After the Storm
By SnowLaurel
I notice it's an abnormally dark and dreary day as I leave the Fairy Tail guild hall. I'm so used to having the warm, glowing sun shine down on me as I step outside. I'm being pelted with rain as though someone up in the sky is dumping giant buckets of water down on me.
Normally after being bombarded with rain I would go back inside without hesitation but this time it's different. Lucy's been missing for several hours and I can't help but worry. Usually she announces where she's going before wandering off but today she just got up and left. She'd been looking gloomy all day and then all of a sudden she up and leaves. That's not like her. Nobody else really seemed to care.
…
"Where'd Lucy go?" I asked earlier.
"Probably back to her apartment." Mirajane said as she wiped a glass.
"I don't think so. She doesn't really go anywhere without telling us." I shook my head, stared at my hands.
"Well she -hiccup- did this time." Happy mumbled in his sleep. He'd taken way too many 'secret' sips from Cana's barrel and was now hiccupping every 10 seconds.
"Someone should go check on her." I said.
"Why don't you go, Natsu, if you're so concerned?" Mirajane said.
I stood up from my spot at the bar. "Fine, I will. You coming Happy?" I looked at him but with one last hiccup he'd slipped into a deep cat nap. "Guess not." I mumbled before heading to Lucy's.
When I got there I climbed through the window as I usually did, expecting to see her writing at her desk or hear her in the bathroom. I lied down on her couch and waited a while. An hour later I got up and left to check if she'd gone back to the guild.
"Have you seen Lucy?" I asked Grey as he tore off his shirt and got ready to arm wrestle Elfman.
"No. I bet she went home." He answers nonchalantly.
"That's not very manly of her." Elfman commented.
I was tempted to start yelling at Grey about how I'd already checked but instead I went up to Levy.
"Do you know where Lucy is?" I asked.
She furrowed her brow as she looked up from a book she was reading. "Hmm… Nope." Then she raised her finger in a thoughtful way. "I'd check under the huge tree in the park."
So I turned to leave and left the warmth and comfort of the busy guild hall.
…
I run through the pouring rain now, searching relentlessly. My clothes and hair are getting soaked; even my scarf seems to strangle me since it's now heavy with water.
"Lucy! Lucy!" I cup my hands over my mouth when I reach the park.
There's no answer and I squint through the rain at a figure beneath the tree in the center of the park. It seems to be shaking. No. Sobbing. Lucy. I run to the tree, not caring that my feet are getting covered with mud and grass or that my usually wild pink hair is now plastered to my head.
Under the tree, all is dry. The rain outside seems to be part of a different world. Lucy sits at the foot of the tree, arms around her legs and nose between her knees. I drop down next to her and notice that she must have wandered through the rain as well since her hair and clothes are also soaked. Her hair is down from its usual do and covers her face in messy wet strands. She stares off at the rain as though nothing else exists. I do not believe I've ever seen her so sad.
Lucy looks up abruptly at the sound of my knees hitting the ground next to her. She quickly wipes her eyes.
"Oh, Natsu." She tries to smile.
I simply look at her and she bites her lip as if to keep from starting to sob all over again.
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." She shrugs.
I continue to look at her. She shakes her head. "Stop it."
"Stop what? I just ran in the rain to find you, you at least owe me a straight answer."
She laughs and sighs. "I miss my mom." I don't say anything. "She died today." Lucy adds as she looks back at the rain.
I don't say I'm sorry even though I am. I know that apologizing doesn't help. It doesn't bring the person back or take away the pain. It merely makes it worse because the usual response is 'its ok' and it's not. But even so, I can tell that those tears aren't just tears of mourning.
"Is that all?" I ask.
Lucy looks back at me and her voice breaks. "Don't you ever have those days where all you want to do is cry and be left alone?"
"Of course, but that doesn't mean being left alone is the solution."
"Sometimes it is." Lucy says harshly as she pulls her legs tighter to herself.
I don't move. "Leave me alone, Natsu." She says.
I don't move. "Don't you understand that I want to be left alone?" She yells.
I don't move. "God damn it Natsu!" She yells and she turns to push me away but I take her hands in one hand and use my other arm to pull her towards me in an awkward embrace.
"Stop it!" She sobs as she tries to punch and hit me but I don't let go.
All of a sudden she begins crying so hard I can literally smell her sadness. She stops trying to resist and lets herself be held. I let go of her wrists and she grabs at my shirt.
I just hold her then and stroke her hair with my thumb. After what seems like forever Lucy's weeping becomes sniffling and she pulls away from me to dry her tears. I notice that my shirt is not only soaked with rain but also tears.
"Thanks." She mumbles and I flash a small smile.
"Anytime," I say.
She laughs and I start to lean in and before I know it I'm kissing her. Why? I don't know. Things like this just happen I guess. I put one hand on her neck and the other on her back. I can taste her tears as we pull each other closer. This kiss seems long overdue and neither of us shows any signs of wanting it to end. Out of the blue, I feel a bright light shining on us. I reluctantly pull away and open my eyes. I find myself smiling.
"Look," I whisper in her ear. Lucy turns and smiles too. We find ourselves seeing that the rain has stopped and in its place is the sun shining brighter than before and a rainbow more vibrant than I've ever seen.