You guys are great and I love all of you very much -thumbs up and makes horrible heart with hands- Thank you for being patient for me with updates and stuff, but yeah, life is getting a tad bit hard right now.
Please remember to Review, Follow, Favorite or do whatever makes you happy!
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Ride 'em Hard
Chapter Seven
The sun setting to the horizon of the land, creating the shadowy skyline of the city and staining everything to different tints of orange and pink, Gray drove down the familiar path towards Phantom Lord's bar with Juvia in his passenger seat. After saying her goodbyes to her cousin and friends, Gray escorted her into his car and drove through the city in silence. Occasionally, Gray would looked over to see the blue haired woman's gaze looking out her window, peeking at everything they passed with curiosity written on her face. Her legs were curled on the seat, her skirt folded to conceal anything from exposure to him, an arm wrapped around her knees and her other hand to her lips. The tips of her fingers softly playing with her small chin and lower lip, she looked to be lost in her own world.
The idea of it made Gray form half of a smile and look back to the road each time he stole a look to her. Driving with one hand, he kept the comfortable silence between them until he pulled into the dirt lot of the bar she worked at. Seeing Gajeel already outside, leaning against the brick wall beside Totomaru, Gray exhaled a soft sigh as he brought the ride to a designated parking spot before killing the engine.
He was about to speak when he felt Juvia's small hand reach and grasp the collar of his leather jacket. He didn't notice what she was doing until she slowly pulled him sideway and pressed her lips to his cheek, kissing his cheekbone as he froze and inhale a sharp breath.
Gray could feel her long lashes tickle his skin and the tiny touch of the tip of her nose, he could feel his heartbeat fasten in a matter of seconds and every nerve in his body feel like little electric shocks throughout his whole body.
"Gray-sama's prize for winning. Thank you for helping Juvia," she whispered against his cheek, and Gray swore that his heart took off on a rocket and went to space.
As soon as she pressed her lips to his skin, the quick she pulled away from him and exit the car. Blinking, Gray looked between the empty seat and to Juvia's rising form for a good moment before jumping in his seat and leave the driver's side.
"Nii-chan!" Juvia called out at her approaching brother, who kept his arms crossed as he made his way over. He didn't drop his arms until Juvia held her hands up, letting the young woman jump and wrap her thin arms around his neck. Gajeel's hands gripped the back of her head and upper back, closing his eyes hard before releasing a breath he was holding. He looked to be holding in certain emotions, trying to maintain his tough and dangerous image but Gray could see the worried scrunch of the man's studded brows.
"Makin' Totomaru tell me what was going on, and I couldn't leave," the muscular man growled under his breath, hugging his sister closer to him. Juvia simply made a noise of being crushed, but didn't seem to mind as she snuggled her head on his shoulder. "Don't do shit like that to me again, ya hear? Swear to fuckin' Christ I was gonna come after ya and break every bone in anyone's body who gets in my fucking way."
"Juvia is so sorry, Nii-chan," she giggled somewhat sadly when he went on blubbering swear words as he let her go. "Juvia is fine, though, see? Nothing for Nii-chan to cry over, please."
"Ain't crying, squirt," Gajeel stiffened. "I was worried, ya hear? Don't go putting words into my mouth like that. Don't make me worry like that ever again!"
"Juvia-sama," Totomaru spoke to the siblings, smiling softly. "Welcome back, Juvia-sama. Why don't we go inside and get you something to eat. Sue and Boze haven't settled down to eat until they heard from you - I think they were worried about you."
"Oh!" Juvia gasped before looking back to Gray, bowing her head to him. "Gray-sama, thank you for bringing Juvia back, and she's so sorry for this, but Sue-chan isn't going to eat unless Juvia is back. Goodnight, Gray-sama!" With that, Juvia scurried over to Totomaru and let him lead her into the bar.
Gajeel waited until the door shut with a clang noise before looking to Gray with threatening eyes. Gray, however, didn't show any signs of backing down as he shoved his arms into his coat's pocket. The silence didn't last long as Gajeel cleared his throat thickly and looked away from Gray's face, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Thanks...for taking care of my sister."
Gray now suddenly felt uncomfortable with Gajeel's polite gesture, feeling completely out of character between the two's relationship for the past years of fighting and unable to be in the same room. Even on the roads, they were still just as hard and mean to each other.
Noticing this, Gajeel brought back his dark glare and harsh voice. "Don't you fuckin' think that I'm gonna treat you any better just because you got Vidaldus away from my baby sister, got it? The fact that you drove her here alone is enough to grind my gears, Stripper!"
"She left her phone in her car, 'kay?" Gray snapped back, standing his ground against the other man. "I couldn't let her use my phone, otherwise I'd have your number or you'd have mine!"
"I don't trust you with my number, you shit!" Gajeel growled deeply.
"Same here!" Gray hissed and they both fell quiet to their argument, staring eye-to-eye and flexing their biceps and pectorals. It good a long minute or two before both men stopped their stupid ranting; Gray shoving his hands in his pockets and Gajeel leaning against the cold wall, the sky turning more dark and streetlights were turning on.
"I made a deal with Trinity Raven to keep off of your property, and made Vidaldus to give up trying to go to Jose about Juvia," Gray stated, not really caring about who's tougher right now.
"Boze said something about that when they got here," Gajeel nodded. "Heard you bet your car, too, to reel them in."
"Had to get them to race with me somehow."
Gajeel snorted a chuckle. "Smart move, Stripper. Vidaldus is too much of a weakling to race anyone he doesn't wanna race, unless Ikaruga's into it."
