I am so sorry, everyone! This took me way longer than I thought it would. I don't understand how people can publish weekly... But it's here now, and hopefully it's worth the wait. I have a feeling the ending will be popular. We are so close, people. A couple more chapters, and this fic will be complete. I'm so excited! Oh, I sound like a broken record. I keep saying the same thing...
Dedicated to nico2883! Special thanks to SlightlyOff7, WhiteWinterStar, Readywolf02, blossom2218, skullwingD36, gwb620, Kosmotius, artistofthemind, artificialartofficial, September Samstar, authorshateus, Kitty193Fl, z-TragicMagic-z, FrozenFireLight, Redpunter (Shh... No one needs to know that...), twilightamanda, and ThatGuyYouMetOnce! Thank you so much, all of you. I really appreciate it, and sorry for making you wait.
Um, I was gonna say something else that I think was important, but now I forget... Well, whatever. Enjoy the chapter!
LUCY
I waited for my statement to sink in. One second passed, two... And the clearing erupted in laughter.
"Oh, Lucy, I have to commend you for trying so hard," Dian chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes. "You really gave it your all." I glanced around at the gasping werewolves. Some had even sunk to the ground and were rolling around in the dirt.
"I know I look like this now, but..." I inhaled and curled my fingers in the loose soil. "I'm not lying. I really am a man." Dian burst into a fresh bout of laughter, clutching his sides. "You can laugh, but it's true." He breathed deeply and smiled at me.
"Can you explain? I'd love to hear just how you intend to pull this off."
"I was the only son of the Heartfilia family. My father was extremely wealthy, and kidnappers were always after me. Eventually, in order to hide my identity when I went out in public, I had a sex-change operation and became Lucy Heartfilia." Dian observed me, all traces of mirth gone. I crossed my fingers, held my breath and prayed he bought my BS. There were so many holes in my story, but it was the best I could come up with on short notice.
"A sex-change operation, huh?" he mused aloud. "I suppose it's possible... But why wouldn't you tell me from the start?"
"It's embarrassing," I mumbled, averting my gaze. "I don't like talking about it."
"I understand," he said sympathetically, resting a hand on my shoulder. Unbelievable, I thought. Is he really this stupid?
"Don't be a fool, Dian," a sharp voice said. "She's obviously lying to get out of marrying you." The blood froze in my veins as Dian's ice queen of a mother stepped closer to us. She stopped behind me, and I could hear her cruel smile in her voice as she said, "Isn't that right, Lucy dear?"
"I understand that you're taken aback," I said shakily, "But I don't appreciate being accused of lying about something I can't control. I don't want to be a girl, but this is a decision my parents made for me." Her slim hand came down oh-so-gently on my shoulder, her nails digging into my skin. I winced.
"Give it up," she purred. "We are not fools. I know a badly put-together lie when I see one, my dear, and yours is falling apart." Just as I was ready to take her advice and give in to a life of having werewolf babies, help came from an unexpected quarter.
"Which one of you muffin-heads is the dang-blasted buffoon who was messing up my clearing?" a rough voice boomed. The hand on my shoulder twitched and withdrew slowly. I looked at Dian, who had paled and was biting his lip nervously. Twisting to sneak a peek at his mother, I noticed that her color was similarly lightened, and that her composure seemed to have lessened. She was staring with an awkwardly fixed smile at a patch of forest to the right. As I watched, a breeze rustled the leaves ominously, and a huge presence approached. Quiet footsteps became audible, and I scratched my wrist anxiously. The branches of a bush shivered, and a small, elf-like creature emerged into the clearing. Glancing around irritably, it opened its mouth and said, "So, who was it?" The voice that came out was surprisingly low and deep. In fact, it sounded the same as the booming voice from before. The pair of bulging eyes landed on Dian, Grant and I clustered in the center on the ground and sharpened. "You two chowder-heads again?" the elf bellowed. "This time, I'll knock your skulls together so hard they'll fall right off your necks!" It charged us, moving at an alarming speed for something so small and wrinkly. The ice queen stepped in to intercept it just in time.
"Father," she said smoothly, "Please calm down. You're being rash." The creature – her father? – was forced to come to a screeching halt in front of her, clearly fuming. He glared up at her, his wrinkles deepening with anger.
