. I See Fire .
"If this is to end in fire,
Then we should all burn together –
Watch the flames climb high into the night.
~x~
And if we should die tonight,
We should all die together.
…
I will cover my eyes,
For if the dark returns, then my brothers will die,
And as the sky is falling down, it crashed into this lonely town,
And with that shadow on the ground, I hear my people screaming out,
~x~
And I see fire…hollowing souls,
And I see fire, blood in the breeze,
And I hope that you'll remember me."
~ "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran
Lucy's head spun with bleary exhaustion as she lightly scrubbed at a spot on the table. It wasn't quite opening time just yet, and she'd gone in early after a sleepless night simply so that she didn't have to sit around and do nothing.
Of course, she supposed she could have simply gone about packing. She was even nearly done. Then again, she didn't want to wake her neighbors at early hours of the morning – especially Sting, who'd been so nice to her about everything regarding her nightmares.
She paused to tuck the rag into her apron and then rubbed at her eyes and face, yawning widely. Heavens above, she really just…wanted to sleep dreamlessly until she was fully rested. She ran her hands through her blonde hair, pushing it out of her face and gathering it into a ponytail. She checked the time.
Almost opening time. Good. She could focus on her customers and keeping an eye out for Natsu, who'd be stopping by at some point to try and discuss their next date since he'd been unable to come over the night before. Something about a late night out with Rogue and Sting, which might have explained Sting coming in at a ridiculous hour, singing drunkenly in the hall.
She was happy despite her misery, even excited that Natsu was so eager for another. Even with the mess her life was, she'd managed to snag his attention enough to keep it in the direction she'd like to take their relationship. She very much looked forward to whatever he came up with; she just hoped she didn't pass out halfway through.
The time until her bakery's opening time flew by, much to Lucy's delight, and she was officially opening up when a humming Lisanna bustled in. She flashed Lucy a friendly look, and Lucy waved in silent greeting. Lucy made a mental note of who'd be working that day. Lisanna had a morning shift, as did Mirajane, and then Mirajane would leave early and Lucy would take over her shift in the afternoon so that they could go and do something with their brother. A high school worker would be there for only an hour or so before Yukino arrived to take over, something Lucy knew she'd be immensely grateful for.
She loved the younger men and women that came through her bakery, but they applied and quit so often that they weren't very reliable.
By the time Lisanna had come out, customers had already begun to come in and out. Lucy winked playfully at Lisanna when the second she stepped out, someone dropped a mug on their way to a table and shattered it on the floor.
Lisanna sighed heavily. "I've got it!" she called to no one in particular. Lucy grinned and shouted her gratitude back before turning back to the customer in front of her.
Mirajane came in only an hour later, a few minutes late and horrified with herself. "I'm sorry, Lucy!" she wailed as she bolted out of the back after leaving her things in their normal place. She tied her apron with wide blue eyes as she came to stand beside her friend. "I didn't mean to be late. My boyfriend's in town, and –"
Lucy, guessing what she and said boyfriend had been up to, held a hand up. "Don't," she told Mirajane, who grinned impishly at her, "finish that sentence." She smiled to show she wasn't trying to be rude. "You're fine. It's not like we're all that strict on that kind of stuff anyways. If you're a decent worker, at least," she added under her breath, making a mental note to fire one of her younger employees, who'd not shown up in days as of two days prior.
Mirajane sighed softly. "And I'm grateful for it." She whisked a pastry out when a customer made a request for an extra, allowing Lucy to do the transaction before handing it over. When the customer had thanked them and left, Mirajane spoke softly, gently patting her shoulder. "How are you doing? You look so tired, Lucy…"
Lucy huffed softly. "I'm fine," she declared immediately, refusing to acknowledge that she may or may not have an issue. She swallowed thickly, ignoring the disbelieving look on Mirajane's face – until Mirajane opened her mouth again. "I said I'm fine," she said sharply, shooting her a glare. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"
Mirajane hesitated, but then nodded. "Just…we're here if you need us, okay?" she said softly, smiling faintly. "For anything you need us for. And not just Lisanna and I. Elfman, Yukino, Gray, Levy…Natsu. I'm sure Natsu would give you the moon if he could."
