PART I – Resolution

Chapter XX – Protectors

"What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy."
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

It was pretty obvious that Lucy's gaze was focused on nothing, but her friends still sent worried glances at the wall, in case there was something weird on it. They found her sitting at their usual table, in this condition, when they entered the refectory to get lunch. They had to wait for Loke to join them to understand what was wrong. Her former roommate slammed his hands on the table, right beside her, before grabbing her shoulders and shaking them furiously.

"How dare they separate us?" he yelled. "How cruel can they be!? It was already horrible to put me with the stripper and the thug, but you! You were kidnapped by the pervert commander! My poor love!"

Lucy didn't react as her stupid friend hugged her and cried tears of despair. She was far too busy thinking about her predicament. Starting tonight, she'd share a room with the commander... Well, they'd spend most of the night outside, chasing the Butcher, but they'd have to go back sooner or later. Damn it all to hell, she was screwed in so many ways it wasn't even funny anymore!

"What a foul language you have," her inner voice sniggered. "I say it's a good thing. Now, it'll be almost impossible for you to keep your secret. And when he finally knows the truth, he'll wait for you to be alone with him in his room and..."

Lucy shut her stupid inner voice out so she didn't have to listen to her own perverted thoughts, which would undoubtedly conjure unneeded images of a stripping commander. Ugh, she was imagining it...

"Pervert," her inner voice declared. "I'm shocked. My innocent eyes are bleeding..."

Thankfully, Sting started to complain about a test that they would have in the afternoon, successfully taking Lucy's attention away from her inner turmoil.

"I'm totally going to fail," the blonde man sighed. "I don't understand a thing about Science..."

Lucy emptied her glass of winter and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt.

"What part don't you understand?" she asked. "I can give you some explanations now if you have your books with you."

Sting's eyes shone with glee and gratitude as he enthusiastically nodded and rummaged through his bag.

"I do!" he exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, dude!"

Lucy chuckled. He really looked like a little boy most of the time.

"No prob..."

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, a large hand brutally grabbed her shoulder and forced her up. In the very next second, another hand grasped the collar her jacket and she was forcefully turned around to face an angry looking Bacchus.

"Hey again," he smirked darkly.

The whole thing lasted less than two seconds, all of her friends abruptly jumped from their seats to push him away from her. Bacchus raised both hands in mock surrender, not looking impressed in the slightest.

"Easy boys," he drawled. "I just wanted to say hello."

"You don't need your hands to say hello," Gajeel growled menacingly.

Bacchus then smiled brightly and clapped his hands in victory before pointing a finger at Gajeel.

"True!" he exclaimed. "I totally agree with the delinquent. But since our friend here seems like a touchy-feely person, I figured I'd play along too."

Lucy shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged, purposely trying to look bored. She knew why Bacchus was so pissed at her, but she had no intention to waste her time reassuring him.

"She's the one who came to me," Lucy retorted. "Maybe you're not enough anymore."

Bacchus growled and took two menacing steps toward her, before Sting violently pushed him back. Lucy was surprised to see Bacchus stumble backwards, her blonde friend was apparently stronger than he looked.

"Hands off," he repeated.

"Hey! What are you guys doing over there?"

They all turned around to find that Laxus was glaring at them from a table near the door. Bacchus raised his hands once more and smiled.

"Nothing," he said, "I was just saying hello." He turned to Lucy and added, "I'll see you again in the arena. Without your friends, this time."

With that, he walked away and exited the refectory. The good thing about that incident was that she completely forgot about her new roommate. The other good thing about it was that she was now absolutely sure that she would not compete in the Tournament.

"We'll think of an excuse," Gray agreed. "It would be very bad if you had to fight him." His jaw contracted and he clenched his fists. "It would be bad for anyone to fight a pissed off Bacchus..."

