|Welcome back guys! Glad you decided to continue with the story, feel free to write reviews so I know if I should continue or change a few things. It helps me out as a writer to get feed back and grow more!
As always, all credits of the Fairy Tail material belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Enjoy!
Chapter2: Lonely Heart|
The morning rain awoke Lucy the next morning with the loud winds blowing harshly at her windows. It was dark and gloomy, not a very up-bringing day to follow from the night before.
Bolts of lightning lit up her room, shadows of trees plastering over her comforter. She pulled her knees close to her chest and nuzzled into her covers. "Nothing like rain to make a cold October day even colder." Lucy groaned, recalling the events last night made her contemplate if she even wanted to get out of bed that morning. She groaned again, pulling the sheets up around her head shielding her shame from the world.
Natsu paced the room, he scratched his head in confusion. "So you're tellin me, you have a brother that your parents hid from you!? This is some messed up shit, Luce." He didn't mean to come off unsympathetic, but he was beyond stunned that words just seemed to come out without filter.
Covering her face, Lucy started shaking her leg with anxiety. "That's what the picture says and indicates, so yeah? I don't know... I'm so confused." Her headache started becoming worse from the thoughts flooding in. Her parents lied to her about family, she was always told she was an only child but they lied... but for what reason? There had to be a reason... just had to be.
Thinking the same thing, Natsu spoke up again, not satisfied with the answer he was given. "So like, did he run away or like die-"
"Sorry..." he responded quickly and apologetically.
Lucy shook her head. "No, It's okay... There must be some reason they never told me about him. Maybe he did die, and the pain of losing a child was to unbearable for them to talk about again." To her that was the most reasonable answer, she didn't want to make her parents out to be horrible people.
Clearly Disagreeing, Natsu shook his head. "Hell no! If they had a son, your brother, they should've told you. You deserve to know who your brother is and what happened to him. What they did was wrong and a down right horrible thing to do." Anger was boiling up in Natsu, it made him beyond pissed off. He scratched his forehead, he was starting to get a irritating headache from all the pent up energy.
Shocked at his words, Lucy found major offense towards his statement. She shot up onto her feet despite the pain from her cut leg. "Are you calling my parents horrible people!? They obviously had a reason, and probably a good one, like I said, the thought of him might've been too unbearable!" she couldn't believe he would think her parents would do this to spite her.
Standing his ground, Natsu fought back. "No Lucy! Even if it hurt, hurt like hell, if you love your children you would tell them that they had a damn sibling who went missing or something, you don't keep secrets from family!" This was touching home for Natsu. Igneel disappearing and keeping Natsu's identity a secret hurt him badly. He wished he'd know about everything and not have to find out the hard way. This is why he was angry, family lying wasn't something he took kindly too.
"Like you? Like how you left me a little over a year ago?" Lucy's breathing became erratic. She was finding it harder and harder to speak because of the hicks in her throat and the heavy weight forming in her chest. The tears of anger were starting to threaten her eyes.
Natsu was taken aback. "What do you mean 'like you' what the hell did I do!?" he took a step forward, but she took two steps back. Natsu's face fell. Seeing her back away from him like that hurt but he felt such a weird pain that he's never experienced. It wasn't like she was scared of him but just the gesture in of itself felt wrong in so many ways.
He even felt a little offended. Sniffing his underarm, he questioned her. "Hey why are you backing away? Do I smell or something!?" Trying to make a joke out of the situation probably wasn't the best idea. Lucy was far from being in the mood for jokes.
Clenching her fists and holding back the tears she yelled it out loud so he would understand every word that came out. "You got up and left, leaving me behind like I was useless baggage with a god damn note. You left, not saying goodbye to my face and just disappeared, it was like you couldn't care less about my feelings and only thought about yourself. For god's sake you didn't even send me letters or a damn post card letting me know where you were or even if you were okay! I cried every night thinking I would NEVER see you again, you could've died but I would never know because you didn't care to tell me a damn thing! You. Left. Me...All alone."