Lucy wasn't sure why such a comment made her smile so warmly, but it did. "Thanks, Mira," Lucy said in a low voice and then turned away.
She didn't know what she'd do without her beloved employees.
"You know," said Lisanna as she munched away on a muffin she'd snagged from a pile of freshly baked ones. She and Lucy were standing behind the counter, waiting for another customer to come in. It was a slow part of mid-morning, and Lucy had happily settled back with her to wait as Mirajane did inventory for her. "Outside of worrying for you and those shadows under your eyes, I don't think I've ever been this…" She fought for the word. "Content," she finished finally. "Happy. It's kind of nice."
Lucy, mid-chew, glanced at Lisanna curiously. "I'm happy to hear this, Lisanna, but where's it coming from?"
Lisanna shrugged, swiping crumbs away after cramming the rest into her mouth. When she'd finished chewing and swallowing, she said, "I don't know, I just…do you ever have moments where you're like, 'You know, this is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm perfectly happy to be here?'"
"I can't say that I do," said Lucy, arching a brow with an amused glint in her eyes.
"Mm, then you're missing out." Lisanna winked. "It's nice." She looked out at the bakery, and Lucy thought that a sad look crossed her face despite her words. After a moment, she murmured, "I do still think some parts are missing, but there's nothing I can do about that. And you can't always have everything you want, so…" She sighed. "I'm perfectly happy to settle with what I have."
A little concerned for Lisanna now, Lucy demanded, "Where's this coming from, Lisanna? Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm as fine as I've ever been," Lisanna said, waving her off with a grin. "Just…thinking back. That's all." She suddenly nodded at the door when the bell rang. "I think that will probably be a guest for you, Lucy."
Lucy looked over, and then straightened. "Levy," she called in greeting, pretending that she wasn't laughing under her breath at the fact that Levy was followed by the massive figure of Gajeel, who dwarfed her. Gajeel's eyes were only for the short, blue-haired curator, and Lucy had no doubt that what Natsu had said about Gajeel's word revolving around Levy now a days despite having only known her a few months was entirely correct.
"Hi, Lucy!" Levy called back, her cane clacking as she made her way in the direction of the counter. Lucy watched Gajeel clear his throat, and blinked when Levy immediately swerved to avoid something.
"Huh," said Lisanna, and Lucy knew that she'd seen it, too. "Cute."
Lucy choked on a laugh and then leaned on the counter when Levy reached it, ignoring the look Gajeel suddenly began to give her. She knew she looked like a mess, and she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Too many people had begun to approach her about it, and Lucy couldn't say she appreciated people putting their noses in where they didn't belong. "What's up? Here for some breakfast?"
"With caffeine, please," Levy said with a grin. She inclined her head in Gajeel's direction. "He's paying."
Gajeel frowned at her, although Lucy thought she could detect a smirk playing along his lips. "I didn't say I was paying," he muttered, and Levy waved him off, clearing not care whether he wanted to pay or not. She leaned on her cane a little as Gajeel handed over his card anyways, not truly minding.
"Is Natsu with Rogue?" Lucy asked as she dealt with the transaction. "I know he, Wendy, and Sting have been all over the poor man."
Gajeel shrugged, smirk fading a little. "Yeah. Should be with him. S'where we're going, actually." He glanced briefly at Levy, a furrow appearing in his brow. "Rogue wanted to visit the museum. So we're gonna meet them all there and Levy's gonna give 'em the tour."
"With benefits," Levy added, grinning at nothing in particular. "We got some new discoveries form a site out in Hargeon, so I've been doing a lot of work with them, and there was a few things I thought Wendy and Gajeel might be interested in. Natsu only really cares about that scarf, but no surprise there."
Lucy didn't really understand what Levy meant by that, but didn't bother to ask. It wasn't really any of her business.
"Natsu should come by afterwards," Gajeel added suddenly. "Said he probably would be ditching us after the tour and there's nowhere else the moron would go."
