Day 2: Vulnerable

I never thought that actually believing that stupid rumor about Igneel's appearance in Hargeon would drastically change my life.

I was startled when I heard the voice of a young girl. She was thanking me because she said that I broke a charm casted on her or something. It was not a big deal and I did not even know what I did but she was a very nice lady who paid for our meal. Well, she's a bit noisy but I think she's cool. And I noticed that she looked really pretty especially when she told us about mages and guilds. I perked up at the mention of Fairy Tail but since she was too busy talking, I was not able to tell her that Happy and I were from Fairy Tail. She left after she paid for our meal and we were very grateful. At that time, I was kinda hoping that I would see her again at the guild in the future. A new addition to the family would be very refreshing.

The next time I saw her, she was aboard that stupid bastard's ship. Ugh I feel sick just to think about it. Apparently, that fake Salamander's business involves slavery and human trafficking. And the young girl that I met in Hargeon was also there! She was being held buy a bunch of guys but the stupid motion sickness was killing me so I can't move! So Happy took the initial action.

Suddenly after Happy grabbed the young girl out of the ship, a huge wave of water hit the ship. And later on, I realized that I wasn't sick anymore. Of course, I kicked his ass immediately. Although, Master's gonna have to write a lot of letters addressed to the Council again… So without hesitation, I grabbed the blonde's hand and dragged her along with me. And in the extent of my whole existence, I did not foresee that I will bring someone new in Fairy Tail.

Why did I even do that? Grabbing a stranger and suddenly bringing her with me— who knows if she's an enemy? But somewhere deep in my heart, I knew that I had to keep her with me. That I should not let go of Lucy. I wasn't aware of the feeling at that time but I'm glad that I trusted that gut feeling.

Yes, Lucy. That's her name. It was not until later that I will know of her full name.

Lucy Heartfilia.

The process of learning her last name was the least thing that we expected. (Although we do not care if she has a full name or what, she's Lucy of Fairy Tail to all of us in the guild.)

Phantom Lord attacked the guild. They kidnapped Lucy and did horrible things to the all of us. Honestly, I cannot even describe how mad I was. Not only they destroyed the guild but they also hurt a lot of people! But I did not blame Lucy even for a little bit. No one blamed her. We were fighting because of our comrades. We are family. And family members help each other out no matter what happens.

I really hated her father after that. How could a father do that to his own child? I wanted to beat her father up! But I can't do that because Lucy will be sad. You see, Lucy has a pure heart. She forgives everyone who has done her wrong. But I became scared when Erza found a note in her apartment that's saying that she's going home. She can't go back to that bastard! She must be still blaming herself for the attack. Maybe she thought that if she's gone, the guild will be at peace. What a weirdo! The guild would be very sad if she left! I almost cried when I imagined a life without her at the guild. Without my best friend. So without a second thought, we rushed to her place to get her back.

When we reached her home, saying that I was embarrassed was an understatement. We were such idiots to believe that she was actually leaving the guild for good! She was only visiting her mother's grave. And I heard that she actually told that asshole off! That's my Lucy!

-Oh I mean, Lucy rocks! I did not call her mine, okay?

Anyway, if I continued blabbering about all of our adventures, then I'll never get to my point. You know all of that already, right?

I heard that people were saying bad things about Lucy. Statements like, 'She's so weak, relying on her Spirits to fight for her' or 'She doesn't deserve her fame' or 'she should just go back home and just marry off a prince somewhere because that's what princesses do!' makes me want to burn a whole mountain of trees. Or a mountain range.

Seriously, who are those people to say that Lucy's vulnerable? That she's a damsel in distress? That she always need people to save her ass every damn time?

Lucy is strong, you know? She is the brains of our team. Without her information and strategies, we will be goners. She could be as fierce as Erza when she wanted to. Heck I'm scared of her wrath and her 'Lucy-kicks' were damn painful! She is also good in handling a whip and in combat. She is brave and courageous and she's willing to do everything that she can just to help the guild. She never ran away when that guy almost crushed her skull because she did not want leave me who was trapped in the rocks. Her future self turned back in time and died to save us from the dragon invasion. Honestly, I'm still having nightmares involving her death… But I need to move on because we already prevented that future from happening. And my L- I mean, present Lucy is alive so I should not worry because I'm not going to let her go.

