Act II
14
Pride and Prejudice
"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love"
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Weeks passed without incident. Lucy became better at working with her spirits, enough Erza trusted her to go on a job in the next town over. Lucy swallowed nervously as Natsu accompanied her. She had no doubts Erza and Gray were slinking behind in the shadows, spying on their first 'job' together. It wasn't anything really hard. Just cleaning out the stables of an old farm.
An easy task for Aquarius, that was for certain.
Although Lucy wasn't looking forward to the amount of rage Aquarius was bound to give her for the stench of cow manure in her water. She cringed at the thought of the potential drowning she was about to receive and made a mental note to try the task herself before resorting to such drastic measures.
Natsu followed along, looking quite cheerful despite the fact he was dragging himself to the job. They hadn't had to ride any transportation since their destination was so close, which meant they walked.
When they arrived at the site, Lucy was horrified to find it followed Herculean legend. She would have to reroute an entire river to hose out the stables.
She was doomed.
The image of Aquarius' shrieks, followed by Natsu's cackles filled her mind and a cold shiver of dread snuck down her spine.
Even worse, Natsu sent a pointy-toothed, knowing grin over his shoulder at her.
Lucy whined softly, her shoulders dropping as she resigned herself to the inevitable. This was going to suck. Horribly. She sighed as she grabbed her key and headed towards the river near the property. She could already hear Natsu cackling gleefully behind her and hoped that he got smashed in the deluge sure to come.
At least a wave of water from the river wouldn't flow back to the river afterwards and pollute it as long as it was forceful enough. And Aquarius could do forceful.
Buoyed by that thought, and the realization that Aquarius would have license to flood the stables she slashed her key through the air, "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"
Was it too much to hope that Aquarius wouldn't smash the stables entirely? Probably.
The now familiar doorbell sound rang out and the blue mermaid appeared, looking peaceful for a moment before scowling at her, "What do you want?" The spirit demanded crankily, "I was getting ready for a date!"
"And I'll be happy to let you go back to that," Lucy assured her placatingly, "But first I need you to flood those stables there." She pointed to the rancid mess behind her, "Thoroughly. Please."
Aquarius stared at her for a long moment with a look Lucy couldn't quite decipher, but it left her wondering if Aquarius was going to do it or just try to drown her and be done with it.
It was more than a little unnerving. Though she didn't dare drop her gaze or show any other classic sign of submission. That probably really would get her downed.
Natsu was already laughing his head off across her. Jerk.
Aquarius' eyes flashed and she smirked wickedly, a sign Lucy understood would mean terrible news for her. Too late, she realized she was standing in the path between Aquarius and the stables.
"Oh no, wait-" Lucy paled, waving a hand in front of her.
But it was too late. Aquarius lifted her urn with a deadly swing, her eyes practically glowing with a sadistic hue.
"You want your precious stables flooded girl?" She roared into the sky, "I'll give you your flood!"
Natsu shrieked with loud snorts as he watched a screaming Lucy get swept away by the tide of water, carrying her cruelly through the stables and washing out the other side.
He sobered up a moment later when Aquarius turned her poisonous stare onto him. Natsu refused to admit he swallowed thickly as he stared at the powerful celestial spirit.
She gave him a cool expression, but seemed to disregard him a moment later and disappeared before he could question why she looked at him like that. Not that he cared, Natsu was too happy to be spared her wrath.
A love struck expression crossed Aquarius' face as she floated over to where Lucy was hacking up a lungful of water, "How distasteful, at this rate you'll never get a boyfriend!"
Lucy gave her a sour look and picked herself up from the filthy ground, shaking out her ruined clothes.
She needed a bath. Desperately.
"You don't have to rub it in," Lucy wrung out her shirt and cringed, knowing she wasn't likely to get the smell out any time soon.
"I'll be going now. I have that date with my super hot boyfriend," Aquarius twiddled her fingers at Lucy and faded away, in her wake the soft echos of boyfriend... boyfriend... boyfriend... following.
"Ugh...why does she hate me?" Lucy grumbled to herself, that unclean feeling of disgust making her skin crawl. She hated being dirty like this and desperately wanted a shower and then a bath. Seriously, what had she done to piss the spirit off so much? It had been Aquarius who had initiated contact in the first place! Never mind insisting on a contract!
It was a little like dealing with Natsu all over again. A thoroughly unpleasant task if ever there was one.
She shook her clothes out as best she could and started sloshing towards the client's house. If the client didn't like it he could just deal. The stables were now sparkling clean, as promised, and it was his fault he'd let it get into such a disgusting state in the first place.
She pointedly ignored Natsu as he bounced around pointing and laughing at her, and tried to reign in the urge to kick him or something.
He was starting to really ask for it though.
However, she hadn't gotten halfway across the yard before there was a loud explosion forceful enough to rattle the ground.
"What the-?" She asked only to gasp in alarm as the house went up in flames.
