Just Misunderstood
Act 2
Chapter 27
Crocus
The trip to Crocus was a short one, they got to the edge of the city a little after nightfall. Lucy had used her magic to move them a little at a time, it was taking a toll on her, she had originally thought she could only teleport to places she could see but as of late she found herself just going for it blindly, which took a little more magic to maintain, it wasn't merely just dropping them a few feet away from where she could see the destination. She had to almost envision the area, the buildings or trees, cement or dirt, how high the ground was, and if there was water or not. It wasn't difficult but it was tiring, she had thought she could get them to Greentown within the day but found herself almost passing out halfway there. Which put them just a few minutes walk to the bustling and enchanting capital of Fiore.
Crocus was bold, even for them, it was the home of the Royal Family and the council ran thick within the walls.
"We can get a hotel tonight, as long as you can sleep soundly I think we can risk it, they would never think to look for us here," he cocked his head a little, "There is a festival going on," he said.
"A festival?"
"Yeah it's the anniversary of the current dynasty's reign, the like 185th year, I think," he looked towards her and raised his brow, "Finding a room will be harder, but the streets will be packed, we'll blend in easier."
"Convenient," she didn't mean to sound snarky.
"Hiding in plain sight hasn't really worked for us yet but I think… we'll be okay for a night," he said.
She nodded slowly and followed after him, falling in step as they broke out of the forest and hit the main road to the city, carriages and cars filled the streets, many walking on foot around them, red cloaks with hoods hanging off many of their frames.
"What's up with the robes?"
"Tradition, Henierm Fiore, the first Queen, wore one when she infiltrated the castle, apparently the old king had his mistress' wear them as they entered the palace, to hide their faces, and she stunk in wearing one and killed him in his bed chambers, her army followed and they took over the castle, she and her husband took the throne and her and her descendants built the country into what it is today, they wear it to show their support, hiding their faces in honor of how she hid hers. Kind of insensitive if you ask me but I guess it's gotten lost in time a little over the years, it's just fun now."
"Yeah, thanks for mansplaining, you could have just said, 'In honor of the first queen,' I know the history of Fiore. I just didn't know they wore the robes of the mistress' that seems a little tone-deaf," she huffed.
"Mansplaining?"
"It means-"
"I know what it means," he rolled his eyes, "You're a little bitchy when you're tired."
"Yeah sorry, I feel like I'm about to pass out," she huffed, she winced as her temple pounded.
His jaw clenched and he shuffled up to a street vendor, keeping his eyes low, and put some jewels on the counter, "Two."
The man, who seemed a little tired and overwhelmed, quickly pulled two robes out of a cardboard box and handed them to Cobra, not paying him any more attention than necessary to locate where his hand was stretched out. Cobra put his on, pulling on the hood quickly, he swung one around Lucy's shoulders and buttoned it together, flipping her hood up, pulling it forward to cover her face as much as possible.
"We're mistresses," she laughed.
"Tone-deaf," he whistled but smiled.
The streets were busy as they entered the city, Cubellios stayed tightly wrapped around Cobra's waist as her eyes barely peeked out of the cloak, "Alright…. These hotels here are full…" He seemed to muse to himself, he pulled Lucy farther into the city, his eyes traveling quickly down the tall buildings and winding streets. He held her wrist as he pulled them through the crowd, he clicked his tongue as they weaved throughout the tourist section of Crocus.
"Shit," he huffed.
"What?"
"We might be better off camping," he sighed, "Everything is full besides this one," they rounded a corner and a small wooden building was wedged in between two bigger ones. It was warm, lanterns lit, and hanging on the wooden porch, shoji sliding doors were open, leading into a small reception area they could see from the street.
"Rozu?" She whispered.
"Eh, loosely inspired. It's a bed and breakfast, small, risky."
"It should be fine right? I mean, we have the hoods, and," she pushed his hood away a little, brushing his bangs, "Your hair is down, which makes you look a lot different, younger, innocent. You almost look like you belong in a light guild. No one would look at you and see Cobra of the Oracion Seis."
