Here is the continuation of the first chapter!
Now Lucy's home/ Family life will be explained,
I know a couple of you were wondering about what happened with Laxus considering
he is Sting and Lucy's older brother.
Hopefully this will be a good explanation for everyone.
Thanks for the reviews and support!
I know this story is taking awhile to be updated
but the chapters are long and I have other stories that need updates so
Thank you for understanding!
Enjoy!
Still Breathing
'Beside myself, living in a cold cell-'
Second Breath: Goodbye
~QOoOQ~
"Lucy! Make sure you're out before my next class!" The blonde smiled and nodded at her teacher. The elder woman had been generous enough to let her practice when the schedule was so tight so she made sure not to step on the woman's toes. "Also guest will be coming for a visit, something about finding a dancer-I don't know. I hate people." This surprised Lucy, their studio wasn't the most popular dance studio out there but it was decent enough to have quite a few students, but visitors coming to find a dancer?
It was unheard of.
She didn't question it. "Alright, I'll be out of your hair soon Miss. Porlyusica. I just wanted to get some practice in." The pink haired woman nodded firmly before closing the door behind her, allowing Lucy to start he practice. The young dancer sighed before seating herself on the floor and beginning her stretches. Lucy's mind filled with thoughts of her twin. His worry was more evident this time than any other time she stayed out late at the studio. She reached toward her feet. Perhaps he thought she was pushing herself, maybe she was but Sting knew she danced for more than one reason.
It was similar to the way Sting was with his boxing matches, eh loved to fight but he also did it as a way to vent without verbally expressing himself. Often she had heard her brother leaving late in the night or early in the morning only later to find out that he went for another round of practice using the same excuse that he needed to get stronger. In truth he didn't. Sting was one of the best fighters in his group Sabertooth, Lucy was happy he had something to occupy him from his unwanted thoughts.
Lucy arched her back. Despite knowing he was worried over her and should probably take a break to ease his mind, she couldn't. She could still remember when they were in their last few weeks of their Junior year of High School he had gone on a rampage after she fainted from lack of sleep and stress. truthfully, she hadn't been eating right for a few days, exams for school and dance had taken priority over her eating healthy. Mavis how much trouble had she gotten in?
Brown eyes fluttered open, the sound of beeping catching her attention. Where was she? She felt faint and he mind was heavy. What had happened? Her head turned to the side at the sound of some shuffling and soft breaths. Sting? Her brother lay half on her bed with his bottom half seated on a chair. Lucy's eyes travelled to the blankets covering her sore body. These were not her blankets, hers were a pretty pink color-these were a plain white. Her arm caught her eye. Tubes connected to a vein barely visible in her arm. Was she in a hospital? Her arm felt cold but she refused to pull it under the warmth of her hospital blanket for fear of making the pain worse.
"Sting?" Mavis her voice sounded like shit. It hurt for her to swallow and her mouth felt dry. How long had she been out? Lucy watched as her brother stirred from his sleep; he always was a light sleeper. His blue eyes opened groggily, maybe she shouldn't have woken home? Although she did want to know what happened. Sting's eyes widened when he looked at her, sitting up in her hospital bed with a dazed look.
"Lucy!" He leaped on her, mindful of her arm before crushing his twin a strong hug. The younger blonde blinked, his arms were firm but they were shaking around her thin figure. Was he crying? She stared at his face as he pulled back, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. His blue eyes were glaring angrily at her confused brown ones, "You idiot! I told you to stop pushing yourself so hard and what do you do!? Push yourself even more than before I told you to stop!" She flinched under his angered shout. "You ended up passing out and now you're in the hospital! You fucking scared the shit out of me and Dad!"
He huffed. "Now you can't dance or do anything too stressful for a week, if you had of just took a day or two off then you could still be dancing and studying for the exams but no you just had to ignore me didn't you!?" He breathed heavily through his nose. Lucy looked at him with saddened eyes, she had hurt him this much?
"I'm sorry!" she cried. She never meant to make her brother worry so she made sure to hide her exhaustion from him and keep acting like everything was the same but in reality she had worried him more than before she passed out. Lucy heard her twin sigh before he released her shoulders and pulled her roughly into his body.
