This chapter goes out to tumblr users alli-ie and idek-valentine for being major support and sweet darlings to me on my blog, as well as being fans of this cruddy fanfiction I write! c: You and all my other readers hold a special place in my heart, and I couldn't get this far without any of you by my side!
Please be sure to Review, Follow, Favorite or help yourself to something you like to snack on. Kick back, relax and remember that you're all beautiful and very special!
=xxx=
.
.
.
Ride 'em Hard
Chapter Seventeen
Gray was going to kill Cana.
Correction: Gray was going to kill everyone standing in Fairy Tail's gym right now, all who were surrounding the boxing ring as Gildarts laid flat on his back, looking like the wind got knocked out of him. Cana, his own daughter, was parading around the ring cheering, while Lisanna clapped from her cornered spot of the box; Juvia, however, sat on her knees and posed with one hand gripping Gildart's tank and her other hand curled into a tight fist, her smile kind and sweet as usual.
And people were cheering.
"And that's a second win for Team Babes!" Cana roared, clapping her hands as Juvia bounced up and checked her bandaged leg before grinning. "Pay up, fuckers! I'm lookin' at you Droy! Cough it up!"
Gray's temper soared once he spotted Levy approach the ring with a water bottle, calling her very own cousin over. Marching over, Gray forced himself past Jet and Warren with death written in his eyes, catching the Phantom Lord woman's sights when she took the bottle from Levy.
"Gray-sama!" she greeted politely, plopping on her bottom while still leveled with the upper flooring of the boxing ring. "Did you come to watch?"
"What the hell is going on here?" he responded in a rather loud voice, making some people glance his way but soon return to the brunette woman's demand of her payment.
"We're having some fun," Levy answered with a grin. "Ju-chan here has been having a blast going against some of the guys, right, Juju-chan?"
"What about your leg?" Gray gestured animatedly to Juvia's secured thigh, making both women blink.
Juvia herself stuck her leg up rather flexibly to one of the ropes, showing it off flirtatiously and making Gray swallow and lose track for a second. "Juvia's leg is fine, Gray-sama. Porlyusica gave Juvia the okay to work out, if she wanted to, and Juvia couldn't help but join in with Cana-chan's idea of taking gambles."
"By fighting against other people who have no injuries?"
"Juvia-chan is taking it easy," Lisanna piped in as she crawled over to Juvia's side, wrapping an arm around the racer encouragingly. "This is actually only the third round she's done in the past three hours, before we were taking bets. We're making her take breaks regularly."
"Elfman-san took longer than Juvia expected, but I managed to snag him easily once Evergreen found him," Juvia said with a shrug, glancing to the middle Strauss sibling who was being scolded still by his girlfriend. "Gildarts just happened to be easy."
"And placing bets?"
"It was Cana's idea," Levy said. "Which isn't bad by what she's offering for fights between Team Babes and Team Brutes. We're going to use our money for Italian take-out."
"This is unbelievable," Gray rolled his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. "Juvia, you shouldn't be exercising that hard! What if you tear your stitches or pass out?"
"Juvia is hardly fragile or defenseless, Gray-sama. Juvia does not to be babysat by anyone," the racer stated simply as she got up from her spot and took a swig of the water, her face still cheerful and happy. "I'm a grown woman."
The blue haired woman went over to Gildarts, who eventually came to sitting up, offering him a hand and helping him up while Cana collected the last of the winnings of the round. The older man seemed to be praising Juvia, since she smiled brightly and nodded while drinking more water. Gray's brow twitched with absolute annoyance and both girls noticed it straight away.
Levy snickered. "Listen, Gray, you can't be locking Ju-chan up in the apartment all you want, okay? She's been approved by both Porlyusica and Mira. In fact, Mira even placed her bets for Team Babes and plans on coming in with Laxus in the afternoon. Her and Erza want to do a couple battle or something cute like that before the race."
"This is still stupid."
"You really can't stop us from having a good time," Lisanna laughed, making his mood even more so sour than before. "Besides, look how happy she is!"
Gray did look. He saw how Juvia and Cana bounced around while counting the money outloud to the crowd, Gildarts nodding in understanding as he dug out his own money from his track jacket and handing it to his daughter. Cana kissed her father's cheek and lightly smacked the spot teasingly, and Juvia laughed brightly at Gildarts' accepting of his defeat.
"You sure you can't go for another round, Dad?" Cana asked. "Could be another chance to earn your money back."
"Nah, I'm afraid dear Juvia has made this old man realize how old he actually is," Gildarts shook his head and pat Juvia's head, making her grin. "I'm callin' it quits with this one here."
"Juvia hopes you're not too sore, Gildarts-san," Juvia said softly, pressing her lips to the bottle she was holding. "You were laying there for a while…"
"That's what I get for not paying enough attention to your moves," Gildarts winked before glancing to his daughter. "Make sure you're not running her too hard, Cana."
"Oh, Juvia can go for another round!" Juvia announced with a hand raised in the air. "Whoever is willing to attempt to get money back, please state yourself!"
