"Keep your hands off her, you bastard." Anger ripped across Natsu's face like a fiery storm while his hands clenched in threatening fists at his side. He took his eyes off the drunken man to look at Lucy and his dark eyes softened.
"Are you alright, Luce?" His voice came out soft and concerned, but his tense body didn't relax, ready to finish what he started. Lucy nodded shortly, trying to focus on Natsu and what had just happened to her.
The drunk man squabbled up from the floor, his lips and nose bleeding from Natsu's impact. Lucy shook, unable to move from her spot on the wall.
"Who the hell are you?" The man sneered, spitting his blood out on the floor.
"The guy who's going to break your face in if you don't pay up," Natsu growled, moving in front of Lucy now. He'd seen the horrified look on her face and how she quivered where she stood, unable to process what was going on. Natsu knew she had probably never been in any kind of fight; he kicked himself for leaving her alone. This wouldn't have happened if he wasn't stuffing his face with cookies.
The vile man looked Natsu up and down, analyzing if he'd win the fight against him. Somewhere along the line, he decided he wouldn't be able to take the hot headed pinkie, reached into his back pocket and pulled out a roll of bills. He handed Natsu fifty thousand jewels Natsu tucked the money away in his back pocket with nothing but irritation on his face and an intent to break something. Before the drunk man could turn to walk away, Natsu grabbed him by his tank top and jammed him into the wall, the way he had done to Lucy only moments ago.
"Apologize." Natsu snarled, jerking his head in Lucy's direction behind him.
"What, no-" The man, about to protest, felt Natsu's grip tighten and swore he could feel the pink-haired boy's skin heating up, hot enough to burn. Quickly, the drunk man made a wise decision.
"I- I'm sorry." The man trembled in Natsu's grip, unable to look either of the rent collectors in the eye. Natsu released his iron grip and let the man scurry back into the safety of his apartment, reminding him of the petrified mice Happy would chase in the streets. Natsu turned to Lucy who still hadn't moved a muscle. He reached for her, putting his arm around her back and guiding her to the lobby of the building.
"Wait here." Natsu smiled lightly, sitting her down on a leather bench in front of a bed of blooming indoor flowers. Natsu ran off somewhere down the hall and was gone for a total of ten minutes, returning back with the last of the rent collections and a chocolate bar in his hand. He quickly walked Lucy out of the building, taking her about a block away before offering her the chocolate bar he bought from the lobby's vending machine.
"Here, for finishing up the first job." Natsu cracked a grin at Lucy that made her want to forget the man in at the apartment building.
"But I didn't finish, I..." Lucy held back the urge to cry, her tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. Between running away from her father, and already failing at her new job and living on her own, Lucy needed to break down. But she couldn't, not in front of Natsu.
"Yes you did," Natsu put bluntly, stopping Lucy on the sidewalk and taking her hand in his. She loved the way his big hands wrapped around her small ones, warm and kind. "You finished the job today. Just because you needed help, doesn't mean you didn't finish. We are a team now." There was short pause before Natsu began cackling to himself, "hehe you can be the brains, and I can be the brawns." Natsu chuckled proudly, wrapping Lucy's hand around the chocolate bar.
"Natsu..." Lucy noticed the wrapper on the chocolate bar; it was her favorite flavor - strawberries. The pink-haired boy must have remembered she liked them from the milk shake she had ordered this morning. Lucy's chest warmed at the thought of Natsu remembering such a little thing.
"Come on, we're getting iced cream before heading back to Fairy Tail, just don't tell Happy or he'll be jealous." Natsu took Lucy's hand in his again as they worked their way through the city again. This time, Natsu didn't let go.
They walked in a comfortable silence, both not wanting to say anything about the other's hand in their own as they went. While Lucy felt an attraction to Natsu that she couldn't deny, Natsu found himself thinking about the girl non-stop. Whereas Lucy had had high school crushes and had swooned with her friends over famous celebrities, Natsu had never experienced attraction before. At least, not the way he was attracted to Lucy.
Natsu felt like he was losing a game of tug-of-war with Lucy, and the rope happened to be his sanity. The blonde girl took over his thoughts and the previous night, was in his dreams. He could hardly sleep with the thought of being able to see her the next day weighing heavily on his brain. For a total of hardly a day, Natsu had slipped from seeing a pretty girl feeding his cat in an alley to realizing that he may be falling head over heels for his new partner.
The pair crossed downtown and made it to the edge of the suburbs where the Magnolia river circled the city's great magnolia tree. The tree stood tall and sturdy on twisting roots that wound together perfectly to hoist all of it's lush pink petals. The tree's scent could be picked up from all the way down the street, the wind and river carrying it's petals and fragrance throughout the city.
Finally making it to the ice cream shop, Lucy got a scoop of strawberry cheesecake while Natsu was helplessly drawn to the chili pepper-chocolate flavor.
"Ew, who eats spicy ice cream?" Lucy scoffed, looking Natsu up and down as if he were a strange creature roaming the streets of Magnolia.
" What? You can't taste it if there's no spice, Luce." Natsu shrugged as he was happy to continue feeling the sweet burn on his tongue.
"Maybe that's cause you burned your taste buds off with spice." Lucy took Natsu by his free hand and brought him to the river's edge. The river itself was contained by ornate concrete slabs forming a sort of wall on adjacent sides of the flowing river. Every kilometer or so spanned a low arched bridge, allowing whichever small paddle boats travelling down the river space to pass underneath. Lucy sat on the warm concrete of the barrier's edge, spinning around so that her legs dangled over the water. Natsu joined her, still intent on his ice cream.
For a long while, the pair sat in silence, lost in the current of the river. Natsu tried to count how many petals passed him by on the water's surface while Lucy watched people on the other side of the river walking by. She hadn't thought very much today about her father, or the house she had left behind. She knew that by now, her father would have noticed her gone, although she didn't know for sure if he would decide to let her be or contact the city guard on the case of her disappearance.
Lucy watched all kinds of people pass by; couples, families and children, individuals just making their way through the city. The area was peaceful and the day was beautiful, a slight breeze threading between buildings to cool off an overbearing sun. It wasn't until she looked up noticed a strange figure farther down the sidewalk, sitting on the opposite side of the street. A man that didn't fit into the pretty afternoon picture, someone who looked painfully out of place.
The man stood abnormally tall and slim in a coal black suit, a pair of undiscernible shades concealing the majority of his face. From what Lucy could see, he was middle aged and flaunted a hair-stubbled face. She could spot a cigarette between his lips and watched as he took a long drag from it before dropping the butt to the ground and squashing it's ember out under his shining leather loafer. The man, noticing Lucy watching him, turned on his heel into a nearby alley, disappearing from Lucy's sight.
