#ft jackal

Though, the voice that came from behind him had him freezing in place. The man he had seen outside, huffing out a cloud of smoke from a dwindling cigarette near the curb. His voice sent a shock through him, startled that someone else was here like a cold knife cutting through his stomach, but it soon turned to anger as he turned around to face him.

“Luce!” Natsu shouted, panic settling inside his chest before he fixated a glare on the man that he had run after. It had to be him, an older and more worn face from the pictures that he had seen littered around the house. Lucy’s husband. His brows narrowed as they locked their gazes, tension rising and becoming so thick in the room he found it harder to breathe.

Natsu swallowed, back straightening as he stood defensively - broad shoulders pulling back and hands tightening into barely constrained fists. He felt every muscle in his body pull taught  and he struggled to keep his voice undercontrol as he growled, “Stay the fuck away from her.”

There was a thud from upstairs, the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the house and Jackal looked over his shoulder before bringing his gaze back to the stranger in front of him.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” He seethed. “This is private property and none of your business. So, I’d suggest you get the fuck out of here.” The blood was rushing in his ears, burning his face - heart racing faster with every minute that he looked at the dark green eyes that were glaring back at him. It made him more furious than when Lucy would look at him. The man’s entire front doubled his rage as he festered and bubbled the pit of hot white aggression that was eating him up.

Natsu sneered. “We’re just leaving.”

“We?” Jackal stepped forward, brows knitting together tightly in confusion. “I don’t know what you think this is, but you have no right-”

The stumbling cut him off. The sound of footsteps coming down the staircase bringing his eyes over his shoulders to watch as his wife landed hard on her feet, shoulders shaking as she took in deep breaths. Jackal’s gut twisted, taking in her appearance - or what he could see. Her small frame was consumed in a jumper, loose tracksuit pants that were too big for her. She was wearing a man's clothes.

“Na..tsu,” She whimpered, the sound catching in her throat as she stared at him. Her brown eyes were blown wide, glassy with fresh tears. Though, they didn’t fall. The shake of her hands showed just how scared she was as her pupils darted towards Jackal instantly.

He couldn’t describe the emotion that filled him. A sour taste rising from the back of his throat as he felt his stomach sink. Jackal couldn’t take his eyes off of his wife, not even when the man beside him took a step towards his Lucy. His entire demeanor changed as he made a move to comfort her. His hands came out, shoulders dropping and his green eyes softening as he tried to reach out to her.

“Lucy, are you alright-”

Jackal’s heart was beating in his ears. The way he said her name made his gut twist and tumble as he felt a burning in his chest like no other. All of his thoughts could only boil down to one, the anger making him feel like he would explode as the veins in his arms protruded from how hard he clenched his fists.

“How could she dare do this to him?”

His lips pulled back as he hissed, “Dirty fucking whore!”

The words felt like ice, a chill coming over the room. His hazel eyes locked with Lucy’s, a pulsing starting in his temple and making his vision blur. It was hot - the rage made his chest feel tight. It was a weight that he was familiar with - when he had fallen to his lowest and the disappointment, guilt and self-loathing in himself that had made him so angry for so long that it had taken up permanent residence in who he was. Yet, it was entirely different. A nausea was taking over and he couldn’t think straight, his entire body locked on the woman in front of him.

But, he couldn’t keep his eyes focused on her for long as he felt a firm hand tighten around his arm.

“Don’t you dare talk to her like that.”

Lucy stared, her entire frame frozen in place as Natsu got up in Jackal's face. He was seething, teeth bared as his hands were curled into fists at his sides. She didn’t know what to do as she watched him shout in her husband’s face, her lungs felt constricted and she couldn’t breathe. Her fingers gripped down harder on the contents in her hands as Jackal swayed slightly from the jerk on his body, glare turning away from her as his jaw locked tight.

“Don’t think I’m going to let you go anywhere near, Lucy. Not after what you’ve done. How could you fucking lay a hand on her?” Natsu was boiling, dark gaze piercing him as his shoulders shook. “You’re disgusting!”

“Get the fuck out of my house!” Jackal pushed him back, stepping away and shaking the hand off his arm as he seethed. His entire demeanour was deadly, voice low and threatening as he hissed, “I don’t need this shit. If you don’t leave then I’m calling the police.”

