Charmed

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Chapter Twelve: Safety Net

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Natsu glared into space as he was sandwiched in between a crowd of stagnant onlookers, the glare increasing as he felt himself slowly being squished shoulder to shoulder with others who didn't seem to care that they were all up in each other's business. A woman's purse buckle dug into his right arm and someone had stepped on his foot, causing him to curse to himself quietly.

"I told you, you idiot!" he could hear Gray's mocking voice booming over the dozens of voices ringing in his ears. He rolled his eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction of showing him that he regretted diving into the swarming crowd. It not only went against his personal style of tackling problems, it went against his morals about being wrong, and he'd rather stab his tongue with a fork than admit Gray was right.

They received the notice that there was an incident in town just as Natsu got to the guild shortly after noon. He and Gray were sitting lazily at one of the tables finishing up a late breakfast, Natsu had just swallowed a generous gulp of ale when he noticed Erza standing near the front entrance conversing with someone. The serious look on her face was enough for Natsu to rise from his seat and approach his friend, only to find that it was Loke who she was speaking with. As he approached the two, the words bomb and robbery registered almost immediately in his ears. Happy settled in his place atop of Natsu's head.

"They have it under control, but something has to be done about the collateral. She sent me for reinforcements." the spirit told Erza, who nodded confidently. Natsu could only assume that he was talking about Lucy.

"I'm heading there right now." Erza confirmed, her eyes catching Natsu's questioning glance. "Grab a couple others and meet up in the town, divide and conquer."

"What's going on?" Gray's voice spoke up behind Natsu, just as Loke disappeared in a golden flash and Erza took off towards the main path that led to the heart of the town. Natsu watched her leave before turning to Gray.

"They need us in town." Natsu said, his eyes diverting back inside of the guild. "Oy, Gajeel, Juvia, Let's head out!"

The group had made their way in haste, only to meet the infamous traffic jam that was promised upon their arrival. Being a local for quite some time, Natsu confirmed with himself that he'd never seen the town in such a state, at least not a seemingly normal day. The onlookers seemed eager to witness what those ahead were soaking in.

Natsu's first mistake of the afternoon was letting Happy float off to survey the area. Mistake number two was scooting straight into the crowd despite warnings from Gray and the others.

"Geez." he huffed under his breath, eyes scanning for any sort of opening to make it through. His usual plan of blasting himself up and above the crowd was null and void for obvious reasons, nobody needed to be burnt to a crisp who didn't deserve to be.

Swiping past shaking heads and whiffs of strange perfume, his eyes lit up when a man took a step off to the side and revealed a small opening. He darted towards it, a child running straight to dangling candy, swiping past foreign bodies and ignoring yelps of surprise as he burst out of the human sea.

Only to be met with an empty street of small boutiques, seeming to be closed for the day due to the unforeseen events. Nonetheless, it was abandoned and most likely not the place he needed to be. Natsu tilted his head up, attempting to catch sight of Happy, though the only blue he saw was the blue sky above the buildings. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Are you hurt?"

The voice caught his attention promptly. He turned back around and locked eyes with a girl who looked to have just escaped the crowd as he did. Her green eyes swam with concern, sizing him up as if to pass a judgment. Natsu noticed a smudge of red on the left sleeve of her white top, most likely swiped on by someone's lipstick she snuck past in the crowd. He frowned as she scanned him quickly, as if to assess his status.

"Huh?" he questioned, frowning as she curiously took a step towards him, her wedge shoes clicking against the gravel. "I'm fine." he told the stranger confidently, nodding to himself as he questioningly glanced at his legs and arms, just in case he missed some cut or bruise that she noticed. He pursed his lips when she continued to stare at him. "I said I'm fine."

"Sorry," she commented, taking a step closer to him and shooting him a curious look. "You just look familiar is all. I definitely-oh wait!" she exclaimed suddenly, her eyes catching sight of his right shoulder. "Your guild mark! I knew I recognized you."

Natsu frowned, knowing for sure he'd never seen the girl before. That apparently did not matter to her, as she obviously knew exactly who he was. Then again, a lot of people knew Fairy Tail, it wasn't like the guild never made headlines in Fiore. She, however, was giving Natsu a look that seemed to send out the vibe that she knew him on a personal level.

