Everything in the guild took a strange turn with the arrival of Feva. They didn't seem to care much about it, other than his attitude. Even for Lucy his attitude was horrible. He drank whiskey which was bad because he would retain it so when he rejoined with Lucy she would be terribly drunk. Hibiki was a welcome addition for most of the girls, the guys hated it since most of the girls wanted to have his attention and not theirs. All in all it was funny. Even the beating Natsu got from Sting and Rouge was, he wasn't hurt that bad. Especially since Lucy threatened to use Transfer. The main reason Hibiki, Ren, and Even stayed was because they signed up for the quest to protect Lucy as well as Fairy Tail.
Feva tortured the hell out of Lucy with flying practice. She had to fly around the guild hall and was only allowed six rests until she went home. It was beginning to irritate Sting. All Feva ever did was sit at a bar, drink, and never do anything unless Lucy asked it of him. Good thing was though that her flying had improved and she could hover in the same spot for a while. Natsu was impressed, he wished he had wings. Lucy sat next to Gray while Team Natsu was discussing the next mission they would take. Lucy stared at her glass intently. Gray noticed this and frowned.
"What's wrong with your milkshake?" he asked. She looked at him with an embarrassed smile.
"I've n-never had one b-b-before." She said weakly. Gray stared at her, she was like a kid experiencing everything for the first time. He nudged her, encouraging her to take a drink. She did and the moment it hit her lips she broke into a huge smile.
Natsu and Erza were all in favor of a slightly easier mission this time around, since no one wanted to face the dragon twins if she got hurt again. One a good note Feva stayed at their apartment most days. Coming to the guild rarely for some whiskey. And Natsu just adored Lucy in her Hybrid form. He could have as much fire as he wanted when he was hungry. She spoiled him rotten. The decided to help a circus for a few day until their normal guys got over the flu. They agreed to leave the next day with Natsu in charge of seeing Lucy home.
Erza thought it would teach Natsu not to snap at her anymore, Gray didn't like it. No, he hated it. He glared at him as he walked with Lucy out the door. Natsu didn't mind walking Lucy home, he kind of needed to so he could apologize. He hadn't meant to yell at her. He should have remembered that loud noises scare her with her hearing aids. And it wasn't just loud noises, any sudden moves or anything she had never seen before scared the hell out of her.
"Hey Luce I am sorry I yelled at you. Feva was right, I was pissed at myself cause you got hurt." I said staring at the ground.
"It was my fault, so how about we call a truce?" she asked smiling. She had been smiling a lot since joining Fairy Tail.
I smiled back and nodded. He liked that she could smile here, that she wasn't afraid like she was. They couldn't erase her past but they could help her forget about it for awhile. A man bumbed roughly into Lucy, pushing her into Natsu's arms. She fell to her knees with a soft scream with her hands over her ears and shaking again. It seemed it would take more than a few days, but now even the guild couldn't stop the pain she felt every day. Natsu tried to calm her down to no avail. So he picked her up, not having to worry about her wings since she had rectracted them after they were healed. He carried her all the way to her house. She smiled as sad smile at him before running to get him a mug of fire.
She came back and handed it to him, he sat across from her as he downed his fire. He loved being able to eat as much fire as he wanted. She got flushed all of a sudden and very giggly. Feva must have gone back inside her. The perverted side of Natsu's mind flashed an image of the two of them naked in bed. He became as flushed as she was, she got up wobbly to refill his cup. She was still in her white dress, it was so low cut that Natsu had a nice view of her ample breasts as she leaned over to blow more fire into the mug for him. She started away from him only to trip. Natsu tried to grab her but they both ended up falling to the floor. Natsu laid on top of a very drunk Lucy, his head laying on her stomach.
Kiss her! Mark her! Claim her! Natsu yelled at himself.
What about Lissanna? The other half of his mind asked.
One kiss can't hurt? Natsu argued.