"You heard my girl, boys!" Cana roared confidently, slapping the thick wad of cash in her hand to her rear. "Who wants a go with the champ, huh? Otherwise, the girls are having Italian for dinner tonight with dessert!"
"That's enough, Juvia," Gray called to her, his brows furrowed with worry. "You should take a break after doing three."
"After one more, then she can take a break, boy!"
The crowd around the ring fell quiet when they turned to see Makarov at the gaping entrance of the gym, beside him Silver Fullbuster dressed in a black shirt and worn down jeans. The elderly man grinned brightly as he waved at the shocked group members.
"It's nice to see the garage having fun before a race, no?" Makarov chuckled as he strolled further into the gym, eyeing Cana's collection. The brunette perked at the look and hid the money behind her back, causing him to grin. "Don't fuss about gambling. I actually want to put my money in the pile for the next round with dear Juvia!"
Before Gray or anyone could say anything, Cana's face brightened. "How much you bettin', Gramps? Remember, this isn't a cheap game we're playing!"
"I'll be putting in three hundred," Makarov announced. The crowd made noises of shock and surprise as he pulled out three large bills and waved it high above his head. "And a bottle of my imported champagne from Italy, if that will sweeten it up enough for you. Goes nice with Italian take-out, too, if I may add."
"Juvia," Cana said in a deep, flat voice. The blue haired woman glanced cutely to her friend's way with a knowing smile. "I want that bottle from Italy. Get it for me, won't you, baby?"
"Who is Juvia's opponent, Makarov?" Juvia asked politely, making Makarov grin even bigger and pointed to the man following his way. The young woman blinked, yet kept her smile as she looked to Silver. "Silver-sama wants to go against Juvia?"
"You don't mind, do you?" Makarov asked her specifically, ignoring Gray's gawking glare of a dropped jaw and silent screaming.
Juvia shook her head and Cana slithered in. "What do you want in return along with the money, Gramps?"
"Well, if I win, I get to bring Juvia home for a home cooked meal by my wife," Silver said with a thumbs up. "The Mrs makes a kickass pot roast with vegetables."
Gray was fuming with rage and disbelief at his father. "Don't you -!"
"Juvia would like to try a round with Silver-sama!" Juvia said cheerfully and the crowd went wild.
"Silver is a cop, so he has dealt with plenty of fighting styles with people of all kinds! She won't be a problem with him," Jet said with confidence. "We'll be able to get our money back in no time, so long as he doesn't hurt Juvia. That might be bad."
"No shit," Macao frowned at the younger man. "May I remind you that's Levy's cousin you're talking about. But, besides that, I ain't betting for the guys anymore."
"You know, Levy's cousin is pretty nice once you give her a chance, Jet," Droy said quietly to his companion. "Perhaps she really didn't mean to break your nose. Levy was saying something how she's epileptic and it can really affect your surroundings sometimes..."
"That scary doctor had to twist it back into place!" Jet whispered back in terror.
"Still," another member of the crowd, Freed, spoke in somewhere, "Silver should be able to pin Juvia down, right? He probably has experience fighting women, too."
"Bring up the bets, everybody!" Cana shouted over the conversing crowd. "Count for Team Babes, okay? Evergreen, I see your hand up! You're in the round! Team Brutes! Raise your hands high, men. You're not sitting this out, everyone! C'mon, another five dollars isn't gonna hurt nobody, guys! You might actually get your money back...if you're lucky!"
Gray attempted to jump into the ring until Levy pounced on his back and Lisanna used her feet to push Gray back down from moving too far with his goal. Silver helped himself through the ropes on the other side, looking around the stage with a pretty confident grin on his face.
"I just want you to know that I won't go too hard on you, Juvia-chan," Silver told the blue haired woman as Cana went around to count the amount of bets. "The guys back at the station always hold stuff like this every weekend at the gym, so I won't be too rowdy as I am with the boys."
Juvia's expression was sweeter than sugar and her giggle was like bells. "Silver-sama doesn't need to treat Juvia like she's delicate," she told him honestly. "It won't get Silver-sama very far if he is too nice to Juvia."
Silver chuckled at her as he held out his hand, once reaching to her in the middle. "Well, it's just going to be a fair game, right? Let's have a nice, clean round."
Juvia glanced curiously to his large hand, raising her own, small one and hovered beside with their palms facing each other. Cana brought up her phone with her bullhorn app open to signal the ready of the fight to the crowd, letting the betters fall into a silence.
The blue haired racer sighed softly, still offering him a polite smile. "Juvia thinks that Silver-sama doesn't understand…"
HOOONK!
With the hand about to shake Silver's, Juvia grasped his wrist in a tight vice grip and twist his whole arm backwards, catching him off guard and grunting in the slightest pain. With her leg, Juvia twirled herself into a roundhouse kick aimed at the side of his skull: The result sent Silver bending over with his eyes squeezed shut, prompting Juvia to wrap her arms around his waist and flip him over.