Natsu stood his ground, not letting him walk away from him as he took another step closer. “I’d like to see you try,” He spat, hand coming up to point at Lucy as she kneeled at the bottom of the staircase. “You really think they’ll see her and not haul your ass to jail? Hell, I hope you do call em.’ Jail is where filth like you fucking belong.”

Jackal's eyes turned to her and she shook, her mind reeling as she went to recoil. His glare sent a fear through her that flipped her gut and she couldn’t stop herself as she fell back onto her butt, but Natsu’s voice was cutting through the tension, hand grabbing onto the collar of his shirt as he brought Jackal’s attention back to him.

“Don’t you fucking look at her. You don’t have the right”

Lucy’s husband sneered, hazel eyes turning furious as he looked at Natsu - his disgust was written across his face. “Who do you think you are? That’s my wife. I’ll do whatever the fuck I please.”

He tightened his fist around the top of his shirt, Natsu’s anger flaring as his jaw clenched. His blood was pumping through him, heart pounding in his ears but he hung onto every word that came out of his mouth - the heat inside of his chest burning him up as he held himself back.

“Shut up,” He growled. “Just shut your fucking mouth.”

Jackal’s lips pulled up, his brows drawn inwards as he laughed bitterly. “You should really leave, buddy. I think we have this sorted out.” The words were laced with venom, spitting out each syllable as he grabbed onto the fist at his throat. “We’re going to have a nice long talk and she won’t have the chance to run to any deadbeats like you that chase after her.”

“Lucy!” Natsu yelled, but his hand only tightened its grip further on Jackal’s shirt, stitching ripping whilst nails bit down into his wrist. “Get up. It’s time to get out of here.”

Though, the blonde didn’t move. Her legs were numb as her eyes rounded in her shock. Her husband’s next question made her heart skip, the chill freezing her over whilst her gaze was locked on the movement of his lips and the way he gripped onto Natsu. Then suddenly, she couldn’t hear anything. The sound of her breathing becoming too loud in her own ears.

“What is she doing to have you so worked up anyway? Come on, tell me. Is she fucking you, huh?” His lips thinned as he growled. “Suits the filthy fucking whor-”

Lucy didn’t realise she was screaming, hands coming up to shield her face from what was happening in front of her as she squeezed her eyes shut.  

He had snapped, Natsu lunging forward as he raised his fist in the air. He grabbed onto Jackal, breathing heavy as he threw his fist toward his face. He was knocked back from the impact, but Natsu didn’t give him a chance to recover before he pushed him up against the wall. The sound of something breaking on the floor reached his ears, but he was already screaming in his face, too far worked up to care as he pressed his forearm against his throat.

“I said shut up! Don’t you dare talk about her like that.” Natsu’s heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, his knuckles throbbing with pain as he glared at Jackal - the blood beginning to trickle from his nose. “She showed up at my door last night barely fucking conscious and you think you can talk such fucking bullshit?” He felt the pulse in his neck twitch as he leaned further in, arm crushing the pinned man’s trachea as he seethed.” She was covered in blood and bruises from YOU!”

“Shut your fucking mouth. You have no idea what you’re talking about you little cunt,” Jackal snarled as his hands grabbed onto Natsu’s shoulders, trying to push the man off of him.

“Natsu, stop it! Please,” Lucy sobbed, but she was drowned out as they continued to breathe down the others neck, tensions high as both males glared at the other.

The tendons in his neck tightened as Natsu grit his teeth. “I know that you’re an abusi-”

They were on the floor before Natsu could finish, Jackal’s knee having come up and knocking the wind out of him as it dug hard into his stomach. Lucy’s husband pushed him back, toppling them over as his head smacked into the ground - a sharp ringing resonating in his ears as he felt a weight fall on him.

He struggled to breathe, taking in a large gulp of air before Jackal struck him. The pain exploded on the side of his face as his head snapped to the side from the blow. The force made his vision blur before his body was reacting, the need to escape overriding any thoughts while he only just made sense of what was happening around him. The blow came down again and again before Natsu thrashed and pulled his arms up, a wet feeling beginning to trail into his hair as he yelled out in fury.

Natsu’s hands came up to shield his face, blocking the next swing as he grabbed onto Jackal’s arm. His fingers gripped down into the flesh before he pushed it to the side, pulling his balance off as he swung his body alongside the momentum. Everything moved quickly, every sound merging into one as he took the power from Jackal and raised his fist.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Please, Stop it!”

