A/N: So it took some time to figure out just what I wanted to do with this chapter. There was a lot of going back to watch old Bleach episodes (in between the Naruto and Shokugeki no Soma marathoning I've been doing) and just staring at a blank wall in thought. Shit got weird.

Also, I just read the Fairy Tail: Rhodonite spin-off, so there is (of course!) a nod to that in this chapter.

This chapter was supposed to have one more scene in it at the end, but this is a good enough length for now. And I don't want to leave you all on a cliffhanger. Plus I still need to get to all my other stories and write for CoLu Week (August 2017).

Regardless, let's see what happens with Lucy and the Bleach peeps!


Cinnamon Roll


It hadn't taken much for Lucy to realize that things were different in the Seireitei. It was more than how they dressed, though. And if she'd somehow managed to ignore all the signs that she wasn't in Earthland any longer, then the simple beauty of Captain Kyouraku's garden party definitely would have clued her in. Soft orange and purple and pink paper lanterns hung on eaves and trees all around the garden. It was sophisticated in a way she'd never thought possible, and still felt welcoming.

The captain, himself, she'd yet to see. Well, maybe she'd seen him and just hadn't been introduced, because Yumichika and Ikkaku had dragged her over to a table full of food and kept forcing her to try one thing after another.

There were all kinds of shinigami at the party though. It wasn't just stuffy old people like she'd been dreading on the way over. From what she could tell, though, it was a lot of the higher ranking members of squads that made an appearance. She saw that redhaired man with the tribal tattoos again, except he wasn't shadowing his captain this time. Instead, he was standing beside a woman with short black hair and gleaming violet eyes who was shorter than even Lucy herself.

"That's Rukia and Renji," Yumichika said.

"I met him before," she said after swallowing the steamed bun Ikkaku had shoved in her mouth. "When Kenpachi beat my ass black and blue."

"Damn, that feels like ages ago," Ikkaku laughed.

"Yes, it does feel as though Lucy has always been with us."

"Even though I've been unconscious most of that time," she snickered.

"Ikkaku!" Renji called out, pulling Rukia over to join the small group. "Good to see you guys here."

"Like hell would we miss one of Captain Kyouraku's parties," Ikkaku said.

Yumichika turned his attention to Rukia and smiled politely. "And is Captain Ukitake here as well?"

"He's here," she said with a nod. Her gaze shifted to the side for a moment and a small smile touched her lips when she saw him sitting between Captain Unohana and Captain Kyouraku. "It seems he's taking it easy though."

Lucy bit her lip nervously and lowered her gaze to the lush grass beneath her feet. She listened to the conversations around her, but didn't say a word. It was so strange to be there, that was for sure. If this had been a party with Fairy Tail, there would have already been a fight. Or seven. There would have been food flying, and screaming and drinking and betting. Most importantly, there would have been magic flying left and right, and she would have been hiding behind Natsu or Gajeel until those two ultimately got into a brawl and dragged her into it by proxy.

She missed that so much.

Lucy looked around the party again. Renji's captain was sitting beside several others wearing haoris, but she couldn't see the numbers - one with long brown hair and a flowered kimono over his haori, one with white hair and bags under his eyes, a woman with a long braid running down her chest. The way they acted reminded her a little of how her father's parties had been, but it was still so different. There were no fancy gowns or butlers walking around that she could see.

A gentle hand on her lower back drew Lucy's attention back to the shinigami around her, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she realized they were all looking at her. And then Rukia smiled at her and Yumichika's hand left her back.

"I felt the same way when I first came to one of Captain Kyouraku's parties," Rukia said. "It's definitely different."

"But it's too boring right now," Ikkaku murmured. "Might as well be with the Kuchikis."

Lucy frowned in confusion while Rukia scowled. "They aren't that bad!" Rukia said.

"True," Yumichika said with a smirk. "We Rukon mongrels wouldn't be allowed past the gate in the first place."

"Now that's just not right," Renji said.

"Thank you," Rukia sighed.

"Rukia lives there." Rukia scowled again and punched Renji in the side, pulling a laugh from Lucy, and he looked back to the blonde. "How are you liking the squad though?"

She scratched the back of her head and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess it's alright," she said. "I just got off bedrest today and Yumichika and Ikkaku figured I needed to get out for a bit."

"You're part of Captain Zaraki's division?" Rukia asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah, but I mostly just shadow the lieutenant." She had to remember the things Yumichika had taught her in her first few days with them. She had to be specific, but not too specific. She had to lie and be convincing.

"I've never seen you at the Shinigami Women's Association meetings," Rukia said.

"She's usually with me when the lieutenant goes to those," Yumichika said. "The captain refuses to do his paperwork, and since Lucy here enjoys it and has a brain, I let her help me with it."

"I'm more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person," Lucy said.

"Unless you're flying through a door," Renji chuckled. Rukia's elbow lodged itself in his ribs and he nearly doubled over. "Seriously though," he coughed, "I'm surprised you stuck around."

