I had fun with this. There might be a sequel.
This is unedited.
As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!
Lucy hated to admit that she was having fun, but she was. When Michelle had first broached the idea of sneaking off to see her new friend's fight club, Lucy had balked. There was no way she was going to risk her father's ire over something so dumb. Watching people beat the snot out of each other for money? The idea had never appealed to her.
Then her cousin had started talking about all the hot guys they'd see, the rush from sneaking out, and how sad she'd be if she had to go alone. Reminding Lucy of the danger of going alone had eventually convinced her to agree to the plan.
That was how she'd found herself here, in the middle of an exuberant crowd, trying to blend in in her only pair of jeans and an old sweater she'd borrowed from Levy, which, while enormous on her friend, was just barely big enough to fit her.
The crowd writhed around her, hot sweaty bodies heating up the air as their shouts and cheers echoed around the space. They were in some old warehouse in a shady part of town that Lucy had never been allowed to enter. Dust particles floated through the air as well as the smell of something stale, old and probably dead. Occasionally Michelle would grab onto her arm as she shouted, obviously having fun as she cheered and jumped with the crowd.
Despite herself, Lucy found herself grinning as she allowed her cousin to pull her along. The fighters had their hands taped and gloved up with fingerless mitts, nothing like the bare fisted brawling she'd expected. They appeared to be following some sort of rule set, although she didn't know what they were. Still, it was fun to watch. Despite using a lot of the same moves, each fighter seemed to have their own style, their own way of moving, and it was a treat to witness.
The ring cleared as the last match ended and Michelle squealed. "I won!"
"What?!" Lucy gasped as Michelle waved a ticket in her face. "Are you telling me you actually bet on someone!"
"Yeah! Did you see that black haired guy? He looked like he ate nails for breakfast! Of course he was gonna win!" She craned her neck to check out the newest pair in the ring. As the ref introduced the next pair, Michelle scoffed.
"Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to, but I'm just going to bet one more time. That pink haired dude looks like a pushover, there's no way he's going to win. Every other fighter has been serious, and that guy is grinning like he's about to go on a ride." Michelle grinned at her. "You wanna bet? I could turn it in for you."
Lucy frowned as she looked towards the ring. There was another man in the closest corner with black hair, albeit much shorter than the previous guy, but he was straight faced and serious as he lifted his hands to the cheering crowd.
Across from him, there was a pink haired man who was bouncing on the balls of his feet and grinning from ear to ear. When the ref introduced him, his grin expanded and he bounced even more. The crowd booed as his smirk expanded and he exchanged a few words with the other fighter. The black haired man flicked the man off, while he just laughed.
"He's so jittery, there's no way he's going to do well. It's obvious he's hiding his worry behind that fake bravado," Michelle said. "Last chance, you want me to put some money on the Ice Man?"
When Lucy didn't respond right away, Michelle took a step away, stopping only when Lucy grabbed her arm. "Here." Lucy stuck a fifty dollar bill in her hand. "Put it on the pink haired one."
"Salamander?" Michelle asked, surprised. "You want to bet on the Salamander?"
"Yes." Lucy continued to study him as her cousin walked away. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling that he wasn't actually jumpy, wasn't actually nervous. He looked excited and even though he was constantly in motion, she didn't think it was nerves.
He looked excited. He looked ready to fight and win.
It was the glint in his eye, so different from the others they'd seen so far. It wasn't cold or calculating; it was warm, happy, confident. Where the others had had a few scrapes, a few still bruised, he was completely untouched outside of a thin scar on his neck. He shook out his hands, which she noticed sported a lot less tape than the other fighters as well.
Michelle returned just as the ref moved to the center of the ring again. She handed Lucy her ticket just as the bell rang. In a blink, the Salamander was across the ring, on the offensive and crowding his opponent. The Ice Man managed to make a little distance before being cornered once more across the ring.
The crowd, the shouts, the smell all melted away as Lucy watched the fight. The Salamander moved differently from anyone else she'd ever watched. He was all aggression, constantly getting into his opponent's space, constantly on the move, constantly attacking. The Ice Man fought back, of course, but even when he was blocking the hits, the Salamander was still attacking as well.
