A/N: It took some time to figure out what I even wanted to do with this chapter, especially after how the last one ended. And because I don't have a plan for this prompt at all… but I do have something planned for the final chapter. So, please enjoy me winging this entirely, and trying to lead it toward what's planned!
Day 7: Frost
The protests over Lucy's incarceration shifted into something else after Erik got her released from jail. When news broke over her release, people took to the internet to demand justice. They pointed to the clothing she was wearing when she walked out of the precinct, the blood on her shirt. A woman who claimed to have been in the cell with Lucy said she didn't change her clothes, and was never given an opportunity to do so.
Lucy's military career was analyzed in scrutinizing detail by conspiracy theorists. They searched for her reason for retirement in public records. Some posited their own ideas about why Lucy was no longer serving in the military when there was no public record to tear apart. Reporters jumped on the opportunity to find some juicy details about a former soldier, but ended up reporting more accolades from Lucy's service that weren't common knowledge. She wasn't just a Major in the Army, and she hadn't just gotten a service medal for honorable acts in the line of duty. It was revealed that Captain Lucy Heartfilia was given a battlefield promotion after saving the only three surviving members of her unit from an ambush in Alvarez, running through a minefield and ignoring artillery fire directed at her three separate times to take them to safety. Major Heartfilia treated their injuries for one week and provided cover until they were rescued.
The reason for her retirement from the military was the result of losing her right leg in a mortar blast while carrying the last soldier to safety. She applied a tourniquet to the wound just above her knee, then dragged both herself and the blubbering Sergeant Gildarts Clive, missing his arm and leg, the last 200 meters through the sand.
Others looked for any information they could find on Lucy. What was she doing at the protest? Well, she was on the side in favor of Tartaros Enterprises building a factory. And then someone found and shared her prom picture. The one that showed her and Mard standing together as though they were a couple. People speculated about what had happened between them to cause him to leave her in Magnolia while he went away to Crocus for college. They questioned why he had been her prom date, when it was well documented that he'd graduated high school two years prior. They questioned why she had enlisted in the military when Mard Geer Tartaros had been such a promising candidate for success.
Lucy's entire life was picked apart, all because she'd jumped into the fray to protect a man who stood against her in the protest after he'd been shot in the face. Her mother's death from untreated cancer, her biological father's death at the hands of a mugger before Lucy had even been born.
Thousands of people who didn't know Lucy or Erik or any of the people who struggled in Lower Magnolia demanded the police force get rid of not only the officer who had tased her, but the others who had beaten her and Sorano with batons.
They found out Sorano had been hospitalized, and demanded the charges against her be dropped.
They demanded reform, and justice. And they demanded that it be swift and firm. If those officers could make the split second decision to beat two women - one a decorated war hero from Lower Magnolia and the other a civilian from Upper who put herself in danger to protect that war hero - then the government should be able to make a swift decision to strip those officers of their titles.
Unfortunately, the officers didn't lose their jobs; although, it was made glaringly obvious by the police chief in an interview that he was furious over the decision from "higher ups" to not have the offending officers charged. They were put on paid leave while their superiors "investigated" the incident, which sent the citizens of both Upper and Lower Magnolia into a frenzy. Their anger rippled across Fiore, leading to more protests, marches for justice, and - in a few cities - riots.
One month after the protest over Tartaros Enterprises building their factory in Lower Magnolia, Erik found himself parking his car outside of the Fairy Tail pub with Macbeth and Sorano in tow. The celebratory round of drinks that Lucy had invited Levy to - and that Levy had then invited them to attend - had been postponed. Gajeel had texted him with the details earlier that day, and Erik had gladly tossed away his plans of eating his poor attempt at a different recipe of southwestern vegetarian chili for dinner that night to go out for drinks instead.
"Oh my god," Sorano hissed. "What is that smell?"
"Sorano, shut up," Macbeth sighed. "We're not in Upper."
"Don't I know it," she muttered.