"It's the best place to get stronger," Lucy said. She didn't seen Ikkaku and Yumichika's proud grins over her head as her eyes burned with conviction. "It might be hard, and it might hurt like hell, but I'm learning more with them than I could have learned anywhere else."

"Lucy here is the only one who doesn't get hassled for her zanpakutou being kido-based," Ikkaku said. "She's horrible with a regular sword though."

"Yes, it's pretty pathetic," Yumchika nodded.

"I'm not that bad!"

"You are, though," he laughed.

Lucy's shoulders slumped in defeat and she nodded in agreement. There really wasn't any point in fighting that. She fucking sucked using a sword. If only she'd gotten more practice with Gajeel before this had happened. Maybe one of her spirits could teach her though. Capricorn, maybe.

The conversation drifted into other topics that Lucy really didn't know much about, so she just listened. She learned more about the shinigami that came and went, and found it was easier for her to remember them if she compared them to people she knew. Like Rangiku, the busty woman who was Soul Society's version of Cana. In short, she was a lush with a heart of gold. Or her captain, a white haired shinigami who looked as though he couldn't be any older than Romeo, with a serious streak almost identical to Erza; Lucy wondered if he had some weird cake addiction too.

Shuuhei reminded her of Gray, mostly because their hair was sort of the same, and he tended to have the same sort of reaction when someone said he couldn't do something; she still wasn't sure why it was so important that he have something called a bankai, or why no one believed him. There was Hanatarou, who'd barely brushed against her while walking past and bumbled through an apology with so little confidence that all Lucy could picture was how Wendy had been when they'd first met and she'd been part of Cait Shelter.

At some point, music started playing. It was like nothing she'd ever heard before, and Lucy wished she knew how to describe the pounding beat and warbled tones and whirs from speakers she hadn't seen. She almost felt like an idiot when Yumichika pulled her away from Ikkaku and Renji - who were in the process of starting an arm wrestling match and drinking sake - and tried to dance with her.

"What is this?" Lucy laughed, trying to follow his steps.

"Music from the living world," Yumichika said. "Shuuhei keeps tabs on new music trends and brings copies of some things back."

It still baffled her that she was surrounded by dead people. Or souls, rather. They never seemed as though they were dead, or missing out on life. The only time she really remembered that little fact was when someone brought up the world that had living, breathing humans in it.

Still, she'd never heard music quite like this. And she was completely lost. If it was a waltz, she could go to town and show off some skills. She didn't recognize any of the instruments that were being played, and the tempo was too fast for her to keep up with. She tried to mimic Yumichika, even some of the other shinigami around them who were starting to get into the music, but none of it helped.

Maybe she should have tried to learn how to dance like other people back in the guild. But Lucy had always been a bit too reserved about that. Way too nervous to just let loose in front of anyone. She could waltz to her heart's content, but shaking her ass like Cana had done? Definitely not.

"What are you doing?" Yumichika laughed, bracing his hands on her hips.

"I really don't know," she said, giving him an uneasy smile. "We don't have music like this back home."

He took a small step closer and smiled down at her, his hands drifting to the small of her back. "Then I think we need to do something about that."

"Like what?" She wasn't even going to question Yumichika's intentions. Regardless of whether he was attracted to her - she still wasn't sure if he was gay or not - she wasn't attracted to him at all. He was pretty, but too young. Physically. Maybe mentally. She still didn't know.

His lips drew closer and drifted toward her ear. "We need to get you drunk."

"What?" Lucy giggled.

"You danced with me the last time we went drinking," he said. "You were fine then."

"Because I was trashed." Lucy winced while thinking back. She'd had so much to drink that she'd puked on Kenpachi. Twice, apparently. She really didn't feel like repeating that experience.

"Oh, Yumichika!" Rangiku crooned. "Are you trying to defile your squad's delicate flower right here?"

"No." Yumichika drew back and winked at Lucy, then wrapped one arm around her waist and led her over to Rangiku. "But I need your help. Lucy here is far too sober."

"Do you have any idea how rapey that sounds?" Lucy laughed. She trusted Yumichika though. And she trusted that, if something were to happen to her, Kenpachi might be persuaded to do something about it. Maybe. Most likely with Yachiru's constant badgering.

"But Lucy, I want to dance with you," Yumichika said. "And you apparently can't do that sober."

She squeaked when foreign hands pushed him away and she was dragged forward by Rangiku. "You just leave that to me, Yumichika!" Rangiku shouted. "It's time for a good bottle or two of sake!"

"Did I hear sake?" Lucy looked over to see the captain wearing a pink kimono over his shoulders sauntering closer.

"You sure did, Captain Kyouraku," Rangiku said with a grin. "We're going to get little Lucy here nice and drunk so she can dance."

Lucy stiffened when he came to stand in front of her, and pulled away from Rangiku enough that she could bow like Yumichika had taught her to do. When he laughed and patted her head, she looked up to find him sending her an easy, gentle smile.