Silver landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him as he gasped for air while Juvia pressed her foot on his shoulder. The older man blinked in surprise as he noticed the young woman holding his gun in her hand, making him reach for his gun holster to find it actually missing from his belt.
Grasping the gun to her cheek, Juvia pointed with her other hand to Silver's face in a imitation of the weapon, making a cute sound effect of cocking the gun with her thumb bending and a few "bang!"s from his face, his shoulder, chest and his lower parts before stepping off of him.
Leaning a bit closer to him and spoke in a whisper. "Silver-sama doesn't need to treat Juvia delicate," she repeated with a half-smile, resting a hand on her hip. "Juvia has been taught by Aria, and he was an ex-military combat trainer for the marines for over fifteen years. Nothing beats Aria-sensei's training with a cop."
Silver stared at her in disbelief as she held out his gun for him to take back, which he did with a shaky grasp and rest his arm back down. She turned around as the crowd suddenly roared with cheers and applause just for her.
Raising her hands high, Juvia allowed Cana to grab her hand and take a deep bow. Cana began to overwhelm herself with victorious laughter and stomping her foot, dancing around the ring as she demand every better to give up their money. With each bill she took, she placed it between her cleavage and the other members of Team Babes cheered louder than the rest once she reached Makarov, who appeared relaxed with his arms crossed.
"Give me the goods, Gramps! I won this time!" Cana shrieked with joy as she hung on to the top rope and held her hand out at him. "Money, alcohol - everything you promised Mama Moi!"
"I did make a deal, didn't I?" Makarov smiled under his mustache and held out his three hundred to her. Before Cana could snatch it out of his grasp, he pulled back above his head and tsked at her. "You also remember the rules, Cana. When you bet under my roof, you share your winnings with me, remember?"
Cana made a snort noise very similar to a boar and scowled at him. "You don't mean…"
"Oh yes," Makarov winked. "You know I like my linguine pescatore with a side salad and garlic bread, sweetheart. Don't be too shy to ask for additional garlic toppings for my pasta; don't worry about ordering it, honey, they know it's my order as soon as you say clam."
"Ya gonna stink up my car with your nasty-ass old man food," Cana hissed darkly once Makarov tapped her forehead with his cash.
"Remember I'm giving you a bottle of my imported goods, Cana," he sang in response and the brunette yelled in anger.
"Fine, you wrinkled raisin monkey!" she shouted as she snatched the money. "Dad! Where are my keys so I can get the food and then get wasted!"
Silver slowly sat up while Juvia followed Cana off the ring and towards Gildarts, going to help her take everyone else on Team Babes orders. Turning himself around, the man made a distinct questionable face to the three hiding in the back. Levy grinned cheekily and offered her hands in defeat and took off, joining the two as Lisanna laughed and followed the mechanic.
Gray had a major irritated look on his face, giving his parent the death stare as he made his way closer to the edge of the ring. Leaning against the ropes for support, Silver grasped Gray's shoulders in desperation and gently shook him.
"Son…" Silver gurgled in a deep voice.
"You're an idiot," Gray responded simply.
Gray twitched when his father grabbed his cheeks with both hands, forcing eye contact as fear was written in the older man's eyes. "Boy...please be honest with me, will you?"
Rolling his eyes, Gray gave him a pointed look to continue. "How, in God's holy name, did you manage to get that miracle of a woman for a girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Yet!" Silver chuckled with glee. "You know the story how your mother and I met? I was drunk at a bar with some friends back in the day, and I picked a fight with this dude, because I think he dumped his drink on me. Turned out to be your mom's brother, and she happened to be there and so -"
"She kicked your ass and then both of you went on a date to the beach. I know," Gray interrupted him rather rudely. "Still, why the hell did you think that going against her was okay? You remember she was critically injured?"
"Well, I certainly didn't expect a sweet, kind girl like Juvia-chan to hand my ass to me," Silver chuckled. "Did you see how she pointed out the possible aims to fire? Man, she could have blown my junk off in the streets! Oh, I should have her show my boys how to fight sometime. Damn, a ex-marine, huh?
"But, besides that, I think Juvia-chan is a wonderful girl, Gray. You should really grow a pear at this point," Silver teased, making Gray groan and attempt to slip out of his father's grasp. It only caused Silver to yank him closer and ruffle his hair.
"How did you two meet anyway?" Silver asked. "Surely you two didn't happen to pass by each other in the grocery store, right?"
"I am not talking to you about this!" Gray snarled and pushed Silver away. He marched off into the crowd, leaving Silver in the small corner with a small frown and tilt of his head.
"He's embarrassed about it."
Silver turned his head to see Natsu leaning against the wall with a dark hoodie on, the hood pulled over his pink hair and his scarf covering most of his face. The racer waved in a friendly greeting once the cop called his name with a raised brow. "What are you doing over there, kid? I figured you'd be out with that blonde girl I see you with all the time, or something."
"She's with Erza," Natsu quickly responded and scratched his face somewhat nervously.
"But wait, wait, wait," Silver sniffed, "what did you mean that Gray is embarrassed. What's he embarrassed about?"
