GLAD TO BE BACK EARLY!
Here's another long chapter. Thanks to all your supports. I really appreciate that.
Lucy paced fast. She gritted her teeth. Was she upset? Nope. She had nothing to be upset about. Worried? Who should she worry about? And what? Maybe it was just…hmm…curious. And resented. No, no. Resented was not the right word. Alright, maybe she was upset. A little bit.
"Natsu! What's wrong with you?" She pulled the dragon slayer's arm and stopped his long step.
"There is NOTHING wrong with me!" he snapped. And he resumed his walk. Lucy followed him again.
"Oh, come on. There is ABSOLUTELY something wrong with you. You went to the guild for not more than fifteen minutes. It had been three days. Everyone noticed it, Natsu. And you even left Happy with Levy. You never leave Happy behind," she said, long.
Natsu stopped. He rolled his eyes. He took a few seconds before turned and faced Lucy.
"It's Lisanna," Lucy added. "Right?"
Natsu exhaled a deep breath.
"Look. There is NOTHING wrong with me. Because what is WRONG is ALL OF YOU. You let that bastard be with Lisanna as if he is a part of us. And you don't even worry if something bad would happen to her," he said.
"Because there would be nothing bad going to happen to her."
"Look, that's where you're wrong. He is the bad guy. He killed his foster dragon…"
"He didn't mean it," Lucy interrupted.
"…And he is Sabertooth."
"Being a Sabertooth does not make him a bad guy," she argued.
"Remember what he did during the game?" he asked.
"He helped later. Remember?" she asked back.
"That didn't mean anything. He was just trying to save his ass."
"I don't know what's wrong with you. Why is it so hard for you to accept him?"
"It's simple. He is the bad guy. He killed his dragon…"
"I told you. He didn't mean it!"
"Look. If he could kill his foster dragon, who was so important to him, who had taught him about everything, who had lived with him most of him life; he would do anything to save his ass. He might even kill Lisanna if he had to."
Lucy gaped.
"He loves Lisanna. We all know that. You know that," she said.
Natsu inhaled a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Why are you so hard to understand?!" he snapped. He retreated away from Lucy. "Fine. I'll take care of Lisanna myself. I promised her."
Lucy bit her lower lip.
"I know what's wrong with you." Natsu ignored her and kept walking. "You like her, don't you?" Made him stop. "You actually like Lisanna, right? But you just realized it when you saw her with Sting. You couldn't bear to see her with someone else. That's why you acted like this. Blaming that he is the bad guy. But the truth is you like her."
"Lisanna is my bestfriend. I promised her that I'll take care of her. I don't want to see her hurt," he said.
Lucy walked up to him.
"No, you like her. That is just excuses," she said. "Everyone has been wondering who is the girl that Natsu likes? Especially Mira. I was wondering too. I…"
"That is another girl," he cut in, half-mumbling.
Lucy blinked at him. "Another girl? What do you mean?"
Natsu shrugged. "Not…Lisanna?" he suggested.
Her jaw dropped. "So, you went all the worries, 'I'm going to kill him' state…?"
"She is my bestfriend. I told you. I don't want her to get hurt. And I don't trust him to take care of her," he explained.
"And that girl is…?"
"None of your business."
Natsu spun around to take his first step away when Lucy grabbed his arm.
"Is she from our guild? Is she Fairy Tail?" she asked.
"It is none of your business! Get off me!" He tried to pull his arm off her, but she had quite a grip.
"Come on. I'm your friend. And I'm pretty sure everyone is dying to know your girl," she tried to convince him.
"My girl? She didn't even know that I like her."
Lucy chuckled.
"If that girl is not Lisanna, who's then? Come on, Natsu! Tell me. I can keep a secret."
Natsu sighed, still pulling his arm away.
"It's not even a secret. I don't have time for such silly thing."
"So, you're not going to tell her that you like her? So you're okay with her not knowing that you like her?"
Lucy loosened her grip as Natsu's pull loosened down. He seemed thinking. She laughed in her head.
"I'm okay with that," Natsu replied after a while.
"What if she sees somebody else? She goes out with some guy you don't know. She doesn't know you like her."
Natsu was no longer pulling. He stared into blank.
"I don't think so," he said then. "She doesn't look like seeing somebody."
"Are you sure?" she baited.
"Yeah. I see her everyday. I'm pretty sure about that." He still looked like thinking.
"So, is it Mira?" she asked.
Natsu, as if snapped out of his thought, glanced confusingly at Lucy.
"What Mira?" he asked back.
"Well, if she is someone you see everyday, I bet she's from our guild. And Mira; you would see her everyday," she explained."Well, almost everyday," she corrected.
Natsu sighed for the thousandth time. Why would she so eager to know? And he didn't think that anyone would care who he liked.
