3RD PERSON POV - SATURDAY
Loke sat up from the bench and wiped his forehead with the towel next to him. He rested his arms on his thighs as he looked around the almost empty gym, he wasn't much of a morning gym person but he couldn't exactly say no to Lucy.
He glanced over at the boxing room and stood up with a brow raised as he reluctantly walked towards it. He peaked in and saw Lucy already going at it, pounding and kicking the boxing bag with furious force, the chain holding the sand-filled bag swung from each hit she gave it, which left Loke sort of shocked by what he was witnessing.
"Damn..." He muttered as he felt a chill go down his spine.
The blonde continuously punched it with red in her eyes, gritted teeth and a sole goal to just strike at the bag as hard as she could. Loke gulped as he watched her connect all her strikes and end with a final smack that shook the entire chain that was holding it, he never knew she'd have that kind of experience under her belt.
Besides watching her almost decimate a boxing bag, he felt like today was sort of odd, it was a Friday and instead of going straight to work to make sure the office had the necessities like milk, tea, coffee, and snacks, Lucy called Loke out to the gym in a tone of voice that he wasn't familiar with or the kind of tone that would have come from Lucy's mouth - at least from what he knows of.
"Sooo, are you going to tell me why you decided to punch the bag instead of doing your normal leg exercises?" Loke spoke up, walking into the boxing room with his hands on his hips.
He was trying to break the intense air and get her to speak. She's been mute ever since they got here, she didn't even offer to spot him like she normally does and just went straight to the boxing room.
Lucy paused in her boxing stance and glared at Loke, who just darted his eyes elsewhere.
"I get it... someone pissed you off, huh?" He said with a drop of sweat rolling down his head.
Lucy stared at him for a second, and pursed her lips before forcing a smile and responding with, "No, I just want to improve the speed of my jabs. An old teacher of mine said it's good practice for constant running as it improves footwork..."
"Uh-huh..." Loke responded, not quite buying her reason, but with the way she was hitting the boxing bag, he didn't want her transferring those hits to him if she ever decided she wanted to test her skill on an actual human, "Well, you've your yoga teaching sessions in about two hours, so you better hurry up,"
Lucy just stared at the boxing bag, as if she was deaf to Loke's words earlier.
"Lucy..." Loke rested a hand on her shoulder.
Without warning, the blonde quickly grabbed his arm, turned her back to him, and yanked his arm forward, completely flipping him over her. She had successfully just taken him down for whatever reason, and immediately, she snapped out of whatever trance she was in and rubbed her forehead.
"Ugh, Lucy... what the hell...?" Loke groaned as he moved over to his side.
She got to her knees and helped him up a bit, "Loke! I'm sorry... I was just... I-"
"It's alright... man, remind me not to get too close to you next time," Loke sat up and rubbed his back, "Seriously, who has pissed you off, Lucy? You're normally not like this,"
Lucy just stared at the ground, the question made her thoughts from the other day flood her mind, whilst Natsu's smile littered her thoughts, she never really spotted the root of her problem.
Or, she rather didn't want to pull that root that led to her ugly past.
"You're spacing out again, Lucy," Loke raised a concerned brow, he had never seen her like this.
He snapped his fingers and Lucy blinked a lot more.
"Oh yes, right," Lucy wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her arm and plucked her towel from the workout bench to dry her wet face, "You don't have to worry about me, it's just some family issues. I'll be fine,"
"If you say so, Lucy," Loke smiled gently and lightly rubbed her shoulder this time, "Just remember, I'm always here,"
"Thanks," Lucy nodded.
As the two walked side by side to their respective changing rooms, Loke tapped at his phone whilst Lucy was lost in her face. He glanced at her with a raised brow. He was concerned as to what or who has her mind so occupied right now.
With Lucy, all she could think about was the dinner from the other night and the way she felt when Natsu and her made out; his strong tongue, those soft yet firm lips, his hands held her so close that she felt like she belonged to him. Granted, he was drunk, but she didn't care, it felt good to finally feel the real touch of the man she's been dreaming of for ages.
Once she reached the changing rooms, she quickly stepped in and closed the door behind her. She walked up to her assigned locker and let out a sigh as she opened it, "Why can't I ever get my way in this hopeless life of mine,"
She let out a heavy sigh, to get rid of any anger she had welled up inside of her right now, she couldn't show that side of herself to her students at her yoga classes, or they'd begin to pry into her personal life and she'll have to listen to lectures upon lectures about how their husbands are so lazy.
Also, with the amount of work she put into getting to know and get close to Natsu, she didn't want to lose it all because of a misunderstanding.
But she was concerned.
"Why was Lisanna acting all needy the other day when she's just Natsu's best friend?" She muttered to herself.
Lucy threw on her gym bag with zero effort, gently walking to the exit as her mind wandered some more, she held the handle to the door and before leaving the changing room, she thought, "Is it possible that she likes Natsu as well...?"
