Chapter 21:

My eyes darted around, searching for the slightest inkling of the time. My body knew it was late, or early depending on whatever your qualifications of when morning actually started was, but that didn't make me any less confused. I slowly started to take in my surroundings, just in time for bits and pieces of my breakdown to come back to me. I let a small groan escape my lips. My eyes found their target.

4:22 A.M.

I glared at the clock before shifting over at the now cold spot on the bed placing a hand on the pillow. Loke must have gone back to the spirit world. I yawned a bit, stretching my arms above my head and then lowering them slightly to my temples. My head pounded. My eyes were puffy, and even though I didn't have a mirror to check, I was almost certain they were bloodshot as well. My hair was ratted, and I could already sense the pain brushing it was going to be later. Another sigh escaped my lips just as the door reopened and a figure came into the room holding a rather strong cup of coffee, the scent filling the room almost instantly.

"Lucy, oh," if the man was surprised I was awake, he didn't show it. "I figured you'd still be asleep." Rogue took a sip, walking over before sitting on the corner at the foot of the bed. He glanced over at the other bed, unsurprised to see Sting passed out with a grin on his face.

He must be having one good dream. I followed his eyes, shifting to sit up just a bit. "What are you doing awake?" I asked, genuinely curious at the man's actions.

"I couldn't sleep. That one moves around too much, plus I find the nighttime more soothing anyways." He took another sip of coffee before offering some to me.

I nodded softly, taking the mug from his hand and having a small sip. Black. I thought, enjoying the taste on my lips before stealing another sip and handing it back. A comfortable silence blanketed the room.

"Loke had to go back to the spirit world. He said something came up and he'd be back in the morning to check on you." The dragon explained softly. "He told me to keep an eye on you until he returned." He glanced at the clock before continuing. "That was about 40 minutes ago."

"I figured as much."

"How are you feeling?" His words were gentle.

My hands began to fiddle with the blanket wrapped around me. My eyes were puffy. My throat was dry, my head was pounding, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't remember my breakdown. "Mentally, I'm drained, and physically, I'm exhausted." I was honest. A small chuckled escaped my lips. Honesty was always the best policy, right?

The dragon bit his lip. His expression was stern, and it was obvious to see that my answer had caught him off guard and he needed to contemplate an answer. He took another sip, buying himself more time to respond. "You. . ." He let out a breath before continuing. "You don't have to tell me, but do you want to talk about it?" He looked sincere in his expression.

"What's there to talk about?" I ran a hand through my hair, stopping when I got to a knot and pulling it in front of me. "I've had things happen, and I'm not over them and they cause me to panic and break down at times." My words were as neutral as I could make them. "A better question would be something like 'what was it this time?'". My fingers brushed through the knot absentmindedly, it was a simple distraction while Rogue pondered my words.

Talking wasn't his strong suit, he was much better at listening. His coffee was nearly empty as he took yet another sip. I was certain he was using it for a distraction. His words were softer this time as he spoke. "What happened?" He paused for a beat. "Tell me about it, please. I want to know."

"I panicked." A frustrated sigh escaped my mouth, as I bit my lip, releasing only slightly when I began to taste metallic. I knew that wasn't what he meant, but this wasn't exactly the easiest thing to just say out loud.

"Lucy," my attention was brought back to him as he used my name. "You know what I meant." The shadow dragon paused before adding on a simple 'please'.

He was genuine when he talked. It was a sweet gesture, but I was sure he didn't know just how bad the event was. I sighed, mumbling a quick 'are you sure,' before glancing at the clock again. "Okay," I took a deep breath. "What I'm about to tell you- only very few people know." I met his eyes for a brief second before taking a deep breath contemplating where to being. "I'm sure you remember the huge fight between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord Guild, right?" I continued after getting the small nod of reassurance. "Well, my father had hired the Phantom Lord guild to bring me back to him, so that I could be married off to a potential business partner of his. I was kidnapped, and the guild went to war with them to get me back." I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to gloss over the general details in my head. "While I was being held hostage, my abductor-" the word felt harsh on my lips. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before attempting to speak again. This part was always the hardest to spill out. "He tortured me. Repeatedly." My hands went to my stomach. "He beat me. He used me as a literal punching bag for the entirety I was there." Tears threatened to fall. "He broke my ribs, fractured my skull, threw me in to walls, grabbed me by the hair and slam me into floors, all while he laughed." I choked back a sob, as his grin plagued my mind. Princess. "His guild mates were telling him he was going too far, that I had had enough, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to hear me scream." I rubbed my eyes as the tears began to form. "He'd keep telling me to 'sing for him.' And I tried so hard to not give him that satisfaction. I told him off, I did everything I could to keep him from hearing my screams. It seemed stupid now, but all it did was making him madder. I held on to the hope that Natsu or someone was going to come an-"I heard a shatter.

