prompt sixty: start

rate: T for Teens and Up

Sixty out of one hundred.

inspired by that scene from shameless. iykyk

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." —Willie Nelson

x

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Natsu couldn't say his entire childhood was a disaster. He didn't spend his entire childhood years in pain or suffering. Mostly.

When he was only two years old, his house burnt down in a fire that not only killed his mother, but his father as well. His older brother was the one who was able to take him and escape just in time. That was the first time Natsu had ever witnessed death and the first time he's felt something so hot.

His heart wouldn't stop pounding and he was afraid it might burst through his chest as he stood there that one fateful night, bright flames engulfing his once beautiful home with everything he's ever loved turning into ash.

It was rough at first. Really rough. They were bounced around and separated for a little bit and then reunited in the orphanage a couple weeks later.

Strange adults he's never seen always trying to touch him and talk to him but he only wanted his brother and nobody else. He knew that Zeref was the only one who would be able to take care of him so he threw tantrums and screamed for his brother for days and weeks at a time.

Zeref was older but not by much. He was only five but very mature for his age. He remembered his mama saying how smart Zeref was and how much Zeref really liked to read. Natsu had no idea what those words even meant in those books and he had no idea why his older brother even liked to bother with them when it was just endless gibberish.

He thought it was stupid and pointless.

But he did enjoy the ones with the colorful pictures.

After six months of being at the orphanage, someone was meeting with Zeref. Next thing he knew, they were telling him that Zeref is going to go away.

Natsu was panicked about it, crying and throwing a fit. Zeref had tried to explain to him that it was okay and he would come for him but his reassurance didn't make him feel any better but it stopped his screaming.

Zeref explained that these two adults would be taking him away and giving him a better home and a better life. He said he'll come back for him once things get settled and he convinces them to bring him along as well but it might take a bit.

Natsu didn't want to be separated from his brother, again. He was almost three years old which meant he was one year older and he could definitely help if needed. He wasn't a stupid little two year old anymore. He can help!

But Zeref told him no and wiped his tears as he sobbed and begged him not to leave him and while his big brother held him tight, not wanting to let go as well, he was dragged out by the mean lady, again. Natsu cried and screamed, trying to claw his way to his brother while Zeref did the same, crying for his baby brother and telling him he'll be back for him one day and he loves him!

And that was the last time Natsu saw him.

He always asked and begged for the adults to tell him where Zeref had gone. Why was he left behind?

" Who would want a kid like you? All you do is scream and cry and destroy things."

The words hurt and Natsu didn't think it was so true. He was more than that.

But eventually days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before he knew it, Natsu had been at the orphanage for over a year and he was now reaching age five in less than a couple months. He didn't know how his life went on without his brother but it apparently did.

In and out did Natsu watch others meet with possible prospects and then either go or return. He had a couple of adults come to meet him, too, but Natsu didn't like any of them. Some of them were too proper and some of them were too loud. Some too tall and some too boring. Natsu had no idea that adults would be so weird.

They asked him a bunch of questions about himself but Natsu could only talk about his big brother.

It really steered them away from him but he didn't know better.

By the time Natsu had turned four, the majority of the people he knew were gone.

A lot of the kids came and went. There were some that were older than him that lingered and sometimes, but not all the time, would leave and not come back. Usually the younger kids were being snatched up and Natsu wondered why he wasn't ever taken like Zeref was.

Was he not worthy of such a nice life like Zeref said he was going to have?

Did nobody want him because he wasn't likable or was he just not ideal?

Then Natsu was four and he celebrated two years at the orphanage. Then four turned into five and five turned into six and just a couple weeks before his seventh birthday, someone had come for Natsu.

By this age, Natsu had turned into a bitter little boy who only knew the crushing weight of betrayal, abandonment, and loneliness. His brother never came back for him, his parents were dead, and he had no friends. Everyone he ended up befriending always left so he got tired of making new friends by the time he was five so he had been always alone, always angry.

