A/N: Welcome back, everyone! This was going to be my entry for Day 8 of CoLu Week, but then I was inspired to write something else. So... there's that! I made you guys wait a week for this continuation, and I think that's long enough.
I'm not sure if there will be any continuations on this story after this point. With the Fairy Tail fandom slowly trickling over to BNHA, who knows if there will be a CoLu Week in 2018? I hope there is. Based on the fact that Fairy Tail is finally done, I might do something more with this. Maybe an epilogue? A bonus chapter? Who knows… It may just be done with the 2017 chapters.
2017 - Hollow, Part 2
Sick and Twisted
While Lucy was more than happy that Caelum hadn't outlawed magic, she hated that they were some of the very few mages in the country. For some reason, magic had centered around Fiore, and this far south there was hardly a mage to be seen. Maybe it had something to do with the climate. Or maybe there was something that had happened in the past that had sent mages further north.
She didn't really know the specifics, but she did know that they were keeping their abilities to use magic mostly a secret. They didn't want the extra attention. She'd made sure to relay that to each of her spirits. Loke and Virgo, especially, since they just loved opening their gates at random.
So when they found a sliver of information that led them away from the capital and into a nearby city called Prestin, everyone had tried to make themselves seem a little more like normal Caelum citizens. They'd hunkered down and rode on a bus to take them thirty miles away, and she'd done her best to help Cobra get through the forty minute experience with as little discomfort as possible.
But their sliver of information hadn't ended so well. They were on the right track, that much they were sure of, but Crime Sorciere had come across a group of mages who were much better prepared than them. News travelled fast, apparently, because someone had tipped this lone dark guild off about the mages coming from Fiore, looking for a way to stop Zeref.
It was just their luck that the dark guild had ties to the Zeref. That was the bonus of finding them. And of Cobra's interrogation techniques that didn't involved hearing someone's soul.
And maybe he'd been just a little upset over the fact that Lucy had gotten injured.
"Tell me it's a dire circumstance," he said, glaring down at the lanky, green-haired guild leader who was tied to a table with razor wire. His voice was calm, but everyone could see the anarchy lurking in his single eye, just waiting to be unleashed. "Belle, please tell me it is…"
"Cobra we don't have time for this!" Midnight shouted. He didn't take his eyes from Lucy where she laid on the ground, and didn't let up on the pressure he was applying to her bleeding thigh.
"We do," Cobra said. "She's not bleeding too fast."
"Cobra, she needs a doctor," Jellal said. He looked down to see Meredy holding Lucy's white-knuckled hand, Angel tipping a bottle of water to her trembling lips, and Midnight peeling the ripped portion of his cloak away from her leg to peer at the visibly torn muscle just above her knee. "We need to go."
Cobra's hand wrapped around the man's throat and he leaned closer until their breath mingled. "I'll get it all out of you," he hissed. "Once I get the green light, your ass will be singing in no time."
"Pussy," the man chuckled. "What, that bitch has your balls in a vice? You're not allowed to do what you want, huh? I bet she's-" His grey eyes were wide when Cobra nearly collapsed his windpipe with a single squeeze.
"Belle," he said slowly. "I know it hurts, but tell me-"
"It's dire," Lucy ground out. "Maiming and cannibalism is p-perfectly fine right now. Shit… but make it quick, okay?"
Cobra's manic smile was slow to spread as he stroked the man's pock-marked cheek. "Green light," he crooned. "This is gonna be so much fun…"
Lucy may have given him the go-ahead to do what he wanted in front of her, but she still turned away when she saw Cobra's hands and arms shift until they were covered in scales. She could hear him crawl on top of the table though, the guild leader's pained grunts quickly morphing into horrified screams.
"I'll just peel this back," Cobra chuckled. "You might not have much meat on your bones, but…" The man screamed again when one scaly hand ripped through the muscles over his stomach and barreled its way up to his lung. "Now don't get too loud. Rest your voice…"
"S-Stop! Help me!"
"Aw, hush hush."
"Somebody help!"
Cobra leaned so close, he was nearly lying on top of the man. His claws dug into the man's lung, and he grinned even wider at the sudden crackle he could hear in the ragged, putrid breaths puffing out across his face. "Now, tell me everything you know," he growled. "Don't leave a thing out, and maybe I'll let you live."
Except the man couldn't talk, and he was desperate as he choked on air and blood and struggled to breathe out a response. Cobra listened as his soul opened up, his eye closing while he focused on the memories pouring through his head.
Alvarez. Emperor Spriggan. Something to do with Zeref. Head to Alakitasia. Spriggan 12. Too powerful. A vast army.
His eye opened again and he looked over at Lucy. He didn't stop smiling, even when he saw how pale and shaky she was. Her soul told him that she was fine though. She was in pain and more than willing to just chop her leg off, but she wasn't losing too much blood.
"Now, there's one more thing you need to do," Cobra hissed. He pulled his hand out of the man's torso and forced his head to turn toward Lucy. "See the beautiful blonde over there? You hurt her."
"Cobra, you got what you needed," Jellal said. "That's far enough."
"Look at me, Belle." He waited until her head turned back toward him, and rubbed his cheek against the shuddering man's face. "Now, asshole, you tell my fiancée you're extremely sorry for hurting her. And that you're sorry we're going to have to take her to a hospital to get her fixed up. You apologize right fucking now, and I'll let you live."
"I-I… sor…"
Cobra snickered and turned back toward him. "Almost. It's not heartfelt enough. Maybe I shouldn't have collapsed your lung… Oh well, I guess I can't let it slide."
"Cobra," Lucy said softly. His head tilted enough so she knew he was paying attention to her while he licked the bloody handprint on the man's cheek. "Are you about to eat him?"
"Maybe."
Her lips pursed and she looked down at Midnight's crimson hands where they pressed into her leg. "Brush your teeth before you kiss me," she said. Her eyes closed when Cobra started laughing. Cackling, really. She simply turned away from it as best as she could and let her focus rest solely on Meredy's fingers brushing the hair from her face.
She ignored the almost erotic groans coming from the Poison Slayer in favor of keeping her breathing even. She ignored the loud slurping that accompanied bloodcurdling screams, and instead looked up at Jellal when he knelt beside her. "Racer's okay?"