"Don't get in my way, you potato-faced daughter of mine!" he roared, stomping his feet impatiently. "They have to be punished for causing such chaos in my clearing!" Dian's mother blinked at potato-faced, but to her credit she didn't back down.
"I understand that you're angry, but..."
"But nothing!" he shrieked, his voice noticeably higher. "I refuse to let those numbskulls get away with this another second! Step aside before I have to punish you too, Marie!" She blanched and glanced backwards at where we were still crouched in the dirt. Something sharpened her eyes and she turned back to her father with a thin-lipped smile.
"This time, Father, it wasn't their fault. It was the girl here who drove them into doing it. Punish her instead." She stepped aside, clearing the path from where I sat to the old geezer. He squinted at me with his creepy bloodshot eyes and advanced slowly, hands clasped behind his back. I sat motionless as he circled me, occasionally nodding and mumbling to himself.
"Hmm, yes, I see," he muttered. "Watermelon girl, what's your name?"
"Watermelon..." I felt my face burning when I realized what he was referring to and crossed my arms protectively over my chest. "You creepy old man! Keep your eyes to yourself!" He huffed and turned up his nose, pouting like a little kid.
"I'm allowed to look, missy." He cracked an eye to peer at me out of the corner of it. "Give me your name."
"Lucy. Now give me yours," I demanded, still guarding my chest. He was seriously a creeper.
"Father," the ice queen hissed abruptly, "What are you doing? She caused all this mess! Aren't you going to punish her?" He waved her off testily and leaned closer, pushing his lumpy nose into my face.
"I'm Jarm." I got to my feet cautiously and backed up several steps.
"What are you all doing out here?"
"I live here. This lot–" he jerked a shriveled thumb at Dian's relatives– "Come to visit once in a while. Always make a mess of my clearing. Such a troublesome bunch of clowns, never pay any respect to other people's things. Wish I were rid of 'em. And you, missy?" I blinked.
"What?"
"Why are you here?" he asked, circling me again. "To ruin my clearing, hm?"
"No, and I wish I could leave," I replied indignantly. "I didn't do anything to your clearing. It was these two idiots having a fight that messed it up like this." He raised a shaggy eyebrow.
"Ho, I see. So it was you two fools after all?" he asked, turning on the brothers with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Ho ho," he muttered, advancing slowly. "You'll have to be punished." He paused in front of Grant. "This is..." His hand shot out to chop down, hard, on his grandson's skull as he shrieked, "The three-thousand seven-hundred and ninety-fourth offense!" With the same surprising speed as before, he darted to where Dian knelt and kicked him squarely in the gut. Dian doubled over, coughing, while Grant lay unconscious on the ground, having been knocked out cold. I stared wide-eyed as he turned on his daughter. She backed away, holding her hands up.
"Father, I tried to stop them–"
"Lies!" he rumbled, sweeping her legs out from under her and toppling her to the ground. She landed on her butt with a thump and stared up at him, her eyes full of resigned anxiety. He knocked her out quickly with a smack to the side of her head. She was surprisingly weak, for someone who had seemed so terrifying. I gazed at her form laying on the ground. She looked surprisingly motherly, when she wasn't conscious and glaring daggers. I snapped out of my trance when I realized it was my chance to escape. The three people who had been so intent on making me stay were down, clearing a path for me to slip away. But just as I looked up hurriedly to make sure no one was watching too closely, the old man said, "Trying to get away, missy?" I froze and glanced down at him guiltily.
"There's not really a reason for me to stay..." I replied slowly, looking fixedly at a spot just left of his right ear. "I was thinking I'd just go."
"Wait," Dian groaned. I flinched and turned in time to see him rising painfully from his position in the dirt. He coughed, clutching his midsection with one hand, and reached out towards me with the other. "Lucy... Just wait... A minute." Unable to help myself, I moved to kneel next to him.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned despite myself. He nodded and levered himself into a fully sitting position, panting.
"I'm used to it," he explained. "Grandpa gets mad a lot, and I'm the only one who visits regularly, since I live in town." I laid a hand on his back, just over his shoulder blade.
"Dian, I can't marry you." He smiled weakly at me and coughed into his sleeve.
"You've said. But that's not going to stop me." I rocked back on my heels and looked into my lap.
