Chapter Six
Natsu's P.o.V
I jump at the sound of the voice. "Oh sorry! Didn't mean to startle you." I turn slowly. It's just Mirajane. I sigh with relief.
"Ah it's okay. Normally I'm not that jumpy."
"First night jitters?"
"Probably."
She laughs. It is a clear light laugh. I can see why people like her. She seems trusting, and kind. But dangerous…
"I have a question!" I blurt out. She looks at me, her ocean blue eyes darker in the moonlight.
"Go ahead. Ask." She says, the breeze ruffles her long white hair. I gulp.
"It's about Lu- the captain. What's up with her? She never smiles." I ask bluntly. I was wondering about that for a little while now. Mira's eyes grow darker. She sighs looking away for a second.
"It's not my story to tell, but since you're genuinely curious, I'll make an exception." Her mouth quirks into a small smile. Her eyes grow distant.
"Almost eight years ago, Lucy joined Fairy Tail. At the time, we had a different captain. We don't know what happened to him. Even when she came, she never smiled. Only Levy, Erza, Wendy, Juvia, and I, managed to weasel the truth out of her." She sighs before continuing.
"Her story is one that you will NEVER share with anyone. Who she is, is not my place to say. So, I'll say she was born into a very well known family. Her mother died when she was very little. Her father neglected her for years, before she approached him about it." I touch my sword.
"After they spoke he became more of the father she dreamt about. They spent more time together when they could..then...on her tenth birthday...her father was shot and killed in front of her. They just gotten back from dinner and they were going back home, when someone killed him." Mira's eyes grow watery. I suck my breath in.
"Her uncle took over and she hated him. Her uncle is a greedy, dishonest man. He is the one who killed her father. Lucy is hell bent on revenge. But, she was only ten. She ran away from him. She joined Fairy Tail almost eight years ago. After our last captain disappeared she became captain." Mira sighs before adding something else.
"She never smiles. Not since that day, not since. She hates her birthday, a reminder of what she lost. No one but Levy, Erza, Wendy, Juvia and I know who she really is. I will not tell you." I nod. That's only fair.
"I better get going. I have to make breakfast." Mira says going to the gallery. I sigh, digesting all the information Mira told me. She didn't smile...she hasn't smiled for eight years. I look up, the stars clear, they're beautiful. I wander back below deck to find Happy.
I pass Lucy's cabin. The door is slightly ajar. I peck into the room. She was tucked under her dark covers. Her hair covered her face in an angelic sense. Her breathing was soft. I saw something furry poke out from underneath her. I pushed the door open a little more.
I padded my way across the floor to get a closer look. I stifle a laugh. It was a stuffed animal. I smirk looking closer, my smirk slowly melting off my face. "It's a dragon…" I mutter.
It was a golden color. It's eyes were a deep blue. It's spikes were soft and looked like mini keys. It sparkled a bit, like stars. "Celestial Dragon." I saw in awe. It was beautifully made. Everything probably crafted by hand. It looks old. I back up and then I see it.
Two necklaces. One a piece of a shell, the other shimmers in the moonlight. It was golden. And it had two markings on it. The markings were of a wave like thing. It was beautiful, but it looked broken. I wonder why.
I get snapped out of my thoughts when I hear her stir a bit. I scurry out of the room, shutting the door behind me. 'What were those things?' I wondered.
Lucy's P.o.V
I yawn stretching. The moonlight shines on my necklaces. I sigh. I slide out of bed and put the necklaces on. I stand up, feeling like someone was watching me during the night. I shake my hair and go to get dressed.
I tuck my pants into my boots and grab my whip and sword. I quickly pull my hair up, into a long ponytail. It still fell past my shoulders. I shrug and walk out of my cabin, still feeling like I was being watched in the middle of the night.
"Lu-chan! We've charted course for Tenrou." I nod. "Gajeel agreed to be my assistant!" She cheered. I nod.
"Good for you Levy-chan. And uhh Gajeel? Oh and Pantherlily!" Levy beams at me. Her smile lights up her face, my own lips turn down at the thought. I haven't smiled since my father died and….my uncle. I shake my head. No! Never again.
"Bisca, Alzack! Follow what Levy and Gajeel chartered." They nod and they all chatter with each other excitedly. We were going to our home base. I messed with my broken necklace...my broken key necklace.
"Mama...am I doing this alright?" I wondered looking at the sky. The sun was rising and bathing the world in it's golden rays. I close my eyes and lift my face.
"Mornin' sleeping beauty." A voice says, starting me.
"Huh?" I mutter. There he stood. In all his damn annoying glory. Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. The boy who somehow cast a spell over me. I don't know what it was, or what it did, but I know something happened.
