. Seven Deadly Sins .
"I get the feeling, down below,
It's coming back to take control.
It's like a fire, a stranglehold.
I feel like a criminal.
~x~
One, criminal.
Two, animal.
Three, typical.
Four, breakable,
Five, I can't find it…
…
So I hide it.
~x~
People falling into the seven deadly sins,
Continuing to wander.
We struggled, wanting light, hear our wish,
Surpassing all sin."
~ "Seven Deadly Sins" by Man With a Mission
From the instant that Natsu set foot into the house he'd shared with his two cousins for years and years, he knew something was off. He wasn't sure what it was that made him think that way, but he could practically taste that offness in the air as he paused in the foyer, listening.
"Natsu," a voice whispered from the stairs, shaken. He felt a flash of relief. He should have come back sooner than the evening, he thought, feeling guilty when she gave a sob.
"Wendy," he said gently, and then grunted when she slammed into him, throwing her arms around his torso. He hugged her back, frowning. "What's wrong?" he asked, ruffling his younger cousin's blue hair. She stepped back to let him kick off his shoes, running a hand through her length of hair.
"Gajeel," she admitted, her voice quavering. "He wrecked the kitchen."
Natsu winced. "Is it because of me?" he asked. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Gajeel was known for getting violent when he was truly pissed, although he'd never take that out on Wendy or even Natsu - especially after the situations he'd pulled them from. He merely took it out on objects, or people who truly deserved it.
"That's the thing," Wendy breathed. "I don't...I don't think so."
Natsu stilled, folding his arms and reaching for something at his throat. His fingers hovered uselessly over nothing before falling. "What do you mean? Is he here?" he asked quietly.
"No," she murmured back. Wendy wrapped her arms around herself, nervous. "He left a couple of hours ago and didn't come back. I was…" She took a deep breath. "He was mad, 'cause you'd left again-"
"I'm sorry about that," Natsu interrupted. "I didn't mean to scare ya, Wendy. Lucy needed me."
Her lips twitched a little. "That's what Gajeel told me. Just...leave a note next time?"
"I promise," he vowed. "Now, what happened?"
"Like I said," she said as he made his way to the kitchen to view the damage. "He was mad at you, and we were having lunch. He was eating his sandwich…" She trailed off, shivering. "And then all of a sudden, he lost it." Her voice cracked now. "One moment he was just annoyed, and the next, he'd flipped the table, and-"
Natsu stopped listening to her when he saw the kitchen, stilling in the doorway. Gajeel hadn't just wrecked their kitchen - he'd destroyed it. The door of the fridge was dented beyond repair and barely hanging on, the table in pieces. The glass on the front of the oven had shattered, and the door of the microwave had been ripped off. Dishes of every kind were shattered all over the place, and Wendy whimpered when she looked at those. Natsu squeezed her shoulder. Those dishes had belonged to Grandeeney before them. No wonder she was so upset about everything.
"Damn," he muttered. "You know what he was mad about?"
"No," she said and shook her head. "Just...like a switch. What do we do? I'm worried about him. I hope he's okay…"
Natsu ran a hand down his face. This was not a good day. "How about," he said slowly, "you go get your shoes on? I'm gonna call Lucy, and see if you can go hang out with her for a while, and I'll go look for Gajeel. Levy might know something."
"I want to help you," Wendy protested, but he shook his head.
"No," he told her firmly, smiling gently at Wendy. "He'll get madder at me for letting you run the town and if he's mad enough to do this," he jerked a thumb at the destruction, "then let's not make him angrier, okay? 'Sides. Lucy's got good food all the time."
"Okay," she agreed. She ran upstairs to go get her things and Natsu withdrew his phone, not hesitating to dial Lucy's number. He put the phone to his ear, waiting, and then flashed a grin when Lucy picked up almost immediately.
"Natsu?" she said, sounding distracted. "What's up?"