"You're Natsu right?" she asked him. Natsu opened his mouth to reply, but she swirled her head around to glance back at the bustling crowd. "Erza said that you and the others would be coming, jeez, I have no idea where anyone else is." she muttered.

This immediately caught his attention. "You were with Erza?" he asked her, her attention being brought back to him.

"Oh, yes!" she confirmed, nodding. "I probably should've mentioned that in the first place. There was an explosion; not a terribly huge one though; Levy managed to contain the blast before it could hit anyone." She then noticed the lipstick stain on her sleeve and narrowed her eyes, uttering a small curse under her breath.

"Do you know where the ignition point was?" he asked the girl, not bothering to question her further about how she was cooperating with his guildmates or on a first name basis with Erza or him for that matter.

"Lucy's there now." she told him, still scowling at her sleeve before sighing. "It was near a flower shop, the one next to that large field, green and white awning." She turned to meet his gaze once more, her green eyes blazing honestly, pointing off in a direction north west.

Natsu glanced up towards the sky, trying once more to search for any sight of Happy. Unsuccessful in his task, he shot another glare at his obstacle of human bodies. As if she could read his mind, the girl took a step towards him.

"Let me give you a lift." she offered, giving him a friendly smile as she dropped her directioning arm and brought it in front of her, palm open towards the ground. A soft grumbling noise echoed off of the walls as Natsu watched with fascination as a large green vine sprouted up through the gravel, some stones innocently hitting his ankles. The vine snaked through the ground towards the brick wall to their left, climbing up the building and knotting itself in small loops as if to create steps.

Natsu looked back at his company, and grinned. "That's some handy magic. Thanks stranger!"

"Stella." she replied confidently, grinning back at him. "Happy to help."

She watched Natsu as he stepped up on the knot of the vine, sturdy and firm. When Natsu decided that the vine was strong enough to hold his weight, he gave a prompt wave in the girl's-Stella's-direction. He directed his attention to the sky, and darted up the vine towards the rooftop.

Having a whole new pathway void of traffic, he hopped across the tops of the vacant shops and cafes in the direction that Stella pointed in. While he didn't spend too much time in this portion of the town, he was familiar with the large field that she'd mentioned. He secretly enjoyed the scents that the wildflowers and untouched grass gave off whenever he'd pass by it. He could see the large field in the direction he was headed, confirming that he had the correct direction. He scanned the sky and his surroundings as he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, still no sight of Happy or any other exceed.

The soft breeze blew a familiar scent his way, and he immediately gravitated towards it. He grinned when he felt a pair of paws touch his shoulders. "Took ya long enough, buddy."

"Aye, sir!" Happy's voice chirped determinedly, lifting his partner effortlessly into the air and taking him the rest of the way. He let Happy soar through the air onwards, his paws holding Natsu steadily as usual. "It's just up ahead."

A minute later, Happy brought the two of them down to a lower elevation, releasing Natsu a few feet above the ground. His feet touched down successfully on the cobblestone with a small thud. The scents of soot and scorch invaded his nose as he gazed around the affected area. He looked sullenly at the surrounding storefronts, seemingly unharmed save for a couple of tables and scattered petals from destroyed bushes mixed in with the soot. Chatter from the leftover crowd pricked in his ears; a frantic sweeping of a broom against the ground echoing in the distance.

"Who in the hell did this?" Natsu asked aloud, frowning at his soot-caked sandals.

"It looks like whoever it was, they came prepared," Happy confirmed sullenly, perching himself on Natsu's shoulder. "But it looks like this part of the street was shielded well."

"Gotta be Levy's work." they heard a gruff yet confident voice speak out, amongst some shoves and grunts. Natsu and Happy turned to see Gajeel bust out of the sea of Magnolians, huffing as he swiped invisible dust off of his arms. His steely eyes scanned the area almost too quickly before nodding to himself. "Her script can be pretty powerful if used correctly."

