The pain in Lucy's body woke her. Everything hurt but she couldn't remember why. Thinking made the spinning in her head worse, so she stopped trying to focus on the fuzzy memories. When she managed to crack her eyes open, there was hardly enough light to see anything around her, but even the small amount of light made her skull feel like it might split.
She lay flat on her back as she felt around with her hands. Moving her right arm caused pain so intense she almost lost consciousness again. Her senses were overwhelmed with shooting pain, nausea and dizziness threatening to take her back under. When she'd calmed her labored breathing enough to gain control of her thoughts, she realized her arm was probably broken. She lay still for a bit longer until she felt confident moving wouldn't make things worse.
Eventually, she resumed her hunt for clues on her whereabouts with only her left arm. The rocks stabbing into her back and dirt beneath her hand told her she was on the ground somewhere. The aching throughout her body likely meant she'd hit something pretty hard before falling on the ground. Not uncommon for a job with Team Natsu. Wait – Natsu. Where was Natsu? Hadn't she been with him and Happy?
Lucy sat up, cradling her right arm protectively as she looked around in search of her partner and his cat. Seeing something that looked like a human shaped lump a few feet to her left side, the blonde scooted towards it. The space was too small to stand, with hardly enough room to stretch her body out fully while lying down. She was forced to scoot along on her backside using only her left arm for support since her right was out of commission. Each inch she gained in what she hoped was Natsu's direction sent a jolt of pain through her body, but she was determined to find her best friend.
As she moved, the fuzzy memories started filtering through the fog in her mind – the pack of wyverns they'd been fighting had been close to being wiped out when a small one tried to escape through an opening in the cliff wall. The rocks had collapsed over her, Natsu and the wyvern - which she hoped was not the body she was inching towards. She was pretty sure she remembered Happy screaming a terrified warning as the rocks fell, so he was probably safe somewhere outside this mess.
After what felt like hours to her pained muscles, she finally made it over to the prone form and felt around to make sure it was Natsu. The first contact she made told her it was definitely a human, and a few more pats confirmed it was Natsu. The bare torso was obviously male and way too hot to be anyone else that wasn't deathly sick with fever, plus the scarf around his neck could only belong to one person.
"Natsu, get up. I think we're trapped beneath a pile of rocks." She shook his shoulder as she whispered, but he didn't move. "Seriously, Natsu, get up. This isn't the best time for a nap."
His lack of movement made her chest flutter with panic. Natsu never went down for long. Why wasn't he waking up? Lucy continued talking to him and tapping on his chest, growing more frantic by the second when he still didn't move. Her breath started coming in pants as fear blossomed. Natsu must have been hurt pretty badly when the rocks fell, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness. Now that she desperately needed light, it seemed even darker in the enclosed space. She tried to stay calm and not imagine all the terrible injuries he could have, but she couldn't seem to control herself. The pain in her body mixed with anxiety to create a level of panic she hadn't felt since breaking Aquarius' key. She couldn't lose another friend! She didn't think she'd survive it.
Placing her ear against his chest, she confirmed his heart was still beating and she could feel his chest moving against her head, so he was breathing well enough. At least, she hoped so. She wasn't really sure what a normal heartbeat or breathing rate was, but his didn't seem too fast or slow. A bit of the tightness in her chest eased at the realization that he would probably wake up soon. She felt around on his arms and legs for injuries, ignoring the pain in her own arm protesting all the movements she was making. It wasn't until she touched his head that her panic returned worse than before. His hair was soaked in warm, thick fluid. It felt like blood. It even smelled like blood. Now she was really scared.
She tried reaching out to her spirits with her magic but she was too exhausted. Her magic had already been low towards the end of the fighting and it seemed her injuries were preventing her from accessing whatever was left in her reserves. The keys on her hip warmed in acknowledgement, but that was all the comfort her spirits could give her for now. It looked like she would be on her own for this one.
Her next breath was a choked gasp as she realized she was completely alone. The tears she'd kept locked up tight started to flow down her cheeks and her hand flew to her mouth. She sobbed when she realized she'd just smeared her best friend's blood all over her face.
She wiped her wet hand on her skirt and did her best to hunch over to wipe away the blood. It wouldn't do her any good to get herself worked up now. She had to calm down and think with a level head.
Someone would be coming. Erza and Gray were out there somewhere and Happy should have found them by now. Even if she had only been unconscious for a few minutes, it would have been enough time for the exceed to fly over to their teammates to let them know she and Natsu were in trouble.
If only she could call Virgo to dig a tunnel, they would be out in no time. No magic meant no Virgo. Fighting off a hoard of monsters will do that to a girl. All her magic had wandered off somewhere.
Ugh, her thoughts were starting to not make any sense. She really should lie back down before she passed out again.
Lucy eased herself back down to the ground next to her partner. She tried to pretend he was just sleeping instead of unconscious from an injury. Panicking wouldn't do her any favors. She was scared, though, so she reached out with her good hand and grasped his warm one. He didn't squeeze back but that was ok. His skin was still hot so he was still alive. With her injured arm laid gently over her stomach, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to stay calm until help arrived.