She looked up at the ceiling, the bright white lights beaming down on her, "I've waited long enough. So no matter what, it's my turn,"
Loke waited for Lucy outside of the locker room.
He let out a sigh and glanced at his phone for a second before looking up from it after hearing the door open and seeing Lucy still in her gym clothes.
"Not changing? You must be up for another round of working out-" Loke laughed lightly but stopped once the blonde continued on walking without him, she had her head low and simply looked to be in a bad mood.
But Loke didn't see that and caught up with her, "Lucy! Wait up! Come on, tell me who has pissed you off, I'll let 'em have it,"
Lucy continued walking ahead, but spoke with some gentleness to her voice, "It's nothing, I'm just going to head to my next class. See you later, Loke,"
Loke stayed still as he watched her leave.
He always loved watching her leave, but this sudden sadness was new to him and thus he shouted out, "Was it Dragneel that pissed you off? If you want, I can knock his lights out for you,"
This made Lucy stop in her tracks, her hands clenching at her duffel bag strap as she remained with her back to Loke.
She remained calm and let out a large sigh before leaving the gym and leaving Loke completely confused.
"What the hell has gotten into her?" Loke raised a brow as she left the gym.
Elsewhere...
"Pew!" Lisanna said as she flicked the side of Natsu's head.
"Ugh, stop Liz, I've got to work," Natsu groaned as he sat on his bed with a laptop on his lap.
Lisanna was lying down beside him, "Geez, if I knew requesting a laptop for you from work was going to make you even less fun, I wouldn't have bothered,"
"Well, I have to work," Natsu grumbled as he slowly typed on the laptop.
"It's a weekend though, we should be hanging out somewhere else than your boring apartment," Lisanna pouted.
"You already know why I've got to work, Liz," Natsu said with a somewhat serious tone.
"Yeah, yeah," Lisanna rested her arms under her chin as she slouched onto the bed, "Should just let 'em die,"
"Watch it, Liz, he's still family," Natsu said without taking his eyes off of the screen whilst he tapped slowly at the keyboard.
"He's still a douche," Lisanna mumbled and remained in her place next to Natsu who was carefully tapping away at his Keyboard.
Lisanna looked around for a bit, her eyes laying on the kitchen, she then smiled and looked up at the pinkette.
"Something is going on between you and Lucy, isn't it?" She asked with a cheeky grin.
Natsu raised a brow, not turning his head to her and remaining still as he focused on his screen, "Are you still on this?"
"Please, Natsu, you two were doing something before Gildarts and I came with the table and chairs," Lisanna asked again, "Lucy's face was super red, it looked like you two were in the middle of making out,"
Natsu looked ahead, "What does it matter?"
Lisanna paused. Her eyes darting to the right before she wore a smile and looked back up at him, "I just want to make sure you are on the right track,"
"You don't have to worry then because Lucy and I are not up to anything. We are simply friends," Natsu rolled his eyes.
But did he really believe that though?
As much as he tried to push the agenda that he only saw Lucy as a potential friend, another part of him said otherwise.
Besides Lisanna, he's found someone who understands him through and through.
His mind did wonder about his moments with Lucy though, her wonderful lips and the way she moaned from his touch alone.
He's never been in control like that before... he's never had a woman whimper for his touch before, much less be needy for it like Lucy was last night.
Natsu stopped typing and looked at his hand, the same hand that felt the vibration of her heartbeat through her chest. The same hand that felt her soft breast, the hand she allowed to touch her like that.
She likes him.
A small smile formed on his face as he continued to work on the laptop.
"Besides, if something were to happen..." Natsu turned to Lisanna and smirked, "I'll know how to handle it,"
"Pssh," Lisanna rolled her eyes, "Just like you handled Cana..."
Natsu tutted, "My time with Cana wasn't that bad,"
"Yeah, getting you in debt, spending all your savings on booze and drugs was a spectacular time right," Lisanna replied with a sarcastic laugh before she made a small pout and looked away from Natsu, "How could you put up with her crap for so lon-"
"Whatever Liz, stop bringing up the past..." Natsu furrowed his brow, "Those times are way behind me now,"
"Then why were you asking about the Sabertooth Club yesterday? Hmmm,"
Lisanna asked him with a concerned tone, dropping the playful tone that she always uses to tease him, "I can tell what you're trying to do,"
Natsu closed the laptop and placed it in his backpack before he stood up and turned to Lisanna with a raised brow.
"You need to quit obsessing over my life, it's getting annoying now. Just worry about your crap, will ya?" Natsu grunted before walking towards his front door.
Lisanna sat up on his bed and raised her arms, "Where are you going?"
"For a walk. I need to think for a while,"
"Think about Lushee~?" Lisanna teased.