He huffed and pushed his bangs back, to mimic how he looked when they met, "We can't have that now can we?"
She laughed lightly and he let go, his bangs falling back to cover his forehead.
"You're right, I think tonight is hectic enough people aren't going to be looking for a fugitive."
They approached the small little place and a tiny man sat behind the reception desk, his small eyes lighting up as they landed on them. "Welcome!" He bowed deeply and walked to them, shaking Cobra's hand, "I'm so glad you guys are here, I was worried my little place was too mundane for all the young folk here for the festival!" He cheered.
Lucy smiled and shook his hand as he offered it, he was Rozarian, at least a part anyway, he had dark skin and almond eyes, Cobra was tense, his eyes traveling quickly over the man's face, as if he was reading every detail about him, he probably was.
The little man gave no indication that he recognized them. He led them to their room, which was a wide room facing the East, windows covering the wall. The sun would wake them up in the morning. The bed was large, thick navy blankets covering it, the man was quick to leave them alone, him not wanting to intrude on the young couple. Cobra quickly closed the curtains and shrugged his cloak off, falling back onto the bed, his eyes closed. "Was he from Rozu?" Lucy asked.
"He had never been there, but his grandfather was a diplomat's bodyguard and had a one-night stand in a small town not too far away from here, never saw him again but apparently his grandmother never stopped thinking about him and studied Rozuarian culture, mimicking it in this bed and breakfast which he inherited," he said as he sat up.
"Wow," she breathed. It still amazed her how deep into someone's mind he could dive, she shifted uncomfortably for a moment, exactly how deep had he gone into hers?
"Yeah, as separate as Rozu is there is a lot of people with Rozuarian blood here, many find Rozu mundane and boring, especially with the ban on civilians using magic, so they leave for greater things, Rozu doesn't let a whole lot in but they don't try and keep people who don't want to be there, so there has been some mixing, actually most people in Fiore don't even really think anything of it, they just see them as people, with monolids and olive skin. I have never run into any problems because of my heritage here."
Lucy fell on to the bed next to him, "You think we are safe here for a few hours?"
"Yeah, you get some sleep, I'll wake you in the morning."
Lucy nodded and pulled off her coat and sweater, kicking off her boots and pulling out her ponytail. She snuggled into the pillows and dragged the covers on top of herself, she waited for Cobra to settle beside her to release a breath, his hand went to her waist and she felt his breath on her neck, his leg pressing into hers, she felt his heart as his chest rested against her back.
Her face was hot and she felt ridiculous doing this but she had to admit as she found her heart falling into beat with his, she fell asleep, effortlessly and silently.
~JM~
Lucy had felt the beginnings of a nightmare, just laying deep enough in her mind for her to feel her heart race and breath quicken. Her eyes snapped open before any nightmare could take her. The room was dark, she blinked towards the blackness, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. Cobra was pressed flush against her back, his breath puffing out into her hair, he was warm, hot, she pushed away from him, trying to breathe.
She slipped away to the bathroom, and summoned her bags, pulling out silk pants and a tank top, she changed quickly, pulling on a robe as she opened the door, she tiptoed around the bed, to the bedroom door, it creaked loudly as she opened it but Cobra didn't shift.
She winced as her bare feet touched the cold wood, she missed the carpet of the bedroom, she shuffled down the narrow staircase and found the lobby empty, she didn't know what time it was but it must have been awfully early, the festival sounded over and the night was unusually still. She unlocked the door and took a step into the chilly morning air. The sun wasn't up yet, but the sky was lightening up like it was just below the horizon. She pulled her robe around her tighter and took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp air in her throat. She wished she had grabbed a pair of socks.
The street in front of her was pretty much empty, there were some loose remnants of the festival lying about, some confetti and lanterns, groups of young people were stumbling into their hotels and men in suits, checking their watches, were leaving their homes.
The door behind her slid all the way open and the owner of the place stepped out. His face was warm and he was in his pajamas, a coat draped over his shoulders.