Gray nodded, looking to his car that only had small paint scratches, but no major damage from when his and Vidaldus's car grind against each other. "If…" he sighed, looking to Gajeel with a serious look, making the taller man blink. "Look, if...if Juvia, or anyone, is in danger for whatever reason, or she needs someplace safe to be… Gramps really cares for you and Juvia, and he likes Sue and Boze and Totomaru. If anything is happening that you guys need someplace safer, Fairy Tail is -."
"We're fine with what we got, Stripper," Gajeel stopped him and raised a hand to stop him from talking. "We're fine with holding our own problems here. We don't need any help from Fairy Tail, so don't go thinking we need any of your charity because those fuckers in Trinity Raven weren't leaving Juvia alone. It's nothing new with us, got it?"
Gray didn't say anything else, and so Gajeel went on. "I've been taking care of squirt ever since she was a baby, and I don't need anyone outside of my gang to tell me that there's another place for her to go, because there's not," he said in a firm tone. Pushing himself off the wall, Gajeel gave Gray one more look of seriousness. "My sister is important to me, and her happiness is a priority of mine, too. I ain't gonna have her friends try to tell me that she's not safe or she's not happy. The only reason why I fuckin' tolerate you is because Juvia's cousin is in your gang, got it? Just those two. That's it."
Gajeel walked away from the Fairy Tail member and let himself into the building, leaving Gray to watch silently before slowly turning himself around and heading back to his car.
Inside Phantom Lord's bar, Gajeel found his sister standing behind Sue, who was seated at one of the tables and finally eating her dinner that has remained untouched for a good hour. Juvia was gently petting Sue's dark hair, talking to both of the newer members as they ate, and Totomaru was fixing two more plate. Stepping closer, Gajeel caught Juvia's attention and he smirked at the sight of his sister smiling at him.
He was not expecting her to hold up a shopping bag, something he didn't know she was carrying when she got out of Gray's car. "Nii-chan! Come here," she beckoned excitedly, shaking the bag by the handle. "Levy-chan bought something for Nii-chan. Come open it!"
Blinking, Gajeel walked over and took the bag from Juvia's small hand. Looking inside, Gajeel reached in and pulled out a leather material. Once he unfolded it, Gajeel revealed a vest that was his size, plenty of pockets and large enough armholes for him to be able to fit his large arms through. Juvia looked at the vest along with everyone else, slowly smiling and holding her cheeks with both hands.
"Levy-chan got Nii-chan a new vest? Leather?" Juvia giggled at her brother's twitching face. "Juvia thought that Levy-chan was more of the dominatrix-type, but I guess Juvia shouldn't assume that her cousin would like to experiment."
Gajeel's face went to a mixture of red and purple at the eruption of laughter inside the bar. "Shut up, you dork!" he snapped to the snickering woman. "See? Ya got that weird look in your eye. You're thinking stupid thoughts, aren't you?"
"Nii-chan, try on the vest for Juvia! Juvia wants to see if it actually fits you."
Before he could respond, his cell phone that was on the table went off on vibrate and ringtone. Juvia reached over Sue to pick up the phone and hold it out to him, which he took and read Jose's contact name of the screen: Boss Bitch.
Swiping the screen, Gajeel brought his phone to his ear. "What ya want, Jose?" he grumbled under his breath, looking to his sister who had a small frown on her face. "We're tryin' to eat here."
"You and Juvia have work to do for Hades," Jose said, and Gajeel gave Juvia a curt nod and a wave of his hand. The blue haired woman nodded in return before leaving his side to go to Totomaru. "I'm sending the directions to you after the call. It's a drug shipment."
"Had fun having phone sex with your old pal?" Gajeel snorted bitterly at Jose's rude tone.
"Don't push me tonight, Gajeel," Jose growled darkly. "Get Juvia's ass moving and get to work. Hades' boss is not a patient man. Don't fuck this up."
"Since when have we ever fucked anything up?" the driver smirked and hung up on Jose, pocketing his phone into his pants. Glancing, Juvia smiled to Totomaru with a grateful clap of her hands.
"Will Toto-sensei be okay if he saves leftovers for Juvia and Nii-chan?" she asked him sweetly, being handed a pair of clothes of jeans and a tank. Atop of the clothes were gun holsters for her thighs and a pair of boots. Juvia took the clothes with a nod of thanks.
"Not a problem, Juvia-sama," Totomaru said with a smile. Glancing up to Gajeel, the older man tilt his head. "It'll be in the fridge for you two when you come back."
"Thanks," Gajeel sighed and looked back to the smaller woman carrying her bundle of clothes with a chirpy smile on her face. "Can you change in the car, squirt? Gotta haul ass."
Juvia grinned and winked. "If Nii-chan wears his new vest that Levy-chan got him tonight, Juvia will!"
Lucy stared at the ceiling in the bedroom, fiddling with the hem of the sleeve of the sweatshirt she was wearing. It was Natsu's, of course, since they noticed that it was a bit cold in his bedroom tonight. Speaking of her roommate, Lucy thought as she turned her head to her left, laid Natsu sleeping away with his arm underneath her neck and the other over his eyes like a blindfold. He was wearing a shirt this time, but Lucy can still feel his body heat warming her under the blanket she was using.
Natsu slept walked into the bedroom no longer than ten minutes ago to join her in bed, making Lucy feel less lonely with her thoughts. Lately now, she realized, that she now prefers to have Natsu sharing the bed with her - it was like a comfort for her, for some reason, and it just made her sleep a bit better. At first, waking up next to a guy was something that sparked her anger, but now she prefers it over having the bed alone.
Gently nudging under his chin, Lucy spoke quietly in the dark bedroom. "Natsu. Natsu, wake up," she whispered, resting her cheek against against his muscular arm. When his nose twitched, she knew she was getting his attention. "Natsu, wake up."