"Just sprained his wrist," he said, cringing when the man's intestines sloshed onto the floor and Cobra buried his face in the mostly empty cavity beneath the man's ribs. "Lucy, why would you tell him this is alright?"
"Have you seen my leg?"
"It's pretty bad," Midnight said. "And Cobra hasn't killed anything in awhile."
"Still," Jellal said. "Maybe this could have been avoided."
"Maybe," she said. "But a happy Cobra is a sane Cobra."
"Sane-ish," Midnight chuckled. Lucy turned a tired smile toward him and he gave her a playful wink.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long for Cobra to finish venting his frustration on the guild leader. Once he was finished and making his way over to Lucy and the others, Midnight took the cloak and tied it around her leg as a tourniquet. Cobra carefully lifted her from the ground and carried her out of the warehouse.
The only time he was able to ignore his motion sickness was while they climbed into a taxi and got a ride to the hospital. Because making sure Lucy was alright was a whole lot more important than curling up in a ball and trying not to vomit. He stayed by her side through the wait in the emergency room, held her in his arms and did his best to keep the blood around his mouth and dripping down his chin from smearing over her cheek and forehead.
"Lucy Heartfilia," a short nurse with bright orange hair said, holding onto an empty wheelchair as she looked toward the battered group taking up a large corner of the emergency room.
Cobra stood with her still in his arms and met the woman near the nurse's station, then gently set her down in the wheelchair. "She'd better be on her way into surgery," he said.
"Yes, sir," she replied. "But no one is allowed in with her, so…"
"What the fuck do you mean, I can't go with her?!"
The nurse drew back a step and Lucy placed her hand on Cobra's arm before he could move. "That's hospital policy, sir."
"Get me the goddamn doctor," he sneered. "I'm going in with my fiancée to make sure you morons don't fuck anything up and kill her on the fucking table!"
Angel rolled her eyes and came to stand between him and the nurse before the woman rushed off to call the surgeon. "Cobra, you're drawing a lot of attention, and Lucy needs to get in there for surgery."
"I'm going with her," he spat.
"You can't," she said. "They'll take care of her, okay? Just let them do their jobs."
"Fuck that! I'm not leaving her fucking side, and…" He paused and turned toward the swinging doors off to his right just before a tall woman in a white coat came striding out. "You. You'll be operating on her."
"I will, sir," she said with a ghost of a smile on her thin lips. "But I must ask you to stop terrorizing the staff and let us treat your wife."
Cobra didn't even bother correcting her at that point. He just wanted to be with Lucy, to make sure she was alright. Because he knew for a fact that her letting him go a little crazy had meant she had to wait to get treatment, and he knew that she was in more pain right then than she'd been in while he was interrogating the guild leader. But he just wanted to know that nothing would happen to her. He had to be there.
"You can treat her with me there," he spat. "I'm not letting her out of my sight."
"Cobra," Angel groaned. "Seriously, relax. They're going to take care of her as soon as you get out of the way!"
The doctor came closer and tried to put a hand on his arm, only for Lucy to smack it away. When she gaped at the injured blonde, Lucy gave her a sheepish smile. "He doesn't like people touching him," she said.
"Ma'am, it's unethical for me to refuse to treat you, especially when you're bleeding like this and very clearly in need of care. But I can't, in good conscience, allow him into the operating room. Especially when he's covered in…" The doctor paused and gazed at the blood around Cobra's mouth and nose, dripping down his throat and onto his shirt, then to his crimson-coated hands. "Is that your blood?"
"Does it fucking matter?" he snarled. "I've never hit a woman before, but you're making me want to change my fucking mind, you uptight cunt."
"Erik!" Lucy shouted. She grabbed his arm just above the scar around his wrist and dragged him down until he was eye-level. "Look at me."
He couldn't. Cobra was still worked up over the fact that Lucy had gotten hurt. Killing that bastard hadn't been nearly enough. But the hospital was full of people who were already on the verge of dying. He could kill them.
"Look at me."
He could kill all of them. Every last one. As long as he got Lucy out, he could cover the entire building in a cloud of poison, then just go from room to room, maiming them, dissecting them, pulling them all apart. It would save so much money instead of having to keep all these sick motherfuckers alive. Like the pedophile on the fourth floor in a coma. He could definitely use a good beheading.
"At least listen to me," she said as his breath grew ragged. "Erik…"
"... What?"
"I promise you, I'll be fine," she said softly. It took a little more force than normal to turn him toward her, to make him look into her eyes instead of at the doctor. "I'm in a lot of pain, and I really do need to get into surgery. Can you please just let them do what they need to? You can get cleaned up, and when you're done and they'll let you into my room, you can see for yourself that I'm okay."
"I don't want you going in alone."
She smiled and brought his forehead to hers. The fact that his blood-covered nose brushed against hers wasn't lost on her, but she was giving him a pass for the time being. It was disgusting, but Lucy was much more concerned with keeping him from killing more people. "Dire circumstance is over. Listen to the doctor, okay? You tell me if she's qualified. If not, we'll find someone who is. But if she knows what she's doing, then you have to give her the best chance to help me. And that means not wasting time arguing."
Cobra let out a long breath through his nose and glared at the doctor. But he listened in on her soul, specifically searching for her track record with surgeries.
And damnit, she was the best out there.
"... Fine," he said. "She's good."
Lucy laughed quietly at the pouting tone in his voice. "Good. I'll get all fixed up, and you go change. And brush your teeth so I can kiss you when I wake up."
"You let me know if something's wrong," he said, looking back at her. "I'll hear it. Call for me, and I'll come running." She nodded then turned away when he tried to kiss her. Instead, he kissed her cheek, leaving bloody lip-marks in his wake.
"Take Midnight with you, okay?" she said. "Jellal can wait here with the others and keep you posted."
Cobra sighed and nodded, then stood to his full height to look at the doctor. His lips parted in a sneer.
"No threatening her with any form of death or dismemberment," Lucy said with a frown. "Now, go." His shoulders slumped slightly. "Shoo-shoo."
"You're such a fucking asshole," he muttered, turning his back on her. She smiled while watching him walk toward the exit with Midnight just behind him, and when he looked at her over his shoulder, her smile widened.