Lucy got caught up watching the way his arms blurred from how quickly they moved. His muscles flexed and loosened, flexed and loosened, sweat beading up more and more as he moved. His feet were in on the action, too, constantly swinging out to try and trip his opponent.
He jumped back to avoid a kick to his midsection before getting close once more. The brief distance drew Lucy's gaze to his chest, where twin piercings glinted from their place in his nipples. The sight sent a flash of heat through her as he swung out twice more at the other's torso. As the Ice Man lowered his arms to defend, the Salamander swung his body in an arc. His torso swung downward, his hands taking his weight as one of his legs snapped into the air to collide with the other man's head. The Salamander regained his feet easily as the Ice Man crumbled. The crowd went absolutely wild as the ref checked the downed man. He tried to regain his footing, but only staggered and fell over again. He waved at the ref, who threw his hands up and announced the winner.
The air seemed to disappear from the room a moment before the crowd exploded. Jeers and cussing filled the air, punctuated only slightly but cheers. Michelle grabbed her arm and shook her, but Lucy barely noticed.
The Salamander raised his arms and walked a small circle around the ring, stopping when he met her eye. He was attractive, there was no doubt, with a chiselled jaw, smooth cheeks and straight nose despite his profession. His eyes were dark, so dark she couldn't tell what color they were. As she continued to stare, his smile slowly spread, his expression changing to one that made her insides heat up as she reminded herself to breathe. Mouth dry, her tongue came out to wet her lip, making the man grin even wider.
Michelle yanked on her arm just as someone cut in front of her, causing her to lose sight of the man as she was pulled away; the magnetism that had held their gazes broken. "I can't believe you were right! Did you see that guy?! He was an animal! The other guy barely got a hit in!"
"Ye-" Lucy swallowed, her dry throat not helped at all by her dry mouth. "Yeah…"
The remainder of the night passed in a blur. Lucy collected her earnings, nearly two thousand dollars, before rejoining her cousin in the crowd. Even though she tried, she just couldn't get into any of them the way she did before. None of the fighters drew her attention the way the Salamander had, and despite trying not to, she spent the entire night searching the crowd for him. A head of pink hair should have been easy to spot, but she couldn't find anything other than boring brown, black and blond.
As the last fight ended, Michelle pulled her quickly through the crowd and out of the building, her laughter still bubbling out of her. "That was so exciting!"
"Uh, Michelle?" Lucy tugged on her arm. "Didn't we come to see your friend? I thought we were going to meet someone."
"Oh, yeah no, that was a lie."
Lucy froze. "What?"
"I don't know anyone here," Michelle said. "I didn't think you'd come if I told you I'd just heard about this place."
"Michelle!" Lucy hissed. "We are two women in the most unsavory portion of town on our own with no help?!"
"Relax," Michelle responded, whispering as well. "I've got us covered." She opened her bag to reveal her hand, wrapped around the handle of a taser.
"Michelle, this was irresponsible!"
Michelle scoffed and pulled Lucy's hand through her arm. "We'll be fine. We're only three blocks from Main Street, what could happen?"
They'd only made it a block before they ran into trouble. They were walking quietly when they were both suddenly grabbed by something in the darkness and yanked into a pitch black alley. "Is that them?" asked a voice from the darkness.
"Sure is," replied the person holding Lucy. Panic was making it hard to breathe, so Lucy focused on her breathing as she was forced to her knees, same as Michelle at her side.
"So, did you and Salamander really think you could pull one over on me?" Lucy couldn't make out the person speaking, but it didn't matter since she couldn't find her voice anyway. "How'd you convince Gray to go along with it, huh? He's a good fighter, and while I know he vouched for the new kid, I also know there's no way he'd go along with something like this without good reason."
Michell tried to answer. "W-we don't kn-know what you're t-t-talking ab-"
A smack rang out and Lucy gasped as Michelle began to cry. "Look girly, lying to me isn't the way to play this, alright? I saw your friend here making googly eyes at the Salamander, so I know you know each other. I'm going to need you to hand over-"
Something slid across the ground and landed near Lucy's hip. When she looked down, she could see some sort of flashlight had landed next to her. The next second, the hands holding her still were suddenly gone. She caught herself as she fell forward, just in time for Michelle to be pushed into her. There was the sound of a scuffle behind her, but when she turned to see, it was already over.
