No matter where she turned, eyes were trained on her. She felt disgusting. She felt confused, hurt and surprisingly accepting. The jumble of emotions was enough to have her contemplating making a sprint back to her apartment, the looks she'd get be damned; too bad luck was never on her side.
"Found it," Natsu cheered, gripping Lucy's wrist, and yanking her through revolving doors. The blonde didn't struggle or resist, instead picking her eyes off the floor for a second to look around. A steak house. Lucy zoned out the hostess' greeting and the eyes that flicked in her direction before bouncing away. She kept her eyes trained on the floor as they were led to their booth.
"Thank you," Lucy sighed out once she slid into the cushion, at least now it would be harder to get a look at her. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them and then crossed them again; she couldn't help that she was squirming in her seat. The young CEO felt sticky and was sure she still had cum leaking out of her; it was humiliating. The bench cushion dipped, and Lucy snapped her head up, watching Natsu slide in next to her and lean into her space.
"What's the matter Luce? You haven't said a word on the way here." The pink haired man pouted, "You mad about your underwear?" Lucy turned her face away from his. Her discarded underwear was the last of her worries. Or it was until he mentioned it: how embarrassing it was going to be for the person who found it: shredded and discarded. "Luce?" Natsu sighed, tugging on her braided ponytail.
"I said I didn't want that." Lucy finally answered, her face still turned away from him. She had to bite her lower lip hard to keep it from trembling. She was NOT going to cry in public.
"Did you?" He hummed, scooting closer so he could press kisses along her neck. "You sounded like you liked it Luce, you acted like you liked it. What's the big deal? You felt good, didn't you?" Natsu asked, wrapping an arm around her waist to tug her into his side and continue to affectionately nuzzle her neck.
She had, hadn't she? Was that all there was to it though? She'd felt great after she'd relaxed and that thought made her even more distraught. Lucy wanted to excuse herself to go to the bathroom but didn't feel comfortable walking through the restaurant.
oOo
"I think it's time to move my father's hoard," Natsu said around a yawn.
For the first time since Natsu had crashed into her life Lucy felt like she could breathe. She looked at him sprawled out on her couch without really seeing him. The blonde had been attempting to read emails and get her recent proposal together but had found herself staring blankly at the computer screen. She was still unsure of how to feel. Still upset and disgusted. Still hurt.
"Hoard?" she asked slowly. Natsu just grunted. Lucy couldn't tell if it was meant to be dismissive or affirmative, regardless it didn't answer her question. She went back to her task at hand, her fingers flying over the keys. She finally found the energy to get work done. Monday was just a few hours away and she'd barely gotten anything done.
"All of my father's treasures," Natsu finally said, and Lucy heard the couch shift but didn't look away from the screen. "Gold, jewels, and item's he liked or that my mother liked so he grabbed those too."
"What do you do with all that…stuff? Why collect it?" the blonde mumbled absentmindedly.
"Why not collect it?" the pinket breathed against her neck, causing Lucy to jolt and turn to look over her shoulder at the same time his chest pressed against her back and his hands landed on the counter on either side of her. She was caged in with nowhere to go. "The more 'stuff' a dragon has the more successful they are, think about it like a CEO with a profitable business."
"Ok?"
"Hoards are also a way to capture the attention of potential mates," he punctuated with a gentle nuzzle of his nose against her cheek. Lucy was quick to turn her face and huff; she didn't understand why she was blushing. "Ask me nicely and I'll happily bring you back something!" He finished eagerly.
"I'm fine."
"Don't be like that Luce!" The rumble from Natsu's chest vibrated into her ribs, it was a curiously ticklish feeling that had her giggling involuntarily. "I'm not too keen on leaving you alone, but I don't think I can take you with me." He pushed away from the counter and wondered back to the fireplace in the living room. She watched as he threw a few logs from the holder into the hearth, as he took a deep breath in and then blew out a small stream of fire. He smiled when it lit and then stretched. "Come here."
"I'd rather sit here and get work done."
"You either come to me or I'll haul you up and drag you over here. I don't like asking twice." Natsu countered and Lucy didn't like the glint in his eyes. She got up reluctantly and made her way over to him. She eyed the fire warily the closer she got to the fireplace; the heat it was putting off was hotter than she was used to.
"What?" the blonde asked after stopping a few feet from him and continuing to eye the fire warily. She had a bad feeling.