"She's too old for me," he said,
It's time for Lucy to think. She did take a little time.
"Fairy Tail, not too old. About your age." She thinks more, putting her finger on her lower lips. "How old are you?" she asked.
Natsu gritted his teeth. "Can you let me go? I have better things to do," he said, tired of her stupid curiosity.
"What things? Stalking Lisanna?" she asked. Her hand gripped harder on his arm.
"No. Even if it's yes, it has nothing to do with you!" he snapped.
"Where are you going then?" she asked again.
Natsu pulled his arm off her grips. He glanced at her before taking the retreating steps.
"Is it Levy?!" she shouted, not giving up.
Natsu stunned. He turned his head to her, who was running toward him.
"A nerd?" he shouted back. "Really?!"
Lucy stopped in front of him, catching her breath.
"Lucky?"
Natsu ignored her, kept walking ahead.
"Cana?"
"A drunk," he sighed, rolled his eyes.
"Erza?"
"Damn. Another monster."
"Come on. You adore her. Everyone knew that."
Natsu kept walking; chose to ignore her. Lucy wrinkled her nose. And then something came across her mind.
"OMG! Wendy?" She ran up to him. "Is it Wendy?" Natsu sighed for the thousandth time that day. "You've been overprotective toward her. And she's a part of Team Natsu. You share your love toward you – "
"You," Natsu spoke. His voice half-buried between Lucy's excited mumbles.
But he managed to make her stop talking.
"Excuse me?"
" don't you include your name? You are Fairy Tail. You are a part of Team Natsu. You are one of those people I see everyday. You should include your name too. Lucy."
Her mouth opened but no word came out. Natsu took the chance to leave. He smirked to the speechless Lucy.
"You, you like me?" she asked.
Natsu turned around without pausing his leaving steps.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just saying. If you really want to know who that girl is, you should include all the possibilities."
"So it's not me?" she asked again. Blinking.
"I didn't say anything about that. It seems matters to you. Not to me."
He left. And she didn't follow him anymore. No. She couldn't. For once, her legs felt so heavy, as if they were glued to the ground.
"What the hell was he talking about?!"
(-/-)
"There was once, we went fishing."
There were the lovebirds again. Plus the dragon slayer's cat. They walked along the road of Clover. She was her usual cheerful self. Talks with her hands all in the air, tirelessly telling her stories.
"The two of you?" the dragon slayer asked.
She nodded energetically.
"The others were not really got along well with him. So it was just the two of us," she said. "Till now. Sometimes I think it was him who refused to mingle with the others."
She seemed thinking, with her finger playing with her lips.
"So you went fishing?" Sting asked, pulled her back to her story.
"Oh yes, we went fishing. It was the usual place I went with Natsu. But we didn't have any fishing rod. So, he simply electrified the whole river."
"WHAT?!" the dragon slayer and his cat screamed synchronizing.
His hand was about to push a door and he stopped and retreated his step.
"That is not fishing," the red cat protested.
Sting nodded agreeing to his cat. He then pushed the door open and let the other two to enter first. He then closed the door behind him.
"But that was his way of fishing." She chuckled, raised her shoulders.
She led them to a four-chaired-table near a glass wall. She sat next to Sting while the cat sat on his other side.
"Then we just swept all the floated fish and had a small party that evening."
"You were that close. Unbelievable," Sting said.
"He's nice actually. He can be unreasonable sometimes, arrogant, a complete bastard…"
"Wow, wow, wow, don't curse. You're a girl," he cut in.
She giggled. "Okay, sorry." She brushed her left cheek out of embarrassment. He just stared in silence. "Oh yes. He is actually a bit jealous of you."
Sting raised his brows. Something quite interesting for the day. He wanted to ask more but the waiter had come. They turned to him to place their order. But the waiter was someone they knew. The least expected one. Lisanna almost jumped onto the table.
"Laxus-san?"
The lightning mage who was known for his arrogance, for once smiled widely at her. Sting and Lector gaped.
"Hi," he greeted.
Laxus pulled her from the back of her pink shirt and sat her on the nearby chair and he sat on the girl's chair, next to the Sabertooth. The three partners couldn't say a word. Sting, with his mouth slightly opened, observed the lightning mage's every move, from when he grabbed the girl by her shirt till he sat on the chair and placed his legs on the table. Laxus crossed his arms over his chest while leaned back to his chair.
"You're not the waiter, aren't you?" Lisanna asked, still surprised with his arrival.
"Do I look like a waiter?" Laxus asked back. "I won't do such a lowly job, even if I have to beg for jewels."
Sting raised his brows, now that he understood why the lightning mage was unlikable. He could be a total jerk.