XX
Cobra was bored. Really fucking bored. Bored enough to see how little poison was needed to melt things – rocks, sticks, grass, beetles – nothing was safe from the wrath of his boredom. Crime Sorciere had been aimlessly wandering around the wilderness for more than a week. Everyone knew Jellal was actually waiting for his red haired honey to show up after her team's job request was complete, but their leader was still holding to his lie that the group was pursuing a lead on a dark guild.
Cobra loosely kept tabs on the Fairy Tail mages with his magic to make sure he had adequate warning of their arrival. They were only about half a mile away, not that Cobra had offered that information to Jellal. The love sick blueberry would've had their group rushing off to assist the other mages with a simple job they could handle on their own. He'd been listening to the sounds of an unnecessarily violent battle for awhile now, so the group of Fairies should be finished soon. He planned to be long gone before the happy troupe of love and friendship showed up. Especially before the blonde one could spot him. He needed to stay far away from her. Her kind heart and friendly smile had polluted his mind so badly that he couldn't erase her from his thoughts.
"If you melt much more of the nearby foliage, the locals will need to worry about poison seeping into the underground water supply." Midnight helpfully offered as he watched an innocent bush melt into nothingness on the ground.
"You're right." Cobra sighed in a resigned tone, and then turned a devious look on his friend. He raised one hand, toxic fumes rising menacingly from his fingertips. "Maybe I should find something else to entertain me. I wonder if I could melt holes in that fur coat of yours without burning your skin?"
Midnight narrowed his eyes, body tensed as if he were ready to run at the first sign of poison heading his way. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh, but I would. Do you know how much sleep I got last night?" True irritation entered Cobra's voice. Midnight swallowed nervously, eyeing the growing fumes closely. "I finally dozed off just before midnight, only to be woken by the disturbing sound of you fucking your hyperactive girlfriend. That's not even the worst of it. Hearing you tell Meredy you wanted her to –"
Cobra's tirade stopped abruptly when his head whipped to the side as he listened for a moment, and then he took of running in the direction he'd been staring.
"What the hell?" Midnight muttered to himself as he watched Cobra disappear from view. Before he could think much more of his friend's strange behavior, he heard Cobra shout, "Tell Jellal his woman is in trouble."
Cobra focused on Midnight's soul just long enough to be sure the Reflector Mage had passed along the message. Not that it was true, exactly, but it would definitely get Jellal into action quickly. He would probably get shit from Midnight about the lie, but it didn't matter. Crime Sorciere needed to get to the site of the collapse before Titantia and the ice guy acted on their stupid idea to hack through the fallen boulders. Cobra tried not to question himself too much. Taking off to help someone in need wasn't really his style, but he owed the blonde – or at least that's what he told himself.
It didn't take long to cover the half mile distance. The problem he encountered was the giant pile of debris blocking his path. The rock slide had covered more ground than he'd anticipated, closing the path through the canyon ahead. Cobra would be forced to climb over, but the delay could prove deadly for the two trapped mages. Another collapse would definitely kill them both.
Now would be a great fucking time to have a flying snake. Shit, he'd even take a flying unicorn if one popped up. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Cobra picked up on a soul he'd completely forgotten existed.
"Hey, you blue bastard! I know you saw me! Get your ass back over here." Cobra shouted at the quickly fleeing airborne feline. He could clearly hear the cat's terror of him mingling with panic over the dragon slayer trapped beneath the rocks. In what he hoped was a reassuring tone, he added, "I'm not here to kill anyone but I might change my mind if you don't fly me over this pile.
This seemed to catch the cat's attention, because he looked back toward Cobra and hesitantly drifted over. "Hurry the fuck up, would you?" Cobra struggled to tamp down on his impatience to keep the cat from taking off again. "If we don't stop your teammates' assault on the boulders, they'll crush your fire breathing friend and the blonde chick."
At those words, the cat shot towards Cobra, slamming into his chest with a loud wail. "You gotta help him! Natsu's stuck and Lushy, too!"
Disgust nearly overwhelmed Cobra when he pulled the sobbing cat off his chest and a string of slobbery snot followed along. "I fucking know that. Get yourself together and stop using my shirt as a tissue or you'll be licking this shit off."
Happy nodded and mumbled an apology, then gave Cobra a hopeful look. "So you'll help?"
"Damn it, yes! I've been saying that all along. Can we go now?"
Cobra was relieved to find traveling by cat didn't cause him motion sickness. Without the distraction, he was able to focus on the souls nearby, adding an inner narrative to the scene he could now see before him.
No no no no Natsu Lucy I can't lose you please don't leave me
I cannot fail. I must rescue my friends! This was my fault.
The red headed beast was hammering away at a large boulder while the ice guy was trying to keep his composure and freeze the boulder away. Clearly his panic was interfering with his logic, or maybe all Fairy Tail mages were just stupid.
"You two keep doing that shit and you'll kill your friends instead of rescuing them." Cobra said as way of greeting when he and Happy were near the ground. Both mages stopped and stared at the unexpected arrival.
"Cobra? What are you doing here?" Erza asked in surprise. Remembering the task at hand, her expression shifted to one of determination. "While it is always wonderful to see you, I must not be distracted. My teammates are trapped beneath this rubble and are in dire need of assistance."
Cobra didn't understand how Jellal dealt with this woman. Didn't she hear a damn word he just said? It wasn't like he was here for a social visit. He didn't visit anyone socially. The only people he dropped in on were usually dead by the time he left.