"Are you at the bakery or your place?" Natsu smiled faintly when Happy suddenly appeared and rubbed against his legs. Lucy told him that she was still at the bakery, but would be finishing up soon, and Natsu nodded to himself. "Can I drop Wendy off with you?"
"Sure, I wouldn't mind some help with a few pastries before I head home," Lucy said slowly. "Can I ask why?"
"Gajeel destroyed the kitchen and disappeared off into the town. Hypocrite," he grumbled. "I need to go look for him and figure out where he went. I was gonna check with Levy at the museum first."
"Bring her here," Lucy said confidently, sympathetic. "I'll give her something tasty to help her feel better. And yeah, check with Levy first and foremost." She sounded firm about this decision, and Natsu trusted her enough to not question why she thought as much. "Gray's here, he can help me keep her occupied until you figure out where he went."
"Thanks, Lucy," he said quietly and then hung up as Wendy came downstairs, a bag thrown over her shoulder and a coat slung on. Natsu quickly put on his own shoes and ruffled her hair playfully. She huffed at him. "You can drive," he told her, throwing her the car keys. "You need the practice."
Despite her worry for Gajeel, Wendy practically glowed.
The bakery was lit up despite the darkness of night, and Natsu felt a swell of warmth in his chest as he and Wendy clambered out of the car. He paused to wait for his cousin on the curb, looking in through the windows. He could see Gray leaning against a counter, squinting through the windows as if looking to see who'd arrived, and Lucy was nowhere to be found. Probably in the back.
The bakery had become like a home away from home for him, Natsu realized. He was comfortable within it, and would have lived there, likely, if he'd been given the chance.
When Wendy was ready, the pair headed inside. The bell rang in a familiar way as Natsu pushed the door open, and he paused when the sound seemed to echo in his head for a moment. He furrowed his brow and pushed past it, instead scowling when Gray drawled, "Look who can't seem to leave." Natsu squinted at him; was that concern showing on his face? And not for Wendy, either. Natsu couldn't imagine what he'd be so worried about.
"Gray," Lucy warned as she came out of the back. She smiled warmly at Natsu, and something in his chest twisted as she did so. "Hey there, Wendy! I hear you're here to hang with us...good thing, too, Gray and I could use your help with some baking. I ended up running a little behind and didn't have time to make tomorrow's special."
Wendy eyed her suspiciously, as if suspecting that the blonde was simply coming up with things on the spot, but then smiled back. "Sounds like fun!" she decided, dumping her things on the counter. She looked anxiously to Natsu. "Will you call if you find Gajeel?"
"I'll call immediately," Natsu promised, ruffling his hair. "Hey, Luce, Levy should be at the museum, right?"
"When is she not?" Gray muttered, earning a swat to the back of his head. Lucy rolled her eyes at Gray's attitude and nodded.
"She's there more often than she's at home," Lucy confirmed. She searched his gaze for a moment. "Call and let me know if you need some extra eyes. I'm sure Gray would be willing to help out if he can." Gray looked at her irritably for offering his help, but nodded reluctantly anyways, frowning and looking worried again.
Natsu tore his eyes away from Gray to say honestly, "Thanks, Luce," and then whirled away to head outside.
He felt Lucy's eyes burning into him even after he was long gone.
Natsu ducked into the museum without hesitation, hands pushed into his pockets. He'd been there several times now, all for his own sake. He found that the items within the building helped to clear his mind, and it was easy to avoid conversations with the ever so nosy Levy when she couldn't exactly see him. He just had to be quiet.
Now, he found that he wanted to find her. He'd not seen Levy since she'd brought those two strangers to visit he and Lucy. It hadn't been long ago, only two days or so, that Levy had brought Jellal and Meredy into the Heartfilia Bakery. He still wasn't sure about those two...but he needed to find Levy.