Natsu let out a low whistle, his laughs subsiding in the face of the blaze. He looked a little impressed by the force of the fires, watching as it danced higher than the nearby tree line.
"Wasn't me."
Lucy gasped in shock, cursing her lack of ability to call on Aquarius a second time in a single day. This was worth getting drowned over, but to open the gate again? She didn't have enough magical strength to do it.
"Oh no! The people inside!" She looked around desperately for a water lacrima or something she could use.
"Natsu! Help me find-" She turned to where her pink haired companion had been standing, only to see he was gone. The space was totally empty, no hide nor hair of Natsu's appearance to be found.
"Oh that useless dragon!" Lucy snapped as she ran back into the barn to get a bucket so she could fill it at the river. It would be like trying to douse the fire with a squirt gun, but at least it would be something.
The heat pouring off the building was incredible, and Lucy felt her skin prickle at the feeling of those red hot flames licking at the sky.
She didn't think she could even get close to the building to pull anyone out. Lucy determinedly dragged the bucket closer to the building
At the very least she had to try.
But before she could so much as throw the water onto the front door, a loud sucking sound from the side of the house caught her attention. The flames were quickly beginning to recede, as if magically being pulled away.
Curious, but relieved over this strange miracle, Lucy jogged to the side with her bucket to see where the flames were going.
Bucket and water both crashed on Lucy's foot.
Natsu was standing there, his feet planted shoulder width apart and his shoulders bowing backwards. His mouth was open and he breathed in, a vacuum-like sucking drawing the fire around him like a vortex.
Sharp teeth bit into the flames as if they were nothing, and Lucy's jaw unhinged to her feet.
That was right...
Natsu was a fire dragon.
He consumed the fire, chest expanding as the flames died down away, stripped from the frame of the house. Natsu turned his head as if listening intensely before he sprang forward and smashed through the second story window.
Natsu paid no attention to Lucy or her reaction as he leapt through the window. Honestly, he didn't much care about it. He'd heard the distinct cries of a frightened hatchling, and he'd simply reacted.
Even with the fire he'd eaten he couldn't be sure he'd gotten all of it, and regardless there was no way he was going to leave the howling kid like that.
He peered around the still smoky room and his eyes landed on not one, but two girls, twins he thought, huddled into the corner. He gave them a friendly smile and moved over to crouch down in front of them, far enough away he wasn't crowding them.
"Hey." He crooned at them, "Whaddya say we get out of here huh?"
He held out his hand and his smiled widened into the bright, cheerful, one he'd once worn constantly. It was full of confidence and held no fear. Least of all for anything as scary as fire.
It seemed to do the trick as a moment later he had his arms full of distraught, teary, girls.
He wrapped his arms around them soothingly, "Hey, no more of that." He told them gently, "We're getting out of here remember? No need to cry anymore."
He looked them over and noticed one seemed to be favoring her left foot a little while the other was supporting her. No telling what she'd tripped over when they'd fled the flames. He reached out and gently picked her up before looking at her twin, "Can you hold onto my back?" He asked, shifting so she would have an easier time climbing on.
The girl nodded and in moments he was carrying them both to the window, "Hold on tight!" He called as he leapt out of it and lightly back to the ground.
He noticed Lucy staring at them in awe, but ignored her.
Natsu bent at the waist, unloading the girls gently onto the ground. A cheery smile lit his face and he leaned in forward to them.
"Not so bad right?" He asked them, a hand brushing across his tattered vest to push aside the flames still clinging to him. They fell away harmlessly, as if they were nothing but leaves falling from a crisp, autumn tree.
The girls both relaxed at their apparent safety and gave him watery smiles of agreement. They looked around a second later, their expression of distress returning after they realized their parents were nowhere in sight. Worry flared to life for a moment. But before their next words of where their parents were could erupt from their questioning mouths, Lucy heard the relieved shouts of them arriving.
Together they embraced their children, and Lucy watched in amazement as Natsu slid backwards. He didn't want the credit? What was the big idea?
Lucy shook her head when Natsu made himself scarce, wondering what it was about those children that had him running into a fire to save humans. Didn't he hate them? Natsu had made his feelings on the subject pretty clear.
So she shook off the thanks from the family, going further down the river to where she could find Natsu staring boredly up at the sky.
As if feeling her eyes on him, Natsu glanced up at her approached. Already a huffy pout was on his face, eyes squinting at her and his lower lip jutting out. It was almost cute the way he was all ruffled and trying to act tough.
"You saved those kids," Lucy blinked at him, "Why?"
"Why do you care?" Natsu grumbled huffily and looked away in a sulk. He didn't have to answer her! Why should she care why he saved those brats? Wasn't it good enough that he had?
Lucy considered him for a moment and sat down next to him, though downwind given her recent near drowning in what was essentially sewer water. She was definitely going to be bathing for at least an hour once they made it home. However, that wasn't what was on her mind at the moment.
