A/N: So, this was a 50-word prompt challenge from Dragonshost. Appositions, commas, semicolons, and other writing tricks are a girl's best friend when the rule is one sentence per word… I shifted the words around to make it into a cohesive story, and hopefully the time skips that occur won't be too hard to follow.
I can't believe I managed to do this in less than twenty-four hours.
Chaos Saves
38. Heartbroken
The first time he saw her without that salmon-haired moron tagging along - the radiant blonde with wisps of hair cascading down around her flushed cheeks and that godforsaken guild mark burning bright on her hand - she was in tears, recently heartbroken and cursing the existence of every male in existence.
44. Salt
An acrid, burning scent sliced through the natural honey wafting from her skin; salt drenched with pain, longing, and bitter loneliness.
5. Guilt
The last thing he'd expected was to sense the guilt in her, wrapping around her trembling shoulders as though it was her own shawl of shame.
4. Rose
His gaze followed her movements, halted in his nightly walk on the high ledge of the mountains just north of Magnolia; each stuttering shift of hand against grassblades, feet on roots, until finally she rose, stepped toward the very edge and stared down to the distant craggy land far beneath her.
32. Horizon
Dawning morning light kissed her cheeks from the horizon, brushing her teary visage with strokes of foggy grey and tender gold.
2. Eye
Her smile was disarming with the moisture on her cheeks, unable to crinkle her eyes, but Acnologia found his feet moving of their own accord, faster and faster, when her keys fell to the ground and she jumped.
48. Tree
Lucy had never known the tops of trees flying beneath her could be so enchanting, the same gleaming emerald as the large, draconic eye glaring back at her where she was sprawled across his back, between heavy beating wings - with an enlarged emerald guild mark just next to her face, whose twin laid on her hand - that had once darkened her skies and starred in her nightmares for months.
6. Heroes
There were names for people - beings would be more accurate - like the one cradling her to his bare, human chest; not heroes, not to her, but assholes who meddled when they had no right to do so.
45. Hybrid
This hybrid - part man, part Dragon Slayer, part evil Chaos dragon - had the gall to treat her like some shattered princess, to whisk her away from the world she'd once known, what she'd been so desperate to get away from for eternity; he stayed silent even as he carried her through a cave system she would never be able to sneak out of, and kept his hold on her shuddering body so gentle, she could hardly believe he was the same man.
39. Mother
She said nothing while glaring up at him, that same glare that he remembered of the woman he'd once known, a mirror image of her mother's mother, generations removed; it seemed the women in her family had mastered this baleful heat with their eyes and crossed arms alone.
17. Weak
It was obvious that she didn't want him to see her so weak, so vulnerable and barely holding her bone-shaking sobs at bay, but he didn't care; the promise he'd made centuries before would be fulfilled.
19. Fight
By the time Acnologia settled her on the furs that he called a bed, she was silently seething and he could see the fire in her eyes growing bolder, more vicious as she pulled in the first breath for what he knew would be one hell of a tongue-lashing; all he hoped was that it would be the first fight of many they would have.
27. Cryptic
"In time, I hope you will understand why I could not let your life end this way," he whispered, cutting off Lucy's minutes-long, hissing tirade with his few cryptic words and the surprisingly gentle, warm hand cupping her cheek to brush away the stained tear tracks from her wind-chilled face.
47. Bittersweet
Renewed tears breaking past her lashes was bittersweet; he knew she was broken inside, had heard the argument with her previous lover from across town, and maybe it was too soon to show her what he wanted, but she was accepting of the contact of his fingers against her blotchy porcelain flesh.
49. Bewitch
The invitation for her to stay holed up in his home - to keep herself hidden from the world - fell past his lips before he could stop himself, but the way she looked up at him - her teary honey melding with his deep emerald in the air between them - and gave the smallest, grateful nod had the famed Chaos dragon realizing that, though he'd wanted to avoid it, he'd already been bewitched by her.