His chest felt heavy as he swung, breathing laboured but he didn’t stop his assault as he punched over and over again. The pain in his hands screamed, burning as they cracked on Jackal’s jaw and the high point of his cheek bone. There was blood pouring down Natsu’s face from the fresh split on his brow and his eyes were dark as he glared down at the man beneath him. Jackal’s expression was twisted, the red liquid coming from his broken nose covering his mouth and dripping down his neck. This was the man that had hurt Lucy, the one who had hit her-

Natsu didn’t want to stop.

“Please,” The blonde whispered. “Please, please, please. Just stop it.” Her hands pulled at her hair, palms covering her hands over her ears but she could still hear the scuffle on the floor - pained cries deafening her as she desperately tried to block it out. Though, every crack of a fist coming down sent sickening shocks through her body, again and again before the yelling filled her ears.

Natsu grabbed onto Jackal’s shirt and pulled him up, his lungs burning as he heaved in more air, but it wasn’t enough. “How could you do that? How could you hurt her like that? She’s your fucking wife!” He threw him to the floor and a gurgle erupted from Jackal’s throat before he spit blood.

“You don’t know shit...” His voice was raspy, oxygen struggling to make its way to his lungs. “It’s all her fault. She’s the reason-” Jackal brought his shaky hands up and tightened their grasp around Natsu’s wrists. “I lost everything!”

The man beneath him struggled against Natsu’s weight, scratching at the arms that were pinning him down. They were both breathing heavy and neither relented as the need to hurt the other flared in their gaze - seeing red.

“Just shut up!” Natsu grit his teeth, feeling Jackal's nails pull down his arms as he fought to keep himself on top. He could feel his shoulders buckle, muscles waning as he tried to hold the other man down. “You- You had no right!”

He was drawing blood. Jackal pressed his fingers so tightly into Natsu’s flesh that skin was bunching under his nails, tiny droplets of blood surfacing as he raked them down his forearm.

“What do you know?” He seethed. “She was just something to stick your dick in. You don’t know anything about us!”

“I said stop!” Lucy screamed, her throat burning and voice hoarse as she cried. “You can’t do this!” She was shaking, shoulders bouncing with each sob that left her lips. “I- I can’t let this… Please don’t hurt e-each other.” Though she felt weak as she remained glued to the floor, the weight kept her locked in place as her heart beat wildly in her chest, breathing becoming more laboured as she bit her lip to stop the whimpers from bubbling up and spilling from her throat. Brown eyes only able to watch on as she sat on the cold wooden floor beneath her - tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Natsu…” Her voice felt raw, the cry coming out scratchy. “Please!”  

It felt like being shot. The pitchy voice that screamed his name sending a cold shiver through the blind aggression that had consumed him. Natsu was almost numb to the soft tugging. His whole body felt as if it were on fire, burning from the inside as his heart pounding against his chest. Sweat had broken out on his forehead, blood sliding down his face, but he could barely feel anything but the heat that was rolling off his body and the small voice that was begging for him to relent.

He held himself up - no longer looking at the man positioned beneath him. Natsu exhaled each breath like a steam train, hot air burning it’s way up his throat as his nostrils flared. Instead his dark green eyes had fixed themselves on the sobbing blonde, her hands desperately wiping the tears away from her face that was blotchy and red.

“Please… Just- just stop…” She whispered it so quietly that her pleading could barely be heard over the tension in the room, but his ears caught onto every word. “I can’t… I can’t take this anymore. I-I… I don’t… w-want you to hurt him.” The sound of her soft cries echoed, the only noise accompanying it being the heavy breathing as the intense atmosphere in the house fizzled.

She hung her head and Natsu could only watch as she cried, curled into herself as a mess on the floor. His heart ached, the heat being replaced with an overwhelming sadness that crept into every crevice of his being, but not for himself. He hurt for Lucy.

“You’re pathetic,” Jackal hissed, snapping Natsu’s attention back to the man underneath him. “One word and you come running like a fucking lost puppy. She was using you, can’t you see that?” He was struggling to speak, each word leaving his mouth making his panting harder, but his glare remained fierce. “Or are you that much of an idiot? That bitch was fucking you and then would come home to me for the same thing.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut your mouth?” Natsu seethed, brows drawing in. “I don’t wanna hear a word you have to say.” He pushed Jackal’s arms back, using his weight to crush him against the floor before he stood up, knees buckling slightly and forcing him to hold himself up against the wall.