"I'll be fine," her soul sighed. "Hurry back. I miss you already."
That at least had him smiling as he walked out of the hospital and down the street toward their hotel.
"Mrs. Heartfilia," the doctor said slowly. "Your husband is…"
"A total sweetheart," Lucy sighed. She looked up at the woman when she heard a small choking sound. "Sorry about that. He doesn't handle being freaked out very well."
"I-I can see that." The doctor started pushing the wheelchair just as Racer's name was called for him to be seen by another physician for his sprained wrist. As they moved toward the operating room, she glanced down at the blonde for a moment. "Thank you for calming him down," she said. "And for getting him to leave."
"I figured he was probably scaring people."
"That's an understatement. May I ask-"
"It's better if you don't," Lucy said. "But as far as my own injury is concerned, I was fighting against a mage and he hit me with a sword made out of shadows or something. There's no poison in it though. Erik checked."
"You're mages, then," the doctor said.
"Is that a problem?" Lucy asked carefully.
"No," she chuckled. "It's just that mages are rare in Caelum. But it's better to know that I'm operating on a mage, so I can be more careful while working near magical containers."
Lucy nodded and let herself get moved one way and another from the wheelchair onto an operating table. She did as she was told and counted back from one hundred when the anesthesiologist instructed her to, and closed her eyes in a blink, only to wake up in another room, all alone, with the only light coming from the machines monitoring her.
"I will murder someone, I swear to fucking god!"
Lucy let out a short huff of laughter when she heard Cobra's voice through the heavy door. She had to try to get her bearings and find the call button on the bed to call the nurse. Her hands didn't want to work with her, but she knew from experience that the anesthesia from her surgery had left her a bit out of sorts.
She looked down toward her leg and simply blinked at the sight of her leg lifted on a harness and wrapped in what looked like ten pounds of gauze from the middle of her thigh down past her knee.
"I just washed the fucking blood off of me, but I'm not opposed to getting covered in more of it, goddamnit!"
Right, she was supposed to be finding the button to call a nurse.
Lucy's hands fumbled across the bed, and she winced when the IV tube pulled just a little from getting caught on her blanket. She'd have to be careful with that. Eventually, she found the call button, and when a woman's voice drifted through the little speaker, Lucy croaked, "Can Erik please come in? He'll behave once he's here."
"I heard her. I told you she was fucking waking up, you dumb piece of shit. Now let me in!" Cobra's tinny voice bellowed through the speaker.
"Oh, thank goodness," the nurse said. "He's been like this for three hours."
Lucy laughed again when, not a moment later, the door to her room slammed open and Cobra stormed over to her bed. She didn't have time to greet him before his shaky lips were pressing against her cheeks and forehead, her chin and nose, and finally settled on her lips. His hands rested tenderly on her jaw as he kissed her again and again, just short little wisps of pressure over and over.
"I'm okay. I told you…"
"Shut up," he said softly before kissing her again. "Just rest. Fuck… And never get hurt again…"
She was careful of the IV in her arm while lifting her hand and brushing her fingers through his hair, and when she looked into his eye Lucy saw it. He was terrified. Even through the yelling and cursing and the threats she was sure he'd been slinging left and right while she was unconscious, Cobra had been scared.
"Of course I was," he said. "It took too long. Your soul was fine, but… fuck, I was so worried."
"I'm okay though," she said. "So have a seat and stick by my side now that you're not all… viscous." He didn't laugh like she'd hoped. Then again, she probably looked like shit. And she felt woozy. Maybe she'd said the punchline wrong.
"You're fine," he sighed. The rest of Crime Sorciere appeared in the doorway just behind a nurse who needed to check Lucy's vitals, but Cobra ignored all of them while he carefully curled around her, pulling her head to his chest as he leaned over the bed.
"I don't look it."
"You look beautiful. I'll take care of you, though. Anything you need, it's yours." Lucy smiled and snuggled closer to him. "As long as you're fine, I'm fine."
"No tick-tock guppies," Lucy giggled. "Not on my watch."
The nurse smiled while silently making her way into the room. She went about checking the machines and writing down Lucy's information, then glanced at Cobra. "The anesthesia could leave her a little loopy," she said softly. "She might not make sense for a bit, but that's normal."
Cobra chuckled and shook his head, pressing a gentle kiss to Lucy's golden hair. "She's making more sense than you know."
Lucy smiled down at the glowing lacrima in her hand and answered the call coming in. "Hey, Erza. How's everything going?"
"What happened?" Her face was stern, but Lucy could see the concern shining in her eyes. "Jellal told me you had to have some sort of surgery."
"I'm alright," Lucy laughed. She shifted, wincing slightly from the pain radiating through her thigh at the movement, and knew that Erza saw it. "I'll be walking again in no time. The doctor said it was a clean cut, and the surgery was easier than it had looked at first."
"You can't walk?!"
She really couldn't help but smile over it all though. And it only grew when she heard shouting in the background and saw a flash of dark blue hair and another flash of pink hair behind the Requip mage. "Just for now," Lucy said. "I'll be starting physical therapy in a couple weeks. I'm just glad that Jellal agreed to stay in Prestin for a bit so I can heal up."
"He didn't really have a choice, from what he told me," Erza chuckled. "I agree that you shouldn't be moved away from doctors who can treat you though."
"Well, I guess he really didn't. None of the others were going to leave me behind here, especially not when-"
Erza disappeared from the screen and Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw Natsu and Gray locked in a scuffle on the ground. "Boys!"
Natsu turned toward the lacrima and his frown melted in an instant when he saw Lucy's smiling face. He pushed away from Gray and dashed to the lacrima. "Luce! Where have you been? I tried to find you at the Grand Magic Games, but you weren't there! I heard some story about how you were a reporter working with Jason or something."
"No," she laughed. "I never worked with Jason."
Gray barreled into the screen, pushing Natsu out of the way. "Hey, Lucy."
"Hi, Gray," she giggled.
"Luce, what have you been up to?"
"Shut up, Fireshits."
"What'd you call me, Icefart?"