"Don't worry about food. I already placed the order when I came in here. And it's on me," Laxus continued.
He put his legs down and took off his furry coat. Then he put his legs back on the table while his hand threw the furry coat on Lisanna's head.
"Now you understood the weather," Lisanna said, pulled the coat from her head and put on the back of her chair. "What are you doing here by the way?" she asked.
"You guys are pretty hard to find," Laxus mumbled.
Before he could answer the question, Sting spoke.
"Are you following us?" he asked.
Laxus glared at the dragon slayer. Then he took his legs down. His eyes set upon the Sabertooth mage. Suddenly he smiled widely.
"At first, I thought you moved on from a fiery freak to a mute one. Surprisingly, this Saber can talk," he said, slowly leaned on his back. "I'm not those insecure weirdos. Stalking people around. I was happened to be around, and then I remember Mira said that you are here. I guess I'd pay a visit," he continued.
"Pay a visit," Sting chuckled under his breath, rolled his eyes.
"Mira-nee asked you to come and check on me?" Lisanna asked.
Laxus turned to the girl.
"Do I look like a babysitter to you?" he asked back.
"No. You would be the worst babysitter ever," she replied grinningly. "I thought Mira-nee send you here. She was hardly convinced that I'll be fine."
"I told you before, she always worries for nothing," Laxus assured.
Sting watched the whole conversation between the two Fairy Tail mages. For some unknown reasons, he could see that those two had special relationship. Maybe because he was Laxus Dreyar.
"You did?" she asked back, sarcastically smiled. Then she laughed. Laxus glared at her, which made her laughed harder.
"So, what's your mission here?" Laxus turned to the Sabertooth mage.
"Oh yes, are you here on mission, Laxus-san?" Lisanna asked.
Laxus turned to her, narrowed his eyes, warned her to shut her mouth. She understood his warning, inaudibly muttered a 'sorry'. Sting unconsciously smiled seeing the two Fairy Tail mages. As Laxus turned back to him, he quickly answered the question.
"We'll be heading to a village tomorrow. We'll be searching a boy disappeared two days ago," he said.
"Sounds interesting," Laxus said, nodding his head slowly.
"You're not joining us, don't you?" Lisanna asked.
"I can't?" Laxus asked back.
"Hey, why not?" Sting interrupted. Earned him glances and glares from the other mages.
"Sting…"
"I mean…" He quickly cut Lisanna out. "…if you have nothing else to do. You'll be helpful," he added.
Laxus smirked on his winning. Lisanna mouthed 'no' behind his back to her boyfriend. Laxus turned to Lisanna.
"Nope, I have nothing else to do. I haven't seen your shape-shifting ability for a long time. Oh, I really miss that." He chuckled.
Lisanna sighed while rolled her eyes. At the same time, Sting secretly smiled. He didn't know why he invited the lightning mage but honestly, he loved seeing the two together. And he would like to see the extent of their relationship.
( )
Earlier that day…
Lisanna took a sip of her morning tea and a spoonful of fried rice just entered her mouth when Elfman joined her at the dining table and Mirajane came with bread and peanut butter. All of them quiet. She glanced to her older siblings, waiting for them to start a conversation. However, none of them did.
Lisanna cleared her throat. "I'll be going to the guild first, then at noon I'll take the train to Clover," she told them her schedule for the day.
Elfman nodded, spooned the fried rice into his mouth.
"Okay," Mirajane said, smilingly. "Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" she asked.
Lisanna smiled. She was curious when Mirajane didn't say anything about her going on mission without any Fairy Tail members.
"Don't worry. I'm not alone. I have friends with me. Just they are from other guild."
Mirajane nodded.
"I'll introduce them to you after this mission. I promise," Lisanna quickly added.
She could read all the worries written on her sister's face. She just hoped that Mirajane wouldn't do anything such as secretly send someone to check on her.
( )
After the dinner paid by Laxus, the four walked to a nearby inn to rent a room. Lisanna managed to persuade Laxus to pay for the room.
"You seem like to have him around," Lisanna said to her boyfriend, while the lightning mage went to rent the room.
"I thought you get along well. So you won't have any problem with him joining us," Sting said.
"I don't mind. Just…it's our time together. So I hope…it's just US," she said.
Sting chuckled. He slid his hand across her waist and pulled her to his side.
"It's alright. At least he is not as annoys as the other fairies," he said, brushed his nose lightly on her cheek.
She glanced at him sideways. Then, she smiled. "Yes, he is." She turned to him and their noses touched. He kissed lightly on her cheek and slowly made way to her lips.
"Ehem…" Laxus cleared his throat. The lovebirds turned to the lightning mage and quickly broke their touches. "Save that for later. Let's go to our room." He pulled Lisanna and put his arm on her shoulders.