After realizing what she had said, she jerked back and covered her mouth. She didn't know why she turned this around to their past but she did, and now she was angry with herself, and very embarrassed. The tears had already made their way down her face, leaving stains along the way.
Her heart racing she stood silent and still, tears still making their way. Before another word could be said, Lucy raced out of the room and into the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door behind her. Heart pounding she leaned against the door, hand still covering her mouth, mostly in shock from what came out of it.
She had wanted to say how she felt about Natsu leaving for the longest time but never knew how to express it or even how to bring it up in a conversation. She was so emotional and in the moment, it just came pouring out. It was definitely not how she wanted that conversation to go down, but it did and there was no turning back or taking back what she said because it was all true every word, every feeling she had, was all true but that didn't stop her from feeling horrible for springing this on him so suddenly and in the middle of another far more important moment.
Covering her face, she cried into her palms and slid down the closed door. Once her butt hit the floor, she looked up to the heaven's and gripped her knees "Mom, I'm so confused." closing her eyes tightly in defeat, her face turned to the floor, forehead using her arms for support. She felt like utter despair. In this moment she felt like a wreck of emotions.
Natsu just stood there. He had registered every word Lucy had said, she was very clear and forward about her feelings and it just took him by surprise and was in a little bit of a shock. After taking a moment of 'what the hell just happened' he ran towards her bathroom door he was about ready to barge in until he heard the echoing of Lucy's cries.
In that moment, Natsu's soul crumbled. Hearing her crying like that, was utter agony of pure torture. Especially knowing it was his doing. He didn't mean to hurt her, he never ever means to hurt her. Natsu lowered himself to his knees and put his hand and face close to the door so she could hear him. "Hey Luce..."
Lucy sniffled and looked up from the ground. "Just go home, please.." Her voice faded before she finished her sentence. Her hicks taking over once again, her chest tight with pain.
Natsu's heart shattered, hearing her shaky voice and smelling her salty tears pouring out just made him feel like the biggest ass on the planet to ever live.
Putting his forehead against the door, he lightly banged it while clenching his fist. It took every bone, every muscle in his body not to break down that bathroom door grab her into a tight embrace and apologize profusely and beg her for forgiveness.
Instead, he just held his head low, stood to his feet and walked away. Under his breath he apologized. "I'm so sorry Luce..." before leaving her apartment.
Natsu understood she needed time alone to process the whole thing and so did he. There was a lot that came out that night and they had their fair share of late night contemplation for the next week.
Lucy uncovered herself from her comforter. It was decided, she would go and talk to Natsu later that evening. She knew he was just as upset as she was. Emotions were still high but the longer she put it off, the longer their relationship would be strained.
Groaning, Lucy forced herself to leave her warm bed. Shivers flew up and down her spine, her arm hair sticking straight up from the sudden jolt of cold from the hardwood floors. She picked up her feet off the ground and started rubbing them with her warm hands, before moaning to herself. "I need to invest in a heater, and maybe a pair of slippers to go with it." she signed before standing up again, baring with the harsh cold.
The floors creaked as Lucy walked over to her desk to look for her wallet, she was praying for enough money to buy at least a new pair of slippers for her poor feet. She shuffled through her belongings and during so, Lucy noticed how much of a mess her desk was. Papers everywhere, trash can over flowing, and Mavis knows what is hiding beneath it all.
She frowned, "May as well just tidy up just a little. Shouldn't take more then a few minutes." Oh was she dearly mistaken. Lucy didn't know how she began her great fall cleaning but she forgot all about what she was going to do that day. Without even realizing it, a small cleanup of a desk turned into digging out all her cleaning supplies and scrubbing every tile crease, every corner, and every shelf in her kitchen and bathroom. Lucy was so caught up in her cleaning, she even forgot to change her clothes and brush her teeth. She was subconsciously trying to forget all that had happened in the last 18 hours and escape her reality. Cleaning, even though stressful, made her focus on something other than her problems.
Hours had past since she had started cleaning early that morning. It was now 5pm in the afternoon and the storm was still brewing something fierce. Windy rain slashed against the windows, threatening to shatter the glass with each impact. Cold wind seeped through the her closed window which Lucy would have to unwillingly bring up to her landlady.