Right, Lucy thought. Juvia might have to face him during the Tournament... Lucy didn't know why the young nurse wanted to compete against trained recruits. Sure, nurses had to train too, but their training was nothing compared to the recruits'. How could the general agree to this? Maybe Lucy should compete, in the end. If she was a participant, it would be easier to keep an eye on Juvia and intervene if necessary. Lucy's thoughts went back to the day she was taken prisoner and she clenched her fists. She still wanted to take her revenge.

"I'll fight him," Lucy suddenly declared, "and anyone I have to fight. I'll compete in the Tournament."

Her friends opened wide eyes and stared at her with various emotions. Sting looked delighted, but Loke opposed her decision and so did Gray. Gajeel didn't look like he was interested, but Lucy knew he was paying attention to their conversation.

"It's far too dangerous," Loke protested. "The other participants are monsters."

"That's right," Gray agreed. "Forget what I said at the party, I was drunk. Don't fight with them. I wish Juvia wouldn't fight either."

"Why don't you ask her to forfeit?" Gajeel asked.

The attention of everyone then shifted from Lucy to Gray, who looked very gloomy.

"I did," he growled. "She refused."

Was it astonishment they felt? Incredulity? Whatever it was, neither Lucy nor any of her friends could believe their ears. Juvia Lockser, Gray's official lovestruck stalker, had refused to comply with his request. The girl that threatened to kill an officer for him, refused to forfeit. The girl Lucy caught trying to hide a spy camera in his bedroom, the girl who followed him everywhere he went, but never dared to approach him, the girl who almost fainted when he first smiled at her. This girl refused to do something Gray asked?

"You sure she understood your question correctly?" Gajeel asked, not believing it either.

Gray groaned and stood up, picking up his tray in the same movement.

"Yes, she did," he sighed. "She refused, that's all."

A long moment of silence followed his departure.

"Woah," Sting finally laughed. "Is the world coming to an end?"

Loke smirked as he stared at the door of the refectory that was still swinging from when Gray slammed it behind him.

"I don't know," he said, "but their relationship's going to evolve quickly from now on."

Before they had enough time to blink, they were sitting in their classroom, waiting as their instructor handed out the sheets. Lucy glanced at Sting and felt guilty seeing him looking so anxious. With what happened in the refectory, she forgot to help him review his notes.

"Ok, you can start," Bob declared. "You have two hours. Good luck."

The first part was Chemistry and Lucy knew the answers to all the questions. The second part was Physics and she finished it just as easily. It took her less than an hour to finish her test. Bob allowed her to leave the classroom since she was done and she waved at her friends as she walked out with a triumphant smile on her face.

She went to the library and sat in the back to start reading a new novel she had just received, a gift from a certain person that absolutely refused to lay low. Lucy told her before she left that she had to pretend they didn't know each other. She told her that she'd go against the brass soon and that every person she knew would be in danger when she did. But her adoptive mother wasn't the kind of person to agree to this and quietly wait for the whole deal to be over. Lucy smiled sadly, wishing from the bottom of her heart that she could go back home to eat a meal with her. Just spend an hour or two with her would be enough. But she would never put her in such a position, knowing that the Octagon would have a brand new way of pressure on her if she did. It was one thing to live there after she escaped death: the army was sure she was dead at the time. But now that she was in the academy, things were different.

She only got ten minutes of peace before someone came to bother her. Someone tapped her on the shoulder to get attention and she sighed as she closed the book to look at the person. She gulped when she found the commander crouching behind her. He told her to follow him in a low voice that sent shivers down her back and stood back up, extending a hand for her to take. She obviously didn't need his help to stand up, but she took his hand anyway. The commander probably didn't notice it, but Lucy's mind was completely freaking out over the fact that he was still holding her hand when he led them out of the library.

As they walked toward the doors, Lucy thought back on the time the commander told her she'd share a room with him, a few hours earlier.

"Wh... what?" had been her very wise reaction to the commander's declaration.

The commander's smirk had widened as he pointed to her bags, near her new bed.