"I know I smell interesting, and I know you want me to marry you, but I really can't." I smiled sadly at him. "I almost want to give in to you, you know. It would be a lot easier." He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand. "But I've been running away for months now, longer really, and I'm tired of running. I'm hot and sweaty and a complete wreck. I don't want to live like that for the rest of my life." I met his eyes, determined to say it straight. "See, I really am in love with someone else. So deeply in love it hurts to see his face." I knotted my fingers together in my lap. "And even though he doesn't feel the same way, I don't want to deny it anymore. It's childish to keep pretending like this. So I really can't marry you. I'd have lied to him."
"But you said he doesn't feel the same way," Dian pointed out. "Why don't you try to move on, find someone new? I'd make you forget him." I laughed at him.
"Do you know how cheesy that sounds?" Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair. "And yes, maybe that would be less painful, but this is the path I've chosen and it's what I want." I slid my legs out from under me and pulled them up to my chest instead. "I can't imagine...forgetting about him. I can't even remember what my life was like before he was in it."
"Lucy, I won't just–"
I smiled cheerfully at him. "Let me go? I know, and your feelings make me happy. Thank you for proposing to me, Dian, but just like you're ready to fight to make me love you, I want to fight to make him love me. I want him to care about me the way I care about him, so I'm going to face him. No more running away." Dian scrutinized my face for a long moment. I sat and waited, letting his eyes sweep over my cheeks, my chin, my nose, my eyebrows. His eyes never once met mine.
"I really can't win with you," he said finally, closing his eyes and leaning back on his hands. His face tilted back casually, moonlight swept over his features, polishing his skin until it glimmered. I blinked. Moonlight?
"Holy Mavis, it's nighttime already," I whispered, staring up into the clear star-studded night sky. "I'm running out of time." The moon smiled softly down at me like there was an inside joke I wasn't getting. I scowled and got to my feet, brushing loose dirt off my legs and butt. "I need to go now. Thanks for hearing me out." His hand latched onto mine and pulled. "What?"
"Thank you, Lucy." My brow furrowed.
"What for? I didn't do anything."
"I don't know," he said, slowly. "I just... Somehow, I just needed to say it." He looked at me with strangely genuine gratitude in his eyes. "So, thank you." His hand slipped out of mine and he relaxed. The corner of my mouth lifted and turned away, searching for the patch of forest we had come from. I found it after a moment and started towards it, pulling my hair back from my face as I went. A few steps from the edge of the clearing. I realized I had a companion.
"Did you want something, Jarm?" He shrugged.
"Bored. Felt like walking."
Uh-huh." I crossed the last several feet to the tree-line and turned to look back at him. "If that's all, I'm going now."
"You said you're in love, missy." I crossed my arms to hide my surprise.
"That's right. What of it?"
"He a good kid?" I cocked my head to the side.
"Is he... A good kid?" The old man that I had originally mistaken for some sort of forest gnome nodded gruffly, observing my face carefully. I thought about it honestly for a moment before realizing I shouldn't have to think about it. This was Natsu we were talking about.
"He's violent and hot-headed," I said bluntly. "Every time we go somewhere, he ends up destroying everything in sight. All he ever does is pick fights," I continued, starting to get indignant. "He never thinks about what he's doing. He has no tact or no self-control. And he's the most loyal person I've ever met." I cracked a smile. "He'd die for his friends in a heartbeat, and he'd die for a stranger in two. He's arrogant, and childish, and kind, and strong. I love him more than the world and need him more than air."
"I see," Jarm said, folding his hands behind his back. "So he is a very good kid." I nodded. My heart was a chunk of lead in my chest, weighing me down and pulling me to my knees. "Such a sad face..." Jarm began. I looked at him, confused. Was he being nice? "Such a sad face makes you even uglier, Watermelon girl."
The sound of my punch still ringing in the air, I stepped into the dark forest, shaking my hand out. Behind me, Jarm lay on the ground, eyes spinning, his potato of a nose oddly crooked. "Sweet dreams, old man," I muttered, slipping between two trees with a faint smile lifting the edges of my mouth.
