Lucy woke up to a loud banging. Her eyelids fluttered open drearily, wishing whatever that noise was would stop. She blinked her eyes to focus her vision, and saw Natsu's neck. His arms were secured around her butt to keep her in the beanbag, and he was passed out asleep above her, snoring. She giggled before slowly getting up to go to the door, where the knocking was coming from.
She opened it to see Don, looking both afraid and confused. 'He must've thought I left earlier,' Lucy concluded. "Don, what?" she asked. His eyes were flitting behind her to scan the room, not looking downward where Natsu actually was.
"Great, girlie, you can get him up. There's another cop raid, I'm checking the rooms right now. His is the last one. You need to go." Lucy groaned loudly. Of course there would be a check, the Salamander rumors started again.
"Don't act surprised, Don. You're the one that wanted to show him off again." His face soured at her accusation, but he didn't deny it. A groan sounded from behind her; Natsu was awake. "I've got him, don't worry."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, girlie. Keep him safe." He scurried off to where Lucy could see masses of people fleeing. She sighed and turned back inside to see Natsu standing up. It seemed he already knew what was happening.
"Do you want to just take me home? Kill two birds with one stone?"
He shrugged. "Sure, but I don't know what birds have to do with it." Lucy giggled; it was easy to forget that he didn't have the same exposure she did. How to break a man's arm in two? He's got it. A simple turn of phrase? He's lost.
They ran down the hallway and out the side entrance only Don's fighters knew about. Natsu guided her through the weaving alley ways easily, with Lucy watching behind them. It was quiet as they crept around, the setting sun casting strange shadows on the buildings.
Lucy caught the shape of a man on one of the buildings and stopped Natsu. She shushed him with a hand over his mouth and peeked around the corner of the building. It was a tall blond, looking around purposefully. Her heart sank; it was Jacob. 'He must have called the cops to flush us out…did he know I was here?' Mind racing, she thought back to this afternoon. He had looked so sincere…was he faking it? 'Of course he was, he would never trust me.' Lucy burned with shame, but it did her no good right now. She had to come up with a plan.
After a long stretch of silence, it came to her. Jacob's meddling could work in her favor, but she needed Jacob to see her.
With Natsu.
She turned back to Natsu, who looked ready to fight. His fingers were flexing and popping. Signaling for him to still be quiet, she took her hand off his mouth. "It's Jacob, he called the police." Natsu went to leap around her right there, but she kept a hand on his chest. "No, this is good. I have a plan. And you might get to hit him."
He smiled and listened as she told him what to do. He didn't seem too happy about it, but he let her jump into his arms easy enough. They backed up, and he started running and rounding the corner.
"Jacob!" Lucy yelled after a second. He spun around, and his face lit up like Christmas. He thought he'd caught her. 'Good.' Natsu skidded to a stop a few yards away. Lucy hopped down and put a good distance between her and Natsu, trying her best to look guilty. Like she'd been caught.
"Jacob, I know how this must look but—"
"I knew it. I knew you had no interest in anything but that two-bit street thug—"
"No, Jacob, that's not it. I was there because—"
"Because you're trying to betray your father! What is this, payback for your childhood?" Lucy flinched back. Did he know…? His laugh was manic; he had it all figured out. She pushed aside her fear; she needed him to go back to being wrong about everything.
"No, Jacob, I was there because I was working your—Natsu?" Natsu had started walking forward, which was not totally a part of Lucy's plan. He stopped right in front of Jacob, who looked pretty brave considering what Natsu did to him the last time they had been that close together.
"Hello, Salamander." Jacob's voice was taunting. "Did that man's blood feel good on your knuckles last night? Or were you even sober enough to remember it?"
Natsu jolted, and Lucy snapped. "Jacob! What are you—?"
Jacob was sent flying backwards, a sick crack echoing from Natsu's fists. Lucy blew out a breath and ran over. He was coughing up blood into the dirt and trying maintain his cool composure. Natsu stood fuming above them, and Lucy put a hand on his foot in a weak attempt to calm him down. She helped Jacob to his feet and stood facing Natsu. She had told him that he couldn't walk her home, it had to be believable. But it didn't make it any easier.
Jacob was still blubbering about her betrayal, though, and she couldn't have that going home. She racked her brain for anything to convince him that she hadn't been here just to see Natsu, but she couldn't think of anything. He was convinced she would never leave Natsu—
Lucy flinched at her own idea. It would break Natsu, if she went through with it. He'd told her she was the only thing that kept him anchored, kept him him, but Jacob…He needed to believe her. This was the only way.
She started dragging him forward, tears already pricking her eyes. She couldn't look at Natsu, not when she said it. She couldn't bear to see his face. He moved out of her way, and Lucy grunted as she continued moving. She swallowed the tears building up in her throat and made herself speak.
"Thanks a lot, Salamander." She didn't turn, and swallowed her sob when Natsu made a strangled noise behind her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. 'I'm sorry, Natsu. I'm so sorry.'
Jacob stopped his mumbling.