Another monster of a chapter! Kinda? I dunno, you decide if it's a monster or not. Either way, it took for goddamn ever to write! Kept getting distracted...Anyway! I hope the wait was worth it. I totally didn't write this chapter while binge listening to Fairy Tail tunes on loop again, I'll once again deny that shit real quick.
Also! The ending of this chapter is literally going to be readers choice. This is one of the only times I'm going to allow the readers to take the reins and decide the direction that this story is going to go in, so make sure to read the authors note at the bottom! It's pretty damn important for this story.
Anyway!
I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, just the plot to this story.
If you enjoyed, please leave a review, favorite, and follow!
S Lyubov'yu,
Casper
Previously;
"Works for me. Good thing I made sure to get a pullout couch when I moved in here. You and Rogue can take the guest room, Rufus can take the couch, and Orga can take the pullout since he's gigantic.", Lucy decided after a moment of thought.
"Going to be quite an interesting day tomorrow.", Sting thought out loud.
"I'm apologizing in advance in case I decide to poison Pinky.", Cobra mentioned with a small shrug.
"I wouldn't blame you one bit if he did.", Lucy replied with a shrug of her own. In reality, Natsu kind of deserved it.
"Told you guys we have the coolest mom ever.", Midnight piped up smugly.
"Fro thinks so too!"
"My family is fucking nuts.", Lucy mumbled.
"Language, mother."
"...shut up."
About an hour later, the telltale signs of Rufus and Orga entering her home could be heard. She heard her front door click open and the shuffling of shoes being removed before two sets of steady footsteps made their way towards the kitchen. Lucy rinsed the dish in her hand and wiped her hands on a clean towel before turning to greet the two men.
"About time you two showed up, Cobra hasn't stopped asking how much longer you two would be since everyone finished eating. Speaking of which, have you two eaten?", Lucy greeted with a smirk.
"We made sure to eat before we came over, we didn't want to burden you with more mouths to feed when we got here.", Rufus replied with a smirk of his own.
"I feed three Dragon Slayers and a child who eats just as much as they do on a daily basis. Feeding a God Slayer and you wouldn't make a difference.", Lucy said with a shrug. "There's beer in the fridge from the last time you were here, Orga. Please drink that nasty crap up before I wake up to a very drunk Sting."
"Don't mind if I do.", the God Slayer replied before moving past her and extracting the half case of beer he'd left in her fridge at some point. He cracked the tab and took a greedy drink before shooting the small woman a grin.
"I'm assuming you two are going to join the others outside while they train?", Lucy inquired, half tempted to join in on the training session herself. Her kids had been bugging her the last couple of days and kept asking to spar with her. While the thought of even harming her children bothered her, she knew it would be good for them to have a better understanding of her magic. Especially since she was going to take them on their first official job soon.
"Of course. I have more to teach Cobra today.", the masked wizard nodded.
"I'll probably just sit back and watch this time. Why don't you take my place, maybe you'll be able to whip Sting and Rogue into shape. Pun completely intended.", Orga replied around his beer.
"I was actually thinking about doing just that. Midnight and Cobra have been bugging me for days about sparring with them or letting them watch me spar with someone. Maybe I'll have to finally cave and sight one of the Twins. Even if I really don't want to.", the blonde sighed. She'd sparred with the other Slayers before, and it rarely ended well. She either ended up burnt to a crisp, ended up with a terrible static electricity problem, had her clothing literally blown off with a gust of wind, of got stuck picking shrapnel out of her skin for days.
She didn't even want to know what Sting or Rogue could do to her. The thought was absolutely terrifying.
"I highly doubt either of them would actually hurt you. At least fighting one of them ensures that your clothing would stay in one piece.", Orga pointed out.
"I guess I can't disagree there. Well, actually, I can. Sting could probably blast my clothing off with his magic. Rogue though? I'm not so sure.", Lucy grimaced.
"Trust me, I don't think Rogue is going to try to harm you in any way any time soon.", Rufus smirked knowingly.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?", Lucy questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing you need to worry about right now. Why don't we head outside and join them.", Orga suggested, completely cutting off Lucy's next line of questioning. Rufus had totally let one slip and Rogue would probably kill both of them is the masked mage continued.