Erik glared back at them with his single indigo eye while crossing the street. "It's not that bad," he said. "Just be prepared for a night of secondhand smoke." They made their way inside, and he froze in place when the inhabitants - filling every nook and cranny of the bar with their rowdy laughter, and most definitely breaking a fire code or two with the occupancy level - cheered and welcomed him and his friends inside.
"Erik!" Mira shouted from behind the bar. "Come get a drink!"
He laughed and shook his head, winding through the crowd to head for the bar. This was definitely more packed than he was expecting. And it was a little excessive, in his opinion. A hulking blond man walked up beside her - Erik vaguely remembered seeing him in the protest videos standing next to Lucy - and filled up two more pitchers from the tap. "Hey, Mira," he said once he took a seat on an empty stool. "Good to see you again."
"Good to see you up and about," she laughed. Mira filled three frosted mugs and set them on the bar, then waved a hand at him when he reached for his wallet. "Berets are covering the tab tonight."
"Speaking of the Berets," Macbeth said, taking a large gulp from his mug and handing another to Sorano. "Is Lucy here?"
"She sure is," Mira laughed. She leaned to the left, peered around Erik's shoulder, and her smile widened while she gestured to the table Lucy had commandeered with Gajeel and Levy. "Right over there. Pretty sure they saved you guys some seats."
Erik turned and followed her line of sight, only to end up laughing when he saw Lucy lift her mug into the air, then climb onto her table. The pub went quiet when she called out with a loud whoop. "We might be looked at as the dregs of society," she called out, grinning when everyone groaned and booed at her. "But, damnit, we know how to party."
The pub cheered and raised their glasses.
"So, no matter how much we might disagree from time to time, I'm glad to call everyone here my family," she continued. "A toast to all of you! For being the best low-class bastards in all of Earthland!"
"Here here!" Gildarts shouted, with the crowd echoing his cheer.
Erik laughed and made his way to Lucy's table, his gaze raking over her black tube top that highlighted her toned arms and stomach, and the torn denim shorts that sat dangerously low on her hips. He finally saw the shining metal prosthetic leg that he'd heard about on the news. Honestly, Erik had been surprised to learn that she'd lost a limb in Alvarez. And seeing it in person only made him realize that this woman was definitely a hero. And maybe just a little crazy, considering she'd run head-on into enemy fire to save her comrades. He watched Lucy chug her beer, smirking up at her when she finally pulled the mug away from her plump lips. Their eyes met. The last thing he'd expected was for her to squeal at the sight of him.
"Bunny, watch out!" Gajeel laughed. "Y'know yer balance is shit."
Half a second later, Lucy toppled off the table. Erik threw his arms out on instinct and caught her without spilling his beer, grinning down at her when he saw her eyes tightly clenched while she waited for the harsh impact of her ass on the ground.
"Ah," Lucy laughed, opening her eyes to look up at him. "My gallant knight has come to save me again."
Erik rolled his eye at her and carefully set her on the ground. "I'm no knight," he said. "Just a skeezy uptight lawyer, according to my clients."
Lucy laughed loudly at that, waving to Macbeth and Sorano and dragging Erik into a seat beside her. "Who would say something so mean?"
"You," he deadpanned. Erik took a sip of his beer. "Just yesterday when I had to drive to the rec center and tell you that you need to get a new phone, so I don't have to drive here every time I have to talk to you about your case."
Lucy shrugged at him. "No phone bill is a nice thing, though," she said. Then she smirked. "And maybe I like making you work hard."
"Is that so?" Erik kept his gaze trained on her. The flush on her cheeks and her half-lidded eyes. The small scar on her chin that she'd told him was from shrapnel in the mortar attack that took her leg. Because he was so busy looking at Lucy, he didn't notice the way Gajeel, Levy, Macbeth, and Sorano all snickered at his obvious infatuation. Because Erik was under the misguided impression that he was good at hiding his interest in someone.