He pinched his nose and sighed, "Cat, go back across to wait for Jellal and the others. You two, get out of the way." After hearing Jellal's name, Erza was easily waived away.
Gray eyed Cobra suspiciously. He knew the mages of Crime Sorciere were no longer criminals, but that didn't mean he trusted them. He asked, "You got a plan?"
The idiocy of these people was astonishing. "Yes, I have a fucking plan. Why the hell do you think I'm here?" Damn fairies and their stupid questions.
The ice guy didn't go away like Cobra hoped but he also didn't try to stop Cobra from nearing the boulders. Thanks to his earlier boredom, Cobra had a fairly good idea which combination of poisons to use to melt away the stone in a safe manner. He had to be careful not to destroy any of the rocks supporting the weight of the others or his efforts would be for naught. He tried not to think about why the thought of the blonde chick – he refused to think of her by name – dying was disturbing to him.
After a few more seconds of deliberation, Cobra chose a section of rubble he believed could be melted away enough to crawl through without weakening the larger stones nearby. It was more like mixed debris than solid stone, so it shouldn't be part of the support base. He hoped. He raised both hands to the chosen area and allowed poison to seep slowly from his fingers. The texture of the dirt and stones began to change into something softer that seemed to melt downward to puddle onto the ground, where it hardened into a misshapen mass. A sense of relief swept over him as he realized his plan was working. None of the other rocks shifted or became unstable as he worked. It only took a few minutes to create a hole large enough to slip into.
Cobra didn't wait for anyone to give him approval. He slipped into the hole and crawled through to the small space beyond. The light shining inside showed a small overhang with two bodies beneath. It seemed the jut of solid rock in the cliff wall had saved the two mages, covering them during the avalanche of stone.
He looked over the prone bodies, assessing both for injuries. The blonde chick's forearm had a nasty break in it. He'd had broken arms and caused them, so he knew what the swollen lump meant. The fire breather didn't appear to have anything broken but smelled like fresh blood. His hair was darker than usual, more red than pink, so Cobra assumed the guy had a head injury. He had to go first, since head injuries were more serious than broken bones.
"Hey, ice guy," Cobra heard the guy mutter 'the name's Gray' but ignored him. "I'm about to pass one of them through. He's got a head injury so try not to whack his head on anything."
Cobra crouched awkwardly in the small space and worked his arms beneath Natsu's shoulders and knees. The little bastard was heavier than he looked. Hunched over as he was in the small space, the muscles in Cobra's lower back strained painfully as he lifted the weight of a limp body.
Why the hell was he doing this? He usually killed or maimed people. He never saved them. He couldn't think of a single time he went out of his way to rescue someone. When he was feeling kind, he would tell somebody else there was a person in need, but he never did the saving. What the fuck was happening to him?
Cobra turned his body and slid on his knees toward the opening in the stone. The light was blocked by another person, he assumed the ice guy, filling the opening. The two worked together to get Natsu's head and shoulders through the hole without jostling his body or the stones too much. Just outside the hole, the other mage had created a ramp of ice so they could just slide the unconscious dragon slayer to the ground. Not a bad idea for a fairy.
With one out of the way, Cobra went back to the other injured mage. She looked like shit, pale and expression contorted in pain. There was no blood but she was unconscious, so she likely had a head injury too. He couldn't control the stab of panic that surged through him at the realization she might be injured worse than he'd originally assumed.
Muttering obscenities under his breath, Cobra picked her up, glad she wasn't surprisingly heavy like her partner, and scooted toward the opening. He did his best to ignore how possessive he suddenly felt of her, how the dragon soul trapped inside him was demanding he protect her. What the fuck did that stupid lizard know, anyway? When the light in the opening was again blocked by the other guy leaning in, Cobra couldn't contain his low growl.
"What the hell is your problem? Give her here." Gray demanded impatiently.
Irritated with himself, Cobra repeated his earlier actions, ignoring the trapped soul's demands while gently passing the injured woman's head and shoulders through the opening, then maneuvering her legs through. Gray helped her slide gently down to the ground, and then Cobra followed her through.
Once on the outside and upright, Cobra looked around to see all of Crime Sorciere had been hauled over the rock pile by a now exhausted looking cat. Both injured mages were lying on gurneys – where the fuck did those come from? Titania's soul filled him in with her memory of pulling medical supplies from her requip storage. Maybe he should learn how to requip so he could hide Midnight's makeup bag when the guy pissed him off.
The injured dragon slayer had a helmet-shaped chunk of ice over his skull and a brace made of ice covered Lucy's arm - Another surprisingly good idea from the ice guy. Maybe he wasn't so bad.
Cobra left the dragon slayer to be fussed over by his undercover lover and a nurse without training, and walked over to the blonde chick to check on her. He still owed her, right? He ignored the small voice in the back of his mind saying the reason for checking on her was something else.
He tapped gently on her cheek and said, "Wake up." When she didn't respond, he tapped her cheek a few more times until he heard the stirring of her soul as she came back to consciousness. "I need you to stay alive so I can repay my debt. You can die some other time."
A small snort escaped her nose and she whispered "asshole" but didn't open her eyes.
The corner of Cobra's lips twitched in amusement. "You can keep your eyes shut if you want to pretend you're sleeping. I wouldn't want Titania caring for me either." Another snort assured him she was definitely listening. "I can hear you if you need to say something."