Natsu eyed the scorch marks against the awning of the flower shop. "Well she sure knows when to jump in." His eyes followed a set of small footprints near the store front, catching sight of a small child in a purple dress, her black hair swooshing across her back as she tugged at her mother's arm impatiently. "Did anyone happen to brief you on what happened?"

"Something about a firework bomb and some stolen jewelry." Gajeel shrugged, "I passed Erza only for a second before she shoved me in this direction."

Natsu scoffed. "Too bad I wasn't there, firecracker bombs are delcious."

"Explains your airhead personality." Gajeel joked at Natsu, who only rolled his eyes and lightly punched his arm. He was about to reply when a frantic and soft voice once again met his ears, turning back towards the child in the purple dress. She tugged more urgently on her mother's jacket sleeve, who was busy conversing with another woman dressed in a similar fashion. He normally would have ignored the child, as his hearing quite often allowed him to pick up on unwanted conversations and toddler tantrums. However, he took note of the flustered shade of pink on her cheeks and her widened brown eyes; they swam with something that Natsu didn't like in the least bit. He watched as she continued to tug on her mother's sleeve, her little hands shaking while taking small glances behind her, only to shudder each time. A dark feeling anchored itself inside of Natsu's body, turning towards the direction that the girl kept shooting glances at.

The blades of grass bent easily and languidly with the breeze, the fresh scent still ever so present. A few flower petals blew off in the distance, on a journey to who knows where. He followed the petals as they floated until he caught sight of someone standing just where the flowers bordered the tall grass, her blonde hair blowing innocently with the wind.

"Lucy's there now." He heard Stella's words echo in his head, and he began to walk towards his partner, picking up her scent almost a second after the thought came to his head. He recognized the purple top that she had on, as it had been draped over her chair on her vanity the other night, a trivial memory. He saw the sunlight reflect off of her gold keyring, tucked trustily against her white skirt.

"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu called out to his partner, taking a few more steps closer to her as he watched her take a step towards the flowers, her back slightly bent forward as if she were examining something. He watched as her fingers lightly traced the flora in front of her, and he frowned as she froze suddenly.

"Luce?" he called again, this time feeling that something was off. He watched her from behind as she slowly peeled back the flowers in front of her and reached for the blades of grass. She remained still, frozen and unyielding. Natsu took a few more steps, closer to her now. As he approached, he saw how her fingers began to shake; the tremors traveled up her arms and he heard her inhale sharply. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had found something.

Her right hand shot up to her head, clutching her temple. More urgently, he moved to lessen the distance between them. "What's wrong-" he began to ask, until a final gust of the afternoon blew gently against his face. The breeze traveled through the grass and flowers before meeting Natsu's nose. He inhaled slowly, and within a second's notice, his eyes widened in horror.

Lucy finally turned towards Natsu slowly, her hand still pressing against the right side of her head. She met his eyes, brown swimming with horror and something else that he couldn't name. He didn't need to name it, he knew that she was most likely experiencing similar if not the exact same rush of dread. Small buds of tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, he wanted so desperately to wipe them away, however he was planted in his spot.

"Go get Makarov.." Lucy finally spoke, her voice soaked with a terrifying neutrality. "We need to clear this area now."

He didn't have to tear his gaze away from hers to know what she had found. The smell was pungent and grim, a harsh reminder of just how cruel the world could be.

Natsu opened his eyes slowly, his ceiling coming into focus in a lethargic blur. His eyes burned from rousing from his sleep earlier than expected, though he was surprised that he even fell asleep to begin with.

They had stayed in their spot in the field until the others had arrived. Happy had been tasked with delivering the grim message back at the guild, reluctant to leave his safe perch on Natsu's shoulders but knew what had to be done.

They all played their part well and efficiently, some wearing sturdier masks than others. Levy conjured up her trusty script to block off the patch of grass and flowers quietly, though the tremors that shook her fingertips as she completed her work. As another matter of good measure, she made a second barrier back up near the storefronts adjacent to the field. This of course couldn't stop the ongoing traffic jam of curious and horrified onlookers, but it was something at least. Fairy Tail members each stood in the densely populated sections, firm in their direction to keep any and everyone who did not have their guild mark stamped on their body out and away from the field.