"The general's worried about you since you saw Kyoka. And he's also worried about me since I've been threatened. He thinks it's best if we keep an eye on each other, we hit two birds with one stone. Safety measures. But it's fine, right? It's not like you have any reason to be upset about sharing a room with me."

Yeah, it wasn't like she was hiding the fact that she was a woman from almost everyone. True, she had been thinking of telling him the truth, but it was before he told her she'd start living with him! This changed everything! She came back to her senses when she realized they were walking toward the medical wing.

"Where are we going?"

"Erza's office."

The blonde woman frowned. She hadn't talked to the redhead doctor since their small argument from the day before. It felt so wrong being angry at her, she wanted to make up with her. Sure, the argument had been about a very serious matter... Lucy glanced at the commander, walking beside her with his head high and his back straight, like usual. He didn't seem to have issues breathing, he never coughed, didn't look tired and his eyes were normal. She averted his eyes when he looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Hm?" she still didn't meet his eyes.

He smirked.

"You were looking at me."

She shrugged, fighting her urge to kick his leg and run alone to Erza's office.

"Not really," she retorted, "I wasn't looking at anything in particular."

"Sure."

"Why are we going to Erza's office?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

Natsu understood what she was trying to do, but chose to play along.

"We're actually going to meet with Jellal," he explained, "but he spends all his time in her office, so we're going there directly."

Oh yeah, Lucy inwardly smirked, Jellal and Erza. She still had to ask her friend how things were between them.

"What's that smirk for?" the commander chuckled.

"Nothing."

"Sure."

Natsu knocked five times on the door and waited for Erza to allow him to open the door before pushing on the handle. Lucy smirked, figuring the commander had made the same mistake she had when she had carelessly opened the door to Mira's office. After the usual greetings, they sat in front of Erza's desk and Lucy discreetly pointed at her own collarbone to make Erza understand they could see her hickey. The redhead blushed bright red and adjusted her white blouse, with Jellal trying to hide his amused - smug? - smile, beside her.

"Well," Erza coughed awkwardly, "let's start. We're just going to plan the route of the patrols for tonight, decide on the checkpoints, break times, and other details. Why did you bring Luc?"

The commander shrugged, a small, smug smile on his face.

"Gramps told me to keep an eye on him," he said, "that's what I'm doing."

The redhead arched a brow at them, but didn't push the issue. Though, Lucy really wanted her to. What was up with him all of a sudden? He was everywhere she was! She would even share a room with him!

"Oh please," her inner voice sniggered, "you're actually very happy with this. It's a perfect chance to get closer to him and this is exactly what you want."

Ugh, she couldn't even lie to herself.

"Fine," Erza said. "First, Natsu, the general wanted me to tell you that he received another warning from the Octagon. They won't hesitate to blame you for everything if we fail to find the Butcher." Lucy gritted her teeth, but the commander didn't even react in any way. "So, now, about the routes of the patrols. I assume you'll want Natsu's team to go west and Jellal's to go east, but what about the rotations and the checkpoints?"

The officers talked among themselves and Lucy only distractedly listened to them as they took some important decisions about the patrols. For example, no one would be allowed to wander off on his own, they would form teams of three at the very least.

"We're going to focus on the place where Elfman disappeared," Erza declared. "We absolutely have to bring some valuable information back to the academy, otherwise..."

"Yeah," the commander agreed, "we don't want a remake of what happened last night..."

Jellal nodded solemnly and Lucy frowned.

"What happened last night?"

The officers turned surprised eyes to her.

"Oh, Luc," Erza blinked. "I actually forgot that you were here. Well, the colonel Strauss reacted very badly to the news concerning her brother, as expected."

"We caught her trying to get out of the academy in a patrol vehicle," Jellal explained. "She had four shotguns, a dozen of grenades and a precision rifle with her."

Lucy gulped, her eyes widening without her consent. The kind, sweet Mira that loved romance, puppies and unicorns tried to go hunt the Butcher by herself with a real arsenal in her car? Lucy gulped, this just showed how desperate and scared Mira was.