"Wassa…" Natsu gurgled, swallowing his dry throat away before blinking his brown eyes open. They were bleary, but he rubbed under them and sniffed. "Yeah...I'm up, I'm up…"
"Natsu," Lucy poked him once more before pulling her hands to tuck under her own chin, pressing her lips to the sleeves and hid her hands from the slight chill inside them.
Natsu, now fully aware, turned his head to look at the blonde woman. He frowned a bit before nodding. "Sorry 'bout that, Luce," he yawned, preparing to sit up to leave the bed. "Didn't mean to wake ya…"
But Lucy held him still by throwing her arms over his chest to weigh him down, making the pink haired man blink and look back down to her. She wouldn't look him in the eye, but slowly shook her head. "What's wrong, Luce?" Natsu asked her with confusion.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lucy breathed through her mouth. "There really...There are gangs that try to take people as property, Natsu?" she peeped out. "If they're angry at someone, they can just try to take them or kill them. Is that how it works?"
Natsu tilt his head. He slowly rolled to his side, bringing his other hand up to push the blonde hair out of her face to see how glossy her brown eyes looked in the tiny light peeking from the window. Natsu frowned at the sight.
"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly, making her sniff. "Is it because of what happened today with Juvia?"
Lucy shrugged, rubbing her cheek against their shared pillow to catch a tear. "I just never thought, you know, that people will actually try to kill each other, if they're mad. Or even someone like that Trinity Raven gang trying to buy Juvia-chan, like she was nothing more than a thing hanging on the wall in a store. Juvia-chan saved my life the other night, and then they want to get back at her by either attacking the bar, or taking her?"
"Juvia and the Phantom Lord aren't in the prostitution business like Trinity Raven is," Natsu explained to her carefully, holding her cheek that wasn't against the pillow to try and make her relax. "Juvia and those guys see it as something they wouldn't be okay running, especially when they have young people like Sue and Boze with them - Juvia is very protective of Sue ever since they brought them into their gang, and so is Gajeel and Totomaru."
"But that weird creeper was trying to get Juvia-chan, Natsu," Lucy shivered. "And Levy-chan was so scared for her, and crying. I don't know why anyone could do such things to people, especially when they started it all, and Juvia-chan was just trying to help! They were the ones who started it. Levy-chan told me that, if someone pisses someone in another gang off, the whole gang has the right to even it out until they're satisfied with the okay from their boss. I don't think those guys went to their boss before confronting Juvia like that, Natsu!"
"They probably didn't, knowing them. I don't think they talk with their boss, now that I think of it. That's how some things are, Luce," Natsu sighed, rubbing his thumb across her cheekbone. "They pull shit like that and try to win in the end, but that's why we play smarter than them. Gajeel would have done the same thing for his sister, but probably push Vidaldus and his car off the top of the cliff…"
"That would've caused even more problems, right?" Lucy mumbled, seeing Natsu nod in response. Biting her lip, Lucy scooted closer to Natsu, pressing her face into his shirt and cuddling more to him. "I don't want that to happen with anyone in Fairy Tail, Natsu. It's not right."
"It's not gonna happen with us, Lucy," he told her, wrapping both of his arms around her, tugging up the thick blanket to tuck around her shoulders and rubbing her back soothingly. "I won't let that happen to you, I promise, Luce. It ain't gonna happen in Fairy Tail, or with you. Not when I'm around."
"I just don't want anything bad to happen...not to my friends," Lucy confessed quietly, curling against him. "I don't want to see my friends get killed, or see them cry because someone is trying to take them, Natsu."
"And it won't happen," Natsu hushed her gently and held her closer. "It's not going to ever happen, because I won't let it happen."
"Natsu," Lucy sniffed and clung to his shirt, hiding her face in his neck, the pillow, the blanket. She held on to Natsu and he comforted her with gentle pets and his warmth, and she didn't care if her heart was hammering against her chest for the closeness or how she wished in the back of her head that they could stay this way forever. "Natsu, please help me get tougher. I wanna get stronger so I can do better on jobs with you and everyone."
Natsu nodded and held her, rubbing his hands on her back and her head and petting her hair. "Sure. Whatever you want, Luce," he told her gently, fixing her bangs out of her face. "I can show you some self defense moves tomorrow, if you want. But, for right now, get some sleep, okay?"
"Can you stay, Natsu?" she asked him, suddenly worried that he's going to let her go and leave the bedroom. She may have hit him whenever she woke up to find his arms wrapped around her, yell at him, but now she didn't want to be alone. For Lucy, she has been alone for a long time, and now she was tired of it - she didn't want to be alone anymore.
"I'll stay as long as you want me to," he told her, a small smile on his face. "Just kick me out whenever."
"No, no. No," Lucy shook her head against him before hiding her face back in his neck. She felt his chuckle vibrate against her, and she felt warm and safe in his arms. "Please stay with me. Don't leave me alone, Natsu."
"I won't ever leave ya, Luce."
Lucy closed her eyes and fell asleep to Natsu's arms remaining around her, keeping her warm. She dreamt about her mom watching in the crowd, while she sat in the passenger seat of Natsu's car; a proud smile on her mother's face as her daughter and partner won first place over and over again.
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"Hold on, Luce," Natsu shook his head and made his way to the blonde with an outstretched fist. Wearing only black sweatpants and his famous white scarf around his head, like a bandana, he reached up and lightly pinched her thumb. "Your thumb can't stick out like that, otherwise you're gonna lose it. Tuck it tightly under like this," he moved the thumb to its proper place and forced the fist to tighten. "It's better if you use your knuckles when you hit someone. It won't hurt as much when you hit 'em with your knuckles, but it'll make them cry when you sock them on the nose!"