She was wondering where he came from, so he answered, "We weren't far off. Jellal was waiting for your team to finish the job before meeting up. The love birds have been planning an overnight camping trip for weeks."
He answered her disgusted thoughts with, "I wasn't looking forward to listening to them fuck, either."
When she didn't ask about anything else, he said, "Someone is going to have to set the break in your arm." Before her dread and panic could worsen, he added, "I can create a poison to dull some of the pain. You'll be on a trip like nothing you've experienced, but the pain won't be so bad."
Her soul informed him that she'd never tried drugs before and never used pain killers stronger than what was readily available to the public, so he informed her, "You're in for a surprise, then."
It didn't take long for Nurse Erza to determine Natsu would be alright with some rest, and then make her way over to Lucy. After a quick examination, the self proclaimed nurse announced, "Her arm is broken."
Cobra muttered, "I noticed."
As if she hadn't heard him, Erza went on, "I will proceed with setting the break while she is unconscious."
Lucy's eyes popped open and before she could protest in panic, Cobra cut in, "You're not doing shit until I give her something for the pain."
Eyes narrowed at Cobra, Erza rested one fist rested on her hip and pointed at him with the other hand as she asked, "Do you have illegal pharmaceuticals in your possession?"
"No, but I have poison that will numb the pain."
"I will not allow you to poison my dear friend!" Erza insisted while leaning across the gurney to poke Cobra in the chest, suddenly terrified Cobra had reverted to his criminal ways.
Sensing the oncoming struggle, Lucy spoke up, "It's ok, Erza. Cobra already talked to me about it. I'll be alright."
"You aren't thinking clearly, Lucy." Erza started to ramble on with a lecture about how unsafe it would be for Lucy to accept Cobra's poison. Ignoring the outraged woman, Lucy looked at Cobra, silently asking him to go through with it.
While Erza was distracted with her tirade about safe drug usage, Cobra focused his magic to release a stream of poison into Lucy's nostrils that would work as a numbing agent, amongst other things. The red headed woman was none the wiser. "Alright, you win." Cobra said to Erza, "You can do things your way."
Nodding in approval at Cobra's acceptance of her wisdom, Erza said, "I'm glad you've seen the error of your ways." Looking around for her other teammate, she asked, "Gray, can you remove the ice from Lucy's arm temporarily? You may create a cast once I'm finished."
Lucy's loopy thoughts and improved mood let Cobra know his concoction had already taken effect. Her head lolled to the side to look directly as him and she whispered, "You're so sneaky." Her small giggle did strange things to him.
He looked away embarrassed, only to see Sorano eying him specutively. He narrowed his eyes are her, but it was too late. She had seen the interaction and would tell Meredy, who would tell Midnight, and then Cobra would never hear the end of it. He did not have a crush on the Fairy Tail mage, no matter what Sorano believed.
Not one to waste time, Erza set Lucy's arm as soon as the ice was removed. The sickening snap of bone made Cobra's stomach twist. Lucy jerked and looked up at him as if for comfort, but he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do. Between the numbness left behind from the ice and the effects of Cobra's poison, the pain Lucy felt was muted and she quickly forgot about it. Gray's ice cast reformed and Lucy cooed at it. "My arm is so heavy now." She giggled and looked at Cobra, "Look, I have a popsicle arm!"
The unwanted attention was embarrassing. He knew he was blushing all the way up to his ears and refused to look at his guildmates, knowing they were staring at him. He could hear their souls buzzing with curiousity.
Erza's concern was clear when she said, "It seems her concussion is more severe than we believed. Cobra, please move Lucy to the shade until we are prepared to move the group to a secure location for the night."
With a grunt of acknowledgement, he was relieved to get away from the others as he rolled Lucy's gurney across the ground to the shaded area on the other side of the canyon. Her giggling continued on and off as she enjoyed the bumpy ride, only settling down when the movement stopped. Cobra's magic warned him how weird she was about to get, but he didn't know what to do to stop it. Well, he could knock her out but that would probably be unsafe with a concussion already in place.
"I'm glad you're here. I've been thinking about you, even though you're a prickly pear." She giggled again, imagining a pear with thorns and maroon hair. She had the weirdest fucking imagination. Cobra was glad the only other person with better than normal hearing was unconscious so there would be no witnesses to the stream of weird shit pouring from her mouth.
It disturbed him deeply to know she had been thinking about him because he had been thinking about her, too. A lot. As in nearly every day. He didn't understand why he couldn't get her out of his head. The day he forced his way into her apartment so long ago was the beginning of something he wasn't sure he liked. His tangled web of confusion was made worse by the shock he felt at discovering she was attracted to him, though it seemed she wasn't fully aware of it. Her soul showed memories of her thinking about the features of his face and aspects of his personality that had shown through during the brief time he spent in her apartment when Midnight was injured. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this information? It was surely something she would have kept buried deep if she were in her right mind.
"Your hair is so pretty!" Lucy cooed at him as she attempted to sit up to reach his hair.
"Stop that." He shoved her back down, taking care not to jostle her arm. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at him while wishing she could touch his hair. Her thoughts were all over the place where he was concerned, but at the forefront of it all, she really wanted to see if his hair was soft.
With an irritated growl, he said, "Fine, here." While leaning down he added, "Just stop trying to get up."
