Lucy's heart plummeted. This was going to end up just like last time, and all of her careful planning would go to waste.
The Captain had realized the same thing she did, and he started laughing carefully, stronger when Natsu continued to hang limp in his hands, not moving. "Ha! Where's your big talk now, Salamander? Your girl finished her fight, but you're going to lose to the same opponent again! What happened to your championship, huh? Did you lose that in prison?"
A quiet shink echoed in the pub, but the hulking idiot didn't seem to hear it over the sound of his voice. 'Like employer, like employee,' Lucy thought to herself, backing away from the ring discreetly. She had smelt gas earlier when she was with Don, and from what she knew about gasoline as a fuel, there was about to be a big explosion. She hopped back over the bar and looked through the hole, waiting for Natsu to let go of the trigger.
"Why so silent, huh? Guess I'll finish you off now, since you've gotten boring. I have to go get that girl—"
Heat invaded through the hole when Natsu released the lighter's trigger, so intense that Lucy had to duck away from the hole and cover her face. A pained roar came from behind the bar, and Lucy realized it too late: Natsu was inside the fire's range. At the thought she scrambled up over the counter and ran to the ring, where both men lay coughing. Natsu was far away from the Captain, who was smoking and charred in the middle of a ring of black.
The Captain had been defeated.
/
Lucy knelt next to Natsu just as the door burst open. Cops swarmed into the building, yelling and holding their guns at the ready. She ignored them and helped Natsu sit up, his hair smoking from the fire. The lighter lay next to Lucy, and she pocketed it before a cop saw it. She watched the police as they poked around the bar, a small team heading down the secret hallway where Don's office was. As she watched, feeling Natsu's chest hiccuping every so often but moving steadily, she felt lightheaded. Like a big weight had been lifted, and it had been the only thing keeping her grounded. Her body gave out on her, and she collapsed onto Natsu, who fell back onto his back at her weight.
He groaned and she laughed lightly, still dizzy from relief. "Ugh, you're so heavy. Get off," he whined, and Lucy didn't have the energy to be offended. She simply lifted her hand off his shoulder a few inches before letting it fall back down, counting it as an irritated smack. He coughed again and put an arm around her waist lazily, and she felt his head roll down to look at her. She looked up and blushed. His face was soft, smiling slightly despite the blood and bruises on his face. She smiled back, true happiness flooding through her for the first time in a year.
"You okay?" he murmured under the shouts of the officers. She felt a hand wind into her hair, and she leaned into it. He smiled gently.
Lucy nodded, eyes half-closed from exhaustion. "Yeah, I'm okay…" She trailed off when his head moved toward hers, and suddenly her eyes shot open. She started to panic, but she couldn't move. Was he going to…?
But his lips only brushed her forehead, feather light, and he pulled away quick enough that it almost seemed like a dream. Her panic ebbed away to severe disappointment, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as he grinned and hauled her to her feet. Still dizzy, she ended up leaning on him for support while her vision refocused. When it did, she saw a tall, very attractive police officer standing in front of them on his phone. He had on semi-dark shades and spiky hair, and Lucy caught herself blushing when he looked up at her.
Suddenly, he whistled low and started walking toward her. "Wow, Capricorn told me to look for the blonde but he never told me she'd be this beauti—Ow!" His gooey flattery was cut off by Natsu's arm preventing him from coming any closer. They had a small stare-off, which made Lucy's blood boil just a little, before Leo smiled and took a step back. "Got it, kid. I'll back off. Don't want to be in a smoking heap like that guy over there." They all looked over at the Captain, who was being cuffed and read his rights despite his probable concussion.
Don was being escorted out of the hallways far more calmly than Lucy would have expected. He caught her looking, and gave her a sage smile. He nodded like he was answering a question, then mouthed "Look after him." Lucy blinked but nodded, an unexpected lump in throat at the sight. He turned away then, his attention on the body of Alyssa Cobeson. Lucy sneaked a glance at Natsu. He was stoic, but Lucy thought she saw his eyes shine for just a minute. She looked away quickly, leaving him to whatever feelings he was having about Don's arrest.
"Okay, beautiful. You and your boyfriend here are asked for by a mutual friend," he gave Lucy a pointed look, "so I'm going to skip the whole questioning thing I'm supposed to do. Which makes me a great chief, but I don't really care. Now go before I remember all the paperwork I have to do tonight." Lucy giggled and nodded.
"Thank you, Leo." She grabbed Natsu and pulled him outside. She took a deep breath and sighed. For the first time in nineteen years, and until the end of time, it was over. She was free.