I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.
In the depths of his memories Jellal heard, "Jellal…Jellal…Can you hear me? Jellal…Breathe, I need you to breathe for me…Stay calm Jellal…I'm here for you."
"Uhh…Lu…cy," he groaned, "I'm tired."
Lucy smiled softly and said, "I know you are babe, Let's get you to bed." She turned to look at Meredy and said, "Meredy, help me get him to bed." Meredy and Lucy hooked Jellal's arms around their shoulders and carried them to bed.
Erik watched as they walked away and turned to his friends when they disappeared into Jellal's bedroom. "What do you think that was about?" he whispered.
Sorano shrugged and said, "I don't know, and honestly, I don't care. I wish he just choked and died right there."
Lucy cleared her throat, and everyone whipped their heads around to look at her. "I'm sorry Meredy yelled at you guys like that. She just doesn't see Jellal in the way that you guys do. Jellal has kind of been raising her alongside Ultear for the past 7 years, at least until she died a couple of months ago. Jellal's panic attack wasn't your fault. It was actually something Meredy said that triggered it. I'll be having a word with her. I understand though. You only have bad memories of Jellal and that's what's fueling your hatred. I just want you to try and make this work, at least for yourselves. Don't you think you deserve to be free after everything? Jellal's the only one that can help you get true freedom right now. Just try to make this work."
They all exchanged glances. This Lucy chick was right. They did deserve to be free. They never wanted to be in that wretched orphanage, nor did they want to be under the care of that abusive psychopath with a split personality disorder. They craved and deserved freedom, and they would get it, even if that meant being with the likes of Jellal.
Once they nodded, Lucy smiled and said, "Good. Since Jellal is obviously currently unavailable. I will help you guys get settled in. Just so you know, I'll be popping in a lot, and if you have any problems you can always come to me if you don't feel comfortable with Jellal yet. So before we do that, I want to get to know you guys."
They all groaned or rolled their eyes, but they obliged. The five delinquents sat on one couch, while Lucy and (begrudgingly) Meredy sat in the couch across from them. Erik started them off, "I'm Cobra, I'm twenty seven, and I like snakes."
Lucy gave him a confused glance, "Isn't that your Oración Seis alias?"
Erik smirked, "Only those I trust can call me by my real name."
Erik hoped to offend the blonde, but she just smiled graciously. "I'll be sure to tell Jellal then." Erik was stunned. He couldn't understand why this chick was being so welcoming when they were basically snapping at her.
Macbeth went next, "I'm Midnight. I'm twenty seven, and I have narcolepsy."
Sawyer followed, "I'm Racer. Twenty six. I like all sorts of races."
Sorano went next, "I'm Angel, which is my alias not my real name. I'm twenty five, and I hate Jellal." She smirked as she uttered the last sentence hoping to get a reaction out of the blonde girl. Meredy clenched her fist, but Lucy squeezed her hand and the pinkette seemed to relax. Sorano was stunned as well. Why was this girl not reacting as they insulted her friend?
Richard went last. "I am Richard Glaz. I'm twenty nine, and I just want to find my brother."
Lucy smiled at him, "Well, I'm glad you trust us. What happened to your brother?"
Richard smiled sadly, "He was at the orphanage with me. I was adopted by Brain and we got separated. I've always hated Brain, even before he went all psycho on us."
Lucy exclaimed, "You'll definitely find him. That's one of the things Jellal and I can help you with over the next two years."
Richard blushed and muttered a quick 'Thank you.' Meredy then went, "As you all know, I'm Meredy Milkovich. I'm 17 years old. I love sweets. I also don't tolerate bad things said about Jellal."
Lucy chuckled, "Don't give her any sweets, unless you want to deal with her on a sugar high. Believe me it's not pretty."
"Lucy! Stop embarrassing me!" Meredy whined.
Lucy giggled, "Okay! Okay! Anyways, I'm Lucy Heartiflia and I'm twenty four. If we're keeping it short and sweet, then all I have to say is that I'm an aspiring writer."
Sorano snorted, "How's that working out for you?"
Lucy's smile never wavered, "The book is still in progress, so okay for now. We'll have to wait and see what happens when I try to get it published." Again, Sorano was confused and shocked. Did this girl not have the ability to be pissed off?
Lucy then said, "Well, I guess it's time to show you your rooms." They all got up and stalked toward the bedrooms. When they reached the first one she said, "Okay, this is Midnight's room and the one next to it is Cobra's room. Across from Cobra's room is Richard's room, and next to that is Racer's room. Angel, your room is on the other side of the living room, away from the boys for your own privacy. Is this okay with you guys?"
