Lucy flinched as another thud echoed through the empty living room. She eyed the fireplace warily, wondering if hail or whatever was making that incessant noise was going to fall down the chimney and make a mess of the place. Natsu and the others were currently at dinner, and she was making good use of her first night off in a while by reading a good book by the roaring fire. A History of the Trade Wars of Ishgar sat in her lap, a thick enough volume that it could potentially be used as a weapon should something come barging into the room. Not that anything would. Damn, she really needed to stop reading thriller novels at night.
The thud came again. She slammed her book closed, glaring at the wall. "Can't there just be some peace and quiet for more than five minutes?!" She pushed the blanket off of her lap and rose to her feet, taking a moment to adjust the wrinkled dress she'd worn for the past two days. She hated it, but after destroying one of only three uniforms, she really had no choice but to reuse the same outfit for several days before switching. Her hair was in no better state than her dress, but she had plans to use Natsu's shower tonight and tame the wild strands.
Ignoring the way her legs went weak at the thought of the hot water, she stalked toward the far wall, listening for the next thud. She didn't have to wait long. Her head whipped to the side, locking on the velvet drapes covering the left window. She crept forward, slowly pulling back the drapes to peek out the window at the still snowy landscape. Although the blizzard had finally died down a few days ago, Mak had assured them that the piles of snow and ice would likely remain for at least another month or two. She shuddered, memories of her wayward adventure worming their way to the forefront of her mind.
As she stared out the window, there was absolutely nothing she could see that might have been responsible for the disturbance. She rolled her eyes and let the drape fall back in place right as another loud thud banged on the opposite window. Someone had to be messing with her. What other possible explanation could there be?
Forcing down the urge to scream, she crossed the hearth, slipping off her left shoe and hoisting it up as a weapon. Before she could lose her nerve, she threw the drape to the side, pointing her shoe at the vast blackness of the night. It made perfect sense that when she caught sight of a shape outside of the third floor window, she actually screamed, stumbling backward and letting the curtain fall back down again.
The thudding persisted, and only now did she recognize the sound for what it was: knocking. It grew faster and stronger for the five seconds she stared at the window, hand pressed against her heart even as the organ leapt wildly in her chest. And then her senses returned.
She pushed the drape to the side, scanning the windowsill for the blue shape she had just seen. It was still there, although this time she realized a second shape stood beside the first, it's white fur blending into the background of snowy fields. Lucy grinned, letting her shoe drop as she reached for the lock keeping the window in place.
After several long minutes of fighting with the frozen tracks, Lucy finally managed to break the seal, hauling the heavy window upwards about one foot. Fierce wind and a few loose snowflakes immediately greeted her, threatening to blow out the sconces along the back wall. She grunted out a "Hurry!" before letting the window slam back into place, narrowly missing the tail of a certain blue Exceed. She flicked the lock and pulled the drapes back into place before turning to greet the two friends she hadn't seen in almost a month.
"Happy! Carla! Oh it's so great to see you again!"
Happy threw himself against Lucy's leg, shivering fiercely and wailing loudly. "Lucy! Why'd you take so long to open the window?! It was so, so, so cold out there!"
"Shut up, cat! You have no idea how terrifying it was to hear a thud against the wall every ten seconds! I thought you were some monsters not just crazy Exceeds who can't seem to wait until it's light outside to scare the shit out of me." Lucy rolled her eyes, picking the Exceed up and cradling him against her chest. She smiled down at Carla, noting the bedraggled state of her fur and clothes. "The fire's been going strong all day. I'll see if someone can bring up some food and hot chocolate, alright?"
Carla hummed, shaking her paws to get some life back into them even as she started walking toward Wendy's darkened room. Lucy cut her off, sweeping Carla into her arms and depositing both Exceeds on the couch she had just recently vacated. "Wendy and the others are at dinner right now. Don't worry, she's all better now."
"Oh that's great news!" Carla exclaimed, pulling a nearby blanket over her lap. Happy snuggled against the same one, delighted when Carla simply scoffed instead of shooing him away. "When did she recover? Was it something Evia did?"
Lucy laughed slightly, moving toward the door. "Uh, it's kinda a long story. Let me get some food for you guys first. I'll be right back. Oh, Carla, Wendy still keeps your clothes in the closet. You look like you might want to change."
When the Celestial Spirit mage returned to the apartment, Happy and Carla lay sprawled on pillows they had dragged to rest on the hearthstones, Carla's dress and Happy's bag lying flat nearby to dry. Both dozed contentedly, Happy coming to life when the smell of food hit his nose.
"Oh thanks for the yummy food Lucy!" Lucy smiled, setting the tray down on the pillow between the pair. Carla thanked her as well, reaching for one of the small mugs of hot chocolate. Happy dug into the platters with all the ferocity of his best friend, reminding the blonde why she tended to stay a good couple feet from her friends when they ate.
Lucy threw herself back down on the couch, content to wait until the rest of their team returned in what would hopefully be only a few minutes. A weight disappeared from her chest as she watched the Exceeds, and she finally realized just how worried she had been about her friends until that moment. She smiled, opening her book and picking up where she left off.
The three of them were chatting easily when the door swung open with a bang. Lucy glanced up with an exasperated smile, finding Natsu and Wendy coming through the doorway with Gray and Erza close behind.
"Natsu!" Happy wailed, throwing himself across the room. Natsu caught him with a surprise look before grinning.
