A/N: Hello, little marshmallows! Julie and Jenny here to rouse up your feels again with another chapter of That Winter the Wind Blows-F.T. version :) Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review, fav, and follow because they make us so happy, just like when you get the 'Excellent!' or 'Good Job!' stickers in elementary school and you're like "Whaddup, I got me some 'Good Job' stickers! What what!"
Thankfully, a staff member witnesses the difficulty and discomfort Lucy is facing as she is unable to move and stands still amongst the bustling workers and tenants. He goes over to Lucy and gently guides her to the room of her supposed brother. They finally reach their destination, and he directs her saying, "The door is to the left of where you are." Lucy calmly replies with a simple, "Okay," as she is still a bit frazzled from the fear, feeling of vulnerability in the midst of an unsettling surrounding, and also from the slow anxiousness in her heart to find her long lost brother.
Her uneasy thoughts are cut short as the staff manager asks, "Um, excuse me, Miss, but you are the sister of the man in this room, correct?" Lucy blankly turns to the voice that calls her out. She is grateful to the man for leading her, however, his presence is no longer needed, and she assumes that he doesn't trust her. Of course, never trust a blind woman as the saying goes... Or whatever. I can tell that my motives are confusing to others since nobody understands the loneliness I've dealt with throughout my life. Heh, guess nobody can trust me, just like I can't seem to trust any one either. Maybe that can change if I find my brother, but what if he will betray me too? Only the cruel judge, Fate, will decide.
Lucy asks with a monotonous, yet firmer voice, "Do you want to meet him before you go?" She turns to her left as instructed and reaches out to touch the smooth wooden door. She glides her fingers along the surface and moves it to the door frame in search of the doorbell. As her fingers descend, the sensitive tips touch the cool surface of the silver doorbell. She puts slight pressure on the bell to ring it, and the staff member who is awkwardly standing there, understands the message. Acknowledging that his presence was no longer needed, the staff member replies, "No, it's alright." He gives a slight bow out of respect and leaves.
Lucy stands there silently while the man's footsteps grow fainter and the resonance of the doorbell chime grows louder. However, there is no answer, and Lucy tries again, ringing the bell a second time. Inside the room, Natsu lies in his bed and slightly shifts as the chimes echoes within his empty room. His response is to simply lie deeper into the bed covers. The chime echoes a third time. Natsu, now only half-asleep, grabs his pillow and smothers his face to block the annoying sounds of the bell chime. Lucy still stands outside, reaches again for the doorbell, and rings it again for the fourth time. Natsu, who is now slightly pissed, throws off the bed covers and pillows, and slowly makes his way to the door to end the sound of the doorbell.
He wobbles slightly as he is nursing a slight hangover from last night's drinking with Minerva. Natsu stops for a second to touch his head which begins to slightly throb, indicating a headache that was soon to make its appearance. The bell rings for the fifth time now, and Natsu gives an exasperated sigh. He finally reaches the security answering machine and asks with a slightly rough voice, "Who is it?" He keeps his head down, not looking at the screen which shows the camera image of Lucy standing before his door. Lucy is frozen by the husky voice that answered. She is shocked by his tone and her brain seems to be not functional as her linguistic abilities are cut short, so she simply stands there. Natsu is slightly ticked by the silent answer, so he asks again with a firmer tone, "Who is it?"
Lucy opens her mouth slightly to answer, yet her speech abilities are still slurred and nothing comes out. Natsu is now fully pissed and looks up to glare at the screen, but is surprised in seeing a young blonde woman standing there. I've never seen her before... At least I don't think so? I only slept with Minerva last night, right? "Who are you?" Natsu asks again, but with a softer tone upon seeing the woman. Sensing a slight annoyance in his tone, Lucy hesitantly answers, "L-Lucy." Natsu puzzled by the name tries to think of anyone he knows by that name. "Lucy?" he says to himself. That names seems familiar in a nagging way. Did I ever sleep with a girl named Lucy? No, I don't think so.
"Why are you here?" he replies gruffly. Lucy, slightly confused and feeling even more worried that perhaps she had gotten the wrong room, asks timidly, "This isn't my brother Su's home?" Natsu takes a deep sigh, annoyed by the constant short answers and neglects questioning as to why she said 'brother'. He curtly says, "I am Su." Funny, only my closest friends call me by my nickname, Su. Who is this woman, and how does she know such a personal thing?