The forest at night was murky and made it hard to see, so it took me longer to get back to the guild than it had taken Dian and I to get to the clearing. It didn't help that the forest was unfamiliar territory. I tripped at least twice every five minutes over roots and rocks, and nearly walked into trees that seemed to appear out of thin air in my path. By the time I reached the back of the Sabertooth guild, my hands were scratched and sore, I had been jabbed in both eyes by sapling branches, and my knees were stained brown from falling in the dirt so often. Brushing leaves off my legs and grumbling to myself, I climbed the slight incline and circled the guild to the front doors. Yukino was just leaving, shutting the doors on the dark hall behind her. She noticed me with a start.
"Lucy! You scared me." After giving me a closer look under the lamplight, she inquired, "What happened to you? Were you in the woods?" I nodded and turned to walk with her.
"Yeah, Dian asked me to help him with a job out there and time got away from me." At this, she frowned.
"I warned him not to get you involved with anything unnecessary," she muttered mostly to herself. She turned to me, concern in her brown eyes, and asked, "Did he do anything to you, Lucy? Dian is a bit..." I shrugged.
"Mm... Well, it was fine. He wanted me to marry him." She stopped in her tracks and gaped at me, completely taken aback.
"He what?"
"Yeah, he gathered his whole family to force me to agree. Almost worked, too, but he has an interesting grandfather." I grinned easily at Yukino. "Don't look so horrified. It's just another crazy story to tell my great-grandkids when I'm eighty and covered in wrinkles. Believe me, worse happens at Fairy Tail."
"How..." Yukino cleared her throat and moved to catch up to me, a tiny smile widening her mouth. "How did you manage to convince him to let you go? He's quite persistent, and dangerous when he wants to be."
"I think it was a combination of his nutty grandfather and my powers of persuasion." I paused, and then decided that I could tell Yukino. Actually, she might understand better than most. "I explained that I'm in love with someone else." Yukino tilted her white head to the side in confusion.
"You are?"
"Yeah."
"Who is it?" She was still staring intently at me.
I twisted my fingers together. I wanted to tell her, but in the end, it really was embarrassing. "Um... It's like... See, I..." I bit my lip, blushing brilliantly in the darkness. "Sorry, I'm really embarrassed right now." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. "The person I like...is Natsu."
Silence.
Hesitantly, I cracked open one eye, and then the other. Yukino had angled her body away from me, her hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking. "Wh-Why are you crying?" I stammered. "What's wrong?" A sound escaped from the spaces between her fingers, and she completely lost it. The sound of Yukino's laughter filled the night sky, probably waking up everyone within a half-mile radius.
"I'm sorry, Lucy," she gasped, trying to stifle her laughter. "But... Being in love with... Natsu Dragneel..." She collapsed in a fresh wave of mirth and lost the ability to talk. It was infectious, and soon I was joining her, my laughter even louder than hers. Eventually, someone opened their window and tossed an alarm clock at us, which only made us laugh harder. By the time we had burned ourselves out, my stomach was aching like I'd been punched and I was thoroughly exhausted, not to mention more than a little hungry.
"Want to come over to my apartment to eat something?" I asked Yukino, helping her up. Then I remembered my dire food situation. "Or actually, could I come over to yours? I don't have any food at the moment, and all the stores must be closed by now." She agreed, and we turned in the direction of her apartment, which was actually part of Sabertooth's dormitories. Due to bad decision-making, girls and guys shared the dorm buildings, so she had ended up living in a mostly-male dorm. It turned out Sting and Rogue lived right next door to her, which explained the pounding music that was clearly audible standing outside Yukino's door. It wasn't any quieter inside – in fact, it was worse. The walls were paper-thin, and apparently the ceilings, while being very sturdy, were just as bad. Yukino said that Orga lived directly above her, which explained the loud thumping and other alarming noises.
"Sorry about the noise," she shouted. "They're not usually this bad, but Master Sting's convinced Natsu will arrive tomorrow, so he insisted on celebrating." I covered my ears with my hands and grimaced.
"It's not your fault. But how can you live with these idiots? You should move out." She shook her head.
"I can't really afford it, and..." She blushed lightly. "I like living next to Sting. He keeps things interesting." I smiled.
"And here you were making fun of me for falling in love with an idiot." Her innocent eyes widened in surprise.
"How did you–" I hooked my arm through hers, my smile widening into a grin.