Lucy looked away from the lacrima when the door to her hotel room opened, and Cobra came in with several bags that smelled absolutely heavenly. He'd left with the others to get something for dinner, but she already knew that they were going to be having a meal in the restaurant. With her limited mobility, Lucy had said they could just bring her back a meal when they were finished. She should have known that Cobra wouldn't do that though.
Considering the sheer amount of food he was carrying, she had to assume he'd gotten both of their meals to go.
"I did," he said, giving her a small smile. "I'd rather eat with you."
"Sorry about that, Lucy," Erza chuckled. "Where were we?"
"I was telling you that no one was going to leave me behind," she said. "Especially not when-"
"Luce, where are you at? We'll come pick you up!"
She really couldn't stop herself from smiling. Maybe she would never get to explain that Cobra had said he wasn't leaving without her, which meant nobody was going anywhere because they refused to leave him all alone in that city. They didn't abandon one another. And when everyone agreed that it would be best to keep Lucy in one place so she could literally get back on her feet faster, there really hadn't been anything for Jellal to argue about.
She understood that he wanted to follow their new lead, but that would take time. From what Cobra had gathered, time was something they had a good bit of before it became serious. She still wasn't sure what it was, but he'd said that everyone needed to be at their full strength.
She was just happy that the sight of her old teammates wasn't making her feel bitter or betrayed. Enough time had passed that she just didn't feel upset over what had happened anymore. It still hurt when she thought about everything that had happened with Fairy Tail, but she wasn't angry with everyone else.
She still couldn't believe it had already been a year since the last Grand Magic Games where Future Rogue had brought those dragons out. Just a few more months would mark one year since Fairy Tail disbanded, and since she'd joined Crime Sorciere.
"We're getting the guild back together," Natsu said. "We really need you, Luce. It won't be the same without you there."
"Natsu," she said with a sad smile. Cobra came over to the bed and helped Lucy sit up a little more, then put an extra pillow behind her back to keep her propped up better. "Fairy Tail has been around a whole lot longer than me, and the guild was just fine even before I joined."
"What're you talking about?" He was still grinning though, still as happy as ever. "It's loads more fun with you around, Luce."
"I'm not coming back."
"Sure you are," he laughed. "C'mon, it'll be just like before. And I'm a lot stronger now, so I know I'll make S Class this year! We can't find Gramps yet, but Erza's gonna be the guild master. And we're on our way over to the Council to get Gajeel and Levy to head back to Magnolia."
"Natsu, I'm not coming back to the guild," she said again, and that time his smile faded. He looked confused. Maybe a little angry, maybe not, but definitely confused. "I joined another guild. I'm not leaving them. Not even for the return of Fairy Tail."
"Why?"
"I love it here." Lucy's gaze shifted to watch Cobra pulling food from the bags in silence. She was sure he had a few choice words for Natsu, but at least he wasn't going right for the throat and yelling at the Fire Slayer. Most likely, because she'd already told him that she wanted to be the one to explain things to Natsu. "I love being with my guildmates. And we've done so much together. I won't just leave them behind."
"But why?" he asked. "Luce, you love Fairy Tail. It's your home. It's all of our homes. We can't just let it go."
"I'm not letting it go," she said. "The guild and everyone in it will always be a part of me, Natsu. And with people like you and Gray and Erza fighting to keep it alive, I know it'll live on for a long time. I just… can't come back. I moved on."
"What's so special about some other guild? Fairy Tail's the best one out there."
"Not a damn thing," Cobra said. She saw the sudden fire in Natsu's eyes when Cobra took a seat beside her on the bed, fully visible in the lacrima. "She just chose us over coming back to you guys."
"Cobra?!" Gray shouted in the background. "Lucy, why are you with-"
"She's a part of Fairy Tail," Natsu said slowly. "Cobra, I know you helped out with the dragons, so I know you're not a horrible guy. But-"
"Don't," Cobra said with his eye narrowed. "I can hear you from here, Salamander. That's not how it is at fucking all."
Lucy blinked in surprise and looked up at him. "Can you really?"
Cobra nodded. "Me and the others joined Jellal," he said to Natsu. "And when your guild fell apart, she found us by accident and fit right in. She's one of us now, for as long as she wants to be."
"Luce, is that true? You joined up with them?"
"Crime Sorciere isn't a bad guild," she said. "I like it here."
"Sure, it's just full of a bunch of criminals and assholes who steal people's friends."
"Natsu!" Erza shouted.
"No, if Luce wants to ditch everyone who cares about her for people like Cobra, then forget her!"
Lucy's jaw dropped when the lacrima changed hands quickly and Erza's face filled the screen once more.
"Gray, follow him. I'll meet up with you two in a bit. Just… try to get him to relax."
"Wow," Lucy whispered.
Erza let out a quiet sigh while looking back at the lacrima. "Lucy, I should apologize for Natsu. He… Well…"
"No, it's okay," she said. She understood that he was upset over the news. He probably had this grand idea in his head where they would be a team again and everything would go right back to how it was. And now that he'd found out things just weren't going to work that way… Well, Lucy knew firsthand that being upset was cause for a good bit of foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. "He'll accept it eventually, Erza."
"I was hoping to tell you without them present, so we could discuss you coming back."
"I'm not."
Erza smiled then, and it was the kind, gentle sort of smile that so few ever really saw from her. "I understand, Lucy. Just know that you're always welcome to return to Fairy Tail. Even if you're no longer a member, the guild will always be another home for you."
"Thanks, Erza. I appreciate it, but I like the home I've got now." Lucy's cheeks burned brightly when Cobra chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "A lot."
"As long as you're happy, then you have my support." Erza paused and watched Cobra for a moment.
"I've been taking care of her," he said, slowly turning so he could see the lacrima properly. "We're about to eat dinner though."
"Ah, my apologies-"
"Nah, she can probably give you a call back after we eat though."
"And after a bath," Lucy added, scrunching her nose. "I reek."
"You smell fine," he chuckled. "Trust me, I'd tell you if you didn't."
"So sweet," she giggled. "I'm guessing that would be payback for the onion-funk comments on the ship?"
"Pretty much. I'm more than happy to give you a sponge bath though."
