. Between the Lines .
Lucy yawned as she pried her eyes open, scrubbing at one eye with the heel of her hand as she shifted. A chuckle filled her ears, and she shot a glare over her shoulder at the comfortably spread out Gray, who'd made himself at home in the back seat. Erza, who was at the wheel of the car, glanced over for a moment. "You're awake. good timing, we've just arrived at Magnolia."
"Really?" Lucy sat up to peer out the window and sure enough, there was the town, waiting for their arrival. She smiled at the sight of it, popping her neck. "How did we get here so fast?" she muttered, "We shouldn't have been there for another hour or two…" She glanced at the speedometer - and nearly screeched. "Erza! You're going fifty miles over the speed limit, slow down!"
Erza frowned, but did as she said, "I always drive like this...but I believe that is why I don't have a license…"
"You don't - okay, pull over, please," Lucy pleaded. Her voice quivered nervously. "Or please go the speed limit. I don't want to die an early death." As Erza mumbled about such ridiculous matters, Lucy checked her phone with a yawn. She'd messaged an update on her progress as a mage and what had happened as of late to both Yukino and Levy before they'd set out, and she beamed upon seeing that she'd received a response from both of them alongside a text from Natsu. She opened Yukino's first.
Great to hear you're doing well despite the setbacks, Lucy! Three keys in such a short amount of time is an impressive feat, and that's not even considering that one's a member of the Zodiac. Congratulations!
Lucy beamed at her friend's text, and sent back a message of thanks before turning her attention on Levy's.
Only Natsu. Sorry about your apartment, but glad to hear you're on your way here, Lu! Can't wait to talk to you in person again. We'll have to go out without Gajeel. The bookstore got a new shipment in recently, we can go check it out.
Definitely, Lucy agreed to herself. She sent exactly that to her blue-haired friend, then glanced over her shoulder again when Gray commented thoughtfully, "Let's hope Natsu didn't destroy anything in the guildhall in the time it took us to get back."
"He won't have if he wants to live," Erza reassured. Her tone held an underlying threat, and Lucy shivered before reading Natsu's text message.
Happy and I are waiting for you guys at the guildhall. Hurry up and get here already, you weirdo. You're taking forever.
Lucy arched an eyebrow and responded with a simple message, requesting to know if anything had been destroyed while he was there. It was only an instant later that he responded, and with the quickness of his response, she suspected he'd left the guildhall. He'd explained to her in their time together in Crocus that the wards around the guildhall made it difficult for technology.
Took ya long enough to respond! Nah, didn't break anything. Mira made us go home. Thunder Legion's hanging around today. Said somethin' about not wanting me to bother them when they're being cranky. Bastards.
Lucy couldn't help but giggle to herself at that, and told him that she was sorry and that they were approaching Magnolia before putting her phone away. "So where are we heading first? The guildhall?"
"Yes," Erza confirmed, then warned, "Gray. Keep your clothes on. There is a child watching you in the car next to ours."
"Shit!" Gray quickly buttoned his shirt back up, his eyes darting to his left. Lucy grinned, amused.
Only her friends would have such strange habits. Suddenly, she turned in her seat, tilting her head questioningly. "Hey, Gray." He looked up at her. "Where did you get this habit of yours?" It had been mentioned to her that he'd learned it from the mage that had taught him, but that did nothing in regards to explaining why he had it.
Gray looked shocked by her question, then flashed a rueful smile as he explained, "Like I told you, I'm an ice-make mage. My magic was taught to me by my master, a woman by the name of Ur. She taught one other, but I haven't seen him in forever. A member of Lamia Scale now, I think. Left when I was still with her, so I don't know if he has the same problem. Part of learning ice-make magic was learning how to handle the cold, so we took a three month vacation in the middle of the winter to the coldest place in Fiore, where she made me strip down to my underwear." He laughed, as if remembering the moment happily. "It seems cruel, and I thought it was until I learned how to handle it. I had to strip every day and before I knew it, I was stripping just about anywhere and everywhere. I still do...don't even know I'm doing it."
Lucy cleared her throat, a smile playing along her lips. "Like now?"
"Damn it!" he swore, re-buttoning his shirt again. "Thanks."
"No problem." Lucy laughed, then glanced curiously at Erza. "How did you learn your magic, Erza?"
The scarlet-haired woman's knuckles went white with how tightly she grasped the steering wheel. "I'd...I'd rather not discuss it, if you don't mind." Her voice was soft, but laced with such agonizing pain that Lucy hurriedly mumbled a soft apology.