"Don't scare me like that again you idiot!"
Her father had been furious when he walked in with two coffee cups in hand, seeing her awake. Their father had been so worried that he had taken a week off his job to watch over her and take care of her when she was released from the hospital days later. Lucy always felt bad whenever her father had to take off time from his busy work life, he was providing for the both of them and it must have been hard to take care of two teenagers alone. She decided that she would help her father out with the housework and do anything she could for him while still maintaining her good grades and dance career. She flexed her arms.
Although she liked to say she was independent now that she was older and more aware of the world but, she wasn't. Lucy found herself often relying on her brother but more so on her father, relying on him for comfort, for advice, for encouragement. She could still remember when she had all but lost her sanity after loosing her mother and had almost, regrettably, quit dancing, the one thing she loved to do. Somehow, though, Wesslogia had convinced her to pursue her dance career and do whatever made her happiest.
Lucy sat silently swinging on the swing attached to the tree outside their house. Her face was sorrowful and tears dripped down the side of her face. She hadn't been able to even look at her dance bag since the news. It hurt so much, she wanted to dance, dancing was her life-her passion but without that one person to always encourage her it was getting harder and harder to dance each day. She decided she could dance without her. It was too hard and it hurt Lucy to even think about dancing again without her.
Maybe she should find another passion?
She did always love writing. It was something she found herself doing often and, she enjoyed it. While Lucy didn't exactly wish to peruse writing as a career she found benefits to that future. "It's less of a risk if I do less physical activity," she muttered to herself. "I could prolong my life by just sitting and writing novels for a living..." But was that really what she wanted? She knew what she was getting into the moment she asked her parents to buy her those ballet shoes. What did she really want to do? Dance or write?
"Lucy?" Her father voice reached her ears. She swiped at the tears trailing down her cheeks and turned to her concerned father. He took a seat on the swing next to hers and scuffed his feet against the ground. He didn't look at her and he didn't speak, just simply swung lightly back and fourth with his feet planted firmly on the ground and his eyes trained on the ground. After a moment he spoke, "What's going on with you lately Lucy? You've barely eaten anything, you've been ignoring your teachers... You haven't even gone to your dance lessons." She hid her face behind her bangs. He should know why. He paused his movements, "is this about your mother?"
"...What do you think?"
Wesslogia sighed sadly and stopped swinging. "You know she wouldn't want to see you like this Lucy." She shrugged and scuffed her feet against the dirt beneath them. She knew very well that Layla wouldn't want to see her like this but he didn't expect her to be over it within a mere few weeks did he? "UI know it hurts but we can't let this accident keep us form doing what we need to."
"But I can't Papa!" She cried brokenly. "I can't forget! That was no accident it was plain Murder! I want to dance again, I really do but every time I try to start again it hurts. Mama's not here anymore, she can't teach me, she can't help me with difficult moves, she can't congratulate me when I do a good job. I can't even get a hug from her anymore..." Wesslogia looked at his daughter with understanding eyes, he knew how it felt, He knew how it felt to feel empty and to do things that they all did before that moment as if nothing happen. He understood.
Wesslogia grabbed his daughter and pulled her into a hug. "I know it hurts baby, I really do but you can't do this to yourself. Its not good to be so unhappy for so long." He told his daughter, "I can't do everything your mother did with you but I can try my hardest to be there for you, and I know it will take a long time for you to get back to dancing but sweetheart you can't stop doing something you love because of this. You are stronger than this and I know you can get through it."
"...I don't think I will."
He looked down at Lucy curiously. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think I'm going to dance anymore," she told him bluntly. "I mean I could start writing again, I do still enjoy that. This can be good, I could be healthier doing something with less physical strain on my body, I could stay really healthy this way Papa, I'm sure Mama would like that. For me to stay here I mean." Her fathers eyes widened and he gripped her shoulders.
"Why are you suddenly speaking this way? You never worried over your condition before," he shook his head. "Your mother would want you to do what you love."
"And I love writing." She smiled without mirth, "Just think Papa, I could stay longer than what the doctors say if I continue dance, I could take care of Sting and you and Laxus..."