Thinking that people had made a lot of insinuations about Natsu's seeming obsession with Lucy and her bakery, Lucy shrugged and said, "He's gone elsewhere before." And he had. When he'd been avoiding her, he'd hung out with Sting quite a bit. Lucy worried a little about how close the pair had been getting; it meant trouble, with Natsu's their matching levels of energy and hidden intelligence.
Lucy knew for a fact that Natsu hid just how smart he was, just so people would underestimate him when it mattered.
Lisanna handed over their requested food and drinks along with an extra bag of gifted treats for those they were going to meat at Lucy's demand, and Levy and Gajeel went to leave. Levy suddenly stopped, however, and turned back. "Oh! Lucy, I forgot to tell you – Gray stopped by to say bye yesterday," she sounded rather impressed with the matter, "and said he forgot to drop a key for his apartment with you. He said to tell you that he'd stop by the bakery this afternoon."
"Got it." Lucy nodded, grimacing. She'd forgotten to ask. Gray always left a key for her, just in case he needed her to get in or something happened in the apartment or house he lived in. "Thanks, Levy!" she added as Levy waved in farewell before turning her face towards Gajeel.
Lucy watched them closely, her gaze warming when she saw how Gajeel oh-so-casually took a hold of her elbow and moved her over just an inch, so she'd keep from knocking her hip into a table someone had knocked out of its normal alignment. Lucy fully expected Levy to snap at him, but instead, she merely beamed.
Lisanna, watching, too, grinned and told Lucy, "See? That's the kind of interactions we see with you and Natsu. The way you guys look at each other…" She laughed at the way Lucy spluttered at her. "Seriously, Lucy. That's what Yukino and I told Natsu when Sting dragged us into the situation and got us involved. The way you look at one another is what we all want from someone in a relationship."
Lucy grimaced, losing her smile. "I don't know if I really like you guys talking about our personal lives like that…" But it must have been the one day, she realized, before Natsu had started avoiding her, when he'd left in a huff, angry with his cousin. "And who knows if he'll keep looking at me like you say he looks at me." She turned to go and start preparing some fresh cookies that would be that day's special, waving Lisanna off. "I doubt he'll stay if the nightmares keep up."
A shout of her name had Lucy sleepily lifting her head from where she'd been napping at a table in the corner of the bakery. She blinked blearily, squinting, and then smiled as brightly as she could, forcing the dark thoughts that had gathered in the back of her head away. "Natsu!" she called in response when she recognized the familiar pink head.
Natsu, hovering near the door as he looked around, snapped his head around. She did her best to push her exhaustion back, but didn't miss the look of worry in his eyes. She fought back the sting of annoyance that always accompanied someone looking such a way now a days, telling herself that all of the worried looks were just people proving they cared.
She'd closed the bakery down for the day almost two hours early, too tired to keep up with the normal stream of customers. Most that she'd nudged out early hadn't minded, only giving her a sympathetic look. Yukino was finishing sweeping and cleaning up and now, Lucy was just waiting on Gray to stop by.
She yawned and propped her chin on her palm. "How was the tour? Levy stopped by."
"It was great!" Natsu said enthusiastically, rocking back and forth in his excitement. He looked very much like a child who'd gone on a school field trip, Lucy thought, energized by the wild look in his wide eyes. "She showed us some new stuff, and it turns out Rogue knows a bit about history, too. Gajeel won't admit it, but I think he likes him."
"Mm," Lucy hummed, thinking. "Probably. He doesn't admit to very much, does he?"
Natsu shook his head, and then launched into a retelling of everything that had happened at the museum, making wild gestures with his hand that earned giggles from Yukino when she came to sweep near them.
He was in the middle of explaining to them about something new that had come from Hargeon – pieces of something that had been fished out from the ocean, suggesting some kind of ancient transportation – when the bell rang. Lucy flinched violently, and she didn't miss how Natsu winced, too. It made his head hurt, too, then, she thought. She'd need to get rid of it if it wasn't just her.
