaming. He was not going to push her to tell him what was wrong. As long as she wasn't being bitchy to him, he was good.
Unknown to him, but every second started to annoy Lucy. Her mouth opened to start conversation. She closed it when she could not think of what to say. She snickered to herself when she thought of his reaction to a bluntly seductive statement coming from her. The idea growing more appealing as she thought.
Her mind started to prepare the words. But somewhere between her brain, and her mouth, the signal was lost and ended up being, "Sting says that you killed a ton of people."
If Lucy could have escaped the loft by disappearing into a hole that dropped her body into a stall with a feral horse, she would have taken it. She barely caught herself from dashing away in mortification
"Sting says a lot of things that are incorrect." He replied looking at her strangely. Lucy's hands twitched with the need to rub her face. This was one of those moments where she would agree with him calling her weird.
"You are a famous ranger. A legend. That had to come with some prices." Lucy pointed out nonchalantly as she leaned closer to him. Maybe she could still resolve this with use of her master seduction skills. His brow furrowed as he cast a sidelong glance at her. He still had that peculiar expression on his face as if he was confronted with a situation he had never been in before.
She did not know that he was really watching her move closer to him. The strands of her hair now collected fibers of hay. It directly contrasted the color of her hair. Normally, her hair was a golden, yellow color. The shadow making it appear more white, ethereal. White gold, the most precious of treasures, calling to the dragon inside him.
She fascinated him. This little girl on some backwoods ranch in the middle of nowhere.
The women who had filed through his life had ranged from sophisticated aristocrats, friends of his brother, and dirty whores, he arrested for walking on the wrong side of the street. None affected him like her. They always wanted him for a sense of excitement. Or wanted to spit on him for his incorruptible sense of law enforcement. This woman was his friend with a freshness that was almost childlike, bringing out the boy in him. She also was beautiful inside and out that he had to wonder what the hell was wrong with the men in this county. Lucy also had a mother complex. She tried too hard to take care of everyone around her, which left her stress. It made him want to bring the child in her out to play more. He was not the only one to sense this. Natsu watched Sting also pick on Lucy the way he did, although less perverted than Natsu's version. All in all, Lucy was probably the female he like hanging around the most.
"Have you ever kept count?"
"What?" He almost asked if she was talking about the number of women he had been with but realized in good time that all his reflections, unexposed to her. There was no way for her to know what he had just been thinking.
She twitched then raised on her elbows. "The number of people that you killed."
He met her eyes for a moment but turned away as he tried to bring his mind to the present.
"I am sorry to ask." She hastily apologized, touching his shoulder. He jumped, startled, normally he was the one that initiated contact with her.
"Nah. It's fine." A touch of humor shone in them before he turned. "I hate to disillusion you, but the number isn't quite so high. I try not to kill my opponent, even though that is what people expect - me to be a monster. Probably killed more when I was a soldier than as a ranger, but in war you see things differently."
The conversation quieted. Natsu actually could remember the face of every person he had ever knowingly killed. It wasn't that many, only four. And he'd liked to tell himself that his reasons were justified, but it didn't stop their ghosts from haunting his dreams at night. But he would gladly live with those ghosts, as oppose to victims he could not save.
"Is there anything you want to talk about?" She finally asked.
"Not really."
She settled down again. He thought maybe she would go back to be being silent. He was wrong.
With a deep breath she told him Mira's story. He listened carefully until a name was mentioned that had him sitting up. When she finally finished, he remained silent but was staring at her. The wheels in his head turning.
A light heat crept over her body as she wondered why his eyes were so intense.
"Did you say his name was Serena?"
"Yea. Why?"
She crawled over to him, smacking him in the ribs. "You better tell me what you know or I will sic Loke on you."
