It burned as she took a slow drag on her cigarette. She deserved to feel this with the way circumstances turned out. How could things come to end up like this? This has left her worse than the loss of Aquarius, but it was him.
Sitting on the counter in the dim kitchen, all alone. Looking longingly out the window, as if he was going to show up on their doorstep.
How many thoughts could plague her enough to ebb her out of this house? That was another thought that crossed Lucy's mind as she watched the snow fall. This moment in time was not going to be or turn out to be something that she found comforting ever again.
She stamped out the cigarette before taking another puff, as one of her last happy and bearable recollections passed her mind.
Due to an illness she incurred from Team Natsu's last mission, Lucy was not able to go on another disaster in the making. However many times she hoped their missions would succeed without damage, it never happened.
As soon as she saw him walking up the path in the woods, Lucy threw the door open hollering, "Welcome home!" A great smile passed her face as her bare feet carried her towards his cloaked figure.
All she could see was his alabaster smile through the shadow of his hood as she approached him. Lucy soon slammed into him, sending them in a tumbling and laughing mess when they hit the ground. The autumn leaves crunching under them, releasing the scent of the woods as they rolled over the ground. "That's a welcome I wasn't expecting. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Gray chuckled.
"You know I couldn't wait for your return. You didn't have to have a welcome at all.", Lucy teased him in return.
"Hey now, I never said that.", he pouted and squeezed her waist. "But I can imagine a different welcome." Grey gave her a sinister smile as he flipped them over, straddling her as he started to poke her sides.
Lucy boisterously burst out into a fit of laughter, struggling as she tried to get him off of her. "U-Uncle!...U...Uncle!" He continued to tickle her as she squealed,"I'm going to pee!"
"You know that Uncle isn't my name." Gray laughed, slowing his continued his assault on her. "F-Fine. Pl-Please stop Gray." The moment Lucy uttered his name, he rolled off of her, wearing a smug grin on his face. He sat by her side, tugging her shirt down.
Her pale hand smacked his own away, before she sat up."You know that wasn't fair at all," now it was her turn to pout,"I was practically defenseless."
The ice mage stood, shaking his head at her."You were the one who attacked first," he chided. Gray helped her up, wrapping an arm around her as they started on their way back to their small cottage.
Lucy looked away, not ready to admit her defeat. "Like I said earlier, I didn't have to welcome you back at all."
Gray stopped and grabbed her by the chin, looking down at her as she turned her head. "Fine, you win," He caught her in a quick kiss,"but only for now." Lucy's face began to turn red as she pushed him away.
"You can't be kissing me! I'm sick!" she grabbed his hand, leading him back to their home.
"I only do it for you, Lucy." Gray chuckled, following her lead. Their previous kiss becoming a little more heated behind their closed doors.
What a welcome, indeed, she though as finished with another long drag. Smiling slightly as she let the small memory consume her.
The guild was what made her happiest in life, but Gray was something different. She couldn't even begin to describe the impact his presence made on her life. Maybe it was best that she couldn't articulate her love for him. But if she put it in words, it would give her less to think about in relation to him.
Lucy put the butt in the ashtray, returning her attention back to the window. How peaceful it was to watch the snow fall. The small glistening flecks piling on top of each other and coming together to create bigger piles of snow. Ample hills of the pure white surrounding her home, the trees making them darker as the sun beamed its great light. Soft, white blankets still illuminated in the shadow of the trees.
These scenes always reminded her of him, the celestial maiden sighed. She would have to go out and shovel the piles to the side later.
She pondered more on various unimportant things, also debating on whether or not she should light another cig.
Finally coming back to her senses, she noticed a cloaked figure approaching her home. Now who in the world could that be? Most knew to let her be when she was at home. Not because they finally understood boundaries, but because they knew she needed her time alone.
She slid off the counter, looking around for her keys or whip or any weapon in general. It wouldn't be too harmful to have anything if the visitor didn't turn out to be the friendliest.
She was starting to get frantic as she searched more (overlooking the knife set on the counter and other cutlery), the visitor should be here- a hard rapping started on the door. Shit, she thought. She'll just have to brace this with her fists.
The blonde opened the door coming face to face with the least expected person. Nonetheless, she was still a criminal. Her dark, violet hair spilled out of her hood as she pulled it back. Her ruby red eyes filled with the same sorrow she felt herself.
She never interacted with this woman much before; why is she here on my doorstep. She deduced it had to do with Gray, but what could she say? She wasn't going to try to babble on and make a simple conversation like an idiot. She had to figure out the when, how, and why she was on her doorstep.
A battlefield was where she thought they would meet first, alas the mage stood right in front of her. Very confident in her stance, her features soft and mellow; a completely different person from what Lucy remembered.
She was brought out of meddling thoughts as the dark haired woman suddenly passed her threshold. Gloved arms wrapped around the blonde's frame. Lucy stiffened, not expecting this at first, relaxing as she embraced her in return. She did not expect the woman to be like this upon their first official introduction.
They stood there, grasping and clutching one another as a mutual understanding and tears flowed between them. Though the possibilities of why she was there still flowed through her mind. It felt like an eternity as they held each other, seeming like neither of them wanted to let go. This was the most comforted Lucy had felt in a while. When they finally released one another, there was an awfully long and awkward pause.
It ended when she composed herself, her red eyes filling with bitterness when she spoke,"We have located the Crimson Raiders…"
I totally rewrote this first chapter. I'm very very very happy with it, and leave a review if you enjoyed reading it too! (: