This chapter took me a while to flesh out, seeing how it was from two new points of view that I haven't written yet. I didn't want either of them to be out of character. I hope this chapter makes you smile, and cry, and squeeze your pillow tight. Thanks for your dedication to reading this fanfic. I love you guys so much - your support means the world to me! One last thing to tell you: I think I've found my theme song for this story. Shattered by Trading Yesterday
As always, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail; I do not.
CHAPTER 9: Truth
Sting's POV
Rogue and I had just arrived on the 4th floor of the hospital, after a short stopover at an inn a couple blocks away. Obviously the hospital wouldn't allow animals to come with us, so we had left our Exceeds to get some rest. Rogue had been unusually solemn during the entire trip here. Quiet was generally pretty normal for him, but this went beyond mere silence. His thoughts seemed to be constantly centered elsewhere, most likely on the blonde awaiting his return. This entire situation was boggling my mind. I'd never seen him react the way he had at the house or be so defensive of a woman, especially one he didn't really know. That was why I had chosen to come with him, before heading out to do the job he was giving me. I had to know what had him so rattled; what's causing him to act so out of character? I was torn from my musings when Rogue suddenly shot forward, moving at an incredible speed. Then the sound hit me; I'd never heard such a chilling wail, so full of utter defeat. I raced after my partner, my skin damn near crawling. He didn't seem to be surprised at the noise, instead heading straight towards it in determination. He smacked his hand on the nurses desk, barely stopping to tell the startled nurses, "I've got her." Surprisingly, they nodded at him and sat back down. Leaving no time for questions, he burst through the door to a room, me right behind him. Rogue didn't stop at the door, instead rushing right past a group of shocked Fairies. I'd never seen him act so strangely; I'm fairly certain my mouth was hanging open. I had a nagging suspicion it would be staying that way for a while.
I looked over to see a blonde on the hospital bed, clutching her head, her knees pulled tightly to her chest. She rocked herself, screaming out a single name, Rogue, over and over again. She didn't seem to realize that she was all but showing the entire lower half of her body. My mind took note of her apparent injuries like snapshots, bombarding me with the sheer amount of them. Her leg was bandaged nearly from the hip to her knee; the rest of both of her legs were covered in bruises, small cuts, and several more smaller bandages. She held her shoulders oddly, and I could see they were swollen. Her arms were riddled with similar spots as her legs: bruises, scrapes, cuts, and some others that were almost impossible to determine from where I stood. I could see white covering the back of her head, but by far, the worst damage I could find was her face. Her left eye was swollen almost entirely shut, the purple color streaking the entire side of her face. Her skin was mottled with marks, the skin seeming to have split in many places from a great force striking it. Rogue was right; I'd had no idea, and I was regretting what I'd said to him. I was dumbstruck as Rogue called softly to her, reaching out to grab her wrists and pull them away from her temples. She whipped her head up, eyes wide in fear, until she looked into my partner's face. The tenseness faded from her body, and she whimpered, "Rogue...I thought you weren't coming...", tears pouring down her face. I watched as Rogue released her wrists and raised his hands to her face, wiping away the ever-flowing wetness. He spoke to her in the gentlest voice I'd ever heard him use, "I promised you I would, didn't I?" She nodded her head, as Rogue gently pressed onto her shoulder, telling her, "Come, you should be lying down." We all stood there in silence, watching as the small broken woman was tenderly cared for by a man everyone thought had no heart. I shook my head as I tried to wrap my mind around the most bizarre thing that had ever happened. They didn't seem to notice how odd it all was, or that the rest of us were even there. It was as if they were the only two in the room. They were in their own world, it seemed, and I wondered at what it all meant.
She began stretching her legs out, whimpering in pain, as she clutched a hand to her stomach. Rogue responded by placing his hand over hers, asking, "Did you reopen your wound?" She stuttered, obviously still hurting, "I-I don't think so." He seemed unconvinced, his brow clenching in concern. He leaned a bit closer, scenting the air around her stomach, and nodded, "I think you're okay; I don't smell any fresh blood." He put on a stern face, still holding her hand, "You shouldn't have been moving around. You're going to hurt yourself more." The blonde Fairy looked down, her bottom lip trembling and whispered, "I was s-scared. They were g-going to touch m-me." He lifted her chin up as his face softened in understanding, "It's okay. No one will touch you if you don't want them to, alright?" For the first time in my life, I was speechless; I felt like I didn't know him at all. Rogue...gentle, caring...with a Fairy? It was like Earthland had somehow flipped while I was sleeping. I looked around at the rest of the occupants of the room, seeing the Titania, the ice mage, and Natsu, each with equally confounded expressions. The world was definitely fucked up when I could find common ground with the Fairies.
I shook my head at the absurdity, and turned back to Rogue and the blonde. He draped her blanket over her shivering body, and asked, "Are you still cold?" She nodded a few times, causing him to step back and say, "I'll go get you another blanket; I'll be right back." He turned to walk away, but she grasped his hand again, her voice trembling as she cried, "Rogue don't leave me...please!" He seemed to understand her fear and pulled a chair closer to the bed, his hand still clutched between hers. He glanced up at the group standing around, asking, "Can one of you go find her another blanket?" Apparently that was the wrong thing for Rogue to say. I could literally feel the temperature rise in the room and found it hard to believe the fire dragon slayer hadn't actually caught on fire yet. Natsu growled out in anger, "Who are you to come in here and order us around?! You're nothing to her! Why the hell are you even here?!" Lucy cringed, pulling Rogue closer to herself. He stood, moving slightly in front of her, his free hand reaching to stroke her hair, as he replied firmly, "I believe we have already had this discussion, Salamander. I am here for Lucy. I also recall telling you not to yell in her presence." I blinked at his words; this was beginning to feel more complicated than just "fulfilling a promise."
If possible, the temperature spiked even higher, and Natsu opened his mouth growling, "You shouldn't be here Rogue; it's time to go. We don't need your help anymore." The dark haired Fairy snapped at his teammate, "God, Natsu, just shut up! Can't you see he makes her feel better?" Erza stepped forward, her face stern, but before she could speak, a shaky voice began, "Rogue...has been more loyal to me...in the last day than you have...Natsu." Everyone spun to look at the small, battered woman, peering around Rogue's leg. I was shocked to see such a cold look on her face. What the hell was going on? It appeared I wasn't the only one at a loss. The pink-haired man staggered back, hurt and some emotion I couldn't identify flickering across his face. His hand pressed against his chest as if she'd attacked him physically, as he croaked, "What are you saying, Luce?" The blonde answered calmly, her eyes dead, "I know about Lisanna. I saw you two yesterday." The Titania's eyes narrowed on the fire mage, "What is she talking about Natsu?" The man held his hands up, eyes wide and pleaded, "It's not as bad as what you're thinking Luce. It was only a kiss; we didn't sleep together, I swear! I was planning to tell you yesterday. We didn't want to hurt you."
My eyes widened at his statement. Holy shit...what a fucking mess... Rogue sucked in a breath, looking down at Lucy, muttering, "That's why you were upset before you got to that alley. That's why I smelled your tears near his house." I watched as everyone took in the information, coming to the same conclusion; Lucy had run from the sight of her apparent boyfriend and another woman, straight into an attack. The blonde spoke again in the quiet, "Looks like you got off easy. At least you didn't have to tell me." Natsu's faced paled as he realized the implications, "Oh God...i-it's my fault...you were hurt because of me..." The ice mage stepped over to the sorry bastard and grabbed him up by his collar, "You fucking piece of shit! You did this to her, you bastard!" The dark-haired mage had tears streaming down his face, his body shaking in fury, "We almost lost her because of you! I-I should kill you!" The Titania pulled Gray away from Natsu, before grabbing him herself. She shoved her face inches away from his, and growled fiercely, "You get the hell out of here and don't...come...back." I opened the door for the red-head as she shoved a sobbing Natsu into the hallway. She looked down at his crumpled form in the floor and spat, "I'll deal with you later" before taking the door from my hand and slamming it.