"No," he dismissed her words. He stayed silent a moment and released her shoulders, beginning his languid swings once again. The wind blew through Lucy's hair as she stayed silent, neither one of them spoke but the heaviness in the air surrounding them was clear as day. She sighed. He may not like it but this was the better option either way. "Do you remember what you said to me when you asked to peruse dance just like your mother?" She paused at the sudden question and then shook her head.
"No."
He smiled, "you told me that you wanted to shine just like your mother did. You wanted to be up on stage showing others that you could do the impossible." He sighed, "You said you didn't want to be stopped by your condition and do whatever you wanted to do despite the doctors beliefs." Wesslogia looked at her. "You told me you wanted to live." He paused momentarily, "I didn't have faith in you back then, I was going to tell you know-that it was too dangerous for you and your health could deplete but your mother, she convinced me to let you start." He chuckled, "thinking back on it now I realised how oblivious I had been, I should have realised you were stronger than that, you are your mothers daughter after all."
"Papa?"
He sighed, "What I'm trying to say baby is that you can't shy away from this. You were always determined before to not let you condition hold you back and that was what made your mother and I proud, that you had the strength to face you future without any visible fear within you." He hugged her closer to his chest, "One day I'm going to leave you too, I can't stay forever but while I am here I want to see my children be happy with their life and what you are doing right now and something that isn't going to make you happy." He kissed her forehead as she cried in his chest, "That's all you mother and I will ever ask of you, Lucy."
After she had finished speaking with her father she had a renewed energy and began practicing her dance more than ever. She wanted to make her father proud, and she wanted her mother to be able to rest in peace instead of worrying about her. She sighed slowly and allowed the music to guide her body across the room. Lucy hadn't gone completely back to her usual self right away, she got a little bit of her smile back after speaking with Wesslogia but it took a few more years to get over everything.
Admittedly, it was hard to start dancing again without her mothers guidance, a few times she had considered giving up all together but her fathers words and the memory of her mother was what kept her going. Laxus had always made sure to go to her recitals and bring her to practice while Sting occasionally helped her with her homework, she felt loved and cared for when she saw how much work they were putting into helping her get back on her feet when they were struggling just as much.
She could still remember that day so clearly. The report they saw on the news, every bated breath and stuttered heartbeat. It was as if everything happened just moments before now. Of course it hadn't. It had been eight years since that day but it was like a vivid nightmare that she could see every time she fell asleep, she couldn't forget it.
It had been a month since Layla had left and it was finally time for her to board her flight back home. Lucy couldn't hide her excitement that night as she eagerly ate her soup and watched television with her family. She could hear Laxus laughing behind her at the joke an actor made in the show, her brother was holding her closely on his lap ash she curled up to him with her soup held in her hands. Sting sat beside them both with his head rested against their brothers shoulder while their father Wesslogia sat in a recliner beside the occupied couch.
"Oh come on!" She heard her brother complain, his blue eyes staring intently at the television screen. "That is extremely unrealistic!" Sting complained indifferently as Laxus pat his head.
"It's a movie Buddy, not everything is going to be believable in some." Their brother explain amusedly, clearly finding Stings disbelief humorous as he shouted at the actors through the T.V.
"But they should make it believable!" Sting protested. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "I would like movies a lot better if they were more realistic." Lucy sighed and looked at her twin.
"Movies are more exciting when they aren't real." She told him exasperatedly, "they show the creators imagination and creativity." He rolled his blues eyes and smirked at her.
"I don't think all the Barbie movies you watch are creative and they're unrealistic."
"The Barbie movies are awesome!" Lucy argued. "Unlike you I have a good imagination and enjoy good movies, you like all that boring stuff!" Wesslogia chuckled and shook his head at the twins.
"Now, Now. You wouldn't want your mother coming home to see the two of you fighting would you?" Their father scolded light-heartedly and turned his attention back to the Television. Lucy sighed and turned her attention away form her twin to look up at her older brother who was now fourteen, he hadn't said anything about the movie, he had allowed her to choose without complaint. She looked at his blank face. Maybe he didn't like it?
"Laxus?" She called and his blue eyes met her chocolate brown ones. "Do you not like the movie?" She had just found a channel that was playing a movie she knew so maybe he wanted to watch something more interesting than a children's movie. He shook his head and smiled down at her.