The couple glanced at each other confusingly as she was pulled away from him. Sting then glanced at his cat which Lector was doing the same thing.
"What do you mean 'our room'? I'm going to share the room with you?" she asked the lightning mage.
Laxus chuckled.
"No. We're all gonna share the room together," he answered.
Sting and Lector followed closely behind.
"You take only one room?" Sting asked.
"Save a lot of jewels," Laxus answered, glanced at the white dragon slayer once. "And the room is big enough to fit everyone in."
And he was right. There were two couches in the middle of the room, a bed on one corner and one big wardrobe. Bathroom was right next to the main door.
"You and the cat take the bed," Laxus said, pushed the girl whose head was already covered with his furry coat.
Instead of going into the room, Laxus quickly disappeared into the bathroom.
"You still going to take him with us?" she asked, sat on one couch. Sting sat next to her, and Lector jumped on it and sat next to his partner.
"We'll be fine," he said.
"He can be a jerk," she warned. "I don't know if you can mix well with him. Most people can't."
He smirked. "Maybe you should go to sleep. Rest your body, rest your mind. We'll be going early tomorrow."
He gave her Lector. The cat made a pleading face, not to let him sleep with the girl. Sting didn't say anything; just snap his finger on the cat's forehead.
"Goodnight," she said, while paced to the bed.
Sting took his furry shirt off and hung it in the wardrobe. As he laid on the couch, Laxus came out from the bathroom, with only his pants on and his purple shirt in his hand.
"Surely take your time in there," Sting said, moving around finding best position to sleep.
Laxus laid on another couch, staring at the ceiling.
"Why her?" he suddenly asked. Sting turned to him, unsure the meaning of that question. "Of all people, you chose that crazy girl. Why?" he asked again, when his first question only answered with a blank expression.
Sting inhaled and exhaled lightly.
"I don't know. I always thought she's one crazy girl. Maybe I'm the one who's crazy," he said, smiling a bit.
"She, her siblings are all crazy. I don't understand why people like them."
"Friendly maybe. That's how we started."
"Too friendly that they become nuisance. Especially her." Laxus glanced sideways to the bed.
"But you get along very well," Sting said.
"Nah. She cannot see me alone at the guild. She always interrupts my 'alone time'."
He could hear the fellow mage's light chuckle.
"What's between you and her? You're not simply friends," Sting asked.
Laxus glanced at him. It was just a simple question. He didn't see any hint of jealousy in the tone of the question.
"Don't be jealous. We grew up together. She is the only one who can talk casually with me. I don't even think we are friends. But I'm glad when I found that she's alive."
"Are you worried too? That she's now with me, like the other fairies?"
He noticed that the Fairy Tail mage had closed his eyes.
"She can choose whoever she wanna be with. It's not my concern," he replied.
"But you're here not because just 'you're here', right?"
Laxus opened his eyes, stared into the white ceiling.
"Don't tell her anything," he warned. And then he closed his eyes back.
Sting smirked. Just as he expected. The two had a special, unnamed relationship. But he didn't mind. For some unknown reason, he thought of having the lightning mage's company was quite nice actually.
"I won't," he assured.
( )
Mirajane climbed to the second floor. Found Laxus reading something.
"Your sister just brought me lunch. I don't need anything more," he said without shifting his eyes from the paper he had been reading.
"I need something from you," she said.
Laxus lifted his head from the paper. The girl looked unhappy.
"What?" he asked. That unhappy face made him uneasy.
"Lisanna went out to mission with someone from other guild," she started.
"So?" he asked, when she took some times to continue.
"I afraid that – "
"She'll be fine. Don't worry. Do you know who she went with?" he asked.
"I know, but I couldn't help…"
"He can take care of her. Trust me."
"I know. I just…I couldn't stop worrying." Her eyes watered. She hugged her arms.
"So?"
She inhaled a deep breath.
"Maybe you can help her with that mission."
Laxus smirked. "Find someone else," he said.
She almost running to him, and then sat next to him.
"Please. If I send someone else, she'll know I send them. She won't expect anything if it's you," she pleaded.
He breathed carefully.
"Just don't tell her that I send you," she added.
"You know that I don't take orders."
Mirajane bit her lower lip.
"I'll do anything. I give you anything. Please."
Laxus smirked wider. He touched her chin, and pulled her face forward.
"My bed had been empty for some times now," he offered. Mirajane almost retreated her back. "You would do anything, don't you?"
She gulped. There's no turning back now, she thought.
Laxus stood up. "I shall get going now." She stood up too. "I'll collect my reward once I come back," he said.
Laxus grinned widely. That woman must have gone crazy by now, he thought.
A very fast update for such a long chapter. Suddenly feels proud of myself. haha... I'm a bad updater... ;)