When Makarov arrived, he calmly walked towards the unofficial grave of the little girl. Natsu remembered catching a glimpse of the man's face, grim and serious, the face of a man who had seen death before of course, but this was different.

A child, innocent and robbed of a whole life ahead of her, thrown away like trash on the side of the road.

Twenty more minutes had passed before the next set of visitors arrived on the scene, two men dressed in business casual attire approached Makarov, the guildmaster turning to greet them in a professional manner. Desperate to rid his nose of the scent of decay, Natsu focused on their scents instead; musk and sandalwood; their leather shoes winning over his nose's attention the most. His eyes glazed over their neat appearances, though didn't spend any extra time sizing them up. The only thing that seemed to catch his attention were the gold pins that were stuck to their jackets, a sort of wreath design with text that he didn't bother trying to make out, assuming it had something to do with their authority with the magic council. This did pique his interest slightly, as this was not usual practice for the council to get involved with crime in a guild's jurisdiction unless it was necessary.

The remaining afternoon was spent as expected. As they were the ones who found the body, the two men were escorted directly towards Natsu and Lucy. As expected, they did have relations with the council, a special wing specialized for crime. They hadn't provided the two with in depth details regarding their work, though it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Natsu figured it was okay for now, since Makarov seemed familiar with the two men having addressed them on a first name basis. They were informed that they would be seeing more of them within the coming days, as the girl was found in Magnolia the investigation would fall into the jurisdiction of the guild; It was just as Natsu expected.

Since Natsu couldn't really provide the men with any important information, he let Lucy do all the talking. He listened as she gave recounts of her day, from the robbery to the escape, and to making her way into the field after catching a glimpse of the deceased between the flowerbeds. He listened to her heartbeat, which was unusually calm and steady despite her prior reaction. She spoke with clarity, answering their questions as if she were a student being quizzed in a classroom. He ignored the factual signs, as always. He knew that there was no way in hell that this calmness she was presenting was real.

The two were then dismissed, the investigators confirming that Lucy had provided them with all that they currently needed. They were to report to the guild early the next morning, each and every member, no exceptions.

Natsu turned in his bed and glanced at the clock, 11 PM it read in an angry red glow. While he wasn't one to go to bed so early, he had no energy to be conscious. He felt Happy curled up next to his head on his pillow, his breathing steady with slumber. This made him calm, tuning into his partner's deep breaths.

Try as he may, he couldn't get the memory of that horrible scent out of his brain. It was haunting, nothing like smelling fresh blood or a dried up injury on a human body. He had seen death before, hell, he experienced it more often than he'd have liked to admit. But a child; this was a whole other ball game.

His eyes languidly traced a small crack on his ceiling, still visible in the dark. He followed the uneven lines back and forth as he felt slumber's attempt at dragging him under its steady stream. It felt like a pendulum swing, melodically moving from point A to point B and back, stuck in its path. He opened his ears to the surrounding noises of the night; frogs croaking in a nearby pond, the slightest buzz of insect wings taking off, crickets chirping their nightly ritual.

And something else.

Natsu's eyes opened fully, breaking out of his trance. He didn't move from his spot on the bed, only listened closely to confirm the sound, though his ears were rarely he was one-hundred percent certain, he tossed his blanket off of his bed and sat up swiftly. He was quiet enough not to disturb Happy, who had the same amount of trouble succumbing to sleep as he had earlier that evening. His bare feet touched the floor as he pulled down his white t-shirt, having ridden up in the process of getting out of bed. He raked his hands in his messy hair as he carefully made his way to their front door, the source of his rousing getting closer by the second. To not waste any further seconds, his fingertips met the cold metal knob of the door and he twisted it, pulling it open quietly.

He blinked at his guest slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark before he frowned softly. "What are you doing here?" he asked her, his voice hoarse from sleep.

Lucy looked at him as if she were a small child who'd just woken up from a nightmare, her blonde hair tied up in a messy ponytail and hanging pathetically down her front right shoulder. Her large pink t-shirt covered all of her torso up to her mid thighs, a pair of light gray shorts peeking through underneath.