"How he met Juvia, of course," Natsu snickered, changing his attitude in a snap. "I mean, seriously, it was a pretty funny situation on how they met. Personally, I thought it was rather fitting for the both of them, if you'd ask me."
"Fill in with Uncle Silver, son," Silver whispered with purpose, beckoning his son's best friend closer with a finger. "We both know that my boy ain't gonna tell me, even on my own death bed."
Natsu characteristically waddled closer to Silver's side and played it off cool. "Gray will never let me hear the end of it, if he were to find out about me telling you."
"I ain't gonna tell him nothin', boy," Silver crossed his heart with his pinky.
Once Natsu could tell that the older man would keep the secret, he nodded in understanding and cracked his knuckles professionally. "Okay, so we were sixteen, yeah? Before either me or Gray were allowed to actually race in anything, we had to do these specific jobs that required us to be more on foot and more hands on, if that makes sense.
"So there was a job where we had to break into a impound, where some drug lord got his stash hiding in a car that was towed," Natsu shrugged. "The guy parked in a no-parking zone at a mall, or something, and lost the goods hidden underneath the car. Since no one was going to claim a car with an expired and technically 'non-existing' plate, they were going to crush the car. Well, Gray and I were put to break in and get the shit…so was Phantom Lord.
"This lot was really shitty. It had lots going underground that were falling apart and was probably really hazardous," the young man went on with another shrug and a cocky grin, as if it was a silly situation to be part of in the first place. "We didn't know that Phantom Lord was involved while we were investigating, and Gray got himself lost in a wreck-maze while I was the genius and broke into the pound's office for records and locations."
"Are you gonna get to the part where I asked you to come over here in the first place?" Silver raised a brow.
"I'm getting there! So I was watching on the security cameras and saw Gray bumping into this guy, and they both fall in a pit. Gray fell on top of the dude and tried shoving him away, right? Typical Gray.
"It takes us both a few minutes - with me watching on camera - that the dude wasn't really a dude...it turned out to be Juvia, and Gray was actually groping her."
"What?" Silver whisper-screamed at him while Natsu nodded seriously.
"Well, Juvia-chan was dressed as a man," Natsu explained. "Trust me, if any other goons who weren't as civilized as us found Juvia walking around a deserted impound? And we were all fifteen-sixteen at the time, so Juvia wasn't so…" He made a motion with both of his hands to his chest area, making suggestive gestures of bigger breasts than Juvia would have had years ago. "She was wearing really baggy clothes and her hair was super short, like a boy, I guess. It took Gray a bit longer to realize what he did, because Juvia grabbed a rock, or something, and whacked him in the head with it and started screaming at him in Russian. I think she was threatening him, or something."
"She hit him with a rock…?"
Natsu pointed to a specific spot on his forehead, pushing his bangs back with his other hand. "The scar he has on his head? Juvia gave it to him when she reacted. I like to call it Ice Dick's Love at First Hit."
"What happened afterwards?" Silver asked with a pursed lip.
"If I remember right, Gray tried to apologize until Gajeel found them and hauled Juvia out. Gajeel wanted to gut Gray, like a fish, but Juvia stopped her brother since it was a misunderstanding," Natsu said with a grin. "Juvia is cool like that, but Gray doesn't want anyone to know how they really met. He always says he met Juvia from our first time racing when she partnered with Gajeel, but I know better than that. They've been seeing each other a lot often at the tracks after that, and...you know."
Silver glanced over to where his son was currently trying to usher Juvia away from Cana and Levy's grasp, arguing that she doesn't need to go with them to pick up food when she already ordered. Cana and Levy seemed to want Juvia to come with, and Juvia seemed torn between them.
"You know, it's also Juvia-chan who resists trying to have a closer relationship with ice princess, too," Natsu added quietly. Silver looked back at Natsu with a disbelief look on his face and he nodded. "It's just the way they are, I guess. Gray always says that Juvia isn't his girlfriend, but I think he wants her to be."
Narrowing his eyes at his son conversing with the blue haired woman, he turned back to Natsu when the young man cleared his throat and shook his head. "Before you can be like 'oh, why haven't they done anything about it?', I need to remind you that this isn't an average love-problem situation."
"When is it ever?" Silver rolled his eyes.
"Well, not when you're originally from rivaling gangs and the fact that one of them was nearly killed by her own investor," he began listing off different things with his fingers. "Also, when your dad happens to be a cop, which is a big no-no to majority of people who do illegal street-racing, drug smuggling, murder and other stuff. And, what I think is more important is -!"
"You're still a chatterbox that I remember coming over after school, you know that, kid?" Silver mentioned with a bland expression as he stared hard at the young man, who blinked.
Natsu snickered when Silver's demeanor faltered just the littlest bit. "I was going to say that Gray is a bit of an ass to try and follow his head, than his own feelings."
"Now that is probably a decent excuse," the cop half-grinned.
"Are you going to do something about it?" Natsu asked with a tilt of his head.