"So I punch them in the nose?" Lucy pulled her fist back to take note of where her thumb should be and looking back to the punching bag with a raised brow.
"I'd say hit them in the throat first, man or woman," Natsu shrugged and took a step back. "Hitting them in the voicebox usually stuns them and hurts like a bitch, and then you go for the face as hard as possible."
"Okay, like the temple, under the chin..?" Lucy readied her body and punched the black duct tape 'X' on it with as much force as possible. "Keep thumb out of way and tight…"
"Don't forget to balance yourself on your legs, too," Natsu added, quickly bending down to grasp her ankle, quickly moving it a bit farther apart from her other. He didn't notice how she jumped with a peep of surprise while he did this. "If you're not balanced and keeping your stance, you're gonna lose your footing or fall. It's also a weak spot for someone to come up and kick you down, if they see that."
"Okay," Lucy squeaked before mentally slapping herself for her voice. However, Natsu didn't seem to think anything of it as he stood back up with his dorky grin. She readied herself and then punched the bag with force, making a colliding noise echo in the gym.
The Fairy Tail gym was on the second floor of the garage, and was large enough to hold a concert, if they wanted. Equipped with all sorts of exercising equipment, the gym served as a great place for Natsu to start showing Lucy how to kick ass and defend herself. Lucy was able to find sport tights and a tank to work out in and still be comfortable with sweating and trying to learn how to be strong. Natsu was a great instructor so far in showing her the basics, and was patient with helping her with her stance, form and showing her what she needed to start out with.
Lucy has never fought anyone before, nor even hit somebody. She was good at kicking, Natsu reminded her of that and would work with it once they finished with the punching.
"Much better, Luce. You're getting it pretty well," Natsu complimented with a grin, making Lucy's heart flutter and her confidence spiking with a bubbly grin of her own. "I would recommend firming your arm muscles with weights. The small ones, though, to start out with. Start with a five pound for a while until it becomes to easy for you to curl with."
"Okay. Should I start it now?"
"Nah, do it when you have nothing goin' on, like after work or whatever," Natsu shook his head to her. "Do it for about fifteen minutes, if you can, to start out with."
Lucy nodded in understanding and faced back to her punching bag, readying again to hit it with her best shot. Keeping her feet firmly on the ground, Lucy readied and plowed the bag with a left punch and then a right to the duct tape before stepping back and keeping her defensive stance up. Natsu clapped his hands in applause, nodding when she returned to the spot and punched one more time.
"What's going on in here?" a masculine voice spoke at the entrance of the gym, making both Natsu and Lucy turn their heads to see Gildarts and Cana walking in, both wearing sportswear and carrying a few water bottles in their arms. The taller, much more buff man looked at the two with a raised brow in curiosity. "I never see you in here during the day, Natsu."
"Lucy!" Cana perked with sudden excitement and hurried over to the blonde. "Your butt looks cute in those leggings, girl! Let me look. C'mon, turn around and stick out your tush!"
Lucy instantly went bright red in the face when Cana laughed and told her she was just teasing. The blonde woman puffed her cheeks and shook her head at the brunette, only causing her to snicker more. Holding up a bottle of water to her, Cana offered it to Lucy.
"Keep yourself hydrated," Cana noted. "It's not good for you if you don't keep drinking water."
"Says the chick who helps herself to a treat before noon," Lucy rolled her eyes and Cana stuck her tongue playfully. "Quit talking about my butt like that, Cana…"
"Not my fault that you have a cute booty," Cana winked. "Right, Natsu?"
"Hah?" the pink haired man turn his head to the two girls. He wasn't even paying attention, but that didn't stop Lucy from biting back a shriek and her face burn even hotter. "Whadd'ya say, Cana?"
"I was asking 'bout Lucy's bu-! Hmph!" Cana jerked when Lucy's free hand came up and covered her mouth. The blonde didn't even give her the chance to pull it away as she started pushing Cana down to the wrestling stage, farther away from the two guys. "Wait, Lucy! I didn't get to tell Natsu about - Stop that!"
"Cana, teach me some exercise moves, or something! Help me with my punches!" Lucy spoke over her friend's voice, who just blinked and groaned in defeat. "You said you know how to box, yeah? Teach me something that can dislocate someone's nose or jaw."
"Ugh, I guess," Cana rolled her eyes before stacking the bottles on the ledge of the padded square.
Natsu blinked in confusion before looking back up to Gildarts, who was snickering under his breath. "Did I miss something?"
"Nah, don't worry about it," the older man chuckled, waving a hand in dismissal. "Anyway, Makarov wants to see you with Erza and Gray in his office. Somethin' about for the next group race that's happening. He wants to chat with the drivers first."
"Shouldn't you be there, too?" Natsu raised a brow at him.
"Nah, he told me and Macao earlier. Laxus was informed too, but he turned it down for some reason. Something about Mira and figuring out wedding plans," Gildarts shrugged. "Crazy kids, wanting extravagant weddings and stuff - When Cornelia and I got married, we just did a tiny ceremony and party. Afterwards, we went out on a road trip for our honeymoon and it was amazing -!"
"Dad! Stop talkin' about when you and Mom got married! No one wants to hear that!" Cana shouted back to her dad, slipping the pads onto her palms. "You keep at it, and then you're gonna talk about personal things, like sex and stuff without realizing!"
"Cana!" Lucy squeaked dropping a glove while her friend boredly blinked in response. "Cana, pay attention! I'm trying to take this seriously here."
"Luce, I need to see Gramps for a minute," Natsu spoke out to the blonde, who perked at the call of her nickname. "I'll be back. Can you handle being around Cana for a little bit until I get back?"