"Good girl, Luce." Natsu chuckled, reaching out to grab her arm and drag her closer to him. Lucy attempted to pull her wrist from his grip and grumbled when his hold tightened. "I just want to see something." She could only stare in abject horror as she was pushed closer to the fire raging in the hearth; when she pulled back Natsu stepped behind her, using his body to continue to push her forward.
"Natsu!" Lucy frantically cried out. She continued to try to wrench her wrist from his hold and closed her eyes. She didn't want to witness her skin being burnt off her hand. Her fingers already felt like they were on fire, the heat was blistering. "I don't know if you're aware but I'm NOT FIREPROOF." Her outburst was met with a low snicker.
"Open your eyes." Natsu's voice rumbled into her ear. "Come on, don't you trust me?"
"No," Lucy answered honestly, yet she found herself squinting through one eye. With a shriek both of her eyes flew open, and the blonde attempted to yank her hand from the center of the fire.
"See, you're fine." The drake commented while maintaining a strong grip on her arm as he pulled her hand from the fire and inspected it. "No blistering, just a slight pink tint. Interesting. Wasn't really expecting that."
"You stuck my hand into the fire without knowing exactly what was going to happen?"
"Kinda," Natsu brushed off while letting go of her arm and directing her away from the blaze. The stare he leveled on her had the next few words shrivel up in her mouth. "If you need me Luce, light the fireplace and I'll come right back. Understood?" Lucy just nodded and he directed a rather feral looking smile in her direction before continuing, "If you miss me light a candle and I'll make it up to ya when I get back."
"Miss you?" Lucy challenged. Why on earth would she miss a man who forced her into situations that she should never have been in. He raised an eyebrow at her and when she held eye contact, he laughed heartily.
"Geez Luce, you really know how to wound a man's pride." Natsu barely managed to get out between bouts of laughter. Lucy only narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd be damned if he made her feel like an idiot about her own feelings. He shrugged off the implication in her tone and took a step towards the fireplace. "Remember what I told ya Lucy: light the fireplace and I'll be right back, light a candle and I'll make it up to you."
"I heard you the first time," she huffed dismissively. Lucy found herself sucking in a breath when he took a step into the fireplace. The fire flared brightly and with one last fangy smile: Natsu was gone, and the fire went out in a plume of smoke. Lucy stood rooted to the spot blinking a few times; it was sometimes hard for her to wrap her mind around the fact that he wasn't human, which was funny considering she just watched him breath fire. "This whole magic thing is still so weird to me," Lucy mumbled as she headed back to her laptop.
oOo
The FairyTale sign sat crooked. Lucy could only stare as a gust of wind sent the sign swinging accompanied by a loud grating sound. She'd been hoping to see and talk to Levy, after trying her cell and getting an out of service message but it seemed her luck still wasn't holding up.
"What now?" the young blonde sighed as she shifted from one foot to the other in the alley; it obviously wasn't wise to hang out here longer than she needed too so she turned back the way she came. She quickly ruled out going back to her townhouse, it was a lot quieter than she was used too; especially since Natsu decided to crash land into it and that unsettled her tremendously. "Maybe the coffee shop down the street? Or I could also go to the office…" Lucy continued to mumble to herself. Neither option sounded appealing to her. With a loud groan that garnered a few glances from the people around her, Lucy started up the bustling street. The blonde faltered slightly in front of 'Takeover' but kept moving with a shake of her head; clothes shopping wasn't going to help her jumbled thoughts. She scanned the names of the surrounding storefronts, dismissing them as she walked. Nothing was catching her attention, maybe it was time to head to the coffee shop.
"LAYLA!"
"Not Layla," had Lucy stopping short. She glanced around but couldn't spot who was talking and worse for her, no one else seemed to have heard the shout. "Lucy…" was whispered almost lovingly and Lucy found herself staring at a worn oak door that read 'A. Antiques'. With a shake of her head, she was about to keep walking when she heard her name again, this time pleadingly; the tone made her hesitate. It sounded so…familiar but she couldn't place her finger on like she had no choice, Lucy pushed open the door and stepped into the dimly lit shop. Her eyes bounced from one pile of trinkets to another before landing on a desk positioned in the corner.