Cooing again, she said, "Ooo it's so soft! It would be shiny too if you used my deep conditioner. Maybe next time you come over I'll give your hair a treatment." He didn't know what the fuck she was talking about but he did not like the image her mind conjured of him being the victim of her salon-style services.
"Never gonna happen. And why the hell would I come over to your apartment again?"
She giggled again, "Duh, silly. You're coming over to teach me how to bake properly. Remember? I can't bake brownies that live up to your standard of exemplary confectionary treats." Her voice deepened at the end, imitating his in a word for word quote of something he'd said during their first conversation.
"Right." He couldn't think of anything else to say. She was out of her mind on his poison. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea.
Before he could wrap his mind around her comments, he felt her take hold of his wrist and pull his sleeve up. He barely contained his instinct to jerk away from the touch of another, which likely would have dumped her onto the ground. "What the hell are you doing now?"
"Are you ok? Your wrists and ankles, are they better?" Her memory replayed the moment she realized she knew the man secured to the wall. In her memory, he saw how gaunt he looked chained to a wall, emaciated from dehydration and starvation, covered in bruises and cuts. The sight haunted her for weeks, giving her nightmares that woke her in terror, always leaving her lying awake for long periods of time thinking about him and wondering if he was ok.
Her concern for his wellbeing touched something dark and cold inside him, leaving behind a tenderness he didn't know how to handle. After a moment he said, "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."
Lucy's thumb rubbed back and forth over the scarred skin, wondering if he could feel it. He answered her thoughts, "There's not much feeling in the skin."
"That's probably a good thing." She let her hand fall, her inebriated mind drifting onto another topic. He was both disappointed and relieved, a reaction that added to his confusion.
"I think Natsu saved me." Lucy said sleepily.
"He did." And he had. The other slayer was close enough to consciousness now for Cobra to pull the events leading up to the collapse from his mind. Natsu had pushed Lucy out of the way, nearly sacrificing his life to save hers. The stone that hit him instead of her would have killed a normal human. Only his dragon slayer ability to heal quickly and the jut of stone the two rolled under had saved their lives.
It was silent for a moment, giving Cobra a false sense of hope that Lucy had fallen asleep. He was wrong.
He jumped in shock when her fingers touched his ear lobe. "I love your earrings. Did you just get them pierced? I don't remember you wearing an earring before. Ooo you just have one! I should get my ear pierced on the opposite side to match!" And then she proceeded to giggle hysterically while imagining Cobra piercing her ear with a sewing needle and an apple like some movie she'd seen. What the hell was he supposed to do with her?
"Alright, enough of that." He said as he slapped her hand away from his ear, doing his best to ignore the tingly sensation left behind. "I'm taking you back to your people."
When he started pushing her across the uneven ground, she started crying and said, "Please stop. Can you carry me? My head hurts again."
"No." There was no way he would carry her around like a small child.
"Please" she whimpered with tears streaking from her eyes into her hair. Her eyelids were squeezed shut in an attempt to block out the bright sunlight that glared in her eyes now that they were out of the shade and he could hear the pain radiating from her soul. When the fuck had he started caring?
"Damn it woman," he sighed in frustration. "Sit up slowly and I'll help you onto my back."
Cobra helped her upright and then squatted down to make it easier for Lucy to slide onto his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, draped her injured arm over his shoulder to dangle in the front while she wrapped her other arm around his neck to hold on. Once she was settled in place with her head resting against his, he stood up and started walking toward the group.
A whispered "much better" came from Lucy's lips before she fully relaxed against him. He ignored the way her thighs felt in his hands, lean and muscular with smooth skin. Her soul rang with a sense of contentment that he couldn't tune out with her being physically in contact with him. He could hear her much more clearly than before and wasn't sure he liked it.
More of her pollution was entering his mind. He'd never get her out now.
It didn't take long to cross the narrow gorge to the group of mages still gathered near the site of Natsu and Lucy's entrapment. The dragon slayer was awake, though not yet fully cognizant. Natsu's poor condition was made clear when he looked at the approaching pair and only glared instead of challenging Cobra to a fight for touching his precious Lucy. With Cobra's magic, he could tell Natsu had every intention of doing so when he was functional again.
The group had already agreed to stay overnight at the camp set up by Crime Sorciere and planned to head there as soon as the injured mages could be moved. Cobra was about to inform the boss bitch he would just carry Lucy there when he picked up on the thoughts coming from Sorano and Meredy.
He looked at the pair and narrowed his eyes, clearly hearing the two of them imagining him and Lucy together, a budding romance that would lead to babies and houses with picket fences and pets. "What the fuck are you two looking at?" He snarled at the women.
Meredy looked away but Sorano shrugged with a devious smile on her face and opened her mouth to speak, but Cobra cut her off. "If you speak those words out loud, I will poison your feathered ass and bury you alive in a location so remote no one will find you before your skin starts to melt and -."
A sharp pinch at his neck cut him off before his threat could get more graphic. Lucy's muffled voice came from where she'd smashed her face into his neck, "Don't be mean to your friends."
"Those bitches aren't friends of mine." He snarled, wishing he could bring himself to drop her on the ground.
When she pinched him again, he snarled louder with his pointed canines exposed, but Lucy was unperturbed. "You don't scare me prickly pear, and they aren't bitches. Be nice."