20. Monarchy
The next time they were alone together was months later, after he'd been summoned to the capital by Fiore's monarchy - that wretch of a king - where he found her wandering the halls, arms linked with the princess, smiling as though they were sisters of recluse, and as soon as she saw him Lucy excused herself and skipped toward him with a gleam in her eyes that spoke of her continued gratitude of the safe haven he'd provided her when she was vulnerable.
26. Ocean
They left the palace together and he wasn't sure where her mind had wandered when she put a small, slender hand on his arm, looked into his eyes and asked if he would take her to see the ocean as few had ever seen it; if he could have managed it while flying over the crystalline waters, he would have laughed at hearing her shrill, joyful cheers as water swelled and crashed against his claws, misting across her smiling face.
25. Feather
His eye creaked open when feathers danced along the scales of his curled throat, over to the pale blue marks along his jaw, and hot breath rumbled past his sharpened teeth in a gentle purr when he heard her giggling and felt her hand flatten on his scales once more while she whispered a soft, "Sweet dreams, Acnologia, and thank you for flying with me today," before curling herself further into his warm body, drifting toward slumber.
13. Eastern
The eastern border of Minstrel, lined with cliffs whose faces were dotted with small villages all connected by arching walkways, was something Lucy never would have imagined she'd see in her lifetime, but he made it happen for her - because she'd mentioned it one night, two months prior, when they'd been sitting at a campfire and dining on a boar he'd killed - and she couldn't stop herself from pressing a soft, thankful kiss to the smooth black scales where she sat just behind his head.
37. Sprites
They landed late that night and Lucy found herself in awe as she watched small green and gold motes of light flutter around them like little sprites in the sleepy forest, scurrying through the air and kissing her skin, his scales as they shifted back into the familiar tanned flesh marked with blue tribal tattoos.
24. Rebel
She knew that she was supposed to look away, but her eyes betrayed her, rebelled with a ferocity that was suddenly matched in the slow form stalking closer to her, his nostrils flaring as he picked up on the change in her scent and the dilation of her pupils.
9. Badge
He stood mere inches from her, unflinching as her hands lifted and laid themselves on his chest, as her fingers drifted over scars that he'd won in battles centuries before she'd been born - each a badge of survival from skirmishes long since past - and when she didn't stop his hands from curling around her waist and drawing her closer, Acnologia knew the time for his promise to be fulfilled was near.
15. Gift
The warmth of her lips brushing against his was a gift, one he would cherish for all of his days, and one that he knew she wanted returned as her fingers carded through the wild strands of his hair to pull him further into her web.
43. Imprint
Lucy couldn't find it in herself to care about the imprint of bark against her back as his tongue slipped between her pliant lips and his hands roamed in a meandering, dizzying pace down from her shoulders to her waist, to her hips and back up to her throat; the heat pouring from his body, his bare flesh and heaving chest that rumbled with each low growl as he teased her lithe tongue into a dance all their own, threatened to send her mind spinning.
11. Believer
She'd never been a believer in perfection until her legs curled around his hips and she felt his hardened length prodding her panties, rubbing so lewdly against her core, while his trembling lips ghosted down the column of her throat, suckled at her pulse, and his sharp teeth nipped at her tender flesh between whispers and growls of adoration.
23. Hook
He left the dark mark at her throat, a proud smirk pulling at his lips when he caught sight of the indentations left by his teeth in her flesh, and before he could ask if she wanted him to stop, the softest whimper of "More" drifted through the air, causing his hand to glide between them and his fingers to hook beneath her silk panties, ripping them in a single pull.
22. Crawl
His hips snapped upward, seating himself in her heat and ripping a sharp cry from her kiss-swollen lips that crawled across his skin and pulled his head back up, to watch her eyes slowly open, half-lidded, so ready for him to move.