"Do we have a clue about where he could be?" she asked.

Silence and tense bodies answered her.

"Let's end this meeting here," Erza finally declared. "Inform your teams, you're leaving after dinner."

They were done eating at 7 p.m. and Lucy found Mira outside the refectory. The colonel led Lucy to an empty corridor and Lucy patiently waited as her older friend wiped a few tears.

"I'm so worried," she sniffed. "I couldn't get a wink of sleep and just thinking of eating makes me want to throw up."

Lucy hugged her and gently rubbed her back to soothe her, but didn't talk. She knew very well the distress the colonel felt: the torture of not knowing, the agony of imagining... She also knew that words almost never helped in this case. Only actions did. Yet, she still used words to try and appease the terrified colonel.

"I promise I'll do absolutely everything I can to find him," she said. "I won't come back empty-handed."

The colonel nodded and kissed her cheek, making her promise that she wouldn't do anything reckless.

"I won't," Lucy said, making sure not to make it sound like a promise.

She'd most likely be more than a little reckless during this hunt.

It was already 8 p.m. when they finally left the academy, dressed in black combat uniforms. The trip to the northern districts took a while and Lucy dozed off while listening to the purring of the engine and the cheerful conversations of her friends.

Tell him I forgive him.

The young woman cracked an eye open. Again with this? Why couldn't she remember where she had heard this or who had said it? The car drove over a big pothole and the violent vibrations forced the sleepy woman to wake up. She looked out the window and saw ramshackle buildings, burnt cars, whores and delinquents. Welcome to the northern district, alright. The cars parked near an abandoned gas station and the recruits got out, stretching and complaining about the cold. Lucy immediately started looking around. Most people were getting away from them, but none of them matched the description of the Butcher. None of them looked strong enough to beat and kidnap Elfman. The young woman blew on her gloved hands, it really was cold. Almost everyone was imitating her, blowing on their hands, bouncing on the spot and doing anything that might help fight the cold. Everyone except Gray, who was walking around with his hands in his pockets, jacket open.

"Crybabies," he smirked.

Loke kicked his leg and the commander ordered everyone to pay attention before a fight could ensue.

"For now," he explained, "we'll separate. My team will go west, Jellal's will go east. Once there, we'll separate into teams of 4, explore specific areas and meet at our checkpoint. If you have any question, ask them when we're there. Let's go."

While they walked, it got easier to bear with the cold. Unsurprisingly, none of them tried to make jokes as they walked along the creepy streets, always keeping the locals in their eyesight. One of them unzipped his pants and showed them his penis, making very provocative gestures. Gajeel growled and took his dagger in his right hand, already taking a step in the man's direction.

"I'll cut it off and shove it down his throat..."

"No, you won't," Natsu retorted. "Keep walking, we're almost there."

The checkpoint was a small house they requisitioned for the night and where they left all their stuff.

"First team to go," Natsu called, "Ren, Erik, Mest and Jet. You four take this zone, the one I marked on the map. Come back within two hours and we switch. Second team, Luc, Loke, Gray, Gajeel, you four will check that very same zone as well. Then, we switch teams and start exploring the next zone. If you find anything, push the red button on the device I gave you: it will indicate your position and I'll come to you with reinforcement. Any question?"

"Yes," Loke lifted his hand like a middle schooler. "What are we supposed to do during the two hours we'll have to stay here?"

The commander shrugged.

"Sleep, eat, play cards, I don't care. Anything else? Good. Go."

Lucy didn't enjoy the two hours of wait at all. She had joined the patrol to hunt the Butcher, because it was crucial that they found him soon! But now, not only Natsu, but Elfman was in danger too! She didn't want to sit around and wait! Loke tried to distract her as best as he could, but he was starting to lose patience as well. Thirty minutes before the previous team was supposed to return, they started to stretch and do warm ups. When they were good to go, Natsu gave them the device with the red button.