Silver slowly shook his head, his lips tweaking a bit higher to widen his smile. "Nah, you kids are old enough to figure your own problems out, especially when it comes to the ladies. Aren't I right, Natsu?"
Silver chuckled at seeing his companion's face flush and refuse to meet his eyes. "I'm not too worried about you two. Some things you gotta figure out yourself," he drawled as he looked back to see Juvia resolving the argument between Cana and Gray by going with the latter. Apparently Levy and Lisanna were going to go with Cana to get food before the race later, instead of having Juvia along for the trip.
He watched Juvia tug on Gray's sleeve towards the exit of the gym, a polite smile on her face as Gray gave Cana one last warning glare. Silver was impressed by Juvia's impression on his son, bringing back the memories of how his own wife used to do the same thing whenever they went out during their dating-stage.
That was how Silver knew that she was going to be his one and only lady of his life back then.
"But my boy really has to get that pole out of his ass."
.
.
.
Lucy didn't feel a care in the world as she held Natsu's hand in a firm grip, smiling as she passed by Mirajane tending to her fiance's jacket collar and poking his broad chin. As of yet (not counting Cana after she has had her Happy Juice), no one has been saying anything about how more...obvious her and Natsu have been lately. Some of the gang offered smiles and greetings, but nothing teasing or trying to dig into either one's business or questioning what was up between them.
Sure, as Lucy remembered Juvia saying, people must have been assuming that they were together long before. Hell, even Erza attempted to give her the sex talk - but, despite all of that, Lucy just felt nothing but blissful acceptance and silent praise from her family.
It was sweet enough to hurt her teeth, if she had to put it into words, and she thoroughly enjoyed the cavities it was giving her.
The two pairs found Levy wiping off Natsu's hood with a old rag, whistling a tune in her little mechanic uniform and sports bra. Seeing the couple approach her way, Levy grinned brightly and rolled the towel to a whip at the car before posing proudly.
"What'ya think, ladies and gentlemen? Did I not clean her up and primped her nice and pretty, or what?" Levy smiled.
"Lookin' good, Levy," Natsu nodded as he trot closer to his ride, momentarily letting go of Lucy's hand to check out the paint job. "Definitely worth the cash and your Amazon shopping list."
The base color changed to a dark maroon red with beautifully detailed airbrush on the ghosting flames starting from the front fender of the car and growing in the back. The drifting patterns coming off from the flames reminded him of twinkling stars, along with the glittering shine of the finishing coat was perfection.
Natsu rubbed his cheek against the hood of the car, sparkles in his eyes. "Luce, look at our hotrod! Isn't it the most prettiest car you have ever seen?"
Lucy rolled her eyes and smiled at her boyfriend. "Yes, but you say that everyday. I think it hardly has any meaning."
"If I can butt in," Levy hummed with a naughty smirk, "Natsu has been saying that only after you joined us, Lucy-chan."
"Levy!" both Lucy and Natsu yelped with red cheeks, making the mechanic laugh hysterically and slap her knee. Lucy used her height and weight to press on Levy's side, covering her mouth with her hand and scowled at her.
"Sorry, Lulu-chan," Levy snickered and rubbed under her eyes. "I couldn't help it."
Lucy rolled her eyes and ignored how Natsu whimpered against the top of his car. "What are you up to tonight, Levy-chan? Anything fun planned?"
"Juju-chan is in the shower right now, but I'm going to have her check out my secret project and get some input from her," Levy winked. "Ju-chan has a knack for cars as much as I do, too, so it'll be more helpful than just waiting for Jet or Droy's help when they got school; one plush on having my cousin staying with us!"
"So Juvia can see what you've been working on for months, and we can't?" Natsu whined, giving Levy and excuse to roll up her rag again and snap it at Natsu. The racer in response jumped and nearly fell backwards to avoid the whip. Lucy sighed.
"Since we had dinner with Cana and all the other ladies, we're gonna raid the fridge while Mira's out for some dessert," Levy added in with a wink to the blonde. "You're welcome to join us in my apartment when you come back."
"I was kinda hoping Juvia would join us to the tracks, though," Lucy confessed softly. "Like, she doesn't need to leave the car or anything, but at least let her watch Gajeel race, if she wanted to."
The blue haired woman's face fell to a more worried and built-up look. "No, it's fine," she responded a bit quickly. "You know, a-after spending so much time in the gym kicking ass, I think it would be best to have her take it easy with her leg and muscles."
"I thought you said she was just fine," Lucy raised a brow.
Levy shrugged and pat Lucy's cheek with her clean hand. "Nah, it's still a bit sore for her. Gotta be careful with that leg of hers she has, just like my aunt!" she giggled easily. "Aren't you guys racing tonight, too, you two?"
"Yeah, Gray, Erza and Laxus are registered with us tonight," Lucy slowly changed the subject with her friend.
"I can't wait to make Laxus eat my dust, huh huh!" Natsu chuckled devilishly as he crossed his arms proudly. "I gotta be playin' Chamillionaire's 'Ridin' Dirty' on full blast when I pass by him to the finish line!"
