Lucy POV
I got out of the shower and changed into soft shorts and T-shirt, before curling up in bed with my book. Gildarts would be back soon, and once he was here, we could get started on cooking lunch. I lost myself in the novel, allowing the words on the page to come to life in my mind, when I heard my living room window creak open. Before I could get up to check, Natsu tumbled into my bedroom.
"Natsu, what-" I started. He looked panicked.
"Okay, good, you're here! We're gonna hang out here for a bit, okay Luce?" He rushed over his words.
"What's going on?" I scooted to the edge of the bed, placing my feet on the floor.
"Nothing. It's nothing. Just some Natsu and Luce time. It's all okay Lucy." His words were meant to be pacifying, but his tone incited concern.
"Natsu, don't lie to me. Why are you acting so strange?" I knew something wasn't right.
Natsu crouched down between my legs, his hands on my knees. He looked up at me intently, comfortingly.
"It's okay Luce. I'm here. We have it under control," he began soothingly. Things started falling into place.
"We have it under control…" What does that mean? No… It can't…
My hands flew to cover my mouth. "They're fighting, aren't they?" I choked out a broken whisper.
"It's okay, Luce. I promise. It's okay. I got you," Natsu sat next me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"No no no. They can't fight each other. They can't!" I screamed before collapsing into ragged sobs. "I have to go there! I have to stop them!" I tried pushing myself off the bed, but Natsu tightened his grip.
"Luce, that may make things worse. Please. Erza, Gajeel, Gray, Freed, they're all there. They'll get it under control. Please, Luce. Just stay here. I got you," he stroked my hair as he whispered.
I started crying uncontrollably. This was my worst nightmare. They were hurting each other because of me. Gray, Erza, Gajeel, they were all having to deal with my mess. Gildarts and Laxus were fighting each other. Everything was my fault. I fell sideways into bed, curling into myself as cries wracked my body. Natsu lay down behind me, wrapping his body around mine. He held me tightly, as if he could prevent me from breaking into a million pieces. He tucked his face into my hair, gently shushing me as sobs wrenched from my lips. I could feel my heart shatter.
"I'm sorry," I cried.
"It's okay, Luce. It's okay. You're okay," Natsu whispered comfortingly, hugging me close. He stroked my hair with more tenderness than I knew he was capable of.
Eventually, my crying slowed. A few sobs would still burst through my lips, but after several minutes of crying, I felt too tired to do any more.
"You love them both, don't you?" Natsu whispered after I'd calmed down. I sat up, pulling him up with me. I wrapped his arms around me and nestled into his chest while we leaned against the headboard.
"I do," I whispered sadly.
"And they love you." It wasn't a question. I nodded in response.
"Why are they fighting, Natsu?" I asked. I knew the answer, but I needed to hear him confirm my fears.
"Luce…"
"Just say it. I need to hear you tell me that they're fighting because of me," I demanded.
"And what will that solve? You'll just feel worse about yourself," Natsu shot back.
"I feel like shit anyways! I know it's my fault! Everything went wrong and it's my fucking fault!" Tears began falling down my cheeks once more.
"Lucy," Natsu called. "Lucy, listen to me," he gripped my chin, pulling me to meet his eyes. "They are adults. They knew what was happening. You have not lied or cheated. You are not to beat yourself up," he said sternly.
"But I told them both I loved them," I wept.
"And you do. That does not mean they have to fight each other."
"I'm a fucking whore," I whispered softly, tears pouring down my face.
Natsu pulled back and grabbed my shoulders, jerking me to face him. He flicked a finger firmly against my forehead.
"Don't you dare say shit about my best friend, ya hear? My best friend is not a whore. She is wonderful, and kind, and caring, and loving. And I will not hesitate to beat you until you remember that. Got it?" He said firmly, shaking my shoulders. He pulled me into a crushing hug.
"You're a great girl, Luce. Either one of them would be incredibly lucky to have you. Just like I'm incredibly lucky to have you. Everyone at the guild has the situation under control. You just need to calm down, and not stress."
"What do I do now, Natsu?" I mumbled into his chest.
"You'll figure it out. And I'll be there to hold your hand. We all will. Once the situation at the guild calms down, we can go there, and you can decide if you want to talk to them or not," he suggested, rubbing comforting circles on my back.
I continued to cry off and on, and Natsu would shush me gently until I calmed down again. I stayed curled up into his chest, breathing in his comforting scent, as I tried to distract myself from what was happening at the guild.
After a while, my front door burst open, and Gray rushed in.