"She's definitely too sober," he said. "Well, right this way. The good stuff is over here."

Lucy looked back at Yumichika to find him waving at her with a mischievous little smirk. Then he turned and walked toward where Ikkaku and Renji had set up a small ring to spar with one another. There wasn't any betting that she could see, but it at least made her feel a little closer to home.

All that was missing was the magic. And her family.


Cobra sat on the bed with his knees pulled to his bare chest and a hand in his hair. His free hand drifted in the same pattern as it had been for the past hour: a simple figure eight over Gajeel's broad shoulders. He'd been sleeping for a while, and even though Cobra wanted to be curled around him right then, he couldn't.

A soft knock on the door drew his attention to it in an instant, and he kept his breathing controlled when Sorano and Macbeth made their way into the bedroom. It was already after eleven at night, which meant Macbeth's magic would be at its most powerful very soon.

"Are you ready, Cobra?" Sorano asked softly.

"It's Erik now," Macbeth chuckled. It was tense though, and Cobra knew that he was just trying to lighten the mood a little. After trying for nearly a month, they hadn't had any luck in getting into Gajeel's dreams to talk with Loke. But none of them were giving up any time soon.

Macbeth had been able to witness Gajeel's fugue states every time they failed to get in - how he seemed perfectly coherent and sometimes was willing to talk about what he'd seen or heard. None of it helped. Aside from letting Macbeth and Sorano see Gajeel cry in the middle of the night before trying to get inside Cobra (only a couple times, thankfully, and Cobra had been able to stop him because they had company), it really didn't give anyone any idea of what Loke was trying to do.

"Come on," Cobra said. His gently grasped Gajeel's limp hand on the bedding while Macbeth took a seat beside him. Sorano was silent while she sat down on a little lounge they'd set up for her. "Let's get this over with, alright?"

"We're going to figure this out," Macbeth said softly. He cupped Cobra and Gajeel's joined hands with both of his and looked into the Poison Slayer's single, worried eye. "No matter how long it takes, we'll help him."

"We promise," Sorano said.

"Any word yet?" Cobra asked her.

"Not yet," she said. "Yukino has been talking with Libra and I guess she's trying to set up a meeting of some sort with the Spirit King. From what Yukino told me, he's wary of meeting her."

"He's met with Lucy a few times," Macbeth frowned. "Why would Yukino be any different?"

"Because Lucy proved herself to him," Cobra said. "Gajeel told me about it. She's got his trust, but he's gotta understand that your sister's trying to meet with him to help Lucy."

"I know," she said. "I'll call her when you guys are under and see if there's any news yet."

Cobra nodded and looked at Macbeth. His free hand dropped to cover Macbeth's where it sat over his and Gajeel's hands. "Swear to me," he whispered. "Macbeth, swear to me he'll be alright."

'I wish I could… I don't know what this is, but I won't give up.'

"I won't let it be any other way," Macbeth said. "I swear, Erik, I'll do everything I can."

"Gotta find Bunny… Gotta find her. Bunny, I'm comin'. Where are you?"

That wasn't nearly good enough, as far as Cobra was concerned. But he had to accept it. He knew Macbeth would do just as he said. He never would have asked for help if he didn't. "It's starting," he whispered. Cobra leaned his head back against the headboard while his eye slid shut. He heard Macbeth's soul swirling as he gathered his magic, and the soft chime of the grandfather clock in the manor's foyer as midnight fell upon them. This was it. They were going to give it their all this time, and maybe they would break through into Gajeel's dreams.

There was a soft pull in Cobra's stomach that grew into a nauseating ache. His eye stayed shut though. No matter how much he wanted to look around, to find out if they were still in the master bedroom with Sorano sitting close by and Gajeel still asleep, he refused. If he did that, the spell would fail. He'd learned that the hard way.

Macbeth squeezed his hand twice before Cobra finally took a chance and opened his eye. They were still in the master bedroom, still sitting in the same place they'd been before. Everything was identical on first glance, even the moonlight streaming in from the open window on the far side of the room. "Damnit."

"Erik…"

Cobra pulled his hands away from Macbeth's and rubbed them over his face. "Can you try again tonight?" He just couldn't believe it hadn't worked. Again. And he wished more than anything that they had even one fucking clue of how to make it actually work. How they could help Gajeel.

"Erik, look…"

Cobra scowled and dropped his hands, then followed Macbeth's gaze to the bed.

Gajeel was gone. Instead, Cobra saw his own body lying there, fast asleep with the blankets cocooned around him and a small line of drool dripping down his cheek. He looked back to the window to find the lounge that Sorano had been sitting on was gone as well. She was nowhere to be found. Just himself and Macbeth. And his other self. That was fucking weird.