Silence fell in the car for a few moments until Gray said, hoping to break it, "Hey, Lucy? Can you tell us some more about your mother, or what life was like when she was alive?"
Lucy beamed eagerly. "Sure," she said happily, "I'd love to."
The rest of the ride was filled with Lucy telling stories about her childhood and her mother, her voice full of longing for the woman she'd never again see. Every now and then she'd mumble something to herself, or wipe a tear away from her eyes, but not once did she stop.
By the time they reached the guildhall, Gray and Erza had informed her that they regretted not knowing her mother.
Lucy told them that she did, too.
By the time Natsu received the text that Lucy, Gray, and Erza were back from Crocus, he'd thought he was going to die of boredom. Happy had long since left to go visit some person he often times bought fish off of, which meant that he was left to mope alone.
Natsu puffed out a wisp of fire to show his impatience as he jogged along the sidewalk, annoyed with himself. They'd probably been there for an hour or so if the lag magic caused on technology was like usual. Meaning he'd been bored and missing out on time with his partner for an hour or more than necessary. People didn't seem to notice him as he scuttled past them, used to seeing the pink-haired man they thought was simply strange.
He snickered.
Not one of them knew that he was the one responsible for - accidentally - burning down three quarters of what had turned to ash in the past seven years.
...well, that's what happened when you were a dragon slayer raised in a location where it didn't matter whether or not you destroyed things!
Natsu didn't hesitate to throw the doors of the guildhall open, onyx eyes immediately seeking the blonde he knew would be there as he tugged the scarf away from his face. When he found her, a huge grin spread across his face.
Lucy had made herself at the bar. She was in a seat that was usually unoccupied - nobody knew why, it just felt unnatural to sit there, but Lucy appeared to be right at home - and was chatting with Gray and Mirajane, completely unaware of the water mage glaring at her from a corner of the guild. Lucy supported a happy smile on her face, completely different from the look he'd first seen on her when she'd been here before.
Where she'd once been hesitant to chat with them, a lonely look in her eyes, she was practically radiating happiness - and it was almost contagious. He noticed the usually silent Gajeel speaking urgently with Levy, who looked startled by this. Elfman was speaking with two other members of the guild, Macao and Wakaba, about what was considered "manly" and not, and Macao's son, Romeo, was burying his face in his hands in embarrassment. Bisca and Alzack were laughing and drinking together. Wendy was murmuring to Charle and another flying cat that he recognized as Pantherlily, Gajeel's cat. Cana was downing more beer than normal - and that was really saying something, because Cana never really stopped drinking to begin with.
Even the Thunder Legion was in a good mood. Natsu was admittedly dense at times, but he wasn't blind to the subtle flirting Bickslow was doing with Lisanna, the tiny smile on Freed's face, or the relaxation in Evergreen's shoulders. Even Laxus wasn't looking as aggressive as usual.
Strange how one person could change the entire guild in moments.
And how he noticed. The hell was he doing?
He smirked to himself and set to work on sneaking up on his partner, curious to see what would happen if he scared her. Gray was the first to notice and said nothing, probably thinking it would be humorous. Mirajane figured it out soon after, but only giggled to herself. Lucy's face flashed with confusion.
"Boo!" he cried in her ear, grabbing her shoulders.
Lucy shrieked in surprise, immediately whirling around and instinctively cracking her hand across his face. He winced, surprised, but only burst out laughing alongside Gray. Mirajane couldn't help but giggle, too. "Got you," he laughed.
Lucy's cheeks flushed irritably. "Not funny, Natsu," she huffed, yanking sharply on his scarf so that he yelped and nearly toppled over. She shoved her bangs from her face and reached to take a sip of the drink she'd purchased from Mirajane. "What took you so long? I thought you'd be flying here without Happy's help with how impatient you are."
Natsu scowled at her, as if insulted, then tapped her on the forehead sharply with his knuckle. "Magic doesn't let the phones and stuff work normally with all the wards around this place. Get your own place and we won't have this problem."
"Aw," Mirajane cooed, "Look at you two, acting all adorable."
"Don't," Lucy wailed desperately. "We've had this conversation already, Mira, don't you dare!"
Natsu glanced between them and Gray, who was cracking up again. "Uh...what?"
"Nothing," Lucy said hastily before Mirajane could make an input. "Nothing at all, Natsu."
"Were you seen on your way back, Natsu?" Erza demanded as she came to join them, a plate of strawberry cake in hand. "Happy is not exactly the most reliable when it comes to such matters."
Natsu scowled at her for saying such a thing about his buddy. "We were fine. I had him drop me off behind our house. I did the spell for him, and he left to go talk with that fish vendor he likes. We're fine."