Yes I'll admit, he was handsome, but that stupid grin. I bite the inside of my cheek. 'Damn it.' I curse myself. No, I will not think like that about him. He was my tormenter, and this was as close as I was to revenge on my uncle.
Yet…...his eyes. They enraptured me. The dark onyx green, the way they looked dragon like. I blink, snapping out of my thoughts. I can't believe I was thinking this way about, HIM! But I can't stop. I shake my head, I will figure out where my heart lies later. I have to worry about my crew right now.
"Gray, Natsu. As punishment for….destroying the gallery you will have to clean every last thing you destroyed down there. Every table, stool, and chair. Go on. And then, Gray you will work with Juvia and Natsu." I turn to him, a fire igniting in my eyes. "You're stuck with me."
I see him narrow his eyes, they're looking more dragon like by the second. He sucks in a breath. "Fine. Captain." He says with a mock bow. I flinch a little, it doesn't go unnoticed though. Natsu raises a brow. I roll my eyes and turn away, assigning everyone else their jobs, then I see it.
"Lisanna…." I breath, I spotted white hair behind a barrel. I march over and pull her by her arm over to the rest of the crew. "Get Mirajane and Elfman over here now!" I bark out. Two people run down to fetch them.
I kneel in front of the girl. "Shh...no need to be afraid. Your siblings are here." I say, Lisanna stops shaking.
"R-really?" She asks. I nod. She smiles at me. "Oh thank you Lucy! Err pr-" I cut her off.
"Yes yes. No problem." I say, thankful I cut her off at the right moment. Lisanna and I were kind of close when we were little. Our family's worked together. That was it.
I close my eyes and sigh. "Come on. You'll be working with Mira, down in the gallery. You'll get your Fairy Tail tattoo by tonight." I promise. Mira and Elfman climb the stairs and Mira sobs when she sees Lisanna.
"Lisanna!" They cry, running over to her. I stand back. Natsu smiles.
"Hey Lis." He says with a small wave. Lisanna smiles.
"Hey Natsu. Good to see you again." She says and he smiles a little more. My own mouth aches from grinding my teeth together. All this smiling and...I couldn't….no wouldn't smile with them. I look down. It was hard on me. I finger the broken key. Then I snap up.
"Alrighty. We have work to do! Get to it!" I yell and everyone breaks away, running to where they're supposed to be. Mirajane and Lisanna ago below deck, Elfman staying above to check the cannons. Laxus follows the girls, I have a feeling he likes Mira.
"Freed, Bixlow, Evergreen. Come here." I say and the three of them walk towards me. "I want you guys to help Laxus with the weapon polishing and counting." I say. Freed's eyes light up. I sigh. Oooooooooooooh boy.
"Aye ma'am." Bixlow says walking down there. Evergreen and Freed follow. I hear Freed's excited voice fly up the stairs. I sigh again, tuning it out. 'Okay so I've done what I could for that… I'm going down into my cabin to see what else I can do.' I think.
I hear Natsu and Gray arguing in the background. I roll my eyes. "Those knuckleheads." I sigh. Would they ever learn?! My boots scrape the wood of the deck as I make my way below deck. I bite my lower lip. I will not cry...I will not cry….I will not-
A tear slips down my cheek, I quickly wipe it away. No one here would see me cry. I run into my cabin and shut the door. I collapse on the ground, tears flowing freely. I sob softly. "Mama...Papa….Aquarius.." I cry. "I can't keep going like this."
I cry leaning against the door. The tears keep flowing flowing flowing…..
Natsu's P.o.V
Gray and I bicker as we make our way down the hall. I hear something soft. I turn around.
"What's going on fire freak?" Gray asks.
"Meh, nothing ice prince. I'm just going to check something out real quick. I'll meet you in the gallery in a minute." He nods and I walk to the sound. It's quiet yes, but as I get closer it becomes a little louder. Not by much.
I walk to the captain's cabin and I hear it. Lucy. She's crying on the other side of the door. I sit down, my back to the door. "Hey." I say softly.
"H-hi." She sniffles. My breath hitches. Why was she crying? I suddenly felt protective.
"Can I come in?" I say softly.
"S-sure." She sniffs. I hear her scoot away. I open the door slowly. Lucy stares at me. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. She was curled up. "Funny. I h-hated y-you." She stutters. "N-now I-I-I don't k-k-know where m-my h-heart lies." She says looking at me.
I shut the door and sat down by it. "C'mere." I said softly. She sobs crawling over. I open my arms a bit and she crawls into them. "It'll be alright." I say softly, she cries into my chest and I rock her back and forth. I whisper sweet things into her hair.
Soon she falls asleep. I sigh. "Are you serious?" I say leaning against the door. I sigh again, picking her up. I pad across the floor and lay her down on her bed. She sighs a bit in her sleep. Red runs up my neck and cheeks. "Oh geez." I say slowly making my way out of the room.