"Ok, as I said, you check this zone attentively. You have two hours. Don't do anything reckless: if you find something, call me, if you're in danger, escape and call me. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

The four idiots decided to race to the zone and Gray won. Gajeel tried to pretend that he was a bit slower because of his strong and heavy muscles, but ended up becoming their laughing stock. They were quick to get to work, though. They checked the streets and buildings with meticulous attention, progressing through the zone, feeling their anxiety grow as time passed. Where the hell was Elfman? Lucy blinked when something cold landed on her neck and lifted her eyes. She squinted her eyes at the sky and smiled when she realized what was going on.

"Guys," she called, "it's snowing!"

Loke smiled brightly when a snowflake landed on his glove.

"Awesome!"

"Yeah," Gray agreed, taking his jacket off.

Lucy frowned at him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Gray arched a brow and put his jacket back on.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "Instinct."

Of course...

"What kinda creepy instinct is that?" Gajeel snorted.

Two hours passed just like that and they had to go back to the checkpoint, empty-handed. Lucy felt extremely frustrated. Promises are meant to be kept, Lucy, you better find something next time. The first team left to go check another zone as soon as they entered the house. Lucy collapsed on the couch and groaned into the pillow. Gray and Gajeel went to get something to eat and Loke had to use the restroom. Out of nowhere, something warm covered Lucy's body and she turned her head to see the commander placing a blanket over her.

"Don't get cold," he said. "We need you in fine fettle."

She nodded and thanked him, bringing the blanket to her chin. She fell asleep, then. A gentle hand shook her awake less than two hours later and she tried to blink sleep away. Loke smiled at her and handed her a cup of coffee.

"I thought you'd like to have some before we leave," he said. "We're leaving in ten minutes."

Lucy nodded, accepting the coffee. It did help her. The rain was falling harder and, this time, they didn't race to the new zone. They still tried to make occasional jokes and made sure everyone was ok, but all the time that passed and gave no sign of Elfman was starting to take its toll on them: they were tired and anxious. More than an hour passed like that and Lucy started to worry for real. Why was there absolutely no sign of him? There should be blood or broken things somewhere to indicate that a fight occurred. But there was nothing!

Unless he wasn't captured...

Lucy shuddered. There was no way Elfman would have willingly followed the Butcher. Elfman was a good man. The young woman felt furious at herself for even thinking about that possibility and kicked a rock out of her way. The small thing collided with a broken, rusty, half opened door and made a loud clang. Lucy stopped and stared at the door. Her friends were exploring houses at the other end of the street, but she knew they'd wait for her if she wanted to check this place. So she walked toward the door and kicked it down. The old thing didn't resist at all, and Lucy suspected that someone had opened it not too long ago. Inside, it was so dark that the young woman could barely see what her feet were walking on. She continued her exploration as far as she could, listening to any sound she could catch, but found nothing. Eventually, the ground in front of her was nothing but a huge gap and left her with no choice but to go back. She turned around and froze when she thought she heard a faint, muffled sound. She walked closer to the hole, trying to see what was down there. Darkness was all she could see, though, a pitch black abyss. She gulped, knowing that what she was going to do was extremely dangerous.

"Elfman?" she called out loud. "Are you there, Elfman?"

A minute passed and no answer came. Lucy started to feel stupid when three or four full minutes passed and she still hadn't heard a thing. This time, she turned around intending to get out of this oversized coffin.

"Luc?"

She froze.

"Is that you?"

She gasped, not bothering to hold back the tears of relief that ran down her cheeks. She ran to the edge of the hole.

"Elfman!?" she yelled. "You're really here! Hang on, I'm going to get help! We're gonna get you out of here!"

She heard him laugh and sob in relief from the bottom of the pit. She ran outside at full speed, her own tears freezing when she jumped above the broken door and yelled at her friends, waving her hands hysterically.

"He's here! I found him! Call the commander, Elfman's here!"