So he pulled himself up to be face to face with the drunk girl who had somehow captured him. He no longer thought of Lissanna as much, it was always Lucy. Lucy opened her mouth to say something but he silenced her when he captured her lips with his. She tasted as good as she smelled. Peppermint with a tang of oranges. He kissed her hungrily even though he felt a pressure on his chest. Her hands pressing against him, trying to push him away. He broke the kiss when he heard a gasp in the room. He looked up to his worst nightmare. Lissanna stood in the doorway to the living room.
She just stared at them with a shocked expression. Natsu got off of Lucy, leaving her on the floor as he tried to talk to Lissanna. She looked at him and smiled, walking past him to help Lucy off of the floor. Natsu noticed Lucy's ankle was swollen.
"You sprained it. And Natsu, I am not mad. You were distant from me long before she came to the guild." Lissanna said as she bandaged Lucy's ankle.
"I am so sorry Lissanna." Natsu said softly. Lissanna smiled at them.
"I came because I wanted to break up with you. We both grew apart. But we can still be friends and go on quests."
Lucy laid passed out on the couch, completely unaware of what was happening. Lissanna looked at her and smiled, then at Natsu. She walked to the door, whispering in his ear before slipping out of the door.
"Don't cheat on her." She said.
Natsu picked Lucy up and carried her to her bedroom, placing her on the bed. He looked at her peaceful features, a pale glow on her skin with the drunken blush over her cheeks. Natsu sighed, he hadn't wanted to hurt Lissanna and he for damn sure didn't want to hurt Lucy. Lissanna was right. They had grown apart after their defeat at the Grand Magic Games. He stood and walked out of her bedroom to greet the twins, their Exceeds, and Gray coming in from the party. I sat in the chair, running a hand over my face. His life had gone topsy turvy in the course of a few days, all because of the girl in the other room. Gray, Sting, and Rouge fell to the floor and passed out drunk. Natsu sighed again.
Lovely. Now I get to babysit four drunks. He thought bitterly.
Natsu got Rouge and Sting into their rooms, he wasn't one for being overly nice to other guys. So he just threw them on their beds. They were so drunk they didn't even budge. He put Gray, who lost his shirt again, on the couch. Once they were all comfortable his thoughts drifted to Lucy again. He slapped himself and ran to their main bathroom to take a very cold shower. Being a Fire Dragon Slayer the temperature didn't affect him much to his dismay. He stood in the shower letting the water pelt him as he tried to think of anything to get rid of the painful erection he had. He couldn't think that way, he was her friend. A friend of his that had suffered but hid it behind a gentle smile.
He remembered her from his time in the town of Kai where Saber Tooth was. He had seen her in a park while he was wondering around trying to find his way to the train station. The park was near a hospital, there were children all around Lucy. She smiled and played with them. All wore hospital gowns. She made flower crows for all of them. Natsu was enthralled by the graceful and delicate way her fingers wound the flowers together. He watched her for another moment or two then left before she could see him. He got out of the shower and settled into the chair he was sitting in. He willed his boner away and his mind blank enough for him to sleep.
The next morning passed quickly and before Gray knew it they were already on the train to CloverTown. Lucy, Rouge, and Sting wad metal bracelets on. What was strange was that they weren't getting sick. Natsu on the other hand was crumpled in his seat. Lucy pulled out another metal object, an earring and put it in Natsu's ear. The minute it connected with him, he got better.
"What happened?" Natsu asked Lucy who smiled.
"I learned how to attach an equilibrium stabilizing spell to metal. As long as you wear it and keep it charged you wont get motion sick." She replied.
"Why an earring?" Erza asked.
"It was all I could afford." Lucy looked sad. She had spent most of her money that she had saved to help furnish their apartment. Sting didn't want anything of Jude's in it to remind her of him, so they got rid of it all.
Lucy gasped and took out a large notepad and pencil. She flipped it open and began drawing on it as we neared CloverTown. She concentrated hard on it. Looking at Natsu, Gray, and Erza every now and then before going back to drawing. We were approaching the station when she yelled.
"Done!" she smiled and showed us.