"Aren't you cold?" He said as he shut the door.
"Oh, no I'm okay, it's refreshing, I didn't wake you did I?"
"No, no, I wake up at this time to prepare breakfast and start the laundry, I have four rooms here and they are all filled right now. It's been a while since I have been fully booked. Lots of work, but I'm glad to have it.
"Ah," Lucy smiled and took another deep breath, "I'm glad to be here."
"Do you have any particular requests for breakfast?" He smiled sweetly.
"Nothing specific, I'm sure whatever you cook will be amazing."
"I'm going to prepare some coffee as well, will you or your boyfriend be wanting a cup?"
Lucy's face flushed, "Oh, no... W-We aren't together, we are just fri-," she stopped. Friends? Was that what they were? "We are just traveling together, and yes, I'm sure he will want some."
"I'm sorry for assuming, I usually don't, you two just… nevermind," He smiled and bowed slightly, "I'll get started on breakfast," he left quickly.
Lucy felt her face burn and she touched her cheek, clenching her jaw. Her and Cobra were close, well, she thought so, they knew a lot about each other and had fun together, but they were together out of responsibility and necessity. So were they friends? Were they just traveling companions? She thought about what would happen when they got to Enca. The Seis would stay there, they would change their names and legitimately try to start over and build a life there. Lucy was just going there with them to let the dust settle, and while Fairy Tail came up with a solid way to get her cleared with the council. She wasn't going to stay with the Seis, she didn't need to build a new life, she had one in Fiore, in Magnolia, she had friends, a family. She would probably never see the Seis again after she left, there would be no reason too, especially if Lucy couldn't even figure out if she and Cobra were friends. It was like he was a stranger, who knew all of her secrets, that could break her heart so easily, who could pull her apart if he wanted too. How did she end up here? A series of actions and decisions, she was so desperate to stay with Cobra, someone who just seemed to understand her, that she never stepped back to look at the end result.
She took a deep breath and tried to stop overthinking it all, she had made the right decision, if she had gone with Fairy Tail there was no guarantee that she would have been cleared, and she knew Fairy Tail would have fought the council till the end if they had tried to take her, she thought even farther back, what if she hadn't gone to the spirit world? Where would she be right now?
She huffed again, this was stupid, she was a very thoughtful person, she rarely acted impulsively, she didn't like dwelling on her choices after she had made them, but she felt like all she had done since she met Cobra was doubt everything she had ever done. She couldn't yet find out if that was a good or bad thing.
The pitter-patter of rain brought her back to reality, and she took a few steps back to stand under the eave that protected the edge of the building. The rain was cold and quickly turned into a downpour, the heavy droplets painting the road in a darker tone.
"What are you thinking about?" Came Cobra's deep voice. He closed the door as he stepped beside her.
Lucy gave him a small smile and looked down at her hands, "I'm trying not too."
"Think?"
She nodded.
"Okay then, what's on your mind?" he gave her a lopsided smile when she rolled her eyes.
"I wouldn't even know how to explain it."
"You could take off the necklace and I would just know."
She thought about it for a second, her hand even reached up to touch the purple orb. She bit her lip and dropped her hand, "It's fine, it's nothing important."
"Did you have a nightmare? I woke up and you were gone, it's still pretty early," he said, his voice low.
She stiffened and said nothing, and Cobra watched her out of the corner of his eye. They stood there in silence for a few moments, Lucy inhaled, taking in the smell of the rain. She wished she could stop overthinking everything, she wished her thoughts and feelings would stop contradicting themselves. She wished that there wasn't a deep pit in her stomach. It was times like these, with the sound of the rain, and the feeling of Cobra just inches away, that she thought about Brain.
