PRIDE
boxer!natsu x gn!reader
modern au
sfw
———
“and down goes dragneel! the dragon king is really giving the salamander a run for his money, i’m surprised he’s still conscious!”
bastards
you wish the announcers could hear you from your position in natsu’s corner of the ring, choice words brewing in the back of your mind for them.
please just stay down
this is the longest ten seconds of my life
the referee gets to seven before natsu signals that he’s okay to continue, making your stomach lurch. it wasn’t that you didn’t believe in him or his skills. you knew he’d sooner die than lose the fight. it was how his physical state would hold up after that you were worried about.
you rub your palms on your pants as the round ends, your custom jacket with “dragneel” plastered across the back suddenly feeling entirely too warm.
natsu’s left eye was swollen almost completely shut, and if you looked hard enough you were sure his jaw was out of place.
“are you okay to keep going?” makarov scowled, holding natsu’s water up to his face and trying to grease his ever-swelling eye.
“i’m good!” he nods, taking a swig.
“i can call it, you’ve done more than en-” natsu gives makarov a fiery glare, making the older man cut his sentence short. in any other setting, the size difference between them would be absolutely comical.
he spits the water into a bucket held up to his face by another member of his team, staring makarov down.
“i’m fine!” you let out a sigh, a sick feeling sinking in about how the next few rounds would go.
and somehow, miraculously, the announcers are holding up natsu’s fists and adorning him with a ridiculous sized championship belt, the arena roaring with praise for him. you had your camera-ready smile down to a science, but natsu knew you were upset.
you stayed in natsu’s locker room when a trainer came to see him, fighting the urge to scoff upon hearing he had another concussion, possible broken ribs, and probably needed a trip to the eye doctor to make sure he’d keep his sight in his left eye.
natsu had tenacity, nobody could deny that. that’s part of what made his name so popular in the boxing community so quickly. you’d been able to bear witness to him going from small matches in you two’s neighborhood boxing gym to selling out matches as the headlining fighter. you couldn’t be prouder. but you also couldn't be more worried. because for every ounce of tenacity natsu carried, he had just as much (if not more) recklessness to bring to the ring. his tunnel vision and hyperfocus on victory was his strength and very well could be his demise.
natsu’s father had been the one to teach him to fight. for unknown reasons, igneel never got into the big leagues, but he raised one hell of a prodigy.
so, you can see why natsu took igneel's sudden absence to heart. he wasn’t dead, or injured, or missing in action. just simply flew halfway across the world to start a new life with a woman half his age, completely abandoning his then-teenage son and training him. and no matter how well natsu did, how much he excelled or how many wins he had under his name, nothing ever made his father break his silence towards him.
makarov bringing natsu into his gym to continue his training was probably the best thing that ever happened to him. he saw natsu as one of his own, which is part of why he was so hard on him.
“you can’t keep doing this, natsu.”
“winning?”
“can you stop being a smartass for two minutes? you need to care for your body, not just train to swing hard. if you lose your sight in your left, then what?”
you suck in a breath, watching natsu’s non-injured eye narrow in annoyance.
“both of my fists will still work. i’ve fought plenty of times with a fucked up eye before.”
“you are insufferable.” makarov sighs, giving you a look that suggested you might have more luck than he did, closing the door behind him.
“love you too!” natsu shouts, grinning as he pulls a hoodie on his sweaty torso.
you two’s drive home is uncharacteristically quiet, natsu staring at you in anticipation. you’d snatched the keys out of his duffel before he could even think about insisting he could drive, knowing how casually he treated his concussions.
“why do you keep hurting yourself in your fights?” your voice is quiet and even-toned, staring at the brake lights ahead of you. traffic leaving the arena was nearly standstill, masses of cars surrounding you in every direction.
“it’s not like im punching myself in the face babe.”
you kiss your teeth in annoyance, refusing to look at him.
“you know that’s not what i mean.”
“why does everyone keep asking me that? this entire sport is based around beating the shit out of the other guy in the ring with you, i don’t see the problem.”
“the problem is you don’t know when to stop, natsu.”
