Chapter 5
"So what time do you guys have to leave tomorrow?" she asked Natsu. "We have to be out of Magnolia by twelve" "That early?" Lucy said with disappointment. "Hey" said Natsu grabbing Lucy and pulling her in. She hugged him tight wrapping her hands around his stomach. Before he could say anything, he was grabbed by Layla who silently came beside Lucy. "Baby dragon" he whispered. Getting to his knees, he embraced them while everyone remained silent. "I don't want you to go ..daddy" she begged in her head but knew he had no choice. Nobody ever denied an order from the top of the mafia.
Feeling the slight shakes coming from them, he kissed the tops of their heads. "You know you two are the most important thing in the world to me and nothing will ever change that. Not this meeting, not anything." They nodded understanding. "I love you both" "We love you too" "Look at me" he asked tenderly as they both lifted their faces to him as he wiped tears that were streaming down.
"I will be back as soon as I can. I swear it. I don't care, if I'm gone longer than a day, screw it. I'm coming back" "But Natsu, the maf" she was stopped as he kissed her surprising her but she gave in quickly feeling his love and longing. Against his own desires, he let go after a moment. "The mafia can kiss my ass; You and Layla are all that matter to me. If they want to take my leader role, I'll let them. Nothing comes before you" She sat there speechless for a second until she said "just hurry back" with a warm smile. "Okay guys, it's late. Time for bed and I mean that for all you" he emphasized looking at the kids.
"Yes Natsu" Tristan and Lily complained but he saw the winks on their faces while they went up. "Catch you guys in the morning" said Jellal as he headed towards the back leaving Natsu alone with the girls.
"Come on ladies" he said softly and exhausted. Putting his arms around them, they walked up the stairs where Layla went up first. "I love you guys" Layla said as she went to open her door. "We love you too" "Dad" "Wha" he was cut off as Layla hugged him from the back. "Layla..." he muttered then heard her crying. "Baby girl" Lucy said as her heart ached watching Layla. "She's been through more than enough" he thought turning himself in her arms and got down to her level.
"Layla..baby girl.." he said soft spoken. She started crying harder breaking his heart. Gently he put his hands on her cheeks as she cried "daddy, I don't want you to go!. I ..I knkknoow you, ddont hhh-ave a c..chhoice. I'm being selfish but please!" "Shh,shhhhh" he cooed bringing her head to his shoulder while her legs gave out and fell to the floor. Hugging his neck, she whispered " I' sscareed daddy. I'm scared" "I know, it's alright" "Da..ddyy" "Shhhhhh" "Wwwwhoo iss ggoing tto pprotect us" Lifting her head up, in a serious voice said "I would never let anything happen to you or your mother. Have I ever failed before" Tearfully she shook her head. "I promise you will be protected." "Yeah but they won't be you daddy"
Not knowing what else to do and knowing no other words would help, he brought her back down hugging her until she wore herself out and fell asleep in his arms. Carefully he picked her up as Lucy opened Layla's door seeing Tristan was sound asleep. With care, he placed in her bed and put Happy in her hands as Lucy brought the blanket over her. "I wish I could stay baby girl. I really do" he whispered. "Come on Natsu" Lucy said gently pulling at his shirt. Sighing he followed her into their room. Lying in each other's arms, neither could sleep for they both had the next day going through their minds. "She really does hate it when I go" he said unhappily.
"It's not just that Natsu, given everything.." "I know Luce" he said hugging her tighter. "I swear I won't let anything happen to you. I will make sure you two are protected while I am gone." " I know Natsu" she said giving him a kiss.
"Let's try and get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow" "Hmph, don't remind me" he said discouraging. The next day, everyone was up as early as they could to spend time with Natsu before he left. Gray arrived just a short while before they had to leave. Walking over to Lucy who was sitting with Jellal and Natsu in the kitchen , he observed how cheerful Layla and the other two were.
"How are they taking it?" he asked. "About as well as you would expect?" she answered. "Hmm?" he muttered seeing Natsu's face tell a different story for he wasn't talking or looking at Lucy and Jellal, but at Layla. "Something happened last night" . "Natsu. Hey, ,Natsu" he called. "Huh?, what?. When did you get here Gray?" he asked completely absent minded. "I've been here for a few minutes; the question is where were you?" "Tch, I wasn't anywhere, I just.." "Were thinking of your kid. Don't worry, I get it. I was thinking about mine too." "Yeah but I'm going to bet Owen wasn't a crying mess" "Huh?" "Natsu" Lucy interrupted sharply.
"This isn't the place to talk about this, come on" he told them getting up, they followed him to the back-leaving Lucy with the kids. "What happened Natsu that you had to bring us back here?" asked Gray. "Just not something to talk about in front of the kids, that's all." "What is? Jellal" he demanded seeing from Jellal's face, he knew what happened but wasn't saying. "It's Layla." Natsu said abrupt. "What about Layla?, what happened?" "Lucy and I were heading to bed when Layla grabbed me. (Kizuna Fairytail Soundtrack Vol2.) Layla..she , she was a mess."