"Yep," Lucy whispered. Her smile turned more devious and she propped her elbows on the table. She leaned just a hair closer to Erik. "I like making your poor vegetarian body trudge through my city, you sad little tree hugger."
"This is the weirdest foreplay I've ever seen," Macbeth said, leaning over to Gajeel.
Levy giggled and shook her head. "This is nothing. You should've seen what happened when she had a crush on this boxer who came to town."
Sorano raised an eyebrow at her. "That sounds sexy."
"Yeah, until Bunny went a round with him in the ring and knocked out two of his teeth," Gajeel chuckled. When they turned as one to look back at the suddenly silent duo, all four friends laughed loudly at the sight of Lucy holding Erik in place while she kissed him senseless.
"Get some, Major!" Gildarts catcalled, drawing the other patrons' attention to Lucy's table. The Fairy Tail pub was filled with louder cheers than before when Lucy straddled Erik in his seat and his hands instantly sought out her bare waist to pull her closer while her tongue plunged between his lips.
"I have a feeling she will!" Macbeth called out, leaning back to raise his mug to Gildarts.
Without looking, Erik reached over and gave Macbeth a quick, painful nipple twist that had his best friend letting out a shriek. Still, based on the way Lucy hummed as her beer-flavored tongue toyed with his, gave Erik the impression that she just might be dragging him into the nearest bathroom to get her rocks off.
If Erik was being honest, he wasn't opposed to that.
The following morning, Erik woke up in Lucy's two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her grandfather, naked and alone in her bed. He smelled cheap coffee being brewed and eggs being cooked.
He couldn't really remember most of the night before after he and Lucy had kissed. He did remember a lot of drinking at Fairy Tail, and tossing his keys to Macbeth at some point while saying he'd call a cab. And he remembered stumbling into her front door and laughing while he kissed her shoulder and groped her chest. He vaguely remembered her telling him to keep it down because her grandfather was sleeping. And that he should've been the one telling her to keep it down because she was loud in bed. But, if he recalled correctly, she'd been sexy as hell when he pulled her prosthetic off while burying his face between her legs.
"Morning."
Erik opened his eye and sent a tired smile her way. He forced himself to sit up, keeping her sheet over his hips while he watched her walk further into the small room. He could tell that the only piece of clothing on her was the thin cotton robe she pulled a little tighter over her chest. "Morning, gorgeous," he chuckled.
The way Lucy ducked her head slightly had Erik itching to drag her back into the bed. Except his body was sore, and he was positive that his headache was only the first stirrings of a massive hangover from so much drinking the night before. Luckily, she sat down beside him, and didn't shy away when his thin lips pressed a tender kiss to her jaw. Lucy hadn't been shy in the slightest the night before, but when he felt the heat on her cheek as he kissed it, Erik started to wonder if maybe the alcohol had made her a little more forward than she usually was. Unlike her, he was very open with his affection. If it made her uncomfortable though, then he would tone it down.
"If you're interested in some eggs and shitty coffee for breakfast, Gramps cooked," she said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do vegetarians eat eggs?"
"Sure. Unfertilized chicken eggs are fine by me, since they're not an actual animal that I'm eating," he said. He lifted a hand and gently turned her face toward his. "But only after you let me know how I'm supposed to act when I'm out there."
Her thin brows furrowed the longer she looked at him. "How you should act?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "Like… can I do this?" Erik smirked and reached down to lace his fingers with hers. "Or this?" He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, smiling a little more widely when she drew back as stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Well, Gramps isn't really under the impression that I was alone last night," she said. "And as soon as he sees you, he'll know exactly who you are."
"You mean, your lawyer?" Erik asked, his eyebrow raised.
It was her turn to laugh. "No, I mean from the protest. In fact, don't bring up anything about the lawsuit."
"Easy enough," he said with a shrug. They were still fighting to collect all the evidence they needed, and his legal team was scouring through hundreds of hours of video footage, including the recently acquired security camera footage from the police station parking garage - where the officer had crushed Sorano's phone - and the booking room where Sorano had coughed up blood on her fingerprints.