Two men were laying in heaps on the ground and someone was standing over them. In the dark, she didn't recognize them, but when they met her eyes, she realized she recognized the eyes.
"Salamander, how nice to see you." A click behind her had Lucy whipping around to find a gun trained on the man who had just saved them.
"What the hell are you doing Porla?" came the response. The Salamander pulled his hood down, revealing a scowl. "Assaulting women on the street, really? Is this how you conduct business? Does Gray know you do this?"
"You don't have any room to talk, Salamander. I told you I don't tolerate cheaters in my ring."
Salamander scoffed. "And you think because someone made a good bet they cheated?"
"I saw the way you two looked at each other. You're obviously in cahoots together."
Lucy wanted to say something, but she couldn't seem to find any words. She wasn't even the one with a gun pointed at her! "Yeah, so I ogled a hot woman and you immediately assumed that we were working together?"
"That was more than ogling, boy, don't lie to me," Porla growled.
"Whatever." Salamander stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wallet, ignoring the way Porla tensed as he did so. "How much did you make?"
Lucy didn't realize at first he was talking to her, until he knelt down and drew her attention. "How much did you win?" he asked softly.
"T-two thousand," Lucy squeaked.
Natsu opened his wallet and pulled out a small pile of cash and stepped passed them to toss the bills at Porla's feet. "There, happy? Now you're not out anything." He snapped his wallet shut and returned it to his pocket.
"You know I only joined because Gray asked me to come with him on occasion. If you didn't want us to fight, you shouldn't have paired us up. I've been sparring with him for over half my life, I know his weaknesses." Lucy felt the air charge as he spoke, his voice growing more and more cold. "I'll let Gray know I'm not coming anymore, right after I tell him about this little instance. I can guarantee you he won't be coming back either. Good luck finding a new champ."
Still ignoring the gun, the man turned around and helped both women to their feet and then pushed them ahead of him as he remained between them and Porla as they returned to the sidewalk. Once they had turned the corner, he released them but remained a few steps behind. "I'll walk you guys to Main Street, just in case he decides to try and stop you again."
Michelle looked absolutely terrified as she held her hand over her cheek and continued to move forward, so Lucy turned toward the man. "Thank you for your help."
"It's not a problem. It's my fault anyway."
Lucy shook her head. "I don't see it that way."
"Well, if I hadn't been staring at ya, he wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea." He ducked his head as he rubbed behind his neck. "And I apologize for the way I talked about ya in the alley. I figured he'd respond to it better if I worded it that way, but I still didn't like saying it."
"I- it's okay, really," Lucy said, feeling her face and neck heat up. "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble."
"Nah, it's fine," he said, waving off her apology. "It was fun for a couple nights, but most of the fighters are real assholes. I only went to support my buddy. He likes to use the club as a way to destress when I'm not available to spar." He smiled at her, revealing a dimple in one cheek. "Are you two okay? I honestly didn't know he'd rough up women like that, or I'd never have joined."
Lucy tried to get Michelle's attention, but she appeared to be in shock as she remained unresponsive. Lucy eventually managed to move her cousin's hand and saw that her cheek was a little rosy, but her eye and mouth were fine and she didn't see any blood. She instantly felt bad about not being able to find her voice in the alley.
"I- I think she'll be okay. Nothing some ice won't fix."
"That's good." The man sighed as his phone rang. "Sorry, I have to take this. It's my buddy." Lucy nodded as he put the phone to his ear.
"Yeah?" After a beat, he spoke again, but in another language. If Lucy had to guess, she'd say Russian. She had a friend who was Russian and occasionally went off when she was angry so she could swear in public. He sounded angry, so she assumed they were talking about what had happened. Turning to her cousin, she tried once more to get her to talk.
It took her a bit, but eventually Michelle seemed to come to and looked at her with wide eyes. "Lucy, we were grabbed off the street and accused of fixing a fight!" Michelle's eyes lit up and she began to smile. "That was so invigorating! Can you imagine what the girls will say when we tell them about this? They're going to be so jealous!"
Lucy gaped at her cousin before winding up and punching her in the shoulder. Michelle squeaked, but Lucy didn't let her get away. She grabbed her cousin by the jacket and yanked her close. "This was a foolish idea, and we are never doing it again, do you understand? I don't know how you became such a thrill seeker, but I am not going to enable this behavior anymore! I refuse to be an enabler." Lucy yanked her forward, her anger burning hot through her.