"Well I'd rather have a lecture about how I somehow "cause" the cracks between the damn window and the building then pay an extra 1000 jewel or so a month for a crappy heater that i swear doesn't even work!" She rolled her eyes and sulked at all the crap going on, even her apartment was out to ruin her day.
Snapping back from her moment, Lucy looked around her room, satisfied with the work she had accomplished. "Well I think I deserve a break for now." She had a small smile plastered on her face, but it quickly faded. Lucy realized it was time to step up and go talk to Natsu. But for some reason she felt nervous and quiet frankly a little scared to face him after last night. She felt ashamed of herself and a little betrayed by his remarks he made towards her family, but it was only right and fair to him and to herself to actually sit and talk with each other. Face to face this time.
"First things first." She remarked to herself. "To clean myself up this time and not be sidetracked... what time is it anyway?" Looking around, she rushed over to her end table and picked up her alarm clock.
Silence.
"FIVE O'CLOCK!?" Projecting her voice rather loudly, she rushed and stumbled to her bathroom. Grabbing whatever clothes was closest. Not caring if they went together or not, she just needed to move. To be honest, she wouldn't be surprised if Natsu was back at home by now.
A loud banging and a drunk'in voice appeared."HEY LADY. SHUT UP ALREADY." Mr. Issac, Lucy's neighbor, was back at it again with his rude behavior.
Not in the mood, Lucy stomped over to the wall and gritted her teeth. She spoke in a low, angry growl. "How about you tell that to your girlfriend and stop being a damn hypocrite. The whole town can hear you guys going at it like bunnies so how about you shut your god damn mouth you ass."
Without even waiting for another one of his drunk'in comments, Lucy was out the door, rushing down the rainy streets of magnolia, her umbrella shielding her body best it could from the harsh windy-rain that stung her with each movement. Natsu's house was about a 15 minute walk but at her pace, she'll get there in 7 tops. The guild only being 20 from his house.
The guild was unusually quiet this evening, nobody seemed to be in the mood to fight. Not even the great Dragon Slayer himself, Natsu.
Mira found that more then a little disturbing to be honest. "Is everything alright, Natsu? You seem to be not yourself."
With a groan he put his arms crossed on the table and buried his face into them. Sobbing like an idiot. Moaning something about Lucy but Mira couldn't quiet register what he was saying.
That's what Happy was there for. "Natsu made Lucy aaaaangry last night." He covered his mouth to suspend the laugh that crept up on him. Happy was the biggest snitch on the planet, no doubt.
Raising a suspicious eyebrow, Erza entered her way into the conversation after overhearing. "How and why did Natsu make Lucy angry, hmm?" Erza didn't come off very pleased knowing Natsu hurt Lucy's feelings.
"Lucy probably gave him another ass kicking and a good scolding because I guarantee he ate all her food, messed up her apartment and then walked in on her naked... again." Gray intervened.
Natsu didn't say a word and only groaned louder.
Happy again slipped in since he got all the juicy details the night of. "Well, Lucy apparently fell and got hurt because she's clumsy and tried to pick up a heavy box from the top shelf of her closet and now has this really ugly cut on her leg but Natsu jumped in and saved her from any really heavy damaged so now he has a bunch of cuts and bruises but then afterwards, while they were digging through the box of stuff later, they found a picture of Lucy and apparently she has a br- " before he could finish, Natsu slammed his hand against Happy's mouth, tightly and looked him dead in the eyes, shaking his head. Meaning Happy better shut his mouth right this minute.
Everyone was a taken a bit back by the sudden outburst of the Dragon Slayer but that wasn't what they really cared about. It was knowing Lucy got hurt is what concerned them more.
"Oh dear!" Mira placed her hand over her mouth.
"Hey man, is Lucy okay!?" Gray questioned worryingly.
Everyone awaited for Natsu to answer. Erza ready to beat it out of him if he took any longer to answer.
