Sorry this is a bit late, dears! We've all had busy weekends! But, the good news is that I am officially free for the summer; I've finished my junior year of college. Hopefully I can stay more on top of the updates now!
Looking forward to your thoughts on this chapter, ohoho...
rated: M (references to nsfw in this chapter)
summary: In a world of underground fighting only the strong survive, abiding by the rules of kill or be killed. In the Ring, a feeble emotion like hope is all it takes to destroy you. And yet it exists– and those who hold onto it play a dangerous game. But once you enter into the Ring, it will never let you go.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Brawler
An aggressive fighter who likes to fight on the inside
Natsu snorted in amusement as his thumb dragged into the waistband of his shorts. After the day Lucy had gotten frighteningly close to him without pants on, she insisted on being the one to 'unwrap' him as part of his services.
So he got to keep his pants.
It made getting up and moving around the room about a hundred times easier, that was for sure.
Even though it had been amusing to watch her blush and squirm all the time.
Happy was already sprawled over what had become his favorite pillow on the bed, his paws kneading into the cushion with a contented meow. Natsu had to say, he was a little happy about being able to keep his pants on for a change, even if meant sacrificing some time teasing Lucy.
Somehow, through some unusual means, the time spent with Lucy had become one of the highlights of his life. He found himself eager to get into the ring, to get his fight started and over with so he could see her. Never before had he been so determined to win, not even for the sake of his own life. The thought of Lucy had him tackling opponents he had no business facing. Like the man Aria of the Element Four. The man was clearly a heavyweight, about seven stones heavier than Natsu, and harder to hit than a tractor tire.
But there were no rules, and Phantom liked to cheat - even by the Ring's standards.
It had taken all of Natsu's speed and cunning to scrape out a win against that monster. Aria was a fan of bear hugs, crushing his opponents between his meaty arms so they were totally unable to fight. Natsu had barely managed to slip from his hold, and Lucy had told him on no uncertain terms, was he ever to give her another heart attack like that.
Natsu won though. And he refused to lose, not when the prize of victory was so much sweeter than anything else he had tasted in the Ring for some time. He couldn't help it.
On the rare instance Lucy was outbid or his time was double booked on his days off, Natsu's thoughts remained on her and her gentle, inflaming touches.
Today in his final match against Phantom, he had gotten a friendly reminder not to let his guard down in the ring against the Totomaru of the Element Four. He licked the blood off his lips, flinching when his tongue moved over the swelling part where his lip had been split.
Fresh blood kept oozing out of the wound, no matter how he tried to stop it.
Lucy would be upset about this.
As if on command, the door opened.
She walked in, her head held high and purse clutched between her hands. Natsu hummed at the sight of her, unable to stop himself from observing her body. His gaze swept along her, taking quick stock. Ever since those guards had talked about putting their filthy hands on her, Natsu's paranoia spiked nearly through the roof.
It was a relief when she arrived, her hands on her hips and a pout pulling her mouth down at the corners.
Her heels clicked against the smooth tile, her fingers already drawing to his hand. Natsu accepted it, grasping their fingers together in a wordless hold. He couldn't help but smile at her, happy despite himself that she had come again.
"How's your mouth?" Lucy asked, her concern asserting itself with an immediacy that no longer surprised Natsu. She stepped to him, one hand still in his while the other lifted to trace the corner of his mouth. Her thumb circled the swelling area, her brows furrowing in a sympathetic hiss.
Truth be told, it didn't even hurt that bad, but Natsu let her fuss.
"Let me help you with that," she murmured before dropping her hand and pulling him along to the bed.
They sat down on its edge, facing each other. Lucy opened her purse and produced a small, travel-sized pack of q-tips. Carefully picking one and bringing it closer to his mouth, she bit her lip in concentration.
"Sorry if I hurt you," she whispered, but Natsu was quite certain he'd barely feel a thing. Not with her face so dangerously close to his. "I can't bring any proper equipment," she apologized. "They wouldn't let me take anything. The ice pack was a stretch already, but at least I can say the q-tips are for my own use. Don't think they understand much about make-up."