"Just a hunch. How about we go shut them up so we can talk in peace?" She smiled hesitantly.
"That sounds... fun."
Together, we marched out into the hallway and knocked on the door of 999. There was a name plaque that read Sting and Rogue in bold lettering. After a minute with no reply, I kicked the door violently. "Open the damn door, Sting! I swear to Mavis, I'm gonna break it down!" A second passed. Two. Then the door slowly creaked open to reveal... No one. I frowned. I could just make out Sting sitting on a couch around the corner, laughing and drinking booze. The music threatened to deafen me, and the apartment reeked. Yukino pinched her nose.
"What do you want?" I looked down, surprised. Lector was standing there, frowning at us. "Do you need something? Go away already. Sting's busy."
"Tell Sting to turn the music down," I ordered, folding my arms. Yukino mimicked my posture after a moment, looking uncertain.
"No way! Sting's really excited because Natsu is going to be here tomorrow. Why should he turn it down?"
"Because it's causing trouble for Yukino," I retorted. "You can hear everything in her apartment and it's annoying. I'm not saying turn it off, just turn it down."
"No–"
"Lector, what's the problem?" Sting called, leaning over the side of the couch. When he saw who it was, he got up and strutted over to the door. "Yukino, came to hang out? Come on in, grab a drink." She shot me a quick panicked look. I cut my eyes at Sting and nudged her with my elbow. She swallowed hard.
"Um, no, I came to ask you to turn your music down. It's too loud, and it's annoying." Sting didn't seem to quite be able to comprehend the words coming out of Yukino's mouth. I had no doubt she had never said something of the kind to him before, since she was so timid around him.
"Annoying?" he repeated, dumbfounded.
"We can hear it from my apartment. Please turn it down." He scratched his head uncomfortably.
"Right, but, we're kinda having a party here..." He spotted me standing next to Yukino. "Tell her, Licky! Natsu's coming tomorrow, so we're celebrating–"
"Natsu's not coming, Sting," I snapped, more irritable than I should have been. "He won't make it by tomorrow, so just turn the music down." Yukino nodded firmly.
"Please," she added. He looked between us helplessly.
"Fine," he sighed. "I'll send everyone home."
Yukino opened her mouth to say something, but I beat her to it. "Good. Goodnight, then." I turned back toward Yukino's apartment, but then I remembered something and twisted around. "And for future reference, it's Lucy, not Licky. Get it right." I followed Yukino back into her apartment, slamming the door behind me. I listened as the music cut off suddenly and sighed. Left in peace and quiet, I collapsed face-first on Yukino's couch.
"Lucy, are you alright?" she asked concernedly. I nodded, and then shook my head.
"Do you think he'll really be here tomorrow? It seems impossible." I flipped onto my back. Yukino sat at the end of the couch, thinking about it.
"I think he will."
I sat up. "Why? What makes you so sure?" She smiled at me.
"If there was one person Natsu could come here for in seven days, Lucy, it would be you." I frowned.
"What do you mean?" She pressed her lips together.
"Hmm... Maybe you haven't noticed, but to an outsider watching your relationship with Natsu, you can tell right away that there's something special between you." She laughed lightly. "Have you noticed that Natsu always places himself right next to you? Like he's protecting you." My jaw dropped.
"You're lying."
"No, it's true." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "And he always pays the most attention to you, no matter who's around. And–" I held up a hand.
"Enough. I don't need to hear any more." Just then, my stomach growled loudly. "Do you have anything to eat?" She exhaled softly and smiled, reading the unspoken message in my eyes.
"Are chips okay? I'm not in the mood to make anything fancy. Oh, but I think I have dip..." I nodded. "Okay, then I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." I nodded again and waited until she had disappeared through a door to the left to fall backwards onto the couch and grab a pillow to muffle my shrieks in.
I had no clue why I was screaming. Yukino's take on our relationship should have made me happy. It should have made me want to cry. It should not have made me want to punch something. I had a bad feeling that I had picked up the violent tendencies of my friends.
I took a deep breath and attempted to assess the situation. She had said Natsu positioned himself next to me like he was... protecting me. That I seemed the most important to him, always.
"Wait, wait, wait," I mumbled into the pillow. "Stick to the facts. Don't go embellishing what she said."