Erza smiled while watching Cobra's nose lightly trail over Lucy's flushed cheek, and the blonde looked back at the lacrima. "I'm in great hands," she said. "I'll call you after my bath though."
"That sounds wonderful," Erza said. "I look forward to it, Lucy."
Lucy was still smiling when the lacrima went dark after they'd said their goodbyes. She set it down on the nightstand and watched as Cobra carefully adjusted the pillow beneath her leg. "You don't have to do that, y'know."
"I know," he said, smirking at her over his shoulder. "I want to though."
She really didn't get him sometimes, not that she was complaining over being pampered. It was just one more thing that she was learning about the Poison Slayer the longer they were together. When they'd first met, Lucy never would have guessed that he could be so sweet and attentive. Even when she'd first joined Crime Sorciere, she'd assumed that Cobra was just another asshole.
He'd proven her wrong about that, just by being himself around her. It was still so strange to see the differences between when it was just the two of them, lying in bed or in the privacy of their tent while they'd been travelling, and how he acted around everyone else. He never treated her differently, but he was just a little more reserved when they weren't alone.
She didn't fault him for that though. Not everyone was a fan of public displays of affection. And she did still get the occasional kiss on the cheek when they were with the others.
"Just for you." His fingers carded through her hair and slid along her jaw where he knelt on the bed just beside her. "Something about you, Belle. I want to do shit for you. Especially now, when you got hurt because-"
"I hope you're not going to say because you didn't keep me safe." Her eyes narrowed when his mouth snapped shut and he looked off to one side. "Erik…"
"I know," he sighed.
"I don't need you thinking I can't take care of myself while we're working," she said.
"I know."
"And if I get hurt, even if it scares the hell out of you, you have to trust that I'll be okay."
"I know…"
"I spent a long time in Fairy Tail with people who wanted to help me, and I do appreciate what they did, but I can't ever hope to get stronger if everyone holds my hand all the time, and no one lets me fuck up every once in a while."
"... I know…"
"So even though it sucks that I got as hurt as I did, it has nothing to do with you not protecting me," she said, hooking a finger under his chin and forcing him to look at her. He didn't say a word then, but she could see it in his gaze. He still felt guilty that she'd been hurt at all, especially because of how bad the injury had been. "The upside is that my knee got fixed while they were in there, so when I'm walking again I'll be better than before."
"..."
Lucy sighed as he slowly moved forward and curled himself against her side, with his head resting on her shoulder. "I'm not mad at you."
"... I know."
"Can you say anything else?" she asked, smiling while kissing the top of his head.
"... Sorry." His arm slid over her stomach and he let out a slow, quiet breath when she started toying with his hair. "If I'm doing too much, just tell me," he said. "I've never done shit like this. And you know that I'm bad about obsessing over shit."
"I can do that," she said. "I just don't want you to think you have to do anything like this for me. You're not my nurse or anything."
"No, but it's what normal people do," he countered. "They take care of each other when they're hurt. And you've taken care of me a couple times now."
Oh, she remembered the times when she'd had to take care of him. The trip from Fiore to Caelum was definitely the first to pop into her head. He'd been so pathetically incapable of moving for the week they'd been sailing that she'd had to feed him bits of bread, help him get to the bathroom when he needed it, and get him cleaned up from sweating all the time while trying not to puke all over their room. Lucy had spent the entirety of their trip lying with him, rubbing his stomach or back to help him feel better. At one point, she'd brushed his teeth to get rid of the smell of his vomit on his breath while he was sleeping.
The only other time had been that night in the woods when he'd had - what they came to find out after the fact - a panic attack from thinking about the Tower of Heaven. It hadn't happened in so long that Cobra hadn't really remembered what it was like, and it hadn't happened since that night either. But she'd stayed with him, held him and helped him sleep through the night. And when it was nearly two in the morning and he woke up panting and pushing himself to the far corner of the tent, she'd been there to help him relax again. She hadn't forced him to give her any answers at the time, because all she'd wanted was to help him relax, to help him realize that whatever he was scared of in that moment was nowhere near him, that he was safe with her.
"Exactly," he said. "I just want to take care of you. I'm out of my fucking element here."
"Well, you're doing a great job so far." Lucy gently squeezed his shoulders, then smiled when his stomach growled. "Time for dinner."
"Then a sponge bath."
"For my grimy underboob sweat. Seriously, you might not think I smell, but I feel like a grubby bitch."
Cobra chuckled quietly as he sat up. He went to the nearby table to grab their food and set everything up on the bed, then handed Lucy her single container of the seven that were laid out. "None of this is deadly, if you're hungry for more after that."
Lucy's eyes lit up when she opened the container and found chicken wings covered in honey barbecue sauce, celery sticks, and onion rings. And when she looked over to see what he was eating, she found an identical box with teriyaki sauce on the wings instead. "Are they all the same?"
"There's fried pickles, fried mushrooms, that big one is a salad with a bunch of bullshit on it, some more onion rings, and a stupidly large reuben sandwich with more bullshit on it," he said, pointing to each of the containers. "There's also a cheesecake in the fridge because someone is a fucking sugar addict, and I know you haven't had candy since before you were in the hospital."
Lucy blinked repeatedly, looking from the food to Cobra, then over to the kitchenette, and back to Cobra. Back to the food. Cobra again. "Seriously," she said. "Will you just marry me already?"
He laughed and picked up the remote for the television in their room. It didn't take long to find a movie they could both enjoy - he was so fucking happy that Lucy loved horror movies as much as he did - and once their entertainment was situated he grabbed a chicken wing and turned toward her, his lips parted and ready with something to say.
Except when he saw her, he just couldn't say a damn thing. Because just when he'd been ready to speak, she pushed an entire chicken wing into her mouth and sucked all the meat off. She slowly pulled the bones out and dropped them into the container, and he watched her puffed out cheeks shift while she chewed.
Lucy glanced away from the movie to find him staring at her, slack-jawed. "What?" she mumbled around her food. "Ish good…"
"Remind me to cover my dick in barbecue sauce for you," he muttered. She laughed and swallowed her food, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. How was he supposed to deal with the fact that Lucy didn't eat like a prim and proper lady? At least, not when there were wings involved, apparently.
"I'll just bite it off. I know you can hear how much I love me some barbecue."