All three looked over to find a thoughtful, agitated woman none of them recognized peering with interest around the bakery. Lucy excused herself and ducked out of her table, starting towards her. "Excuse me," said Lucy politely, and she looked at her curiously, a spark of what she thought to be recognition flickering through her eyes. "I'm sorry, but we're closed. We open early, around seven in the morning if you'd be interested in coming back tomorrow."
She ignored her, and instead frowned at Lucy, asking, "Are you Lucy Heartfilia?"
Lucy, taken aback, glanced back at Natsu and Yukino. Both were silent, watching intently. Natsu had twisted in his chair, arm slung over the back, and was eyeing the woman warily, not trusting her. Yukino didn't look too inclined to like her either.
Noting that, Lucy turned back to her. "Yes," she said evenly, "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. I'm the owner of the Heartfilia Bakery."
She smiled at her, studying her closely in silence until Lucy felt a little disconcerted. She shifted, and Lucy saw a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye when Natsu rose to his feet slowly, ready to intervene if need be.
Suddenly, the woman grinned, short blonde hair seeming to stand on end. "Good," she commented, confusing Lucy further, and in one prompt, smooth movement, pulled a gun from her jacket pocket, leveling it confidently at Lucy's head.
The world seemed to still when the weird woman who'd come in pointed the gun at Lucy's head, the end just barely resting against the skin of her forehead. Lucy went stock still and Yukino muffled a gasp, body recoiling back in fear. Natsu found himself instinctively sweeping Yukino behind him. "Lucy," breathed Yukino, and he inclined his head, eyes narrowed and flicking back and forth as he fought to figure out what to do.
A thought occurred to him. He dug in his pocket and then pulled his phone free, pressing it into Yukino's hand. She took it with hands that shook so hard she almost dropped it. Hoping the woman wouldn't notice, Natsu lightly stepped aside and gripped her shoulder, pushing until Yukino was on the ground on her knees. He discretely poked and nudged at her, indicating she should get under the table. He didn't think the woman had noticed her all that much, nor him, although Natsu wasn't about to hide when Lucy was in danger.
He'd give his friend credit; she not only held as still as a deer, but she also kept a mask of calm. She merely pressed her lips together, effectively hiding how scared she was. "Are you here to rob us? We don't keep a safe here, so it's all in the register."
"No," said the woman, sneering at her. "This is personal. An old grudge, you could say." She laughed bitterly at something she'd said, finding it funny, although Natsu didn't think anything going on right now was all that funny.
The laughter stopped when Natsu had managed to take two steps over. The gun turned in his direction and though Natsu froze, he let out a gust of air in relief when it was turned away from Lucy. "Don't move," barked the woman with a glowering look. "Stay where you are."
Natsu held his hands up in surrender, sliding his feet carefully just an inch closer. Just enough that he wouldn't be noticed. "What kind of old grudge demands you shoot someone who doesn't know who you are?" He could see it on her face; Lucy had no idea who she was looking at or what she could have done to upset her so much.
The woman paused suddenly, studying him with surprise. "Huh," she muttered, and then gave another bark of laughter. "Natsu Dragneel. Shouldn't be surprised." She glared at Lucy, the gun still aimed at Natsu. She was staring at it anxiously, worried that the woman would pull the trigger. "You guys were partners, right? At least it means I won't have to track you down next."
A yank in the back of his head made him wince. Something tickled the back of his mind. Something he couldn't quite grasp. "Look, lady," he said calmly, "we don't know who you are, but what do you want?"
"Natsu," Lucy hissed, not sure she wanted him any more involved than he was, but the woman only grinned. In one smooth movement, she'd suddenly kicked Lucy's feet out from underneath her. Lucy yelped as she hit the ground hard, the breath driven from her lungs. Natsu instinctively lurched forward a step, but stopped when a warning shot was fired off. Natsu flinched at the loud sound, ignoring the pain that slashed through his cheek and listening to the glass of a display cabinet shatter.
"Natsu," Lucy repeated, this time in terror, craning her head to make sure he was okay when the woman suddenly put a foot on her chest and pressed down. She wheezed, trying to pry at it, but the woman only laughed and suddenly struck at the blonde's face, earning a cry of pain that fueled rage unlike any other Natsu had ever felt in his blood.