"We could have been hurt or worse. I don't know why you find that so exciting, but you need to stop doing these kinds of things. I am not going with you next time, so don't even bother asking me, do you understand?"
Michelle whined as she was pulled along, but didn't fight her too much, knowing Lucy would need to cool down. It was always like this. Shock completely gone, she looked over her shoulder at the man following them to find him frowning at them, phone still to his ear. She grinned before leaning closer to Lucy. "So, I'll just make myself scarce."
"Wait, what? Why? Where are you-"
"Thank you for your help," Michelle said, whipping around. She kept her smile in check as she sincerely apologized to the pink haired man. No need to let him see how thrilled the evening had made her as she made her escape. Her cousin had obviously liked the man, and after what had happened in the alley, she approved. There was no other way to repay the man than to leave the two of them alone.
"I live nearby, but my cousin still has a bit of a walk," Michelle said standing straight again, doing her best to look concerned. "Do you mind making sure she gets home safe?"
"Uhhhh, sure?"
"Great! Thank you." Michelle pulled Lucy close for a hug and whispered, "You're welcome," before pulling away and hurrying off.
The man spoke once more into his phone before stopping at Lucy's side. "Is she going to be okay?"
Lucy fumed as she watched her cousin walk away. They'd come together in Michelle's car, and while she only had a couple blocks to go to get home, Lucy had nearly two miles to walk across town. Meeting the man's eyes, she found herself nearly caving.
He was the most handsome man she'd ever seen, and that wasn't including what she'd seen under his sweatshirt. The thought of spending more time with him intrigued her so much, she could feel her body flushing as her hands itched to reach out and touch him.
She'd never been affected by a man in such a way, and it honestly terrified her a bit. Not trusting herself, she began to follow her cousin. "I'm sorry for her, but I really don't need you to walk me home. She dragged me along, so she can take me back home. Thank you for being so willing though, uh, Salamander."
"Natsu," the man said with a little wave. "My name's Natsu, and really it was no problem. Uh, before you go-"
Lucy cut him off. "Sorry, if I don't go now, she'll get away from me and I really will have to walk home. See you around maybe," she called before dashing off after Michelle. She caught her a minute later, covering her cheek with makeup in the light from a shop.
"What was that?" Lucy hissed. "Leaving me with some strange man!"
"A hot strange man."
"Who could have kidnapped me for all you know!"
"Oh please," Michelle said as she put away her make up. "After that performance in the alley, I don't think you have to worry."
"Just take me home already," Lucy growled, dragging Michelle with her toward the car.
"Did you at least get his number?" Michelle asked.
"Why on earth would I do that?" Lucy asked.
"Because he was hot and interested!" Michelle answered.
"They always are," Lucy responded glumly. "Can we go home now?"
Michelle sighed but didn't say any more as they arrived at her car and got in.
Uh, before you go-
Lucy was quiet the rest of the ride, thinking about the man and his ridiculous hair, and the way he fought, how he had smelled, the flash of his nipple rings-
She shook the thoughts from her head as she left Michelle's car, giving her a little wave as she headed back through the rear gate to sneak back inside.
Impure thoughts aside, she needed to forget the man. Not only was he not someone she'd likely see again, even if she did, he wasn't the type of person she hung out with. There was no point dwelling on him.
Slipping into her bed later, she allowed herself one small fantasy before she slipped into sleep. One where they found each other again, cleared up the air and even started dating. She fell asleep to thoughts of those big hands holding her own, strong, firm lips on hers, and pierced nipples pressed against her skin.
And they did find each other again, each night for the next few weeks, safe in her dreams
Until…
Three weeks after she broke out with Michelle, Lucy stopped at a new coffee shop on her way to class. Teaching came with consistent hours, but she still somehow found herself running late once every other week. Without time to make her own breakfast, she decided to stop for a sandwich and coffee so she could make it through the morning.
She was waiting in line when she suddenly felt the hair on her arms stand up, her entire body tuned into the fact that someone was watching her. She scanned the shop, stopping once her eyes snagged dark green eyes beneath a mop of pink hair. A slow grin spread across his face as he mouthed a word at her.
Hi.