So, what I meant was that I was the one he paid the most attention to. Right. And I was angry because...
Because I had never seen it. I had never noticed how Natsu was acting around me, because I was too busy correcting how I acted around him.
"What an idiot I am," I grumbled, still clutching the pillow. My fingers played absent-mindedly with the fringe as my mind spun in circles.
Always right next to you... Protecting you... Most attention to you, no matter who's around...
"GAH!" I howled, flinging the couch pillow across the room. It collided with a tall floor lamp, which slowly toppled into the wall and slid to the floor with a delayed crash. There was a scrambling sound and shrieking from the kitchen, and then Yukino came skidding out of the doorway, wielding an enormous kitchen knife, looking wildly back and forth for some unknown danger.
"Lucy! Are you–" She finally took stock of the situation and cut off. Just as she was about to relax, the door was violently flung open and someone dashed inside the apartment. Yukino's head whipped around and she sent the knife flying at the intruder's forehead with a practiced flick. He ducked at the last second and it hit the wall instead, where it stuck, quivering with the vibrations from the collision.
"God almighty," Sting gasped, staring wide-eyed at the deadly weapon. "What the hell is wrong with you, Yukino?" Her hands flew to her mouth and she shook her head frantically, speechless. I got up from the couch, careful not to make any sudden movements.
"Sorry, Sting," I said, trying not to freak him out any more than he already was. "I gave Yukino a bit of a scare, so she was a little on edge when you came running in here. Is everything okay?" He gaped at me.
"I heard... A scream, and then a struggle or something..." I grimaced.
"Yeah, sorry."
Rogue's dark head poked around the doorjamb. "Everything okay? We heard noises." I nodded.
"Sorry, there was kind of an accident. We're fine, so you can go back. Sorry to freak you out." That was good enough for Rogue, apparently, because he shrugged, glanced at Sting sitting on the floor, and slouched back into the hallway.
"Sting, you should go home too," Yukino said softly, approaching him and extending a hand to help him up. "It's getting late."
"Um, yeah, right," he agreed dumbly, allowing her to tug him to his feet. He cast another look at the knife. It had stopped shaking and just hung there. The tip was buried at least an inch deep in the wall. "Uh, Yukino?" She tilted her head and looked at him questioningly. "Where did you... Like, where did you learn to..." he trailed off.
"Throw knives?" she asked. He nodded. "I have all sorts of self-defense skills. I also know martial arts and the like." He nodded again and backed up.
"Okay... Cool. I'll just..." He turned and left without finishing the sentence. Yukino giggled and shut the door. I moved to pick up the lamp and put it back in its place.
"Yukino," I said slowly, checking the lightbulb for cracks.
"Yeah?"
"Remind me to never scare you like that again, okay? You're scary with knives." She giggled again and sat on the couch with a fwump.
"Sure, Lucy." I turned around to face her and sank to the carpet in a cross-legged position. "So, what happened? I assume that was you screaming like a possessed woman." I sighed, embarrassed.
"I was just... Having a moment. I threw the pillow. That's what made the lamp fall over." I covered my eyes with an arm. "Please don't ask why."
"Okay." Silence sank into the cracks between the walls and the floor and filled the dark space I couldn't see through. "Lucy," Yukino said, her voice far-off, "Are you still hungry?" I opened my eyes to see her coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of chips and a smaller one of something that looked like onion dip. My stomach rumbled eagerly and I scooted closer to her. She dropped next to me and handed me the bowl of chips, setting the dip on the carpet. I grabbed two or three and ran them through the dip before chomping down on them.
"This dip is amazing," I exclaimed, scooping up more. "Did you buy this?"
"Actually, I made it from scratch," Yukino admitted with a shy smile. "I got the recipe from a cook who needed help last week. I've been meaning to try it out."
I swallowed my eleventh mouthful and said, "You know what? You should make this for Sting sometime. He will love you for it." Her cheeks flushed pink.
"What? No, I couldn't–"
I pointed at her with the chip I was about to eat. "Do it. You like him, right? Believe me, the best way to get to these Dragon Slayers' hearts is through their stomachs. You'll have to beat him off with a stick."
She stared into her lap. Glancing up from under her eyelashes, she said, "I might try it sometime. If the timing's right." I popped the last chip into my mouth and started scooping up the dip with my fingers.