"It's just something Gildarts was telling me today. He use to be my commanding officer when I was a soldier. Now he's retired but does a lot with the fort. He said there have been sightings of an officer who jumped bail years ago in this area and wondered if the rangers had sent me to apprehend him. The bandit calls himself "God Serena" has been linked with human trafficking and underground opiate smuggling."
"Is it the same person?" Lucy's hand covered her gasp.
"Not sure but it sounds like it could be."
"That's just what I need. Another villain in this story running around when I already have Phantom S coming at me." Lucy groaned. An idea then passed her mind. "What if he had been trying to kidnap Lisanna and Mira all those years ago."
"Ok Miss Detective, you have been sleuthing around the hidden staircase a bit too long." Natsu mumbled, patting her head absentmindedly. "Don't go romanticizing something for one of your fairy tales. This isn't some plot in a novel."
"I wasn't romanticizing anything. I was just thinking."
"Well he said that they wondered if they could be linked to Phantom S."
"Really?"
"Not the higher ups but two of Irene's employees had been seen close to the areas where Serena was sighted. The two don't have a good reputation and usually are loose canons even for Phantom S."
Lucy shivered knowing exactly who Natsu was talking about. She flashbacked to why she no longer traveled into town alone.
"You mean Jacob and Cain?"
His ears perked up at that but the girl had turned away, studying the far wall.
"How did you know?"
"Those two creep me out. Cain isn't as bad as Jacob. He's mostly an idiot who follows whoever feeds him. There's something mean in Jacob. And he always watches me. I could completely believe he would be connected to something underhanded. He caught me alone once, and I will never let that happen again." Lucy mumbled the last part, but Natsu clearly heard the last art. His whole body became rigid.
"What do you mean?" His tone menacing.
Lucy shivered at the darkness in his voice. An action that Natsu picked up quickly. His fist tightened with the need to beat the two men. Anger probes his consciousness, but he does not let it take control.
"Mostly the Phantom S workers are idiots or bullies who try to pick fights with us. It was some time after those two had first been hire, I had been in town, going on my merry way. They cornered me behind the blacksmith's. Elfman had been with me but he was loading the wagon while I tended to other business. Cain with his monstrous strength came out of nowhere, shoving me into a stall faster than I could do anything. He then wrapped his pudgy hands around my mouth to keep me from screaming. Jacob had came in. He touched me. Nothing horrible." Lucy's voice sounded so uneven. Natsu wanted to hold her but she didn't need to associate him with the flashback she was having so he placed his hand on hers. She twitched before smiling at him, revealing in the warm before proceeding, "But it was places he shouldn't have, petting my face. Groping my breasts. Cain was mostly who stopped it. He started questioning Jacob, thinking it was a game. He mostly wanted to terrorize me because he's a bully. I could tell Jacob wanted something else. As soon as his grip slacked up, I punched kicked him in the nuts while biting Cain's hand. Then I pulled my gun out on them, telling them if they didn't leave me alone, I would shoot."
Horrified, Natsu could only stare that she had to go through something of that nature, "Why haven't you told anyone? The law?"
"The law? As in who? The people who got Laxus sent to jail? The sheriff? He's elected. Which means his keeping the peace is more not trying to piss off too many voters. I would not say he's outright corrupt or in Phantom S's pocket, but he come pretty close. I never told anyone because what can they do? We have so much already here to worry us. I didn't need another relative sent to prison for murder. Or a friend. Even Jellal would probably kill them, but he has a record. They would hang him if he does anything else."
"Shooting them when you had the chance would have been the best option." Natsu said, hating when the law did not protect innocence.
Lucy could see darkness brewing. He seemed lost, eyes unfocused for a second before snapping back to the present.
"I didn't want to kill anyone. Just like you said earlier." She pointed out.
"You didn't have to kill them, but if you were that close to them… pulling a gun and threatening would not meant much if you were alone. They could have easily jumped you, taking the gun away." He made a gun hand sign, aiming at her heart he pulled the imaginary trigger.
She shook her head. "They left me alone though."