Natsu grunted once more, opened the door and shut it behind him. The door closing shut echoed throughout the walls, leaving Lisanna propped up on Natsu's bed with a small pout on her face.
She looked down at the bedsheets beneath her as she gently rubbed the soft duvets in a circular motion. Her sky-blue eyes appeared vacant and lost as if she was looking at something whilst also looking at nothing.
A slight breeze entered through the window behind her, the cream-coloured curtains blowing past her, her short hair following suit.
She stopped rubbing the duvets and the breeze passed; the curtains returning to their still position, and her hair no longer dancing in the breeze.
She slightly muttered, "I want a turn..."
Meanwhile...
Natsu walked with no intent of actually going anywhere, he knew most of the parts within and outside his neighbourhood, so he will recognise the route he needs to take home, not to mention he has his trusty phone to always help him with directions.
But this walk had him thinking about that email he received. He's been keeping it at the back of his mind ever since but the music keeps getting louder, ringing for him to take responsibility.
He knew that he HAD to respond or else a certain someone would start to-
His phone vibrated in his back pocket and he fished it out with ease as he continued strolling down the street.
He sighed as the Caller ID made his heart skip a beat and then he picked it up and raised it to his ear.
"Hey br- I mean, Professor Dragneel..." Natsu mumbled to the phone.
A formal voice with a calm yet condescending tone, spoke from the other side of the phone, "Natsu. I trust that you are well. Did you receive the email from the hospital?"
Natsu stopped at a crossing, looked left and right then crossed quickly, "Yeah, I got it…"
"Make sure you pick him up at the correct time. You know he does not like to wait," The voice said on the other side of the line.
"Yeah, about that, could you pick him up this time? I've got a lot of work to get to and-" Natsu started but was stopped once the man's voice spoke up once again.
"Make sure you're on time." The man said before cutting the call.
Natsu scoffed as he brought his phone from his ear, "Asshole,"
He continued on his walk and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. His sour expression was evidence enough that he was already dreading the encounter with the person he had to see later.
He shook his head to try and forget about it. He still had six hours to do whatever he pleased before that moment of dread came by.
So he decided to fill his mind with other things, and what better to think about than the other night... that situation with Lucy.
He's never felt so... complete with someone before, he only felt that completeness with Cana, but after their fall-through, no one hit that level for him. Lucy on the other hand... well, even though he was slightly drunk, he couldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy making out with her.
It just felt right.
He stopped at a certain building with a roof that blocked the sun from shining bright on him. He leaned against the wall and sighed, "I can't believe I was going to go past THAT line with Lucy though..."
"What is wrong with me? She's just my colleague, right?" Natsu asked himself, his mind boggled with what he should do with these unnecessary feelings that had arisen after spending such little time with Lucy, "Plus, we are just friends, I couldn't have caught feelings that quickly now, how pathetic,"
"Natsu?" That angelic voice called out to him.
He looked up and saw her, the woman that had been filling his mind for the past few days, the golden lady; Lucy Heartfilia.
She stood with her duffel bag on her shoulder and a bright glow in her eyes as she saw Natsu, and to Natsu's surprise, he felt that same glow welling up in his eyes as he saw Lucy.
"Oh! Hey Luce, heading to the gym, huh?" Natsu relaxed and walked up to her slowly with his hand on his head.
Her saddened and not-so-focused look soon disappeared and was replaced with a happy expression, her cheeks slightly tinted red as she happily responded to Natsu, "Actually, I just came from the gym now. I was working out alone,"
"Really? You could've at least asked me to spot you, you know. I've been keeping up with my regime as of late, so I can keep up,"
Natsu grinned happily which made Lucy slightly laugh as she enjoyed talking with him, just seeing his smile was good enough for her.
"I'll remember that for next time when I can find the number you supposedly gave to me," Lucy said jokingly, squeezing her eyes shut from all her laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, my bad," Natsu rolled his eyes and handed his phone to her.
She slowly opened her eyes and then took his phone into her hand, she tapped in her number, whilst taking small glances at the pinkette. She called the number and her phone rang in her duffel bag, then she happily handed him his phone, "Now, no more excuses~"
As Natsu went to take his phone back, his eyes locked in a daze with Lucy's.
After some intense staring, the two instinctively darted their eyes to look elsewhere, their faces turning completely red from their eyes meeting with one another because if they had to be frankly honest, they could've sworn that they felt each other's want for one another.
Natsu let out a large sigh, as he thought, "Let's just see how she reacts. I'm tired of beating around the bush here,"
"So, if you aren't too busy now, I was wondering if you would like to hang out today - just the two of us." He asked with a wide grin.
Lucy nodded without hesitation, looking like a deer lost in headlights, "Sure, I have nothing better to do..."
She held his hand immediately which made Natsu slightly raise a brow, but she simply smiled up at him and held his hand tighter, "I told you, I don't want to just be colleagues, Natsu."
To Be Continued