Lucy's eyes were wide and completely enraptured by the force of nature that was the Natsu and this stranger before her. The blonde had overheard Natsu call the man Gray, along with a string of other colourful names. All she knew was that she should have probably been listening to that small remaining logical part of her brain that was currently screaming at her to get out of there. The tension was so high she could have cut it with a plastic picnic knife. She gulped, watching as Natsu's eyes turned to their scarlet glimmering shade as his fists tightened. Whatever their relation may be, Natsu was pissed with Gray in a big way and it terrified Lucy to no end.
"You done yet?"
The blonde watched in fascination as the darker haired boy's lips slowly turned upright, showing off a devilish smirk and ghost white fangs. Along with his own pair of matching blood red eyes, Lucy discovered quite quickly that whatever intentions this boy may have had with Natsu, the two were one in the same: vampires. Lucy would have laughed at the situation she was finding herself in had it been any less lethal. She was surrounded by monsters and felt vulnerable and defenseless, the soreness around her neck from Gray's choking grip a constant reminder.
But glancing towards Natsu, her heart gave a squeeze, remembering his rough words of protection as he had gently carried her away and out of Gray's path. Now standing in front of her, his strong back facing her, Lucy felt an odd sense of safety despite all that had brought her up to this point. Despite everything, some insane and illogical part of her brain believed wholeheartedly that Natsu would prevent anything from happening to her.
And for now, that illogical belief was all Lucy could hold on to.
Gray glanced over at the blonde behind Natsu. He could see her near panicked eyes watching him from just over the pink haired boy's shoulders and her fear brought a smile to the dark haired boy, "Ah Natsu, you've chosen a fine catch this time."
Natsu couldn't stop the growl that left his lips even if he wanted to, knowing Gray's attention was still on Lucy, "And yet you still touched her, even knowing she's mine."
Gray laughed at that, "Yours? Hardly. You may have fucked her til she couldn't walk but that means fuck all if you haven't mated with her yet, dickwad, you and I both know at least that much."
Natsu cracked his knuckles, remaining silent for once. He had every right to pound the living shit out of Gray and yet the boy brought up a very good point; a point that Natsu had been struggling with since he first laid eyes on the blonde behind him. Having it brought up by Gray of all people though was easily one of the most annoying things Natsu could possibly think of.
Remembering the rage he had felt at seeing his hands wrapped around Lucy's neck had him reeling back again, seething in fury, "Either way, you're gonna fucking pay."
Gray smirked, "Always a man of action, huh, Natsu? Act first think later, right?" he shook his head in exasperation, "And look where that's left you? A blood trail a mile long and a new play thing with no collar."
Lucy cringed at Gray's words. She was trying her best to follow and felt herself getting more and more lost with terms like mate were thrown around. The blonde refused to go down that rabbit hole however, when blood was mentioned.
"What's it to you?" Natsu argued.
"You fucking serious?" Gray scoffed, "You don't think any of what you're doing isn't effecting me and the others? You're blowing up our fucking cover with your blood lust! You don't think Natsu! You never fucking do!"
Gray felt himself getting angry at Natsu's clueless selfishness. He had been one of his oldest comrades but that never made it easier when it came to getting through to the young vampire. The boy had a death wish and lived it out by giving the rest of their kind a raging headache.
He found himself shaking his head when he looked at Natsu, the pink haired boy still in fighting stance and ready to go whenever he could. Gray knew that nothing he said would change anything; Natsu had always been a physical person and used his body to speak what his words could never say. So with that, Gray spread his legs out and readied himself for an old school knock down. Luckily even in this somewhat suburban area it still seemed rather deserted, the sun having set a while ago now.
Natsu smirked, noticing Gray's change in attitude, "'Bout time."
And with that, the two men rushed at each other. Fists connected with jaws, skin with bone as Natsu and Gray held nothing back. Gray managed to make connect with Natsu's jaw as the pink haired boy was flung off to the side. But Natsu quickly used the momentum to jump back up and rush Gray, taking his head and slamming it down into his knee and knocking him to the ground.
Left alone and completely forgotten, Lucy stared in horror as the fight carried itself out, the boys trading blows as if they were nothing. She gasped when a particularly strong hit cause Natsu to stagger back to catch his breath before quickly returning to Gray's side to return the favour. The blonde curled into herself, pulling her legs into her chest and tucking her head down. Her arms cradled her head as if to block out the horror that was this bloody battle.
Without any notice though, the sounds of intense fighting slowly faded to nothing. Lucy curiously rose her head up and saw the two boys huffing and puffing, standing meters away from each other. The blonde unfortunately saw the blood that was currently dripping down Natsu's forehead from his head as well as the red that Gray spit out towards his side. The two boys looked far from finished and yet there they stood, catching their breath.
"You done yet?" Gray huffed out, cracking his neck.
"Not even close," Natsu smirked, "Just getting started."
Gray only sighed in exasperation at that but before he could make any comment, he caught sight of the blonde girl from before still huddled nearby and an idea began to form, "Really now?"
Natsu watched Gray hurry past him without any warning and could only helplessly watch as he stood before Lucy once more, "Gray, don't you fuck—"
"What? Touch her?" Gray smirked, enjoying seeing Lucy squirm below him as she lamely attempted to crawl away from him, "Personally, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted with her and you wouldn't be able to do anything."