Natsu waved his hands in front of everyone and smiled anxiously. "Oh yeah, she's fine don't worry. Just a little cut on her leg, she cleaned it up!" Scratching the back of his head, he looked away, sweating from the glaring blades Erza was sending him.
"Natsu." Erza lowered her voice.
He gulped nervously. "Y-yes ma'am?" He dared made eye contact.
She took a step forward. "Why is Lucy angry with you." Furrowing her brow she got in his face. Her eyes demanding an answer.
Sweat was just water falling down his face. "R-right, well." He took a deep breath before answering in a rush. "I just ate all her food again like usual, an then I accidentally knocked a picture of Lucy's mom over and shattered the glass I swear it was an accident I would never do that on purpose but it didn't sit to well with her ya know? Then she kicked me out and yelled at me loudly, it was really embarrassing since a lot of people heard and saw." He laughed nervously as sweat covered his entire body. He just lied to Titania Erza, Pray to Mavis she doesn't find out. Though, it was a conceivable cover story from Happy's almost slip of personal information.
Gray shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "You Moron, how could you be such an idiot and knock something over as precious as a picture of her Mother!? You ask me you deserved a beating rather then a little embarrassment, yeesh." He rolled his eyes.
Natsu jumped up from his chair and shook his fist, "Well nobody was askin ice pop! Besides, it was a damn accident!" They slammed foreheads together, grabbing each other's shirts in the process ready to start a good fight before Erza stepped in.
Grabbing both by their hair, she slammed there heads together and threw them onto bar stools to weep in pain. "Can't you guys go one conversation without fighting and breaking everything around you. The both of you are getting on my damn nerves." Erza sat down in frustration.
Heads spinning. "Yes Ma'am!" Gray and Natsu responded in sync.
She took her seat and crossed her legs. "I do agree with Gray, Natsu. You need to be careful and respectful to Lucy. You cause her so much grief every time you destroy her personal property."
That made Natsu feel like even more crap hearing her say that he caused Lucy grief. He signed and put his head back on the bar to sulk.
Happy stood up suddenly, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Hey look you guys! Lucy is here!" He jumped up and down, laughing ecstatically before flying over and hugging her tightly around the side of her cheek. Lucy gave him a sweet smile and patted his head.
Natsu jerked his head up. He didn't even know she was there, probably because of the killer headache that erupted from his brain that his senses just abandoned him. He blinked quickly and rubbed his eyes to rid of his dizziness, he was seeing about three Lucy's and that wasn't helping his headache but he was relived to see her.
Lucy turned her attention to her friends and smiled softly, waving to the group. "Hey guys." Her smile grew bigger, she was happy to see her friends. It was really refreshing.
Her eyes drifted and caught onto the pair of onyx eyes looking right at her. His face looked apologetic and it hurt her a little inside to see him looks so down compared to his usually bright and smiley self.
Their eyes continued to lock, and it wasn't going unnoticed. Gray took it upon himself to intervened their little stare off that was getting quiet uncomfortable for everyone else. "Soo, what've you been up to today Lucy? Like, How is your leg?"
Breaking eye contact, she turned to Gray. "Oh, um, I just cleaned up my apartment a little. It was starting to get stuffy and nasty. But my leg is doing just fine, thanks for asking." Lucy scratched her head and giggled in embarrassment. She figured they knew about her accident but not if they knew her family secret.
It worried her, she didn't want to keep things from them. However, she wanted to get her thoughts together and as much info as possible before telling people.
Erza walked up and crossed her arms. Curiously, she asked, "What brings you here so late in the evening?"
"Yeah Lucy, it's almost 6o'clock?" Mira interjected.
Shuffling her hands, she looked away from Erza and back at her best friend. "Well... I came to see Natsu, I stopped at his place but he clearly wasn't home, so I looked here and well, yeah here he is." She smiled at the Dragon Slayer, giving the man a glimpse of hope and relief.
A smile as big and bright as the sun plastered his face like an idiot. "You where looking for me?"