Erza's POV
I took a deep breath, before turning around to face the room again. Everything in me wanted to scream in anger at such a bitter truth; one of our nakama had caused, however inadvertently, Lucy to fall into harm. When I had found out that Lucy had been hurt, I wanted to find the one responsible and punish him. I wanted to call out all of my swords, just like I did at Fantasia, and send them all into his body. I wanted to watch as his blood ran in rivers down his body. What was I to do now that I knew it had all begun with Natsu? What do I do with that? My friend could have been spared such pain and horror, if only that selfish boy hadn't decided to test the waters with Lisanna before breaking things off with his girlfriend. I pushed my conflicting emotions aside and focused on finding a way to connect with Lucy again. She had been so scared before and I couldn't bear the thought that I had caused it. I walked slowly towards the bed, making sure I calmed myself, before asking, "Lucy, can I come closer?" Biting her lip for a moment, Lucy bobbed her head twice, and I felt my heart speed up. I restrained myself from running at her again; I was so anxious to be close to her, to talk to her, but I knew now that moving quickly would only make it worse. I kept my eyes on the woman who knew me so well, one of my closest friends. I hated seeing her so quiet and broken; she was meant to be smiling and laughing. She had drawn me out, refusing to let me hide anymore. Now it was my turn.
I stood by her bed and tentatively held out my hand. She eyed it for a moment, before looking up into my eyes. Then she stretched out her hand to grasp mine gently and I felt a tear slip down my cheek, and said "I'm so sorry we scared you Lucy. We just...rushed at you without thinking." She sniffed a bit, looking down, "It's...it's not you. I...I..." Rogue squeezed her other hand telling her, "It's okay." I nodded, and smiled at her, before making another request, "Would you be okay if I gave you a hug?" Her eyes blinked rapidly as she thought, then she slowly nodded. My lips trembled as I leaned down, and cautiously wrapped my arms around her. I felt her arms slip around me, and I could hold my sobs in no longer. It was like I had found my friend, after I felt like I had lost her forever. I knew it would be a long time before she was completely comfortable with me, but at least now I felt like there was hope. I had hope that one day, we would laugh again; there would be no more fear between us. She pulled back and I saw tears in her eyes, and I wondered if she was thinking the same thing. She suddenly looked past me and I turned to see Gray's eyes pooling with tears. I watched as they stared at each other across the room, and I found myself praying she could find the strength to let him in too. His grief had been heart-wrenching to see, and you could read the pain in his face, as he waited to see if she could accept him. I watched her look up at Rogue, who told her simply, "You can do it, Lucy." Her breath quickened as she turned back to look at Gray. Then she threw her arms up, beckoning him to her side. His hands clenched as he forced himself to walk to her; it was easy to see he wanted to race to the bed, but like me, he'd learned his lesson. I stepped out of the way as he came into her arms, his cries muffled in her shoulder. "Oh God Lucy...I thought I lost you," he choked out. Her arms tightened once more around him, before letting him pull back. She looked up at Gray as he stood, offering a little smile, and said, "I love you Big Brother." His breath left him for a moment, and then his face broke into a tremulous smile, tears still streaming down his face. "I love you too Little Sister," he whispered.
A/N: Oh, how Gray pulls at my heart strings. Erza surprised me; I didn't think she'd make me cry, but she did. She's so reserved, but when she truly lets someone in, she loves so deeply. I have to say, I love Gray as Lucy's Big Bro. Now that he's got his sis back, I'm sure he's going to want to teach someone a lesson. Erza too. See you guys in the next chapter