Erza Scarlet was, she hated to use the word to describe herself, exhausted. The two day assignment she had accepted as something to pass the time had turned into a week long slog through foul weather, going over treacherous terrain, and ended with too many dark mages. If she hadn't had the prospect of her outing with Lucy to look forward to she might not have had the strength to dispatch the last few hold outs. Now she was making her way back into town with one aim in mind.
"Must, make it, to Lucy's apartment," she told herself.
She was forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other by thinking of her friend's happy face when they had planned this outing earlier.
"Erza, it's raining!" Lucy objected, "We can't go out on a day it's pouring cats and dogs."
"I fail to see the problem," Erza replied.
"Erza, one does not go swimsuit shopping in the cold, bitter sleet," Lucy said with a small shudder. "When it's cold and wet outside it's better to snuggle up in a comfy quilt with a warm beverage and a good story."
"Well, my room is closest, let's see if Mira has some hot cocoa and you can read me that book you loaned me," the redhead said with a smile.
The girls made a cozy cocoon with all of Erza's pillows and blankets (along with a few "borrowed" from some of the other girls' rooms) on the floor near the window so that Erza could watch the lightning through the glass, though she mostly watched Lucy's face as she read. The emotions flickering across the blond girl's face as fleeting as the blue lights that occasionally erupted from the storm. Lucy had a gift for storytelling.
When she finished the tale, both girls laid back, pulling the covers closer around themselves, and gazed out the window at the pouring rain.
"I love these stories," Lucy said with a sigh, hugging the book to her chest. "They remind me of my mother."
Erza was unsure of what to say about that. They stayed in silence for several minutes until she finally thought of something that didn't sound too awful, she hoped.
"What about them reminds you of her?" She asked quietly.
"She used to read them to me when I was little," Lucy answered. "We'd get ourselves ready for an adventure as she called it. We'd pack a basket with little cakes and sweet tea and my very best tea set with the pink roses on it. On top would go a blanket and finally the book. I'd gather my dolls to get our exploration group complete and off we'd go. We would walk around the gardens which she'd call a forest or a jungle, and once even a swamp, for what seemed like hours," Lucy smiled at the memory. "And when we found the perfect spot we'd set up camp. I got to pass out the provisions and then mother would bring out the book." She looked at Erza with a happy glow on her face. "Mother seemed to make those stories come alive. I felt like I knew the characters personally, that they were close friends of the family, and we were just getting reacquainted with each other. I can't tell you the number of times I worried about the knight facing the terrible fire-breathing dragon," she giggled and continued, "and now I know a dragon slayer that could give that dragon a run for his money."
Erza laughed at the thought of Natsu trying to out do the knight from the story Lucy had just finished. "It's good you have those memories of her," she said.
Lucy's face seemed to lose some of its happy glow. "It is good to have those memories," she agreed, "but I miss doing things with her. I wish she was here."
"I don't have any memories of my mother," Erza whispered, not really meaning for Lucy to hear. Her face clouded over and Lucy looked at her with concern.
"Oh Erza, I'm so sorry! I didn't think that… I didn't mean to… It was so rude of me to keep going on and on about my own mother and you have no memories...Oh, I'm so sorry." Lucy looked close to tears at having distressed Erza.
Erza held Lucy in a strong embrace. "Hush now," she ordered. "I have long ago come to terms with my past. I'm sorry that I have upset you."
Suddenly Lucy grinned. "I have an idea," she declared. "You and I are going on an adventure! We'll pack some treats and go on a picnic in the park. I'll bring the book and you can find the perfect spot for us!"
Just then a tremendous clap of thunder rattled the windows. "But maybe we should wait for the rain to clear off?" she suggested.
Erza laughed. "Yes that would be...perfect," she agreed.
Now Erza was bone weary and longing for the opportunity to requip into some pajamas before falling into bed, but there was some place she had to go first.
Lucy was surprised to hear a faint knocking at the door. "Who is it?" she called.
"It's Erza," was the reply. "Aren't we supposed to be going on an adventure today?"
"Oh. Erza?" Came the bewildered voice through the door. "Usually you just bang open the door. I don't recall ever hearing you kno-"Lucy's voice faltered as she open the door.
In front of her was a woman that was about to fall over. Ignoring the grime that one accumulates from traveling for a week, there were dark circles under the red head's eyes and a pallor to her skin that didn't suit her.
"Erza!" Lucy cried. "Are you okay?" She swooped forward and put herself under Erza's arm to help her into the house. "Of course you aren't okay," she answered herself, "just look at you. You look like something the flying cat dragged in. Sit down. Here, on the bed. Right now"
Erza protested, or tried to protest but somehow the words wouldn't come out.
Lucy started undoing the laces on Erza's boots. "I don't know what you were thinking," she chided, "you should have gone straight to the guild hall. Wendy is there and she could have you fixed up in a wink." She pulled off the boots and started pulling off the socks underneath. "Do you want me to call Wendy? I can get her over here soon." But Erza shook her head. Lucy placed the socks with the boots by the foot of the bed.
"But...our adventure?" Erza asked slightly bewildered.
"The adventure can wait!" Lucy said with fervor. Lay down!" she ordered. As the redhead complied, she started pulling a blanket over the weary mage. "I don't know anyone else that would get themselves in this state and then insist on making daisy chains and eating strawberry cupcakes in the park when what you need is rest!" she exclaimed.
"Strawberry cupcakes?" Erza asked, perking up a little as she said it.
Lucy laughed. "Yes strawberry cupcakes. I had Juvia help me make them, so you know they're safe to eat," she pushed Erza's shoulder back on to the bed when the great Titania tried to go get her cake. "You can have a couple after you sleep," she said sternly.
"But Lucy...cake!" Erza whined.
"Take a nap first," Lucy said in her most matronly tone, one that would brook no disobedience. "After that, if you're good, I'll let you at the cake."
She smiled at Erza whose eyes were already half closed. They opened again, slightly startled, when Lucy got into the other side of the bed. "Luce? You sleeping, too?" she mumbled.
"Of course I am," she said with a giggle. "I'm not losing a chance to be with you, even if we are both unconscious." And with a sigh Erza closed her eyes and slept.