"You know him?" Warren asked, "I thought only I had met him. Thinking back on it, he was careful to make sure all our meetings occurred either on work sites or over communication lacrima."
"Where did you meet him?" Rai demanded, getting to the point. His voice was commanding. The same voice he used when talking to the men and women working for the council under him.
Lucy trembled, getting lost in her memories. For the nights following her run into the man who had pushed her down in the streets of Magnolia she had suffered from nightmares. For days she had dreamed of the intense cold that had shot through her entire system only to be counteracted by the sudden heat produced from her own body. Some nights, when only the cold remained, she would shoot awake, terrified that she was trapped in her own apartment again. Only the comforting smell of Natsu's lingering scent in the bed had allowed her to go back to sleep.
A hand landed softly on her lower back, a comforting warmth spreading from where it laid. "Luce." Natsu's voice was soft. He was standing next to her, his gaze averted. Lucy looked up at him, unblinking, wondering what he was thinking as he kept his gaze off of her. "Your heart is beating a mile a minute. Take a breath. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."
Tears sprang to Lucy's eyes. She wanted to collapse into Natsu's arms and allow him to take all her fears away. Her fears about waking up in a frozen apartment. Her fears about her magic never fully recovering. Her fears about him not loving her. Her fears about having a baby. Her heart clenched as she thought about her outburst the night before; she knew she had hurt him significantly. She wondered if he could ever forgive her.
"Lucy." Rai's voice brought Lucy back to the present, she looked at him blinking away her tears. "Where did you meet him?" His voice had softened from its harsh tone, becoming comforting rather than commanding.
Loke's hand clasped Lucy's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Lucy turned to look up at him. She still had yet to find her voice. "That night your magic started coming back? You ran into him then, right?" He prompted her gently. Lucy nodded her head slowly. "Alright. I know the details, why don't you go into Mirajane's care and I'll help update the rest of them, yeah?"
Another set of small, neatly manicured hands reached out and grabbed Lucy's trembling ones. Mira gently pulled Lucy towards her, wrapping her arm around her as she led Lucy out of the room. "Warren called me. Said you needed some help." Lucy nodded meekly.
"You have her?" Natsu's voice cut through Lucy's daze. She realized that he had followed them, his hand still on the small of her back, providing her shivering body with warmth.
"Yeah. I'm guessing you want to get back to the meeting. Go ahead." Mira replied.
As Natsu let his hand drop and moved to walk away, Lucy reached out and grabbed it, her body moving on its own accord. She couldn't look at him, despite making a gesture to stop him from walking away. She loosened her grasp on his hand, but he held on.
Natsu looked at her hand in his. Without saying a word, he dropped it, making his way back to the command room. The loss of his touch made Lucy shiver from cold.
"C'mon you." Mira said, not saying a word about the interaction them. Lucy followed her without saying anything.
Her mind felt frozen, as if someone had taken the Freezing lacrima and replaced her brain with it. The man she had bumped into, was the same man who had taken her magic away. His cold eyes and threatening demeanor flashed through Lucy's mind, causing her to flinch as she remembered how it had felt to be on the frozen ground in front of him, helpless.
Mira led her into the kitchen, placing her in the same chair as she had last night. A few minutes later, she put a cup of hot tea in Lucy's hands. "Drink this. Porlyusica said it will help with the shock."
Lucy brought the cup to her mouth, sniffing the contents before taking a small sip. The herbal smell held a light sweetness, but the taste left something to be desired as it turned bitter on her tongue. "This is horrible." Lucy choked out, taking another drink knowing that Porlyusica would be on her case if she didn't finish it.
"She did say it's not very pleasant." Mira said with a small smile. "Unfortunately, all the beds upstairs are currently occupied by council troops, but the storage room down the hall should be quiet if you want a place to rest peacefully."
Finishing the restorative drink, Lucy stood to set the cup down on the counter. "Okay, thank you." Lucy placed her hand on her head, feeling dizzy at the sudden revival after being in shock mere minutes ago. She walked down the hall towards the storage room she knew Mira meant. It was rarely used other than to store decorations and other occasionally used items. Mira kept it clean despite the contents of the room. The hallway was quiet as it was on the opposite side of the building from where the command centre was stationed. Opening the door and entering, Lucy flicked on the light and let out a breathless shriek.
The room had been dark, making Lucy think it was unoccupied, but on the crates in front of her were two bodies in the middle of a very intimate position. Lucy's face turned beet red at her interruption. "Sorry!" She yelled, covering her face as she turned to exit the room.
"Lucy! Wait!" The woman called out. Lucy stopped with her hand on the door handle, her body reacting to the command of the voice behind her rather her own sluggish brain. She heard shuffling of clothing behind her before bare feet slapped against the wood.