"Hey," Lucy snapped her fingers as she approached him with a knowing smile. "Your butt. In the car now, boy. We gotta be at the tracks early enough to get a good place in line, remember? I know it's a scrimmage race, but people still bet money, too, right?"
Natsu perked and began bouncing. "Oh jeez, our bet placing has been rising nonstop, it's great! Levy, you sure you don't want to come with Juvia and place bets?"
"Gambling isn't so much of my thing, unless it's my cousin kicking someone's ass," Levy smiled sweetly and pat Natsu's head. "Sorry, but maybe next time when Ju-chan is all better."
Before Natsu could try and say anything, Lucy wrapped her arms around his torso and began singing the song he had planned to play while racing Laxus, pushing him towards the driver's seat. Lucy reached blindly for the handle to open it, distracting Natsu long enough to yell goodbye to her friend before spinning around, letting herself crawl into the car first.
"But what -?" Natsu didn't have the chance to ask Levy once Lucy grabbed his shirt and scarf, hauling him and bonking his head on the edge of the door coming in.
Once crawling to her spot and Natsu settled into his seat while closing the door, Natsu started the car and revved the engine to give Levy one last goodbye before starting out of the garage on command. "What's that all about?"
"Levy-chan didn't want to explain anything, Natsu," Lucy told him. "Did you see how she changed the subject when I asked about Juvia's injuries?"
"I thought she was cleared by Mira and Porlyusica."
"She is, but I'm only guessing that Levy doesn't want her in the streets after what happened," Lucy shrugged lightly and began fiddling with her taser, looking at the stickers. "I don't want to make her uncomfortable, so it might be best to just let Juvia stay near Levy, where she knows she's safe."
"Aah, okay," Natsu nodded slowly. "But, it's not all that bad, is it?"
"That's for Levy-chan and Juvia-chan to decide, not us," Lucy pointed out with a wink to her boyfriend. "But, we're going to be their friends and support them, right?"
"Yeah!" Natsu responded with enthusiasm.
"Good," Lucy praised as she leaned over to kiss Natsu's cheek lightly. She definitely didn't miss how his mouth broke into a cheshire grin and stars in his eyes; a whisper of a giddy laugh under his breath, suddenly bursting into a frown and a gasp of realization. "What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked him with a raised brow.
"I forgot how many kisses I had left to pay you back!" he whined, making Lucy blink a few times before smiling softly. "God, why can't I pay attention to the most simplest things?"
"I know how many kisses you had left, Natsu," Lucy sang out casually, being sure to not distract him from driving. She rest her head on his shoulder and held on to the edge of his shirt lightly with her fingertips.
"How many do I got left, Luce?"
Lucy smiled a bit bigger and couldn't resist the giggle in her voice. "I'm not telling. I want you to start over again!"
=xxx=
The scrimmage race was designated at a shopping district late at night, where all the stores for groceries, flowers, bargained clothes and some auto-shops have been tightly locked up and lights shut to keep out anyone. Music was busting in a parking lot by a Chinese take-out spot where people were conversing and signing up for the scrimmage with one of John's assistance under a pitched up event tent. People were dancing in random spots of the closed off streets and sidewalks, but no one made moves to try and break into any stores and kept to themselves. There were beer kegs, a couples grills cooking burgers, and someone propped up their trunk with a screen and playing video games once Lucy and Natsu made their way to the designated parking area to wait for their turn to race.
Since Fairy Tail was a gang that was well known to John in his scrimmage races, they got one of those rare special treatment for racers to skip signing up, as Natsu explained it to Lucy. John was busy organizing two cars at a time to race down a long stretch of road to a open circle, where restaurants would use it for patios and events.
"So the trick is with this scrimmage is to make it to the end, make a sharp U-turn without hitting anything and then make it back to the line in one piece," Natsu explained as he got out of the car with Lucy in tow. "It's really narrow and you have to make it before the other guy to ensure a win, or you'll crash."
"And this is how you want to pay Levy with the paint she did for our car?" Lucy raised a teasing brow as she watched him shine the corner of his door with his shirt, exposing his chiseled abs.
Natsu only grinned when he finished and wrapped his arm around Lucy's shoulders, giving her a wink. "Knowing I got you as my lucky charm, there won't even be a spec of dirt on it," he proclaimed before kissing the corner of her soft lips lightly. "I mean, I haven't really gone anywhere lower than second place, since I have you here riding with me."
"How charming for you to say, silly," Lucy smiled and grabbed his face gently with one hand, using her fingers to squish his cheeks and force his mouth to pucker a little. "Fire Dragon does most of the hard work around here."
"That's true too," Natsu agreed before letting Lucy go on her toes to press a proper kiss to his mouth. He snickered cheekily before leading them both further down the parking area, saying brief hellos to some people along the way until they found Makarov's car that he borrowed to Gajeel to drive back and forth parked next to Mirajane and Laxus' car. Going over to the engaged couple and the dark haired racer, Gray rode up in his car on the other side of Laxus' ride and exited in time to join the group.
