When Lucy heard the shower turn on, then, and only then, did Lucy finally let the tears fall.
The emotions hit her like a brick wall as the blonde felt her legs give out, the tears already streaking down her cheeks. Kneading the heel of her palms into her eyes to attempt to stop the waterworks, Lucy hiccupped and cried like she had never done before.
Lucy would be the first to admit she was a cry baby, easy to cry if anything deserved a tear or two; growing up without a mother as well as a father like hers had pushed her one too many times into a corner her entire life. Tears helped her cope, were cathartic.
And yet with Natsu, it had seemed different. He had always been so good to her; so good in fact, that it had taken Lucy some time to even get used to the kindness he would shower her with. His patience and attention had slowly been rebuilding walls inside of her she hadn't even known had been knocked down to begin with.
But seeing with her own eyes, the reality of who he truly was, had broken something inside of her. Lucy was not stupid. She knew what he was and what he was capable of doing. But coupled with his attitude, pushing her not only physically against the table just now, but also emotionally, Lucy felt she had reached her limits.
She needed air, needed to breathe, before seeing Natsu again.
Digging through the bag of clothes Natsu had brought for her, she found one of her sweaters. Seeing the familiar clothing crammed into the plastic bag brought about a sense of nostalgia, it felt like the life back then was lifetimes ago. It had only been a few days since the loss of her father and yet each day had been an epic roller coast of emotions.
Lucy sighed, pulling the sweater over her head. No wonder she felt like she was coming apart at the seams right now.
Without another thought, Lucy decided she needed a walk. A very long one.
Natsu felt his rage bubbling up to the surface as the scalding hot water hit his skin. Watching the murky red water gradually turn a lighter pink color as it drained, he tried to reign in his strong emotions. Taking deep breathes, Natsu tried to settle himself and think for once.
But just as he thought he had a good handle, the fear in Lucy's eyes would rush to the surface of his thoughts, breaking his heart all over again.
And yet he took it out on her anyways.
If anyone was to blame, Natsu logically concluded, it was him. He knew he pushed her unnecessarily. But he had felt something inside him crack when he had seen the fear that had been in her eyes.
It had broke him so he lashed out.
A small voice, maybe his conscience, told him he needed to apologize. But how would she react to him? He had not exactly been kind to her. But if Lucy continued to fear him Natsu had no idea what he would do. Despite his best intentions, she had become something almost precious to him. Again, his fault.
Natsu took a long deep breath, a weak attempt at calming his nerves. He knew he had to give her a choice, whether to remain with him or move on. She deserved that much. Natsu had basically ruined her life by just being a part of it so he knew she deserved at least that much. Despite his growing desire for her, he loved her enough to let her make her own choices and not force them upon her like he had been doing thus far.
The pink haired boy blinked.
Love.
Did he love Lucy? That question alone almost seemed foreign enough to him let alone the feelings that accompanied it. Natsu doubted he loved her, but given time, he could see the blonde becoming more and more important to him. She already was important to him; ever since he first laid eyes on her alone at night at what would become their eventual meeting spot.
Natsu sighed, deciding he had spent long enough in the shower escaping his fate. Turning the water off, Natsu grabbed for his towel, wrapping it around his hips before hopping out.
Shaking off the excess water from his pink locks, Natsu opened the bathroom door. As soon as he did however, he suddenly felt something was off. Taking a quick sniff of the air, he realized Lucy was not where he had left her. Despite the residual smell of tears in the air, Natsu also noted that Lucy's scent wasn't as pungent as it normally was; she must have left.
Something clutched at his heart at the thought but he quickly clenched his jaw and pushed on, heading to the kitchen where he last saw her. He noticed the plastic bag of clothes he had gathered for her was opened and his earlier assumption had been correct too: Lucy was nowhere in sight.
Natsu slammed his fist into the nearest object, the defenceless table. It's legs unable to withstand his sudden burst of anger, cracked under pressure and fell to the ground. He was fuming and, if he were entirely honest with himself, heartbroken.
He had pushed her away and he had only himself to blame.
But that didn't mean he couldn't hunt her down and drag her back by the hairs on her head.
Lucy pulled the collar of her hoodie further up her chin, regretting taking a walk in the chilling night air. But she had walked far enough now that her stubbornness kept her legs moving. The cool air was helping her clear her head after the tears had finally stopped.
She knew she should head back soon since Natsu might worry if she was no longer there when he got out of her shower. But a small part of her didn't really care or wondered if he would even care. The pink haired boy had a weird way of showing his affection for her other than fucking her against a wall. Lucy felt her heart squeeze at that. Did he care?
The blonde sighed, feeling tears sting her eyes again. It was as if the dam had been lifted, the tears never seemed to stop. Suddenly each and every thought she had of Natsu brought her further and further into her self-loathing pit she had created for herself.
"A girl like you shouldn't be out walking the streets alone this late at night."
Lucy started at the sound of a deep, silky voice behind her. Swirling around, she saw the source of the voice: a young looking man with dark, almost black, hair and chiseled chest that would have her blushing if she was in the mood. His piercing eyes captivated her and Lucy found herself staring, "Sorry?"
He smirked at that, removing his hands from the pockets of his jeans, the only article of clothing he seemed to be wearing, "Cute and dumb? You're becoming my type more and more."
Lucy huffed at that, feeling an irritation build, "Excuse me but last time I checked I wasn't interested, so if you'll excuse me."