"Lucy, are you okay?" he asked, plopping himself down on the other side of me. He opened his arms and I leaned into him, hugging him as the dam broke once more. Soon his shirt was well-stained with tears.
"She's okay," Natsu answered for me encouragingly.
"What happened?" I sniffled, leaning back to look at Gray.
"They fought. It was bad. Shit's broken," he said clinically. Then, his voice dropped to a whisper. "Laxus brought up Cornelia," he confessed.
Natsu gasped and my jaw dropped.
"Wh-what?" Natsu stammered.
"Yeah. Something about Gildarts having blown it with Cornelia, and Lucy being a replacement. Gildarts was kind of a dick too, but he didn't stoop that low," Gray admitted.
I couldn't believe Laxus had said that.
"Who… Who's worse?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't want the answer.
"Definitely Laxus. I'm certain he's broken a couple bones in his face. Gildarts isn't as bad. Just his nose, at most, but I don't think it's a break," Gray recounted.
"Fucking serves Laxus right. Bringing Cornelia into this is fucking shit, even for him," Natsu growled.
I placed a calming hand on Natsu's arm, worried he'd now go beat Laxus up.
"Can I go see them, Gray? Please, I need to see them," I begged.
"Gildarts is in his office. Laxus went home, but he doesn't want to see you yet," Gray said guiltily.
My heart broke all over again. "What do you mean he doesn't want to see me?"
Gray shrugged. "His words. He said to tell you that he didn't want to see you yet."
"Fuck him, Luce," Natsu spat, still reeling from the insult to Gildarts.
"No! Natsu, he fucked up, but I love him, and I need to see him! I need to!" I cried.
"Look, for now, talk to Gildarts. Laxus will come around. I'll ask Freed for an update when I see him next and I'll let you know, okay, Lucy?" Gray offered.
I wrapped my arms around his waist once more, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you," I mumbled.
"Okay, now let's dry your tears and we'll go to the guild. You go talk to Gildarts, okay?" Natsu jumped into action. He yanked me off the bed, wiping my face with his sleeve. He and Gray both offered me their arms, and I looped my arms through theirs. The three of us marched out of my apartment like some strange six-legged creature.
Gildarts POV
Cana hovered above me as I sat slumped in my chair. My face was buried in hands.
"What the hell, dad?" my daughter shrieked.
"I'm sorry, Cana. He brought up Cornelia and… I just saw red. I'm sorry," I apologised ashamedly.
"Fuck Laxus, honestly. If you hadn't kicked his ass, I would have, but what about Lucy? How do you think she's going to feel when Gray tells her about the two of you fighting?" Cana questioned aggressively.
"Shit, Cana, I wasn't thinking, okay? I'll handle Lucy. It'll blow over. I-I'll figure something out. I promise," I committed to her.
"What does that mean?" She asked suspiciously.
"It means what it means. I'll figure this out. Just… Let me deal with my own mess, okay? I don't need this interrogation right now," I snapped. Cana's face fell and she nodded.
"Cana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," I said quietly, extending my hand to hold hers.
"I know. I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have pushed you. Can I get you something for your face?" She offered sincerely, patting my hand.
I shook my head, standing up to hug Cana.
"You're a really good kid, honey," I whispered.
"Is it true though? Are you replacing mom…?" She asked quietly.
My breath hitched. I couldn't have Cana ever doubting the love I had for her mother. "Never. I promise. Lucy is different, and I love her, but I am not replacing your mother with her. Don't worry darling," I kissed the top of her head.
Cana squeezed me before letting go. Just then, there was a knock at my door. Cana went to open it, revealing Lucy standing there with red eyes.
"I'll give you guys a minute," Cana mumbled, shuffling out of the room.
Lucy walked in and shut the door.
"Baby, your face," she whispered, before quickly closing the distance between us. She reached up to tenderly graze her fingers over the cut on my cheek and my split lip.
"You should see the other guy," I laughed humorlessly.
Tears welled in her eyes and she began sobbing, still gently caressing my injured face. She wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my chest, but I couldn't bring myself to hug her back. Not while my head was still throbbing from the beating I took.
"I'm sorry, Gildarts," she sobbed. I knew she meant well, but for how much longer would she apologise? In the span of one afternoon, Laxus and I managed to cause serious damage to each other and the town. I couldn't keep doing this. I couldn't fight so much and hate so much. I admired Laxus, and hitting him today, while moderately satisfying, also stung a little.
"There's no point in apologising. Laxus hates me. I don't particularly like him. We're both banged up. Not to mention the guild and the street being in shambles. It's all done. Don't apologise," I said resignedly, finally wrapping my arms around the sad girl.
