Ohoho, I think you will enjoy this one B)
Thankyou for the lovely reviews you're leaving, they really put a smile onto my face!: I'll be with you for one more chapter, then I'm handing the baton to Neena. But let's enjoy our time together while we still can! ;) Have some happy tingles!
Spark
The bill did turn out rather high, but not too high for Lucy to not leave a generous tip for the waitress with the sweet smile. Handing out the money hurt her heart nonetheless, and her mind calculated her new balance immediately, already cutting back on her shopping list. No meat for her this week, not if there was not enough money on her spending account.
The amount she put on there each month was enough to live off, and she allowed herself no second transfers.
The now cool evening air hit her face as she stepped outside the small restaurant. Lucy took a deep breath.
Now this had went far better than she would have imagined - and rather unexpected too, with their short visitor. She'd been thrown right into an old feud, it seemed, and she was not about to scramble back out.
Especially not after she had seen what an arrogant, snobbish jerk this Jackal was. What he had said to Natsu, so nonchalantly and with an unsufferable air of superiority around him, still made her blood boil.
She would definitely send him to jail.
But not today. Today, all that was left to do was to get home.
With that thought in mind, she pulled out her mobile phone.
"Fancy," Natsu commented with a teasing grin, and her cheeks flushed in angry embarrassment. "Bet that one has GPS."
"Oh shut up," she mumbled before her mind caught up. Maybe the second glass of wine really hadn't been the best of ideas, because had she just told her new teammate and former suspect to shut up? Damn, she really was too comfortable around him. She shouldn't be treating him like a friend, no matter the sympathy she felt. It would be better for the both of them if she a retained a friendly but distanced work relationship.
After another weak glare in his direction, someone answered her call and Lucy was assured her cab would arrive in mere minutes.
When she hung up and turned around, Natsu stood there with his hands in his pockets, expression as lax as his posture. He looked at her almost expectantly.
"Oh, you don't have to wait around," she reassured him, taking it as a hint he wanted to take his leave. "I'll be okay on my own."
His brows furrowed at her words, and he puffed his cheeks. Defiance radiated from him. "No way!" he protested, "Not even I am gonna do that! I'll hang out with you a little more, don't worry - its not that bad."
He grinned at her offended face, stepping closer. Lucy's mouth pulled into a stupid smile, her mind not working properly as he stepped just a little too close. Had he never heard of personal space?
Lucy had to remember to breathe. Realization hit her like a brick as he stood so close that she could almost feel his breath on her forehead. She liked him a lot. And she didn't know why. They had only just met, and their being together wasn't even about….that, so why the hell did she feel like she really had been on a date?!
He stared at her for a moment, as if trying to read her expression. She sure hoped he didn't see what she thought he did. His eyes turned darker.
A reluctant grin tugged at the right corner of his mouth, eyes dropping to her lips for just a split second. That alone was enough for Lucy to grip the hem of her jacket tighter, breath catching in her throat.
Horror gripped her, because she realized if he would try to kiss her now - she wouldn't pull away.
But instead he did. Lucy took a deep breath as the space between them grew impalpably. The grin now spread over his whole face, wide and toothy. He knew.
Why, that–!
"Besides," he continued, suddenly more serious and in a more hushed voice, "there's enough bad people in the streets on a normal night, but I won't leave you alone with Jackal on the prowl. We scratched his ego in there, and what better way would there be to get back at me than through my girlfriend?"
Colour drained from her face, her pretty pink cheeks losing some of their intensity.
"What, you think he's still here?" she murmured, suddenly alert.
"Wouldn't put it past him. He and me, we, uh… don't have the friendliest relationship. He kinda hates me."
"Wouldn't have guessed." She rolled her eyes, but then turned serious. "Stuff happened?"
"Nah, nothing big really. He's just an evil, sadistic bastard with no conscience. Can't stand him - but you saw that. We sometimes crossed paths because of… jobs, and all. I totally showed him up though, everytime. I was the best."
Pride had slipped into his voice before he'd had a chance to stop it.
She nodded pensively. To his relief, there was no judgement in her eyes when she looked back at him.
Instead, she suddenly stepped closer, invading his personal space.
He noticed how she smelled of strawberry shampoo and some fine, simple perfume.
And then his heart stopped.
Because Lucy leaned upwards, pushing herself onto her tippy toes as her eyelids slowly dropped to a close. Sudden panic spread through him.
What the hell was she doing?!
His mind moved to autopilot, reminding his heart to beat - which it did, at full speed.
His eyes dropped to a close.
And then her lips met his cheek, soft yet unyielding.
Her eyelashes fluttered against his skin, and he turned stiff as a stick.
A distinct feeling of euphoria surged through him, much like the one he used to feel as he watched his flames turn into a raging fire.
When she lingered as her lips left his skin, he felt heat boil in his loins and rush all the way up to his cheeks. It felt like a million fireworks had been set off in his stomach - without his permission. He stared at her equally flushed face as she pulled back, biting her lip.
The motion made him want to grip her, pull her delicate body right back against his. He wanted to feel those full lips on his. The urge was so strong, he had to clench his fists at his sides.