"Promise me you will. This month."
"This month?" she squeaked. I gave her a look and she bit her lip. "Well... I can try." She sighed. "Okay, I promise I'll do it this month." I winked at her and licked the last of the dip off my fingers.
"Good. It'll go great, I swear." I glanced out the window – the moon was pretty high in the sky. I stood, brushing crumbs off my legs. "Thanks for the food and the advice, Yukino. I really appreciate it. I should get home before it gets too late. I really don't want to get mugged again." She goggled at me.
"Again? Lucy, what happened? Do you want me to walk you home?" I waved her concerns off airily.
"Nothing much. I just got jumped by some creeps. Twice. But it's no biggie. They won't be showing up again, so I'll be fine. And I don't want you to have to walk home alone. Seriously, I can handle myself," I said laughingly, seeing her expression. "You should go to bed already." I leaned down and gave her a quick hug. "I'll come say goodbye before I leave tomorrow, okay?" I made a mental note to make sure say my goodbyes to Holland and Sam, and to give Holland the thing I had promised him. I still had to collect that before I could go to bed. I wasn't completely sure I had brought it with me, either.
"You know you're welcome to stay and wait fro Natsu, right?" Yukino said, standing to face me. I nodded.
"I know, but this was my decision. Honestly, even if he doesn't make it, I might just go running home to Fairy Tail." I shut my eyes briefly, and when I opened them, they were dry. "I miss them so much it hurts." I smiled wryly. "I should stop spouting useless nonsense and leave before it gets any later." I gave Yukino another speedy hug and scooted out the door without giving her a chance to say anything else.
The walk home was quiet. I hadn't really gotten a chance to appreciate Cyprus at night, considering my previous encounters. It was actually fairly different from nights in Magnolia. Some of the sounds were familiar, like the swishing of the canal, and the buzz of the streetlights. There was, however, one glaring difference. Magnolia, even at night, hummed with human life. Voices, lights, lacrimas... All of them, no matter what time it was, were audible from the streets. In Cyprus, the loudest sound was the chirping of insects, and the occasional hoot of an owl. It was sort of eerie.
I arrived at my apartment safely and stood in front of the door. They're not here, I reminded myself silently. You're in Cyprus, and they're in Magnolia. The apartment will be empty. Don't freak. Don't freak. Don't freak. Repeating my mantra, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, shutting the door without turning around. The main room was empty. I let out a breath, and moved to my bag of things, determined to get the gift for Holland done before I fell asleep. After digging all the way to the bottom, I found what I was looking for. Relieved, I yawned and moved to the desk to flip through it and check for anything embarrassing I might have written. Unable to find anything incriminating, I smiled and scribbled a quick note on the back of the front cover. I yawned again and stripped off my clothes, deciding I could shower in the morning. I slipped into shorts and a t-shirt, turned out the lights, and fell into bed.
And yet, a tiny thought wriggling in the back of my mind kept me awake. I tried turning over, flipping the pillow, removing a blanket, but nothing worked. The thought was forcing me to acknowledge it no matter what, and I wasn't getting any sleep until I did. I gritted my teeth and gradually allowed the words to form in my mind.
I hope Natsu comes tomorrow...
I sighed and turned over again. It wasn't going to happen, in all likelihood. Magnolia and Cyprus were just too far apart. I really had to prepare myself for disappointment or it was going to crumble me to dust.
But if he does come...
I fell asleep as the thought crossed my mind and found myself in a dream.
I was standing in a tunnel. It was dark, and dank, and the air tasted vaguely rancid. Wind blew through and sent my skirt flying up. I looked down in surprise to see that I was wearing a dress that came to my knees and settled at my hips in a sweep of silky fabric. It tied in a halter behind my neck. As soon as I realized my arms were bare, I was freezing. I rubbed my hands up and down from my elbows to my shoulders, but it didn't do any good. I settled for examining my clothing and surroundings to try and figure out why I was standing there in the cold without a coat.
The dress was actually really nice, nicer than most of the stuff I owned. The fabric was some sort of glimmering golden silk that, on closer inspection, was shot through with bronze and copper. The effect was gorgeous, and I found myself feeling the cold less and less as I admired the clothing. A dripping sound made me look up at the ceiling of the tunnel. Except it wasn't a tunnel at all. It was a street that passed under a bridge that raised another street. I had seen it in Cyprus a couple times.