It was a picture of all of us on a cliff facing the sunset by the ocean. Hair flowing in the breeze, friendly yet triumphant smiles. She flipped the pad closed and bounded off of the train, leaving us to go running after her. We walked to the circus tent at the edge of town laughing and talking. Sting and Rouge had come with since the needed the extra muscle. Sting laughed and picked Lucy up. Twirling her around as she squeeled in laughter. A vein popped in Natsu's and Gray's head.
"Don't be so friendly with her!" they snapped in unison.
"What? Are you two jelous?" Rouge laughed loudly.
Everyone laughed as the two mages blushed and looked away. Lucy, who wasn't sure of what was happening, had cute little question marks popping up around her head. She jumped out of Stings arms and walked up close to Gray and Natsu. She put her wrists to their foreheads. Which made them blush even more.
"Are you two alright? Your faces are red but you don't seem to have a fever." She said.
They walked the rest of the way to the tent in semi silence. Rouge and Sting were snikering to each other. Natsu and Gray were too busy thinking about how bad they wanted to kiss her. They got to the tent and were immeaditely put to work. Lucy was a sub so she had to learn everything in case some one else got sick or hurt. Erza was the weapons expert, Natsu was the fire eating clown, and Gray, Sting, and Rouge were the extra muscle.
Lucy sat by the animal tent, taking a break from acrobatics training. She watched the clouds drift by overhead, sipping her water. She wouldn't have minded the costume if it wasn't for the frilly tutu they were making her wear. She was so lost in her thoughts she wondered if she was crazy for hearing a voice in her head.
"Come little Spirit Mage. It has been so long since I have talked." The voice said. Lucy looked around the left corner where she was sitting. She didn't know why she went that way but she did. And was met with a large cage with a horse sized gray wolf inside it. Lucy went down to her knees, bowing to the great beast in the cage.
"It is an honor to meet the dark counter part of the Celestial Spirit of Canis Minor." Lucy said from her bowed position.
"Raise your head. I have no need for formality, call me Nikoris."
"Why are you caged so? You should be free to roam around." Lucy said reaching to touch his soft muzzle.
"My family was under attack from the circus. I gave myself to keep them safe. They keep me locked up because they are afraid that I will kill them." He said, leaning his head forward to push her hand behind his ears.
"How terrible for you. You wont hurt anyone, I can tell. Stay by me okay?" Lucy said as she smashed the lock on his cage apart. Nikoris stepped out and stretched his achey muscles. He laid down next to Lucy in the soft grass, basking in the warm sunlight. Lucy sat curled up next to him, stroking his fur. She closed her eyes and began to sing.
"~Niiji no wayeh grats gaivahn.
Niiji no wayeh grats gaivahn.
Niiji no wayeh grats gaikenah.
Lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, la-a-a.
Niiji no wayeh grats gaikenah.
Lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, la-a-a.~"
Lucy sang they melody her mother sang for her when she wanted to sleep. The peace of the moment didn't last as Natsu and her other friends came running to her with the ring master together. The ring master let out a strangled eep.
"Miss come away from there. That is a dangerous animal and it could kill you." The ring master said. His nazaly voice grated on Lucy's already short temper.
"He wont hurt anyone. Even if I think he should. But I will tell you what. Why don't you sign him over to me as a part of the reward for helping you?" Lucy asked smiling.
But you could hear the venom dripping from her voice. Nikoris lifted his head when the ring master made a move to get near Lucy. A menacing growl resounding from the large wolf. Lucy scratched his ears to comfort him and the wolf relaxed again. Until the stupid ring master got too close to Lucy for his comfort. He lunged at the man and pinned him to the ground with his huge paw resting on his chest.
"I do not relish in killing, but I will make an exception for you if you dare step to Lucy in such a disrespectful manner. I suggest you apologize to her an do as she asks. Before I crunch you pathetic skull in my jaws." Nikoris barked at the man he pinned.
"Now now, Nikoris. We wont get anywhere by scaring him." Lucy said chuckling, coming to stand by him and stroke his ears. The guy coward and shook beneath the two.
"I-its fine! He is y-yours!" he wailed. Lucy beamed as Nikoris let the poor man up.