"Nah, the movies alright Lucy. It's a good movie. You chose well." She beamed at his praise and leaned into his chest once again to look at the movie, she couldn't wait for her mother to come home. Since Layla had left them a month ago to participate in a national dance completion across the country, Lucy had been missing her terribly but she was coming back now.
Their movie paused and the image of a news-woman appeared on the screen in place of the princess they were watching. Lucy felt Laxus shift slightly to look at their father, "Dad?" His voice sounded odd. Lucy squinted at the screen and leaned forward slightly, the woman spoke. "Emergency broadcasting: flight number 7778 has been hijacked by an infamous terrorist group." Lucy's eyes widened and her hand gripped Stings cold one. She looked over at her father nervously.
"Papa? Isn't that-?"
"Hush Lucy!" He barked at her and her mouth snapped shut as she trembled. The plane that had been hijacked was her mothers flight. She felt Laxus pulled her more closely to him along with Sting, despite his act of reassurance, Lucy could feel the small tremors racking through his body along with theirs. It wasn't as if she didn't know what was going on, her father was a police officer and she had overheard conversation that he had with her mother and Laxus about the dangers around town or hijacking reports.
Although this one inparticular was close to home.
Not only did this criminal act involve their mother but also Wesslogia. Her father had been investigating the group of terrorists that were now on the plane with her mother but he had never been able to catch them and just as he was getting a lead on the case, this happened. A small video of Layla's plane circling the air showed up beside the newscasters grim face. They held their breath as they waited for further information. Surely her mother would be fine? The group would be arrested and her mother would be safe.
Right?
Lucy looked at her father about to question him of her mothers safety when his phone rang. His eyes snapped from the Television and he answered the phone hoarsely. "Hello?" They watched as his eyes widened before tears started rolling down his face. This came as a surprise to both Lucy and Sting, never in their life had they seen their father shed one tear, even when Lucy was hospitalized he never cried. He took the phone away form his ear and put the phone on speaker. "They can hear you now."
"Hi Baby's!"
"Mama!" Lucy froze and her eyes turned to the footage of the plane circling in the air, was the T.V slow. Why was her mother so cheerful when she just had a scary experience? "Mom, are you okay!?" Laxus called to her, his voice cracking slightly as he squeezed them.
"I'm okay Laxus." She paused and they could hear faint, weeping voices in the background. "Listen I don't have much time. They only let us have a few minutes to talk before we have to hang up."
"What do you mean Mom?" Sting questioned. "You're safe aren't you? You're coming home to us, right?" There was a pause on the other line before they heard Layla sigh.
"No Sweetie, Mom's still on the plane with the bad man." A male's loud voice came through their mothers end before she spoke brusquely. "Sting, Mom wants you to know that she is very excited about you being in the finals for your boxing match and she wants you to study hard and keep the grades up for her, okay? Take good care of your sister." Sting gave a loud sob as Laxus tensed behind her.
"Mom?"
"Laxus! I want you to know that I never once stopped paying attention to you, that I was always worrying about you even when you were at home. I don't want you to be lonely anymore Laxus, let people in." She sniffled lightly before giggling, "and ask Mirajane out already! That girl is practically dying waiting for you to make the first move!" Lucy furrowed her brows. Why was her mother saying this stuff? It was like she was saying a big goodbye to them. She was coming back though, wasn't she? "Take care of the twins for me?"
"I-I will."
"Hand the phone to Lucy, Laxus." Laxus passed the phone over to her and she took it with a shaking hand.
"Mama?"
"Hey baby! How has your dance lessons been going?"
"T-They're good, Mama? What's happening?"
Layla sighed, "Mama has to go soon baby so please listen to me okay?" Lucy made a noise of agreement and waited. "You have made Mama so proud with how strong you've been and I know, I know it's hard sometimes with your condition but I don't want you to let that stop you form doing what you want." The male voice came through again, more strongly this time. "Mama believes in you Lucy, so don't stop believing in yourself. Can you do that for me?" Lucy sniffed but said nothing more. "...Mama loves you Lucy."
"I-I love you too Mama!" She pulled the phone away form her mouth as her mother expressed her love to her children before she was handed of to their father once again.