I sigh and walk down to the gallery. "What took so long flame brain?" Gray asks.
"None of your business, ice breath." I shoot back. Gray's face grows red.
"Come on. The captain will be furious if we don't get this done." He says. I gulp. She may have cried on me earlier, but she will probably denied that it happened. My ears feel warm from the thought. It was the closest contact I've had since Igneel.
I smile, fixing up a stool. She was peaceful when she slept. But, I wonder why she was crying. I sigh again placing the stool down. "Hurry up. We're almost done. Though I'm going to be helping Juvia...well...she's not that bad I guess." I hear Gray say. I laugh.
"Be thankful Happy isn't here to hear you say that. Well, I mean Lucy ain't that bad either. Just kinda weird." I say. Gray laughs.
"She'll kill you for that one." He snorts. Then I nod.
"Yeah probably." We laugh finishing up cleaning up. "Mira! We're done!" I call to her. She walks out of the kitchen and smiles.
"Well done Gray. Natsu. It looks wonderful. Now you'd better go to do your jobs." We nod leaving the gallery.
"Oh! You boys better be back for dinner. Since we're going to dock again tomorrow, we're making something extra special." She winks as we leave.
"Okay Mira!" We say together. Then we glare at each other.
"Don't copy me ice freak."
"Don't copy me ash brains."
I growl at him as we argue. We make our way to the deck, still arguing.
"Gray-sama!" A sweet voice says. Gray freezes (pun intended). A girl with long blue hair and pale skin hugs Gray. "Come on! We have a supply list to go through, and weather check." She says happily.
"See ya ice princess." I salut. He glares at me, and I laugh. "I'm gonna see if I can find Lucy." I turn around and go back below deck. "I hope she's still not asleep." I mutter.
I walk to Lucy's cabin and peek inside. She's sitting up, a book, maps, and a quill in hand. She's writing something down, while checking the book and map repeatedly. I knock on the door, poking my head in. She looks up at me.
Lucy P.o.V
I look back and forth from the book next to me, to the map, and then to what I was writing. I chew on my lower lip, listening to the quill scrape against the paper. I hear someone knock on the door. I look up quickly.
"Ah just you. Come in." I say pretending he didn't see me cry earlier. He walks over to me, sitting next to me on the bed. His hair falls into his face. It looked darker since the sun was going to set soon.
"So what you doing?" He asks looking over my shoulder. His hair brushes against my jaw and cheek. Soft and fluffy….I jolt. My head smacks against his jaw and he jumps back.
"Whoa! Something wrong?" He asks rubbing his jaw where my head smacked it.
"Uh no sorry. You just...startled me." I say biting my cheek. I close my book and place the paper and map on top of it. "Just checking on something. Our home base is Tenrou and I'm working on deciphering some writing we found. Levy helps me, but she's busy right now."
I watch Natsu nod, looking a bit bored. "Oh that's cool." He says.
I roll my eyes, a ghost of a smile dancing across my lips. He looks at me, inching closer. I look at him. "What?!"
"You were about to smile." He says as if it were obvious. He comes a little closer, I back away until there was no bed left for me to back up on.
"What are you doing?!" I ask him as I feel his bangs on my forehead.
"Trying to get you to smile." He says. My voice goes breathless.
"Uh-huh." I say looking into his eyes. His nose brushes mine and….
"CAPTAIN! Dinner's almost ready and we have reports!" Erza says bursting into my room. Natsu and my head bonk together.
"Owwwwww…" He says. "That's twice you headbutted me!" He says looking at me with those onyx eyes.
"Soooooorry." I say not sorry at all. I stand up, dusting myself off. "Of course Erza. I'll be right up with Natsu." She nods and leaves. I glare at Natsu and he stands up. He follows me out of my cabin and up to the deck.
"Um the gallery is that way." Natsu says pointing.
"Oh I know, but I'm going to hang out here for a bit." I say climbing up to the deck. He shrugs and goes down to the gallery. 'Alone...all to myself.' I think standing on the bow. I look up at the crows nest.
"I'll be charting the stars after dinner." I say with longing. I love that job. It's my favorite and I've been doing it since I've been here. It reminds me of what I did with my mama. My lips tug upwards, but I school it before I could smile. I shake my head and make my way to the gallery.
"Aye captain!" Freed smiles at me. He's a lot happier when he works with Laxus, I've noticed.
"Evening Freed. Everything in order?" I ask politely. He smiles and nods. Then his expression sours, just a bit.
"Yeah. Everything is accounted for, but after we finished Laxus went down to help Mirajane. I think he likes her more than me." He says. I bite my lower lip. It was true.
"I can't say I'm good with relationship advice, wait no, I'm horrible with it. But, if Laxus likes someone else, you should support him. Show what a good friend you are. If he doesn't like you in that way, oh well. At least you have his friendship." I say, chewing on my lower lip. Freed nods.