"Sure, no problem," Lucy smiled and shoved her other glove on. "Have fun!"
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Natsu entered the office to find Erza and Makarov counting stacks of money while Gray stared boredly at one of the posters decorating the boss' wall. It was one of Makarov's birthday presents from another fellow gang boss, Bob from Blue Pegasus, modeling on hotrod. Cutting out major details of what the photograph contains, Natsu cleared his throat to catch the old man and the redheaded racer's attention. Closing the door, Natsu pounced behind Gray and onto the little office couch he was waiting on, making the dark haired man grunt from the tackle, shoving the other off.
"Flamebrain," Gray growled lowly as he set his foot on Natsu's back to keep him down.
Natsu scrambled on the weird-smelling floor against Gray's hold. "Ice prick, you lookin' for a fight? Not my fault ya weren't paying attention, jackass!"
"Natsu, Gray, knock it off right now and pay attention," Makarov grumbled. Passing off the stack of cash to Erza, who took it to add on to the pile before writing the number down for listing. "If you can't take things seriously, I'll leave it to the old guys to do the job instead, you hear?"
"What's up, Gramps?" Natsu asked with a cheeky smile.
"It's about the case the FBI has been talking about on and off with us for the last two years," Makarov crossed his arms. Once Gray and Natsu finally went silent and serious, the elderly man nodded with a raised brow. "Yeah, that one."
"The Acnologia case? I thought they said to terminate it here because of lack of activity," Gray's nose scrunched. "Didn't they say that Acnologia left the country and went south somewhere to go into hiding."
"Well, apparently they seem to have found something of interest that relate to Acnologia," Makarov explained before snapping his fingers. Erza, obeying his command, brought up a laptop to her lap and opened it, typing rapidly on the keyboard. "A few cities over a few weeks ago experienced a major break-in on a warehouse that was stocking packages to be sent over here, and they found traces of Acnologia all over it. They were trying to bring in drugs and weaponry without being detected."
"They found one of the stocks, but the rest got out without a trace," Erza said as she turned the laptop over to face the two men. The screen showed police photos of a giant crate broke open and spilling out packs of white substances and obvious high-tech guns. "The crate has an address to here, but no specific place. We think that there were smugglers working in the warehouse before we found out."
Natsu looked closer to the picture and could see a square stamp in the color black with neon blue scribbles, all too familiar with the pink haired man. Natsu's brown eyes hardened at the sight of the signature mark of FBI's most wanted criminal in the world - a drug lord and hardcore criminal who showed no mercy to anyone, not even his own clients. Acnologia was one of the most feared men in the gang world, he knew, and has been chased for as long as Natsu could remember.
"The big guys want us to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity during races or jobs given out until further notice," Makarov said seriously. "The next group races that Jason is planning is out of the ordinary, something about private investors putting in large sums of money and supplies to those who win. No rules has been sent out yet, but I'm guessing everyone is going to try them out; I have reason to believe that Acnologia is either looking for new people to take in or burn out the tougher enemies, so I want everyone on high alert whenever we leave the garage."
"What about Phantom Lord?" Gray asked, looking to the screen as Erza changed the police photos to different scenes of the crime and the material recovered on silver tables. "Is that going to change the plan on trying to get -?"
"Jose has made it clear that he is not selling his members, no matter how much I'm willing to offer," Makarov held up a hand to stop Gray, which he frowned deeper. "I already spoke to Levy about the situation, and she understands. Jose isn't going to keep us locked out of the bar or deny visits, but I'm sure he's going to keep an eye of his gangs more from now on; especially Juvia and Gajeel. I don't want you to anger Jose or Sol by your constant visits, Gray, so keep your time there short to once a week or so."
"But, if it's Acnologia," Natsu spoke, "wouldn't Jose be asking for your help? I thought you said everyone was afraid to cross paths with Acnologia. Why are we even participating in races, if he's funding them?"
Makarov sat back on his chair and kicked his legs up to the desk. "You guys were a bit too young for this, but yes, everyone is afraid of him. That's why they're taking part - because they don't know what's going to happen if they don't at least try. If anything, this may be for his own amusement."
"Acnologia is a race-fan himself, that's for sure," Erza said grimly before closing the laptop. "The FBI wants us to observe for now, until we can be sure that it's him. They don't want us to go looking for him, so we came up with a plan."
"Attend as many races possible and do your best to win to get their attention," Makarov said. "If it is Acnologia funding the races and trying to smuggle goods over here, we may have a chance to get a track on him for the FBI and attempt to take him out once we find out his spot or his weak points.
"It's been a long time since we've last heard of him. From anywhere," he went on. "He may have contracted something that is threatening his business or health, since he's suddenly popping up out of nowhere and wanting these races. He is getting rather old…"
"But we can catch him, right?" Natsu eagerly stood up on his feet. "We can catch him and get some crap out of him about -!"
"No, Natsu. We're going by what the big guys want us to do," the old man hardened to him.
"But -!"
"Enough, Natsu!" Makarov snapped, causing an uncomfortable silence in the small office. Heaving a sigh, Makarov sat up on his chair properly. "Erza, Gray. We're done here. Please put the money in the safe for me…"
Erza nodded silently before lifting a large stack of money to Gray, who passed by Natsu to take and open the door to leave. The redheaded woman took the rest and left without another word, closing the door to leave the elderly man and the young racer alone. The Fairy Tail boss looked to Natsu, who was staring down to the floor with a tight jaw and clenched fists.
"Natsu," Makarov spoke after a minute or two. "I know it's hard for you, but you can't go doing whatever it is you think it right. We don't know if it's actually Acnologia out there; he could be dead and rotting for all we know, or sipping a martini on a private island off the coast. I'm not trying to get your hopes up, kid."