They stood and took a slow step away from the bed, and Cobra jumped when it started pinching in on itself, folding over and over again with his dream-self going right along with it. The room darkened steadily with each passing second, and his gut twisted when the bed winked out of existence, quickly followed by the rest of the furniture until the room was empty. The walls faded to a stale grey and the gentle cinnamon scent that always hung in the air faded until all that was left was a musty, mildewed sort of stench.

"We need to find him," Macbeth said. "This isn't looking good."

Cobra really didn't need any more prompting than that to get his ass in gear. They made their way to the door, and when he pushed it open the wood simply crumbled to bits of ash against his fingertips.

The hallway beyond wasn't normal. It wasn't the hall that Cobra and Gajeel walked down every morning. The soft blue walls and shining wood floors were gone, replaced by peeling yellowed red-paisley wallpaper and cracked and stained linoleum. He stepped into the hall with Macbeth and found his gaze pulled toward the flickering overhead light that ran along the ceiling. There was hardly enough room for them to walk beside each other.

"Where is he?" Macbeth whispered.

Cobra didn't care if he looked like a pussy. He reached back and grabbed Macbeth's hand before closing his eye to try focusing on Gajeel. No way in hell was he going to get sucked into some fucked up horror nightmare and get separated from the only one who could get him out. Also, Cobra was just a little fucking creeped out by the shit happening in his boyfriend's dream. And all they'd done was walked into a damn hallway.

Luckily, Macbeth squeezed his hand just as tightly - partly to keep them together, and mostly for comfort. Cobra listened and listened, but he didn't hear a thing. Well, he didn't hear a single direction to start searching. Gajeel's soul was everywhere. And nowhere. And how in the fuck was this supposed to work?!

"What do you hear?"

"Nothing," Cobra sneered. "Everything…" He glared at his friend and started dragging him down the hall, ignoring the hollow thunk of their feet on improperly installed tiles. "We have to find him."

"Erik, I know we do," Macbeth said. "Just stay calm. Remember, it's a dream. Things won't make sense to us here, but they'll make sense to Gajeel."

"How the shit does a murder hallway make any fucking sense?!"

"Murder hallway?" Cobra sighed while they rounded a corner, then stopped and gestured just ahead of them. To the sudden splashes of crimson that swept up the walls, the pile of body parts in the middle a large puddle of blood. "Cobra, what the hell did you-"

"This looks like it's a fucking horror movie," Cobra said, looking at the viscera hanging from the ceiling with a critical eye. "Why wouldn't there be some fucking murder hallway?"

"You did this," Macbeth whispered. His eyes rounded while he took in the macabre scene, then looked back at his friend. "Erik, you… You made this."

"I didn't do a thing."

"You did…" Macbeth turned to the wall and reached out for nothing. His hand wrapped around a doorknob, and he turned it and pushed open a door that hadn't been there before, dragging Cobra through it. They stopped in the next room, a dining room covered in creeping vines with inch-long thorns over the sunlit windows. "Lucid dreaming," he whispered. "Erik, this is good."

"What are you talking about?"

"We can affect things here, almost as if it's our own dream." Macbeth tightened his grip on Cobra's hand and carefully led them through the gnarled brambles to the opposite side of the room. "It doesn't have to make sense. Not at all. But Gajeel's dream is merged with our consciousnesses, so we can move around as though we're having a lucid dream. We can help him."

"We can't even find him."

"We have to try," Macbeth said. "This is a step in the right direction. Even if we don't get to him this time, we'll have something to work from." He paused once they were beside a window, then lifted their joined hands and pushed them through the thorns. Nothing pierced their flesh. They simple fazed through it all, like ghosts. "Where do you think he'd be right now?"

"I don't know," Cobra hissed.

"Just picture it," Macbeth said. "You told me before that he's usually in the house during a nightmare, so where would he go?"

Cobra frowned and looked toward the window they were about to go through. The dining room overlooked the playground they'd built for the kids. He could see them playing outside right then, smiling in the sunlight and enjoying the bright spring afternoon. "The library," he whispered. "Lucy loved it, and he… Gajeel knows that." Macbeth nodded and they stepped through the window, then dropped down several feet into the dark library. There was no hint of the afternoon light that had been drifting through the vines over the windows in that dining room.

In the middle of the room, Gajeel knelt on a grave covered in roses and lush grass. His large frame curled around a marble headstone and he sobbed with no hint of wanting to stop.

"Gaje… me… can y… Gaj… me!"

Gajeel's head shot up and he looked around the room for the disembodied voice. "Leave us alone!" he bellowed. "She's gone, you asshole! Just leave us alone!"

Cobra watched, frozen in place and more than confused, as the headstone reshaped itself into a small kitten with bright orange fur. It purred while rubbing itself against Gajeel's legs, then crawled up onto his shoulders. Its mouth opened in a yawn, but that same fading voice from before came from the kitten.

"Gajeel… trying to… can you…"

Gajeel screamed and threw the kitten across the room, and Macbeth dove forward to catch it before it could hit the ground. Just as he felt soft fur brushing against his hands, it burst into a puff of bright orange and green feathers.