"Onto other matters then…" Erza turned her gaze on Lucy, not batting an eye when Juvia sidled over to join the conversation. Lucy watched curiously as she hugged Gray's arm, glaring furiously at the blonde, as if daring her to tell her to stop. "You do need to begin looking for a place of your own, Lucy."
"I know," Lucy sighed. "I was going to work on it when we were in Crocus, but you know, my laptop was in the fire." She shot Natsu a look for that; he merely blinked as if he was the most innocent person in the world. "I'll start looking immediately and just stay in a hotel for now."
"That's incredibly expensive," Mirajane said warningly, frowning. "You've seen the prices of hotels here, Lucy…"
"You'll run out of money before you find a place, and you still need to buy furniture and stuff like that," Gray agreed.
"I'd say you're welcome to stay with me," Erza said thoughtfully, "But my room is full of armor and weapons...Levy's is completely covered with books, and I don't think Juvia's room would be suitable. Mirajane and Lisanna already share a room at Fairy Hills. I apologize, Juvia, but you are the only one with so many versions of Gray…"
Juvia sniffed. "Juvia cannot sleep without my Gray looking over me."
"Uh...yeah, you and I need to discuss that," Gray said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to yank his arm free. "Remember that discussion we had about my space?"
She released him immediately. "Juvia's sorry!"
Erza's lips twitched into a smile. "As such, I don't believe you need to be staying with Gray for obvious reasons…"
"Yeah, I'd rather not have my throat cut by water in the middle of the night," Lucy said darkly.
"So Natsu will let you stay with him until you have a place of your own."
Natsu's jaw dropped, and for the first time, he was panicked about just how messy his house was. He knew without a doubt that there wasn't a single space of floor showing, and he was willing to bet everything he owned that Happy had left fish somewhere and forgotten it again. Okay, so maybe it wasn't just messy...it was seriously dirty, too. "N-no," he said urgently, protesting despite the frown that crossed Lucy's face. "Not a g-good idea, Erza."
Erza glared at him. "And why not?" she hissed, then took a bite of cake.
"Uh…" Natsu scrambled for a semi-decent answer because he knew without a doubt that if Erza knew the real reason, he'd earn himself more than a small lump on the head. But when he was unable to come up with one, he simply threw his hands into the air in his exasperation.
Lucy liked him just fine at this point. She wouldn't be disgusted with him after living him for the time they'd been partners...right?
A pout crossed his face. "Fine. She can stay with Happy and me until she finds a place of her own."
Surely it wouldn't be too bad?
Lucy's back in Magnolia at last! :D Anyhow...nearly came off a horse today. That was fun. Hope you enjoyed!
Reviews:
ckc14: I'm glad you enjoy this! Lucy is ANYTHING but a weak character. I agree with you there. She's one of the strongest in Fairy Tail, even if it's not physically. She'll be pretty badass when I'm done with her. Ditching lifelong habits like that would be great. Thank you!
ilftnatsu: I started laughing like an evil person when I chose the name Crowley. It was really weird writing it in Fairy Tail things though, let me tell you. XD
Guest#1: That is for me to know and for you to find out! ;)
Shidake: Random barely describes some of the places the keys are in. I was especially excited with Loke's place. Wait til' you see where he is. As for the Christmas chapter...it wouldn't be a random chapter. I actually keep track of the dates after chapter 30, and I just finished New Years where I'm at. I'd simply grab a small snippet from a future chapter and share it. :)
Sara lovelymusic: I shall consider it. Future-seers are very important. ;)
AngelEmCuti: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D
TigerArrowgirl: Thank you!
Kinsutenekochan: I'm trying to use that new information even further for future things, and it's difficult trying to manipulate things when I'm so far into writing. Don't forget! Both the one-shot and the BTL snippet is an option. XD I believe I will be doing both at this rate.
serioushugsies: Silly, silly Lucy. She needs to pay close attention to everything, doesn't she?
fanficlove2014: I need to catch up on the current season...I'm one or two episodes behind! The King of Hell is a lovely person though. No filter Natsu is the best...I think I may have him drunk at some point to encourage that lack of filter...
Guest#2: Your vote has been noted alongside everyone else's! :D Thank you!
Lkityan: Lucy received Cancer! I didn't make that big of a deal, so it's easily missed. ;)
Kitty Mcgarden- Redfox: Thank you! Moving to Magnolia is an interesting process with her having to live with Natsu, no?
Drooblesisafunnyword: I agree. Amelia's father must have gone wrong somewhere. You'll have to wait and see on the next key though. ;) They should show up soon. I promise.