Previously~

"Now sweetheart, the name is Rustyrose, remember that."

And then she blacked out.

Chapter 16

"Dammit!" Natsu yelled, punching the wall next to him angrily. A woman who walked back whispered something to the man next to her and pointed at him but he shook his head and quickly lead her away. "Why am I such a fucking idiot?!" He punched the wall one final time before he leaned against it, breathing heavily. Nearby, the streetlights flickered and he turned his attention to the full moon above. The temperature was starting to drop and the once crowded street grew emptier and emptier as night came.

"Why am I such an idiot?" He repeated again, as he stared longingly at the moon above. It was as if some part of him hoped that it would say something back, as silence followed his question. Cursing under his breath he slid down to wall, slumping against it hopelessly.

"Luce, please forgive me," He whispered before his eyes slowly began to close.

~7~7~7~

He awoke the next morning feeling sore, cold, and completely exhausted. The sun shined brightly overhead and the street was filled with people commuting from one place to another.

"Where am I?" He asked to himself, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Oh yeah, he had fallen asleep yesterday in the middle of no where. He could feel the cold wall under his back as he slowly stood up to stretch. Letting out a loud yawn he sniffed his shirt and flinched at the smell.

"Man I really need to take a shower, I stink," He wondered aloud, a hand combing through his spiked hair. "Maybe I should go over to Lucy's,"

It took him a moment to realize what he had said and he could feel regret consuming him again. After what he had said yesterday she would probably still be mad at him. It would be better if he gave her some space and left her alone to cool off. He sighed to himself and proceeded to walk home for a much needed shower.

~7~7~7~

Natsu could feel the hot water pouring down his skin, releasing all the stress of the past few days. He loves Lucy, a lot, but sometimes she's too innocent and beautiful for her own good. He's possessive and over protective, anyone knows that. So when she didn't tell him about the notes or the roses she was receiving from some stranger he couldn't help but feel hurt. Hurt that she wouldn't tell him about something so important like how her secret admirer knew where she lived and could watch her at anytime. Lucy was his, and only his. He wasn't going to share her, not now, not ever. However is she were to reject him in the future he would let her go. She's his everything.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door suddenly flew open and Gray, in all his naked glory, stood in the pile of debris.

"Ice princess? What the fuck is wrong with you? You just broke my bathroom door!"

Gray rolled his eyes in response and when they landed back to Natsu he burst out laughing.

"You really do have a microscopic dick hot head!" He cackled, tears coming out of the corner of his eyes. Natsu glared at his rival and chucked a shampoo bottle at Gray, hitting him in the head.

"At least I'm not a pervert who bursts into another man's bathroom while he's showering," He retorted, smirking at how Gray's jaw dropped and how his eyes grew wide.

"Man? What man? I don't see another man in here?"

"Why you!" Natsu jumped onto Gray, sending punches at him while Gray retaliated. After about five minutes the two broke apart, panting for air.

"A-Anyways flame brain," Gray huffed out. "I came here to get you. Y-You weren't answering your cell phone,"

"W-Well what did you expect stripper?" Natsu panted back, in the same state as Gray. "I was in the shower,"

Taking a deep breath, Gray stood up and began to walk outside to the living room. He lazily sat on Natsu's couch causing the fellow to glare his way.

"You should probably get dressed first though, 'cause no one wants to see your microscopic dick." Natsu rolled his eyes, and hastily put on his clothes.

"I could say the same to you too, stripper."

"So Director, care to explain why you suddenly called a meeting?" Gray asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he stood in front of his superior's desk.

"Yeah Jii-chan! Why only us, and not Lucy or Erza?" Natsu called from behind, sitting crisscrossed on the sofa. Director Makarov took a deep breath, and looked at the two straight in the eyes.

"There's been another attack," He said slowly, pausing to look at the two.

"Then why aren't Lucy or Erza here? They're part of this case too," Natsu interrupted causing Gray and the Director to glare at him.

"Anyways," Makarov said, coughing. "There's been another attack. However, this time it's different."

The two gulped and nodded in response.

"Yesterday evening, the serial killer dubbed 'The Crimson Rose' attacked an apartment on Fairy Hills," They visibly tensed and the room was dead silent.

"Gray, isn't that where Erza lives?" Natsu whispered out, his eyes widened in realization. Gray nodded back numbly, too shocked to even notice that Natsu had called him by his actual name.

"Erza was drugged and is in serious condition now. But that's not all," He took a deep breath, a looked ahead at the two. "We've been unable to pinpoint the location of Lucy since the attack at Fairy Hills."

There was a moment of silence.

"What are you trying to say." A voice boomed across the room. Gray and the director felt a slight shiver of fear crawl down their spines.

"What I'm trying to say is that we believe that she has been taken by 'The Crimson Rose',"

As soon as those words left the director's mouth, all hell broke loose.

I'm still alive! Yeah, I know I haven't updated in like months and I'm really sorry about that. I'm a bit of a procrastinator and I've been pretty lazy and busy lately. I'm not going to lie, I've been dealing with some drama with this guy I like and my friends are super tired of listening to me rant about it (although they'll never say it to my face) so if you want to listen to my crap feel free to PM me.

Anyways I know this chapter has a bit more language than usual but I hope you guys are fine with it. I feel like it helps sets the tone for the story.

Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows, I really appreciate it. Again, I'm sorry for not updating in a long time although I'm not sure when I'll be updating again.

Have a Merry (early) Christmas and Happy New Years!

~Fairy-chan