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you if we could talk. Whenever is most convenient for you of course! We got off on the wrong foot, and I said some things without thinking through. I would like to explain and have a civil conversation with you and..." she paused and looked at everyone in the room before continuing. "-apologize for what happened."
Everyone was confused about the whole situation but kept quiet. Listening in on their ordeal.
Gray scratched his head. "Why would you have to apologize? Natsu's the one who broke your moth-"
"I'm free to talk now!" Natsu interrupted as he stood from the bar stool.
With a nod, Lucy walked to the infirmary. An eager Fire Dragon close at her heels, closing the door once he entered.
They each sat on a bed, facing each other. It was more then a little awkward, they both felt guilty and embarrassed about the previous night. Mostly Lucy however, she felt ashamed by her lack of integrity and maturity, even if it was Natsu in her presence. She shuffled her fingers together and looked everywhere but the man who sat in front of her.
She was about to voice her apology but Natsu beat her to it. "I'm sorry Luce, for hurting you and your family like that. I know they're good people by the way you talk about them." Her eyes snapped to his face, he look like he just saw a dead puppy. A frown plastered his face, his eyes refusing to look into hers.
"Natsu I-"Trying to find her words was a bit of a confusion. Her head filled with a thousands things to say but not one would leave her tongue. She was a bit blindsided to his apology, she honestly felt she was the one who should apologize for being so dramatic and overbearing.
His eyes finally met hers. They where filled with regret and sorrow, he was truly sorry for what he had done, even if she felt she was mostly to blame. It pulled at her heart strings. Natsu's pure nature was caring and love for the people around him, so when he believes he hurt someone close like that, he's sure to put all the blame upon himself. It was actually very sweet that he cared so much about what had happened. It was a little too mature for Natsu but then again, the way he is at the moments like these, Natsu knows when to straighten up and say or do something meaningful.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy built up her courage and spoke softly. "No, I'm sorry, Natsu. It wasn't right of me to bash you for your opinions and own emotions and then throw my feelings from the past into your face out of nowhere and then storm off and slam a door in your face..." Lucy exhaled and leaned forward. It was a relief she finally got her apology out.
To her surprise, Lucy heard little spurts of giggles. When she looked up, Natsu's cheeks were inflated and he was covering his mouth to suspend the laughter creeping up on his features. Removing his hands, he grabbed his stomach and started laughing.
What in the hell was so funny to him? She just made an apology and so did he and now he's laughing like it was some big joke. It really started to push Lucy's buttons. With an irritated sign, she stood up quickly and harshly from the bed causing it to screech against the wood floor. She looked down at the now surprised but still laughter-flush faced Dragon slayer. She gave him a narrowed glance and proceeded to stomp off. She felt like a fool, a damn fool.
First, she poured her emotions out to him the night before. Then, she built up the courage to find him and even apologize to only have him laugh at her. It was the most insensitive thing he could've done in that moment. Humility tears threatened her, with everything that was going on her emotions were at their prime, just waiting for a simple thing to happen so she could erupt into a fit of anger.
Lucy reached for the door handle of the infirmary but was met with a warm hand that beat her to it. They stood there for a good few seconds. Natsu lingered very closely over her, she could practically feel his breath on her shoulder, let alone the immense heat radiating off him. It sent a shiver down her spine from the sudden warmth and oddly, a comfort his close presence had.
Natsu finally broke silence. "I wasn't giggling because I was laughing at you or the situation."
The hand that was blocking her path slowly grabbed at her shoulder and encouraged her to face him, which she complied but refused eye contact.
Lucy rested her hand on her forearm and looked at anything but the man standing before her. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink, she couldn't help the light embarrassment and tension that lingered between their very close bodies. You could almost hear each other's heartbeats which was mostly true for Natsu.
Closing her eyes, she took a minute before finally locking eyes with the Dragon Slayer once again, she burrowed her brow while her lip twitched. They threatened to say some nasty words but she reconciled to a softer tone. "Then why the hell were you laughing, It was the most inappropriate thing to do in this situation, moron." Lucy was less then happy with how their 'conversation' was going but there was this strange feeling towards how he stopped her and how close they were, physically. Though, she ignored and brushed it off to nothing.