Taking a silent gulp, Lucy calmly replies, "I received your letter. The one you sent me." Natsu confusedly tries to remember anything related with 'letter' in his cloudy mind. "Letter?" he mutters to himself. Then, it strikes him an he remembers. "Oh...that 'Su.' Um, well, La- I mean, Su, isn't home right now. He will be back by around three. Please come back then." I feel like I shouldn't use Laxus's current name... At least not to this weird lady.
He then nonchalantly turns off the answering machine and makes his way back to his room. Lucy stands there in disappointment and silence. Feelings of fear of going back alone into the throng of people where she feels most vulnerable fills her. She quickly reaches for the doorbell and rings it again, now desperate for a lead to her long-lost brother. Natsu becomes pissed off upon hearing the ringing of the doorbell again. He storms out of his bedroom and to the answering machine, hitting the button a little more forcefully than before. He says stonily, "Listen here, Miss, 'Su' is not here at this moment."
Lucy regains her confidence and quickly replies, "Didn't you just say you were Su? Now you're saying 'Su is not home right now'... I don't understand, please explain." Realizing how it might have been confusing, Natsu tries to maintain his patience a little and clear up the misunderstanding, "Ah, that is... Your brother and I have the same name. But your brother is not here, and I am extremely tired." His patience runs thin and soon the volume of his voice rises. "Therefore, please don't ring the door bell again!" He literally then slams the button on the answering machine to end the conversation.
Natsu walks away and rubs his temples; his headache seems to have intensified from the vexing chat with the strange lady. Lucy, unfazed by the loudness of Natsu's tone, quickly reaches again for the doorbell, ringing it for the seventh and final time. However, Natsu had thought ahead and muted the volume off for the bell before he departed into his bedroom for an extra hour of sleep. Inside the room, he goes back under the covers of his bed and lets out a tired groan. Lucy, realizing that she can no longer call out for the person, suddenly has a look of distress as she still had unanswered questions. She is at a loss, and has no idea how to progress from where she is. She slowly turns to leave, reaching for her cane despondently. Extending her free hand to the opposite wall to aid in guiding her path, the blonde woman hesitantly leaves the hallway.
The scene ends. Natsu, now fully dressed in a red-maroon suit, descends down the spiral staircase, not in any real haste but not in complete leisure either.
The same hotel staff member from before rushes over and calls out to Natsu, "President!" Natsu halts suddenly and points to himself, asking, "Me?" The staff member quickly answers, "Yes!" Natsu replies sternly, "I told you to call me Mr. 36th Floor. As you know, there are so many presidents living here, so I get confused as to who you're talking to." The staff member clumsily replies, "Oh, okay. But... Uh, you see..."
The scene then fully reveals Lucy blankly looking out the railing.
The staff member continues, "She's already been waiting for about three hours." Natsu gazes at her, questioning her sanity. Well, isn't she interesting, Natsu thinks and glances down to his watch to check the time. The staff member says in a mocking tone, "She said she's waiting for her brother. Heh, why is a blind person..." But his tactless words are cut short as Natsu walks towards Lucy. He passes her slightly, intending to go on his way, but returns as his curiosity gets the best of him. Lucy's keen hearing picks up the oncoming footsteps and turns her head slightly. Natsu asks softly, "You've been waiting here for three hours? Not even sitting somewhere, just standing?" Lucy rotates to face Natsu directly, and asks, "Who are you?"
Puzzled by such a question, Natsu fully remembering Lucy from speaking with her a couple hours ago, looks at her quizzically. He says, "Me? We spoke at the door." What's with this chick? Doesn't she remember? Oh, well, judging by her short, broken-up answers, maybe she's just slow or stupid. Lucy now remembers his voice and replies, "Ah, yes." Lucy thinks, a bit offended, He's now speaking a little more softly unlike before, but I can still feel a tone of annoyance lying under his facade. Natsu, sensing that she might remember his rude attitude, tries to be polite and asks, "Would you like to stay in my apartment till your brother returns? Should I give you the keys?" Lucy replies monotonously, "No." Natsu, feeling awkward when his generous offer was rejected, replies, "Okay, then."
Natsu tries to brush it off quickly, as to not create an awkward atmosphere. He continues on his way a bit quicker then before. Lucy, sensing his leave, calls out, "Excuse me. Sorry, but can you read this letter for me, please?" Natsu, annoyed by this woman's halting replies, tries to control his irritation. He walks over as Lucy quickly hands the mail she received earlier. "Here."