Less than ten minutes later, the commander and a rescue team ran toward them. A few more minutes and they were joined by Jellal's team, firemen, policemen and medical teams. They managed to get Elfman out of the collapsed building and the big recruit grinned at them when he saw them, crying tears of joy. Lucy cried too, but the other boys fought the tears and only grinned until their jaws hurt. The commander called Mira before even calling the general: they found Elfman, he's fine, except for a broken ankle and a dislocated wrist. He'll spend a few hours in the hospital, but he'll be released in the morning.

Elfman told the commander that he spotted a suspicious person the night before and tried to talk to them. But they ran away and Elfman chased after them and even carelessly entered that building. Elfman lost track of the suspicious person and the ground collapsed under his feet. The commander immediately went to warn the general and, when the phone call was over, he told Jellal that they were to go back to the academy for the night. While they were preparing to leave, he recruits from both teams went to congratulate Lucy, pat her on the head or shoulder, tell her she was a hero. Several firemen and policemen went to congratulate her as well, and she felt intimidated by all the attention. She wasn't a hero, she didn't even know why she had entered the building in the first place, and she cried like a baby when she found Elfman...

Lucy asked if they could stay with Elfman at the hospital, but they weren't allowed to since Mira was already going with Lisanna. She helped her friends put the bags in the car trunk and the commander ruffled her hair before she could sit inside.

"You were awesome tonight," he smiled softly.

They drove back to the academy, where they were congratulated by the general and a few other officers before they were allowed to go to sleep. It was already past 5:30 a.m... When they entered the dorms, Lucy automatically sleepwalked toward her old room. The commander's large hand gently cradled the back of her neck to guide her in the right direction and she didn't try to resist the pull at all. He opened the door and Lucy barely registered the fact that he had been holding her bag all along when he dropped it beside her bed. She felt the commander's arm around her waist as he guided her to her bed and the young woman closed her eyes before she sank into oblivion.

Manhunt – Day 3

Lucy woke up the following morning a bit before noon. She cracked an eye open and flinched when the bright daylight almost blinded her. The sky was white and woolly, meaning it'd would most probably snow again today. A soft smile graced her lips when she remembered that the first snowflakes of the winter had fallen on the day they found Elfman. How fitting. Then, something else that happened the day before came to her mind and she sat bolt upright, staring at the bed beside hers. It was empty. Lucy frowned, not knowing if she felt disappointed or relieved. She sighed and got up, realizing only now that she had slept in her combat uniform. She still took her boots off before getting into her bed, though, or was it the commander?

She took a shower and made sure to properly fasten her bandage around her chest, which was of a normal size, despite what Loke insinuated. She brushed her teeth and laced her boots, before exiting the room and locking the door behind her. Unsurprisingly, she didn't meet anyone in the corridors, so she walked straight to the refectory. She had missed breakfast, so she'd have to eat lunch instead, but at least she'd get to eat. Someone who had been standing in front of the doors blenched when he saw her and ran inside. She frowned and hesitated. What the hell was his problem? She sighed, shook her head and opened the doors of the refectory. Only to be met with a deafening silence. Everyone in the room was standing up and staring at her.

"Um..." Lucy hesitated. "What's wrong?"

Simultaneously, they all pointed to her left and she turned to find Mira running toward her. Lucy smiled when the colonel pounced on her and hugged her tightly, thanking her over and over again, leaving tear stains on her shirt. Everyone applauded and cheered loudly for her, calling her a hero, congratulating her, thanking her. She got thanked a lot.

Erza pulled her into a crushing embrace as soon as she entered the office. Lucy gladly returned it, too happy to forget about their argument.

"I'm so proud of you," the doctor sobbed, and Lucy laughed.

"I didn't do anything, though. Only screamed and cried like a baby when I found him."

Erza kissed her on the forehead and smiled affectionately.

"I heard," she said. "I'm still very proud of you."