"Sure, why not. Dishes are done anyway and I don't have any blood stains to clean up yet.", the blonde agreed before leading the two men outside and into the backyard.
Lucy sat down on the small deck in her backyard and watched as her boys trained with the Twin Slayers. They'd truly begun to progress since they'd started to train with Sting and Rogue. She couldn't even imagine how she would be able to thank them and repay them for everything they'd done for her kids. Rufus and Orga had helped them out too and she would forever be grateful for it. She turned her head towards Midnight when he cut off his magic and turned towards her.
"You actually going to join us this time, mom?!", Midnight asked excitedly. He loved his mother's magic. As promised, she'd shown him and Cobra quite a bit of her magic, but he was yet to see her in actual combat. While the thought of harm coming to his mother bothered both him and his brother, he knew that she was clearly a capable mage. But after reading about the Star Dress, he was really interested in seeing it in action.
"I guess I could spare a little bit to work off some energy. But keep in mind, we'll probably be hitting the sheets a bit earlier tonight since we have a lot going on tomorrow. Speaking of which, I need to speak with Rogue and Sting later about something. Rufus and Orga too.", Lucy mumbled to herself.
"What do you have to talk to them about that we can't know about, mom?", Cobra grunted from his place on the lawn.
"It's a surprise.", Lucy snickered.
"I sometimes hate that I can't hear you.", the maroon haired boy pouted.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear that at least once a day. Now, who am I sparring with since you and your brother want to see me fight someone so badly.", Lucy sighed, effectively changing to subject.
"What do you think, Midnight? Who should mom take on?", Cobra smirked, letting his mothers secretiveness go for the moment.
"How about Rogue? I'd be an interesting mix.", the pale boy offered, his finger tapping against his chin as he thought.
"I'm up for it if your mother is.", Rogue shrugged, internally pouting at the thought of possibly hurting Lucy. He shot Cobra a small glare when the boy shot him a knowing smirk. Damn that boy and his ability to hear literally everything!
"I guess I have no choice. The only thing I ask is that we don't completely obliterate my yard. I rather enjoy having grass.", Lucy nodded before lifting herself from the deck and moved across the yard towards the Shadow Slayer.
"I can agree with those terms.", Rogue agreed.
"You going to use your Star Dress, mom?!", Midnight asked, his red eyes shining with excitement.
"Of course. I've been meaning to get in some extra training with it and this is the perfect chance to get in some good experience.", Lucy nodded.
"Shall we begin then?", Rogue asked with a small smile, his insides churning at the thought of accidentally harming her.
"Hurt my mother and you'll be spending a lot of intimate time with the bathroom.", Cobra threatened just loud enough for the other Slayers to hear. He heard Sting snort while Rogue visibly paled.
"Begin!", Midnight cheered.
"Star Dress Equip! Taurus!", Lucy cried out.
Her entire body was consumed in a brilliant, golden light. When the light faded away, she stood in front of Rogue with a smirk. Gone were her usual clothing, her jean shorts and off shoulder crop top had been replaced with a cow printed bikini style top, cow printed arm warmers that cut off at her elbows, tight, black leather shorts that barely covered her rear, and mid calf length, black leather boots. She ignored the strangled gurgling sounds that came from both of her children along with the tell tale signs of a nose bleed that came from Sting.
Had she forgotten to mention that her Star Dress forms typically left her next to nothing when it came to her new attire?
"Mom! Put some clothes on!", Cobra demanded, his eye twitching at his barely dressed mother.
"I second that motion!", Midnight cried.
Both boys, plus Sting and Rogue whirled when they heard the next words to come out of the Memory Make Mages mouth.
"Memorized.", Rufus smirked with a teasing lilt. Little did he know that Lucy's children wouldn't take his words as a harmless joke.
"Dude, you're dead.", Orga grunted before stepping away from the masked mage. There was no way in hell that he was getting between Lucy's kids and their revenge against his guild mate. He wasn't ready to die yet. He'd rather fight Zeref himself or admit that Laxus was the better lightening user. And seeing that neither or things were going to happen anytime soon, he backed the fuck away from the man who'd direly offended a grown ass woman's children.