Cobra ignored Macbeth and made his way to Gajeel, then gently knelt beside him. "Hey," he whispered. "Gajeel, it's alright."

The Iron Slayer shook off the gentle touch to his shoulder and crawled across the floor to a dark, looming bookshelf. He pulled a book down and opened it, revealing scrawling lines of text that wriggled on the pages.

"Gajeel," Cobra said, following closely behind him. "I'm here now. It's alright."

"I'll find her," Gajeel growled. "If I read enough, I'll find her. Damnit… I can't… It doesn't make sense!"

Cobra looked down at the book to see blank pages staring back at him. His eye narrowed and he looked at his boyfriend's furrowed brow and the tears shining on his cheeks. "Let me help you," he said gently. "We're in a dream, Gajeel. This is just a dream. But I can help, if you'll let me."

Gajeel's body shimmered and he looked at Cobra. He blinked slowly, and in an instant the library was set aflame and he was screaming, kneeling on the floor in front of Cobra and clawing at the ground, struggling against some invisible force that kept him back.

Flames licked at Cobra's body, and when he tried to move he realized that he was bound to a pillar that had broken through the floor. He was gagged, unable to scream while heat seared his face and arms. Macbeth was nowhere to be found.

"Erik, no!" Gajeel bellowed. "No, don't die! Please! I love you! Don't leave me. I love you! I love you!"

Cobra coughed as thick black smoke billowed into his nostrils and burned his eye. Cold fear speared through him when he tried to imagine the ropes disappearing, and they were simply replaced by red-hot iron shackles around his wrists and legs.

The library rumbled and quaked as Gajeel's screams grew in volume. The voice from before was gone now. Where the hell was Macbeth?! Cobra could smell his flesh cooking and heard it bubbling while the fire swelled around his body.

"Cobra!" Gajeel shrieked as his eye rolled back in his head.

Cobra's eye shot open to find Sorano leaning over him with terrified eyes, her hands on his shoulders and shaking him violently where he laid on the floor. "Wh-What-"

"You were screaming," she whispered. He could feel her trembling as her hands slipped away. "Macbeth woke up and… y-you didn't come with him, and-"

Cobra pushed her away and scrambled from the floor to find Gajeel's eyes fluttering open with tears already dripping down his cheeks.

'Where's Erik?! He's dead too. No, he can't be dead!'

Cobra ignored everyone else in the room - Sorano where she still knelt on the floor, Macbeth where he sat on the end of the bed and shook out his quivering hands - and vaulted onto the bed, right onto Gajeel. "I'm okay," he whispered. "Gajeel, I'm okay."

"Fuck," Gajeel sniffled. "It was a dream…"

"Just a dream," Cobra said as Gajeel's arms wound around him. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when Gajeel's hand curled around his chin to lift his head, and his lips were roughly claimed. "I'm okay… Mm... I'm okay," he said between harsh, desperate kisses.

Sorano winced when Cobra straddled Gajeel and their kisses intensified. She looked to Macbeth and grabbed his hand, then pulled the dazed Reflector mage from the room well before the two Dragon Slayers' clothes flew off. Once they were in the hallway, she whirled around and pinned him to the wall by his shoulders. "What the hell happened?" she hissed. "Why was he screaming?!"

Macbeth took several minutes to find his voice, to even look into Sorano's eyes. "He was being burned alive," he finally said. "We got in and found Gajeel crying, and I can only assume we heard Loke's voice. But I don't understand what happened. One minute I was catching a kitten, and the next…"

He shook his head and didn't let himself overthink it when he lunged for the woman standing before him. Macbeth's arms wrapped tightly around her waist and he buried his nose in her shoulder.

"Macbeth?"

"We'll help him," he said, his voice trembling. "Sorano, we have to help him. He loves Erik, and his dream tried to kill him, and…"

"It's okay," she said gently. Her gaze shifted to the closed bedroom door when two almost inaudible moans drifted through it. "Let's get some sleep. I'll call Yukino in the morning."

"You need to call her," Macbeth whimpered.

"You need me more," she said. She led him down the hall toward their room, eyeing the clock in the hallway that read six minutes past midnight. She smiled when he burrowed closer to her, forcing her arm to stay wrapped around his shoulders. "I'll even scratch your stomach to help you sleep, alright?"

"Thanks," he muttered, still holding onto her as they walked down the silent, empty hall of the Lucy Heartfilia Home for Children.


She was feeling good. More than good. Lucy felt like a million Jewels had been dropped in her lap and she'd been named the queen of the universe. She was a total bomb diggity dancer - Yumichika made sure to tell her that several times while she swayed and ground her hips against his to the music - and could hold her liquor like a champ. A super champ.

She was the champiest of all champs.