Even so, even when he had potentials coming to see if he was adoptable, Natsu couldn't bring it inside of him to not be the angry little kid because that was all he felt.

Anger. Disappointment. Sadness.

What was so bad with him that nobody wanted him? He was Zeref's brother, why didn't they want him, too? Why did nobody?

But this guy was different. The moment Natsu laid his eyes on the man with unruly fiery red hair and a toothy grin, he knew he would be different.

He didn't ask him a bunch of questions like the others did and he even brought along some toys for him to play with. Natsu especially liked the toy dragon he brought and even liked it when he read him the book he brought.

And next thing he knew, this man was coming back to see him, again.

Natsu had no idea why. Nobody ever came to see him again.

But he did.

Again and again and again.

Until finally, it was Natsu's turn to leave.

Natsu didn't believe the big old mean lady when she came into his room one morning and told him to pack his crap. He thought they had finally gotten tired of him and didn't want him so Natsu was pretty upset until the same red-haired man with the same toothy grin stood at the door, waiting for him.

That was the first time Natsu ever found himself happy for a very long time.

He cried and cried and couldn't stop crying even when they had left the orphanage and even after he had finally come back home with this man.

This man, Igneel, who gave him a chance at life and kept returning to see how he was doing and then finally taking him away from that stuffy place he had to call home but wasn't his home.

Even though he was in a new place with a new dad (that's what they said he was), Natsu still missed his brother and his parents and thought of them often. Igneel never let him feel bad for not calling him dad nor did he ever make him feel bad for talking about his brother and parents. How much he missed them. How much they used to play together.

He listened and nodded along while giving him validation and that was the first time Natsu ever thought he could trust another adult besides his parents.

Growing up with Igneel was great. Igneel showed him the ropes of life and what it was to actually have a dad around and since Natsu was too young to really know and spend time with his actual dad, it was nice to know that this is what it would have been like.

Six had turned into seven and seven turned into eight and before Natsu knew it, he was turning twenty years old.

Natsu was immensely grateful for the man Igneel had turned him into and he was even more grateful that he had given him a chance. His childhood that was only full of death and anger had changed into happiness and joy.

But with traumatic pasts like his own, Natsu was thrown into challenges more than he should.

His adoptive father was a lone wolf who raised him with his own two hands. Natsu barely remembered a time he would have to be with another adult since Igneel tried to be present as much as possible.

But that didn't stop Natsu from spiraling once he got into his teens, again.

The one thing Natsu regrets the most is getting into that lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. He should have never indulged into such activities with such a past and temper like his own and before he was even seventeen, Natsu had a pretty heavy drinking problem.

And of course Natsu saw it as a problem since all his peers encouraged him and called him this party animal.

So he drank constantly and did stupid shit for many, many years till one day, when he was nineteen, he couldn't do it anymore. He was throwing up blood nearly every morning since he was drinking all day and night without really eating. He was feeling the heavy effects of it and itching for a drink the first thing in the morning. He was failing classes and getting fired from job after job.

It was probably the first time he's ever seen Igneel so disappointed and angry with him.

They fought all the time. Sometimes, it would be worse when he was plastered and trying to throw hands with his dad which always had him on the ground with his face shoved into the floor.

His dad begged him to get better. To stop this crap. Brought him to AA a couple of times which he bailed on more than once. Tried to get him into a rehabilitation center which had him running away from more than once.

And then finally, finally, Natsu had begun to see how bad alcohol was for him and he had made a pledge to never drink again.

Natsu got himself clean, straightened out his life, and went into the volunteer firefighting program which now led him into becoming a real firefighter.

And now at the ripe age of twenty two, Natsu was now finally figuring out how to live life without being so angry nor drunk.

"Dude, what? There's no fucking way you would win against a lion." His best friend's voice carried throughout the open garage where Natsu sat back against a lawn chair.