"But, I guess…" Lucy bit her lips and held his hand a little more tightly. "I guess this is okay?"
"Noted," he hummed, brushing his nose over her shoulder. "We should probably get dressed."
Lucy nodded and leaned over to close her door more fully. Erik tried his best not to stare as she removed her robe and walked the short distance to her scuffed secondhand dresser. It was difficult not to. Her body was a fucking treasure, so toned and slender in all the right places with her wide hips that swayed with every step and voluptuous chest that he hadn't been able to help but bury his face in as soon as he'd gotten her top off. He stood and searched the dull brown carpet for his boxers and jeans. While pulling up his pants, he heard her take a breath to speak, reconsider it, and then let out a quiet sigh.
She turned to face him once she had her bra and panties on. "Erik…"
He looked over at her instead of searching for his shirt, then froze. Good fucking god, she was delectable. How did a set of lingerie somehow make her look more alluring? It wasn't expensive and lacy, just a simple mismatched beige bra and black thong. And still, it stole his breath just by virtue of being on her.
"You don't need to pretend you still want to see me," she said, fiddling with a pair of olive green shorts.
He was officially confused. Both by what she said, and why the hell she would think he wouldn't want to see her again. Their professional relationship aside, he was more than willing to admit (in his head) that he thought about her all the time. He'd caught himself daydreaming about waking up in bed with her on more than one occasion. He could only assume his confusion was visible to her because she let out a heavy sigh that dropped her shoulders in defeat.
"I'm not gonna pretend I'm some high class Upper girl," she said. "I'm Lower, and that's never been a problem before. But, well… You're Upper, born and raised. So, you don't need to put on a show and act like being here doesn't disgust you."
Erik blinked and stared at her. "Huh?"
Lucy shook her head and bent down to slide her shorts over her prosthetic leg, then her real leg, and pulled them up quickly. "All I'm saying is that a one-night stand is fine. Don't pussyfoot around and lead me to think it's more than that," she said. "Just be honest."
"I'm lost," he said. Erik abandoned finding his shirt in favor of taking the two steps that separated them in her tightly packed bedroom. He took her hands in his and looked at her profile when she turned away from him. "Lucy, what are you talking about?"
"I saw the high-rise building you live in," she said softly. "Seriously, I don't get why you'd literally wanna slum it with me when-"
"Whoa," he said. "Back the fuck up." She jolted in surprise to stare at him. He wasn't exactly angry, but he was sure his face was doing that thing that Macbeth always gave him shit for - his resting murder face. It wasn't intentional, though. It was just something he'd naturally inherited from his biological father, Acnologia. "Aside from my curiosity over you knowing where I live-"
"Rogue owed me a favor," she interjected.
That explained everything, then. Except why she would waste a favor from that hacker fuck on finding out where Erik lived. "I'm more curious about where you'd get the impression that I'm some shallow fucksicle that would give a shit about where you live."
"Well, for one, I live with my grandfather," she said.
"From my understanding, your grandfather needs you," he countered. "He can't live on his own, right?"
She fidgeted slightly under his stare. "Well, no," she said. "I mean, he probably could, but… I feel better knowing that he's being taken care of."
"And this is the apartment you've lived in your whole life," he said.
She winced and stared at the floor. "It's a dump," she muttered. "Erik-"
"And if I hadn't been adopted by the Vivas', then it's just as likely that I would've grown up in Lower, too," he said. That got her attention real fast. He gave her a small smile and pulled his phone from his back pocket, then showed her his lock screen. A picture of him and his parents at the beach, building a sandcastle just a couple weeks before the protest he'd met Lucy at. His five foot nothing mother with her pale skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, and his six-five father with bright red hair and freckles and skin that was so white it was nearly translucent. It was obvious to anyone who looked at them that he was adopted. "They adopted me from Lower, Lucy. I don't have any memories of living here, where you grew up, and I grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood. But I was raised to respect a person based on their actions, not where they're from."
Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she stared at his screen.
"So, just because you live here, and you have your life here, doesn't mean I'm gonna go running out to sanitize myself or some other stupid shit like that."
"There are rats in the building," she breathed.
He smirked. "I can add suing your landlord to my workload."
"The AC doesn't turn off, and the building's always below 60 degrees, even in the winter."
"I own a wide range of thermal shirts," he chuckled. "And I'm not opposed to throw blankets."
"The carpets are stained, and they haven't been replaced in 30 years."
"Are you trying to scare me off?" he asked. "Shit like that isn't gonna make me leave."
"You should," she breathed, looking into his eye again. "You'd be better off with someone else. I won't leave Lower, Erik. So if you have any notions about sweeping me off my feet and taking me to a better life in Upper, like some fucked up Pretty Woman shit, then-"
"Why the hell would I do that?" he laughed. "Lucy, I know this place is your home. But I'm not interested in having a relationship with your apartment."
"Why are you interested in having a relationship with me?"
He grinned and stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his chest. "Because you're feisty," he whispered. "And you make me laugh. You surprise the hell out of me. And I'm 98 percent sure you could kick my ass."
"And is that a weird turn-on of yours?" she giggled.
"When it's a woman as beautiful as you?" His grip on her waist tightened marginally, and he bit his lip when her fingers danced over his stomach. The quick fluttering touch had his breath trembling only slightly as a flash of a memory from the night before returned to him. A memory of Lucy groping his abs as he pistoned into her and moaning about how sexy his muscles were. "I'd say yes."
"I'm damaged goods, Erik," she said with a sad smile. "How can I be sure your interest in me isn't just some residual you saved my life feelings?"
"Well, finding out about your leg didn't change my perception of you," he said. "Aside from realizing you're more of a badass than I'd thought."
Lucy rolled her eyes at that.
"And, while I don't like admitting it, I had a hard time not noticing you at the protest," he added. His hands drifted lower to gently cup her ass. "Granted, that was before you started calling me a bitchbun. But that mouth of yours is also a turn on."
She snorted and rolled her eyes again. "My mouth is probably the only thing that we have in common."
"Lucy?" her grandfather called out from down the short hall leading to the kitchen and living room. "Your eggs are getting cold."
"Coming, Gramps," she called back. She stepped back from Erik's hold and turned to grab a crumpled tank top from her dresser. She glanced back at him and smirked. "He won't tell us twice to hurry the hell up."
"Noted," Erik laughed. He continued his search for his shirt from the night before, then quickly pulled it over his head. Once they were fully dressed, he pulled her to a gentle stop before she could open the door. "I feel like you have the wrong impression about me," he said. "If you'd like, I can show you what my apartment actually looks like. The outside is fancy, but I'm a bit of a pack rat."
She grinned back at him and opened the door. "You mean the beaded hippie curtain and your weird as hell dining table?"
Erik stared at her.
"I told you, Rogue owed me a favor," she laughed, dragging him out of her room. "I didn't just mean a street view."
Erik failed to hide his surprise at the realization that Lucy had already seen the mismatched travesty that was his idea of decorating. He found it to be a soothing aesthetic, but everyone else said it was stressful to look at. Still, though, when he took a quick glance around her apartment, it was also a mish-mash of styles and decorations that made it feel much more lived in. And that's what he liked. By the time he reached the small card table that Lucy and her grandfather used as a dining table, covered with a vinyl Christmas-themed tablecloth, he'd finally composed himself. He offered her grandfather a smile and quiet, "Good morning, Mr. Dreyar."
"Oh, call me Gramps, my boy," the older man laughed. "I haven't been Mr. Dreyar in 40 years."
"Everyone calls him Gramps," Lucy said, smiling over at Erik. "He's pretty much the honorary parental figure for everyone who hangs out at Fairy Tail."