They walked together toward the general's office. The headmaster wanted to personally congratulate and thank her for Elfman's rescue. Erza knocked on the door and someone opened it from the inside for them. Jellal was holding the door, he winked at Erza and nodded at Lucy with a small smile. The small general jumped to his feet when he saw them and pulled the young recruit into a tight hug that stunned her.

"Excellent job," Makarov smiled warmly. "You did very well, my child. Thank you so much for what you did last night. I read the reports, I know how dangerous it was to enter this building."

Lucy nodded, feeling a bit too moved to talk. She was sure she'd cry if she tried. The young woman learnt that her reckless exploration of that building also allowed them to find a crucial clue about the Butcher.

"We found pictures near the spot where Elfman was lying," Jellal explained. "All of them were pictures of beautiful young women with blond hair."

"The Butcher chose a type," Makarov explained. "Which restricts the number of potential victims and enables us to set a trap."

Lucy was allowed to leave the office a moment later and she instinctively went to find Loke. It felt weird not having him around her all the time. She knocked on the door of Gray's room and her friend opened it quickly, welcoming her inside with a wide smile. Loke stuck to her like a leech all evening long. They talked about Elfman, about the Bucher they still had to catch, played cards, watched a show on Gray's pad and Lucy decided it was time for her to go back to her own room when she started yawning.

She hesitated in front of the door, not knowing if she was supposed to knock before entering. It was her room too, now, so it should be fine. But what if he was doing that again? Lucy decided that it was safer to knock and did so. The commander arched a brow when he opened the door to find her standing there like a lost kid.

"Why did you knock?" he asked, moving to the side to let her in. "It's your room as well, you can come in whenever you want."

"Ok," she timidly answered.

Awkwardly, she went to sit on her bed. The commander watched her from his spot, leaning on the door, a side smirk on his lips.

"You look like you're about to meet the president of the Octagon," he mocked. She didn't relax one bit, so he went to sit on his own bed and read one of the files that were spread there. "Do you have plans for the weekend?"

She thought about it for a moment, still not feeling at ease.

"No."

The commander nodded, not looking at her.

"Good," he said. "Cause you're coming home with me."

Lucy stared at him with a dumb look on her face, waiting for an explanation. She understood that he wouldn't give her any if she didn't ask, seeing as he was still reading his stupid file.

"Excuse me?"

He glanced at her, closed the file, dropped it on his bed and sat in front of her.

"You heard about what they found in the building where we found Elfman, right?" he said. "This bastard's targeting blond women now. We can't let you go back home all alone."

Lucy frowned and shook her head, not liking where this conversation was going.

"No, I refuse," she retorted. "And besides, the Butcher's after women, so I'll be fine."

The commander snorted and Lucy frowned even more.

"What?"

Natsu shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing. Anyway, you don't have a choice: general's orders."

"I didn't hear a thing about this," she countered.

"You will if I really have to ask him to order you to bear with me," he assured.

The young woman shook her head in disbelief and rolled her eyes.

"But why!?" she whined. "The Butcher's after women, I'm not in danger!"

The commander groaned and massaged his sore neck.

"Oh, come on," he said, "drop it, ok? It was amusing at first, but the situation has changed."

Lucy's stomach contracted and a knot formed in her throat. She tried to swallow it, but to no avail. The commander didn't look angry, but he didn't look like he was joking either.

"Wh... what do you mean?"

He arched a brow and smirked and her heart hammered in her chest.

"You know what I mean," he said. "Why do you think I didn't undress you when we came back, last night?"

Lucy tried her very best not to look guilty, but she could feel her face burn and she knew she was blushing and sweating. Gray was right, it was a miracle that she was still alive.

"I... I really don't unders..."

"Ah, no," the commander interrupted her. "Don't deny it, I hate it when people take me for an idiot."

He stared at her, waiting for her to confess her secret, but she just couldn't.

"Well," he sighed, "fine."

He stood up and pointed at her shirt.