One thing was for sure though. Cana was never to find a way to get to the Seireitei. Because damn was their sake good. Or maybe it was just Captain Kyouraku's sake that was so delicious. Or maybe it was that Lucy had gotten used to drinking beer at the guild, and the occasional shot of whiskey with Gajeel. Maybe sake just hit her harder. Kind of like when Cana had tequila with Bacchus that one time and they'd started having sex on top of Lucy's meatloaf dinner in the guildhall.

That had been both disturbing and just a little sexy. Disturbingly sexy.

"Such a wonderful dancer."

Lucy laughed and spun around, ready to find Yumichika grinning down at her. Instead, it was someone else. The Seireitei Gray. Shuuhei. That's right. The one who brought the music from the living world. She let his hands grasp hers and kept swaying her hips while he pulled her just a little closer. "This is some great music," she said.

"I'm always looking for new stuff," he said. "They change their music so often, and most things here are still so traditional."

"Well, I like it." Lucy giggled when he whirled her around and pulled her back against his chest. And then another hand brushed against her throat and she looked up to find Yumichika grinning drunkenly down at her. "Yun-Yun! Make a Lucy sandwich!"

"I don't think so," Yumichika chuckled. "You should probably get going, Lucy." He looked up at Shuuhei and nodded off to one side, then pulled Lucy into his arms. They easily fell in step with one another to the music's beat. Slowly, Yumichika edged her toward an abandoned side of the party. He snagged a glass of water from a nearby table, tasting it himself first to make sure it was only water.

Lucy hummed when she was handed a glass of water, carefully sipping it while she danced.

"Lucy, you really need to get going," he whispered. His gaze darted around the party to make sure no one had noticed them, then he pulled Lucy behind a tree and forced her to look at him. "This is very important."

Her brows furrowed while she sipped at her water. Yumichika's voice had lowered considerably. The playful look in his eyes had disappeared, and Lucy carefully lowered her glass while looking up at him. "Huh?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi showed up," he said. "He never comes to these things, but he's here. That isn't good for you."

"Why?"

"Because if that mad scientist sees your reiatsu, he'll know something's up. And if that happens, the last thing you'll need to worry about is getting arrested."

Lucy blinked slowly, trying to get her brain to process what he was telling her.

"Put simply, he'll experiment on you. It's torture, Lucy. You need to leave and get back to the barracks without him seeing you."

And then it clicked. Torture was a pretty strong word, and considering the kind of insanity that she'd witnessed in regards to the Eleventh division and their pain tolerance, it had to be serious if Yumichika looked the way he did. "Um… Will you maybe w-walk me back?" she whispered.

"I can't," he sighed. "I'm going to try and distract him, so you can slip out unnoticed."

"How?"

Yumichika smirked and peeked around the tree to find Ikkaku and Renji drinking together. "That's the easy part," he said. "Don't draw attention to yourself though. Just get back to the barracks."

"What does Captain Kuro-whatever look-"

"I have to go," he said. Lucy was left standing there, staring in shock as Yumichika sauntered around the tree and back into the thick of the party as though nothing had happened.

"... like…" She honestly hadn't a clue who to look out for though. When she looked around, she didn't really see anyone who looked like a mad scientist. Renji's captain was still there, which was a little surprising based on the stick she was sure had been lodged in his ass since birth. Rangiku's drinking had prompted the busty woman to tease her own captain, Toshiro, and then Captain Kyouraku had started ribbing on Byakuya. It was all relatively tame, as far as Lucy was concerned. Except the Squad 6 captain had been as stone-faced as Lahar the entire time.

Still, she needed to get as close to the exit as possible.

Lucy downed the rest of her water and set the glass on a random table as she made her way further from Yumichika. Further from safety, was more like it.

A loud commotion broke out behind her, one that she could very clearly hear Ikkaku's bellowing voice in the center of. Lucy didn't pay attention to what he was saying though. Not when she could clearly see the gate that she'd come through earlier that night. She was home free, smiling internally and more than ready to breathe a sigh of relief.

An arm draped around her shoulders and pulled her to a stop. Lucy froze. She didn't know what else to do.

"Ah, Lucy-chan! Come and drink with me!"

With her cheeks flaming, she turned slightly to look up at Captain Kyouraku. He reminded her of Gildarts. Even more with how chummy he got once he'd gotten drunk. But her buzz was wearing off with the knowledge that someone present in the party would want to dissect her. "Sorry, Captain," she said politely. "I've gotta get going."

"No way," he laughed. "Just one more drink!"

"I really can't," she said. "Maybe another time, Captain."

"Aw," he pouted. His arms wound around her, pulling her closer and forcing her cheek to smoosh against his bared, hairy chest. "What happened to Shun-Shun? It was so cute!"

"Nemu, where are you, you little wretch?!"

Captain Kyouraku drew back with a grin and turned with Lucy still in his arms toward the agitated voice just behind him. "Ah, Mayuri. So glad you could make it. Have you met my pretty little Lucy-chan?"

