As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.
A/N - I know it's been a while, but sometimes real life just keeps throwing curve balls. It's been difficult to get time to sit and write, but the good news is that I've thought a lot about where this story is going and you get an extra long chapter for the wait! Please read and review. :)
The five mages settled comfortably onto the train, even getting a private cabin to share. Lucas was excited. He had stowed away on many trains but he had never been in a passenger car and was able to watch the scenery go by. It didn't take long for Meredy to fall asleep on Lucy's shoulder having not had much sleep the night before. Lucy dove into a book, while Lucas kept his attention out the window. The two brothers sitting across from them chatted about Bickslow's imminent return to Bosco.
Eventually, the motion of the train had Lucas falling asleep his head in Lucy's lap. She put her book aside and watched the scenery go by while running her fingers through his hair gently and was lulled to sleep as well. Her head resting lightly against Meredy's. Bickslow had quickly learned the advantage of wearing his visor wasn't just to prevent people from knowing what kind of mage he was, but that he could watch people without them being aware. He had watched Lucy sneak peeks at his brother a few times already and was now watching his brother do the same, an almost imperceptible lift to the corner of his mouth.
"Awww they are adorable aren't they? Wish I had a camera." Bickslow joked.
"Yeah. I could snap a photo if you really want one," his brother offered in return casually, making it seem like he had only just then noticed them.
"Nah," the Seith shook his head. "Meredy would do terrible things to me if she knew I had a photo of her drooling on Lucy."
Vander shrugged. "Have you checked the kid's soul?" He had been curious.
"Yup. He stayed with me last night so I finally had a chance to. Craziest thing, he wanted to know all about my magic so he actually asked me to do it. First time that's ever happened outside of family." Bickslow laughed as he remembered how Lucas had stiffened up in preparation expecting some sort of pain or sensation. "He wanted to know what it felt like. I drew the line when he asked me to possess him. Was actually disappointed he couldn't feel it. Kid has no fear."
"He has fears, just not the normal ones. His biggest fear right now is Lucy being taken from him. The kid's had a shitty as hell childhood. Kind of makes me wonder what would have happened if Dad hadn't found me."
"Well, he has Lucy now and she's probably the best thing for him. His soul still has a lot of dark spots and tears, but they are healing. It's almost like a golden thread is stitching them up. Never seen anyone but her manage to do that and she doesn't even realize it. I actually can't look at souls next to hers because hers is too distracting." Bickslow chuckled. "That's how she totally kicked my ass during Fantasia. I could barely concentrate."
This had Vander's attention. "What does it look like?"
"Hers? Well, it's hard to describe. Yours is a pure white, but it's a colder color. Hers is a bright warm white light that a glitter bomb exploded into. She has a few dark spots, but they are hard to spot. Mostly since that Tartaros bullshit. I don't know what happened to her there, I was out for the count for most of it. Whatever happened it couldn't have been good. As far as I know she hasn't talked to anyone at the guild about it."
"Is the glittery soul common for Celestial mages?"
"I had the same theory at first, but I checked Yukino for comparison. As far as I know it's unique to only Lucy. Never seen anything remotely close to it."
"Who's Yukino?" At this Bickslow went on to describe all the mages they were going to meet once they arrived at Sabertooth.
Vander and his brother sat at a table in the guild hall knocking back a few beers as they watched Lucy chat with Sorrano, Yukino, and Meredy. Lucas was having lunch with the two exceeds. If Vander had to be honest with himself, those creatures creeped him out a little. Especially the green one in a pink frog suit that everyone else seemed to think was downright adorable. But the twin slayers that were hovering nearby had his attention. "So light and shadow right? Twins?"
"Not actually brothers, at least I don't think so… but they've been together forever. Interesting pair, opposite in almost every way."
"And both quite the eyeful. I always wondered if slayers not raised in Bosco had the same stamina that everyone knows Cris and Emi have." Vander could definitely get in on some of that action if only they would be there for more than a few hours. Especially the dark one, Rogue. Yes he would have to find a reason to come back at some point.
Bickslow smiled at his brother's endless appetite. "Fioran, so probably straight as arrows."
"That just makes it a challenge worth taking," Vander winked.
Hours later they said their goodbyes and headed off to Crocus. Farron was in town on Embassy business with the newly appointed Queen Hisui and they were to meet with him the following day to catch a ride on his airship back to Palerno.
It was getting dark when they arrived and out of habit, both Bickslow and Lucy headed straight for the Honeybone Inn. "Ah! Fairy Tail is here. Maria prepare the VIP suite for my dearest Lucy and friends." A portly man with warm eyes descended upon them the moment they walked in.
"Mr. Rangor, it is good to see you again, but there's no need for…"
The man hugged the blonde and interrupted, "Nothing but the best for the saviors of Crocus when those awful dragons attacked. I won't hear you argue. Now my dear, you look lovely as always. Who are your friends?"