21. Purple
Her fingers clutched and clawed at his bared shoulders, leaving deep purple welts dotted with blood in her wake with each sharp snap of flesh against flesh.
7. Spell
And though he wanted more of her, the way her legs tightened around him, how her body rolled into his every movement and how her tongue and teeth claimed his mouth so ferociously, spelled his impending end more quickly than he would have ever imagined; it took everything in him to fight against the searing heat spreading through his sweat-slicked, clenching limbs as he drove deeper, pushed her flush against the tree, and ripped one last keening cry of ecstasy from her swollen lips before tumbling headlong into bliss with her.
18. Judgment
She hadn't considered what anyone else in the guild would have to say about her relationship with the Chaos dragon, hadn't concerned herself with the possibility of their judgment, their narrowed eyes and confused murmurs; Lucy hadn't known that being with him would push her further from the ones she felt were family, even though he was part of their guild, and she certainly hadn't thought that it would send her running from the place she called home, in tears.
35. Opposition
The worst, most vehement opposition came from the one who had left her to begin with, with his arms crossed firmly over his white-scaled scarf and fire licking across his skin while he yelled his anger over her choice up to the sobbing blonde's open window.
34. Cheerful
Acnologia hated that she tried to stay so cheerful around him when he could smell her tears well before she opened the door and ushered him inside the cozy apartment, but Acnologia had sworn to himself, to the guildmaster, and to her that he would cause no harm to the ones who hurt her like this - no matter how badly he ached to rip them all to pieces and teach them the consequences of hurting nakama as he'd learned it centuries before.
33. Pale
So all he did was take her to the couch, her bed, wherever she wished, and curled himself around her, pulled her head to his chest and brushed his fingers through her hair while pale moonlight cascaded through the now permanently-closed window overlooking the canal; he listened to her quietly descend into quaking sobs, and bit back his offer of making this easier on her by disappearing - it would kill him to leave, but if he could protect her then he would bear a thousand deaths of his soul just to keep her smiling.
46. Ginger
Acnologia had known that Lucy's spirits didn't approve of his presence in her life, and though they acknowledged her choice and understood that he was the only man who could complete her in such a way, he'd never expected the ginger-haired Lion spirit to yell at her over who she fell in love with; it sent his blood boiling to hear Leo asking her, "What has he ever done for you, except rip you away from the guild and fuck your brains out, Lucy?"
28. Disorientation
Lucy woke suddenly in the dead of a brisk October night, fighting against her sleepy disorientation when she felt the chill in her apartment and in the sheets that no longer held another body by her side; there was no note, no clue as to why he would have left, but she felt it deep within her soul that he wasn't going to be back, and so she simply curled around her pillow and threw her keys across the room to keep Loke from opening his gate when she couldn't bear for anyone to see her cry over her missing Chaos dragon.
14. Obsession
The guild had bustled around her for months before someone finally asked why she wasn't with Acnologia anymore, why no one had seen him in so long, and when Lucy's eyes - tear-filled and puffy and lined with dark circles from countless sleepless nights with only her tears for company - finally lifted from the warped wood of the table she'd been draped across to the Seith mage before her, he stopped and saw one thing that no one had dared to see before: it wasn't obsession or lust for the Chaos dragon in her soul, but pure, heart-crushing love.
42. Metallic
Bickslow didn't leave Lucy's side after that day, trying to brighten her life just a little more even though she just ignored his continued presence by her side; it wasn't until he pulled his metallic, bullheaded, occasionally socially inept boyfriend toward the table - only after explaining what he'd seen in her soul - that Lucy even cracked a smile with one sentence from the Iron Slayer: "Hey, Bunny."
3. Cat
She walked home from the guild, already dreading the emptiness of her apartment, and stopped when she heard a pathetic, warbling cry from an alley; when she turned, Lucy found herself staring into a single bright green eye that peeked up from beneath an overturned trash can, and her breath caught when she saw the small cat creep out toward her, limping on three legs and dirty as could be.