"But it still could be him, Gramps," Natsu said stiffly through his teeth, refusing to look up to his boss' eyes. "He could know where he is, you know. Where everyone is!"
"Your head is filled with 'what-if's, Natsu," Makarov shook his head slowly. "I understand where you're coming from, I do, but we can't go thinking of what this can do for us when it hasn't even started yet."
Glancing over to the wall, Makarov saw an old photo that was taken years ago. The familiar picture of himself and the older men and women with slightly youthful features stood with him, infront of classic cars and flags; a couple had children in their arms, holding up a pointed finger to the air with bright smiles on their faces. One kid in particular was on a tall man's shoulders, wearing a familiar white scarf that was too big for him at that age. Messy, pink hair in all directions, the bubbly face of the young Natsu on his father's shoulders made him stand out from all the rest, even though Igneel had that matching grin on his lips like his son.
"I know you miss your father, kid," Makarov said quietly, but he knew that the racer can hear him by the small sound of his sharp inhale. He could tell he was trying not to get his emotions the better of him. "I miss him, too, and the other people who went with him that day for the mission. There's not a day that goes by that makes me think how lucky I was to meet such a great man and his little brat."
Natsu finally looked up to the old man looking at the picture, a fondness expression on his wrinkled face as he kept looking at it. "Igneel and his pals were so much more like family than my own son, who dropped his own son off without another word and left without reason. I still think of Igneel as my own son, and you as my family, like everyone else here in Fairy Tail, kid."
Natsu's shoulders slouched in defeat. "Sometimes I think Gildarts, Macao and Wakaba still blame themselves for not going with him. Like they would have brought him back…"
"Gildart's wife was sick," Makarov explained simply, no sign of regret or sadness in his voice. "Macaro couldn't move his legs after that one accident for another six months and Wakaba was serving time at the station. It was none of their faults."
Natsu nodded, agreeing with him.
"I've noticed you haven't been trying to break into my room anymore, or with Laxus and Gray," Makarov pointed out before looking to the young man with a pleased grin. "I take it your doing good with Lucy as your roommate? Gray said something about she has kicked you out of the bed a few times."
Natsu blinked before shrugging. "Luce is cool," he said quietly, unsure to lock eye contact with the old man who was snickering more to himself. "I think she's getting more comfortable around here now, so that's a good sign. I think she's getting used to having me sleep walk or something, because she doesn't hit me anymore. It's weird."
"I remember how Igneel used to complain how you slept on top of him and nearly suffocate him," Makarov said fondly. "But, that goofball usually hogged the whole bed, so I wouldn't blame you for having to climb him for a spot. I'm sure Lucy isn't like that."
Natsu's face twisted before fixing the scarf on his head, hiding the slight blush on his cheekbones from the old man. "It ain't like what you're thinking, Gramps…"
"Whatever you say, boy."
=xxx=
Erza cracked her eyes open at the sound of Lucy surprised shriek when Natsu lifted her up by the hips and started carrying her around. The blonde woman whined and lightly smacked Natsu on the back repeatedly while Cana perked with delight and jumped on Gray's back, who was sitting at Mirajane's bar, making him choke on his drink. The redhead woman smiled at the sight of the younger adults fooling around in the garage and bicker with each other like family. Lisanna came from the kitchen to see the activity before gasped with a grin and clapped her hands.
"Chicken fight!" she suggested loudly.
"What? No!" Lucy cried. "I don't want to fall and land on my head!"
"No, no," Lisanna giggled as she pulled out two towels from her apron pockets, making Cana laugh with encouragement as Gray eventually got up from his seat and let the half-sober woman climb on his shoulders like a cat. From Erza's point, Gray didn't seem to happy about having the brunette on his shoulders, but he didn't miss Natsu's eyes spark with fire at the challenge. "Try to steal the other's towel, and then there's the winner! No pushing the other off is the only rule. I'll be the referee!"
"Come on, icicle," Natsu snickered darkly as he lifted Lucy to his shoulders and holding her bare thighs, making her squeal and go red in the face. "I bet Cana will fall asleep before you can get anywhere near winning! Luce, put the towel in your boobs, so Cana can't reach!"
"No way!" Lucy gawked when Lisanna snuck behind them and slipped the towel in the back of Lucy's tank, putting it securely by the bra strap. The blonde smacked Natsu on top of his head while Lisanna scurried over to Cana and Gray to do the same. "Natsu, I swear to God, if you drop me -!"
"I'll use myself to break your fall, Luce, I pinky promise!" the pink haired man brightened at Lucy's will to give in to the game, even though it probably wasn't. "Just make sure we win!"
"Ya make it sound like you know you're going to lose, flamebrain," Gray taunted playfully, making Natsu straighten and spit fire at him, making Erza chuckle.
Sudden weight to her chest made Erza look down to see Jellal resting his head on the swell of her breasts. Having half of his body on Erza's hood, he didn't move any farther than to just plop his head with his eyes closed. Smiling softly at her husband's mute behavior, Erza tangled one of her hands into his blue hair, lightly massaging his scalp to hear him sigh against her shirt, feeling the heat of his breath through the material.
"Having fun watching the kids?" Jellal muttered quietly, fixing his head to take a small peek upward to Erza's grinning face.
Erza brushed some of Jellal's bangs from his eyes, pressing a light kiss to his hairline. "Just fine," she answered just as quietly. "Tired?"