She wasn't hard to track down. He found her with the very two he'd seen previously, and Natsu faltered at the sight of the two of them. They were leaning over a case containing tattered pieces of cloth supporting an emblem Natsu knew on sight after being there so many times. Levy hung back, simply leaning on her cane. Various people went in and out of the area, looking at the different exhibits, and Natsu found he noticed far too many people for his liking looking at that odd scaled scarf that always caught his attention. That and the case displaying twelve golden keys and one black one.
Shaking off his thoughts, Natsu pushed himself forward. "Levy!" he called, snatching at all of their attention immediately. Levy's head turned in his direction; she was wearing the cloth over her eyes, of course, though this day she'd chosen a white cloth rather than the orange he tended to see her wearing. Jellal and Meredy looked very much like they had the last time he'd seen them.
"Natsu," Levy said in response warily. "What can I-"
"Has Gajeel been by?" he interrupted, not bothering to let her finish. He was panting a little for breath, he realized. "He threw a fit in our house and ran off." That didn't even begin to cover what Gajeel had done.
Levy sucked in a sharp breath. "What?" she demanded. "No, he's not been here."
Natsu swore, turning to leave, but was stopped when she said in a distressed voice, "You'll find him, right? You have to find him." She bit her lip until blood welled against her pale skin. "Natsu, please. Please."
The pink-haired man looked over his shoulder at the curator for a moment, studying her. Her face was pale, her hands trembling so hard he thought she'd drop her cane. There was something about her expression, even without the view of her eyes, that told him her worry ran deeper than just a concern about where he was. There was something else, something that was reflected in the silent Meredy and Jellal beside her. For some reason, anger built up deep within him. He didn't understand why, but he was furious that they shared this odd thing and that he didn't know what it was all about. But rather than being rude, he nodded curtly, and then turned and bolted, frowning.
Just where the hell had Gajeel gone?
Natsu searched up and down the town of Magnolia. He made occasional calls to Lucy and Wendy so that the pair knew where he was. He wasn't sure why he did so for Lucy; she didn't have the concern that he'd up and disappear, then turn up dead. Not like Wendy did. Lucy hadn't experienced what they had, but he still made sure to keep in touch with her, feeling better himself that she knew he hadn't simply disappeared on her.
At one point, Lucy offered to send out Gray, maybe even call a few other people they knew mutually. Lisanna, Yukino, even her neighbor, Sting, who'd been so suspiciously familiar. "He works as someone who finds people," Lucy had explained when he'd blatantly asked why she thought he could help. "It's his job."
Natsu had considered taking up the offer to borrow Sting's specialties, but had denied the offer in the end. Gajeel would hate it if he showed up with a stranger in tow.
It seemed like ages before Natsu finally tracked down his cousin, and when he did, he was beyond furious.
He glared at the building before him, recognizing Gajeel's car in the driveway, and stormed up to the front door of the very house that had so long ago belonged to Igneel. He threw the front door open and bellowed, "Gajeel! Where the hell are you?"
"The fuck do you want, Salamander?" muttered a voice from the kitchen, and Natsu maneuvered until he stood in the doorway. The title struck a chord in his mind, although Natsu couldn't say he'd ever been called "Salamander" before. He squinted at the sight before him.
Gajeel was crouched in the kitchen, carefully sweeping up shattered dishes. His expression looked as if had been carved from stone, giving nothing away. Crimson eyes remained locked on what his hands were doing as he grunted in response.
Natsu, initially viciously angry that Gajeel had done exactly what he'd been yelling at Natsu for earlier that morning, admittedly began to lose bits of his anger when he saw that Gajeel's hands were trembling. So, rather than yelling at him as he'd been planning, Natsu demanded, "Where the hell did you get that from? 'Salamander?' You've never called me that before."
Gajeel stiffened and said gruffly, "Forget it."
"You made Wendy cry," Natsu decided to point out.
"So I'll fuckin' apologize," Gajeel said harshly. "S'not a big deal."