Natsu slowly takes the pile of mail and looks down at it, slightly confused as to why he has to read a letter for her. Forget interesting, I think this woman might be mentally ill. Why can't she read this herself? Lucy's voice cuts off his train of thoughts, "My brother's mail should be there. I don't know which is which. I want to know the contents of the letter." Natsu looks down again, taking in what she said and notices the slower, softer tone she used towards the end of her statement. He inquires, "Can you not see?" Lucy, already expecting such a question, answers, "Yes."
The pink-haired man turns pink from sheepishness and guilt overtakes him. He now wanted to give this blind woman at least an ounce of help after learning of her disability, but unfortunately, Natsu was short on time. He releases a deep sigh, and tries to tell her gently, "I'm a bit busy-" Lucy cries out, "My dad is ill, I want to know about my brother's condition, and if he's in a state to meet my father." Slightly shocked by the sudden outburst from the quiet woman, Natsu tries to speak, but a couple of businesspeople pass by, knocking Lucy in the process.
He sees her empty eyes widen in fear, and Lucy utters a gasp. Natsu reaches out, grabbing her arm, and pulls her closer to him so she wouldn't be jostled again by more busy, careless passersby. Lucy's breathing slows, a sign of her calming down. Natsu letting go of her arm, replies, "Sorry, I forgot you can't see. Let's move somewhere less crowded." Natsu is about to advance forward, but realizes his mistake. "Oh, uh, wait. Should I be holding your hand or...?" Lucy sensing his tentative tone, refuses his offer politely, "I'll follow your footsteps. Just let me know if there is something in front." Rejected again! Man, that's twice, Natsu thinks. He replies, "Right, footsteps. Uh... If you walk about four steps, there is the adjoining staircase." He warily continues forward, slowly checking back on Lucy as she walks forward with her cane tapping on the white marble floors. Natsu reaches the steps and turns to see Lucy stop. He leans over to hold her arm and lead her down the steps, but she continues on her own. He simply looks back continuously to check that she doesn't fall, despite her seeming to be very capable on her own.
The scene then focuses in on the letter in Natsu's hands as they have reached the outside of the building.
Natsu clears his throat, feeling slightly awkward. He then begins to read the letter, "'Hello, Lucy, this is your brother. If you have read the letters I've sent all this time, you may know this-'" Natsu stops reading off of the letter to remark, "Your brother seems to not know that you can't see." Lucy quickly replies, "We were separated when I was six years old. I was able to see back then." He still feels slightly suspicious, but Natsu continues reading the letter, "'As I've said before, I'm running an Italian restaurant and doing very well.'" Natsu mumbles to himself, smirking, "Hah! Ah, this bastard even lied in his letter." Lucy leans forward saying, "Pardon?" Natsu quickly dismisses it, "Never mind...I was talking to myself. I'll continue."
Clearing his throat once more, he reads, "'But aren't you going to come see me? If you've changed your mind, come find me at the address on this letter. The address you have is my business partner's home. But soon, I will buy the apartment from him. As I've said before, after Mom passed away, he's been my trusted friend and even shares the same name as me. Isn't that something?'" Seeing a look of suspicion in her face, Natsu quickly turns defensive and says, "He wrote that! I'm reading exactly as written." Lucy continues to look unresponsive, and Natsu continues, "'How are you doing lately? Probably the same talkative and cute Lucy?'"
His face crinkling, Natsu tells Lucy, "You don't seem talkative at all," He glances at Lucy who now wears a small smile. They stand in brief silence until Lucy asks, "Aren't you going to read the rest of the letter?" Natsu blinks, and upon finding the spot where he left off, he continues, "'I think about you everyday. How tall you must've grown, whether you're still easy-going even without Mom or me there... Living with our distant and scary dad. I wonder if you've been very lonely by yourself..." The letter, having struck something closer to home in Lucy's broken heart, causes tears to silently flow from her unseeing eyes.
Natsu just glances in slight puzzlement at this new emotion she revealed. Lucy, realizing that she wasn't alone, tries to reach in to her bag to find a handkerchief. He sees her struggle to find her handkerchief, and reaches over into his own pocket and quickly fishes out a cotton handkerchief, and placing it in her hand. Lucy replies with a grateful, "Thank you." Natsu, not knowing anything else to say, just replies quickly, "I'll finish reading... 'Also, I want to know what you think of this. The bro who I am living with (the other Su), lives off of his face and fists and is a complete player...'" Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at this. Natsu, embarrassed, replies exasperatedly, "I can't believe he wrote this about me!"
