Splinter
Lucy stared at her out of focus image in the mirror before her. She could barely recognize what she saw. Her tears had carved small lines through the dirt and blood on her face. Her vision was still blurry from the tears that had not yet fallen. She wondered for the hundredth time if her hair would be stained with the colors of death forever. Images of people she could not save fill her thoughts when she closed her eyes. It was like a living nightmare, but it wasn't her nightmare.
It was the nightmare of someone she doesn't know, replayed every night when she shut her eyes. Equally, she experiences pleasant dreams of laughter and camaraderie among people she doesn't recognize, all through the eyes of someone else.
Lucy usually wakes up filled with fear, anxiety, and a deep longing for something she knows she has, love and safety; regardless of whether it was the dream or the nightmare.
That morning she awoke from the nightmare. She tried to mask her tired eyes before heading to the guild as best she could, knowing her friends would see it right away. The splinters of pain and anguish were still present in her mind as she walked the network of streets leading to the guildhall. She was always puzzled over whose dreams she was experiencing. There were no real identifying markers, just horrible images of death and decay with no clear figures to identify. The same was true for the dreams, she felt the feelings in a hazy fuzzy dream world. She could identify five figures but they were not distinguishable.
Once inside the guild, she felt another disorienting layer of her nightmares fade away. The smiling faces and welcoming attitude of those around her warmed her soul. Natsu and Happy enthusiastically encouraged her to pick a mission for them to do.
Lucy knew they were taking her lead because she just wasn't herself lately. They knew she wasn't sleeping well and steered clear of her apartment. This was the only blessing in disguise but she couldn't even enjoy her bed all to herself.
As she scanned the board one spoke to her on some subconscious level. It was a classic monster hunt where the pay was subpar at best for the distance and effort. Lucy plucked it anyway and showed her best friend who just smiled broadly at her with his youthful enthusiasm. Natsu was pleased because there were no train stations that led to the location.
Once on their way things were oddly quiet among the small group. It made Lucy nervous because if Natsu and Happy were quiet then she must appear worse than she thought. Lucy hadn't told anyone about the nightmares and dreams except Natsu and Happy.
"What are the nightmares about?" Natsu finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence as they walked the woods.
Lucy kept walking, not looking at him, "Well, it's never my dream. I know that." Lucy started playing with the small heart locket around her neck, "It's like a war zone and it's horrible. Bodies everywhere in all states of death and decay." Her voice trailed off as a slideshow of images played in her mind.
Natsu frowned, not quite understanding, "What do ya mean not your dream?"
Lucy turned to face him, he could see in her eyes that she was haunted by what she dreamt of, "Well, I am in the nightmare but it's not me. I mean, it is, but it's someone else's dream or memory or thoughts." She stopped to take a drink of water and continued, "Most of the time it's all fuzzy but the bodies are clear as day. Sometimes I am in a mirror looking at my reflection but I just know it isn't me."
Natsu just looked at Lucy, he was sure he understood but he knew he had no useful words for her, "Did you talk to anyone about it? Grandpa Crux or Porlyusica?"
Lucy just sighed letting out a half of a laugh, "There are more important things than my inability to get a good night's sleep."
Natsu said nothing more, he knew better than to disagree with his best friend. He also felt like she was wrong, it wasn't normal to feel like you're in someone else's dreams, especially when they are so terrible.
After breaking the silence they continued to chat idly for the rest of their walk and to check-in at the requester's home. It turned out that they may or may not have contacted another guild to help but Lucy couldn't get a straight answer.
As the small group walked along they speculated if there was indeed another guild out searching for what sounded like a nest of Wyverns. They wondered what other guild it could be and what team would be sent. They all hoped that Blue Pegasus was not the other possible guild.
Natsu stopped suddenly sniffing the air briefly and turned a sharp left and picked up his walking pace, "Come on this way, I smell a whole lot of blood coming from this direction."
Lucy raced by him, "Well what are you waiting for, someone could be hurt." Her senses were on high alert once she heard what Natsu had said. She wasn't sure why she felt the urgent need to get there but she didn't argue with her intuition.
Natsu and Happy caught up with her easily and they broke out into a clearing practically skidding to a stop at what they saw before them.
Two wyverns were swooping and circling low over the clearing with three other wyverns dead on the ground. Scattered among the feathers and blood were two people laying on the ground and three more focusing on the lowest swooping attacking with their magic. Natsu immediately jumped in to help the struggling mages unaware of the 6th person laying on the ground trying to get up. The second wyvern soaring up preparing to bear down on the incapacitated individual.
Lucy acted as if on autopilot there was something about this person trying to get up that stirred her into mindless action. As she sprinted across that open field she called upon her Sagittarius star dress form and once she was at a closer range she stilled and fired a series of arrows at the wyvern as it circled to begin its descent. She managed to lodge an arrow in its chest but it was not enough to stop it. She quickly switched to Scorpio's star dress and ran full speed toward the quickly descending bird using the sand attack, causing the wyvern to veer toward the other fight with Natsu.