He chuckled and sucked on her lower lip before pulling away to eat his own food. Like a normal human being, and not by sucking on the whole goddamn wing. They continued eating and watching the splatterpunk gorefest on the television, with blood being slung haphazardly in every direction, sometimes for no fucking reason. But she enjoyed it - the movie and the food - and when Lucy reached into his container for a chicken wing, switching it out with one of hers because she wanted to taste what he'd gotten, he found himself smiling.
Had she been anyone else, he would have smacked her hand away. Or bitten her. Maybe both. But that just didn't happen with Lucy.
The fact that she was able to somehow put away all the food that had been in her container, as well as half of the fried pickles, two bites of the reuben, and picking out the black olives in the salad, had him wondering just where the fuck she put it all. And why he'd never seen her eat like that before. Then again, he'd also found out that Lucy hated mushrooms and she adored black olives, which worked out for him because he didn't like olives and probably ate more mushrooms than was healthy when they were available.
And somehow, she still had room for dessert.
"If you eat another slice of cheesecake, I'll totally fucking marry you," he chuckled when she finished her first piece.
"Better get your suit ready, sugartits," she teased. "Half of this bitch is mine."
She didn't lie, either. Cobra watched, enthralled, as she ate half of the cheesecake right along with him. She hadn't been serious about marrying him just yet, but the fact that she was just so fucking comfortable around him was mind-boggling. "Now that you've gained ten pounds, are you ready for that bath?"
She sighed while leaning back against the pillows, using a little towelette to wipe off her face and hands. "I'm gonna go with yes. And if I could help you clean up-"
"I know," he chuckled. "You'd already be doing it. You're fine." Cobra pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek and set about cleaning everything up from their dinner, then went to the bathroom to get everything ready for her.
By the time Cobra walked back into the room, he found Lucy already naked on the bed, braiding her hair while - which meant she wasn't planning on getting her hair wet - she watched some other movie that had come on. Granted, it wasn't all that difficult to get sweatshorts and a tank top off, but the fact that she was just there, perfectly comfortable in her own skin, had him wishing she'd given him the go ahead for sex.
"As long as you don't get crazy and move me around too much," she said while twisting an elastic band around the braid, "Then we can definitely have sex. After I get a bath."
"Who's the fucking mind reader here?" he laughed.
"Not you." She smirked when he was standing beside the bed, reaching down and looping his arms beneath hers to help her stand and balance. "You hear souls. It's completely different."
"Well, tou-fucking-ché," he said, smiling down at her suddenly pained expression. They took a couple slow steps with her mostly leaning on him for support before she just couldn't take the pain and allowed him to carry her the rest of the way.
He really didn't mind it though. Cobra found that he kind of liked being the one Lucy depended on to help her. He liked that she trusted him enough to be responsible, to make sure she did the few things she was actually allowed to do. She was more relaxed than usual, because she trusted him to be there for her. And he was. Not a damn thing was going to stop him from being right there with her, every step of the way, while she healed and got herself back on her feet.
He was just glad that he remembered to put a plastic bag over her leg before he started washing her, to keep the sutures dry. Oh, how he couldn't wait until she was clean and lying on their bed again, spread out and moaning while he buried his face between her legs. Regardless of what she said, he wanted to make sure she could actually handle even getting off before he tried to get inside her. The last thing he wanted was to be on the verge of cumming when she had to stop him because her leg hurt too much.
"You could get naked with me in here," Lucy said once she was settled on a stool inside the bathtub. "Make me all horny while you scrub me."
He really didn't need to be told twice. As soon as he knew she was set, Cobra stripped down and climbed into the tub with her. While washing her hands and arms, his lips trailed over her throat and chest. Cleaning her breasts was much more erotic than anything they'd done before. By the time he'd reached her hips with the washcloth, he was well on his way to lapping at her dripping sex. And Lucy was more than encouraging if her hands gripping his hair and urging him to hurry up was anything to go by.
Lucy didn't cry when he did it. Nearly twelve months was long enough, in her opinion. She just watched it happen and didn't say a word. She was silent, but smiling, and maybe that was why everyone was so quiet while they watched her. And once it was done and she felt Cobra's lips pressing against her throat from where he sat behind her, she knew there was no turning back.
"Where?" Jellal asked.
Lucy bit her lip and stared at the empty space on the back of her hand. She'd had years with that guild mark, and so much time had been spent proudly staring at it in the middle of the night. And with a single swipe of his hand, it was gone.
But she couldn't dwell on that. Because she was happy to have it gone. She was happy that Cobra's arms were around her where they sat on their hotel bed back in Caelum's capital, and that all of Crime Sorciere was in their room, watching, waiting silently as she finally, finally became an official member of their guild.
But where to put it. That was a very important question - considering there was no way to move it - and she'd been thinking about it for some time. Ever since she'd joined the guild, really. And it had been nearly twelve months in the making, but it was finally going to happen.
She knew the perfect place for it. Based on how Cobra took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose where it rested against her throat, he didn't seem to approve.
"Give it to Cobra," she giggled.
"What?" Jellal asked. "Lucy-"
"I mean give him the stamp," she said, her smile widening further. "Because I'm pretty sure if your hand gets anywhere near my tits, he's going to rip it off."
Midnight wilted to the floor, the delicate flower that he was. Luckily Meredy was right there, kneeling beside him and gently fanning his face and pulling out a tissue to blot at his nose without messing up his makeup.
Jellal shook his head while watching the Reflector mage for a moment, then turned back to Lucy and Cobra. "Are you sure?" he asked softly. "It's not pleasant, and the last thing I want is for you to subconsciously blame Cobra for hurting you. Because then he'll have to listen to it, and then he'll take it out on me, and I really hate feeding my food to pigeons to see if it's been poisoned."
"You do realize I've been poisoning your toothpaste for months, right?" Cobra asked.
"Wh-What?!"
He chuckled and put his hand out to take the stamp. "I haven't," he said. "But… I could. Don't forget that."
Lucy laughed with the others while Jellal handed the stamp over. She turned in Cobra's arms just a little, as much as the brace on her leg would allow, then pulled the thin strap of her shirt down her arm until her chest was nearly popping out of her top. "You know where. And why."