“i stop when i win, that’s all that matters.” your grip on the steering wheel tightens, knuckles beginning to go white.
“what about you?”
he sighs heavily, cracking his knuckles.
“i’m fine, (y/n).”
“your fifth concussion in a year is fine, natsu? your broken ribs that are gonna make it hurt to breathe are fine? the possibility of you only being able to see out of one of your eyes, that’s fine to you?!” guilt washes over you when you watch him wince at your increase in volume, remembering that his concussion would make him sensitive to sound.
he opens his mouth, then closes it. he knows you’re right, and fighting with you is the last thing he wanted to do. soon enough, you pull into your driveway, thankful to get out of the car.
you park the car, yanking the keys from the ignition as he hastily follows you into you two’s home. you set the keys on a table by the front door, taking a breath.
“you can go to the eye doctor by yourself tomorrow.” his eyes widen, double taking to make sure he heard you right.
“what?!” it was an unspoken rule that you always came to his appointments with him. press conferences, interviews, photoshoots, his only request was that you were always right there.
“i’ll order the uber in the morning so you don’t have to dri-”
“why aren't you coming?”
“i’m not gonna listen to you try to fight the advice of another person who only wants the best for your health. justifying it with winning isn’t enough.”
“my eye is fine, i’m really not hurt that bad.”
“yes you are! i’m listening to you wheeze every time you inhale, don’t try to give me that bullshit. you’re either going to start taking care of yourself or i’m done. i’m not gonna sit around and watch you destroy yourself over a title.”
his eyes darken with anger, staring you down.
“yea? what happened to you being proud of me for fighting through all that shit? for being an underdog, for making a name for myself?”
“none of that is worth your well being, natsu! if you never winning a match again means you’re not going to get permanent brain damage from all these concussions, on top of partial blindness, so fucking be it! i care more about you than i do some stupid shiny belt.” you spit.
“that belt is worth everything to me, why don’t you get that?”
“why do you always act like you have something to prove?!”
“because i do!” him raising his voice rattles the entire house, regret rising in his chest at the sharp pain that shows up behind his temples and watching you jump in surprise.
“i do have something to prove.” his voice cracks when he repeats himself, much weaker than the first time.
you finally look at him, raising an eyebrow for him to continue.
“i have to prove that him leaving wasn’t my fault. eventually, he has to see how good i’m doing and say something about it.”
your chest pangs as you watch him wipe away a tear before it can fall, his usual massive stature suddenly looking so small and fragile in you two’s foyer, light from the moon illuminating behind him.
there’s tense silence for a few moments, but you know you can’t keep it up.
“baby…” you cautiously reach an arm around him, gasping when he throws himself into you, failing at trying to hide his crying.
“i-i’m sorry, i’ll be more careful. i just wanted to make everyone proud, to prove that i deserve to be here. i’ll go get my eye looked at, and i won’t fight when i get hurt like this anymore, just please don’t leave me too, i can’t-” the rest of his sentence is cut off with a choked sob, making you gently shush him as you move one hand to play with his hair.
“i’m right here, it’s okay.” you give him a few minutes to let everything out, cradling his tear-stained face in your hands and giving him a reassuring smile.
“i’m so proud of you. and so is anyone else who’s in your corner. anyone who’s not doesn’t deserve the honor in the first place.” he nods, sniffling quietly.
“i’m sorry.” he whispers, unable to meet your eyes.
it was easy to forget that natsu was sensitive under his goofy and nonchalant exterior, especially seeing him in action. you press a quick kiss to his lips, finally getting a small smile out of him.
“we should probably go shower and go to bed, yea? we’ve gotta be on time for that appointment tomorrow.”
his face lights up like a kid on christmas, taking your hand in his and tugging you upstairs to you two’s room.
“i’m sorry i’m a pain in the ass-” he kisses your nose, interrupting his statement “-i love you-” another on both your cheeks, “-so much.” he finishes with kissing your lips, lingering there for a few moments. you playfully roll your eyes, snuggling up to him so you can fall asleep.
“i love you and your stubborn ass more.”