He saw the dark circles under her eyes but said nothing, waiting to see if she would speak up. Had they been there earlier this afternoon? He couldn't remember.

She never came to his house, if anything it was a huge rarity for her to show up there without any intention of lecturing him to clean up a little or stock up his fridge with items without added sugar.

She trudged towards him calmly, her ponytail slipping off her shoulder and falling to her back. She stared at his chest, keeping quiet as she made it to her destination. A couple of crickets chirped in the distance.

He noticed that her shoulders were shaking, concern flashing in his eyes "Hey," he reached out and lightly touched her biceps. "What's wrong?"

Ignoring his question, she raised her right arm up towards his collar and touched his shoulder. Her fingers then made contact with his skin near his neck, making Natsu's pulse jump. She leaned closer to him, her eyes glimmering with a saddened sheen. They flitted up to his own, then to his lips, and back again. After a second of hesitation, she broke the space between them and snaked her hand up behind his head, bringing his lips down softly to meet her own.

The kiss was slow and steady, almost sad. Natsu felt her left hand cup his cheek softly, her fuzzy slippers tickling his bare feet. Caught in surprise at first, he allowed himself to register that he was being kissed before he reciprocated the act. He adapted to her rhythm, releasing her arms and placing his right hand on her lower back. He lightly traced her jaw with his other hand as she brought both of her hands towards the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair softly. This made him deepen the kiss, tasting the remnants of her lip balm on his lips. Their hearts pounded in each of their respective chests, the vibrations pushing them closer.

She broke away slowly, her eyes meeting his before lowering her head and burying her face into his chest, her hands sliding down from his head and crumpling up his shirt between her fingers.

"I…can't be alone right now." she whispered softly.

Natsu looked down at her blonde head, a melancholy feeling swallowing him whole as he let her press herself harder into his chest.. He remembered her behavior earlier that day, how she wore her mask so efficiently in front of the others. He was the only one who was close enough in proximity to her to know that she was faking her professionalism all too well, and he couldn't blame her for that. Lucy was strong and fearless, brave in any event that she faced for the sake of her friends. He knew that even the strongest fighter had their weak points, times that not even their jaded experiences could shield them from crashing down on their own sword.

Nobody can prepare to find what she found.

He sighed softly, placing his chin atop her head as he wrapped his arms around her securely, wishing he could shelter her from the brutality of the world.

"You're not alone." he affirmed, pressing his lips atop her head. "I've got you."

Muted party chatter boomed throughout the night, abandoned plastic cups sticky with the remnants of alcohol littering the brick path of a distant town. Festive string lights adorned the entryways of each bar on the street, inviting and illuminating the doors to several parties. Inside, flashing lights of every color of the rainbow drowned the crowd as they danced and drank to forget their woes and lose themselves in the fun of the evening. The scents of fried food and sugar permeated throughout the night air.

A figure dressed in all black made their way down this path confidently, wishing and desiring to partake in the fun that undoubtedly lurked behind each closed door on the street. Violet eyes darted longingly at each entryway, perhaps one dance couldn't hurt?

A sigh escaped through perfectly glossed lips as a round of cheers erupted from the bar they walked past. No, there wasn't any time for that tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. After all, they already had their adrenaline rush for the day; barely escaping from those people who sought to take back her treasures. The nerve of some people.

Magnolia was a small and silly little town, but the place did have taste when it came to jewelry.

The last of the string lights was reached on the road, the remaining part of the street dark and abandoned due to the late hours of the night. Up ahead stood a couple book shops and clothing stores, boring really, nothing too interesting to the naked eye once the sun vanished.

The soft clicking of the metal inside of a velvet pouch tied onto a belt loop on their pants echoed against the stone fence as they hopped over it. Their body, once drowned in the orange-yellow light of the street, was devoured by the dark shadows of the alley ahead. Glancing back to confirm that they weren't being followed, they slinked over to a door hidden in the dark on the side of the building that made up the alleyway. Fingers curled around the cold metal handle, opening the door and slipping inside quietly.