Footsteps echoed from my right, and I craned my neck eagerly to see who it was. When I did, though, I was inexplicably disappointed. "Lucy?" Gray said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" I blinked at him. I didn't know. "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yes," I answered immediately. Oh. So I was waiting for someone.
"Who is it?"
"Natsu," I heard myself say. So I was waiting for Natsu... But why in such a dress? It was going to get ruined.
Gray raised an eyebrow. "I just saw him running off with Happy, though. Looked like they had a job. Sure you got the date right?"
Natsu isn't coming...?
I shot awake, gasping for breath and shivering. Morning sunlight greeted me cheerfully, calming me down and reminding me of my sanity. I looked around my room and heaved a sigh of relief. I got out of bed, noticing that I had kicked the blankets off the bed in the night. That explained why I was cold. I tugged doubtfully on my sleeve and peered at it, trying to find traces of the dress in it. It was a sort of faded yellow color, but it was also cotton and raggedy from years of wear and washing. I sighed and got dressed. I didn't even bother to look for breakfast – my fridge was empty. It was better that way anyway, because I wouldn't be sticking around to finish the food up. I realized with a gasp that I had left my fridge full of food and my pantry fully stocked in my apartment in Magnolia. It had probably all gone bad after three months. Unless Natsu had eaten it... I slapped my cheeks and turned to my desk to pick up Holland's farewell gift. Even though I was pretty sure it was supposed to go the other way around, but whatever. It would make him happy, which made me happy. Once I had packed everything in my bag and placed the gift carefully on top, I slung the bag over my shoulder and left, locking the door behind me.
The Landlady was in her office, sorting papers. She didn't even look up when I knocked on the doorframe and stepped inside. "What do you want? I'm busy." I laid the key to the apartment and the money I owed her for a week in the apartment.
"That's all," I said. "Thanks for lowering the rent and everything. I'm leaving now."
"Say hello to my sister for me," she commanded my retreating back. I waved over my shoulder.
"I'll do my best."
Outside the apartment, I was stopped by the sight of a head of purple hair. Dian was leaning against the building looking bored, but when he saw me he straightened and moved forward, smiling widely at me. "Hey, Lucy," he greeted casually. "Going to the guild?" I started moving again, approaching the street.
"I was going to hang there until I have to leave. Did you need something?" He slid his hands into his pockets and walked down the street with me.
"No, I just thought I'd walk with you. Is that okay?"
I laughed. "Sure, as long there aren't any mentions of marriage involved." We walked in comfortable silence until we reached a stall near the Saber guild hall that was selling breakfast sausages on sticks and my stomach betrayed me.
"You hungry?" Dian asked, raising a an eyebrow and holding in a laugh. I nodded, turning red, and we got a basketful. As the guild came within sight, he demonstrated how he could fit an entire sausage in his mouth (it was more impressive than it sounds – they were each at least six inches long and pretty thick). I was laughing so hard I didn't notice the commotion the members of Sabertooth were making, or what they were fussing about. I didn't see said object of fuss come flying at me either, but I sure as hell felt it when he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed so tightly I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
"Lucy," Natsu whispered in my ear, crushing my body against his, "I missed you."
So? So? Thoughts, people! Please review, favorite, and follow! I am so close to done I can taste it. It's gonna be amazing! (It will also hopefully be posted faster than this chapter was.)
Oh, I remembered what I was going to say. It fits better down here, anyway. Sorry, I lied. There were no particularly awesome Lucy moments this chapter. I'm sorry, it slipped my mind and then it was better this way, so I didn't change it. Yep. Apologies.
Oh, also, there were a lot of comments about how Natsu should have come to save her or something. While that would be great, I wrote this a tiny bit out of order, because Natsu actually didn't reach Cyprus until the dawn of the seventh day, so it was impossible to have him save her. Sorry.
Um, I think that's everything. Sorry about the weird timeskip where it was suddenly night. It got dark early or something because it's autumn. Let's just say it's currently autumn. I'm apologizing a lot. Probably because I'm doing a lot of things wrong. Thank you all for putting up with me! I love you guys!