"Welcome! Looks like my cards were right when they said I'd be meeting a star child today," a curvy brunette in a bikini top greeted Lucy from behind the desk, "they didn't mention how pretty you'd be though."
"Ah, hello." Lucy managed to choke out. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to look at this strange woman's eyes or watch her hands expertly shuffle the cards within their grasp, "I was just looking."
"You were called here," the other woman corrected bluntly but not rudely. Lucy couldn't place her finger on it but her demeaner reminded her a bit of someone she'd briefly met. This woman was confident without being arrogant and exceptionally gorgeous. "Take a look around and see if you can find what drew you in. My names Cana."
"I'm Lucy," the blonde answered automatically, and she didn't miss the interest that lit up the dark eyes that traveled the length of her body.
"Lucy huh? Nice to meet you." Cana said breezily while leaning back into the chair she occupied. Lucy took that as her que to head deeper into the shop. She picked around beautifully cared for furniture and vintage mirrors. She ogled sophisticated gowns and timely jewelry and found herself sighing dreamily at the jade tea set that reminded her of something her mother would have loved; it matched her urn after all. Next to the tea set a collection of golden keys seemed to glow and Lucy was instantly smitten.
"How beautiful," the blonde hummed as she extended a finger to stroke the rounded key head of the one marked as 'leo'. Lucy was quick to pick out the astrological themes stamped into them and felt a fondness for their unique beauty. "Leo, Aquarius, Cancer and Scorpio." She named as she traced the symbols etched into each individual and uniquely designed keys. Without thinking she picked up the key ring that kept them all together and made her way back to the front. For some reason she couldn't fathom leaving them here, in a place where people wouldn't appreciate them.
"Found something that speaks to you?" Cana said around a burp. She sat up rather gracefully, placing the flask back under the desk and wiping the back of one of her hands across her mouth. "Oh, well I'm not surprised."
"I was also interested in that jade tea set back there," Lucy said with a smile, "But I'm not to sure if I can take these keys yet. Do you know if they went with any of the furniture?"
"Not that I know of," the brunette answered with a shrug, "I can make them as reserved and check that out for you if you'd like? That way no one else can purchase them. Want me to pack up the tea set for you now?"
"Please and thank you." Lucy was practically glowing with happiness. Cana stared at her for a moment before holding her hands out for the keys; the shop keep could barely keep her expression neutral as she watched Lucy struggle with handing over the keys, obviously reluctant to let them out of her grasp. The keys were placed gently behind the desk, on a shelf out of sight before Cana stood up to gather the tea set Lucy had indicated.
"Alright," Cana ground out around a giant yawn, "that'll be $150. And if you leave me with your number I'll call you as soon as I know a bit more about these keys and if they come with anything else."
"Thank you," Lucy sighed while handing over the cash and then jotting down her number on customer contact sheet that was pushed in her direction.
"No, Thank you! These keys are excited to go back home."
The walk home didn't help the nagging feeling that she'd seen those keys before. They'd been so distinct in their design it would have been hard for her to mistake them for other things but she couldn't seem to remember no matter how hard she wracked her brain. Lucy also couldn't shake the feeling it might have to do with her mother, considering she'd heard her name outside of that store.
"I'm never going to get work done at this rate," Lucy groaned as she started the water for her bath. She poured in lavender scented bath soap and, without thinking, lit the candle on her counter. As the tub filled and the scent of lavender and vanilla filled the bathroom, Lucy stripped out of her clothes. She was careful to fold them neatly and sit them on her toilet lid before sinking into the tub. It was exactly what she needed in that moment. The hot water helping to relax her tense muscles and sooth away the stress of the past few days. "I forgot what it was like without Natsu in my space," Lucy grumbled.
With the mention of his name, the candle flame jumped and the mark on Lucy's hand warmed enough to make her flinch. It didn't hurt but it was hard to ignore. She brought her hand out of the water and closer to her face to inspect; the flame shaped mark looked darker than she was used too and was hot to the touch in comparison to the rest of her skin. She frowned and fanned her fingers through her hair before piling it on top of her head and sinking deeper into the tub. She didn't want to think about that…."Pushy jerk. Domineering asshole!" was punctuated with a slap to the top of her bath water. "Why am I even THINKING about him?!"
Lucy pushed Natsu out of her thoughts and attempted to actually enjoy her bath. The candle flickered excitedly in the corner, forgotten by the distracted blonde.