I couldn't stop myself from posting this today instead of next week like I promised. I'll still try to get another out next week, though!

I have to warn you guys – Cobra is going to be an asshole here. He already is one, but right now he's hurt, confused, and wants to lash out, making him a bit worse than usual.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 2
Broken Trust

Cobra let out a snarl at Lucy's unspoken words, but it held a tinge to it that Lucy recognized well from her debutante days – one of steadily rising desperation.

And fear.

She hung her head in hot-faced shame. "I'm sorry," Lucy whispered. It wasn't enough, she already knew. But it was all she could offer, all she had.

"That's not going to cut it," he hissed above her. "Look at me. Look at me!" When Lucy raised her at the command, Cobra took on a defensive stance, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you even think to tell anyone…"

"I said I wouldn't," Lucy interrupted. "I mean it. I'm really sorry Cobra; I didn't realize."

"And I told you to leave it be!" he shouted. "You should have just listened and trusted that I wasn't keeping anything harmful from everyone, and let me keep it to myself!"

Defensive anger welled up inside of Lucy at his accusation. "Says the person who can hear everyone else's inner thoughts! You don't think that's invasive?!" Even as the words left her mouth, she knew they were wrong and winced, wishing she could take them back. That wasn't the real issue here.

Betrayal and hurt shone in his eye. "That's the only thing I hear," Cobra growled at her. "Only through other people's souls do I get to hear what everyone else does. Do you have any idea what that's like? I'm a Dragon Slayer. My hearing is supposed to be the best of the best and it isn't even up to mundane standards!"

Lucy realized that she'd touched upon a deep pool of mistrust and pain with her prying.

"You've gotten that right, too." Cobra glanced away from the blonde, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly. "Look, it's not something I want broadcasted to the others. Keep it to yourself, and we won't have a problem." Then he met Lucy's eyes again, and leaned down until he was scant inches from her face. "And trust me... if you don't, we will have a problem." Threat delivered, he stood up straight again. "Be careful, Heartfilia," he spat. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he departed.

Like his namesake, Cobra knew exactly where to strike with that final venomous comment.

Burying her face in her hands, Lucy tried not to cry.

Natsu came to find her some time later, when he noticed that his partner hadn't returned to the guild. "Luce?" the Fire Dragon Slayer called, frowning in the dim light. It was getting late. Had Lucy just gone home instead? Catching her scent a moment later, though, he followed it to the other side of the building. "Lucy? You there?"

"I'm here," she replied quietly, still huddled up against the wall.

"What are you doing there?" Natsu asked, walking up to her. He froze in place, sniffing the air. "You've been crying?" He immediately rushed to her side. "What's wrong, Luce?"

Lucy lifted her head up to look at her best friend. The tears had long since dried on her cheeks, but she could still feel their tracks. "It's nothing, Natsu. I'm fine," she mumbled.

Frowning at her, Natsu said, "No, you're not fine. What's going on, Luce?" She didn't answer, so Natsu sniffed the air again. With a frown, he asked, "Did Cobra say something to you? I can smell him. Did he do something?" His hackles started to rise, overprotective instincts kicking in. "Luce, talk to me."

Shaking her head, Lucy said, "It wasn't Cobra's fault, Natsu. I'm the one who..." She choked on the words, a fresh wave of tears welling up. "I'm the one who said... and thought... and did... something wrong to him."

Her friend regarded her silently for a moment, thinking. "Can you explain a little more, Lucy?"

"I pried into something I shouldn't have," Lucy replied. "And I don't even have a good excuse for it. I was just being nosy."

Natsu dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. "This is Cobra we're talking about - I'm sure he'll get over it. I mean… he forgave Jellal, right? And even works with him. Whatever you've done can't possibly be as bad as that."

Lucy bit her lip. "I know, Natsu. But… Jellal had a way to make it right with him. I don't, and I don't think he's going to forgive me, or get over it just because I want him to. I'm afraid I hurt him pretty badly, with this. More than I thought I could."

The Fire Dragon Slayer placed a warm palm on Lucy's shoulder. "You might be overreacting? Even if he's angry, he'll come around and realize you didn't mean any harm. He's rather fond of you; he's told us Dragon Slayers that a couple of times."

She blinked up at him. "He's what?"