"Hey," Laxus looked to the three younger adults with crossed arms. "Did you two manage to get into racing?"
"We did," Natsu vouched for himself and Lucy with a salute as the blonde woman nodded proudly.
"I'm in the later rounds, whenever they call," Gray shrugged, not seeming to care as much about the scrimmage. "Saw Erza pull up with Jellal a minute ago, but I don't know if they're joining in the first rounds."
"Probably not," Mirajane answered with a smile. "Knowing Erza-chan, her car has the spikes and puncture plates on for it. John probably doesn't want her breaking anyone's car as of yet, considering how competitive she can be."
Lucy mentally shivered at the thought of Erza smashing cars with giant fists or hammers. Looking to Gajeel, Lucy offered a polite smile to him and a little wave. "How are you doing, Gajeel? Do you like Master's car?"
The dark haired racer, despite not really a fan of everyone in the gang, shrugged his shoulders. "Not all that bad, but it's nothing I can really have a heavy foot on," he grumbled a little bit. "Probably going to tweak it a little while at home, before I head over to the garage when everything's packed."
She didn't feel comfortable yet to tell the big, buff and slightly intimidating man that Makarov didn't like anyone messing with his own car, but she would also like to see what Gajeel could come up with before the old man found out. Noticing that he seemed to be super calm, Lucy can only assume that he wasn't going to be racing tonight or straying far.
Before anything else could be said between the two, a unwanted, familiar voice cause a disgusted chill in Lucy's spine, forcing her to grip Natsu's arm tightly against her chest.
"Ahh, ain't it Gajeel-kun, still living and breathin'!"
Turning their heads, Lucy flinched at the sight of Vidaldus approaching with a sick grin on his face, wearing only tight leather pants with chains and fingerless gloves. Natsu made a move to have Lucy on the other side of him, pushing her to be between him and Laxus, she had to tilt her head a little bit to see that Trinity Raven had their cars parked on the opposite side of the street from them. Ikaruga and some other men and women dressed in questionable attire watching with curious and amused faces.
Gajeel, when Lucy glanced his way, did not look amused. Yet, he didn't say anything when Vidaldus approached a few good feet away with a couple of men from his team as backup.
"I was hoping we would see a TV special on the news about finding your body, but I guess it didn't work out so well," Vidaldus smirked as he eyed the other people around Gajeel. "I see that you got some new friends here, too, huh? Ya buddy-buddy with Fairy Tail now, or something?"
"Why is it any different to you, shithead?" Gajeel snapped back and crossed his arms. "Ain't any of their business on what I got, you hear?"
"It is kind've interesting, seeing how close you seem right now," Vidaldus rubbed his chin in delight as he peeked to Mirajane and Lucy with a raised brow. "I don't see your sis here, huh..?"
"No, and you aren't gonna take another look at her until I'm done with you," Gajeel told him seriously and narrowed his eyes in pure anger. "You better get your ass and your bitches back to you side of the road, or I'll get started on rearranging your whole body right now."
Gajeel took a single step forward, sparking Vidaldus to flinch and grouch at him. "Tch, don't get too ahead of yourself, Gajeel," the man responded as hard as he could. "You're the only one here that I see with no backup, while I got my whole crew here. Besides, don't want to keep getting yourself all cut up like last time."
"Keep walkin', fucker," Gajeel snarled. "And sleep with one eye open and your legs crossed, 'cause I'm startin' with you first!"
Laxus put a hand on Gajeel's shoulder to keep him in place, which the dark haired man accepted as Vidaldus shook his head and turned to walk back. "New we shoulda slit your sister's throat when we grabbed her and had your head under a tire. Would've made it easier for Ikaruga to give me your sister to have a round with before she got nasty -"
Lucy wasn't expecting Gray to launch himself at Vidaldus, attacking him to the pavement and smashing the man's face into it by gripping his scalp. By the time one of Trinity Raven's men punched Gray across the face, Gajeel snagged himself away from Laxus with Natsu to help him out.
Natsu gutted on of Vidaldus' goons with his elbow and an uppercut on the jaw to make him lose focus while Gajeel tackled the other one with brute force. Gray, losing focus for one moment by the punch, was grabbed by Vidaldus and wrestled into a punching and choking game; Vidaldus' face was scratched and bloody as he spat in Gray's face while he attempt to twist his wrists back.
Mirajane took Lucy's hand and pulled her behind herself and Laxus, who had his hand at his belt for something the blonde woman couldn't see too well. By the time she was registering what was happening, Gajeel was hit quite a few times and had a knife pulled on him with a clean cut across his cheek and Natsu was dodging every hit possible and trying to find a perfect aim.
A gun was pulled by the man fighting with Gajeel and aimed it between his rusty eyes...
Bang! Bang!
The men nearly broke apart by the sound of gunfire shot in the air, turning to see John and his crew armed with different types of firearm and standing ready to attack. When one of the goons tried to hit Natsu one more time, the pink haired man aimed a punch to the man's throat and kneed him between the legs hard enough to make him fall over, making Lucy cover her mouth to hide her scream.