"So are we going to spar or are we going to prevent my children from quite literally murdering your team mate?", Lucy asked with a bark of laughter. Her children were so over protective that it was actually quite hilarious.
"I think it would be best if we stopped Cobra and Midnight. Cobra just bit Rufus and I have no doubt in my mind that he is about three seconds away from unleashing a roar on him.", Rogue decided with wide eyes. He'd seen Dragon Slayers lose it plenty of time in the past, but this was on a whole different level.
"You and Sting tackle Cobra, I'll grab Midnight.", the blonde replied before charging towards her youngest son.
Lucy well and truly tackled her youngest son before he was able to unleash a wave of his magic upon the Memory Mage. She didn't blame her children for getting upset, but this was a bit much. She held the once timid child in her arms as tightly as she could without hurting him, her neck craned back to dodge the trashing of his head. She watched as Cobra knocked Sting across the yard with a powerful wave of toxic mist with wide eyes. She'd have to make her son extract the poison once he was calm.
She watched Rogue disappear into the ground and into his shadow form as he closed in on her eldest. If there was anyone who could stop the small slayer, it would be Rogue. She watched with bated breath as the elder slayer emerged from the ground and tackled Cobra to the ground. She flinched when she saw the son's fangs dig deeply into Rogue's arm but refused to let go of the son she held in her arms. She flinched again when she heard Rogue cry out in agony as poison flooded his veins at a rapid pace.
Not knowing what else to do, she screamed out for her children to stop as loudly as she could. At that point, she didn't care if she destroyed their eardrums, shattered a window, or caused someone to call the police. She just wanted them to stop. She moment her scream left her lips, Midnight froze in her arms and she saw Cobra's wild eyes return to normal. She turned her head to see Sting slowly lifting himself from the ground, small trails of blood trickling down his cheek and soaking into the material of his shirt.
"That's enough, both of you.", Lucy whispered. She wasn't angry that the boys had gotten angry and had wanted defend her, no, she was more disappointed that they would outright attack one of their friends for a silly comment.
"B-but, mom! You heard what he said about you!", Midnight defended from his place in his mother's arms.
"I heard him just fine, but if you had listened just a little closer, you would have been able to tell that he was just making an innocent joke. Cobra, let go on Rogue's arm and extract every ounce of poison you put into Rogue, Rufus, and Sting.", Lucy ordered sternly, hoping her voice didn't waver too much.
Cobra wordlessly extracted his jaws from the elder slayers arm and immediately called back the poison that he had pumped into all three men's bodies. He felt ashamed that he had not only scared his mother, but had ignored the teasing thoughts that had been running through Rufus' mind before he and Midnight attacked. Once all the poison was out of their bodies, he wordlessly picked himself up off the ground and stalked into the house. The slam of his bedroom door followed soon after he entered the house.
"I'm sorry we scared you, mom.", Midnight whimpered, immediately feeling guilty about his actions now that he'd calmed down. He hadn't even taken a moment to think before he'd charged at Rufus. And because of that, three people he held dear had been hurt and he'd frightened his mother in the process.
"It isn't me that you need to apologize to, Rufus is the one that deserves your apology.", Lucy replied with a firm shake of her head.
Midnight nodded at his mother before turning towards the masked mage mere feet away from him, "I'm sorry, Rufus. I shouldn't have attacked you."
"All in the past, Midnight. I can respect that you wished to protect your mother. But in the future, please do try to distinguish a joke from seriousness. I'd rather not get attacked every time I make a joke.", Rufus replied with a small smile and a wave of his hand.
"Wait a minute, why the hell didn't Orga step in and help us when Cobra went nuts?", Sting groaned from his place on the lawn.
"Idiot passed out drunk about five minutes before it happened. He really should stop drinking so quickly, he'll either die of alcohol poisoning or end up becoming a regular at AA meetings. Whichever happens first.", Rogue grunted before lifting himself from the ground. He knew that Slayers like himself had sharp teeth, but goddamn that kid could bite. He'd be surprised if he didn't end up with a scar after the bite he'd just received. He and Sting would have to have a chat with him about his instincts as soon as goddamn possible to make sure shit like this didn't go down again anytime soon.