I stole a quick glance at Rogue, to see if he was still following my story. His knuckles were white and balled into fists at his lap. The coffee mug he held in his hand shattered. Dozens of pieces of ceramic fell from his lap, and onto the floor and bed. His eyes were filled with pure anger and his aura was of pure rage.

"Rogue?" I stammered out, wanting to reach a hand out, but stopping before I did.

"Who was it?" He growled viciously.

"Uh," was all I managed to get out.

"Who. Lucy."

I looked down. I didn't want to say it, but apparently my mouth had a different idea. "Gajeel."

His face contorted from rage to shock to confusion and back to shock. "But he joined Fairy Tail afterwards. How could anyone let him in after doing that to yo-"

My words cut the dragon slayer off before my mind could even process. "No one besides Happy and Natsu knew, and even they didn't know to the extent of what he did. The only other one that knows about it is Loke, and now you. I sat up fully, my hands no longer covered my scar, but instead moved closer to him. My hand rested on his, but to my surprise, Rogue didn't pull away. "Afterwards, Porlyusica tried to heal me with her herbs and medicine, but even that didn't work fully. I've had Wendy try to heal the bones too, but even she wasn't able to get them back to normal. Every so often," words once again came spewing out just like a faucet, "during a battle, a bad guy will go and hit me there or something and cause the entire spot so much pain. I had nightmares for three weeks after the incident, and I still have them every once and while today." I took another deep breath, not stopping myself when my hand got tighter around the other's. "Loke still beats himself up over it since he couldn't protect me like he does now, but there wasn't anything he could have done in the first place."

Moments passed, and Rogue went silent, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but what was out of the ordinary was his expression. If looks could kill, Rogue's expression would have been deadly. I wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling, what was going on in that mind of his. What if I made this worse? What if now he thinks of me as only someone who needs to be protected. What if he thinks I'm weak? I felt my throat get dry and tight. My thoughts were going to the worst possible places, and that was the last thing I needed right now. My breathing was picking up, making the seconds that passed feel like hours. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on anything else.

Rogue's voice was soft. Soft, and sweet. No, not sweet, calming. Wait? Voice? Words? I snapped my head back up. "What?"
My reaction caught him off guard, his brow furrowed as he hesitantly spoke again, clearing his throat before speaking fully. "I asked if I could see it." His eyes darted around the room in a way that was very unlike him. "Your scar, I mean." The dragon shifted uncomfortably. "I understand if you don't want to, it's okay."
Now it was my turn to be off guard. No one has really looked at it, I cover it with make up for photos, and the few people who have seen me without it were just my old team, none of who ever asked about it, if they noticed it at all, and Loke. "I. . . It's okay. . ." My voice cracked. "I have to warn you though, it's. . . it's a bit of an embarrassing spot. . ." Rogue's cheeked flushed a bit as I began to pull down what little blanket I had around me to my legs, and slowly raised the bottom of my shirt up. I let out a deep breath, stopping just under my chest, and slowly leaning over, giving him full view of the subtle mark going from the bottom of my ribcage to the start of my stomach. A jolt went through my body when cold fingers unexpectedly touched my skin. The soft fingers slowly examined my ribs, and moved down delicately tracing every millimeter of my scar, then ascended back up bit by bit. It was only when I felt the breath escape his mouth, did I notice how close he had gotten. He was hovering over me, his long black hair falling down in front of him as he leaned down, still thoroughly looking at my mark. His fingertips left my right side, and instantly my body missed the sensation. He met my eyes, finally realizing I was watching him. The hand propping him up had moved up, letting his body become even closer to mine.

"You're still beautiful, Lucy Heartifilia, scars and all." His words were soft, the softest I had ever heard the dragon speak.

A mere 'thank you,' was the only words I was able to get out before his lips reach mine.

Author's Note: Uh, I know it's been forever since I last updated, but I promise this story isn't abandoned. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. Thank you for all the support. I appreciate it more than y'all will ever know. Visit my Tumblr at Persephone-damnedqueen, where I promise I'm more active, and remember to read/like/follow/favorite/share/comment/everything else that's big in the online world. I'm going back under my rock now. bye!