The First Sin
Summary: "My, my… She has such delicious thoughts… So envious. So much hate. It's the best thing I've ever tasted!" He ran his fingers through her hair, cradling her to his chest, "All alone. Abandoned. Your family stayed with you. While her family left." – Sent during the Guilds disbandment. LaLu and other couples.
Authors note: Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out. Now that it's really getting into the thick of things! Everything is picking up and hopefully my personal life calms down so I can get the chapters going! Let me know what you think of the chapter!
Disclaimer: I in no way own Fairy Tail! I do however own my own characters.
Arc: Envy
Chapter 7: Off the Tracks
"Damn it!" Laxus' bellow was punctuated by his sneeze, his growl drowned out only by him blowing his nose.
"I told you you'd get sick." Lucy snickered behind her book, her free hand rubbing at her scar,
But you wouldn't listen."
The Dragon slayer just glared down at her before glancing at her lap, a glint appearing in his eye that put her on edge, "I don't know what you're planning Laxus. But don't do it."
Lucy shifted away as best as she could, ignoring the way his husky voice raised goose bumps across her flesh, "Don't do what, Lucy. I'm not planning anything." He quickly followed his words by diving down onto her lap, his arms around her waist to keep her in place while he rubbed his face into her jeans.
"Eew. Laxus!" She screeched, pushing against his head in attempt to dislodge him, "You're going to get snot all over me!"
Laxus whimpered, making her freeze in her struggle, her book lying abandoned on the floor, "You could really push me away when I need you most? Not only am I sick, Lucy, but this stupid train makes me motion sick. If you did it for Natsu, you shouldn't have an issue helping me."
Lucy paled slightly before her cheeks coloured, her hand absently moving to brush her fingers through his hair, "Yeah, well... You're just lucky I feel guilty."
Laxus turned his head so he could look up at her, silently enjoying the pink that tinged her cheeks. Their eyes locked and he was blown away by the sincerity in them, his stomach tightening, "Why are you guilty?"
Lucy huffed before looking away, the corners of her mouth turned down as she spoke, "It's because of me that you're sick. Because of my lack of awareness, I couldn't tell that Vana was in the room. I didn't sense his magic at all." She carefully untangled his hair, pulling gently at his scalp.
"That is in no way your fault Lucy. I went out looking for him when he came to the door. I should have realised it was a ruse. I shouldn't have left you while you were still recovering." He twisted his body so that he could stare up at her, his hand gentle cupping her cheek, "I brought you into all of this. You are my responsibility."
Lucy blinked, pressing the moisture from her eyes. But before she could rub the tear away, his thumb gently wiped it away, "Sorry." Her whisper only caused more tears to fall as she hunched over, burying her face in his chest, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying."
He could practically feel her desperation, her sadness, leak from her and he wrapped his arms around her, chuckling softly, feeling her fingers still gently pulling at his spine.
"There is absolutely nothing to apologise for Lucy." He pressed his lips against the side of her head, his mouth open to speak when the overhead speakers crackled to life.
"Attention passengers. We will arrive at Oshibana station in the next few minutes. Please collect your luggage and prepare to depart the train."
The pair separated, Lucy desperately trying to clean her face with her sleeve. But what caught them off guard was when the speaker continued to crackle.
"What! Who are you? What -"
A loud explosion shook the train and sent them to the ground. People throughout the carriage were screaming in fear. Despite it all, Lucy forced herself back up, conscious that the violent rocking of the train would have Luxas' stomach in knots.
"Laxus?" She carefully felt her way across the floor, thick black smoke filtering into their compartment from under their door, "Come on Laxus. You need to get up."
She was only met with a disgruntled moan and watched as the blonde dragon slayer heaved himself up, his face an incredibly unhealthy shade of green, "Go." He tried his best to sound commanding, but it only came out as a pathetic rasp of air. But Lucy nodded, jumping to her feet and forcing the door open.
The explosion had warped the metal frame work of the train and the door rolled open with a horrible screech that had Laxus cursing from where he sat, "I'll be right back okay?"
Lucy didn't wait for a response, barrelling through the hallway as quickly as she could, ignoring the way the smoke burned her throat and made her eyes water, her hand doing little to protect her from its affects. Multiple scenarios ran through her head as she made her way through the carriages, always briefly checking for any major casualties. The sound of crying forced her to stop however and nothing could have prepared her for the sight that awaited her when she crouched down.
xXx The First Sin xXx
"Lucy! Lucy!" Laxus roared in frustration, doing his best to push himself forward, his nausea doing little to help him in the current situation, "Stubborn woman! What was I thinking?"