"W-what the…"
Had he just fucking stuttered?!
"We are on a date, remember?" Her voice almost sounded casual, but he caught the breathiness swinging in her voice. The slight tremble. She couldn't fool him.
But her strategy was - as expected of her - perfect.
They had to mess with Jackal's mind, and if only so that he wouldn't find out about Lucy's true identity. The case itself, as much as he wanted to see Jackal locked up, didn't concern him as much as the sudden thought of what that sick bastard might do to her if he found out she had lied to his face.
If he found out that she was a cop.
Their plan had to work like a perfectly oiled clockwork - or else there was no knowing to what measures Jackal might go to get his revenge. He was as unpredictable as he was proud.
They could only fool him once.
Still, it was hard to concentrate with Lucy looking at him like she did. It was hard to remember that they both were doing this solely as means to an end.
Because his cheek still tingled where her lips had touched.
Neither had spoken, but now Natsu opened his mouth, unsure of what might come out.
The headlights of a car blinded his face as it pulled around the corner. The shiny sign on top told him her taxi had arrived.
Whatever he was going to say disappeared from his mind as the lights hit his face. Lucy cleared her throat, shuffling around in her handbag.
"Hey Natsu, if you want to - I mean, it would be great if you, well-" her voice lowered to a murmur that not even he could make out. She pulled out a piece of paper and started scribbling something onto it with her recovered pen. By the time she was finished with her awkward fumbling, her cheeks ahd turned crimson. She held it out to him, and he took it curiously. "This is my address."
Natsu's lips formed a small 'o' before gradually turning into a wide grin.
"Oooh?" he drawled.
"So that we can discuss the ca- our relationship some more, that's all!" she huffed, face turning redder by the second.
"Our relationship…" he mused with a pleased smirk.
Had she really just given him her address? A convicted ex-felon she had met this morning?
Well, he had to admit - his detective sure had guts. The meaning of fear seemed foreign to her. He just hoped it would not come to bite her.
The taxi held beside the pavement and Lucy waved her hand, indicating the driver to wait for another moment. She looked back up at Natsu, puffing her cheeks.
Hell, she looked positively cute.
"So, you will come?" she asked as if to reassure herself - and sounded almost hopeful doing so. Her tone made something in Natsu's chest clench, because he had to remind himself this hopefulness had nothing to do with him. Only with the information he provided.
But he guessed he owed her one for tonight.
And, as much as he was trying to deny it, he wanted to see her again.
"Yeah," he conceded. "I'll come."
"Great," she breathed out with a smile, and he suddenly wished they had met under different circumstances. Then again - if she didn't need him for the case, would she even have looked at him twice? Would she have seen a man worth getting to know?
The answer seemed all too clear to him.
Quickly pushing away his confusing thoughts, he forced a grin onto his face - one that turned all too real when he saw her returning it. His expression turned sly.
"I'll come whenever you want me to."
He watched the gears in her head turn until her smile all but dropped off her face, replaced by indignation.
"You–! Just… be there tomorrow, okay? For dinner?"
"What, now you're gonna cook for me?"
"Well, I certainly won't make the mistake of taking you out for dinner again." The bright grin he had just vanquished with his sleezy comment was back on her face. "Seriously, how am I gonna pay my rent after that…"
Natsu chuckled. "Well, you might have just saved me mine," he admitted, but then faltered when he realized what had slipped him. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, better get going…"
Lucy inclined her head to the side, unexpected fondness in her eyes. Natsu wanted to punch his stomach to stop it from tingling. She seemed pensive. "You're walking…"
"Sure. It's not too far."
Oh, just one last time. Just for the hell of it.
Natsu reached out his hand, letting his fingers brush against her earlobe as his thumb trailed gently over her cheek. She turned very still, staring up at him out of wide eyes.
Natsu had no idea why he had done what he just did.
All he knew was that he had been unable to resist the urge.
Lucy Heartfilia was an open invitation, one he was not planning on passing out on. Whatever she offered, he was ready to take. Something about her had pulled him in, and Natsu was not one to fight his instincts.
His hand dropped to his side, and in a low murmur he spoke into her ear, brushing his stubbly skin against her soft cheek, "We're on a date, remember?"
When he pulled back, he caught her closed eyes slowly opening. The mix of emotions on her face weirdly pleased him. He liked to conjure emotion up onto her face. Anything to stop her from wearing that stiff mask of hers.
She swallowed, an audible sound in the stillness of the night. Only the humming of the taxi's motor kept it company. "Yeah. We are. Good night, Natsu."
"Goodbye, Lucy."
He stepped out of the light the street lamp provided, welcoming the familiar shadows of the city. But he turned around one last time, to where she was still bathed in light.
She almost seemed to be glowing, her blonde hair turned into a softly gleaming halo. But the almost saintly image was damaged by the way she was squinting against the brightness to try and make him out behind the invisible barrier now dividing them.
Natsu grinned.
She really was weird.
"Looks like I was right after all."
"What do you mean?"
"If all you really wanted was a date, you could have just asked."