Cobra stalked away from the group with the bane of his life attached to his back. He could hear the two women behind him whispering about Lucy being the one to tame the wild beast. What the fuck were they even talking about? They'd pay for this later.
He ignored Erza's protests as he gained distance from the group. She would know where he was headed as soon as someone explained it to her in small words. He couldn't very well fly over the giant pile of rocks like Happy had done, so he had to take his injured cargo the long way around.
He felt Lucy rub her nose against his neck just before she mumbled, "You smell nice."
It was going to be a long fucking walk.
…
When he finally made it to the camp, Cobra was exhausted both mentally and physically. Mostly mentally. Loopy Lucy was hard to deal with. He didn't even feel guilty for being relieved that she got quiet when her pain returned. It was a little concerning that she was close to losing consciousness, though. Wasn't that a sign her concussion was severe? He could still hear her soul and it sounded normal enough, so she may have just been falling asleep.
The return trip had taken much longer than his mad dash to the site of the rock slide. With that side of the canyon closed off, they had to take the long way around, walking out of the narrow canyon and around to the valley on the other side. The route nearly tripled the distance and he had extra weight on his back, so his pace was slower than usual.
His problem now was where to put the woman. She wasn't going in his tent. If she laid in there, her scent would be all over everything and he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. The others' tents were also out of the question. Jellal would be sharing with Erza, Sorano and Meredy's shared tent was full, and Midnight's tent was often visited by Meredy during the night. Cobra had a dark sense of humor, but he wouldn't subject Lucy to the horror of Midnight and Meredy.
He didn't have to think much more on the issue when he felt an odd, familiar stirring in Lucy's soul, and then a pink haired maid appeared. That explained the familiarity. Sorano's soul stirred the same way when she did Celestial Magic.
The maid bowed to him, which was really fucking weird, and said, "Would you like to punish me since my Princess is unavailable?"
"Uh, no." He definitely didn't want any part of what the maid was imagining.
The spirit nodded once as she said, "Very well. May I proceed with setting up a tent for my Princess?"
Cobra shrugged, unsure why she was directing her questions at him. Maybe she needed permission before beginning? He didn't know how the celestial shit worked. He wished Lucy would wake up and take over. Instead, she just kept hanging onto his back in her half asleep state while he stood awkwardly with this crazy, pain-loving spirit. "Whatever, lady. Knock yourself out."
In a whirlwind of activity almost too fast to follow, a patch of ground was cleared of all debris, the grass mowed to a lawn-like height, and a dark blue tent erected. It was a nice one, too, with solid-looking sides and flaps that could be opened to allow for airflow with screens to keep out insects. Nothing like the piece of shit tents his guild used for travel. It also smelled strange, the same way the spirits did, so maybe it was a tent from the Celestial plane?
Another familiar spirit appeared before him. The lamb lady squeaked, "I'm so sorry! Big brother pushed me through my gate using his own magic so I could create comfortable bedding for Lucy. Please forgive me!"
With that strange introduction, a wool bed, much like the one he'd slept on in Lucy's apartment, appeared inside the tent. At the request of the maid spirit, the lamb lady created another before disappearing. It seemed the maid somehow knew Natsu was also injured.
Tasks apparently complete, the maid looked at Cobra and said, "Please give our Princess Leo's apologies. He cannot force his gate open to care for her since he used his magic to force Aries' gate open. He will check on her later."
After a puzzled moment, he answered briefly, "Right." Then the spirit popped away and things were mostly silent.
With the question of sleeping arrangements answered, he carried Lucy into the tent and knelt down in front of one of the pink mattresses. Luckily, she was aware enough to keep her body upright instead of just collapsing as he thought she might. He was careful to lay her on the side with her uninjured arm beneath her and the broken arm resting across her body against the soft surface. During the long walk, she had started to complain about her back and head aching. Cobra didn't want her to be more uncomfortable lying with her weight on all the bruises forming where her body had impacted the ground. From the bits and pieces he'd picked up from both Natsu and Lucy's memories, she had taken the brunt of the impact when Natsu knocked them both out of the way.
When Lucy was arranged, he turned to leave so he could slip away before the others arrived but he was stopped by a whispered voice. "Will you stay with me?"
Shit. He really wanted to just keep walking and act as if he hadn't heard a word, but he couldn't leave when even her soul was reaching for him. Why the hell was her soul reacting to him like this? They hardly knew each other.
Grudgingly, he returned to her side and sat on the edge of her mattress. "Happy now?"
She hummed in response, her mind letting him know that yes, she was happy he came back. So fucking weird. No one was ever happy to have him around. There were lots of other emotions tied with his presence, things like anger, fear, disappointment, reluctant acceptance, but never happiness.
When she wondered if her back was bruised as badly as it felt, he said, "Yeah. From the part I can see where your tiny ass shirt ends, it's pretty messed up. There are scratches and shit mixed in with the bruising." He softly ran his fingers along her scalp until she hissed in pain when he touched the swelling at the back of her head. "You've got a nasty lump here, too."
Can you give me more of whatever you gave me earlier?
"No, I can't give you more of the poison right now. I don't know how bad your concussion is and I'm not going to be the one to blame for putting you in a coma."
But the happy poison makes me feel better.
"Stop fucking calling it happy poison. Poison and happy should never be used in a sentence together."