Natsu nodded. "Well, he didn't say it exactly like that. I think he specifically said something like, 'Lucy's tolerable.' Which is Cobra-speak for, 'I like her.' He said that you were one of the first people to accept him and his friends when they first came by the guild. Cobra also mentioned that you went out of your way to try to make them all comfortable. And it was one of the reasons he could let his guard down at the guild. He seemed pretty grateful for it, too."

The words were like a stab to Lucy's gut. Guilt washed over her. "That just makes it worse, Natsu!" she wailed. "I just betrayed his trust!"

Recoiling from her words, Natsu stared at his friend. "Luce... am I missing something here? Just what happened that you think he wouldn't forgive you?"

Lucy shook her head violently. "I can't say." When Natsu looked about to say something, she added, "I'm sorry, Natsu. I wish I could… but I've already done enough damage."

A deep sigh came from her partner, as he reached up and scratched behind his head. "I'm not going to pretend I understand, but... well, I'll trust your judgement." He lowered his hand. "So... what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

"You'll figure it out!" Natsu reassured her. "You're Luce! You like figuring things out."

Lucy gave him a wan smile. Natsu never failed to lift her spirits. "Yeah, that's true. Okay. I'll… I'll work on it." Her stomach chose that moment to let out a monstrous, rumbling growl that echoed in the evening air.

Natsu laughed as her cheeks coloured in embarrassment.

"I'll do it tomorrow," she decided. "After I get something to eat and a good night's rest."

Grinning, Natsu offered her a hand up. "Sounds like a plan! So... what's for dinner?"

"You're... not getting any."

"Whaaaaat?! Luuuuuccceee... you're so mean to meeeeeee..."

Cobra, once he was finished dressing down the blonde Fairy, stalked back into the guild and took up residence at the counter again. His hands itched to destroy something, but the furor that would cause was more trouble than it was worth. The Poison Dragon Slayer would wait until he was back out in the wilderness before he started wreaking havoc on the landscape. No matter how tempting it was to pick up a glass and chuck it at someone to restart the brawl, Cobra knew that he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from trying to do some serious damage to the others. He really didn't need the ensuing guilt on his conscience or on his plate at the moment.

Uselessly, he flexed his hands in front of him. Jolts of adrenaline shot through his limbs, and it took all of his willpower to keep from kicking his legs as well to be rid of the excess energy. Cobra was still pissed about Lucy's snooping into his personal affairs. This wasn't something he kept to himself just for the hell of it - if word got around that the fearsome Dokuryuu no Cobra had a weakness like this it was potentially life-threatening. Not just for him, but for his comrades with Crime Sorciere as well. And anyone else he'd come into contact with, such as everyone at Fairy Tail - including Lucy herself! Cobra had made more enemies in his life than he could honestly handle, and he had no qualms about admitting that fact. Any one of the individuals or groups with a (probably warranted) grudge against him would be more than happy to exploit any weaknesses perceived or real that he might have.

Honestly, given the potential consequences, he had left the girl off far too easily. None of his rage had abated after his warning to her - rage that had been growing for quite a while.

It had started off as a slow, burning annoyance. The way she watched and waited for him to slip up. And slip up he had, because it wasn't something he could help. Here he was, the apex predator, being essentially stalked himself by Gajeel's favourite Bunny-Girl! Another achievement to add to his list of failures as a Dragon Slayer.

Annoyance had ascended to anger sometime around when the fan had fallen. He'd even warned her, outright. Unable to stop himself despite knowing that he was only fueling her insatiable curiosity. But he hadn't known how else to deal with it, other than to try to get her to stop looking for something she had no right to. It wasn't as if his usual methods to which he was accustomed regarding dealing with those who uncovered it would work in this instance. Cobra couldn't just snap her neck - the consequences of that would be far more dire than what he was currently facing. And he didn't want to, besides.

The girl was far too clever by half, and her observation skills were bar none.

He wondered what he was going to do - how he would react - when she inevitably figured out that he was incredibly nearsighted as well. To the point of being legally blind without his corrective lens. His vision would be even worse without the Dragon Slayer magic, but that wasn't exactly a comfort.

It was some time before he calmed down enough to realize that Lucy was crying outside. The salty tang of her tears reached even inside the guild, and her soul writhed in internal agony. The Poison Dragon Slayer was rather surprised that he was the only one that noticed.