He nodded impalpably, careful to not move his lips.
She gently touched the cotton tip against the wound, tracing along the sensitive skin of his lip to clean off the blood. Her mouth hung open as she worked, her breath coming flat.
His own mouth reflected hers as she gently pressed the tip into the cut on his lip, stemming some of the blood flow. He grunted when she applied a little more pressure, causing it to twinge in a flicker of pain. It was dulled by her proximity though, barely an ache he registered.
While she concentrated on the task set before her, Natsu's eyes fell downward, settling on her full lips and the soft breaths coming from the rise and fall of her chest. He couldn't stop his nervous swallow, his heart beating a traitorous, erratic tempo.
She stopped what she was doing, her hand lifting to his jaw, thumb resting lightly against the corner of his mouth. It was such a grazing touch, but it made Natsu shiver all the same. Her eyes lifted from his mouth up to his face, concern drawing over her face.
"Sorry," she whispered, "was it too rough?"
It took a moment for him to respond, but he tore his eyes off her lips and forced them upwards. In hindsight, that was not his cleverest idea. Her large, worried eyes pulled him right in, and he registered how she slowly lowered the hand holding the q-tip. A look that ignited a fire inside him cast over her face, her eyelids drooping.
Oh, shit.
"I…" he started, voice scratchy and hoarse. But his brain left him high and dry, eradicating every last word he desperately tried to come up with. Her breath was fanning across his lips.
She released a shaky breath, and instinctively, he licked his lips, not even remembering or feeling his wound. Had she moved closer? Her fingertips squeezed into his cheek as if she wanted to pull him against her, eyes locked onto his lips.
Whatever she wanted, he wanted it too. His fingers twitched, unable to even remember how they got where they were. His hand found purchase against her elbow, reveling in the softness of her skin against his rough palm. She didn't complain when his hand moved along her arm, flattening against her back.
Sharp ears caught the quiet gasp that fell between them, causing Natsu's heart to beat with fresh hot blood. They were close enough to breathe the same air, and he felt the graze of her long, curled hair against his chest and under his chin.
He wasn't sure who drew in first, only that their foreheads had come together, an ache blooming in his lungs that became almost unbearable. Her hands were light on his cheeks, painting soft circles with her fingertips, and Natsu felt all of his strength drain out of him, succumbing quickly to whatever spell she had cast over him.
And suddenly, she was gone.
One minute she'd been all but sprawled in his lap, the next she was across the room with her hand to her chest. Brown eyes wide, she stared at him with an expression of such shock that Natsu found himself swallowing nervously.
...Had he overstepped his boundaries? Made some sort of assumption?
Maybe he'd misunderstood, he acknowledged with a frown. Though he did have to wonder if there was any other way to interpret her body language and the sexual energy charging the air.
Lucy's cheeks were flushed as she waved a hand in front of her face. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm so sorry, I didn't… I can't believe I almost took advantage of you like that…" She sounded horrified with herself and more than a little embarrassed.
Taken advantage of him?
Natsu blinked, realizing it was her who thought she had overstepped a line. Did she really think he'd been about to kiss her only out of a sense of duty, and not free will?
No, whatever it was he felt for her, it made him feel freer and happier than he ever had felt in the years of his imprisonment. This had been something else. He'd never felt like this before. This overwhelming urge to seal her lips with his, the spark in his belly and the lightheadedness - never had he felt such things in any kiss. And they hadn't even kissed at all.
The anticipation alone, the almost, had been enough to drive him insane.
It had been better than any actual kiss that had been stolen from him.
Lucy was still standing, uncertainty in her eyes, and he noticed she was still clutching the q-tip in her hand like a lifeline. She didn't have to feel guilty about anything, and yet the look in her eyes told him that was exactly how she felt.
So he did his best to put her at ease. Grinning, forcing himself to ignore the atmosphere and this strange desire to taste her lips, Natsu shook his head. "I've had worse than a measly little kiss, I promise," he said.
But apparently, that wasn't the right thing to say.
