Hey I'm back! So I promised lots on NaLu and I think I've delivered on my promise. This is one hell of a chapter and I had quite the time writing it! I had some writers block but once I broke through that I both finished this chapter and wrote about half of the next one. It might be up early this week though I'm not too sure about that seeing as scheduling takes place this week and there is a lot going on besides all that. I hope I can finish it early for you but I won't make a promise I don't think I can keep.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as I did writing it!
Chapter 13
They were found the next morning by Lisanna. Both were still asleep from the night they'd had and they were still holding hands. Lisanna went to the door and whispered, "Mira-nee! You have to see this!" Mirajane came to her sister, wondering what all the fuss was about. When she saw the two of them she almost exploded. Lisanna rushed her out of the room before she could. When she was a safe distance away, Lisanna uncovered her sister's mouth. "THAT WAS SO CUTE!" Mira screamed. The only two in the guild hall that early were Wakaba and Cana. Both just rolled their eyes and went back to drinking or smoking.
The couple slept for about two more hours before Natsu woke up. He noticed Lucy was still sleeping but felt an incomparable joy that she was asleep and not dead. If she'd been in that hellhole for much longer, she would have died, that Natsu was sure of. He slid his hand out of hers and slid back into his seat next to her bed to watch over her. Mirajane came in with something for him to eat a little later and she winked at him before she left. He had no idea what that meant but shrugged it off to eat the food. He was starving.
Natsu had just finished eating when Laxus came in. Knowing that Laxus was Lucy's brother, Natsu figured he deserved to know that she'd woken up. Laxus dragged a chair to her bedside and sat in it backwards. He avoided Natsu's gaze and kept his eyes on Lucy's sleeping form. "She woke up for a few minutes last night." Natsu said. Now Laxus did look up at him. "She said you were her brother. Well, half-brother at least." He continued. Laxus looked back down at his sister's sleeping form. "So she did know." He said. Natsu just nodded. There was a moment of silence and then Laxus finally began to speak. Mirajane had come in to check on Lucy and heard part of what they said. With her, she brought the Master who also heard about the whole sister thing. Laxus took a breath, "The Master told me just after her mother died who she was. I didn't know because I've always been with either my father or the old man. Then I was never allowed to see her so I had no idea if she even knew we were related but I'd always seen her when our mom was still alive. I guess that's why she visited a lot." He kept watching Lucy's peaceful face, not making eye contact with anyone.
Makarov nodded solemnly. "Layla fell in love with Ivan a long time ago. They were young lovers, innocent and pure and before I knew it, she was pregnant. They planned to get married but then Ivan was caught cheating. It turns out my boy never meant to marry Layla in the first place. He just loved her for her looks, nothing more. When I learned this, I warned Layla to leave him but then she had her baby. When Ivan found out it was a boy, he wanted Laxus for himself. Layla didn't want to give up her precious son but Ivan had something on her. He knew she had fallen for Jude Heartfilia and he threatened her new fiancé and their happiness. The only way she could save herself and Jude was to give Ivan her son. So she did but not before secretly coming to me and making me promise to keep Laxus safe." Laxus and Natsu both listened with awe to the tale. Laxus didn't know all these details and Mirajane was just good at hiding her real thoughts. "I made sure Laxus wasn't harmed too much but there was only so much I could do. Ivan hated me, he still does. Eventually, I just took Laxus from him but he never paid the boy much mind anyway. That's when I contacted Layla and let her visit so that she could see her son. I learned that she'd had a daughter with Jude and that was Lucy. She came with her mother to visit and she and Laxus got along well. I didn't understand it when Jude forbade her from seeing him after Layla passed but maybe that's when he started going rotten." Makarov finished.
"Papa forbade me because he was jealous of Ivan." A soft voice said from the bed. The occupants of the room whirled to face her. Wendy was called for and Mirajane rushed to the bedside. "How are you feeling Lucy?" she asked. Lucy finally smiled a full smile. "I'm much better Mira. Thanks to Wendy I guess." Wendy came in and looked her over. "She's gonna be fine! All she needs to do is take it easy for a few days and she'll be ok!" she announced. If the room could, it would have uttered a huge sigh of relief. Since it couldn't the people in it obliged.
Lucy noticed Laxus sitting by the bed and couldn't help but stare at him. She hadn't seen him since she was five so it had been a long time. Mira noticed this and dragged everyone out of the room to leave them alone. Natsu did not appreciate this but Mira glared at him and everyone else in the guild who wanted to see Lucy when they heard she was better. "Give her a few minutes with her brother and then you can go see her!" She posted Erza as a guard for Lucy's door, a task Erza was very willing to take. Her eyes dared anyone to come even a few inches closer to the door.