Earthy wood and stale beer permeated the room, the temperature dropped several degrees as the walls were made of cold stone. Shelves adorned the walls, holding vintage bottles of alcohol and other shiny trinkets. Couches made of red and green velvet sat in front of each of the four walls, covering up the areas of the room where moss grew in between the cracks of the stone.

The pouch was unclipped from its perch on the wearer's belt and dropped atop a wooden table in the middle of the room. After unzipping the black leather jacket that stuck uncomfortably to the skin, the article of clothing was tossed onto the nearest couch. A feminine silhouette relished in the relief of the lost weight, the cool air seeping straight through the fabric of a black t-shirt underneath.

Sighing with delight, the black mask was ripped off and tossed across the room, fingers softly massaging the bridge of their nose where the itchy fabric stuck securely to their face.

"Look who's back!" a voice boomed teasingly, immediately triggering an annoyed glare from beneath massaging fingers. "The material girl herself."

A man stood across the room, leaning casually against another doorway, his fingers lightly tapping on the sake bottle he held in his right hand. A thick, silver ring emitted a harsh click with each finger tap. His white leather jacket matched his short spiky hair almost perfectly, which never ceased to not be annoyingly neat. His other hand rested in his pocket, black jeans that almost blended into the shadows of the opened door behind him.

"Jupiter, darling." he greeted, approaching the table. "You almost had me worried that you wouldn't come back."

Violet eyes flashed mischievously, lips melting into a smirk. Her fingertips ceasing their massage, they made their way up and clutched onto the black beanie, pulling it and flinging it up into the air as if it were a baby bird ready for a flight lesson. Vibrant, magenta hair was released from its cage, cascading down her shoulders and falling just beneath her breasts.

"Your distrust offends me Claude." her voice purred back at the white haired man. She turned her attention to the pouch in front of her on the table, undoing the strings that kept it tied together and allowed the contents to spill out on the table. Several pieces of chunky, gold jewelry pieces fell onto the wood with a solid clunk, amongst other smaller pieces. Her fingers traced a thick gold chain, plucking it from the pile and holding it up in front of her to admire it. "And here I went to all this trouble to bring you guys some souvenirs."

"And I assume almost getting caught wasn't part of your plan?" the man named Claude asked her ironically, approaching the table and grabbing a ring adorned with a red ruby. "Leave it to you to go on a stealing spree while on duty." He stared at his reflection admiringly before the ring was swiped away from him suddenly, his female companion glaring at him.

"It doesn't count if I let it happen." she huffed at him, tossing the ring back into the pile of stolen valuables. "I have my way of doing things."

"Ju loves the attention Claude, don't flatter her." another female voice commented wryly in the distance, entering the room from the shadows. A slender and tall blonde woman breezed past the two, her heels clicking against the ground. She sat down casually atop the green velvet couch to the left of the table, smoothing down wrinkles on her white palazzo pants before crossing her legs.

"My Mere-bear knows me so well." Jupiter replied, giggling as she sarcastically rolled her eyes. She plucked a pair of dangling earrings made of emerald, holding them up and admiring the glow of the torch fire in their direction. She secured them to her ears as she walked over to an oval shaped mirror fastened to the wall, sighing to herself as she admired her reflection. "These are so my color."

"So should I be the one to let him know that you've been slacking off while the two of us have been working?" The blonde asked her comrade wryly, crossing her arms over her light blue crop top.

Jupiter glared at her reflection. "Who says I haven't been working?" she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I had the harder task, all you guys did was make a drop off and dip."

"And I got blood on my favorite jacket because of it, thank-you-very-much." she rolled her eyes, directing her attention to her pink manicured nails. "The little brat bled all over me."

"Maybe next time don't wear your fancy clothes when killing children, yeah?" Claude commented, taking another sip from his bottle.

"Tell me again why he asked you to dump that little girl's body out in the open again?" Jupiter asked nonchalantly, as if the conversation were about something as innocent as asking for someone's favorite color or proffered ice cream flavor. To any listener, their casual conversation regarding murder would be deemed sociopathic. "Doesn't seem too helpful to ring an alarm and bring attention on us, does it?"

"There's a guild in that town." Claude replied smoothly. "Attention is the whole point don't you think?"