He had a cold cola in his hands and a cigarette in the other, watching his friend he has known since high school try and fix up an old 1980's vintage car. He's known Gray since he was nineteen, the two building a strong relationship since they met at AA together.

Gray was someone like him who grew up in a not ideal place and had scrummed to the urges of temporary release through alcohol and drugs. He was the one who really helped him and pushed him to get sober as well as he was, too.

Gray had become a paramedic which resulted in the two working together and meeting frequently. They liked to spend their off days together working on the car and or lounging around talking shit.

"Over a chicken every time I have to get into a car? No thanks. I'll just train for the lion."

"Dumbass," Gray clicked his tongue as he looked to scowl at his friend who loudly sipped on his can. "You'll get yourself killed."

"Not unless I train."

The ink-haired male rolled his eyes as he set down his wrench and came over to the rosy-haired fireman, plopping himself down on the other lawn chair while Natsu slid over a cold soda.

The two of them sat there, admiring the vintage car while sipping their drinks in silence.

"By the way, I wanted to ask a favor."

"Sorry, I don't like men but I'm sure I can find someone for you if you're that desperate."

"Not that, idiot," Gray hissed, kicking at his chair which made Natsu snicker. "It's something to do with the AA." He sighed while running his hand through his hair. "You know how I'm a sober companion?"

"No, I don't even know what the hell that is," Natsu furrowed his brow.

"To put it simply, I get paid to be someone's sober companion. So basically I am someone who helps the other person not drink."

"Paid? How much we talkin'?" Natsu perked up to see his best friend take another swig of his drink before placing the can down by his feet.

"One hundred an hour."

Natsu's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, turning his body to face him even better to give him his undivided attention.

"So, what? You need me to cover?"

"Yeah," he let out a sigh, smacking his lips together. "I didn't realize I have an emergency shift for the next twenty four hours and I know you just finished your last twenty-four hour shift and have the next two days off so I was wondering if you could do me a solid by doing it."

"Is it something that I can do?" Natsu asked, making Gray nod his head.

"You're a member of AA so it won't be an issue, especially since you have been sober for more than two years." Natsu slowly nodded, realizing how long it truly has been since he had a drink in him. "All you have to do is make sure the client doesn't drink. Sounds simple enough, right?"

Natsu lifted one shoulder up, "I guess so."

"Great! So, you can, right?"

"Sure, for one hundred an hour, I think I can do it."

"I'll send you the information right away." Gray said, phone already pulled out and relaying his recent conversion to the fireman. "Thanks, man, I owe ya."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu sipped from his can. "Not like I have anything else to do. Might as well make some money for it."

—X—

Natsu didn't know squat shit about being a sober companion. He had sponsored some people in his AA but that was always a disaster. He didn't really consider himself someone wise nor supportive but quitting alcohol definitely was a hard thing to do so he understood. He was like them in the beginning, where he would say he would quit and then end up drinking the very next day.

But sponsoring someone and being someone's sober companion for a day was completely different.

For one, he was getting paid for it and two, this was temporary. Of course he would do his job to the best of his ability because this was Gray's side gig and if he was good to do this once, maybe he could do it again in the future.

It didn't seem so hard to follow someone around and ensure they weren't drinking. It was almost as if he was babysitting.

So Natsu didn't think so much into it as he walked down the halls of the hotel, noticing how nice the place was compared to the others he's been inside of. He's never been inside of a five star hotel like this and walking down the evntravant carpeted halls with no trash or graffiti in sight, he wondered who this person was for them to need a sober companion.

Could it be some rich asshole? Maybe some rich asshole's kid who needs monitoring?

Either way, Natsu would be able to handle it even if they were a runner. He had the build and strength to overpower someone even if they were twice his size. Natsu ran nearly every day for the last three years so he had endurance too.

Finally reaching the hotel room, Natsu looked down at his phone one last time to make sure he was at the right place before he slipped the device into his pocket. He cleared his throat before knocking on the wooden door, his knocks echoing down the hall in an eerily fashion.