"Gildarts, I-" she started.
"Go home, baby. I'll see you there. My stuff is still there anyways," I removed myself from her grasp.
Her face sank into a deep frown. She nodded sadly and turned to leave.
Fuck. She's hurting.
"Lucy, wait," I called right before she turned the handle. She spun around to look at me.
I quickly walked up to her and pulled her into my arms.
"I'm sorry, baby girl," I mumbled into her hair. I tipped her face up to mine and kissed her deeply. Tears continued to slip down her cheeks and between our lips.
"I love you, Gildarts. I love you so much it fucking kills me," she sobbed against my lips.
"I know, my love. I love you too," I whispered. I kissed her passionately before letting her go.
"I'll drop by your house in a little bit. I need to find Mira and get something for my injuries first, okay? I'll come over as soon as I'm done here and we can talk more then."
Lucy nodded. She kissed my cheek and slipped out of my office. After I heard the lock click, I collapsed heavily into my chair, my mind a mess.
Laxus POV
My face hurt like a fucking bitch. So did the rest of me, actually. And I knew Gildarts hadn't been giving me his all. That hurt my ego. Blondie was probably with him now, kissing the one little scratch I left him, and making sure he's alright. Well, fuck them both. I didn't need this shit. She didn't even tell me it was Gildarts, but apparently he knew about me. I didn't know what to make of that.
I stormed into my house and slammed the door shut. I knew Freed was behind me. He'd let himself in.
I walked into the bathroom, ripping off my stained and torn shirt before delicately washing my face. The soap stung the open wounds, but I gritted my way through the discomfort. The broken bones would heal by themselves in a few hours. I walked out of my bathroom to find Freed on my couch holding an ice pack. He threw it at me and I pressed it to my face, grateful for the cool numbing.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, never one to beat around the bush.
"I don't know." I wasn't lying.
"Are you ending it with her?" he asked as I joined him on my couch.
"I- Man, I really don't know. Freed… I fucking love this girl. But I'm not fighting Gildarts again. It's not going to end well for either of us if I do," I admitted.
"You don't think you can continue this arrangement? Where both of you are with her?"
I thought about it. Ideally, that would be a perfect situation. No one had to get hurt. But I couldn't. I shook my head. "Nah, I won't be able to do that. It's just… Gildarts, man. If it was some punk like Gray or Natsu, maybe, but not Gildarts. It'll always become a competition with him." I didn't feel ashamed admitting to Freed that Gildarts was maybe the one man who threatened the hell out of me.
"If it's any consolation, he's as threatened by you, you know," Freed said gently, reading my mind. I knew Freed was right, and that made the situation even worse. I knew it had to come down to either one of us.
"So? Are you ending it with her or waiting for her to dump you?"
"Or choose me. She can still choose me, Freed," I reminded him warningly.
"Of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that she wouldn't," he apologised.
"I need to talk to her. Eventually. I'll figure something out… I'll talk to her. Tomorrow." I committed to the green-haired man.
"I'm glad, Laxus. And remember, she's just anoth-" he began.
"Don't, Freed. Don't finish that sentence, because I'm still pissed and I don't want to hear you saying she's "just another girl" because she isn't. She is everything. I want to fix this with her, but I need time. She's worth it," I finished definitively.
"Yes. Sorry," he apologised once more.
"Look, man. I'm good for now. I'm just gonna ice my face and wait for these injuries to heal. I could use some time alone right now, so I'll see you over the next day or two, okay?" I said resignedly, waiting for him to leave so I could punch some more shit.
"Alright. Call me for anything, Laxus," Freed said with a pat to my shoulder. He gracefully stood up and walked out of my house, giving me a parting glance of encouragement and sympathy.
I gritted my teeth, hauling myself off my couch and walking to my bedroom. When I was sure Freed was far away, I let a loud roar of anger burst out of me and I slammed my fist into the wall. I felt another knuckle break, but I didn't care. I hit the wall over and over, picturing Gildarts and Lucy together, until I was exhausted. I had only two thoughts running through me: one, was that I fucking hated Gildarts; two, was that I loved Lucy so much it hurt.
A/N: I will give you more detailed chapters on the aftermath of the whole fight! LucyxLaxus convo, LucyxGildarts convo, it's all coming! And there will still be smut, because sad, angry, hurt sex is just what this mess of a fic needs! I hope you liked this chapter! (And to LITERALLY ALL OF YOU who were like "pls make it a threeway relationship," I hope Laxus's explanation makes sense as to why that kinda wouldn't be in line with their characters. Two alpha males can't coexist. Don't come at me, I didn't make the jungle law.)