Jellal simply shrugged and hid his face between Erza's breasts, making her stiffen and go red in the face. When it usually came to affectionate gestures between husband and wife, Erza was cool and collected around everyone - however, it wasn't the same with more intimate moves her husband makes in public, like spanking her butt or being openly loving to her chest. Erza is the kind to get flustered and embarrassed at moments like this, even though no one is paying any attention to them, but rather to the game going on by the bar.
"J-Jellal," Erza stuttered under her breath, trying lightly to push him off. But Jellal kept leaning on her and making her shake shyly and go even redder on her cheeks. "Jellal, god damn it!"
"You're stressed," he said softly his hands reaching up to wrap loosely around his wife's laying form on her car. Pulling her a little bit his way, Jellal buried his face into her hot neck. "I can tell. You've been serious and stiff ever since Master Makarov told us about Acnologia. Is that what's been bothering you?"
Still blushing, Erza pouted and gripped the back of his head with one hand, while her other wrapped around his shoulders. From the distance, they looked to be simply cuddling with each other, which was the norm among the couple here in the gang's garage. "Surprised you have been keeping tabs on my behavior, rather than my ass…"
"I have learned to multitask," Jellal chuckled before pressing a kiss under her ear. "We've been married for so long and you think I can only pay attention to one thing?"
"You still don't know the time of day when I get you out of your imagination."
Jellal looked her in the eye with a smirk that made her heart beat a little bit faster than usual, making her regret her little retort but soon relaxed again when he tucked a lock of her long, red hair behind her ear. Having known each other since they were just young children, Erza sometimes forgot how well her husband knows her inside and out, body and mind; she really shouldn't be surprised that Jellal picked up the smallest hint of her own struggles with life.
"Don't worry about it too much," Jellal said softly, giving Erza a kiss on her cheek. "Makarov said that it's a possibility of Acnologia, or one of his members," he gave her another on her opposite cheek, making that small smooch noise that made Erza bite back a laugh. "We're not part of his gang anymore. We're in a better place than we were years ago." One light, too quick of a peck on Erza's lips made her pout, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilt her head when he brought them both to sit up on the hood.
"We're happy, right?" Jellal pressed letting his wife touch her forehead with his.
"Yes, we are," Erza confirmed before pulling him close to subtract the distance of their mouths. Erza kissed him happily, ignoring the shouts of Natsu and Gray arguing and Lucy crying about how Cana didn't need to grab her chest like that. The noises of Levy working with the mechanics and Mirajane laughing in the distance at something Macaro said added more points to how alive the garage can be. It made Erza's heart swell with joy and happiness that her new and forever family were good people at heart, enjoying life so much better than the people she and Jellal grew up with.
Pulling back, Erza smiled mischieviously as she glanced to see no one paying attention to them. "Jellal, how about we go to bed a little bit early tonight?" she suggested sweetly.
Her husband blinked. "Do I look that tired to you, Erza?"
"You idiot," she sighed before whispering something into his ear, making the blue haired man's eyes widen and cheeks pink. Once she pulled back and gave him a pointed look, he gave her that sexy smile she always loved to see. "Well? What do you say, Jellal?"
He didn't say much but practically yanked Erza off of her car and lift her into his arms. The way he moved through the garage to the elevators went unnoticed by most occupants in the garage, but Mirajane could see the familiar haste Jellal took to carry his wife away. Smiling, Mirajane kept her observation to herself when Laxus saw his fiancee smiling with a look in her eye.
"What's up, Mira?" he asked, catching Macao and Wakaba from drinking their beer.
The platinum-blonde simply shook her head and pushed Laxus's hair away from his eyes. "Just thinking how amazing it is to be with everyone here, saving the day one bad guy at a time like superheros…"
Laxus made a face of confusion, but didn't question her further. Shrugging, the bulky man went back to doing his usual paperwork that his grandfather asked help for. "Whatever you say, Mira. You always think of the most obvious things."
=xxx=
"Ouchy, ouchy, ouchy..!" Natsu whined childishly as Lucy applied pressure with the towel to his bleeding nose. The blonde didn't react to his complaint, rolling her eyes as she pinched his nostrils shut and tilt his head back. "Owowwy, Luce!"
"Quit acting like a baby and try to stop the blood flow, Natsu," Lucy said as she grasped his wrist with her free hand and brought it up to his nose. "Pinch it tight and keep your head tilt back for a while." Once Natsu slowly obeyed her instructions, Lucy let go to sit down on the sofa.
They were in the living room of their apartment on the couch, which also served as Natsu's bed before he stumbles out in the middle of the night. The fluffy comforter and pillows were tangled on the cushions as they both sat there with the TV on for background noise, playing a movie on one of those late-night channels. Natsu was under the blanket and Lucy helped herself next to him with the blanket settled on her lap.
During their chicken fight in the garage, Cana accidentally kicked Natsu hard on the nose, prompting referee Lisanna to stop the game due to injury. The pink haired man didn't drop Lucy, as promised, and sat her down on the counter with his eyes shut tight to hold back his tears as blood began dripping from his nose. Cana shrieked and apologized to him in as many languages and ways possible after jumping off of Gray, who sighed at the state of his friend. Lucy used the towel that was her treasure for the game to hold his nose, explaining that she will help Natsu back to their apartment and treat his nosebleed.
And now here they were, Natsu making weird noises and Lucy shaking her head.
"Ca'a haz feet ah brickz," Natsu said stuffily and Lucy sighed and fixed the blanket to cover them both more, trying to make him more comfortable. "Ah 'e di'nd win…"
"We can try again sometime," Lucy said simply leaning back on the couch, briefly looking to the TV while Natsu made a noise of agreement. "But, for safety measures, let's do it properly in a pool, so we don't have to worry about anyone falling to their deaths."
"Yaha," Natsu tried to nod, but Lucy's hand came up to stop him.