He coughed, his bones vibrating with the force. His illness had taken a nasty turn before they boarded the train and only served to make his temper worse. Fatigue had wormed its way into his muscles and made him sluggish, no matter how hard he tried to tap into his magic to give him a boost… it was always just out of his reach.
"Damn this to hell!" Laxus threw himself into the next carriage, gritting his teeth as his knees hit the ground. The metal continued to groan around him, even after he had felt it stop. There was no telling who was at fault or what exactly was going on, but he was determined to find out what happened and find Lucy. And he didn't have to look for long.
Despite the smoke and flames that would obscure a normal person's vision, Laxus' was sharp, the adrenaline forcing his flu away and honing all his senses. Even as the acrid smell burnt his nostrils he continued to sniff her out, the familiar scent of strawberries engrained in his memory. He wasn't too far from the entrance of the carriage next to where they had been seated when the smell hit him like a ton of bricks. The smell of charred flesh and strawberries. The combination made his stomach turn and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid becoming sick.
He squinted through the haze, his eyes watering in his struggle to locate her. And when he did, his heart crumbled.
Lucy was crouched on the ground, her arms around her middle while her shoulders shook, seemingly taking no notice to the ruined carriage around her. But it was the source of her distress that made the state of the train disaster hit home.
Before Lucy was the corpse of a woman, impaled by shrapnel from the destroyed roof and the bundle of cloth next to her, a tiny hand poking out from with the charred blankets.
"Lucy…" Laxus slumped down next to the blonde, his arm circling her shoulders and pressing her into his chest, "Don't look at them Lucy. You don't need to see that."
She tried cried out, her voice raspy as she shook her head, tears instantly soaking his shirt, "How… H-How can I not see them. They were… They were just civilians. They were i-innocent! And now-!" She choked on her breath and Laxus could only hold her tighter.
"There's isn't anything we could have done." He pulled her up and away from the bodies, ignoring the moist warmth that had seemed through his pant leg and continued to drag his partner through the wreckage, looking for any path out while still looking for survivors, "You couldn't do anything for them Lucy. You-"
"But there was! I could have been stronger. I could have called Gemini out and had them turn into Wendy. I could… I should've… I-" Lucy choking again, only this time, it was because Laxus smothered her with his shirt. His chin rested on the crown of her head and he sighed, gently massaging her spine, feeling the way her body quivered against him.
"Lucy… Beating yourself up over the what ifs' won't help you figure out what did this to them. The only thing we can do now is find survivors and find out what happened. Okay?" A watery yes answered him and he gently pushed her away, gazing down at her to see her drying her eyes.
"I'm sorry Lax-" She was cut short when he placed a finger on her lips and watched as he shook his head before he grabbed her hand and continued dragging her through the wreckage, keeping an eye out for dangling debris.
"Just shut it Blondie. You did what every other person in your situation would have done. So just keep your head down and focus. Someone caused this. They can't be too far away." His voice grounded her and Lucy nodded, steeling her nerves behind a rage she had building inside.
"Right. Stand aside Laxus." The slayer didn't even question her, instead, he let go of her and moved away, giving her what he deemed a safe amount of space. He could feel the magic gathering around her, banishing the smoke from the area and replacing it with a soft golden light. An invisible gale picked up and Lucy lifted a key from her pouch, "Star Dress: Cancer!"
The glow exploded and he could only watch as she landed gently on the ground, two long blades in her hands. The qipao had the mark of cancer etched into the fabric and the long billowing sleeves shifted around her in the wind.
"Well. It never ceases to surprise me." Laxus smirked at the blonde Celestial mage and watched her as she ran towards the rubble of the carriage, her blades slicing through everything with ease and clearing a path. In her havoc, she cut a hole clean through the side of the train, and fresh air rushed in, cleansing the air in the cart and allowed the sunlight to filter in an illuminate everything, "Great job Lucy!"
Laxus jumped forward, using the light he had to rummage through the rubble, "Lets get the injured out of here as quickly as we can."
Lucy appeared next to him, equipped with her Taurus Star Dress, the leather of her gloves creaking as she grabbed hold of a large piece of metal.
"Yeah. We'll get them out. Don't you worry about that."
xXx The Last Sin xXx
The train crashed and Laxus has motion sickness coupled with the flu. And who crashed the train? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!
And a big thank you to the following people for reviewing the last chapter:
Mill23
Desna
saskiarosee
VeryGood (anonymous)
BeautifulAstrology
LoadedEel
RosesMcKellar
Numious-Alqua
kurahieiritr JIO
SilverInu93