Vander raised a brow at his brother who mouthed back that he would explain later. Lucy hugged the owner of the inn back and thanked him profusely. "You know Bickslow already. This is his brother Vander from the White Sea Guild in Bosco and this is my brother, Lucas." Lucas beamed at her calling him brother.
"Welcome to the Honeybone Inn, please let me know if you need anything. Any friends or family of our beloved Fairy Tail and Lucy are always welcome here. Would you be dining in your rooms tonight or eating downstairs?"
After sorting through the details of room service and getting the key to the suite, they headed up the stairs. The suite consisted of four separate bedrooms with a common room in the middle and a massive lacrimavision screen that had Lucas in wonder as he had never watched LV before. He and Bickslow sat and started channel surfing while Lucy called Virgo to bring their bags and settled everything into the individual rooms. After a few moments, there was a knock on the door and three bottles of wine were delivered, compliments of Mr. Rangor.
After room service was delivered and the mages had all eaten their fill, they all piled onto the large couch and watched a movie together. Lucy had trouble getting Lucas to go to bed, but they were to arrive at the airship dock promptly at 9 in the morning. She finally called Virgo to assist and the boy grumpily went to bed. Each of the rest went their separate ways, Lucy taking an unopened bottle of wine with her to her room. She showered and changed into the nightgown Virgo brought her and drank while attempting to read. She was distracted though and kept reading the same paragraph over and over until she finally sighed and shut the book. She needed a plan, she needed to get past her virginity and she wanted it to be a good experience. Bosco was definitely the best place for that and they were heading there tomorrow. As she drank more wine her thoughts went back to the sounds from Vander's room the previous night. She wanted to be making those sounds. Slamming back the remainder of the wine, she made a decision.
Vander was just drying his hair from the shower when there was a gentle knock on his door. He was surprised to see Lucy standing there in a dark pink silk nightgown that barely covered anything and a cream colored silk robe, completely open. "Can we talk?" she asked quietly. Nodding he let her in and closed the door and started to make his way to sit on the bed. She grabbed his arm before he got there and turned him to face her. "Share pleasure with me?" she breathed out so quietly he almost couldn't hear it. Before he could respond she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.
He couldn't resist those lips and he pulled her closer to himself as he tilted his head slightly and licked across the seam between them. She relaxed and he gained entry into her mouth and explored every detail. She tasted like heaven. A mix of the cherry wine she had drank and her own strawberries and cream flavor was Vander's new favorite. As he deepened the kiss, she timidly started responding in kind. The sensations were completely new to her and making her dizzy. After a few minutes he pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are supposed to wait for a reply before diving in." The blush that spread across her face and down her ample chest was just downright enticing. He had a thought to explore where that blush ended before he mentally stopped himself.
Sighing, he knew this wasn't the right thing to do. Normally that wouldn't stop him but with Lucy nothing was ever normal. "As much as I would love to explore more than that delicious mouth of yours, I will have to decline."
Lucy felt crushed, ashamed, guilty and a slew of other emotions as tears lit her eyes and she tried to turn to run back to her room to cry herself to sleep. Vander wouldn't let her go though, "Let me explain."
He pulled her to his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. "One. You are drunk." Lucy started to contest that statement, he hushed her by putting a finger on her lips. "You are. Two. We all know it doesn't take getting drunk to ask me for that, so you had to get up the nerves for the sex itself. Which means you aren't ready. Three. You are wearing pink fuzzy bunny slippers. The rest of the outfit is killer and I mean it."
Lucy hung her head unable to meet his eyes as she wriggled to try to get out of his embrace. Vander groaned as her bottom moved against his already very willing member. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll just go." Tears started to drip down her face.
He knew she had a poor self-image only he couldn't understand how a knock-out like her could have ended up that way. "You are terrible at listening sometimes. You aren't going anywhere. If you think I'm not interested then you should be able to feel just how interested I am underneath you. Also, please stop wiggling around. I've been going after you for over a year. So don't start thinking this is about wanting or not wanting. Why all of a sudden is this important enough to you to go this far?"
Crying into his chest she finally explained to him about the request from Gray and Natsu. He listened quietly, in his head thinking that Cris or Kaleb were far more suited to this kind of thing. Comforting others wasn't really a skill he had naturally. He held her and rubbed her back as she spoke about her worries, and how much she wanted to make her best friends happy. On the one hand, he completely understood their request. She was the best choice and surrogacy was a practice well supported in Bosco. On the other hand, he was thoroughly angered that they asked her. She was a virgin and raised a Fioran heiress. This would be fine if she was Boscan, but totally outside her wheelhouse. "We will arrange classes with a Sudepah for you in Bosco if you really want to do this. That will prepare far more than a single fun night with me."
He continued to hold her until she drifted off to sleep in his arms. Sighing again, he moved her into the bed with him and held her close to prevent her from feeling unwanted or unloved when she awoke.