"That's Captain Kurotsuchi, you dimwit."

Lucy's eyes went wide at the sight of the man before her. He hadn't been anywhere she could see before, but she really wished that Yumichika had told her to keep an eye out for a guy painted head to toe with black and white makeup, with a damn blue pharaoh crown on his head and gaudy gold accents. That would have been nice.

She squeaked when his gold eyes drifted up and down her body. Lucy unconsciously pushed herself closer to Captain Kyouraku, if only to get the mad scientist to stop staring at her.

"She's the only woman in the Eleventh," Captain Kyouraku said. "Isn't that crazy? Pretty little thing like her, around those guys?"

Lucy didn't even care when she felt his stubbled chin brushing over the top of her head. The man she was supposed to be avoiding at all costs was still staring at her. It was almost like his gaze was probing her right then, digging deep into her nerves and lighting them all on fire. And not in the good way.

She was fucking terrified.

A woman with long black hair came to stand beside Mayuri and bowed. "I am here, Mayuri-sama," she said.

He sneered and whirled in place, his hand flying across her face in an instant. "Nemu, I shouldn't have to search for you!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama."

Lucy gawked. Apparently, this world had its very own Virgo. That was actually kind of creepy. And sad when she saw the bright red mark on Nemu's face while Mayuri berated her. Lucy glanced off toward the exit, then up to the man whose party she was attending. "Captain," she said, drawing Captain Kyouraku's attention. "Thank you for allowing me to attend your party."

"Of course, Lucy-chan," he chuckled. "You can always come over here."

"That's very sweet of you," she said. "But I have to get going. I think I saw Yachiru running around somewhere, and I need to make sure she's not getting into too much trouble."

She didn't wait for his response, and instead carefully slipped out of his hold and gave him a short bow. Lucy spun and darted away from the party, bringing a hand to the hidden pocket holding her keys to try and steady her racing heart.

Captain Kyouraku frowned as Lucy disappeared around the corner, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Mayuri, did you see…" He turned to find that the Squad 12 captain had disappeared, and simply shrugged it off. It had to be nothing, he figured while making his way back toward the table full of sake bottles. He'd already had a good bit to drink, so it was entirely possible that he'd just been seeing things.

No one's reiatsu was a glittery gold like he'd seen fluttering around Lucy just a second ago.


"Why do you stay with me?"

Cobra frowned when Gajeel's arms around his waist tightened and he was pulled closer to the Iron Slayer. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked. A soft October breeze washed over them, sending several golden leaves tumbling through the air from the tree they sat beneath in the garden.

"All this shit that's going on. I feel like I'm goin' crazy, and you shouldn't have to deal with that bullshit all the time." Gajeel sighed and buried his nose in the crook of Cobra's neck. "It's like I made it so you can't leave. I don't want you to think yer stuck here with me just because…"

Cobra was sure this was one of those times where he was probably supposed to turn around and grab Gajeel's chin with both of his hands and reassure him that they were the most solid couple in the fucking universe. That's what happened in those cheesy fucking rom-coms that Gajeel loved. Except he didn't do that. Instead, his gaze shifted from the falling leaves to how sunlight speckled Gajeel's strong forearms and the piercings running down them.

There had been a whole lot of support from Cobra as of late. He'd never bothered with dating anyone before this thing with Gajeel, but he wasn't going to just give it up.

"Do you remember that one time we teamed up?" Cobra whispered. He plucked a blade of grass from just beside them and started slowly ripping it apart. Strip by delicate strip. "The bullshit with those slave traders kidnapping kids from churches."

"When the guild broke up," Gajeel said, nodding. "I was workin' for the Council and trying to arrest yer ass."

He really couldn't help but chuckle when he thought back to those days. Only a few months after he and the other Seis members had been broken out of prison and teamed up with Jellal. "Do you remember what I told you after it was all done?"

Gajeel hesitated. That was fine though. Cobra knew that he probably hadn't thought much of it at the time. That it was the two of them working together that had made Gajeel even think of him differently, as more than just some insane criminal. Taking out that slave trade ring together had tossed a bit of fire into Gajeel's feelings about him, one that took a long time to smolder and finally become what they had together right then.

"I told you, 'I found a place where I can live in freedom. It's my home.' Do you remember?" Cobra whispered.

"Yeah," Gajeel chuckled. "A bit. But you were talkin' about Macbeth and them that day… What does that have to do with this?"

Cobra dropped the shredded blade of grass then pulled away from Gajeel and the shade of the tree trunk. He stood and removed his jacket, then both of his shirts, revealing the cross-hatched scars along his back that Gajeel had already memorized. He pulled his shoes off before turning to look at the confused Iron Slayer on the ground.

With a little smirk, Cobra walked off down the nearby trail, barefoot and not bothered in the slightest by the twigs biting into his feet here and there.