"Layla."
"Hey Honey," she was crying now. "I love you very much, but of course you know that right? You always said you did." Wesslogia smiled despite himself before replying.
"Yeah, Yah I did, didn't I?"
"Yes you did." She breathed a sigh. "You're going to be on your own from now on, are you going to be okay?"
"Honestly I don't know," he told her quietly. "I can't do as good a job as you but I can do my best for you and the kids."
"I know you will, Wesslogia." She sniffed. "Listen, I don't know who is behind all this but they mentioned their leader going by the initials of A.F I hope that can help you find out who did this somehow... I have to go now, I love you guys so much-" The phone went dead and their eyes flew to the screen just in time to see the plane crashing down on the remote island.
After that none of them had been the same. Laxus didn't smile as much anymore, Sting was angrier than usual, their father was different and she-Lucy had lost her sense of rhythm when it came to dance. They healed though, but it took time. Laxus did eventually end up asking Mira to be his girlfriend to which she excitedly told him yes. Her father had developed a drinking habit though, the loss of his wife finally taking its toll on him and while he still does drink heavily at times, he's never given up hope completely.
Sting, he had acted as their caretaker, mending the holes their mother left behind and bringing them closer together than ever before and for that, she was thankful. She smiled lightly and slammed herself into the wall before twisting off of it. She may find him annoying but she really did love her twin. Her smile dropped as she twirled. It was the day she and Sting turned fourteen that sent her crashing back to the start of her despair.
Her brown eyes widened in horror. Just after she and Sting had blow out the candles on their cakes and opened their gifts Laxus had dropped the bomb on them. Her brother was now at the age of nineteen and had come over to celebrate their birthday. Lucy was excited, she hadn't seen her older brother in awhile and she missed him but after she had her short moment of happiness it was immediately replaced with shock and fear. "What!?" She and Sting stared at him in disbelief while their father froze in his place.
"You heard me." Laxus told them. "I'm going to join the Military." Maybe she hadn't heard him right, or maybe he was just playing a bad joke on them. That had to be it. He was just trying to scare them to get back at them for forgetting his birthday right? Sting stepped forward and grimaced as he looked at their brother.
"You're joking right?" He asked, "This is a prank right? You're still mad about your birthday aren't you? We said we were sorry!" Laxus shook his head and placed his large hand over Sting's head.
"This isn't a prank Buddy, this is something I decided awhile ago." He told them and looked at his father, "Ill be drafted out next week." Lucy leaped from her seat and ran to her brother, fear overtaking her mind. Was her brother going to leave to? Were they going to loose Laxus to?
"This isn't funny Laxus!" She cried desperately, it had to be a joke. He couldn't just leave. "You cant stop now." He kneeled in front of her and gripped her shoulders, staring her dead in the eye.
"Lucy, I am not joking, I will be leaving in one week to join the military." She froze, her body shaking at the sound of the news. Why was he leaving? He had even promised her he would be there for them but he couldn't do that now that he was about to fight in the war. Didn't he know how much he was hurting her? How much he was hurting them? Her father was in a state of disbelief, Sting looked as if he wanted to lock Laxus up in a cell and throw away the key and she could already feel herself losing control.
She slapped him.
"Then leave if you're going to." Lucy spat at him before racing up the stairs, the voices of her father and brothers calling her were faint. She raced into her bedroom and slammed the door closed before she dropped to her knees and cried. She couldn't understand her brother sudden decision to join an occupation where he could get killed at any moment, he knew how much they suffered when Layla had died so why was he doing something so dangerous. She jus couldn't understand why he would do it.
Her chest constricted in pain the more she thought of her brother leaving, he breaths coming out in ragged gasps as her heart thrashed around in her chest. Oh Mavis it hurt but she was stubborn and she was not going to move from this spot. She just needed to calm herself and she would be fine. Breath like Mama told you to. In. Out. In. Out. That's right Lucy, breath just like that. A knock sounded on the door and she stiffened. "Lucy? Can I talk to you please?" It was Laxus. Her even breaths faltered and her heart rate sped up.
"No." She gasped and clutched her chest. Lucy's head hit the door behind her as she heard Laxus sigh.