"I care because I thought you hated humans." She told him softly, "The last thing I expected was for you to save two little girls."
Natsu growled a little and opened his mouth to tell her it wasn't any of her business, "I did it because they were hatchlings." Was what came out instead and he nearly slapped himself on the face. Why did he keep doing that around her?
He could feel her confused eyes focused on him now and grumbled irritably under his breath, "Kids are innocent, and are supposed to be taken care of alright?" He snapped, "I wasn't going to leave anyone in a fire like that."
He was a monster, but he wasn't that sort of monster at least.
Lucy stared at him in astonishment for a moment, and then smiled softly, something in her melting a little that at least Natsu wouldn't leave a child to get hurt, "That was really nice of you." She murmured, and gave the back of his head a small pat, "It may not mean anything to you coming from me, but I thought that was really heroic, and I'm glad you did it."
She was actually rather proud of him too, but she didn't mention that. She doubted he would like knowing it. If he even cared. Which was also debatable.
She nudged him with the toe of her shoe, drawing his attention enough for him to give her a dry look, "You ready to go?"
Lucy was heartened, and seeing the warmth skating across Natsu's cheeks before he looked away. It was evidence enough that her words had gotten through to him just a bit.
She didn't say any more beyond that, because knowing Natsu, he would flip it around on her. The more she got to know Natsu, the more she was beginning to think he liked to deflect questions and compliments with sarcasm and sharp retorts.
His tongue darted out to wet his lips, his ever dark eyes staring out ahead. Knowing he was trying to avoid looking at her, Lucy just smiled and stood up.
"Yeah I guess," He said after a moment, his head swinging up to look at her.
"Besides, you stink awful," Natsu wrinkled his nose at her.
Heaving a sigh, and knowing Natsu's momentary lapse of kindness was gone, Lucy dropped her foot on the back of Natsu's shoulders.
And pushed the dragon face first into the river.
The dragon squawked and windmilled his arms wildly before he toppled into the water. He resurfaced a moment later, looking absolutely surprised by her sneak attack.
"And now you stink too," Lucy grinned down at him, unable to stop the smug expression from flashing over her lips.
She took a few steps backwards from Natsu, who was beginning to regain his bearings.
Slowly he edged himself to the riverbank, off the side of Aquarius' deluge. His fingers twitched into the soil when he pushed himself up.
"Blahblahblah," The dark smirk he favored her with sent a chill down her spine. Lucy remembered sometimes she shouldn't poke the sleeping dragon.
"All I hear is 'oh Natsu, please give me another dip in the toilet water,'" He growled, advancing towards her.
"Really? Is that what you hear? Did you get horse manure in your ears?" Lucy asked with a nervous smile. Secretly though, she was a little relieved to see his pensive look had disappeared under his petty thoughts of revenge.
She laughed, "Well I guess you're going to have to catch me first!"
"Get back here Lucy!"
We had some questions about how long this fic will be. Uh, right now it's looking to be at around 50-55 chapters. We have already written 39 chapters to their completion. I am 100% positive we are going to run out of book titles and are going to have to resort to some really obscure books.
Or super popular titles. Hahahaha, we'll have 'The Sorcerer's Stone' and the quote line will be 'Yer a wizard Lucy'
SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED - evernightlove - Cora-DragonSoul (Yeah this story has a lot of evolution) - Trollala.X (You. I like you. Join me in watching the world burn.) - The-Rosette-Wolf (Oh yeah, we are both up to date on the manga) - Marie Allen - KittyCrow12 (You have a marvelous day too! And probably around 50 chapters) - Johnny Spectre - Twishadowhunter - Animallover (You'll find out about Natsu's past ... soon.) - HalfBlackWolfDemon (Hahahahaha, we get to have other spirits soon. And don't worry. We needed laughter) - Snavej (You can hug him, but he may bite) - Chouxes - CodenameMise (I truly love that Lucy taking a piece of bacon brought you joy. Because out of context that sounds hilarious) - fanficlove2014 (All will be revealed soon) - LoneStorm (you lil' shit Mslead knows you like the Monsters. Don't worry, he has the gooey center somewhere) - eternalstarrlight (omg we love you. I agree with your analysis on Lucy. That is the crux of her character in this fic.) - kirby42280 - Wonderwomanbatmanfan - KawaiiLord (MAYHAPS) - NaluLuva23 - RokumonChan (We await your tears. They keep us youthful and beautiful) - Gaia Kame - Avengerika (Foreshadowing is everywhere in this fic hahahaaha) - artistofthemind (We update once every two days. And you'll have to find out who the Dragon of the North is) - oreobark - sarara1.8 - Kendran (HAHAHAHA, your comment is funny. For reasons.) - Princessatj (We agreeee) - the-clumsy-one - Trainofpeetas - Guest