"Then, good morning, Gramps," Erik chuckled. He didn't mention the strange texture of the eggs as he took a bite. And he didn't say a word about how he could taste the difference between the vegetable oil "butter" spread they used for the toast that clearly wasn't pure unsalted whipped butter like what he had in his refrigerator. Instead, he looked around the simple apartment, overlooking the visible patches on the worn corduroy couch, and smiled when he saw a little ceramic angel sitting on a shelf. "Is that a Precious Moments figure?"
Lucy smiled while looking at the figurine. "Yeah," she said, a touch of wistfulness in her voice. "My mom loved them."
"Lucy's father gave that to Layla when he learned that she was pregnant," Gramps said. "He said it was a guardian angel for their lucky little Lucy."
Erik's smile softened when he looked back at Lucy. "I've got the same one in my room," he said. "My mom bought it when I was adopted." The gentle flush on Lucy's cheeks had Erik setting his attention on his eggs and toast again. He didn't see the way her grandfather watched them both while texting Gajeel under the table.
You were right. These two are adorable. How long should I wait before trying to get great-grandbabies out of them?
Two weeks later, Lucy got a text on her brand new phone - because Erik had convinced her grandfather to badger her about having it in case of an emergency - from her doting (and conniving) lawyer. Her boyfriend.
What if you talked with Gajeel on his podcast?
She'd still refused to make any statements to the media, but with how high tensions had run, Erik wanted her to make some sort of statement. So, that's where Gajeel came in. She could be more comfortable by being a guest on his podcast, and that could be shared online for media outlets to discuss. So she agreed to do it. The following Wednesday, she sat on Gajeel's couch with Erik sitting next to her, fiddling with the headphones Gajeel let him borrow.
It started off simple enough. Gajeel welcomed his usual 500 listeners to the show and clicked a few buttons on his computer screen to pull up the list of live members in the audience. Over 3,000 people had tuned in to hear Lucy speak. Then he introduced his guests, Major Lucy Heartfilia and badass lawyer Erik Vivas. He gave a brief overview of the events at the protest for anyone who had been living under a rock and didn't know what the hell had happened.
Then Gajeel turned to Lucy. "Protests started because of you gettin' locked up," he said to her. "And it's grown since then with more accounts of unnecessary police brutality all over the country. The news has gone fuckin' wild over you not makin' a statement, but you've agreed to come on my show today to talk about it. So, what's up, Bunny?"
Lucy laughed. "I thought I told you not to call me that on here, you goob," she said, earning a shit-eating grin from Gajeel. "But the way I look at it, this has never been about me, specifically. I did what needed to be done, because I saw someone had been hurt, and I didn't want the violence to continue."
"And you got maced right in the face for it," Gajeel said. "Videos have blown up over you keepin' yer eyes open and spitting mace in the officer's face."
Lucy laughed at that. "When I was a drill sergeant, I had to run the gas training chambers for recruits."
"What the fuck?" Erik asked, his eye blowing wide.
"Right there with you, Erik," Gajeel said, horrified.
Lucy shook her head. "It's training for recruits to practice putting a gas mask on," she said. "They stand in a gas chamber, and we pump tear gas into it. Their job is to breathe out and get their masks on without vomiting. I would do it with them, as an example of how it's supposed to be done."
Gajeel blinked repeatedly at that. "So, because of that, you weren't affected by the mace?"
"Oh, it's still annoying," she said. "But when I reenlisted, I did it in the gas chamber. No mask."
"Why?" Erik asked. "That's psychotic."
"Mira bet me 50 bucks that I couldn't do it," she said with a shrug. "So I had to say my reenlistment speech and the commissioned officer speech while hacking up a lung from tear gas. Pretty sure it's online somewhere."
Gajeel laughed quietly and looked down to the comments that appeared on his computer screen. "Looks like Rogue's in the chat," he said. "It's online, and we'll be adding a link to the video once we upload the transcript on the website."