"Fine then I will talk to you like this." That was fine. She wouldn't listen anyway. "I know you are mad Lucy and I can understand why, I would be too if you or Sting decided to do something like this. I would have probably reacted the same way you did." The why did you say it? Why did you decided to leave us when you knew how much it would hurt? "But this is something I want to do."
Stop! I don't want to hear it! "I want to stop things from happening, Dad is helping people as a police man but he can only do so much. I don't like the idea of war but I can help prevent possible dangers coming to our country and still keep you, Sting, Dad and even Mira safe, Lucy."
"...Is this because of Mama?"
He sighed, "that is a big part of the reason why I am doing this but I have always wanted to help people and I think I can do it this way. Yeah, there are risks but there are risks even just being in here Lucy."
"Then why not just join a higher position in the police force like Dad? You could do a whole lot and still protect us here." She reasoned. "And what about Mira? Did you tell her about all this?"
"I did tell her, she's not completely satisfied with my reasons but she's supporting me." He paused and a moment of silence passed by them before he spoke again. "Listen, I know that you're never going to like me going to war but I need you to believe in me. I need you to believe I can do this. Can you do this for me Lu?" She waited a moment. Should she? She didn't want to end things on a sour note and allow Laxus to leave while they were fighting. What if this was the last time they could speak to each other and he ends up...
She opened the door and flung her arms around him. "I don't want you to go!" He hugged her tightly and stroked her hair, seating himself on her bed as he cradled her.
"I know you don't."
"I don't want you to get hurt or end up like mom..." She shook. Lucy didn't want to see her family in pain and she had already seen enough of it after her mother died in the plain crash.
"Hey," he said gently. "Have a little more faith in your brother. I want you to keep that smile for me." He sighed at the sight of her grave face and pulled her into his chest, resting his head on her shoulder. "I promise I will come back to you and everyone else. I won't go down without a fight and I will come home to you, alright?"
A week later Laxus left leaving Lucy, Sting and Wesslogia behind. Lucy did keep to her promise and tried to smile for her family and Mirajane but it was hard not being able to call her brother frequently and check up on him. She wanted to know he was okay and that he would be coming home soon but she had to be patient and believe her brother was fine. He visited them once after he was drafted and she was happy.
At the time.
But then he just, disappeared. They lost all communication with him and his officers in command had assumed him to be dead. Although they never found him so she ignored their condolences and kept thinking that one day he would come home, just like her mother would.
Someday.
That was almost three years ago though. They still had heard no word of Laxus return or if he was even alive. Lucy stopped and allowed her breath to catch up to her, the music dying out in the background. For now she would keep doing what she was doing before her brother disappeared, before her mother's plane crashed, before anything was screwed up. She would just keep dancing and doing the impossible. Lucy sighed and walked over to her bag to grab her towel and hoodie. Porlyusica would be coming around soon with her next class and the guest were sure to arrive momentarily so she better get out.
Lucy wiped the sweat off her face as a sudden clap sounded around her. She stilled. Wasn't she supposed to be alone? She turned around allowed her brown eyes to roam over the tall figure across the room. His toned body was the first thing she noticed, he looked as if he was in good shape. She looked up at hi face, his mouth was set in a wide grin, his hair tousled around in pink spikes and his eyes were onyx colored, staring directly at her, tinged with shock and amazement. He smiled.
"That was awesome!"
Still Breathing
'-Don't shut me out.'
Third Breath
Shattered-Nightmares712: So here is the chapter. It's a little short, sorry! Was it surprising that I made Laxus a soldier? I thought it would be an interesting concept for the characters to experience, my grandfather was a soldier so I asked him a few things before making the final decision. I will be making a short chapter for Halloween and it will have everyone in it! Natsu will be, as promised, in the next chapter of the story and we can finally have the two characters meet! The whole ordeal with Lucy being in the hospital was based off my experience of staying over night, I was an idiot and got dehydrated ending up with me attached to an I.V and being hospitalized. I felt like shit and so I used my experience for Lucy's. Thanks so much for reading, if there is any confusion about anything in the chapter feel free to ask it and I will answer to the best of my ability!
Until Next Time!
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