'Off his fuckin' rocker. Where the fuck is he going, barefoot? Fuck me, I'm in love with a goddamn hippie-ass-tree-hugging motherfucker who's too goddamn sexy for my own fucking good. Look at that ass… Yeah, I know you hear me, you cocky little shitsack. Fuck, I love him.'

Cobra grinned when Gajeel's arms wrapped around him again, pulling him to a stop and right into the bare, warm chest he'd grown so accustomed to in the last few months. A gentle kiss was pressed to his temple before he turned just enough to look into Gajeel's crimson eyes.

"What're you plotting?" Gajeel whispered against Cobra's pliant, smiling lips.

"Death and destruction, of course," Cobra chuckled. He fought back a small squeak when calloused finger wriggled against his ribs on both sides. Damn Gajeel for finding out he was ticklish. "Just go for a walk with me."

He pulled away and, for the first time, reached out to lace his fingers with the Iron Slayer's. Cobra didn't need to look down to know that Gajeel was barefoot, only wearing pants just like Cobra himself. They'd never done this together though, but he figured it was time to let his boyfriend in on another of his little quirks.

"Can I ask why we're fuckin' barefoot?" Gajeel asked as they walked hand-in-hand down the path.

"It's something I started doing when we were kids," Cobra said. "Brain had us and we had clothes and shoes to wear, but I was so used to being barefoot that I just couldn't wear them all the time."

Gajeel glanced at Cobra for a moment, his eyes narrowing in thought at the fond smile on his boyfriend's lips. "Alright."

"My favorite thing to do when we got away from the Tower of Heaven was this…" Cobra tightened his grip and led Gajeel from the path and through the freshly trimmed grass. "Feeling grass under my feet. Touching a tree. You don't think about how amazing this shit is unless you can't experience it, Gajeel."

Gajeel's head turned slightly when two sets of footsteps drew closer, and he found Macbeth and Sorano walking over to them. Macbeth's shirt was gone and Sorano was wearing a simple sundress. When he looked down, he found they were barefoot as well.

"We all do it now," Macbeth said once they were standing beside the two Slayers. "When things get too rough, we remind ourselves that we're free now. Erik taught us that."

"Okay, but I'm so fuckin' confused," Gajeel said softly.

Erik smiled and wrapped his arms around Gajeel's waist. "You've been so worried about what's going on with you, and you think I feel trapped here," he said. "I don't."

"But-"

"Just listen," Cobra whispered, letting out a slow breath when Gajeel nodded. "I value my freedom above pretty much everything, Gajeel. If I felt trapped here, I would've said something and bolted. But when I told you that, about how I'd found a home with Crime Sorciere, it was the truth. At the time. My home is here, with you and these kids."

'But… Whatever's goin' on is just torturing him. They went in my dream, and he was so fuckin' scared when I woke up…'

"Yeah, it was scary as hell in there," Cobra said. "Seeing you crying over that grave… And then how I couldn't stop myself from…" Gajeel shuddered and Cobra shook his head. "Well, you know. But I stick around because this is where I belong, Gajeel. I know it. Being with Crime Sorciere worked for where I was at the time, but I have so much more freedom here. No one's hunting me down here. You and those kids want me to be here, and you care about what happens to me. I don't have to constantly be on the move, using my magic all the time, always looking over my shoulder."

He didn't need to look at Macbeth and Sorano to know they were smiling. Cobra honestly didn't give a shit what they thought right then, though. All he really cared about was Gajeel, and the way his eyes softened as they gazed at each other.

"For the first time in my life," Cobra continued, "I feel safe. And that's because of you. That's why I stick around, even through all this shit that's going on." His grip on Gajeel tightened marginally, and a small smile curled his lips. "I love you. No way in hell would I want to be anywhere else."

'I'm not dreaming, am I? Because he just said he loved me. Out loud. Fuck me, this better not be a goddamn dream!'

"It's not a dream," Cobra chuckled. "I love you, Gajeel."

"Well…" Gajeel glanced off to the side and his cheeks flushed a gentle pink. "Alright then."

Cobra laughed and kissed his cheek. "Really, that's all you have to say? I say I love you for the first fucking time, and all I get is an alright?"

"Fuck you," Gajeel muttered. Cobra kissed his cheek again, and his shoulder finally slumped with embarrassment. "You already know I fuckin' love you."

"Oh my god, these two are so cute," Sorano whispered, giggling when both Dragon Slayers glared her way and shot her the bird.

"Yes, Sorano," Macbeth said with a smirk. "They're a couple of cinnamon rolls."

"Oh, I'll fucking roll you, you narcoleptic bitch-tit!" Cobra snarled. He pushed away from Gajeel and dashed after Macbeth, who had instantly realized things weren't going to end well and had wisely turned tail and run back toward the manor.

Gajeel smacked himself in the forehead and walked back with Sorano in silence. They eventually found Cobra pinning Macbeth to the ground, surrounded by laughing, cheering kids, giving the Reflector mage a purple nurple that wouldn't go away for weeks.