"Not a big deal?" A scowl appeared on Natsu's face, and he braced his hands on his hips, furious again. "You came into the Heartfilia Bakery and screamed at me for disappearing this morning, and then you turn around and disappear, too? What the hell, Gajeel? I left Wendy with Lucy and spent all day looking around Magnolia for you. Where were you? Levy didn't even know where you were-"
"Don't," Gajeel seethed, suddenly flashing him a dark look. Natsu was caught by surprise. Grief crossed over Gajeel's face, along with self-loathing. "Don't talk to me about her."
Natsu faltered again, that anger vanishing once more. "You need to call her," Natsu warned, deciding to let it go. "She's worried." Not that he had any room to talk. He'd avoided Lucy for a good long while not too long ago. He paused, and then added with a frown, "And you should check in with her. These two weirdos she seems to know have been hanging around, but Lucy has no idea who they are." He was rambling now. He didn't know what to do with Gajeel.
A low meow suddenly caught their attention and Gajeel glanced over to see his cat weaving carefully among broken glass towards him. Gajeel's gaze flickered as Pantherlily settled into a crouch beside him, peering up at him with intelligent dark eyes, the scar on his face stark against his dark fur. It was the scar that had made Gajeel pick him, Natsu remembered. When the trio had gone out, agreeing that they wanted one cat, Gajeel had come across Pantherlily and immediately declared they were getting him. Wendy had whined about wanting her own pretty white feline until Gajeel had decided she could get her own cat, leaving Natsu to pick out the oddball of the three.
"He's a fighter," Gajeel had told Wendy when she'd asked him why he was so intent on the dark-furred cat. "Like us."
Reluctantly, Gajeel dropped a hand gently over Pantherlily's head and smoothed it over his ears. He purred. "Hey, Lil'," he murmured.
Finally, after a few moments of silence, Gajeel said roughly, "Wendy's over at the bakery?"
"Lucy had her help them - Gray was there, too - make some extra pastries or something for tomorrow." Natsu folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe with a frown. He hesitated, and then said, "And I am sorry. For disappearing last night." He didn't know if it was the reason Gajeel was behaving so oddly. But he thought it would help. As much as Gajeel and Natsu bickered, Gajeel was one of the very few remaining members of his family, and Natsu was determined to make sure he didn't lose him.
Gajeel tensed again, going back to sweeping up glass. Finally, he said after some more silence, "It's fine. Don't do it again."
Natsu didn't believe him; Gajeel was notorious for holding grudges. But still, he vowed, "I won't." Natsu took a deep breath, feeling a lot better now that everything had been figured out. "I'm gonna go pick up Wendy. I'll be back later." He fished in his pocket for his keys as he turned to leave, but paused and looked over his shoulder when Gajeel spoke, catching him by surprise.
"Who are the two hangin' with Levy?" His voice seemed to grow hoarse at her name, tongue curling around the name fondly at the same time that he looked like he wanted to never say it again.
Natsu shrugged. "Like I said, Lucy doesn't know 'em, and she and Levy've known each other a long time. Lucy said it was weird that someone like that would just show up. There names are Meredy and Jellal." He touched his pink hair thoughtfully with his fingers. "One's got my color of hair. Little darker, but still. Was weird. No one has pink hair." Shrugging, he ducked out without further words about the matter.
Gajeel watched him go, mouth pressed into a hard line, and then turned his attention back onto Pantherlily, scratching the cats ears. "The fuck are we gonna do, Lily?" he muttered.
The cat merely blinked up at him.
Natsu frowned up at the bell attached to the Heartfilia Bakery's door as he stepped in, annoyed with the way it seemed to echo in his head. Shrugging it off, he took a quick look around, and then stepped forward, heading around the counter with familiarity when he heard voices in the back.
The kitchen in the bakery was rather expensive-looking. Lucy hired special cleaners to come in, or something, he'd been told. She liked to keep it clean, neat, and up to date. His lips quirked, however, when he found Lucy and Wendy's fronts covered in flour, dough, and even what looked like some kind of chocolate frosting. Luckily, both had donned aprons to protect their clothes, although it had done nothing for the sleeves of Wendy's shirt.