Natsu removed his hand from her shoulder and ruffled his hair, he placed the other on his hip and smiled guiltily. "Well because you apologized for something stupid." He laughed innocently.
"...W-what?" She raised her eyebrow and stood there in complete confusion.
He closed his eyes and smiled brightly towards her. "Lucy you don't need to apologize, I mean, I know we both said some stuff we didn't mean but I was out of line for contradicting your mother like that, and you!" Laughing nervously this time, sweat began to drip, hoping his honesty wouldn't make her mad again.
Well she wasn't mad, but she didn't look happy either.
Lucy averted her eyes. Embarrassment once again making a comeback."Natsu. I meant every word I said about the past. I said how I was really feeling, maybe not in the best way or the right moment but you know, my emotions where just everywhere and I couldn't stop-"
"You think I see you as useless baggage...?" His heart dropped like a rock to the pit of his stomach when he recalled the words she described from the night before. They had never left his train of thought since then. He even stumbled back a bit from the shock he was experiencing.
She nodded.
Cuffing her fists, she raised her head sharply, ready to say another thing but the next thing she knew, two big, warm arms wrapped tightly around her whole body. Lucy could feel his tense body tighten with every breath, like he was holding something back.
Natsu had buried his face against her shoulder. His teeth clenched tightly before he could udder the words he wanted to say. "Lucy. Don't ever say that to me again. Don't you dare, ever again, say you're useless baggage, or anything horrible like that about yourself and then say that's how I feel and think about you because you have never been so ignorant in your life."
He pulled back and looked her in the eyes before continuing.
"You mean more to me then life itself, you make me happy and make me strive to be a better person. You trust and care about me because of who I am, you've never given me a reason to resent or to hate you. I've grown and loved more, because of you. I never meant to hurt or make you think the way that you have, I was only trying to protect you, you have to believe me."
Lucy was in a state of awe over his words. Not knowing what to do or say but it didn't matter since he wasn't finish talking.
"I was an idiot to think it was okay to leave you with a mere note and then never say a word till I came back. That was a selfish move on my part, It had nothing against you. I swear on my life. I would never, and will never think of you of any less then the precious human being that you are. Believe me when I say, I won't ever do that again. I will never leave you like that again, not ever. Do you understand me!?" He grabbed her shoulders with a look of desperation. His eyes searched aggressively into hers for an answer.
All she could do was cry, with all the crying she had done already she didn't know she had way more to give. With an sharp nod, she covered her face. She was now ashamed of herself that she thought those ridiculously things. Of course, Natsu would never perceive her as 'useless garbage' or somebody he didn't care much about. She was the biggest ignorant dumbass on the planet. She knew better, he was the most caring and loving person this world has to offer and he was her Best Friend the person she loved the most. Someone she owed her life to.
Lucy was never alone, and she was never forgotten. Natsu would always keep her in his heart and on his mind till the day he died. It meant more to her then anything else, he truly loved her for who she was like how she loved him.
Uncovering her face she looked up at him with giant teary eyes. "I caused a big mess, now haven't I?" She broke into a small sniffle war with herself while wiping the tears from her eyes.
Now this was amusing and funny to Natsu. "Na, you were just being a werido, per-usual" he smiled and patted her arm.
Lucy laughed and nodded with agreement. "I think we, more so I, take a moment to relax. We can talk about this another time when there isn't a million other things on my mind."
Natsu nodded, "Yeah we have a mystery Heartfilia to worry about now. God knows how much trouble he's gotten into if he's anything related to you." With a teasing smirk he was returned with a friendly punch to the shoulder.
"Hey now, no need to get physical!" He rubbed his arm pretending like it hurt.
Rolling her eyes with a smile. Lucy opened the door. "Yeah Yeah, let's go get some dinner, I haven't eaten all day. I could eat a horse!" she remarked, rubbing her tummy as it growled in sync.
As they left the infirmary, it suddenly hit Natsu. "Wait. Isn't one of your spirits a horse!? Lucy Heartfilia, do you eat your own friends!" He covered his mouth in shock.