"Don't move your head, Natsu. Keep it tilt back," she said sternly, but softness in her voice when he gurgled and flopped his head back on the cushion. Smiling, Lucy lightly rubbed his chin and covered chest before letting his go, leaning a bit to rest against Natsu. "Good. Stay that way until the bleeding stops - you should be able to tell when you can't taste iron anymore."
"Mm-hmm…" Natsu breathlessly huffed his shoulder, but letting Lucy lean on him comfortably. "Ahn you, Looshy."
Lucy hummed sweetly before grabbing the remote off of Natsu's lap. "Want me to change the channel? Not sure if you prefer this movie or not, but it was on when I switched the TV on…"
Natsu just shrugged, listening to what was on the TV. He nudged Lucy a little, making her turn her head up to look at him. "An ya 'ook ah mah nahz?"
Lucy rolled her eyes fondly before sitting up, letting Natsu remove the stained towel to peer at his nose. "Taste the iron anymore, dork?"
"A little, but I don't think I trust my sense of taste too well right now," Natsu sniffed lightly, his speech much more clear without the towel plugging his nose. But then again, Lucy figured he would have naturally did that with his personality, especially when he couldn't tell if he could taste blood or not. Natsu was just Natsu.
Red stains on his upper lip and chin stood out on his tan skin, little splatters around the rims of his nose and she knew that was what was causing him to sniff constantly as she looked. Overall, she hasn't seen any more bleeding like before. "You seem okay now. Doesn't look like you're bleeding any more."
Natsu brought his head up, making the tips of their noses touch until she pulled back in time. She was lucky she moved quickly, or they could have… Well, Lucy was just lucky. Sporting his cheeky grin, Natsu was delighted.
"Oh yay," he said stupidly, completely oblivious to Lucy's red cheeks as she pulled the fluffy blanket up to her chin, eyes wide in shyness. "I thought I was gonna have to stay like that all night!"
"If you pinch hard enough and just tilt your head back, then you're fine," Lucy peeped quietly, and she couldn't help herself but imagine Natsu sleeping with tissues shoved up each nostril and snoring. Smiling a bit at the image in her head, Lucy sighed and leaned her head back on his muscular, warm arm. "I bet Gray is going to tease you for that, hm?"
"Probably, but then I can just make him match with me! You think it'll leave a bruise at all? I don't wanna look like a wuss with just a purple nose, you know?" he thought up suddenly, looking down to see his roommate shake her head. "Good, so I don't have to worry about my good image for the races then!"
"When is our next one, Natsu? Do you know?" Lucy asked, feeling somewhat tired from her workout earlier in the day and having to fight with Cana all while on Natsu's shoulders.
"Ah, lemme think," Natsu hummed, resting his head back on the cushion, staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes. "My head feels a bit dizzy."
"Because of the nosebleed, Natsu," Lucy reminded him, making him mutter an 'Oh yeah', and going back to reminding himself of their schedule.
"The day after tomorrow, we got a race with a bunch of gangs," Natsu said finally and Lucy closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. "I think it's just for fun, but there's money prizes with it. But Gramps assigned us to deliver a package with a tracking device to a drug lord for the FBI - nothing too dangerous, though; we just need to drop the bag in some public parking lot and go."
"Okay," Lucy breathed before curling up on the couch. "Is it early in the morning?"
"Around noon, when a lot of people are out for lunch so it doesn't look suspicious," Natsu explained, crossing his arms and kicking his feet to the coffee table. Stealing a peek down to the dozing blonde, Natsu raised a brow. "You falling asleep already, Luce?"
"Mm," Lucy made a noise and a small shrug, yet her body was slowly turning down. She was tired, and Lucy didn't want to bother with getting up to go change or go to bed. Her aching muscles were keeping her still, so she'd rather calm down here on the couch until then. It was rather calming to listen to the TV and someone else breathing near her, like she wasn't alone anymore.
Bringing up her arm that wasn't squished between her and Natsu, she draped it over his abdomen like she usually would with her pillow. It was usually Natsu being the bigger spoon when she snuck into bed, but she could care less about who was being cuddled at the moment. Within minutes, Lucy fell asleep with a small smile on her face as she cuddled closer to Natsu, relishing how warm and firm he is against her too-soft skin.
Natsu didn't seem to mind that Lucy fell asleep on him. He watched her go limp and breathe slowly against him with a curious twitch of his mouth, his hand coming to rest atop of her slim arm and she made a soft sigh with a tiny smile. Perking a grin, the pink haired situated himself and his partner to a more comfortable position on the couch, making sure that Lucy got most of the blanket and enough room to move around in her sleep.
Thinking back to what Makarov and himself spoke about earlier, he could feel his cheekbones flaming a little at the sudden realization of how close him and Lucy actually are compared to when they first met. The memory suddenly made him think of what his own father would have thought about him bringing a girl - a rich man's daughter at that - back to the garage and recruiting her for Fairy Tail.
Resting his head on the couch once more, Natsu thought out how Lucy Heartfilia was pretty rough in the morning with her shoes; her amazing cooking skills that he truly believes is so much better than Mirajane's own meals, or how she had the mind of a car designer, being able to name cars with all the paint and added accessories that hid the original content of the vehicle. Lucy was nice and fierce at the same time, and understanding and stubborn…
Natsu eventually fell asleep with the conclusion. Yes, Igneel would have approved of Lucy very much.
.
.
.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - Not really how I wanted this chapter to go, but I'm not complaining as of right now o3o Next chapter will hopefully be better!
Until then, enjoy yourselves and don't forget to Review, Follow, Favorite or none of the above! Be happy and be safe for me!