Lucy looked at all five of them as they nodded. She continued, "Okay, Jellal's and Meredy's bedrooms are upstairs along with three guest rooms. The kitchen is on this side of the house right behind the living room, and you all have your own bathrooms. Meredy and I will leave you guys to get settled in."
The five ex-gangsters went to their own respective rooms and started to unpack the little stuff they had. When Erik was done, he laid down on his queen-sized bed and contemplated the situation. He hated Jellal, but liked the idea of freedom. The little girl was a little weird, but the busty blonde seemed okay. It helped that she was hot. Erik just closed his eyes and hoped these two years would go by quickly.
After leaving Oración Seis alone, Lucy pulled Meredy to the side and sternly said, "Meredy, how many times have Erza, Ultear, and I told you not to say things like that in front of Jellal? You know the effect it has on him!"
Meredy looked down at her feet and guiltily said, "I know, but I wish those bastards knew what Jellal went through. They wouldn't be so quick to judge then."
Meredy then dragged herself to her room while Lucy went to Jellal's. Lucy was surprised to see Jellal awake so soon. She grinned, "Awake so soon, sleepyhead?"
Jellal winced and asked, "Did I have a panic attack?"
Lucy grimaced, "Yeah. It wasn't pretty. You're lucky I was already on my way here to introduce myself."
Jellal quickly said, "You can't tell Makarov."
Lucy bit her lip. She knew telling Makarov would be the right thing to do, but she also knew that Makarov would pull Jellal from this and Jellal really needed to do this for closure. She caved, "Okay, I won't tell him about this one, just because it would seem bad that you had a panic attack on the first day of the job."
Jellal smiled and said, "Thanks Lucy. I can always count on you."
Lucy then smiled slyly, "You know, Erza's been thinking about you a lot lately."
Jellal groaned, "Not this again Lucy. I can't be in a relationship with her. You know that."
Lucy exclaimed, "Oh come on! Is this because of Simon? You were in one of your relapses while you were driving the car and you also had the right of way! Simon forgave you in his last breaths and his sister Kagura a few months after that! You're in love with her, you told me yourself!"
Jellal said, "It's not that. I can't give Erza the relationship she deserves. I don't know if I can be…intimate with her. It took me months to just handle the touch of another person, and a year to handle a hug. Who knows how long it'll take me to take it to that level with Erza!"
Lucy exclaimed, "Erza won't care. She's never been in a relationship before because she's so in love with you! She's a twenty six year old virgin; if she waited twenty six years, she'll wait another couple of years for you if she has to."
Jellal sighed, "Just drop it Lucy, okay?"
Lucy sighed and said, "Fine," as she raised up her hands defensively. "Anyways, you know where I'll be. God knows what you and Meredy have been living off of since you finished off the last casserole I left. By the way, they all want to be called by their Oración Seis aliases, except Richard. "
They all came in for lunch (prepared by Lucy obviously). Meredy squealed as she realized that Lucy cooked, "Thank God! I haven't had anything other than takeout for two weeks. I'm sick of sweet and sour chicken."
Jellal raised an eyebrow and playfully said, "Would you rather me try to cook?"
Meredy shuddered and said, "Never. The last time you tried to cook I'm pretty sure that I saw it move."
Jellal and Meredy continued their banter as everyone watched. Lucy giggled at the other five who seemed at awe at such an interaction. She leaned in toward Erik next to her and whispered, "This happens all the time. This is the norm here. Jellal is usually a serious person, but Meredy, Erza, and I know him better than his serious exterior."
Erik and his friends continued to watch the banter. They were surprise that whom they thought to be cold and heartless was being playful and silly. Is this what normal is like? Being able to be playful with one another and not worry about consequences? Not worrying about whether you would live to see another day? Not worrying about mental of physical abuse being thrown at you? Erik could only hope for a future like this.
Lucy seemed to realize what Erik was thinking as she gave his shoulder a little squeeze. He gave her a small smile before he realized what he was doing and scowled. Lucy noticed anyway and grinned wider before she broke Meredy and Jellal up to eat.
The lunch started out awkward before Lucy broke the silence, "So Meredy, how's your last year at Fairy Tail Academy been?"