He tries to cover up by saying, "Just to let you know, your brother has a habit of exaggerating. I'll skip past the part he wrote about me, for my privacy's sake." Lucy chuckles and says, "Alright." This is so weird. It's been a while since I've laughed. Maybe it's because of this person, or is it the letter? Either way, I feel that despite his cold voice, he seems to be generally kind. As he skims over the parts about him, Natsu quickly takes a look behind him as he picks up the sounds of a car coming. His eyes zone in on a black car with a red flashing light arriving nearby. Realization hits him and his mind starts to spin.
Lucy confused by the delay, asks, "Why aren't you reading?" Natsu sees two men exiting the car. The happy, cheerful mood turns into a tense and silent one, which was then broken by the sudden vibration of his phone. As Natsu answers his phone, immediately, Gajeel's voice responds, "Bro, where are you right now!?" Natsu recognizing his sense of urgency, replies hastily, "Near the apartment." Then, Gajeel yells, "You need to get out of there NOW! Hurry, the cops are coming after you! Minerva, that bitch, framed you after she embezzled President Jiemma's club and disappeared. The word is out on Magnolia's streets. The cops are digging around the clubs and our banks, and Minerva is missing. Just get out of there for now. You'll be screwed if you get caught!"
At this new terrifying information, Natsu glances back at the men who came out of the black van with the red lights flashing at the top. Realization seems to have just stuck Natsu as he freezes in shock. Gajeel's panicked voice yells out from the phone, "Are you listening?! Do you even HEAR ME!?" At the sound of Gajeel's steely voice, the two men turn around to find a stricken Natsu. Their eyes meet briefly and Natsu briskly turns and hides behind the wall with Lucy who stands there confused. Natsu begins to pant out of nervousness as a thousand thoughts begin running through his head. The two policemen glance at each other, sending a message with their eyes. Assuming this man to be their target, they begin to head towards Natsu and Lucy. Natsu quickly hides behind a stone wall. He continues to pant heavily as adrenaline rises while thinking of an escape plan. He then quickly realizes that Lucy is still there. Natsu immediately grabs her by her waist and pulls her to his body, trying to protect her. Lucy, frightened by the sudden movement and touch, squeaks out a frantic retort, "What are you doing?!" Natsu, panicking at her outburst, gently clamps Lucy's mouth shut with his hand and says in a commanding tone, "Just for a second, please.." He continues to pant heavily, still trying to think of how to escape and also keep this blind woman safe. He may be tough, and albeit a bit rude, but he wouldn't try to drag in this obviously broken, blind woman into his own messed-up life.
Lucy repeatedly blinks, trying to sort out in her head what could possibly be happening and trying to calm down her rising fear of helplessness. Natsu looks cautiously around the wall to see how dangerously closer the men are getting. He then with a strained voice tries to reassure Lucy, despite the fact that the odds are very against him. "I won't hurt you, just stay like this for a second," he whispers.
Lucy's head full of panic, thinks, He keeps telling me to wait, but I can't tell what's happening. I shouldn't have assumed things so quickly about him. I felt like maybe I could trust him. Well, I can't believe I convinced myself of that bs. It's always the same outcome. Trust is always broken eventually, and you only remain with the broken pieces of what used to be a bond. I, of all people, should know this best. Suddenly, Lucy blinks, her blind eyes seeing some unusual light. I see this glow again! Nothing is actually visible, yet I feel like there is something more to this... glow. Lucy squints, trying to get the little glimpse of light into focus. It looks like...a scar?
Natsu pants, "Your brother will be here soon. When I leave, go back into the building and ask for your brother." Natsu hurriedly shoves the bundle of letters shakily into Lucy's hands. Her face shows pure terror and even her blank eyes seem to show fear. "Ah wait, the last line of the letter... Your brother says he loves you." Hopefully that should calm her a little, Natsu thinks and he says a farewell, "Goodbye."
As soon as those words leave his mouth, Natsu makes a mad dash abandoning Lucy who helplessly calls out, "W-Wait!" Lucy, confused as to how these sudden events had led up, says vulnerably, "Wait, my cane..." She drops to the floor in a frantic search for her cane. It is her only stability and guide. Without it, she could do nothing. The two men rush past her, yelling out curses after Natsu. However, their words are deaf to Lucy, as her only frenzied goal is to find her life preserver, her cane.
The scene shifts to Natsu who is running for his life as the other two men follow, hot on his trail.