"Why am I not surprised?", Sting muttered mostly to himself.
"I'm assuming that Fro and Lector are passed out somewhere as well?", Lucy inquired. Thinking about it now, she hadn't really seen either of the Exceeds since she'd made lunch a couple hours prior.
"Food comas.", Midnight supplied.
Lucy nodded and released her grasp on her son. She was sure that he wouldn't attack Rufus again, especially since his brother had all but fled into the house.
"Why don't you and the guys clean up and I'll go have a short chat with Cobra.", the blonde woman suggested, her gaze trailing towards the back door of the house.
"That sounds good to me. Why don't we just order some take out for dinner tonight? I don't know about you, but I don't really feel up to cooking.", Rogue supplied with a shrug. That entire situation had taken just about all of his energy out of him and doing any sort of manual labor, even something like cooking, had lost all sense of appeal.
"Works for me.", Lucy agreed with a small shrug before shooing her son off her lap and pulled herself and Midnight off the ground.
Midnight watched his mother head into the house before turning towards the men in the yard, staring at them with a horribly guilty expression.
"Don't worry about it, kid. You did what you thought was right and reacted purely on instinct. Now, why don't we get cleaned up and get some dinner ordered before your mother comes back and skins us alive?", Sting suggested with a small smirk.
Midnight just nodded and followed the other's into the house to get cleaned up.
None of them bothered to even attempt to move Orga's hulking body from the deck.
Lucy internally groaned as she mentally prepared herself for the talk she was about to have with her oldest son. She knew that something like this was bound to happen eventually, but she hadn't expected Cobra or Midnight to attack the former Tigers that were currently occupying her house. If anything, she had expected them to pounce on Natsu or someone at the guild hall. The fact that they'd lost their tempers at home was a bit of a concern. She had a feeling that his rage was more so due to his Dragon instincts and would have to question the Twins about that later.
She took a moment to take a calming breath before knocking on her son's door. Once she heard him grunt, she turned the doorknob and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and tried to ignore the mess that decorated Cobra's bedroom floor. The kid didn't understand the beauty that was a clean bedroom. She sidestepped over piles of dirty clothes, discarded books, and sat on the edge of his bed.
"You going to yell at me for poisoning Rufus, Sting, and Rogue?", Cobra muttered from his spot on the bed. He had a pillow clutched tightly in his arms and his knees drawn up to his chest. His indigo eyes were filled with guilt and shame and it broke Lucy's heart to see him in such a state.
"No, I'm not going to yell because I know that you can hear me just fine without raising my voice. Both forms of your magic stole my right to yell from me.", she teased.
"Then why are you here?", Cobra grumbled into the pillow in his arms.
"I wanted to ask you why you got so upset with Rufus when he made a joke about my attire. Did I forget to mention that my Star Dress forms change the clothing I'm wearing?", Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You never mentioned it. I got mad because of what he said, I thought he was being pervy. But I should have taken a moment to listen to his soul because then I would have known that he was only joking with you. But after he said that, I just kinda flew off the handle, you know?", the maroon haired boy explained with a small sigh. Now that he was saying this out loud, he was only feeling worse about the scene he and his brother had caused.
"I can understand why you got upset and I wouldn't have stepped in if an enemy had said something about that. But when we are home, you need to realize that none of those men downstairs would ever doing anything to disrespect me or my children.", Lucy stated firmly.
"I know and I feel like crap for it. I should probably apologize to them, huh?"
"Yes. And after you've apologized, we are going to eat some dinner and go to bed. It's getting late and we have quite a long day ahead of us tomorrow.", his mother nodded.
"Thanks for understanding, mom.", Cobra said with a small smile.
"I'm your mom, being understanding of cranky Dragon Slayers kind of comes with the territory.", she teased in response.
After a few more words were exchanged between mother and son, the duo left the chaos that served as Cobra's room. They made their way back downstairs and into the living room where everyone, save for Orga and the still passed out Exceeds, had made themselves comfortable. Midnight had a thick tome in his lap, what he was reading, Lucy couldn't tell from so far away. Rufus had what looked like a sappy romance novel in his hand, no doubt memorizing the sexy scenes like the closet pervert he probably was. Rogue and Sting though, they looked like they were having an intense staring contest of some kind.