Lucy turned and faced Natsu. "Uh, first of all, He's a man in a horse costume. Secondly, It was an expression." She turned to proceed to their destination.
"Whatever you say, horse eater." Natsu shrugged and walk past her.
Caught off guard she rushed after him. "I am not a horse eater nor a friend eater! I would never!" Lucy stomped, annoyed with his teasing. She can never get away from it.
Mira looked over and smiled while cleaning a glass. Watching the two tease each other endlessly was more then a little amusing. "Looks like they had a good talk! I'm glad. Natsu seemed really upset earlier." She remarked towards Erza who was busy reading a novel and eating a strawberry cake.
Erza nodded as she took a bite from her strawberry cake, she had noticed them teasing as well. It made her unusually happy to see them together. "Me too, it's weird seeing those two not enjoying themselves when they're together. Glad all seems well now."
Gray had noticed the other two coming out of the infirmary with smiles on their faces. "Hey Happy, looks like we can join them now. They look to be in better moods then before."
Happy giggled and covered his mouth. "Maybe they were kissing."
All Gray could do in response was roll his eyes and shrug. "Well let's go, I've got nothing better to do."
With an energetic "Aye Sir!" both Happy and Gray rushed after their friends.
In the distance you could hear the bickering/teasing still going on, this time Gray joining in, also calling Lucy a horse eater and Happy then crying thinking she would eat him next. Which both of them were greeted with slaps to the back of the head by the unamused celestial wizard.
Mira's face melted to a small frown. "Erza." she placed the mug she was cleaning down on the counter, still watching the others make a run for it through the guild doors and out into the pouring rain.
"Yea?" Erza replied, looking up from her novel.
Mira thought for a moment before shaking her head. She felt something wasn't quiet right but she brushed it off assuming it wasn't important and that it was just her imagination. "Nevermind, It's not important." With a smile, she left the bar to carry on her work in the back. Leaving Titania confused and alone to eat her cheesecake and finish her book.
Erza shrugged before grabbing her belongings and saying goodbye to the few remaining late night drinkers. She made her way back to Fairy Hills for the night. In the morning she would be heading out on a solo mission so she needed a good night's rest.
The day ended with the gang full of great food and a few board games under their belt before passing out in Lucy's now dirty apartment for the night. The boys refused to leave since it was "too late" and raining. Gray also complained his stomach hurt too much to walk but not enough to down a few more plates of food and Natsu just down right not wanting to leave.
They all settled into their assigned sleeping stations. Lucy got her bed back by pushing Natsu off and making him sleep on the cold floor with nothing but a pillow, blanket and a stinky, wet Happy. Gray took refuge on the couch, half naked and unfazed by the harsh cold her apartment had to offer.
Lucy stared up at the ceiling. For the life of her, she just couldn't fall asleep.
Neither was Gray, he made that clear by constantly moving around which was one of the reasons Lucy couldn't fall asleep.
He looked over to see her laying perfectly still, eyes wide awake. "Lucy, I hope you are awake and not sleeping with your eyes open." He had a concerned look on his face not that Lucy could see that.
Lucy giggled. "Na, I'm awake."
"Can't sleep?"
"Not really, no."
Gray sat up from the couch and looked at her. "What's up? Everything alright?"
Lucy shuffled and sat up as well. She took a while to answer but she had this feeling of needing to tell someone and she trusted Gray. He was like a brother to her, funny enough. Even though Natsu was her best friend, Gray was a little easier to talk to since he was more mature and understood things better then Natsu did at times. It helped that he can catch the mood of things and wasn't as dense.
"No... Nothing is alright." Her voiced cracked as she struggled to hold back the endless amount of tears she somehow had. She felt like the biggest cry baby. Where she got the juice for these tears, she had no idea.
Stunned about the sudden shift in emotion. Gray quickly got up and rushed over to her, careful not to step on Natsu and wake him up.
He sat on the edge of her bed and gave her a sympathetic look. "Lucy, what really happened last night?" His foot ready to smack Natsu in the face depending on what she said next.