He tapped his foot on the ground, eyeing the decoration and area around him as he waited for the said person to open up.

Once the door did unlock and it swung open, he had to stop his jaw from touching the ground.

"Can I help you?" She snapped at him, irritation clear as day on her face with her eyebrows knitted together and lips pressed into a tight line.

The obvious signs of discomfort and Natsu knew very well how she was probably feeling.

With golden locks loosely framing her heart shaped face, Natsu was surprised to see such a beautiful woman with wide chocolate eyes looking up at him. Small frame and shorter than him, Natsu had to look down at the irritating looking woman who seemed to be growing even angrier with him just standing there staring at her.

"Look, whatever it is, I'm not interested so you can be on your way out." She took a step back to shut the door in his face but Natsu was quick to slam his palm against the door and stop it.

She looked at him in surprise, a flash of fear running across her face.

"Wait, no! Sorry," he cringed, removing his hand and giving her a sheepish look. "I didn't mean to scare you. I, uh, I'm Natsu. Your sober companion?"

She stood there for a second, blinking at him and looking as if she was calculating. Her eyes dragged up his figure before landing back up on his face and he worried she might scream.

"You're the sober companion?" She quirked a brow and he slowly nodded. "Well, I don't need one."

Natsu was baffled at the way she turned her head away and scoffed, her grip on the door tightening.

"That's not what I heard."

The way she whirled her head over to shoot him a glare almost had him running for the hills. This woman was scary.

Scary hot.

"Listen here buddy, I don't need a goddamn sober companion. I am perfectly fine and I do not have a drinking problem." She took a step forward to get in his face, poking her sharp fingernail at his chest while hissing the entire time. Natsu held his hands up in surrenderance, leaning back with her movement as she was getting closer. "Just go tell my agency you did the job and get paid, kid. I don't need you."

She tried to close the door again but Natsu stuck his foot out to wedge it between the frame and door, earning a frustrated groan from the blonde.

"I am not a kid, ma'am, and I have a duty to fulfill so I won't be leaving anytime soon."

"Ma'am?" She echoed, almost as if she was offended. "Just how old do you think I am?!"

"You called me a kid, how old do you think I am?"

A moment of silence was taken as they stared at one another and then she finally groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. Natsu flinched with the movement, unsure if she was going to hit him but let his shoulders sag in relief once she turned and stormed back inside her hotel room. He eyed the open door, unsure if she wanted him to follow her in or just left in a hurry without closing her door because she was that frustrated.

Wanting to choose the latter, Natsu quickly entered the room and shut the door gently behind him.

This hotel room was nice. With nice plush carpet under his feet, the wide open spaced room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city was magnificent. She even had a nice couch pushed to the side wall with a massive king size bed in the middle. A small desk, television and even a desk for her convenience.

He could see her suitcase was on the ground, a pile of clothes right on top of it was its mess was subjected to that one corner.

"Nice place you got here," he let out a small whistle, his hands shoved into his pocket. He only got a glare in response as the woman climbed back into the unmade bed, snatching at the hardcover novel before tucking herself back in.

He just nodded his head, understanding she didn't want to talk to him or even be around him at this point but he just ignored her hostility and walked further in.

The TV was on, playing a small background noise. He wasn't sure if she was truly reading or if this was what she was doing prior to his intrusion but he kept his guard up and eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

"So, what's your name?"

"What's it to you?" She spat back, keeping her eyes on her novel.

Natsu rolled his eyes, wondering how he got stuck with this drama queen out of all the others. Gray told him it was usually older people and men that he watched over. The real wealthy or even someone part of AA that needed assistance but this woman clearly wasn't in any need of assistance beside the fact that she can't handle her drinking habit. She was in denial about it so she was still early in her recovery but she did not look any parts like the alcoholics he's run into.

She was well polished and clearly she had some sort of money to be staying at a five star hotel like this one.

"Well, considering I'm going to be with you for the next twenty-four hours, I feel like the least I should know is your name, yeah?"