Cobra nodded and wiggled the stamp with his unease, gazing from her mostly bared breast to her eyes and back. "You're sure," he said softly. "You can't take it back after."
"I'm sure."
"Positive?"
"Perfectly positive, you poison prick," she giggled. That had him smiling and relaxing just a little, and that was all she wanted. This was her decision, and she knew that it was the right one. Lucy was a part of Crime Sorciere, and it was damn well time she proved that she was one of them. Different pasts aside, they were her family. Fairy Tail still had a place in her heart, but in the time she'd spent with these people who had once - no, twice - been her enemies, she'd learned how to care about them as well.
She'd grown in the time she'd been with them. She'd learned what it meant to really care for one another, regardless of their ridiculous arguments and the relentless teasing that even Lucy had taken part of. She'd found people who really weren't that different from her, and felt just a little closer to them than she had with anyone in Fairy Tail. Even though nearly everyone there had abandonment issues of some sort - those poor Dragon Slayers really did have it the worst - Lucy had still always felt just a little apart from them.
But Angel and Meredy and Midnight were the three biggest supporters she'd ever had. Once they found out she wanted to be a writer, they'd pushed her to do it. Midnight, especially. He was apparently a sucker for smutty fantasy novels. He wasn't ashamed to admit it, either. And he took every opportunity to show her how to cook with the things they hunted, because Lucy was - as everyone had come to learn the hard way - a horrible cook. She'd been more than embarrassed to admit that she'd never learned how to cook because the staff had cooked for her. But no one held it against her or teased her about it.
Through Angel, she'd found a way to grow closer to her own spirits again. Closer with Scorpio, especially. Because even though Angel had hurt her spirits in the past, she knew them. She knew that if anyone could help Lucy come to terms with what had happened to Aquarius' key, it would be the one who had been dating the ornery mermaid spirit for centuries. It was still a work in progress, but she'd learned a great deal about Scorpio and the others in the last few months, and had even started working on learning how to use the Star Dress before she'd gotten hurt.
Aside from Meredy's slightly creepy obsession with the details of her relationship with Cobra, she found in the Maguilty mage a sense of kinship. They both knew how it felt to lose a mother, and Lucy loved listening to her stories about what it was like to grow up with Ultear as her surrogate mother in Grimoire Heart. And it was, of course, a great treat to tease Meredy and Midnight about them being a couple when they were so clearly into one another… if only they were able to see it.
Racer always took her on the best routes for a good run, and when she was in her Capricorn Star Dress, they would race like there was no tomorrow. She still couldn't beat him, but one day she planned to leave him in the dust. It would take longer than she'd planned, since she had to wait for the leg brace to come off, then deal with physical therapy, but she could be patient.
Hoteye's proclamations of love gave her an endless amount of time for eye-rolling and smiling, especially since she'd been able to witness his reunion with Wally over a lacrima, facilitated through Erza who had called Milliana, who then called Wally and told him to call Erza because it was really important. Then Erza had met up with him and they'd called Lucy, who had to hand the lacrime to Hoteye. The only dry eyes in their hotel room that night had been Cobra's and Angel's.
She'd learned how to read Cobra a little better, and so much more about who he really was past his sassy mouth and delicious body. He'd told her about the first person he'd ever killed, and how he'd done it because Brain forced him to - although, he'd admitted, there hadn't really been too much forcing, because it was the guard who'd tortured him in the Tower. She'd been appalled to find out that man had been his father.
She'd held him through the night when he'd dreamt about his mother, the only time she'd seen tears in his eye.
When she'd asked him why he would join the guild and get a brand on his body - she still couldn't get over the fact that it was on his ass - when he was so against it, he'd told her the truth.
"I didn't wanna be alone. It's easier to hate so much about the world when there are people around. And I've known them since we were kids. If I didn't stick with them, I would have been wandering by myself… hating everything… and eventually, I would have just hated myself. There's nothing out there for me. There's nowhere I can go to find what I want, because… back then, I didn't know what I wanted. Not past being out of prison and being free. I've got that here, sort of. Most importantly, though, it meant I could stay with the only friends I've ever had…"
But it wasn't only her that had grown. Cobra had learned to put his trust in her when something was wrong, when she told him to take a step back before he did something stupid. It had saved Jellal a few times already, but she had to admit that the day he'd spent puking his guts out every few feet from Cobra putting questionable mushrooms in his bowl of stew had been pretty funny. At least, until he'd gotten dehydrated, and Virgo popped out to take care of him.
She could say without a doubt that this was what she wanted.
Lucy wanted to be with the ones she felt were her family. And even though Fairy Tail had been her home for several years, and even though she'd felt that they were her family while with them, and she'd poured blood and sweat and tears into her time with them, things were just so different with Crime Sorciere.
They were closer. There were only eight of them, and they had to work together through everything. Even though the majority of her time in the guild had been spent just travelling, and then healing, and not fighting monsters or stopping dark guilds, Lucy figured it was for the best.
She'd had enough time to get to know everyone, to feel like they were really a family. They'd been able to learn about one another, to figure out how everyone fit, and how to make up for weaknesses.
And if they were her family, then they held a very special place in her heart. Each and every one of them.
"Majestic as fuck," Cobra chuckled. "I think I have a cavity now."
"Are you guys gonna do this," Angel sighed, "Or just stare at each other… I'm feeling kinda creeped out right now."
"Then we've succeeded," Lucy giggled. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Angel, then gazed back at Cobra. "Go on. I'm a big girl."
He let out a quiet sigh and chewed on his lip for a moment. "You're really sure," he said again, looking back at the stamp. "It'll hurt."
Lucy rolled her eyes at that. Was he really trying to talk her out of it with the prospect of pain? "Considering you accidentally poisoned me two weeks ago while you were balls deep in my ass, I think I can handle it." That had hurt like a motherfucker, in more ways than one. She'd come to find out that anal really wasn't her thing. And that if Cobra got too excited, he really did end up huffing out little poisonous breaths. Right in her face. The electric-acid-lava bullshit in her veins that night had definitely been more than unpleasant.