While running, Natsu gains additional dread at seeing a backup police car arriving. He slows his pace slightly to make a swift, sharp turn and continues his dash. However at that moment, unbeknownst to Natsu, Laxus has returned and is about to casually head towards the hotel when he witnesses the chase. Curious as to why Natsu was being chased by four angry men, he looks stupefied, but soon becomes shocked when Natsu draws nearer, and realization that this was serious finally dawns on him. "Bro, what's wrong?" Laxus asks, confused, but Natsu continues to run. Laxus runs with him while the men behind them yell out, "I told you to stop!"
The scene returns back to Lucy who is still in panic mode, blindly feeling the concrete floor for her cane.
Lucy is able to find her bag and quickly puts her brother's precious letter in it. She reaches forward and her hand meets the plastic end of her cane. With relief, she quickly brings the cane towards herself and tries to get back on her feet once more. At that moment, her phone rings, calling out the recipient's name: 'Lawyer, Jellal Fernandez calling.' Gathering her scattered senses, she reaches in her bag and answers the phone with her stoic tone, "It's me, Jellal.."
Natsu and Laxus keep running until they arrive at a busy street in Magnolia. In a daze, Natsu runs out into the street, his mind not registering that doing so was probably extremely dangerous. Laxus yells worriedly after him due to the sudden chase, "Dude! Where are you going!?" Suddenly, there is a sound of an incoming car, and its honking soon follows. But it is already too late for Laxus. The car tries to stop, and the inevitable screeching sounds of tires against asphalt fills the air. However, there is an unmistakable thud of a body hitting a car. The car swerves to the right and Laxus's body tumbles over on the side. Natsu, who is jolted back into reality by this unusual, terrifying sound, turns back. Seeing the fatal accident, his pupils dilate and his eyes widen in pure horror. Things seem to move in slow motion for Natsu as everything finally starts to sink in.
Lucy is still in front of the apartment building where she was abandoned by the man with the same name as her brother. From her phone, her lawyer's hurried, frantic voice yells, "Lucy! Your father is in critical condition at this moment. You need to come home, quickly!" With this sudden news the only thing running through Lucy's frazzled mind is to get a taxi as fast as she can. She continues to pant out the words, "Taxi... Taxi..." despondently hoping that she wasn't too late.
Natsu stares with dilated pupils at the scene before him. It is one of his closest friends, lying on the asphalt with blood trickling down his face, transforming his yellow locks into an ugly shade caked with blood. The car that hit Laxus tries to make a getaway but is halted as the police arrive. Natsu feebly walks toward Laxus with unbelief at the scene unfolding before his very eyes. Suddenly he is grabbed by a pair of strong arms and is pinned to the ground, yet Natsu locks his gaze only onto his friend. "W-w-wait!" Such words fall deaf to the police officers as they continue to push Natsu farther on the ground with a a tight grip so that he had no chance to escape.
Suddenly, as if fate couldn't be any more cruel than it already seemed to be, Natsu's gaze turns upward as the taps of a cane resonate within the sounds of the chaos, which is of course, unknown to Lucy who frantically stumbles to the curb next to them.
With tears pouring down her face, Lucy stops at the curb and with her hand stretched outward, she calls out desperately, "Taxi! Taxi!" All she wanted to do was get a taxi and see her father. It was unknown to her that the very brother she was looking for was lying dead on the floor merely 3 feet away from her. The sounds of bystanders gathering around Laxus's body falls deaf to Lucy as she is in a panicked state for her father's decreasing health. "Taxi! Taxi! TAXI! TAXI!" She continues to weep through her cries for a taxi and pants heavily.
Natsu just gapes in a futile attempt, unable to utter a sound as he takes in the great impact on their lives that have just taken place. Slowly, a throng of people forms around the scene of Laxus's bleeding body and leaves Lucy, the poor blind woman, to continue to wail out, "Taxi! TAXI!"
A/N: Hey everyone! Mannnn, you guys don't even know how long this took us! Especially because when Julie was writing this chapter, she forgot to save! (Jenny: LOL JULIE! be careful, dude! But I'm being a slacker and not proofing your work.. just sittin' here and eating ice cream. :3) AND THE COMPUTER SHUT DOWN AND WE LOST EVERYTHING! It wasn't a huge loss, but it took alot of time to retype. so yeahh, but it's all for you dedicated readers. WE LOVE YOU! Now it's time for us to hit the hay! we are beat! Goodbye guys! Please remember to R & R! Reviews are the best! - JulJen