The adrenaline had dwindled, the exhaustion kicking in as Natsu struggled to hold himself up. His entire body felt tingly and dragged down from an invisible weight. It was heavy on his shoulders and made his feet feel like bricks, but he ignored it in favour of righting himself up. He brought a hand to his chest, a weak attempt at calming the erratic muscle that was still pumping inside his chest before putting one foot in front of the other as he made slow steps towards Lucy.

Jackal brought a hand up to his face, propping himself up on a shaky elbow as blood continued to trickle from his nose. He took in heavy gasps. Though, he kept the same deathly expression, narrowed eyes pointed at the blonde on the floor and the backside of the other man.

The man that he knew gave Lucy the marks that he had seen on her neck.

“Go on!” His lips felt sticky as he yelled, the blood already beginning to dry a dark rouge on his face. “Take back that dirty slut after everything she did! Like hell would I ever want her.”

Natsu felt like his body would give out on him as he crouched beside the weeping blonde. His legs shook and he had to keep both hands flat on the floor to make sure that he didn’t waver and really did fall to the floor. His muscles hurt, physically exhausted as his mind tried to desperately keep up to where he was in the present moment.

“Come on, Lucy,” Natsu murmured, keeping his voice low. “...Let’s go… Let’s go home.”

However, she didn’t look up. Only keeping her head in her hands as she continued to cry. Her hands were still trembling. The fabric of the hoodie was bunched in tight grasps, but it couldn’t stop the slight shake of her wrist.

“Don’t think that you can ever come back here. We’re done once you walk out that door, you hear me?” Jackal watched, lips pulled up into a snarl. “Lucy.”

She couldn’t look up, lower lip trembling. She didn’t want to see what she’d find. The way Jackal said her name was like a knife cutting into her. A cold pool of water dropped in her stomach making the hairs on her neck stand as her thoughts raced through her mind. Lucy couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move - she didn’t want to.

Lucy was scared.

“Hey.”

The voice made her shrink, trying to make herself smaller on the floor.

“It’s… It’s alright.” Natsu’s voice. “Stand with me now. We don’t hafta be here anymore, Luce.”

She could hear something sliding across the floor as Natsu picked something up. His heavy breathing beside her as he sat there and waited - not leaving her when she knew that he should. It would be so much easier if he had never met her. This mess wouldn’t have been made if she wasn’t so-

“You ready?”

When she finally lifted her head she felt like she was pushing against gravity, the strain in her neck making itself known with a pain that went straight down her spine. Her vision was blurry, tears still making their way down tracks on her red blotchy cheeks as she made eye contact with Natsu.

He didn’t smile, his facial expression looking worn and tired with blood spilling from his brow. He only held out a hand to her, the other cradling her photo albums close to his chest. The sight squeezed her chest and caused more tears to flow as she shakily put her hand in his, letting him slowly pull her up. They both swayed slightly, but lent on each other before the other could stumble.

Natsu squeezed her hand softly, keeping his eyes locked with hers for a moment before he gestured for her to walk in front of him. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. You can go, it’s okay.”

She wordlessly moved, feeling as if she was on autopilot as she sought out the front door. Lucy didn’t look behind her, only moving slowly enough that she could still feel Natsu’s presence at her backside - keeping her safe as she kept her arms locked around her waist.

“You think she’s everything, don’t you?” Jackal yelled. “That she’s the sun in such a dark fucking world. But you don’t know her like I do.” He had got to his feet now, legs shaking as he wiped at his nose - hissing in pain from the slightest touch. “We were happy too once. I thought she was everything.”

Natsu paused, hand resting on the door frame. His eyes stayed locked on Lucy in front of him as she too stood in place.

“And look where we ended up. It all turns out the fucking same.” He stumbled forward, quickly resting a hand on the wall as he slouched over before he spat onto the floor. “She’s not worth any of this. You’re just going to end up like me- When she fucks you over and ruins everything! You’ll be nothing. Isn’t that right, Lucy? You’re just going to stand back as he does it all, just like-"

The door slammed before Jackal could finish, yet he continued to yell as Natsu ushered Lucy away from the house and towards the car. Neither spoke a word to one another as he took the keys and helped her into the passenger side. Only when the engine started did Natsu turn to her, his expression pinched into something unreadable.

“Did you grab everything?”

“...Y-yeah… I think so,” Lucy whispered.