It was even more unpleasant when Jellal came rushing into the room to find Cobra still buried in her ass and trying to get her to stop convulsing beneath him. Luckily, Jellal had ignored their nudity and shoved some of the blanket in her mouth so she didn't bite off her tongue while Cobra got the poison out.
Meredy sighed when Midnight sat up on his elbows only for his eyes to roll back in is head. "Really?" she groaned. "That's not even the worst she's said."
"You can't take it back," Cobra said softly.
"You can hear my soul," Lucy said. "You know how I feel about it. So quit stalling, and give me what I want."
"Fuck no, you spoiled shit," he chuckled. He didn't try to stop her when her fingers closed over his around the stamp and brought it to her chest, just over her heart. He knew this was what she wanted. She'd wanted it for a long time, but now that it was really happening, Cobra just had to know that it was her own decision. That he hadn't swayed her in any way. Because the last thing he wanted was for Lucy to one day regret this choice to be part of Crime Sorciere.
He didn't want her to regret choosing this, or choosing to be with him. Because this was it. She couldn't go back once she had this mark on her.
The stamp hovered over her for the briefest of moments, and then he carefully pressed it to her flesh. "Last chance," he said.
"For fuck's sake," Midnight groaned from his place on the floor, with his head on Meredy's lap and a cloth pressed to his nose. "She wants it. Just give it to her already!"
"No kidding," Angel chuckled. "I never got cuddles when I was getting it. I mean, you're not giving her some disease, Cobra."
"Fuck all of you," he growled. "I just want to be sure."
Lucy's hand tightened around his. "I'm sure," she said as he looked back at her. "That's all that matters."
Cobra nodded and took a slow breath, then pushed the stamp down and sent his magic into it to activate the spell Jellal had set on it. Lucy gasped and her eyes slammed shut while she tried to power through the pain. Magic or not, it was still a brand. Still burning into her flesh. It would become a scar in a matter of seconds, because of magic. That same magic was what coiled around the guild mark and made it impossible to remove. Not through surgery or some other spell.
He ignored the scent of tears in the air and the smell of cooking flesh. When he'd gotten his own mark, it had been outside. The smell hadn't hung around. All he could hope was that opening a window would help to get rid of it.
Eventually, he could feel the spell completing and finally pulled the stamp away to reveal a charred, reddened symbol on her breast. The skin cooled and the magic settled, and finally he blew a soft breath across her breast and watched as the blackness drifted away and dissipated in the air, leaving a dark pink guild mark for Crime Sorciere.
"How does it l-look?"
"Like it hurt like a motherfucker," Cobra said, still staring at the mark.
"It did." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Jellal, I hate you."
"Wh-What?" Jellal asked, wide-eyed.
"Ah, she's officially one of us now," Racer snorted. "The unofficial group within Crime Sorciere who hates Jellal."
"What the hell, guys?" Jellal asked, rounding on the rest. All he found were playful grins directed toward him. Bunch of assholes. "Wait, do you really hate me?" He just couldn't tell.
Cobra dropped the stamp to the bed and lightly trailed his fingers just beneath the mark. He looked into her teary eyes and couldn't stop himself from smiling. Even just a little. She'd chosen the guild, this group of people who had tried to kill her in the past, over an easier life. She had the whole world ahead of her, but she'd taken this over it all.
She'd picked them.
Lucy hadn't gone in half-assed. She'd thought about it again and again, and she'd made her choice. It was all of them, but it was also… him.
"Lucy…" Cobra looked from her chest to her flushed, smiling face. She was so fucking happy to be one of them. "Can I tell you something?"
She nodded. She always did. She was always pushing him to tell her what was on his mind, reminding him that he didn't have to keep things to himself with her. He heard a lot of things he didn't want to, but she was good at keeping secrets. It gave him a way to vent without worrying about something coming back to bite him in the ass.
"I love you," he said softly, unaware that the playful banter of their guildmates had already died down, or that everyone was watching him with wide eyes.
Her lips parted on a gasp, but all he could see was the way her eyes sparked with joy. And even though Cobra had been worried as hell all those months ago that he wouldn't know how to love her, or how it would feel, he knew right then.
Because Lucy had chosen him over everyone else in the world. Through the good and the bad, she stuck by him and gave him a place that was calm and soothing to return to, no matter what. He was a fucking mess more often than not, and he was far from sane or normal. But Lucy never faulted him for it. She tried to understand him. Even though she just couldn't begin to understand the shit he thought about or did a lot of the time, she tried. And she listened to him when he actually felt like talking.
It had taken a while to figure it out, but he just knew that this heat in his chest was for her. It rolled in one wave after another down to the tips of his fingers and toes, then coiled back and started all over again. And when he looked at her, he could feel it. He'd felt it ever since he saw her in that hospital bed. How her smile pointing his way had his chest swelling like a corpse that had been in a lake for two weeks. He was stronger with her by his side, but Cobra hadn't a clue why he would feel that way, unless it was that he'd finally figured out how to love someone other than himself. That was the only explanation. Cobra didn't want another one. Because when her fingers sifted through his hair and grazed the tip of his ear, he heard the most beautiful song ringing in the depths of her soul, just for him.
"I love you too, Erik." He lunged for her lips and claimed them, smiling right along with her as he pushed her down onto the bed.
"Oh, okay then... we'll just leave," Angel laughed.
"Good," Lucy said against Cobra's lips.
"Get the fuck o - Mm, don't think like that," Cobra groaned, attacking her plump lips and seductive tongue with his own. He didn't hear the rest of their guildmates leaving the room. All he could hear was Lucy's soul. All he could feel were her hands as they trailed over him, beneath his shirt, dipping under the hem of his pants, kneading him with equal parts desperation for the pleasure he would wrack her body with, and unadulterated joy over his confession.
He broke away and kissed his way down her throat, then slowed as he came to her guild mark. Lucy had a few scars here and there, like the one on her leg from having her muscles put back together - and subsequently having her knee replaced while she was in surgery - but this was one she'd chosen to get. It was the only one that really mattered.
This would be a part of her, forever.
"Lucy," he rasped, kissing her guild mark and looking up into her teary, sultry eyes. She was one of them, forever. "Marry me?"
If she'd have him, then Lucy would be his, forever.
.The End.
…
.Maybe.