Also, she fucking saved us from that demon lord guy! Alone! She sacrificed Aquarius so that we could be saved. She is also loyal and kind. She treats her Spirits as her friends! Everyone in the guild and in the celestial world loves her.

And I love her too.

.

.

.

Oh shit did I say that out loud!?

"Shit Gray, why am I even doing this?" Natsu punched the ice mage while his face became red as a tomato.

"Because Mira has told Freed to set up runes for you. And I'm here to record everything so WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUNCH ME YOU FLAME HEAD!" Gray kicked Natsu in the face while holding the lacrima vision recorder.

"I already talked so why the hell are the runes still here!" Natsu complained as he punched the invisible boundary of the runes.

"Because Lucy should see this damn recording first, you dumbass!" Gray stepped out of the boundary when he noticed a blonde celestial mage walk into the guild. "Hey Lucy!"

"Oh hi Gray!" She noticed Natsu behind Gray doing odd things. She's guessing that Natsu got in trouble again and is trapped in Freed's runes. "What happened to Natsu?"

Gray chuckled as he looked at Natsu and then smirked. "Mira told Freed to set up runes especially made for that flame idiot."

"Mira? So what does the runes say?" Lucy tilted her head in confusion. This time Natsu looked panicked and struggled to get out of the boundary.

"Gray you bastard! Don't you dare—" Natsu glared at the smirking Gray.

"Or what? Mira will kill you if you don't do this. Maybe Erza will help, too— No, it's actually definite." Natsu groaned in annoyance.

"So… Gray, the runes?" Lucy inquired once again.

"Oh, it says 'Natsu Dragneel must tell a story about Lucy Heartfilia. If Lucy Heartfilia is not present, it will be recorded by Gray Fullbuster and will be shown to Lucy.'" Gray reached out to Lucy handing her the lacrima for the recording.

Lucy chuckled. "Natsu, why are you so worked up? It's just a story! Don't worry I'll watch this now so that you'll get out of there as soon as possible." She smiled as she activated the lacrima. She saw the face of the salmon-haired dragon slayer on the screen. And then, she became touched by his words. She never knew that he felt that way. She was in awe until she became frozen when she heard the last line.

'And I love her too.'

Lucy blushed as her gaze met with Natsu's. "A-are?"

Natsu's face is now as red as a tomato. There has been an awkward silence and they didn't even noticed that the runes were now gone. Gray snickered as he got out of the scene and gave Mirajane a high five.

"A-Ano…" Natsu stuttered.

"I-Is this true?"

Natsu hesitated before nodding while avoiding Lucy's eyes. "Oh…"

It seemed like time has stopped for the two of them. Neither of them was speaking. Natsu was looking to his right while Lucy looked at her shoes. But after a little while, Lucy sighed and plastered a smile on her face while she faced Natsu.

"Thank you, Natsu." This caused Natsu to turn his head towards the direction of the celestial mage that he loved. He grinned sheepishly while he scratched the back of his neck.

"Wanna go on a mission with me?" Still blushing, Lucy reached out her hand to the fire dragon slayer. Without any hesitation, he grabbed it and intertwined his fingers with hers. They smiled at each other as they walked towards the mission board. They picked a job from the mission board and went to Mirajane for approval.

"We're heading out! We'll be back soon!" Still hand-in-hand, they got out of the guild to finish their mission.

Mirajane almost fainted at the outcome of her plan. She could finally cross out those two on her list! But Gray had to ruin her happiness because of his observation.

"Mira, sorry to break it out to you but we still have no evidence that they're finally going out. They just… took a mission. Lucy did not even say a reply to him! I can't believe this, all that hard work—"

"Oh Gray, maybe I should do some arrangements for you, too?" Gray did not like Mirajane's tone even a little bit. But it was too late, with Freed on her side, Gray became trapped into an area.

Maybe Gray will understand more if he experienced it beforehand?