His finger was still pointing at her heart so Lucy grasped that hand between her own. His finger accidentally brushing one of her breasts. The small touch leaving the area heated as she held his hand steady.
"The only reason they left you alone was probably because they were in town. A scream or a gunshot would have attracted notice. Plus shooting one of them in the foot would have shown them you were serious about hurting them. At best it would have gotten them arrested and sent to prison. They would have been out of your hair. At worst, they would have been ran out of town. Would you ever kill someone Lucy?"
"I don't know. I think I could. If it was the heat of the moment and it was self defense."
"It's harder than you think." Taking her hand in his, he massaged circular patters on her wrist. "If your life is in danger, don't hesitate. Kill them. Use what ever weapon you have." Natsu cupped her hand while using his fingers to rub her fingers. The motions becoming strangely... arousing.
His face hovered ever so slightly over hers as he whispered. His tone making her skin tingle with the words, "I have an idea of how to make you forget those memories and help you cope."
She thought he might kiss her when he picked her up bridal style. Blood rushed through every vein and artery in her body. She felt alive in ways she never knew possible. Natsu stared down at her with that damn cute grin of his and...
... threw her out of the loft.
She fell.
A scream starting to form in her throat.
It was just so unexpected.
Before she could make a sound, she landed on a stack of baled hay. .
Her frightening experience quickly turned to anger as she yelled, "We just talked about my issues!" A flying male body landed beside her, earning a squeak as she rolled away from Natsu.
"You could have smashed me!" She screeched at him, throwing pieces in his face. "I don't have any wish to become a Lucy-pancake!"
The pink haired man grinned at her, "Don't worry, I had the entire angle calculated. "
The girl griped at him, trying to move away but he rested his arm around her waist.
"Why did we switch venues?"
"I want to see what you got. Let's fight!" She started to groan. Inwardly Natsu smiled, he knew as long as she was angrily trying to fight him, she wasn't trying to reason out all her troubles.
She could just be Lucy.
Chapter 21: A Reason to Stay
AN: This chapter was hard to write. I rewrote it around four times. Usually at that point I would go cry to NaluFTFanatic or Emperor Spriggan about what to do, but eventually everything started to click. It ended up being really, really long. I tried to cut stuff out, but then the chapter seemed lacking. Chapters usually won't be this long.
Initially this was going to have the Sting and Lucy chat and her admitting about what Jacob and Cain did to her. Sting would help her with self-defense lessons (How to kill a man) and Natsu would take over (since he's the lawman), but I realized how choppy that would make the story. We just had 1) the party, 2) Miraxus backstory, 3) Irene tease. Why would she even be thinking of Jacob and Cain? I needed to work the two back into the story since it has been 10 chapters since I mentioned them. Serena seemed like a good way to connect that whole subplot together since he was going to be a minor villain anyway. Lucy's words about needing another villain in the story was my attempt at humor with my own frustrations of adding different bad guys. Next chapter we will have two surprises.
The last part was totally a troll to see if you thought they would do something... in the hay. Then he threw her out of the loft... LMAO!
Thanks to the reviewers last chapter: lishagirl - sarara1.8 - MakeiraSakura - Big Fan - Asuraraider - 4evrDorkly17 - ThayetJade - Juvia is my spirit animal - NaLuFTFanatic - GajevyNalu4life - KtKatana - HammyJessa
And two people - KtKatana and NaluFTFanatic - got the fanfiction right last chapter. The reference was to HER SCREAM by thyFreshPrincess.
Some people are worried about future Gruvia/Gajevy/Jerza. I will address that in the notes of a future chapter. I just don't want to put the note in this chapter as I already have so much and don't want to take away from this. Will just tell you now (evil laugh) you should be more worried about Nalu in the next few chapters and why the story will be more from Natsu's POV.
The reason you are getting the chapter a bit early is because I have a super big certification test in 24 hours. So wish me luck!