MSLEAD HERE! SORRY FOR THE DELAYED UPDATE GUYS! School is back, coupled with family issues and sickness, but thank you all for hanging in there! We're not through with the Ring yet! So lets see what else is cooking here, huh?

Chapter 26

noble art

the noble art of self-defense

If there was such thing as divine punishment, Natsu was experiencing it for hurting those men.

He was in the back seat of Gajeel's car, Lucy in the front while they made endless loops around the city and down false streets. He was sure the moment he got out of this metal can, he was going to puke all over the street.

His stomach rolled with car sickness, but the thoughts from the fight at Lucy's house served as a constant stimulant. Natsu smothered a groan as he doubled over his stomach, feeling like they left it behind at the Heartfilia estate.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu wasn't too proud to admit he whimpered his question. He felt feverish and sick, blind to Lucy turning around to see if he was all right. His eyes were screwed shut in an attempt to fight off the motion sickness.

"Yeah, brat, just want to make sure we don't have a tail," Gajeel muttered to the man slumped over in his back seat. "Just focus on keeping your mouth screwed shut. I ain't gonna clean up any of your vomit."

Natsu grunted back.

It was a mercy when they finally pulled up to Gajeel's place. Natsu oozed out of the car, his knees on the earth and fists in the grass as it rocked from one side to the other. Stumbling upright as the nausea faded, Natsu looked up at where the other two were waiting for him to recover.

Lucy's hand was bandaged and her broken finger splinted. She looked messy from having been snatched from her bed in the middle of the night.

Natsu felt a wave of guilt wash over him every time he lay eyes on her hand.

He should have been faster. He should have never let it happen. He shouldn't have lost it, and almost hurt her. Regret churned in his stomach, and he fought back nausea all over again.

They entered the flat silently.

What had happened seemed rather unreal as they all stood in Gajeel's living room. Everything was the same as ever. Quiet, tidy, normal.

Except it wasn't.

Gajeel slumped down on the couch, dragging a hand over his face.

"Shit," he muttered at last, pointedly summing up the situation. Lucy joined him on the couch, while Natsu took seat on the armrest on the other side of Gajeel. He didn't trust himself at all right now, keeping his distance from Lucy.

His stomach twisted unpleasantly when she gave him a worried look. Happy meowed in her arms and she set the feline down next to a somber looking Pantherlily.

"We can rule out you going home." Gajeel glanced at Lucy. "We should've thought about that sooner. Spriggan recognized your face, and knew who you were. It was only a matter of time before he was able to hunt down an address for you."

"They were looking for me..." Natsu ground his teeth together.

After stepping back from the near-slaughter, he'd put the pieces together. The intruders had been carrying many more tools than assassins would have. Pliers and needles and hammers along with their guns and knives… Instruments of persuasion, as Zeref would have called them.

That team hadn't been sent to just assassinate Lucy...they'd been sent to torture Natsu's location out of her.

His thoughts went around in circles, once more thinking about what would have happened had he not been there watching a movie with Lucy. The possibility of what would have happened to her was too awful to even tell.

First Igneel, and now Lucy -

It was like Natsu was leaving a path behind him, painted in the blood of those he cared about. He felt sick, since he knew some of that blood was on his hands.

"You can stay here until this blows over, in the guest room with Natsu," Gajeel grunted, not seeing the way the two of them jolted. Of course at Natsu's guilty fidgeting, he gave a shrewd glare. "What's the matter with you," he dead-panned.

Natsu just shook his head, his eyes skating over to Lucy's bruised wrists.

He had to talk to Gajeel. But not right now. Not when everything was so fresh.

"Nothing," he grumbled defensively, looking away.

Gajeel's brows furrowed, but he just shrugged.

"Whatever ya say," he grunted, and then mumbled something under his breath that not even Natsu could make out. "We're gonna have to do something about this. But not tonight, when we can't even think straight anymore. We better get some sleep."

This did nothing to ease Natsu's mind.

Being alone in a room with Lucy was something he had looked forward to, and craved, for the longest time, and even mere hours ago. Now it just made him uneasy and anxious.

He hated feeling like this.

So when Lucy closed the door behind them, he immediately sought refuge opposite of where his mattress lay on the ground, taking only a blanket with him.

"You can sleep in my bed," he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. He didn't want to scare her any more than he already had. "I can sleep on the couch too, if you want."