Cobra huffed and rolled his eye at Lucy imagining him doing a happy dance when he found a strong poison to eat. "Ok, so maybe the words fit together in that situation, but not how you were using it. And, no, I don't dance when I find new poisons." Not much, anyway, but he wasn't admitting that to her.
Where are the others? Is Natsu ok?
"They'll be here soon. They stayed at the collapse long enough to start a fire to feed the dragon slayer so he could heal faster but they're on their way now. From what I can tell, he's got a headache and fatigue from blood loss but nothing serious."
Will you stay until they get here?
"No fucking way am I staying until they get here. As soon as they're in sight of the tents, I'm leaving. Your team will take care of you."
He didn't like the twinge of guilt he felt at her disappointment. It didn't make any sense for her to want him there when she had a team of capable individuals who would take care of her. She didn't know it yet, but the boss bitch had already called Makarov to send the little dragon slayer out to heal Lucy. She would be fully healed as soon as tomorrow and out of his life again. He shoved down the sorrow he felt at that until it was buried somewhere deep inside him, in the place he put all his useless emotions
The two were silent for awhile. Lucy's mind was a jumble of pain, so she wasn't up for much conversation and Cobra didn't want to talk anyway. He just sat there, sifting through her subconscious like he always did to people in his spare time. No one in Crime Sorciere had any secrets from him. They spent too much time together for his nosy ass to not go through all their thoughts and feelings. It was nice having a new soul to pick through. Lucy's pain kept her mind distracted and she was at ease with Cobra - probably not a good thing on her part – so it was easy to gain access to everything. She had some interesting shit in there he hadn't heard when she'd been trapped in the clock. During the time he stood guard over her, he went through all her internal shit out of boredom. Now there were new things to pick through.
Cobra took his time looking at her feelings towards her guildmates- all happy love-love shit like he expected-, her lingering grief over losing her parents and closest spirit, her life goals, her determination to improve in all things and be a good person. Her soul still felt the same as it did back then, bright and cheery with a peaceful melody as the undertone, but there was something new. It was something he felt like he should recognize, the familiarity so similar to -
Horrified, he stood abruptly and left the tent, ignoring Lucy questioning if everyone was nearly there. Not really, but they were close enough. He had to get out of there and put some distance between them while he thought about this.
…
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally alone in her tent. She loved knowing so many people cared for her but they were overwhelming.
She had to feign sleep to get Erza to leave her in peace. The woman was an amazing friend and teammate, but she was an overbearing nurse. She provided medical care with the same intensity she did everything else. Between Erza and Virgo, Lucy had been bathed, dressed in clean clothes, forced to drink some water and fed a bowl of broth. She wasn't sure if she felt better or worse after their attention. At least she had a real cast, thanks to Virgo's awesome Celestial medical supplies, instead of the ice cast. Gray's magically formed cast was great in an emergency but that thing was cold and heavy.
Once Lucy was settled again, Gray created long lasting ice chips that Erza wrapped in a towel to rest against the back of Lucy's head. As long as she didn't move much, the ice stayed in place against her head while she lay on her side. It was doing wonders for the swelling. Nurse Erza's last proclamation before leaving Lucy to fake-sleep in peace was that she was no longer in danger of a coma. Thank the stars. Maybe now Lucy would be able to talk Cobra into giving her more of the happy poison – a name she was keeping, regardless of his opinion.
If not, she'd be stuck suffering until Wendy arrived. If Lucy were lucky, though the nickname Lucky Lucy Heartfilia was always more of a curse, the tiny healer would get to the camp in the morning. Unfortunately, it was more likely she would arrive later in the day with the train station being so far away, so Lucy was in for at least 24 more hours of agony. She wished she had the accelerated healing abilities of a dragon slayer. Her best friend was nearly well after only a short rest, the fire he'd consumed fueled his magic enough to stimulate the rapid healing aspect of his magic. If only it could do something about his poor hygiene.
At least Natsu's smelly body was no longer in the tent. Virgo provided a clean outfit for him but he refused her help in bathing, insisting he could bathe when he got home. Shortly after that disgusting statement, he had been kicked out of the medical ward, as named by Erza, when he and Gray nearly started to brawl over his lack of cleanliness. The two had too much pent up energy, which Erza violently recommended they put into hunting something for dinner. Lucy was fairly sure the two were working off their nerves in another way, but she wasn't going to mention it to Erza.
Lucy again wondered how she could convince Cobra to slip her a little more of his poisonous concoction but wasn't sure he would be willing to subject himself to the torture again. Her memories of the time she spent intoxicated on Cobra's fumes were hazy, but she was fairly certain he was avoiding her because she had embarrassed him. She vaguely remembered telling Sorano that she called him a prickly pear because he was pokey on the outside but sweet on the inside. Even she was a little embarrassed at having said it, so she didn't blame him for avoiding her.
Strangely, she knew he was nearby. Very near, actually. It was like she could feel him just outside her tent, leaning against a tree or something else supportive, hiding from everyone else. That didn't make sense, though. There was no way she could know all of that. It wasn't as if she was the one that could hear souls.
Unless she could be learning a new magic? That would be awesome! But it didn't really any sense. She hadn't studied the magic and didn't see a direct correlation between Soul Listening and Celestial Summoning, so it was unlikely she could learn the other magic without great effort. So maybe this was part of his magic? Was it possible for him to create a link between his and other souls to communicate? She had to test this out.