Meredy immediately perked up and said, "It's been great, but I miss being with Romeo, Chelia, and Eve. I also miss being with Sting and Rogue even though they graduated two years ago. Other than that, I'm having lots of fun even though it's a little stressful."
Lucy nodded, "Where are you planning to go for college? Magnolia like Romeo, Wendy, Natsu, Gray, an so many others or Sabertooth like Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Minerva, and others? I've heard it's not to bad since Jiemma was arrested."
Meredy but her lip hesitantly, "Um…Actually, I don't know if I should go to college this year. Ultear didn't exactly leave a college fund, and…I don't want to burden Jellal. So I want to get a job and save up enough before I go."
Jellal dropped his fork onto his plate as he raised his voice, "Meredy, we've talked about this before! You aren't and will never be a burden to me! I make enough money to send you to college three times over; you know that!"
Meredy turned and exclaimed, "Well what about when you have kids? You'll need to send them to college. Save it for them. I don't want you to think this is your responsibility just because Ultear left me in your care!"
Jellal yelled back, "So the last seven years have meant nothing to you? Nothing at all? Even if Ultear was still here I would've definitely helped her out with college fees! Ultear and I have both raised you for the past seven years. This isn't my responsibility; this is my right!"
Meredy looked at her pseudo father through watery eyes and cried out as she wrapped her arms around him, "I love you, Jellal."
Jellal stiffened at first at the sudden display of affection, but soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around the pinkette. "I love you too you doof."
Throughout this entire scream fest, everyone else was looking down at their plates while playing with their food awkwardly (even Lucy). Once the bluenette and the pinkette calmed down, Meredy cleared her throat and once again started the conversation, "So, I'm thinking Magnolia. I love Sting, Rogue, and Yukino, but I think Magnolia is the best choice for me. So how is Project Gruvia going?"
This piqued Sorano's curiosity. "What's Project Gruvia?"
Lucy grinned, "Well Project Gruvia is basically us trying to get two of our friends together. They are both totally in love with each other, but they still won't get together."
Sorano was even more interested now. "Why not?"
Lucy smiled and said, "Well, Gray's just a stubborn idiot who doesn't want to get hurt. Juvia just had a baby that's not Gray's"
Sorano eyes widened as she said, "Shouldn't she be with the father then?"
Lucy and Meredy shook their heads as Jellal gripped his fork a harder, an action not going unnoticed by the others. Erik and Macbeth exchanged glances. Jellal is again showing compassion and other respectable emotions, they don't know what to make of it.
Meredy then said, "Well let's just say that the father is her terrible ex who is in jail for a good reason. Juvia actually acknowledges that she is in love with Gray, even though she went out with another guy for two years, but thinks that she shouldn't burden him with the responsibility of father figure."
Lucy continued, "They used to be roommates, along with other people, and Juvia moved out of there and in with me because she was pregnant. Gray literally begged her not to and told her a baby wouldn't be too much trouble, but she didn't listen and moved in with me anyways."
Sorano processed the information and said, "Wow…Whoever these people are seem perfect for each other. I'm in."
Lucy and Meredy smirked while all the males groaned. Lucy said, "No actual update on Gruvia. It may actually be going downhill because Juvia has been hanging out with Lyon."
Meredy's smirk grew as she said, "That's not a bad thing. Gray hates it when Lyon flirts with Juvia. If anything, we can use it to push him overboard."
Lucy's phone rang. She excused herself to take the call and Erik watched as she walked away. The blonde intrigued him. She seemed caring and compassionate. She seemed to have Sorano warm up to both herself and the pinkette in one conversation.
Lucy came back and said, "I have to go, apparently Liam got himself into a fight or something. Bye everyone."
As soon as Lucy left Macbeth piped up, "Who's Liam?" Erik listened intently, curious as well.
"Her seven year old son. She had him young, and to answer your next question, no she's not with the father. She's not quite sure who the father is," Jellal replied, not really understanding how his words sounded to them and oblivious to their reactions, as was Meredy.
All five of their eyes widened. Millions of thoughts running through their heads. Sorano had a look of disgust. All respect she had for the blonde went down the toilet. Memories of her own mother with multiple men and not knowing the fathers of both her and her younger half-sister. Sawyer's and Macbeth's thoughts were quite similar in thinking that she was nothing but a filthy slut. Richard just felt bad for her. Erik, however, was more intrigued. He wouldn't believe that the girl they just met was one to sleep around. She didn't seem like that kind of girl, even with her outward appearance. He wanted to figure this girl out.