Cobra grimaced. The idea of making her cry didn't sit well with him, even through his – justified – anger. He still owed her, after all. For a lot of things. Starting with how easily she'd accepted the new members of Crime Sorciere into her extended definition of family. She had just... smiled, and welcomed them –despite the fact that they'd tried to sacrifice her to a giant, floating, metal fish clock. If he had to choose the last person who should have accepted them, it would have been her. And yet here she was, the first, instead.

So when she had ignored his wishes to back off... it had hurt. Far more than it should've.

Lucy had given him a safe place – Fairy Tail, and to some extent, her – and then had snatched it away from him just as quickly.

Cobra felt hurt, angry, betrayed, confused... and disappointed. Above all, was the disappointment.

Nearby, Natsu looked up from his fight with Gray, having successfully stolen the Ice Make Mage's boxers. Wondering where his partner was and why she hadn't returned yet, the Salamander glanced around the guild. He ignored his teammate's angry curses and shouts, trying to locate his best friend. Tossing the underwear aside and leaving the stripper to locate his missing clothes, Natsu wandered outside looking for Lucy.

Tense, Cobra listened in on the conversation. Quietly, he cursed Natsu for saying things he really shouldn't have. That moron would be the death of him.

But Natsu had a point. It was clear to the Poison Dragon Slayer that Lucy hadn't meant any harm to him. She had just been curious – and it wasn't as if Cobra hadn't done his fair share of snooping out of boredom before. Lucy also had zero intention of revealing his secret to anyone, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't change her mind later. Or accidentally let something slip about it. Years under Brain's command and his time at the Tower had taught Cobra to be exceptionally wary – especially of those with good intentions. At least with people who meant him harm, he knew where he stood and how they might act. Lucy was a wild card, capable of turning the tables on him if he dared trust her again. She'd already broken that trust once.

Though even Cobra could admit that calling Lucy by her surname had been a bit of a low blow. He'd said it because he'd known it would hurt, and he wanted her to feel like he did. It had worked, of course.

'Hey, Erik," a familiar voice invaded his consciousness. 'Is something going on? I don't know what it did to deserve it, but you've been glaring at that countertop for like an hour.'

Cobra glanced up, swiveling around to meet Macbeth's hazy red gaze from a booth some distance away. With a sigh, he made a couple of swift hand motions. "Can't talk. Later. It's complicated."

Macbeth watched the motions with mild confusion. It had been years since Cobra had last felt the need to sign, so he was a little rusty at reading the gestures. Cobra didn't like to call attention to the fact that he knew the silent language, afraid that it would reveal him for what he was. Honestly, Macbeth didn't understand why he wanted it kept such a huge secret from others – especially Jellal and Meredy. They needed to be told, or there might be grave consequences down the line.

All of the former Oracion Seis knew, actually, about Cobra's deafness. Also his eyesight problems, but as far as they were concerned neither condition was much of an issue. They'd been there, after all, when Cobra had first lost his hearing in the Tower and his world had grown silent. Eventually Cobra's Soul Listening magic had kicked in and made up for most of what he was lacking. Still, the others had helped him hide the fact that his ears were all but useless. Had even hid Cobra's condition from Brain as long as was practical out of loyalty. Brain had found out, of course, but there had been no way to hide it from the older man forever.

Hearing Macbeth's confusion, Cobra repeated the signs, a little more slowly this time.

Catching the meaning this time, the Reflector Mage nodded his understanding. 'Is this something we should all hear?'

Cobra hesitated, then motioned, "Maybe."

'Got it,' Macbeth thought. 'We'll call a meeting later. Should we include Jellal and Meredy?'

Again, the Poison Dragon Slayer wavered. Macbeth was correct – Jellal and Meredy would have to be informed eventually about his deafness. Also, if his prescription changed for his lens it would be difficult to procure a new one on his own again without going to Wendy. And there was no possible way he was ever going to go to another Dragon Slayer with that. No matter how unassuming she was, nor dedicated to patient confidentiality. It wasn't happening.

Also, if Lucy was able to figure it out on her own there was no guarantee that others couldn't.

It was a long minute before he signed back, "Include."

Macbeth smiled at his friend. 'Good.'

"We'll see," Cobra replied.

With a snort, the Reflector mage closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. 'You're just being paranoid.'

He didn't need to open his eyes to know that Erik was making a rude gesture at him. One that required no translation.

I'll reveal more about Cobra's condition with each chapter, I promise.

Happy CoLu Week, everyone!