Gray sadly dropped his eyes to the floor not surprised. Natsu dropped his head low "I could feel her whole body shaking in my hands, the fear she felt..Her pain..the longing of her wanting me to stay. The last time my heart hurt that bad was when….when she was taken, and she screamed for me. She was crying like a child Gray and after I got her back, I swore she would never have to cry like that again" (End song)
They watched as Natsu balled his hands into fists. "If it wasn't for this fucking meeting, I wouldn't be leaving them" "We know Natsu" Gray agreed with a light smile. "Right now, she isn't even letting herself feel. She knows if she does, it will make it that much harder when I leave" "Fathers daughter" Jellal joked lightly getting them to look at him. "Come on Natsu, you do and have done the exact same thing." "Yeah I know" he said with attitude. "So, do you have someone to look over them since we don't know how long we will be gone" "We will only be gone a day and that's all"
"Natsu, you can't be serious man" questioned Gray but quickly took it back seeing the hard face Natsu was putting out. "Yes sir" they both answered. "I don't care, with that jerk out there right now, I'm not taking any chances of staying away any longer then absolutely necessary." "Hear you loud and clear but do you have someone to watch them while we are gone?"
"Hmph, yeah they will be stationed outside the house as a precautionary measure." "You sure Lucy will be okay?. Never mind" Gray said quickly while Natsu looked at him with slight amusement. "Lucy can take of herself, you know that" "No kidding" "Come on, we don't have that much more time before we go, You should spend it with the girls while you can Natsu" persuaded Jellal Jumping to his feet he said "aye let's go" then walked off with a little pep in his step.
They walked back in where Lucy smiled and nodded at them. Without saying a word, Natsu went over and grabbed her hand taking her with him to the couch. Getting the hint, Lily and Tristan moved over from Layla letting Natsu and Lucy sit down. Eyeing her softly, Layla came over and cuddled against Natsu as he put his other arm around her. Closing his eyes, he pulled them in tight to him. Gray and Jellal smiled caringly knowing Natsu was as happy as he could be at the moment as the other two got up off the couch and walked over to where Gray and Jellal were.
When it was time to go, relaxed they got up. "Try not to piss anyone off will you?" Lucy said lightly giving him a hug. "I will do my best" he replied. "Good" Giving each other a loving look, he kissed her forehead then she stepped back. "Layla?" he said quietly.
Standing there for a moment, she ran full speed at him as she threw her arms around him making him lift her slightly up off the ground. "I love you so much dad" "I love you too" he said putting his face into her head for a minute before setting her back down. "Layla, baby look at me" he said as she rapidly shook her head. Slipping a finger under her chin, he had her look up. "What do I always promise you whenever I go?" "That..you'll always come back" "That's right. I'll say it again. I promise I will be back" She quickly nodded burying her face into his trench coat. "Oh, baby girl.." he said quietly as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Regretfully he said "I gotta go Layla" "I know" she whispered letting him go. Lucy came up and stood beside her as Natsu opened the door. "Dad!" he turned suddenly, and his heart grew seeing Lucy and Layla give them their hand sign. "Always watching for you" Layla yelled cheerfully. "Ha, always baby dragon" he said giving them the hand sign with Jellal and Gray as they walked out. This is a wonderful family. It truly is" thought Lily. "He'll be back baby girl" cooed Lucy.
"Dad" she thought running to the window banging on it. With friendly smiles, they waved back and got in the car. She waved until they were out of sight. The house became silent as Layla remained at the window. "Layla" "I'm going to work out" She said peeped up jumping off the couch and running towards the back. "Lay" "No Tristan honey" said Lucy with a soft shake to her head.
"Huh? I don't understand" "She needs time alone. It's not you Tristan. She's never liked it when Natsu leaves. She will come back when she feels better, when she's had time to get all her feelings out." "I see" he said simply. "I'm sorry your hurting Layla" "For now, why don't you guys find something on tv. Just something to keep your mind occupied. I'll be right back; I'm going to get my painting things. "You paint?" asked Lily surprised. "Yes, I do..would you like to join me?" "I would love too!" "Well alright, come upstairs and help me bring my painting supplies down" she said lightly amused. "Yes ma'am" she replied excited going up with her. Tristan in the meantime turned on the tv until he found an action movie to watch. "Something to keep my brain occupied" "Be safe Natsu..and hurry home" thought Lucy bringing the paint supplies downstairs
They arrived at the mafia headquarters in record time. Getting out of the car, Jellal and Gray recognized the doleful expression Natsu was barely trying to hide. Silently he walked past them into the building. "He shouldn't have to even be here" thought Jellal resenting the mafia bosses. "Hopefully whatever this thing is, it wont last long…for his sake" thought Gray watching Natsu shuffle his way through. He slumped against a wall and rubbed his nose. "Natsu" Jellal called boldly.