That was when Gray turned back to Natsu and held him with an icy gaze. Natsu growled at that, clenching his fists in frustration, "Fuck off, Gray."
Gray's smirk only grew knowing that Natsu at least knew his place, "Nah, I'd much rather fuck her."
Lucy squeaked and tried to stand up but suddenly Gray was before her, crouching down to meet her eye to eye. Having those dark, piercing eyes on her for once was sending chills down her spine. She couldn't find the courage to say anything or defend herself and Natsu seemed to be just standing there doing nothing. She was so confused. One minute she felt safe under Natsu's protection and the next he was feeding her to the dogs.
The dark haired boy noticed her confusion, "Ah, so don't know?" He turned back to Natsu quick to say, "You have really kept this one in the dark, huh."
When Natsu growled Gray returned his attention to Lucy, "How's about we have a little story time, huh? See, no matter how tough Natsu seems, I can kick his ass anytime I want. You wanna know why?"
Lucy gulped but found herself nodding dumbly anyways, feeling it best to go along with this guy in case he decided she was better dead than alive.
Gray continued to smile as he explained, "It's cause I'm older. The older the vampire, the stronger they get. So doesn't matter how strong Natsu gets, I'll always be one step ahead of him. That being said, I think it's time for a little story, don't you Natsu?"
The pink haired boy felt his patience wearing thing, feeling powerless and pathetic that the only thing he could really do at this point is toss an insult or two Gray's way. He had a bad feeling as to where this was all going.
"A story?" Lucy asked, not following where this was going at all; her confusion was very obvious as Gray's smile only grew. He seemed to have something against Natsu, that much she understood when she caught a glimpse of Natsu's reactions.
"Yes," Gray finally sat down properly, crossing his legs and getting cozy, "You see, you're not the first chick he's brought to his cave, if you know what I mean. There have been many others."
Many, Lucy frowned at that, feeling her heart breaking slightly at that. She kind of figured it was like that though, in all honesty. Natsu was a vampire, not quite immortal but still very much capable of living a long life. Naturally, there had to be other girls, right?
"But there was one girl, in particular," Gray's eyes seemed to cloud over in memory, "What was her name again, Natsu? Lizzy or something?"
He spared a glance back at Natsu, enjoying the slow torture that was memory lane. The pink haired boy was obviously not about to answer him so he returned to the blonde. He could literally see her heart breaking at his confession; she really was a simple girl, "Oh no wait, her name was Lisanna, if I'm not mistaken. Anyways, name's not important. She was Natsu's girl. His first real love in my opinion. Every girl before that seemed like a nobody when she showed up."
Natsu was fuming by this point and ignored his better judgement and rushed Gray, beating him into the ground and scaring Lucy into getting up on her feet and scurrying away. He didn't care, reliving these memories was by far the last thing he ever wanted to do. But before he could react, Gray was back on him, knocking him down to the ground. The pink haired boy was hefted by his collar and tossed to the paved road, his face smacking hard into the rough surface. Gray wasted no time before he was punching the back of his head, further cementing Natsu into the ground, "Know your place, dickhead," Gray leaned further down, whispering into Natsu's ear from behind, "Or it'll be her next time."
With that, Gray stood and rubbed his sore jaw before noticing Lucy had ran away some. But her stunned face and reaction to watching him pummel Natsu into the ground had kept her nearby out of shock, "Where was I? Oh yes...so Lisanna you see, she was actually a human, just like you."
Lucy screeched as Gray neared her slowly, taking step after step until he was once again in front of her. Her legs gave out and she was back on the ground, him staring down at her with his usual smile plastered across his porcelain face, "H-human?"
"Yes," Gray crouched down, "just like his father, Natsu has always had a weak spot for humans you see. Lisanna caught him hook line and sinker. We all thought this would be it, he'd mate her and become the bane of all our existence. Cause you know, humans are beneath us and all. To be with one, let alone mate with them, is beyond revolting. They die so easily and shit."
He paused but Lucy was confused as to whether or not he was waiting for some response from her or not. She thought it wise to just keep her mouth shut and ask questions later. Eventually Gray got the memo and continued on, "So anyways, this is years ago so I'm fuzzy on the details. But Natsu here," he juts a thumb back behind his shoulder at Natsu who was only now picking himself back up again, groaning, "he wanted to mate this bitch. Badly, if I recall. Was fucking her all over the place; the scent was revolting. But you know what? He never actually got the chance."
Lucy was struggling to wrap her head around the idea of Natsu being that serious with someone else. She didn't want to admit it, but it hurt. A lot, "He didn't?"
"Nope," Gray smirked, loving this next part, "Do you know why?"
"Why?"
Gray stood suddenly, remaining silent for a few moments before he finally confessed, "Cause I killed her."
A/N: Not a particular fan of this chapter but it had to be written. Let me know what you think and please feel free to give me CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and now just the usual 'omg please write next chapter now' stuff, pretty please.
Also! I'm heading to South Korea this Friday for about a week so updates for this won't be happening for at least two weeks. Be patient! I have this story plotted out and this story only had like...two chapters remaining if it all works out. So soon, soon, soon!
Thanks again for all the appreciation this story had been receiving! R&R!