"Do I even want to know what you two are doing?", Lucy inquired, her hands on her hips as she observed the Twin Dragon's little staring contest.
"He stole my favorite chair!", Sting wailed dramatically before pointing threateningly at his partner.
"Are you serious?", Lucy and Cobra deadpanned together.
"In his defense, that chair his sickeningly comfortable.", Rufus pointed out before returning to his book.
Everyone ignored the mumbled 'memorized' that spilled from his lips a moment later.
"Well, did you four at least get the food ordered? I'm starving for food that I didn't have to cook.", Lucy inquired before shooing Midnight to the side so she could take a seat next to him. Her youngest son didn't even look up from his book as he scooted himself across the couch cushions.
"What's Midnight reading anyway?", Cobra asked. He couldn't even make out what the hell his best friend and brother was reading. His thoughts were running a mile a minute and Cobra knew that if he tried to sort through them, he'd only succeed in giving himself one hell of a headache.
"A tome I found on his Reflector and Illusion magic. The moment we were washed up and I took it out, he all but bit my hand off to get to it. His need for knowledge is quite intense.", Rufus chuckled.
"Please stop imagining scenes from that book in your mind, you'll scar me for life.", Cobra replied, completely ignoring the masked mage's answer due to the raunchy images the man was making in his mind. Cobra was completely convinced that Rufus was either trying to kill him or get him back for attacking him. Either way, it was wholly disturbing and he wanted it to stop.
"Looks like we'll be looking into a way to mentally block Rufus' thoughts as well as Sting's.", Rogue muttered under his breath. The Shadow Slayer couldn't even imagine the things that the poor kid was forced to witness due to his ability to see and hear what people were thinking. While he knew first hand that Cobra's magic was not to be taken lightly, he sure as hell didn't want to hear what was going on in some people's minds.
Although, if he could hear what was going on in the one person he admired most's head, he wouldn't object to it.
A knock on the front door broke everyone out of their thoughts.
"I second that, but first, let's eat so we can get to bed. Don't forget, I need to talk to you, Sting, and Rufus once the boy's are in bed.", Lucy nodded before heading towards the door to pay for their deliciously unhealthy dinner.
After the consumption of way too much unhealthy food and having to physically tackle Midnight to steal his damn book, both boy's were finally out cold and exploring the realm of dreams. After checking on them one last time, she made her way back downstairs and took her seat on the couch, silently observing the four men on the couch. After another hour or so of being passed out, Orga had finally decided to join them in the world of the living. Froche and Lector had taken their seats on heir respective partner's laps.
"So, what did you wish to speak to us about, Lucy?", Rogue inquired with a small smile. He silently hoped that she wasn't feeling guilty about what had happened earlier that day. Especially since all of them had told her numerous times that they weren't upset.
It had actually gotten to the point where they'd had to explain what had happened to a very confused Orga.
"I was actually going to ask you and Sting if you would be willing to join myself, Midnight, and Cobra on a mission. Since joining the guild, they haven't taken a job. I know that they are more than ready but I don't know what to expect once they're out on the field. Also, I don't know how they'd react if I were to somehow get injured, I mean, you saw what happened today after a silly joke. I don't quite understand Dragon Slayer instincts and you both do.", Lucy explained.
"And your concerns about Midnight are?", Rufus asked from his chair.
"I know that he is very capable, but I think spending almost all of his time with three Dragon Slayers has started to rub off on him, if his bottomless pit of a stomach is any indication. Couple that with the fact that he snapped seconds after Cobra. If those two were to totally lose control, I don't think I would be able to stop them. They're only eight but I have a feeling that they're a lot stronger than we realize.", she admitted with a sigh.
"I'm getting the feeling that there is something you aren't telling us about your kids, Blondie. All we really know if that your former team and most of the guild as this weird grudge against them and that they're a lot more powerful than your average kids. What're you keeping from us?", Sting asked with a raised eyebrow. All of them had refrained from asking her in the past out of respect, but it was getting to the point where she needed to tell them exactly what was going on.