The loud sigh of her exasperation reached his ears and he saw her now pressing her forehead against her knees, her small figure bundled up with blankets.

"It's Lucy." She murmured and Natsu nodded his head.

"Natsu." He responded back and he didn't even get a grunt as a response. "So.. what brings you to Magnolia?"

"Is this going to be a thing?" She suddenly asked making him look at her in confusion. "This." She repeated, pointing between her and him. "You trying to sit here and talk to me and try to squeeze some sob story out of me and then you try to relate by giving me your sad pathetic life story so we can become friends or something?"

Natsu sat there staring at her, blinking stupidly as she gave her a flat look.

"Like I said, I don't have a drinking problem and my agency is just flipping shit for no reason."

"You said agency? What agency are you part of?"

She hesitated for a bit, looking as if she didn't want to tell him before she sighed again.

"A modeling agency."

Natsu snapped his fingers, pointing it in her direction as he suddenly now remembered where he had seen her face before. "You're Lucy Heartfillia!"

"Yes," she responded in a monotone voice.

"Wow," Natsu nodded his head, curling his hand under his chin. "I would have never guessed that the Lucy Heartfillia had a drinking problem…"

"I do not have a drinking problem!" She screeched and it made him cringe a bit with the volume of it.

"Then why else would your agency make you have a sober companion?" He asked while shoving a finger in his ear to stop the ringing.

Lucy clicked her tongue in disapproval, crossing her arms as she leaned back against her headboard. She turned her head away from him but he could clearly see the annoyance stretched across her face and the venom that was laced between her words.

"It was one time and they freaked out. It's literally just alcohol. I don't know why people continue to give it such power like that. It's just like flavored water!" She threw her arms around, scowling at nothing in particular while Natsu listened. "I accidentally ruined a whole photoshoot one time because I had too many drinks. Tripped over some wiring and flung someone into one of the photographers which led to him throwing his camera and hitting the lights and then a fire almost burning down the studio."

Natsu's jaw dropped while he listened to her casually tell him she almost burnt down an entire studio. The firefighter inside of him wanted to ask so many questions but he kept it to himself, afraid if he spoke too soon, she might shut down.

"And they flipped out on her telling me I have some drinking problem when I clearly do not." She scoffed in disgust, her palms clenched into fists. "And then adding some kind of stupid babysitter to watch over me while I am here? Do they really think that low of me?"

"I don't think they think low of you, I think they're just trying to help you and your career. It's not easy quitting alcohol."

"I don't need to quit alcohol, I'm not an addict." She repeated, her frustration just growing. "Addicts drink all day and don't even have a job to carry on because they're so addicted to drinking. I have a job and I certainly don't drink all day!"

"But you drink every day?"

"What person doesn't like to wind down after a hard day at work with a drink or two?" Lucy scoffed as if it was the most obvious thing. "Who cares if I like to spend my nights drinking a glass or two or something strong. The work I do is not that easy!"

Natsu pressed his lips into a tight line as he continued to listen to the several excuses this model was spewing his way. He knew it all and he's pretty sure he's said the same lines before.

Nobody ever wants to admit or think of themselves as an addict. It's hard to admit something like that and especially for someone of Lucy's reputation, she clearly does not want to see that even if it was to wind down after a long day, she was still drinking every day.

"Literally everyone drinks. I'm not out here getting plastered and running down the street in my birthday suit. I made one mistake and they decided to flip shit."

Natsu knew she was lying to him because there is no way she only messed up once for them to stick her with a sober companion. There had to be more to it and with Lucy being in denial and all flustered, he knew she wouldn't properly explain to him what else had happened.

"Ugh, all this stress makes me want to have a drink." Lucy pressed her palms against her eyes, rubbing at them.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Who cares what you think? You don't even know me." She scoffed while throwing the sheets off her, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "One drink isn't going to hurt me."