"Take it off," he ordered.

"How bold," her inner voice sniggered. What a stupid thing to think at the moment!

Lucy shook her head.

"No... this is ridiculous. I'm leaving."

She stood up and he pushed her back on the bed, not too gently might she add.

"If you don't, I'll take it off myself," he warned. "You're calling me a liar, back it up."

When she still didn't answer, he shrugged and bent down.

"Well, that's fine."

He grabbed her shirt and tugged at it before Lucy vainly tried pushing him off. She fought a few more seconds, but obviously wasn't strong enough to resist him.

"Fine, fine!" she exclaimed. "You win! Let go! Pervert!"

The commander let go of her shirt and took a step back, a victorious smile on his lips.

"When did you find out?" she mumbled.

The young man's smile slightly faltered when he sat back on his bed.

"I've had some doubts since the very beginning," he said, "but I only got a confirmation recently."

Lucy frowned.

"A confirmation?"

He nodded.

"Yep. During training, a while ago, you got splashed with blood and went to change in the lockers. You were still inside when I came back and Loke had to piss, so I took his place and opened the door to see how you were doing. Turned out you were using the shower to wash the blood off."

Lucy was sure she had never been more embarrassed in her whole life. Not only had he seen her shirtless, she had been bending over in a weird position to get all the blood off... And he had seen that... She hid her head between her hands, wishing she could just dig a hole right there and bury herself alive. She'd hibernate inside until everyone she knew was dead.

"I can't believe you saw this," she muttered. "I feel violated..."

She glared at the commander when he burst out laughing.

"You feel violated?" he repeated. "Wanna talk about the time where I heard the door of my room being unlocked from inside a few days ago? Strangely enough, the door of my wardrobe had been opened too, and I had just enough time to catch a glimpse of a blond head as the person closed the door behind them."

Lucy then learnt that you could always feel more ashamed than you expected. You'd think being seen half naked while struggling with your sticky, bloody hair would make you feel so ashamed that nothing else could compare. But try getting caught peeping on a man relieving himself and you'll see that it can always get worse.

"I... have no idea what..."

The commander took something out of his pocket before she could finish her sentence and handed it to her. It was a thin silver wristband. Believe it or not, but Lucy only realized at that moment that she had lost it in the first place.

"I think that's yours," the commander smirked. "It was in the wardrobe, for some reason."

Lately, Lucy had been preparing for the day she'd tell the truth to the commander. She wanted it to be a solemn, emotional moment, where she would tell him the whole truth properly and cry in his arms afterwards. She snatched the wristband and glared at it.

"It's not what you think," she assured, "it was an accident."

The commander burst out laughing.

End of chapter 20

Don't forget to vote for the popularity contest: the poll's on my profile page!

The previous chapter got really enthusiastic reactions and it made me want to quickly write this one! Since I had some free time, I managed to finish it today! Please, do tell me what you've thought of it!

Author Note: There are now over 400 of you following this story and a lot of readers left reviews to tell me that I'm a great writer, that they're in love with the story and can't wait for each chapter to come out. You give me your sincere support, you encourage me and cheer me up. I just had to thank you one more time for being so kind and supportive, I feel blessed. I have to admit that it's a bit intimidating, but it's very thrilling as well! I always look forward to reading your comment!

Reminder: I only post the previews and the news about the stories on my Tumblr blog: hungrypeanut.

Question/Answers

Q (from TheOGFTfanatic): I didn't know Juvia could fight, was it part of her training course for nurses?

A: Thanks for asking! I thought no one would! No, fighting isn't part of their training (at least, not in my story), they're just making sure to stay healthy!

Q (from TheOGFTfanatic): does that mean Lucy isn't as umm "well endowed" in the story than she is in the manga?

A: Thanks for asking this too. Obviously, Lucy's chest can't be as large in the story as it is in the manga. She's average in this area.

Alright, this it for now. I'll try posting the next chapter as soon as possible!