"Natsu," Lucy started, and he heard her walk coser, her socked feet making barely any noise on the linoleum. "Don't be like that. Please. I told you it's all right."

He rubbed his clenched teeth together, finally looking up at her. "But it's not all right," he protested almost angrily, but the sentiment was directed only at himself. "I almost killed that man. I hurt you."

Sighing, Lucy sank down beside him.

She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. Her legs folded under her, sitting closer to Natsu. She settled her weight closer to his, almost like she was afraid he was going to pull away from her. Which he wouldn't, because as fearful as he was, Natsu also knew he was selfish enough to stay close to her.

Her good hand settled on his arm, preventing his escape.

"You're right, it's not okay," Lucy said quietly. Her words were spoken carefully, but with an edge of honesty he couldn't ignore. "You hurt that man badly, and you almost hurt me. Neither of those things are all right."

She took an even deeper breath this time, and Natsu felt like she was trying to breathe for the both of them. Because at that moment, he felt like he had stopped breathing entirely.

Did she think of him as some kind of monster?

Her hands collected his, small compared to his large, oafish ones. She squeezed them together, kneeling in front of him and meeting his eyes with hers.

"But you saved me, Natsu, you have to remember that," Lucy pleaded with him. Her hands shook, and he realized, somewhat dimly, that she was afraid. But not necessarily of him.

"If you weren't there, I would be gone." Lucy's eyes filled with fresh tears.

His stomach clenched in different ways, having forgotten in his own horror, that Lucy had experienced a fresh trauma. Natsu had been so focused on keeping her safe from him to realize what she was experiencing.

Lucy was still trying to comfort him.

"Control will come in time Natsu, y-you just have to learn," Lucy choked off, when suddenly Natsu pulled her to him. Her body froze against his, as if trying to understand the sudden shift before she relaxed. Wet tears soaked into Natsu's shirt.

He held her tightly, face twisted in pain as he came to understand hers.

Her good hand fisted into his shirt as a sob shook her, and he carefully stroked over her hair. They stayed like this for a good while until she calmed down, slowly pulling back. She kept her face down, as if ashamed that her emotions had gotten the better of her. With a small frown, Natsu reached out to lift her chin and wipe away the trails of tears on her cheeks with his thumb.

She sniffed, meeting his eyes.

The smile he gave her was tinged with hurt, but she returned it weakly.

"Let's just sleep on it, okay?" he mumbled. "Gajeel's right, we're all really fucked up tonight."

Lucy laughed quietly, some of the usual sparkle returning to her eyes. Then she paused, seemingly unsure to go on.

"Will you sleep with me?" she asked after a moment's hesitation, large eyes a little uncertain, but hopeful.

Natsu blinked as he watched her, eyes roaming her face and the desperate hope clinging to Lucy. She was so strong all the time, but for her to ask him of such a simple request - he was unable to deny her that much. She wanted his company, and if he was being honest...

He didn't want to be alone either.

"Yeah." He pressed his nose into the top of her head.

The gesture was affectionate in its sincerity, but when he made to get up to the bed, he was stopped by the press of her hand on his shoulder.

"Here is fine," Lucy mumbled tiredly into his neck.

Natsu stilled as she untangled herself from him to rip off the remaining covers of the bed. She dropped them and the pillows to the floor, kneeling down next to him to wrap an arm around his chest.

It was strange, but the nest of blankets surrounding them seemed to exude an almost childish air that made Natsu relax. Almost like he and Lucy were laying in a pillow fort.

Something as simple and innocent as a pile of blankets seemed like it could protect them from everything bad in the world.

He was reminded then, of the time she had spent with him for that short while in the Ring. Where they would huddle in close to one another, finding safety and protection in each other's company.

And just like when they were younger, they could do it again.

Natsu pulled her to his chest, careful of her hurt hand as his chin rested on the top of her golden head. Slowly, with her in his arms, Natsu was finally able to shed the fear and anxiety, drifting off into a relaxing slumber with Lucy breathing evenly against his chest.

"G'night, Lucy," he whispered against her ear, drifting off into sleep as past and present mixed together in a tired haze. It didn't matter where he was, as long as he could hold her like this Natsu would be content.

-::-

Natsu awoke the next day at the same time he always did. Right before dawn. His body was sluggish and stiff from having slept on the floor, but a soft heat pressing against his chest made him reluctant to move.