"It will, trust me." Natsu stood as she stood as well, the model rounding the bed for her to come over to her desk. Seeing how she grabbed for her purse, he came right over beside her, placing a hand on her arm where she flinched. "Don't do this."

"Get off me," she flicked his hand off, her eyebrows knitted together. "Stop giving alcohol so much power, it's literally just a liquid. It's not going to kill you."

"Even water can kill someone if they drink too much of it at once."

"It's one drink." She repeated, planting her hands on her hips to look up at him. "I don't have anything to do all day besides that charity ball thing tonight so I can have plenty of time to sober up and even take a nap if I need to."

"Yeah, and that one drink turns into two and then three and then next thing you know, you're dancing on top of tables and getting cussed out by your agency," he grabbed her wrist when she tried to walk away.

"Hey, let go! Who do you think you are?!"

"Your sober companion and I'm not going to let you go and ruin your life by drinking yourself to death." His grip tightened when she tried to yank her arm away and she scowled at him.

"I said it's one drink!"

"What part of sober don't you understand?"

"How much are they paying you? I'll pay you double right now if you leave."

Natsu narrowed his eyes her way, seeing how serious she was about her offer by the desperate look on her face. He could see her hairline beginning to moisten and how antsy she was growing. How long has it been for her since she last had a drink? Not long if she's acting this way.

"I'm good," he rejected her offer, making her face fall even more. "How about we do something else instead?"

"Fine!" She yanked her arm free from him, growling. "Fine, we'll have it your way. I'll just go back to reading." She hissed and she shoulder checked him while brushing past and Natsu merely rolled his eyes while shaking his head.

He stood by the desk to watch her kick her shoes back off her feet and climb into the massive mattress. The scowl didn't leave her face nor did she stop cursing under her breath but at least he got her to get back into bed and not have a drink shoved down her throat.

He knew no matter what she said, she'll probably try again a little later to weasle herself to a drink. He won't let that happen but she can certainly try.

Natsu felt like he really had to try his best here and not only because he was getting paid a buttload of money but also because he was doing this for one of his friends. He didn't want Gray to get kicked off this shit because of him and Natsu definitely wasn't going to let a fellow addict spiral on her own. He truly did want her to get better and he knows how hard it is to even get out of it but he was willing to try his best for her own sake.

"I'm going to use the bathroom real quick. Why don't you look for a place so we can have lunch or something?" He asked but Lucy ignored him, keeping her nose in her novel. Natsu merely rolled his eyes but made his way over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him before he looked at himself in the reflection.

All this talk about alcohol was making him want to drink as well but he knew that was out of the question. He hasn't had a single drop of alcohol in the last three years and he was trying to keep it that way.

Lucy wasn't going to be easy to keep sober but he could manage just fine. She wasn't even half his size and he could easily body her if he wanted to.

Undoing his belt, Natsu went to do his business when he suddenly heard something from the other side of the door. He stood frozen, listening to what sounds were occurring and as he stood there, he heard the sudden slam of a door and his eyes widened.

Quickly zipping his pants back up and unlocking the door, Natsu slammed the door open to look around frantically.

Seeing how he was the only one in the hotel room and the said blonde was now missing with her purse, Natsu could only stand there in disbelief.

That little…

Running to the door, Natsu swung open the door to look down the halls. When he turned his head to the left, he saw a flash of golden. Squinting his eyes, he saw the said blonde model enter into the elevator and when their eyes locked, he could see her eyes widen before she was slamming on the buttons of the elevator.

Natsu squinted down the hall, shouting at her to stop but she was just panicking while jamming her finger against the buttons. The doors began to slide shut and Natsu stuck his hand out to reach for her but he was a second too late as the doors shut, leaving him heaving on the other side of the doors.

"Fuck!" He shouted and as he ran his hands through his hair while looking around for the emergency exit, he could only shake his head. "Gray, I'm going to fucking kill you." He hissed before he sprinted towards the stairway. "If I fucking survive."

X

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tbc