"You really want to know?", Lucy sighed.
"We wouldn't ask if we didn't want to know. We've all been curious for quite some time, especially after the reaction the guild had when they came home with you.", Orga nodded.
"Fine. But promise me that none of you are going to freak shit when I tell you what I know, which admittedly isn't a whole lot. There's still a lot that I don't know or understand.", the blonde insisted firmly.
"Of course, we trust your judgement.", Rogue agreed.
When the other three men nodded in agreement, she continued.
"Have any of you ever heard of the Oracion Seis?", she asked quietly, when they nodded, she continued. "Those boys up there are former members. Last time we met, they tried to sacrifice me to the Infinity Clock. After Fairy Tail defeated them, we never saw them again. I had assumed that they had been charged and thrown in prison. And then a month ago, I was on a solo mission and came upon them while Midnight was having a nightmare in the woods. After talking with Cobra for a little while and calming Midnight down from his nightmare, I discovered that neither of them had any memories of their pasts. Along with obviously being turned into eight year old boys."
"So, what you're telling us is that those two are technically criminals turned chibis?", Sting asked with wide eyes. Had had definitely not been the explanation that he or the others had been expected.
"Pretty much.", she nodded.
"And they have no knowledge of any of this?", Rogue asked next.
"No, I have no idea how I'd even begin to tell them. You've seen how protective of me they are. How do you think they'd react if they found out that they'd tried to kill me before and that they bare the mark of a guild that they'd tried to destroy more than once?", she asked softly.
"Not very well, I'd imagine.", Rufus sighed.
"Exactly, that's why I haven't told them anything. It kills me inside that I'm basically lying to them but I don't want to crush them by telling them about their pasts. They're so happy now and I don't want to destroy that.", she said sadly, her chocolate colored eyes shimmering with barley withheld tears. The thought of making either of the boys she had so much love for any kind of pain. But deep down she knew that if she didn't tell them the truth soon, it would only hurt them more in the future.
And if someone at the guild were to let it slip and tell them the truth, it would be an even harder pill for them to swallow. Their trust in her could all but be destroyed. The very thought of her children being angry at her, or worse, hating her, broke her heart. They'd only been with her for a month or so and she already couldn't imagine her life without them.
"While there are many questions that I'm sure we all have for you, we will refrain from asking them. Seeing as you don't seem to know anymore than you have already told us. But know this, each and every one of us cares for those two as well. We will not allow any harm to come to them, even if they somehow manage to regain their memories at some point. As for the mission? Sting and I would be more than happy to come with. I'm sure Orga and Rufus wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Fro and Lector.", Rogue smirked.
It was true, over the short amount of time that he and the others had spent with Lucy and her children, they had formed a bond with them. And after learning about who they truly were, or used to be, their opinion of them hadn't changed a bit. How could anyone truly blame a person for their past if they couldn't even remember the sins that they had committed? The former members of Sabertooth weren't without sin themselves and it would be in poor taste for any of them to judge another based on their pasts.
Hell, during the Grand Magic Games, they had all sat back and watched as the woman in front of them had been tortured without mercy by one of their own. None of them had bothered to step in and stop Minerva's cruel treatment. As much as he wished that he had, he couldn't take back his reluctance to step in and stop it. Not once since they had joined Fairy Tail had Lucy even brought up the torture she had endured by one of their former guild mates. She didn't hold anything against them.
She had shown them nothing but kindness since they had met at the guild. Rogue knew just as well as the other Tiger's that they wished that they had gotten to know her long before the Grand Magic Games. Had they taken the time to truly get to know her, none of the shit she had been through ever would have happened. But things were different now. She had brought them all into her home. She trusted each and every one of them with her children.
She had become someone truly precious to all of them.
And they would be damned if they allowed her to ever feel alone again or allow any sort of harm to come to the children she took in as her own.
"Thank you, Rogue. Actually, no. Thank you all. Over the course of the last month or so, you guys have been the people who have kept myself and my boys going. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.", she whispered, her tears flowing steadily down her cheeks.