Tremors ran up her spine as if the darkness of that day had wrapped itself around her nerves. She could remember the feeling of blood dripping down her skin and the chilling feeling of feeling nothing at all as his dying scream filled her ears. She always tried to push it away, not to think about it, not think about all the choices she had made. It was stupid and pointless, she felt weirdly numb, but at the same time she felt so much, she felt like all the words that left her mouth came from someone else, that her feelings, even now, were forced, as if she was desperately hanging on to who she was before the Seis. It was different now, she was different, the spirit world, Brain, Nirvana, Cobra… Erik, they have changed her. And she knew that she would have to leave and rejoin Fairy Tail, but she wondered if she would ever feel the same there again, she felt like she was scared to live again, scared to have her life taken over again, to have all of her choice taken away.
Cobra's hand on her face startled her, his fingers wiped her cheeks, brushing her eyes, relieving her skin of the tears that had begun to fall, "Cobra," came her tearful sob.
"I know," he pulled her in and hugged her, it was desperate, his hand ran through her hair to hold her head, his arm wrapped around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck, she released a shaky sob.
"You must think I'm so stupid, to cry over nothing, after everything you have been through," she cried out in tearful bursts.
"No, no, I have never thought that, not ever, you have every reason to cry, it's okay," his hold on her tightened, "It's okay Lucy, I'm right here."
That was the problem, he was here now, but he wouldn't always be. How was she supposed to give everything to him, her trust, her devotion, and maybe even her love, if she was just going to leave, but she had to leave. She couldn't be in both places at once, it was Fairy Tail or the Oracion Seis in the end, and she would always choose Fairy Tail, she knew that but it still pulled at her heart in ways she wished it didn't.
It was all too much, Brain, the nightmares, the new powers, the running, the choices, the pain, the regret.
Cobra's arm loosened and Lucy's heart jumped into her throat, she tried to pull away, to apologize, but his arms moved and picked her up, his hands on her thighs, she had to lean against him as her feet left the ground, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, he opened the door with one hand, and moved to hold her head as he bounded up the stairs, into their room. "It's okay," he whispered.
The room was dark and he left it like that as he sat on the bed, Lucy still wrapped around him, she continued to cry.
It hurt him, and he hated it. He could guess why she was upset, it wasn't a complicated reason, it was probably everything at once, she was slightly upset about one thing and everything hit her at once. He knew the feeling.
So he held her, was it out of character? Yes. But everything he seemed to feel towards her was out of character, the warmth, and the light, it seeped out of her, in waves, and she didn't know it. It was almost cliche, the way she made him feel, the way she made him feel good. Like he hadn't been the monster he tried to convince himself he wasn't, he had been paralyzed, there was no real him. He was lost, completely lost in the dream of just having a family, and a place to belong, having a friend that could hear him, and understand him. It was so easy to love her, if he just thought about it for a few mere seconds he could love her, but he pushed it away, he refused to allow himself to feel something that deep for her when he knew that a love like theirs wouldn't last.
She sobbed into him for what felt like hours and Cobra laid down, his back meeting the mattress, she was still on top of him, her face still wet but her eyes closed, her breathing even. He rolled over, taking her with him, she was under him for a moment, and he had to stop himself from kissing her as he got up. Her lids opened lazily at him and she moved to cling to a pillow, mumbling something incoherent as she slipped into a well-earned sleep.
He stood by the bed, just trying not to melt into the feelings he was having for the first time in his life. He let her sleep, the sun aroused slowly, basking the sky in a golden glow, he got ready, making sure that Lucy was sleeping soundly, he made sure no nightmare took her from the peaceful sleep she deserved.
He found their bag of clothes in the bathroom and pulled his toothbrush from one of the compartments, he took his time brushing his teeth and hair.
He looked at his white jacket, the stark white material almost making him mad. He had been so scared of change his entire life that he even clung to the same garment, he had had a collection of the very same jacket, clinging to any source of familiarity and consistency in his everyday life. He almost laughed at himself in the mirror. What an ignorant fool he had been. He tossed the jacket in the bathroom trash and pulled out a red haori that he had made Lucy pack in Rozu. It was a dusty shade of crimson, with the occasional white flower that adorned the edges of the fabric. He pulled it on over his black shirt and jack pants. He studied his reflection.
He looked like his father.
He caught a smile in the mirror and looked down.
-it felt right-