10. Foam
She was surprised by the small animal's patience as she lathered soap into a healthy foam over its fur in her bathtub for a second time, a small smile on her lips when she saw the pale, bluish silver of its fur that reminded her so much of the man she dreamt of every night.
36. Daydream
Lying on her bed, caught in a daydream of how things had been before - of the sound of his laugh and the feel of his lips trailing across her shoulders - Lucy found herself smiling when the cat she hadn't had the heart to abandon jumped up beside her and purred while rubbing its face against her cheek; she always did that, and every time it happened the Celestial mage would answer with a soft sigh of, "I love you too, Gigi."
30. Mysterious
Early morning light streamed through the window that Lucy could have sworn she'd closed the night before, and her bleary eyes blinked away the light only to fall on a mysterious blur; one who held her purring Gigi in its lap and cooed to the small animal before turning his piercing emerald eyes toward her with a quiet whisper of, "Hello, Lucy."
40. Birthmark
Her eyes cleared, honing in on the barely visible birthmark between his eyebrows that most never noticed, and she sat up so quickly that Gigi scrambled from his lap and scurried out of the room.
8. Flawless
Her voice wouldn't work, no matter how badly she wanted to scream at him to leave her alone because that's what he was best at doing, and she trembled with indecision as his hand lifted to reveal a flawless golden key that she'd spent the better part of three years searching for.
29. Aquatic
"It doesn't make up for the things I've done," he said, holding the aquatic spirit's key out to her, "But I hope that this will help you see, I would do anything for you, scour the world for anything you asked of me, because that is the promise I made so many years ago - to make my love happy with every breath I take."
16. Plaid
She pushed back the plaid bedding, lunging forward with a sob breaking past her lips and her smaller body crashing into his chest; he hadn't expected her fist to come sailing upward and knock into his jaw with so much force that he tumbled to the floor and saw stars.
31. Scheme
His scheme had seemed solid at the time, when he'd left her a year before to prove that he could do more for her than cause a rift between her and the friends she held dear; he'd only wanted to make her smile, to help her reunite with the spirit she'd sacrificed, who had been the first friend she'd ever made - maybe he should have left her a note.
1. Frisky
Somewhere between berating him, thanking him, crying on him, kissing him, and hitting him with as much force as her smaller fists could muster - with Acnologia wondering what she'd done to make it hurt so much - Lucy wriggled like a frisky little pup in his lap until he finally silenced her with a low growl and a forceful claiming of her lips with his while his arms curled around her and held her closer than ever before; they could summon Aquarius later, because he needed to apologize properly for letting her think for even a moment that he wouldn't return to her.
12. Dancer
She didn't care that some questioned why Acnologia had been allowed to participate in the Grand Magic Games and had all but guaranteed their guild's success - his presence alone had caused a fair number of participants to soil themselves on the spot - because she'd fallen irrevocably in love with the man standing before her, in a tuxedo that hugged his muscled body in so many wonderful ways, bowing with her hand in his, smirking as he gazed up at her and stood and pulled her into his chest, then twirled her around the ballroom with all the other dancers as though they were the only ones in the room.
41. Amulet
That night, well after their formal clothes had been discarded and strewn across the floor, Acnologia pulled her naked, sweaty body against his and slowly draped an ancient amulet across her throat, telling her the story of how his own mother had worn it, that it had been the first gift to her from his father to mark the beginning of their engagement; and through Lucy's tears, she smiled and nodded and whispered, "I'd be honored to marry you."
50. Genuine
They stood before their guild, gazing into each other's eyes - with Gajeel standing just behind Acnologia and Bickslow just behind Lucy - their hands clasped between them as Laxus spoke to them and to the crowd, and for the first time everyone in Fairy Tail saw in the Chaos dragon what only Lucy had been able witness before, a genuine, giddy smile that curved his lips as he said, "I do."
.The End.