"I'm so sorry!" Lisanna cried, her own face beet red as she turned Lucy to look at her. "We didn't think anyone was using this room, since its mainly filled with festival decorations."
"No. Don't apologize." Lucy stuttered; her eyes focused on Lisanna as a large bare-chested man walked towards them.
"Care to join us?" Bickslow asked as he approached; his voice cocky and sensual causing Lucy's blush to spread down her neck. He slung his muscular arm around Lisanna's shoulders, pulling her close. He had to lean down to do it as the difference in their height was staggering. While Bickslow was now wearing his pants again, Lucy guessed that Lisanna had just grabbed whatever clothing was closest to her as she was wrapped in his jacket.
Lisanna elbowed Bickslow in the side, making him wince. "Stop it. She'll think you're serious."
Bickslow looked down at Lisanna, "But I am serious." He said innocently.
"Bix! I swear!" Lisanna whispered fiercely at him, making the man smirk. She turned back to Lucy and rolled her eyes. "He's joking. Honestly."
"I thought you-" Lucy started, before stopping herself. What did she think exactly? She thought that Lisanna had feelings for Natsu, and he for her. Mira had done her best effort to convince Lucy that that wasn't the case last night, and while she had left half-convinced, she still hadn't been sure. All her doubts and insecurities had whispered evils in her own ear, convincing her she wasn't the one for Natsu, that he should be with this woman standing in front of her. This woman who she had just walked in on intimately connected with the man next to her. Lucy felt the blood drain from her face.
"Oi. Oi. Oi. Are you gonna faint?" Bickslow questioned, reaching out to Lucy with a large hand to steady her. "Naked man ass too much for you, blondie?" He teased.
Lisanna snorted, "Your naked ass is enough to make anyone faint. I told you that this was a bad idea, too many eyes around."
Bickslow turned back to Lisanna, a wicked glint in his eyes, "But that's just makes it more exciting!" He laughed and danced away as Lisanna went to elbow him again. He was obviously unfazed by Lisanna's comment.
Lisanna turned back to Lucy, her face apologetic. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. Really. But Bix was getting really handsy-"
"What do you want from me? A month was too long! Too long!" He cried from on top of a crate he had jumped onto to avoid Lisanna's elbow.
"He convinced me that no one would look here." Lisanna continued. She clasped her hands in front of her in a begging gesture, "Please, please, please. Don't tell anyone. Please!"
Lucy blinked, "Uh, yeah. Okay." Why were they hiding their relationship? She wondered as Lisanna smiled before running over to grab her clothes.
"Bix! You have some apologizing to do!" She called out as she ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Bickslow sighed, lying back on the crate with his arm over his eyes. "I honestly thought no one would enter. She's gonna kill me." He laughed. Suddenly sitting up, he gave Lucy a wide smile, allowing his tongue to loll out of his mouth. His red eyes flashed briefly to green before fading back to their original colour. For the moment they were green, Lucy felt the loss of control over her body. "Hmm." Bickslow jumped off the crate, walking over to where the rest of his clothing lay, "She's a little shy about our relationship. I think it has a lot to do with my past." He turned and gave Lucy another big grin, "I was sort of a man whore." He shrugged as he sat down on the crate Lucy had found the two of them on to put on his boots.
"How long have you two been-" Lucy stopped talking. She fidgeted with her hands, still feeling uncomfortable, even more so at her inappropriate question.
"Together?" Bickslow finished for her. Boots now back on his feet, he looked up to the ceiling, putting a finger on his chin as he thought. "I think our first time was Samhain? We were pretty drunk." He laughed.
"Samhain?" Lucy murmured, "Halloween?"
Bickslow snapped his fingers and pointed at Lucy, "That's the one. That's what you people call it. Anyway," He stood, stretching his arms above his head. Lucy couldn't help but notice how his stomach muscles flexed, a light blush returned to her face and she looked away. "She didn't want to go spreading it as the other Strauss' are pretty protective of their baby sister, and well, I'm me." He motioned to his half naked body, clearly unashamed at being in such a state with another woman. "I understand her feelings. Maybe one day? Who knows?" He shrugged again, walking towards Lucy. "Good talk, blondie. Oh, and congrats on the second soul." Lucy gave him a questioning look to which he replied by pointing to his lower abdomen. His smile was back, tongue sticking out and all.
"Oh. Thank you." Lucy mumbled.
"Better go find Lisanna. She stole my coat!" He walked past Lucy, mumbling to himself as he left the room, "And I'm not finished with her yet."
Lucy stood in the empty room. Her mind working overtime as it flipped through all she had just learned. She had felt that there was something between Natsu and Lisanna, especially recently. Could it be that he knew about her and Bickslow? Or suspected something? She fell to her knees, covering her face as she began to cry. She had messed everything up between them so horribly, but now she fully understood that there was nothing between them. The only thing that had gotten between her and Natsu were her own insecurities.