John snapped his fingers and had his men aim every gun at the six in the middle of the road, prompting Natsu and his challenge to create space while Gajeel's opponent slowly removed the gun from his head and backed away with his hands up; Vidaldus and Gray were still wrestling and throwing punches to the point that John ordered his men to surround them with guns.
Natsu had to sneak between them and drag Gray off of the rock-poser, a bit beaten and fueled with pure anger and thirst for blood, yet Vidaldus was no better.
"I'll fuckin' kill you, you hear me!" Gray shouted at Vidaldus in a loud roar. "Say that around me again and I'll fucking kill you myself!"
"Hey, hey!" John screamed over them, equally pissed. "Knock it all off, right now, or I'll end it all!"
The music was cut to silence and people stopped dancing. No car engines were revving up to race as John's men kept their aim strictly to the fighting gang members in the middle of the street.
"You know how it goes, men! Scrimmages are for no violence and guns, or we'll all be taken in by the fuzz, you hear?" John shouted. "Whatever beef you got with each other, save it for another day. We can't risk getting caught by the cops, or we'll all be in trouble with the bosses!"
"It's too late, John!" one of the directors of the races called out from inside the car frantically. "Someone called in street racing and they're sending cops. We just got a hit for gunfire, too, man!"
"Shit," John cursed and held up his megaphone. "Cops, cops, cops! Everybody out now!"
Chaos ensued of people running to cars or scaling fences to get out of the area as fast as possible. Natsu hauled Gray up first before grabbing Gajeel by his coat and pulling him to his feet, ushering him towards his borrowed car before going straight to Lucy.
"Laxus," Natsu spoke quickly and the blond man nodded sternly before wrapping his arm around Mirajane. Natsu took Lucy's hands and brought her over to their ride. "Hurry, get in, Luce."
Lucy could only nod and obey her boyfriend's orders, not missing how Vidaldus was picked up and began yelling at the top of his lungs.
"I should've killed you and your sister when I got the fuckin' chance!" he yelled loudly. "Fuckin' Hades ain't gonna hold me back for this, you hear me, Fairy Tail? We're comin' for ya, Gajeel!"
Natsu got into his car and started the engine quickly, swerving over to the sidewalk into a sharp turn to head out. A few times he had to hit the brakes before hitting people trying to make a run for it before getting into a more open road with the cop sirens echoing in the distance.
"You okay, Luce?" Natsu asked as calmly as possible, taking brief glances to look at her to check her over.
Lucy nodded while holding onto her seat. "Y-yeah, yeah. Just not...wasn't expecting that," she breathed. Swallowing, the woman tried to relax in her seat. "It was just, you know…"
"You're okay though, right? Not hurt or anything?"
Narrowing her brown eyes, Lucy looked his way. "I should be asking you that, you dork!"
"Heh, I've had worse," Natsu grinned sarcastically. "This isn't as bad as what I've gotten in the past!"
"Still!" Lucy snapped with a irritated pout.
"You can kick my ass later when -" Natsu was interrupted by the signal from the radio of an incoming call. Lucy could recognize the number in an instant and blinked in confusion.
Pressing the button to answer it, Lucy spoke in a clear voice. "Levy-chan, what's up?"
"Have you guys seen Ju-chan?" Levy responded in a more frantic voice. "No one has seen her anywhere in the garage!"
"What?" both Lucy and Natsu jumped.
"She told me she was going to shower in Cana's apartment, but Cana hasn't seen her since dinner. I don't know where she is!" Levy heaved worriedly. "I counted the cars and none of them are off, so I'm wondering if she stowed away with you two when I wasn't looking!"
Lucy looked back in the backseat, finding only her sweater and Natsu's gloves. "No, she's not here, Levy-chan. I didn't see her anywhere at the race either…"
The Toyota Supra got itself into the cliffside road, a secret road that got them far away from the market street quick enough to slip past cops with the headlights on low. Erza drove with expertise as she turned to a downhill pathway that would take them to the city, glancing to her rearview mirror with a concerned expression.
"Are you alright?" Erza asked softly.
"Juvia is fine."
"We'll be at the garage before everyone else, Juvia," Jellal mentioned politely in the passenger seat, looking to his wife with a somewhat worried look in his eyes. "Someone must have noticed you were gone by now, huh?"
"Juvia does hope that you won't get in trouble for taking her along," the blue haired woman said stiffly, yet it was very true. "If Master Makarov or Levy-chan try to be mad at you, please tell them that Juvia insisted on seeing what Nii-chan was going to do…"
"It's okay, Juvia. We all understand," Jellal waved a hand. "We get that you're also somewhat upset right now. Is there anything we can do for you?"
The Phantom Lord woman shook her head and looked down to her lap, doing her best to keep her angry tears at bay. "Just make sure that Juvia doesn't hurt Nii-chan any more than he already is when she sees him."
.
.
.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - I don't like how this ended, but next chapter should be a hoot for Juvia and Gajeel, as well as a major Gruvia moment :v
Please Review, Follow, Favorite or just stay sexy.