Help would arrive; Yukino would have either called someone and kept quiet or texted someone who could get immediate help. But the goal now, he realized, would be to keep the woman talking – keep him from shooting either of them.
"It's almost funny," muttered the woman, cocking her head. Pale hair shifted, swinging into her eyes, but she didn't seem to care. "Who knew that tracking you down would be this easy? You Fairy Tail bastards…wonder who else I'll be able to find in this stupid town. I bet they're all like you – clueless. Revenge will be so easy, it's pathetic."
Unease flooded Natsu. Fairy Tail? He felt as if something had cracked in his mind, a dam bursting down to the deepest part of its foundation. His head ached – badly. He shoved that aside desperately as the woman shoved down harder, making Lucy gasp desperately, thrashing and trying to free herself.
"Stop it," he said angrily, a furious sound escaping him when Lucy gave a squeak of pain as the woman leaned harder on her chest. He stumbled forward a few steps, trying to figure out how to get to Lucy without her ending up shot. "Please, just stop it –"
The shot flooded his ears, flooring him, and that dam shattered.
Lucy felt numb when Natsu hit the ground, blood spattering the floors Yukino had just cleaned. "Natsu!" she screamed, struggling to free herself from the crazed woman. She shoved and shoved and was surprised when the woman suddenly removed her foot, grinning.
Not caring if she was shot for it, Lucy crawled on her hands and knees until she reached him. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she felt blood seep into her jeans, but she ignored the feeling as Natsu hissed. Alive. He was alive. She shoved him over until he was on his back. She did a brief run through, noting the deep wound on his cheek. The cabinet. When the cabinet was broken. She ignored it, more worried about the blood pooling over his gut.
Heaving for air in her panic, Lucy pushed her hands lightly over the spot, hoping it would help stop the bleeding but knowing that it wouldn't do much. They needed a hospital – an ambulance. Now.
Crimson stained her hands; more dripped from a gash on her cheekbone. "Natsu," she breathed, "Natsu, can you hear me?"
Blearily, he blinked at her, eyes somewhat hazy – and full of confused horror. He stared at her as if he'd never seen her before, as if he'd just woken up and discovered something he'd never thought possible. "Luce?" he slurred, sounding rather puzzled. His eyes were locked on something – the cut, Lucy realized a moment later. He was staring at the cut in sheer terror.
And then the woman was back, laughing as she grabbed Lucy's long hair and dragged her back. Lucy yelped, and Natsu bared his teeth in a furious look, trying desperately to shift and get back up. Lucy felt a flicker of panic. He needed to stay still, not make it worse!
"I didn't get to finish my work last time," hummed the angry woman. She threw a wicked smirk over her shoulder at Natsu. "I promised to carve out her pretty little eyes, didn't I? Maybe I should finish that. You stopped me last time…I owe you for that, too."
"Stop it," Natsu rasped, going white. "Stop it."
A thrill of fear so intense it locked her muscles ran through her. Lucy shouted, both in panic and pain, starting to thrash to try and free herself, when the woman left her for only a moment – and came back with a knife she'd tracked down, still out after being used to cut muffins in halves earlier in the afternoon.
Lucy took one look at that knife and steeled herself, scrambling back, feeling cold when her fingers slid on blood. Natsu's arms buckled when he tried to drag himself up again, eyes wide and locking with hers when she looked back at him.
The bell rang.
The woman, startled, snapped her head up to find Gray standing in the doorway, staring at the scene before him in complete and utter shock, his hand still holding the door open. His mouth dropped open – and Lucy lurched for the woman, slamming into her knees. The woman screamed in outrage as she hit the ground. Hot pain licked up Lucy's arm, but she ignored it, kicking the dropped knife away and clambering on top of her to pin her. Lucy yelped in terror when the gun went off, and a window nearby shattered, sprinkling them with broken glass.