"Hey little buddy! Long time no see!"
Carla was more dignified in her response, brushing the crumbs off of her fur before hurrying to Wendy. Both had tears in their eyes as they met, Wendy hugging Carla fiercely in the middle of the room. Gray grinned, kicking the door closed behind him as Erza beamed widely. "Oh this is wonderful. It's good to have you both back with us!"
Carla sniffed, wiping at her eyes with a paw as Wendy stood, still clutching the Exceed against her chest. "It's good to be back. I've been worried sick about you Wendy. But you're okay. You're better than okay."
Wendy nodded, slipping onto the couch next to Lucy with a trembling smile. "It's all thanks to Lucy. I probably wouldn't be here without her." Carla and Happy both looked over at Lucy who was beginning to squirm self-consciously.
"We don't need to talk about that," she mumbled, flinching reflexively when Natsu dropped his arm around her shoulders, flopping onto the couch beside her. Happy crawled into her lap, enjoying the warmth and comfort she brought.
"Oh come on Lucy," Gray said. He and Erza had claimed the armchairs by the fire, and now he lounged across the seat in a way that would make any carpenter grimace. "I don't know why you're so opposed to talking about it."
"It's not that I'm against it, I just don't wanna. It's not that big of a deal anyway. I just did what I had to do."
"Please Lucy? You're gonna have to tell us sometime." Lucy looked down at Happy, the Exceed pleading to the best of his abilities.
"We have missed a lot," Carla added, "and we would like to be caught up as best as possible."
Lucy groaned, throwing up her arms in defeat and nailing Natsu squarely in the jaw. He grumbled, rubbing his chin with a halfhearted glare. Happy snickered even as Lucy hurriedly apologized. Then she squared her shoulders and began retelling the tale of her misbegotten adventure.
She spoke for the better part of half an hour, filling Happy and Carla in on almost everything they'd missed. As much as she hated talking about her own actions, she knew it was simply preparation for telling Lennox and the rest of Fairy Tail once this godforsaken quest was over and done with. And who knew when that would actually happen?
As she talked, Wendy and Natsu interjected every so often when she tried to downplay a certain detail of what she'd done, and Gray and Erza offered any information she'd forgotten or left out. When they arrived to the point when they'd told Evia and Mak everything, Carla immediately had objections.
"Why on Earthland would you just spill everything to a pair of strangers? I understand that they were instrumental to Wendy's recovery, but couldn't you have just lied or told them parts of the truth? Did you really have to give our entire life stories?"
"I believe it was necessary," Erza stated plainly. "It needed to be done. Besides, all of us are sick and tired of the lies. Shouldn't you be happy that you don't have to hide next time either one of them comes here?"
Carla sighed, clearly still unhappy but seeing the reasoning behind the requip mage's madness. Erza nodded at Lucy, motioning for her to continue.
How I got roped into being the spokesperson beats me, Lucy grumbled internally. But she continued, floundering for a few moments as she tried to remember what exactly happened next.
Finally, finally, Lucy finished. She stopped with a sigh, leaning against Natsu's arm subconsciously. Happy sniggered when he caught the movement, especially when he saw Natsu pull her a fraction tighter. They're in love, he crooned to himself, for once having the foresight to not shout his thoughts to the world. Carla noticed as well, and a curl of suspicion went through her. Are they a couple? No, Wendy definitely would've said something by now. Have we just been gone for too long that I forgot how they act around one another? Or is Natsu a lot clingier than usual?
"You know, now that everything is actually out there, a shit ton has happened this past month," Gray commented, still lounging on the chair. Erza too had slipped from her rigid posture to something more relaxed, even if it was much straighter than Gray's. Her teal dress sat pulled up around her knees, shoes sitting by the base of her armchair, and her fingers ran through her hair as she lazily detangled the scarlet strands.
Wendy nodded in agreement, Lucy leaning even more into Natsu's side. The Fire Dragon shot his blue buddy a glance, curiosity spiraling up until it could no longer be contained.
"So? We told you everything, now you gotta tell us!"
Lucy laughed, poking Happy in the stomach and making the Exceed squirm. "Natsu's right Happy. Fess up. What happened to the two of you since you guys left?"
Happy shrugged, looking over at the empty tray of food. His mouth began to salivate as he thought about all of the yummy fishies he'd been missing for so long. Lucy poked him again, and he reluctantly looked away. "I mean nothing really happened."
"We got to Seck, shared all of the information we had, then when we woke up the next morning it was snowing. The tomcat refused to wait even though Seck warned us that we had to wait the blizzard out." Carla glared at her fellow Exceed, watching him squirm uncomfortably. "It took him a good week to thaw out."
"I already said I was sorry," Happy muttered. "But I was worried about Wendy! And I just wanted to get back here. It was really weird to be without you guys for so long." As if to emphasize his point, he wiggled over to Natsu's lap, his friend's hand landing reassuringly on his head.
Carla huffed half-heartedly even as she pressed herself tighter against the healthy young girl holding her. She wouldn't admit it to the tomcat, but she had been just as anxious to return. There was only so much sitting around and waiting for a blizzard to finally blow over that one could do. Especially when one's companion was a lovesick cat who was also one of the most foolish Exceeds one could ever be stuck with. Still, it hadn't been all bad. And being here again, in the arms of her best friend, she really couldn't find anything to object to.
A short chapter after everything that's been going on, but important nonetheless! Hope you enjoy!