"Still, tear gas is stronger than mace, even the standard issue stuff for police," Lucy laughed. "So, in comparison, it wasn't that bad."
"I still can't believe you spit it in his face," Erik said.
Lucy smiled over at him. "The way I look at it, if you're gonna spray someone with mace, then you should be able to take it too."
"Speaking of that officer," Gajeel said, his face growing serious, "I know you've stayed quiet on yer feelings about what's happened since that day. What do you think about the officers involved just being under investigation?"
"The one who shot Erik should be brought up on charges," she said firmly. "He used that weapon incorrectly, and intentionally caused harm during a peaceful protest. Erik was arguing with me, and I didn't fear for my life." She let out a heavy sigh then. "I mean, sure, emotions were running high. We were on different sides of the argument, and we both believed we were right. But just because Erik got pushed into their little no-fly zone doesn't mean he deserved to be shot in the face with a rubber bullet, or for me to be maced after the fact just because I stood in the way while he was bleeding on the ground. He didn't deserve to have racial slurs thrown at him. No one deserves that."
"And the other officers who tased you?" Gajeel asked. "People have been saying it's a problem with police, overall."
"I have a few friends who are cops, both civilian and military," she said. "I know my friends aren't bad people, and I'm sure there are plenty of officers who take their oath to serve and protect seriously, and do it with equality. I want to believe those officers that acted that way at the protest are outliers. I want to believe that most cops are good."
"But, do you?" Gajeel asked.
"There are shitty people everywhere," Lucy said. "In every job. The problem lies in whether those around the shitty people keep them from causing harm to themselves or others. When I was over in Alvarez, if we had a shitbag in the ranks, it could get the whole unit killed if they got trigger-happy. Unfortunately, it happened a few times."
"I will say that there are good officers in the precinct here," Erik interjected. "The booking officer was the one, according to Sorano, who demanded they be taken to a hospital. He was trying to do the right thing just from seeing that they were hurt."
"I can't speak to any of the other videos that have come out since I jumped in to protect Erik," Lucy said. "I don't know all the details on those. But I can say, in this situation, it was either a lack of training on the officers' part, or a lack of proper assessment to make sure he was a suitable officer in the first place. I don't care if he was jumpy or nervous, or whatever other bullshit has been said. It was obvious to anyone watching that Erik posed no threat. I posed no threat. He was on a power trip, and he took it out on me when I didn't back down."
"A lot of people have asked why you protected Erik in the first place," Gajeel said. "Videos have come out from before the shitstorm that shows you two arguing with each other."
"Just because I disagree with someone's views on the Tartaros factory being built, doesn't mean I'll stand by when they're hurt. I'd never met Erik before that day. I didn't know whether I could do much without getting arrested. But he was hurt, and I wasn't afraid. I've faced worse overseas."
"That's the fuckin' truth," Gajeel said with a somber laugh. "The press has gone to town talkin' about how you lost your leg."
"Full on Rambo, over here," Erik chuckled.
"For my listeners who might not know," Gajeel said. "Lucy here ran right through a minefield to save three of the soldiers under her command. She lost her leg in a mortar attack while carrying the last one to safety, and still was able to drag both herself and him away."
"That was a different time, and a very different situation, Gajeel," she laughed. "I'm not special. This protest isn't about me in the slightest, but I hope that anyone who sees what I did understands that there's more work to be done here. I don't hate the police. I don't even hate the officers who acted out of line. I have loved ones who are officers, and take their oath to serve and protect seriously, and they do it with equality."
She paused and smiled at Erik, who laced their fingers together under the table and gently squeezed her hand.
"And I have loved ones who will always stand up against injustice, fight for the marginalized, even if it costs them an eye. What I hope for, is that one day, we can be free of the discord in our country. That we can come together and quell corruption at its source. I used my privilege to keep a man who had been a stranger to me just that morning from being hurt more than he already had been. I hope, one day, that privilege won't exist. All I hope is that, one day, we'll all be equal."