Lucy's face fell, those plump lips turning down. Her hand tightened around the q-tip as if she were imagining horrible scenarios that she couldn't stomach.
"Uh, sorry, that came out wrong…" Natsu muttered after a little while, scratching the back of his neck. "What I meant was some people just don't understand the difference between kissing and trying to eat someone. I once had this guy who almost bit my tongue off, y'know," he told her, hoping to lighten the mood.
Lucy's brow tightened in the strangest way before she snorted. And then quickly covered her nose.
"Oh, really?" she mused after a moment to collect herself.
The awkward tension had dissolved, the heat hanging low in the air was now gone, and both were able to smile freely. As if the almost-kiss had never happened. And while Natsu didn't want to pretend as though nothing had happened, he assumed that it was probably for the best.
"Yep." He nodded, running a hand along his jaw. "But the worst ones are the droolers… That's just gross."
Lucy giggled and Natsu's shoulders slumped with relief.
Her laugh, as he'd discovered in his time knowing her, was a precious sound that he couldn't help but covet. It was so pure and innocent, so fresh compared to the ugly laughs that he was used to hearing. It reminded him of spring and flowers and singing birds, everything that was beautiful in the world he'd barely explored for himself.
That sound was just as good as a kiss, he decided.
And if he couldn't have a kiss, then he would cherish and horde her every giggle and snort like it was gold. So he told her stories - the funny ones, though there were admittedly few.
But they were enough to make her eyes light up with humor, and her mouth twist. Every time she laughed, he couldn't help but grin.
Natsu was so engrossed in her, in fact, that he didn't even notice when she slipped the red-stained q-tip into her purse.
- : : -
Zeref glared at the row of monitors in front of him, crossing his arms with a sense of finality. So that was it, he realized as he continued to stare.
How clever.
Beside him, the head of his security was growing restless. The stocky man was shifting from foot to foot anxiously, eyes darting between Zeref and the monitors in front of them. As though he knew that something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint just what.
Eventually, the man mustered up enough courage to stammer, "Master Zeref, Sir, is there something...wrong?"
Of course the simpleton hadn't even noticed.
Zeref closed his eyes and gestured to the monitors. "Tell me," he murmured, "what do you see? Anything out of the ordinary?"
The other man leaned closer, until he was nearly pressing his nose against the screens. He perused them carefully for a full five minutes before stepping back in exasperation. "No, Sir, I don't."
He would have to hire a new head of security, Zeref decided.
"And you wouldn't...because someone is looping our feed," he said in a low voice.
It was subtly done, but to the trained eye it might as well have been a beacon. Six of the seven cameras were looped perfectly, replaying the same five second clip over and over again with none the wiser. But the seventh… In the very corner of the seventh camera, a rat scurried into the shadows precisely every five seconds.
A rookie mistake.
"We have a hacker on our hands," Zeref told the security team, who all grew very, very quiet.
It seemed as if he would need to find a lonely brain among the crowd of idiots which surrounded him. He slid his fingers together as he waited for them to catch up to the realization he had already made.
Finally, a man with frosty white hair and glasses stepped forward, his expression neutral. "Sir, what course of action should we take? The next tournament location and invitations have already been sent out."
"Oh, we aren't going to cancel the next tournament," Zeref said, eyes squinting dangerously. "Quite the opposite."
"Sir?" the man spoke up, his brows furrowing together into a straight line.
He seemed uncertain of the wisdom in Zeref's plan to keep the tournament going strong. The master seemed almost intrigued by the prospect someone had been daring enough to try and infiltrate their ring.
"We'll keep the conditions exactly as they are," Zeref continued. "I want to see who was daring enough to sneak in here and think they could come out alive."
A faint smile pulled at his mouth, but his eyes almost seemed to take on an angry red light. They were focused on the last screen and the rat scurrying across the corner, faster than what a typical person would even notice.
"Bring me the footage from the past tournament and all our previous days." Zeref smiled. "Let's find out who our little spy is."
Sexual tension, yes? And Zeref's suspicions are confirmed!
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Next time! Chapter 14: Kidney Punch