Lucy took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone else. Natsu and I'm guessing Happy already know. I don't have all the information as I just found out last night so please don't ask a lot of questions because I simply don't know."
Crossing his legs, Gray nodded. "Yeah just tell me already."
With a quick nod, she closed her eyes. "I have a brother. Like an actual biological, my mother gave birth to him, brother." She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to see his face.
It had to be a minute that passed and still not a word from Gray. Lucy decided to take a quick peek only to find the ice wizard, frozen in shock and confusion. His mind couldn't even comprehend what she just said.
"Gray...Graaaay?" Lucy whispered, waving her hand in front of his face.
He snapped back to reality and stared at her. "You have a brother!?" He yelled before covering his mouth quickly. He bent over and looked to see if he had woken anybody up. Luckily, he didn't. He signed in relief.
Lucy put a finger to her mouth and furrowed her brow to indicate to be quiet. She continued, "Apparently, yeah."
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know, I never met him nor even knew about him."
"Well, how old is he?"
"I don't know for sure."
"Did he run away?"
"I don't know."
"Is he still alive?"
"Gray..."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Gray."
"Is he a mage to, like apart of a guild maybe?"
"GRAY!" Lucy finally yelled at him, indicating for him to shut up.
Natsu didn't even budge, he never responded to anything involving Gray.
Gray flinched back. "Oh... sorry, forgot. No questions." He scratched his neck and smiled innocently.
Lucy waved her hands at him. "It's alright, I get the questions. I just really don't know anything." with a frown, she started fiddling with her fingers.
It had gotten a little awkward after that. Gray didn't know what to say. What could he say? 'Hey, I'm sorry your brother died or something. My condolences?' Though, now he knew why Natsu was sulking earlier. Gray figured he said something dumb and insensitive and probably made Lucy cry. Which he guessed right.
He finally broke the silence. "How did you find out?"
Lucy leaned over and grabbed the picture from inside a book. She didn't want to leave it out in the open for anyone to see and the only person who would dare touch a book would be Levy but she had left for a job early this morning, so it was the safest place to hide it.
Handing the photo to Gray she pointed to the back. "Read the back once you finish staring at naked baby Me and my naked baby brother." she teased which got an unamused face in return.
Flipping the photo over, Gray quickly read the back before looking back at the picture. "Damn. That's crazy Lucy. What are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "I really have no idea and I'm still a little freaked out but I was thinking of going to Master and see if he can help me find out what happened. Who knows, if Kyle is still alive, we could be going on a really crazy adventure to find my long lost brother. Sounds fun, right?" She anxiously laughed. It wasn't a solid plan but it was the best she had.
Gray raised an eyebrow. "Um, we?"
Frowning, Lucy nodded. "Yes 'we'. Natsu is definitely already tagging along so Happy will to and I guarantee Erza will find her way in, and honestly, Gray. You're just slightly more sane then them and reasonable. So yes, we. We're a team through thick and thin and this is the thick."
With a deep breath, Gray smiled. "Yeah, you're right. WE can go talk to Gramps tomorrow but you gotta get some sleep first, alright?"
Lucy returned the gesture and smiled back. "Sounds good. Sleep well, Gray."
He stood from her bed. "You too, Lucy." With a final smile, he made his way back to his assigned 'bed' and flopped down. With a satisfied sign, he closed his eyes.
Lucy felt more at ease after talking about her situation and having someone listen. It made things feel a little lighter on her shoulders. She had her two very best friends holding her up and helping her with each step she took, baring the weight on her shoulders and climbing through ditches and thorns with her.
"How did I get so lucky?" Lucy thought to herself before sleep finally overcame her swollen eyes and tired mind.
The rain had finally cleared and the moon came out full and bright. The once ugly morning, turned into a beautiful autumn night.
|I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It's quiet long and hopefully I can keep up the pace. It's really fun writing these long chapters but a bitch to reread and edit but it's whatever.
As always, love you all and thank you for reading my story!
Cya guys!