"I mean I guess." Jupiter shrugged, spinning in front of the mirror and lightly touching the jewels hanging below her ears. "But wouldn't it make more sense to have dumped the other body instead?"

"I'm sure our Meredith can answer that." Claude teased, his blue eyes swiping over to the blonde still perched on the couch, who shot him a glare and huffed as he smirked in her direction. "She's his favorite after all."

"Maybe if you listened to him when he talks to us you'd have your answer." the blonde, Meredith, snapped back at him. "It's to weed out the targets faster. Being his favorite has nothing to do with it."

"Oh, so you admit it then? You know you're his favorite?" Claude chuckled softly. "It's about time."

"Fuck off." she rolled her eyes, the faintest blush forming on her cheeks behind her hair. Not that she would let them see it.

"Still don't really get it." Jupiter sighed, rolling the earrings between her thumb and index finger languidly. "He explains things, but I still just don't click with the logic."

"Don't worry about the logic, just worry about actually doing what you're told." Meredith replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Stuck in your own little world again, instead of pulling your weight." she huffed.

Jupiter's fingers froze at those words, annoyance bubbling up in her throat as her expression turned icy. "I already told you, I completed what was asked of me."

"Oh?" Claude piqued, lowering his bottle from his lips. "So you found some then?"

"Two, actually." Jupiter finally turned to face her comrades, a condescending smile on her face. "With visual confirmation and all."

Both Meredith's and Claude's eyes glittered questioningly after receiving an answer for their assumption. Frankly, it was addictive for Jupiter to watch the two realize they may have been proven wrong for once. It was as euphoric as a five year old being handed a giant chocolate bar. Arrogant, annoying jerks she thought to herself as her eyes greedily went back to the jewelry pile and spotted an amethyst ring.

"By visual you mean…" Claude asked cautiously, which prompted Jupiter to roll her eyes as she placed the ring on her left pointer finger. She raised her hand up in the air and gazed at her annoyed eyes in the gem's reflection. "What exactly?"

"The same exact thing that each of them carries." she replied dryly, not bothering to address her company with eye contact. "The same boring hunks of metal. I've seen 'em enough to know what one looks like."

She watched her eyes flare menacingly in her small reflection, despite her innocent demeanor. This made her smile return all too quickly, falling back into her own little world of all things that glittered.

"Ugly things." she said softly. "I much rather prefer this kind of silver and gold."

Natsu's eyes opened slowly to the view of his ceiling for the second time that night, the burn of slumber now strongly attempting to pull him back into his null state. He almost allowed himself to succumb to sleep, until he registered the extra weight nestled next to him and remembered the events that occurred that evening.

His eyes darted to his clock, the numbers 2:45 AM glaring back at him in angry red. He drowsily affirmed to himself that they had more time before the morning, and with this thought he glanced down to his left.

Lucy's breaths were slow and steady, eyelids fluttering. He could still see the dark circles stamped under her eyes, peeking through her blonde eyelashes. He was glad that she could at least get some hours of sleep, to escape the weight of her day. Her hair was sprawled out on her half of his pillow, Happy curled up on top of her locks. His fuzzy cheek was smushed up against her head, the two breathing in almost perfect synchronization. Her grip around Natsu's torso was loose yet firm, unchanging from the moment they'd crawled into the bed.

He studied her face, sadly tracing her features as the image of her at his doorstep flashed in his mind. His chest pounded with pain as her words echoed in his mind, a sad haze.

"I…can't be alone right now."

He watched her peaceful face for the rest of the time that he laid awake, wishing and hoping to memorize Lucy in this very state before the sun broke through the clouds of the night sky. His eyes closed slowly, planting his chin atop her head as he replayed her sleeping face in his head as he grew unconscious with sleep.

They'd deal with it all in the morning.

A/N: Ayoo it's ya girl with another chapter! I wanted to note that it's been a looong time since I read the Fairy Tail manga, so I could not recall if this world has a justice system beyond the guilds handing everything? For the sake of the plot, it now exists, and will be explained in further chapters. So if it seems like it's breezed over in this chapter...it definitely is BUT will be re-addressed.