Lucy made to turn and continue walking the way she came when suddenly the boy was in front of her as if he hadn't been this whole time. She could hardly control the gasp she let out as she stumbled backwards in surprise. But before she could tumble down to the sidewalk, his hands wrapped around her small back, pulling her close.
He whispered in her ear as he pulled her flush against his bare chest, "A like a girl with a little fire," he chuckled when she fought against him, pushing him away.
Lucy was feeling a million emotions at the moment but the most prominent was anger, "Let go of me!"
The man laughed outright at that, "Or what? You'll sick Natsu on me?"
Lucy froze at that, "You know...Natsu?"
Her voice was barely more than a whisper but it obviously was loud enough for this man to hear her. He let her go and stepped back, his cocky smirk still in place, "Oh I know him. What I'm wondering though is, how do you know him?"
The blonde furrowed her brow, "How do you know I know him?"
The man seemed to take everything she said as a joke as he let out a huff of laughter again, "You know Natsu and you still can't put it together? Huh, he must've really kept you in the dark this time."
"This time?" Lucy's confusion was building but a small inkling as to who, or rather what, this man was had been slowly dawning on the blonde.
"Yea this time," the man's smirked remained but he returned his hands to his pockets as he looked her over, "You don't really think you're special to him, do you? You're one girl out of a million he's dangled along. I'm just surprised he's managed to string you along this long without coming clean."
Lucy tried her best to ignore his underhanded comments, "Who are you?"
The man feigned shock as one of his hands reached up to cover his mouth as he let out a small gasp of mock surprise, "Oh how rude of me, forgetting my manners in front of a lady such as yourself. My name's Gray, long time frenemy of your dear dear boy toy, Natsu."
He reached said hand outwards to her, expecting a handshake to finish the introductions. Lucy didn't even know why she was humoring this man but she found her hand reaching out on impulse to shake his hand. His skin was clammy and cold, just as icy as the eyes he stared her down with were, "Lucy."
"It's a pleasure, Lucy," Gray let her go and immediately pocketed his hand once more, "Now if you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of your boyfriend, I'd be much obliged."
Something about him gave Lucy the chills and, although she could not understand why, she felt the need to keep Natsu's location a secret for now, at least until she knew more about this man or knew Natsu's relation to him, "Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Oh?" He seemed to be actually caught off guard by that, "and why's that?"
Lucy felt her skin shiver as his piercing eyes seemed to stare straight through her, "I..."
Gray sighed, closing his eyes and smirked to himself, "Ah, and here I thought he actually picked a brave chick for once," he opened his eyes once more in amusement, "but I guess you're just like all the rest."
And with that, the nice guy routine was gone as his eyes began to change to a piercing red colour and familiar fangs began to peak outside of his thin lips. Lucy gasped and backed away but he was too fast for her as he rushed forward and grabbed her neck. His muscles obviously were not for show as he raised her off the ground, gripping her neck tightly with one hand. Lucy choked and reached at his hand to try and tear it off before he cut off her breath all together, "Sto—"
He laughed, "Tell me where Natsu is and I'll promise I'll make your death a quick one."
Gray squeezed his hand in warning and watched as she struggled, her legs kicking in fear below her. Her brown eyes widened and tears started to prick them as she fought for breath, "Please," came her gasped plea.
The dark haired man smelt him before he felt the punch to his jaw as he lost grip of the blonde girl and tumbled to the side. He smirked, rubbing his sore cheek as he lifted himself up off the ground, "Took you long enough."
Gray watched as Natsu pathetically lifted the blonde girl up, checking her neck for bruising before he glared back at him, "Don't you fucking touch her."
"Or what?" Gray shrugged, "You'll beat me to a pulp? Pretty sure it was I who was stuck wiping your sorry ass off the pavement last time we fought, dickface."
Gray was actually a little surprised at how gently Natsu lifted up the girl and helped her out of the way instead of raging at his teasing. Narrowing his eyes, he realized that this pink headed weirdo might have finally matured some and the blonde currently cradled in his arms might have been the cause. But that didn't matter much to the dark haired man, he would still beat him to a pulp for all the damage he had been causing recently, "Any day now would be nice."
Natsu growled at that, placing Lucy down on a nearby grassy area on the other side of the street from Gray. He felt something in him crack and rage at the sight of the growing bruises and welts on the girl's neck. She was only finally catching her breath enough to speak, "Natsu..."
"Don't worry, Lucy," he sighed, standing up, "you're safe now."
And with that, Natsu turned to face his old comrade who was patiently standing there, smirk plastered to his face and hands stuffed in his pockets as per usual. Seeing Gray beforehand was a blast from the past for Natsu and he would have even enjoyed the old company had it not been for the damaged blonde behind him.
With a growl, Natsu flew at him, fist aimed to do some heavy damage.
A/N: Heyooo, so this chapter is slightly smaller than previous chapters (only barely) but I thought I should cut it off now before the real action starts. I hope you guys like my characterization of Gray...I felt that bringing in a few other Fairy Tail characters would help me establish a sense of canon characterization for Lucy and Natsu; hope it helps!
Again, thanks so much for the support and consistent reviews and views I've been receiving since I've picked this story back up! Love each of you! Happy reading! xxx
(Also, totes didn't read and edit this through once it was all said and done...I edited it in sections though so hope it's not terrible lol)