In the infirmary, things were rather quiet. Finally, Lucy said, "It's… been a while Laxus." He nodded and looked down. His hand was resting on the edge of the bed and Lucy reached out and took it. He was rather surprised at how soft her hands were. Her body was covered in bandages and he knew she would be left with a few scars not even Wendy could heal. But her hands were still smooth and unscarred. He looked back up at her and realized she was giggling quietly. "You haven't changed at all! You were always quiet and kept to yourself. But I always did have the most fun with you." She exclaimed. This earned her a tiny smile from Laxus. "You haven't changed much either." He said. "You always smiled and you talk more than enough for both of us." Lucy was now laughing weakly. Laxus found this rather contagious and he began to chuckle.
Once their mirth died down, Lucy said, "I'm glad we're back together Nii-san." Laxus squeezed her hand lightly and said, "Now that we are… you have to promise me something." Lucy's eyes filled with a questioning look. "You have to promise you won't leave me anymore. It's ok for missions and stuff; I mean you can't leave for good." Lucy stared at him in awe. She was NOT expecting that. Laxus' cheeks were tinged with pink. He didn't usually act like this. But this was his sister and she had always been the only one he had ever opened up to so she knew his softer side. He watched as Lucy's face melted into a soft smile. She sat up in her bed, which did scare Laxus a bit as the bandages shifted with her body. She winced because of her bruises but she managed to stay sitting up. "I promise Laxus. I won't leave you again." She said. Laxus grinned, satisfied with her promise. "Now, can you do something for me? I wanna see the rest of the guild and get out of this room. I know I shouldn't be moving on my own so can you get me out there?" she asked. Laxus nodded. "Let me go out there and tell them so that they can set something up for you." Lucy grinned as he left the room.
Natsu stood when Laxus finally exited the guild. The whole hall had been waiting for his entrance; it was much quieter than it had ever been. "Lucy wants to come out here to see all of you but she isn't supposed to move around a lot. So she needs a chair and you guys need to be calm when you address her because she'll get tired if you overwhelm her with questions." Laxus said. The girls began to move about getting pillows and blankets for Lucy's chair. Mira ordered that it be near the bar so that she could watch over Lucy and maybe try to get some food in her.
While this was happening, Macao and Wakaba approached Laxus. "Ne, Laxus is it true that she's your sister?" they asked, not sure if they could believe what Cana had heard from someone tracing all the way back to Mira. Laxus looked at the two men and said, "She is my sister. We have the same mother just different fathers." He was getting more and more comfortable admitting it. After all, having a sister isn't a weakness. The two patted him on the back. "She's lucky you're her brother. You're strong; you can protect her." Macao said. Laxus nodded and turned back to watch the preparations.
Once the girls were satisfied, the chair looked more like a throne. Laxus went back into Lucy's room to get the princess of the day. He lifted her gingerly and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was smiling when she came out into the guild hall. Laxus set her in her cushioned chair and she leaned back. "Thank you!" she said, grinning. Laxus nodded then retreated to his favorite place on the balcony to watch the proceedings. Natsu and Gray positioned themselves on either side of Lucy's chair. Gray felt a brotherly protectiveness for Lucy and Natsu… wasn't exactly sure what he felt. Happy, after gaining permission, was curled in Lucy's lap and Charle was on the arm of her chair. The white cat had been more worried than she'd let on about Lucy. Hearing the panicked cry had really scared her and she wanted to make sure Lucy wasn't being tired by the ruffians of the guild.
Guild members crowded around Lucy, giving her news and asking after her health. Lucy's smile never faltered as she answered their questions and talked with the members. Romeo pushed his way through the crowd, dragging his father behind him. "This is my dad! Remember, I said he wanted to meet you?" he asked. Lucy grinned. "I remember. It's nice to meet you Macao-san!" she said. Macao grinned and nodded to her. He was quickly replaced with Wakaba and steadily, Lucy met every member of the guild she didn't already know. The day flew by and Lucy grew very tired. By the end of the day, it was hard for her to keep her head up. Natsu noticed this and tapped her on the arm. Lucy turned to him slowly. "Yeah Natsu?" she said quietly. "You tired?" he asked. She nodded. "Maybe a little." She replied. Natsu picked her up carefully and took her back to the infirmary. She was asleep before he was halfway across the guildhall. Her head fell onto his chest and her arms, which were around his neck, loosened. Natsu put her down on the bed and covered her up. "Goodnight Luce." He whispered.
That night did not turn out to be good for Lucy. See, even though she seems like a happy, smiling, perfect little angel, Lucy Heartfilia has insecurities. Since coming to Fairytail, she has met all these mages who were super strong and had developed their powers. Now, everybody knows that Lucy is strong and powerful herself but she didn't see it. She only saw all the times she couldn't help Natsu or Gray in their missions to stop her father. She saw the time she was saved. But most of all, she saw the torture chamber and felt the sting of the knife and the blows of Samuel's fist. And she heard, over and over, "Weakling. Who do you think you are going against your father? You can't do anything! You're so weak that guild won't bother saving you. And even if, by some miracle, they can save you… what then? We can just capture you again. You will never amount to anything stupid weak bitch."