Lucy focused on the awareness she had of Cobra and the almost-knowledge of his nearness. She could feel something like dread, but wasn't sure if that was right. She wasn't dreading anything, just in a lot of pain.
Cobra?
She didn't hear an answer in her head or her ears, so that didn't work like she hoped it would. Though she thought maybe her head injury was affecting her brain in more ways than everyone assumed since she was attempting to be telepathic. Even with her doubts, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was onto something. One more try and then she would write this off as the crazy thoughts of a concussed person.
An odd sense of dread and wonder filled her for reasons she couldn't explain. One thing she was certain of, there was something here and she was going to figure it out.
This time, she tried reaching out with emotion instead of thought. There wasn't a good explanation for why she went that route. It was just instinct to feel for the connection she sensed with Cobra instead of trying to read his thoughts.
Sinking into a meditative state was easy since she practiced her magic this way. As the sense of calm nothingness spread, she was able to relax into herself while expanding her awareness. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she felt something, felt him. It was a connection, a direct line between her soul and his. She couldn't see it, but her intuition told her that's what it was. Again working off instinct, she attempted to send an emotion down the connection. She pushed out curiosity and immediately felt dread in return.
Moments later, the tent flap opened with a loud slap as it hit the side, jerking her out of her meditation. The abrupt return to reality made Lucy jump, sending a jolt through her arm and head. A gasp of pain left her mouth as the intruder stomped over to her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Cobra demanded in a low voice. He'd managed to make it inside with no one seeing him but they would be back to check on the blonde soon enough.
Lucy squinted up at him and blinked a few times to clear her vision. It took a few seconds for the pain to ease back to a manageable level. When she could speak, the only sound that came out was, "Huh?"
Cobra took a few breaths in through his nose, out through his mouth. He had to calm down. Panic and anger were a bad combination. This wasn't a big deal. The blonde was delirious with pain, so maybe if he drugged her again, she wouldn't remember any of this. Maybe if he kept her drugged until they left, she wouldn't notice the connection and would eventually be far enough away to diminish it. Or that's what he hoped anyway. It wasn't like he had any previous experience to base that on.
"You wanted me to come get you fucked up again, yeah?" He asked, hoping to distract her from her discovery.
She narrowed her eyes at him, doing her best to think through the haze of pain in her mind. She had been onto something, something related to Cobra. That's when she felt it again, the sense of dread – an emotion that was coming from him.
"No."
Expression scrunched in confusion, Cobra said, "You don't?"
"No poison. Not until you explain what this is." She said, motioning between them with her good arm. He could tell from her hard expression and the determination emanating from her soul that she was serious. She planned to refuse his offer of pain relief until he explained.
Cobra plopped down onto the mattress next to Lucy's, a puff of ash and sweat scented air floating up from the soft wool. He huffed, "Well, shit."
"I think I said that to you the first time we talked." Lucy said with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
He nodded in acknowledgement, remembering the time she referred to but unsure what to say. The truth was he didn't really know anything about his magic. It was a rare magic and he'd never met anyone else that had it. He wasn't really sure if there was anyone else that had it. He might be the only one alive.
"I don't have much of an explanation for you." He started weakly, staring at the ground so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I don't know much about my magic but I know this is a soul bond or soul link, whatever the fuck you want to call it. You could probably ask the Seith Mage in your guild about it if you want a better explanation."
Lucy mulled that over in her mind before asking, "Ok, but how did it happen?"
Cobra shrugged and said, "I don't know. We connected somehow, I guess. Probably through the shared trauma of our few encounters. Trauma can bring people together, and with my Soul Listening magic involved, the connection created must be a little different."
The joy he felt coming from her in waves was perplexing. Didn't she get it? They were fucking connected now. Her next words confirmed she definitely fit in at Fairy Tail. "Well, that's not so bad. We're friends, so this connection is a good thing!"
"No, we're not friends. Fucked up situations that lead to helping each other out does not qualify us as friends." He detested the idea to his very core. He didn't need or want friends, or anyone else to look out for. It was bad enough that he thought about her when she wasn't around. This soul deep connection would just make that way fucking worse and he didn't need that shit while he was out chasing down dark guilds to make up for his own past crimes.
Her hand resting on his knee made his reeling thoughts come to a stop. He looked up to see her watching him with concern in her eyes. "It'll be alright. This connection isn't a bad thing."
What the hell did she know? And why was she touching him? He pulled his knee away from her hand, letting it fall away. He didn't want to be connected to anyone. Everyone he'd ever cared about was gone, except his guildmates, but those relationships were dysfunctional in ways he couldn't begin to describe.
How could being connected to someone like Lucy Heartfilia, the Light of Fairy Tail, not be a bad thing? They were polar opposites. He doubted her words, but part of him wanted to agree with her. Would it be so bad not to be alone?
"You won't be alone anymore." Well, that answered his question. This was really fucking bad. Now she was picking up on his thoughts, which could not lead to anything good. His mind was a dark place that would taint someone like her.
With that horrible realization, he sent a large amount of the pain relieving toxin into the air without warning the blonde. She passed out almost instantly as the pain dissipated and she could finally relax. She would have to forever remain The Blonde in his mind to maintain a sense of distance between them, or he might start enjoying having a connection with her.