"Don't Jellal,…please. Just want to get this fucking thing over with" It killed the two of them seeing Natsu looking so miserable. "Heyyyyyy" said a friendly voice. Natsu's face lightened as he turned the corner and smiled. "Sting" he said pleased. "What's up bro" he said roughly giving Natsu an one-armed hug. "Rogue" "Hey Natsu" "Great to see you guys, I didn't think you guys would be here." "Ahh, turns out the big guys want a bunch of the mafia leaders here. No idea what for though" he explained. "Hey Gray, Jellal" "What's up" greeted Gray laid back Jellal gave a friendly nod to them.
"You guys just brightened my day, maybe this thing won't be so damn boring after all." "Ha, with us here, how can it be?" he joked making Natsu laugh. "Man, did I miss you." Said Natsu slapping a hand on Sting's shoulder. "You know you can visit dude, but I know Magnolia mafia keeps you busy. Anyway, how's my niece?" "Growing like a damn weed but she's getting stronger. Those work outs have been great for her. She can almost keep up with me"
"Ha, I'm not surprised. She's a Dragneel daughter." "She's also got a boyfriend now." "A boyfriend huh? And he passed your test huh.?" With a smirk he answered "Yeah he's a nice kid. Very formal, it was driving me nuts, but we broke him of that" "Sounds like I need to make a visit then, gotta meet the kid brave enough to date my brother's kid and live"
"Oh Layla will love that" he said sarcastically and laughing. "I agree, we need to meet this boy" said Rogue. "We will make it happen once all this shit is over with" swore Natsu. " What about Lucy?" "Wonderful, as always. What about Yukino?." He asked feeling much happier than he was. "Oh, she knows how to keep me in line still but she's great." "I'm sure." He agreed then heard Gray coughing at him. "Looks like that's our que, let's head on in" said Natsu. "Thank goodness" thought Gray and Jellal thankful someone was able to cheer Natsu up.
"You are so good at this Lucy!" said Lily cheerfully making Lucy blush. "I promise, this isn't a big deal and trust me there are much better artists than me. In fact, I the one who gave me these brushes is the one who got me into painting in the first place." "Oh really?, what made you get into painting?" she asked curious.
She started painting slower as her face became melancholy. "Lucy?, are you okay? I'm sorry if I asked something wrong" "No, no honey. Just brings back old memories, that's all" "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too" she said quietly putting her brush down. Lucy turned to her and smiled.
"It's okay Lily I promise, pick your brush back up" she said as Lily began painting again. "I was in very bad place, probably the darkest point in my life. I was told about painting and so I tried it. My teacher was very kind and saw I was hurting."
"Oh Lucy, I didn't mean to make you cry" "It's alright, I'm happy." She said softly wiping her tears. "That woman saved my life in more ways than one and gave me these paint brushes and easel as a gift" she put a hand to her throat over her scar and closed her eyes. "Is that what happened?" she asked cautiously. "Yes. But that's a story for another" "Lucy!" Tristan said alarming getting their attention. "What is it?" "There's guys outside" "What!" she exclaimed jumping to her feet. "What happened to the guards Natsu assigned" Looking through the window, she saw men creeping to their house.
"Tristan, Lily, go hide now" she ordered running to grab her handgun out of a side table and taking the safety off. "Luuucy" "NOW" she yelled sternly. Terrified, they ran and hid in a nearby closet down the hall. "Attacking our house, these bastards have a death wish" said Lucy. The door bursted open as men charged in. "Mom, what's..MOM!" Layla screamed hearing commotion at the back and came up to see what it was. Dropping her phone and headphones, she went in kicking the first guy she saw in the gut and aimed for his sensitive area. "First place dad told me to get if someone is coming for me" she thought to herself confident. "Take them" ordered a tall man.
"WHAT!" screamed Lucy. Watching from the closet, with a crack in the door, Tristan and Lily watched the girls fight with all their might. "Don't kill them" they heard one of them say. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" "MOM!" "AHHH" "Luc" Lily went to scream before being muffled by Tristan's hand as he shook his head.
"YOU BASS.." they looked through to see Lucy looking straight at them with a meaningful expression as she fell to the ground unconscious knocked out by dart. "Let's go" said a gruff voice. "What about anyone else" "Leave em, these two are our only objective. Move out" he ordered.
Tristan and Lily watched in horror as Lucy and Layla's limp bodies were picked up like rag dolls and thrown over the men's shoulders. Tristan threw his arms around Lily who put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out.
Trying to give her comfort, he said "it will be alright, Lily, it will be alright, we just need to stay here for now" "Thhey..tthyy ttoookk them" she stuttered trembling. Grimly he said, "I know.." Putting her head down on his shoulder, Lily cried. "Layla…Lucy" Tristan thought no longer fighting the tears that were streaming down his face.