Lucy landed forcefully in front of the injured person, her back to them. She changed out of her star dress right there and turned when she heard a raspy voice say, "FUCK".
When she turned Lucy was stunned motionless for a moment. She may have never met the man directly but she knew who he was right away. Laying with a stick having impaled his outer left thigh was Cobra. Lucy turned to see the rest of Crime Sorciere now fighting the two wyverns and winning.
"You gonna watch them play or can you help me take this fucking stick out of my leg?" Cobra's voice was harsh and Lucy could hear the pain in it.
She turned quickly, "Umm ya" she replied sheepishly as she walked over, kneeling by the injury. She inspected the area and it was a pretty clean protrusion. She looked back at the man as she grabbed the stick, "I am gonna pull it out on.."
"GOD DAMNIT...COCK SUCKER.." could be heard shouted across the clearing. Cobra laid back down panting and staring up at the blue sky. He wasn't sure how she did it but she surprised him. He lifted his head to look at her as she called Virgo out to get her first aid kit. "How the fuck did you do that."
She smiled sheepishly, "I just pulled the stick as hard as I could?"
"Not that smart ass, I didn't hear you, I thought you were gonna say you would pull it out on three," Cobra asked with audible venom.
"I just did it, I didn't think about it at all. If I did then you would have known and tensed up and that would have been more painful." Lucy thanked Virgo for her kit and began to unpack the bandages and tape.
"I don't need the antiseptic," Cobra said gruffly just as she was going to grab it. Lucy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He smirked, "Poison Slayer, don't need it."
Lucy just mouthed a quiet "ahh" as she grabbed the pant leg getting ready to cut it off. It was more difficult than she anticipated removing the pant leg and when she was done she looked at her hands which had dirt and blood on them. She silently cursed herself for forgetting gloves and realizing he was a poison slayer. She idly wondered if the skin on her hands would melt off exposing her tendons and bones. The thought as she looked down at her blood threw a small memory of the nightmare she had before.
She shook the moment off and got a bottle of water to rinse off the blood on his leg and her hands. The moment she touched his skin the air was forced out of her lungs suddenly and she felt as if a giant wave crashed into her. She knew in her heart of hearts at that moment that he was the one, he was the unknown person.
She made no sound as she quickly stuffed away the revelation so she could finish bandaging his leg. She didn't dare look at him out of fear that he knew. It didn't occur to her until that moment that maybe he knew someone was dreaming them with him, or instead of him.
Once she finished, she went to quickly get up since her emotions were in turmoil she didn't know how to control. She felt his hand grasp her wrist and she was flooded with the dreams and nightmares she has had over the last several months.
"How did you do it?" Cobra's voice held an awestruck tone.
When Lucy looked back toward the man she saw something in his eye that allowed everything to fall into place. "I… I… I don't know." she turned herself back toward him on her knees as flopped back down from exhaustion and blood loss. She pulled her arm back to herself and hugged herself.
"They started months ago and I have experienced them almost every night, I wasn't sure if it was real, or I was starting to lose my mind. Are… Are these your memories or dreams?" Lucy asked tentatively, she knew the man had a reputation for violence when he was unhappy. She feared making him angry but at the same time she didn't, or she was just being naive.
Cobra squeezed her hand slightly, "You're not naive, just cautiously confident." Cobra winced in pain as he lifted himself to sit upright, still not releasing her hand. "They are nightmares of my life, the dreams stopped months ago," his voice trailed off. He couldn't meet her gaze suddenly feeling the crushing weight of guilt.
Speaking as he stared off at the ground, "I don't know why they stopped, I'm sorry you gut stuck living my shit-life almost every night." The remorse moved Lucy to action.
Lucy reached under the slayer's chin and lifted it for her to look at him, "Don't you be sorry for something you have zero control over. I am glad that you have had some peace," she smiled at him, attempting to break the somber defeated look on his face.
He grabbed her other hand on his face and brought her fingertips to his lips and kissed them gently. He could taste and smell his blood on her hands but he didn't care, she deserved the gentle attention. He knew exactly what she had gone through and the fact that she didn't run away in screaming terror from the man was a miracle in his book.
Lucy could feel that in these short minutes they were in each other's presence the man had become emotionally attached. There was no doubt in her mind as he cradled her hands so tenderly that her life was about to change.
"You're damn right on that," he responded to her thoughts, he looked her straight in the eyes for a moment before leaning in slowly. He knew she wouldn't reject him but he still wanted her to have the option. He ignored the pain lacing throughout his body as she also leaned in closer.
Their forehead met gently in a very intimate moment. Lucy's thoughts racing furiously while Cobra's were amazingly calm. He cupped her face with one hand, "Thank you." and he kissed her chastely on the lips.
What the two failed to realize is that everyone was frozen in place with what they had just witnessed. Shock at watching the delicate nature in which a notoriously violent man was acting toward the most notoriously sweetest guild member of all Fiore.
That night both Lucy and Cobra had a sound dreamless sleep curled up under Lucy's pink comforters.