Gray was nowhere to be found, he noticed immediately, and cleared his throat to catch their attention.
Lucy immediately looked up, and flashed him a smile that made his heart skip a beat in his chest. His face heated a little, and he swallowed thickly as he pushed back a sudden warmth that filled him. Lucy, however, seemed to have caught notice and smiled even wider, mischievous. "Hey, Natsu," she said happily.
Wendy stared at him with wide, anxious eyes. "Did you find Gajeel?"
"Yep," Natsu said, popping the 'p.' Wendy dropped the dough in hand with relief. "He's at home, cleaning up. We're gonna be eating take out or something until we can get some new appliances though. I don't think insurance covers his temper."
"That bad, huh?" Lucy hummed, clapping her hands to try and get rid of the flour she'd been laying out. A cloud rose about them. She wrinkled her nose. "Well, Wendy and I are in the middle of this...want to help? We could get it done faster, so you two can get on your way."
Natsu nodded eagerly, stepping forward and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. "Sure," he said, more than willing to help Lucy.
"Let me go get you an apron," she said, pleased. She stepped around the counter, playfully elbowing him as she slid past. Natsu watched her head into a backroom, a door shutting behind her, and then snapped his head around when Wendy slyly spoke.
"You like Lucy, don't you?" she said, smiling as she rolled some dough on the counter she'd been working at.
Natsu felt that heat swell in his cheeks. "Shut up!" he hissed.
"You're not denying it," Wendy sang softly, still rolling. She looked up briefly from her work to give him a sharp look that caught him by surprise. "You should ask her out if you like her that much. Seriously. There's no point in making yourself not if you do."
Natsu frowned at his cousin, a little taken aback by the serious tinge to her tone. "I don't want it to be weird if it doesn't work out," he grumbled. He'd not truly considered the matter until then. He'd known he was fond of Lucy, more so than any other friend, and he'd not gotten the feeling of her skin against his fingers out of his head all day. He'd even wondered what the feel of her lips would be like.
His flush faded as he silently admitted something that hurt him a little.
And Lucy wasn't her. Lucy wasn't the one who smelled of starlight, and he logically knew that it was impossible that he'd ever find that person who meant so much despite the fact that he knew nothing about her. But she couldn't compare. Not that he'd ever say such a thing aloud.
She wasn't the one who smelled of starlight, and he wouldn't make her live up to that. She was too important to him to even considering being so cruel.
"Well, I think she likes you," Wendy said with a shrug, still working. Natsu gaped at her. She began to flatten the dough out. "A lot. And you need someone, I think. Not like me or Gajeel, or a friend. You need someone to take care of you." He opened his mouth to protest, that he could care for himself, thank you very much, but she continued as if he hadn't. "And you need someone who you can take care of. I won't be around forever, you know." She glanced back. "I want to travel when I get out of school. You need someone you can take care of, Natsu, and someone who can return the favor when you're not thinking straight. And I think Lucy is that person."
"Since when did you get so wise and all-knowing?" Natsu grumbled, heart squeezing at the idea of Wendy leaving.
Rather than answering, Wendy merely hummed as Lucy came back, a black apron in hand. "Here," Lucy said when she stood before him, offering the apron. A teasing look appeared on her face. "I assume you know how to put it on, Mr. Dragneel?"
Natsu plucked it from her fingers, leaning in just as playfully, pushing away the conversation he'd had with his cousin. "I think I can manage, Miss Heartfilia."
Lucy made a face at her surname, but said nothing of it, merely pointed him to the oven. "You can get the previous batch out."
Sorry about the massive wait! Lost some inspiration/didn't know what I wanted to do with the chapter, but here we are. I'll be trying to update more often. I've figured out a major plot point I'm eager to get to, and one that will excite everyone eventually I'm sure. ;)
Reviews are still a little out of whack from me re-writing, but thank you so much to all of those who reviewed, favorited, and followed! I appreciate it! :D