"Gray!" Lucy screeched as he flung himself into the fray, prying the gun from the woman's hands. He pushed it at Lucy, shoving her a second later, and Lucy gasped as she fell backwards, keeping a white-knuckled grip on that weapon. The woman tried to lurch after it, but Gray simply landed a well-aimed blow to her jaw and she went limp.
Silence fell. Lucy heard Yukino crying as she crawled out of hiding, heard Gray say something to her, demanding, and Natsu's heavy breathing, thick and wet and raspy.
"Natsu," she breathed, shoving the gun aside. She crawled through the broken glass until she reached him, pressing her hands over his wound again. He was nearing unconsciousness, his gaze searching for something but unable to find it.
"Shit," whispered Gray when he realized what had happened. He didn't move, not daring to leave the woman unwatched, but Yukino scrambled over to help, not seeming to care about the blood that stuck to her pale skin. She checked Natsu's pulse, glancing worriedly up at Lucy.
"I…I messaged…" Yukino's voice faltered and then she tried again. "I texted Gajeel," she said softly, voice quaking violently. "His number was first. I…he said that he'd…the police. They're coming."
"Thank you," Lucy said blankly, each breath shuddering and aching in her throat. She realized distantly that each exhale came out as a loud sob.
It was the only sound in the otherwise silent bakery.
When red and blue lights danced across the walls and people came in, some escorting the woman who'd attacked them out and others sweeping in to help those who'd been attacked, Gray stuck close to Lucy. She was staring blankly at Natsu, even as Yukino moved aside to give the professionals the room to work. He was worried about her, just as worried about her as he was about Natsu, who'd fallen completely unconscious minutes ago, not responding at all.
The officials had come. Not long after he'd gotten there, actually, only a matter of minutes. He was relieved that he didn't have to worry about the woman that was so familiar coming after his friends again now. He tried not to think of her, her name, what she'd done now and in the past. He knew her, but refused to acknowledge that people like her had come back to torment them again.
"Come on, Lucy," Gray said softly when he got a gentle but firm look from one of the men working on Natsu. He felt a flicker of unease when he wrapped his arms lightly around her and began gently pulling her back. Her legs buckled, and a soft, broken sound left her lips. "No," she murmured, her voice lifting with panic. "No, I have to stay with-"
"We're in the way," Gray said quietly, hauling her back even as she began to writhe, trying to free herself. "Lucy, we have to stay back so they can work, alright?" His heart ached when she gave a broken sob, nearly collapsing. This was like last time, he couldn't help but think, too much like last time, when that damn shadow had swept down to torment them all.
Gray forced himself to ignore that feeling as he swept her up into his arms. She gave up a moment later, simply burying her face in his shoulder, and Gray gave her a half-hug as he carried her outside. "Yukino will ride with him," he said loudly, and Yukino threw him a thumbs up to show she'd heard. She looked as if she might be in shock, but was functioning at least. "Okay? You're hurt, too. We're gonna have to go to a hospital, too. Are you okay with that?"
She hated hospitals; he knew that better than almost anyone. She was terrified of them, hated them with a passion after her mother's illness. But they didn't have a choice at the moment, and he'd make sure she had support the entire way, even if it meant cancelling his trip with Lyon. Lyon wouldn't care. Not with something like this.
Lucy took a shuddering breath suddenly, peering up at him. She looked worse than ever, he realized, with black bruises beneath her eyes. Her skin was ghostly pale, her body trembling and stained with Natsu's and her own blood. A nasty gash started at her temple and stretched along her cheekbone. She didn't deserve this. A pain shot through him.
So, so close. He'd been so close to losing Lucy again - and Natsu, too. If he'd not gone in...hadn't forgot to leave a key with her...
Who knows what would have happened.
"I'll make sure we get information on Natsu when we get there, and I'm sure Wendy and Gajeel will be there, too," he promised, and Lucy only nodded, closing her eyes.
By the time he climbed into the ambulance with her, she was unconscious, too.
As if I wouldn't include angst beyond just memories and sadness.
Thanks to reviewers (Meow Orbit, itsxoi, FairyTailxFanGirl, LePengwen, and nkukurichan!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