He had only managed to snag maybe an hour or two of sleep before his internal clock made him spring awake. Grunting his displeasure over being awake so early, he gently shifted Lucy over so not to wake her.

As usual, he could hear movement in the kitchen, the familiar sounds of Gajeel moving around the only noises from the house. It didn't surprise Natsu, after all, they held the same sleep schedule.

Reluctant to leave Lucy on the floor, he lifted her, blankets and all, to settle her onto the bed. Natsu had to budge Happy's rear to the side, earning himself a rather offended glower from his cat. Still, Happy settled back down next to Lucy.

Her brows creased for a moment, her body twisting in the sheets searchingly. She didn't wake, her fingers finding a pillow to hug to her chest.

Quietly, Natsu crept out of the room, taking care not to make too much noise and wake her. He had seen Lucy grumpy from sleep exhaustion before and it wasn't a pretty sight. After the evening they had, Natsu wasn't interested in making her face the day too soon.

He padded into the kitchen, Gajeel looking up from over a mug of coffee. His red eyes were heavy from sleep, and Natsu's nose twitched at the scent of the hot pot steaming behind Gajeel.

At first he said nothing, too wrapped up in his mug to give Natsu more than an irritated glower. But soon he had the mug sitting down on the counter, his eyes narrowing on Natsu. He seemed to recognize something on Natsu's face, his jaw flexing shut.

"So. What happened?" Gajeel demanded.

Natsu leaned back against the counter, eyes dark as he faced him.

"There were four," he began grimly. "I took three of them out downstairs, but one got past me and to Lucy." His knuckles gripped the edge of the counter angrily as he recalled what had happened. "And when I found them he'd broken her finger, and I - I just lost it. I don't even remember much, only that I beat him half dead, and then almost hit Lucy too."

He was tense, his hands slipping off the counter as he gripped too tightly, and he shoved them into the pockets of his sweatpants instead.

Gajeel remained surprisingly unimpressed, his face showing almost no sign of even having heard his words. Then, he put down his cup and got up.

He came closer, and frankly, Natsu prepared for another hit to the face. He felt like he deserved it, too. But all Gajeel did was stare him down, invading his personal space until their foreheads almost touched.

"I ain't gonna lecture ya or anythin'," he said lowly, "I have no right to do that. But I told ya before, the moment you hurt Lucy, you can get out of my face and sleep on the street for all I care."

Natsu simply nodded. The last time Gajeel had told him this, he had protested, had been so foolishly sure of himself. And while now he was more determined than ever to never hurt even a single hair on Lucy's head ever again, his over-confidence had dimmed considerably.

"I'd be pissed if you wouldn't," he responded with a humourless smile.

Gajeel grunted, his eyes drilling into Natsu. There were several long, extremely uncomfortable moments before the larger man looked away, turning back around and heading to the counter.

"Five years," Gajeel said, his back facing Natsu so he couldn't see his face. "That's how long I've been out for, and every day it's still hard to keep myself from crossing the line."

Natsu wet his lips, struggling to speak. He swallowed hard around a knot in his throat, his fingernails cutting into his palms by how tightly he squeezed his fists. Even in his pockets they shook.

"How - " Natsu tried again, "How did you fix it?"

He spoke like there was something broken in him. Like there was some loose part in his head that simply needed tightening.

But it seemed like that was the right question to ask, because Gajeel turned towards him a second later, his red eyes finding Natsu's face. He stared for a second, as if wondering if his resolve would hold true.

"I didn't fix myself," Gajeel replied. "Not by myself at least. Lucy helped a lot, but I had someone else too."

"Levy?" Natsu asked, trying to fill in the blanks for himself. He knew he guessed wrong the moment Gajeel snorted on a laugh though.

"For guys like us, we need a bit of a firmer touch than one Lucy or Levy can give." Gajeel's lips thinned into a hard line, the metal in his face seeming to scrunch into a ball.

"What do we need?" Natsu frowned, impatience beginning to color his tone. His roommate didn't notice but walked over to the couch and picked up his somber looking cat.

"A trainer."

"A...trainer?" Natsu grimaced, images of Acnologia instantly flooding his mind, memories of being beaten and laughed at and called weak until he'd barely been able to stand. He didn't want a trainer.

If Gajeel noticed the way he recoiled, he didn't show. He grinned darkly.

"Someone who speaks our language."

Who could that be? :D Guess you'll find out next time in stablemate