All these factors came together to create a horrible nightmare. And this wasn't the first time Lucy had had this same nightmare. She'd had it before she'd first woken up. In fact, the horror of it had woken her up and that was when she'd heard Natsu apologizing. Though Lucy knew it was entirely her fault that she'd been as hurt as she had been. She couldn't help believing everything the Samuel in her dreams continuously told her. And so, early the next morning, she woke up shaking and crying. "I'm not weak…" she said. But even her voice sounded pathetic to her. Lucy sat in her bed, the bandages pulling against her healing skin. Wendy had patched most of the wounds but the bandages were to mostly to prevent infection. Lucy wanted to go out into the hall where she knew Mira would be. She really just wanted to get out of that room and forget about her nightmare.
Lucy knew she should wait for someone to come in and help her but as she thought about that, she realized that it made her seem weak. "I'm not weak." She mumbled to herself. And so she stood up and took a step forward. She nearly fell over and was left gasping. Geez I must be starving! I can barely walk! But I have to do this. I have to make it into the hall. Lucy took another small step and that's when Natsu burst in. "Good morning Lu- what the HELL are you DOING?!" he stopped mid-sentence and yelled at her. Lucy frowned slightly at him. "I'm walking to the guild hall that's what!" she said huffily. "Luce you can't! You have to rest like Wendy said!" Natsu exclaimed. He could see the effort she was putting forth just to stay standing. "I can do it Natsu." She said. Natsu walked up to her and poked her. She immediately fell back onto the bed. Sitting up slowly she glared at him. "What the hell was that for Natsu?!" she snapped.
Natsu frowned back at her. "See? You're too weak to be walking around yet!" he exclaimed. The fact was she was scaring him and he didn't like it. Lucy's eyes watered at his words. "I can do it! I can! I'm not weak! I-"she started but Natsu cut her off. "Dammit Luce! You almost DIED! That man almost KILLED you three days ago! You can't expect to be fully recovered from that! Do you know how much I was worried about you?!" That caught Lucy off guard and her crying slowed. "I carried you out of that hellhole and I couldn't tell if there was a single bone in your body that wasn't broken! At first, we couldn't figure out where you were cut because there was too much blood! You were barely breathing Luce! You kept passing out and you weren't able to make a single noise even with all that pain! I thought I had lost you! Do you know what would happen if that happened? Cuz I don't!" he exclaimed. Lucy's eyes were wide. Natsu was visibly shaking now and she thought maybe his eyes were wet with tears but she couldn't quite tell. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you Lucy." He continued, quieter this time. "So stop doing stupid things like trying to walk when you don't have enough strength yet. I love you too much to lose you." He finished. Somewhere along the line Natsu had sorted out his feelings and figure out what they were. He was very scared just admitting them but it kinda… just came out.
Lucy was absolutely stunned. She took a few seconds to process what Natsu had said and her eyes widened when his final words sunk in. "You… do you really love me?" she asked. Natsu didn't expect her to ask that question. He thought it had been obvious but then again, he didn't realize it himself until late the night before. He sunk into the chair next to her bed. "I really do Luce." He said. He watched her carefully, trying to decide if this was good news to her or not. "E-even though I'm weak?" she asked, even quieter. Natsu's eyes widened. "What? Of course! You're not gonna be weak forever Lucy! I mean, once you get some of Mira's cooking and you rest a tiny bit more you'll be back to your normal self!" he said. He was relatively confused. Didn't Lucy know she would get better?
Lucy's eyes filled with fresh tears. "No I mean even though I'm not as strong as you and the rest of the guild? Even though I'm pretty much useless?" her hands curled into fists. "Even though I can't fight off people who want to hurt me?" Natsu was stunned. Is this what Lucy thought of herself? She thought she was weak? Did she have any idea how ridiculous that sounded? There was only one thing Natsu could think of to do that would convince Lucy that he was serious. He used his thumb and index finger to lift her chin up so that she was looking at him. Then, Natsu Dragneel leaned in and kissed her. Yes, dear reader, he did just do that. And he enjoyed it. So did Lucy, though she was a bit shocked at first. His lips were warm and soft and his kiss was gentle. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer while her arms wrapped around his neck to support her.
It seemed like only a few seconds when he pulled back but both were panting a bit. Lucy's cheeks were red but the smile on her face said more than her words could at the moment. "You aren't weak Luce." Natsu said once he'd caught his breath. "You risked your life and safety just to help us fight your father. You were never safe in that house yet you still stayed there just to help us. A weak person wouldn't do that. And a weak person wouldn't have tried to fight that man just so that they could have time to call for help." Lucy's smile grew wider and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you Natsu." She whispered. "And… I love you too." Natsu buried his head in her hair, breathing in her scent and pulled her close. He couldn't make the smile on his face disappear, not that he'd want to.
AWWWWWWW! I'm with Mira: THAT WAS SO CUUUUUUTE! I hope this chapter makes you smile. I was so proud when I was done. Please do leave a review and tell me what you think. Also, I hope Makarov's explanation for how Laxus and Lucy are siblings was good. Please give me opinions and ideas!
Love to all my readers,
CC22