Without a word, each of the men and both of the Exceeds stood from their seats and silently made their way over to the crying woman. All of them silently wrapped their arms around her in a reassuring hug that easily told her that they weren't going anywhere. Froche and Lector crawled into her lap and curled into her stomach, their tiny arms embracing her as best they could.
Lucy was shocked at the embrace. She had never once thought that any of these men would show her any sort of physical affection, but she had been damn wrong. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around the middle of the male standing in front of her and buried her face in his shirt, and allowed her tears to flow freely.
Rogue smiled softly as he felt Lucy's arms wrap around him in a tight embrace. Never before in his life had he met a woman who was so strong. She had been through so much, faced against enemies that would terrifying almost anyone and still pushed onward into tomorrow. This woman was truly something to behold.
And he would do anything to make her his.
After spending a good ten minutes in almost completely silence, the only noise being the sounds of Lucy's sobs, the group broke apart. The young woman gave all of them a small smile and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before clearing her throat.
"Thanks, guys. I think I really needed that.", she admitted with a small laugh.
"Think nothing of it, Lucy. You have helped us more than you could ever imagine. It is the least we can do.", Rufus assured with a smirk.
"He's right you know. If it hadn't been for you, we probably would have ended up on the streets. You're the real reason we joined Fairy Tail after our guild was disbanded.", Sting mentioned offhandedly.
"I am?", she asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, but that is a story for another day. I think it would be best if we called it a night. We have a public apology coming our way tomorrow and a mission to prepare for. We'll get these two settled out here, you go get some rest.", Rogue nodded.
"If you insist. Good night, guys.", Lucy nodded before carefully extracting the Exceeds from her stomach. She handed them to their respective partners and made her way upstairs to get ready for bed.
Once she was out of earshot, Sting turned to his dark haired partner. "So, when are you going to tell her how you feel?"
"Yes, Rogue When are you going to tell that girl about your feelings for her?", Rufus repeated with a smirk.
Orga just grunted and watched the scene unfold silently.
"I will tell her when the time is right. I don't even know if she returns my feelings and I'm not about to dump mine on her right now. She has enough going on right now and I don't wish to stress her out further.", the Shadow Slayer grumbled.
"If you say so, man. But I'd tell her soon. You never know, one of us might swoop in and try to steal your woman.", Sting teased with a grin.
"You'll die.", came the serious reply.
"Let's just go to bed and get tomorrow over with, hmm?", Rufus suggested quickly. There had been enough excitement for one day and he was more than ready to get some sleep.
"This isn't over, Rogue."
"Sting, I will seriously destroy you."
"Bring it, lover boy."
"Ladies, you're both pretty, that's enough."
"Fuck you, Rufus!"
Orga silently wondered how Lucy was able to put up with all of them on a daily basis. He would have gone insane after the first three hours.
As Lucy and her newly formed family stood in front of the doors that led straight into the lion's belly, she felt a small chill go down her spine. Since adopting both Midnight and Cobra, she hadn't spent much time within the guild. She had been trying to avoid conflict like the plague and the fact that she was about to face everybody was wholly terrifying. She was worried about what could be said to her children and wondered if someone would bring their pasts up once they passed through the doors.
She felt a comforting hand land on her shoulder and looked up to find Rogue standing firmly by her side offering her silent support. She looked behind her and saw that Sting was standing between her kids with a hand on each of their shoulders. She smiled when she saw Rufus and Orga standing right behind them with the Exceeds floating mere feet above their heads. Determined faces were worn on each of their faces and she forced herself to steel her nerves.
If her kids could throw on brave faces, so could she.
To any passerby, it probably looked like Lucy and her family were about to engage a mortal foe into a battle to the death. She clenched her fists at her sides and took a deep, calming breath.
"You guys ready for this?", she asked lowly.
"Ready as I'll ever be.", Cobra nodded grimly.
"Make it a grand entrance, mom. Might as well let them know that we don't fear them or their misplaced dislike for us.", Midnight smirked.
To say the least, the Tiger's and their Exceeds couldn't have been more proud of Midnight and Cobra.
"Kicking the door in or nah?", Lucy smirked.
"Why don't all three of you make a grand entrance, we'll be right behind you.", Rogue suggested with a smirk.
"Sounds the a beautiful idea.", Lucy agreed,"Come here boys. Let's show them your progress."
Both boys stepped away from Sting and flanked her sides once Rogue moved away from their mother.
"On three."
"Aye.", both boys nodded.
"One."
Cobra took a offensive stance by spreading his legs wide and summoning as much poison as he could muster into his hands. He quickly made sure that the poison would not be lethal to anybody it touched, no matter how much any of the people inside deserved it for treating him and his brother like outcasts and basically shunning his mother.
Midnight, on the other hand, stood completely straight with a single hand outstretched in front of him. A glowing ball of green and black magical energy swirled to life in his hands. They had discovered early on that he had also retained the magic that Brain had used.
"Two."
Both boys prepared their attacks and waited for their mother's final count. They watched as she slid into position, completely ready to land a powerful kick to the thick, wooden doors.
"THREE!"
"POISON DRAGON'S TOXIC WAVE!"
"LUCY KICK!"
"DARK RONDO!"
With an intense explosion, the doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall shattered under the immense amount of power behind the three attacks. As the smoke cleared from the wreckage, Lucy and her children, flanked by the Tiger's stepped into view.
"We've come for that public apology, Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy.", Lucy smirked. Her smirk widened when she was met by wide eyed gazes from the occupants of the guild hall.
Nobody moved as Lucy and her newly formed family walked slowly through the partially destroyed guild hall. The all stopped in the middle of the guild hall and waited for someone to speak up. At this point, she didn't care if they apologized or not. After spending some time alone with the people that had truly proven to be her real family, she had realized that if they couldn't accept her children for who they were now, she would take them and leave.
And the Tiger's had agreed that they would leave as well. They were loyal to her now and as long as she had the people that held her just as lose as she held them, then she could live without anyone else. The memory of her talking to the Tiger's about her plan offhandedly floated through her mind as she stood firmly in the middle of the guildhall.
"There's one more thing I want you guys to know.", she whispered as they backed away from her.
"What is it?", Rogue asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Depending on how tomorrow goes, I will be taking my children and leaving the guild...for good.", she replied quietly.
"You would leave your guild? I thought they were your family.", Sting pointed out, just as confused as his partner.
"I thought they were too. But after my team's disbandment, nobody has really paid much attention to my existence, if at all really. And then with their attitudes about Cobra and Midnight, it isn't fair to ask them to stay in a guild where the members basically hate them for merely being alive.", Lucy explained sadly.
"Whatever you decide to do, we will stand by you. If you decide to take your children and leave Fairy Tail, so will we.", Rogue stated firmly.
"I couldn't ask any of you to do that! You guys finally have a guild again! I couldn't ask you to leave it just for me and the boys!", she protested.
"Lucy, the entire reason we joined Fairy Tail was to be near you, nothing more. If you and the boys were to leave, there would be nothing left to keep us there.", Rufus pointed out.
"He's right. If you go, so do we.", Orga nodded.
"That's right, Blondie. You're our family, we'd never let you leave without us!", Lector cheered.
"Fro thinks so too!"
"Thanks guys, I really don't know what I would do without you.", Lucy whispered.
After a few minutes of waiting, no doubt the members of the guild were trying to get their bearings together and grabbing their jaws from where they hung at their knees, someone finally spoke up.
Of course, the speaker just so happened to be the man of the hour.
Natsu fucking Dragneel.
"Oh, I got something to say to you guys alright."
Alright! That's a wrap for this chapter!
Again, this story is unbetaed so excuse any mistakes that I missed!
Okay, the next chapter's course is completely up to the reader!
Do they apologize and start to slowly integrate Cobra, Lucy, Midnight, and the others into the guild?
Or do they refuse and cause Lucy and the others to leave the guild to start anew? - if this si your choice, the Fairy Tail guild will still be involved in the story, don't worry. They'll still come to their senses! Maybe...
Leave a review with whichever you wish to happen!
If it becomes a tie of some sort for the the readers want, I will consider writing an 'alternate timeline' of sorts for this story with the other option! So let me know what you want more. :)
As always, if you enjoyed, please leave a review, favorite, and follow! Especially since I can't really start on the next chapter until I know what the readers want!
Until Next Time!