"Thanks captain! I understand a bit more and I'll make sure Laxus will love having me around as a friend!" He says walking off to the gallery. I sigh with relief. I've never known I could give out relationship advice out. To anyone. I shake my head and follow Freed.
Then I hear it.
"Assflame!"
"Freezer burn!"
"Fire freak!"
"Ice breath!"
"Ash brains!"
"ENOUGH!" Erza yells at the two boys.
"A-aye!" They stutter, acting like best friends. I sigh, rolling my eyes. Geez did they ever take a break?! I walk into the gallery and Natsu looks over at me.
"If the two sirens would stop flapping their gums we could eat in peace." I say putting my hands on my hips. I watch the tips of Natsu's ears go red. Erza snorts. Gray's entire face goes red.
"Grr... fine. But if teasing me is gonna get you to smile, then I will make sure that it happens." Natsu promises. I suck in a breath.
"Awwwwwwwwww how cute! Looks like Natsu final learned the art of 'flirting'!" Lisanna says, laughing.
"Yeah! Look at his face!" Happy says walking over to Natsu. Natsu's face was indeed, red.
"HAPPY! AW C'MON!" Natsu complains. Everyone bursts out laughing, except me of course, and Natsu. Natsu's face grows a bit redder. I hide my ghostly smile with a cough.
"Never mind on the quiet dinner part." I said walking over to the bar. Mira laughs.
"I'll get you your usual. You going star charting tonight?" She asks pouring me a glass with a caramel colored liquid.
"Well yes. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for it." I say sipping the liquid. It was strong, bringing tears to my eyes. I liked the feeling, makes me feel alive, in a way.
"I'll stick with just the one. I have a feeling the crew will drink us dry tonight." I say, making Mira laugh.
"You can bet on that. Can I get you anything to eat?" She asks with a wink.
I think for a moment. "Umm... salmon I guess." I say thinking back to what Natsu said about his hair. No matter what he called it, it was still pink to me. Mira nods and brings some out.
"Thankfully, it hasn't spoiled yet. The lettuce spoiled yesterday so no salad tonight. Are we getting more tomorrow when we dock?" Mira asks. I nod, cutting into the fish in front of me.
"You think Natsu would like star charting?" Lisanna asks sitting next to me. I nearly choke on my fish. I swallow it quickly.
"Whywouldyousaythat?!" I say quickly. Lisanna and Mira give each other knowing smiles.
"Oh nothing. Just curious." She says looking back at me. I raise an eyebrow, doubting what she said.
"Uh-huh. Sure." I say going back to my dinner. I haven't eaten anything all day. I've been to busy to do so. Mira and Lisanna chatter away merrily. It made me miss my parents. Or any happiness at all. I look around. Well I had plenty here.
"I'm going up to the crows nest." I said when I finished. Mira nods.
"Make sure to get some sleep Lucy. You don't want to be tired tomorrow." I nod leaving the gallery.
"Hey, where's Luce going to?" I hear behind me.
"Crows nest. Star charting. She loves doing it." Levy says.
"I'm gonna follow her. Sounds cool." Natsu says, I stiffen.
He….was going to follow me….because star charting sounded cool. I couldn't believe this man. A naval officer, following a pirate, unarmed and alone. Oh how many things could go wrong. I shake my head, making my way up to the deck.
"Luuuuuuuuuucy!" I hear him call after me. I stop and turn around.
"Mm?" I ask. He smiles, his canines showing. I marveled at them a bit, they looked just like fangs.
"This sounded cool so I'm here." He says. I sigh. Well he was company, no matter how annoying. I shrug.
"Sure follow me. We're going up to the crows nest." I say and he nods. I turn around and start climbing the rigging. I hear Natsu grunt, following me. "Come on slowpoke." I tease. He growls.
"I hate you captain." He grunts.
"Sure you do." I say almost smiling. I double take. Never have I ever almost smiled. Never! I finish climbing up. Uuuuuuuugh. Why must he mess with my heart...and my head. I pull myself up.
"Hurry uppppp." He groan. "Your big ass is in my faaaaaace." He complains. My face goes red.
"Oh shut up!" I say. Me and my "big ass" make it into the nest. "Hurry up assflame." I say to him, using the nickname Gray used. He groans.
"Please stop hanging out with Gray." He says hauling himself up into the crows nest. I bite my cheek stifling a smile. "Also, you almost smiled again. It is my personal mission to get you to smile again." He says sitting next to me.
"Oh is it now?" I question, pulling my notebook and quill out. Natsu smiles and nods. I roll my eyes curling up. I stare up tracing the constellations. "Virgo, Leo, Libra, Gemini…" I breath tracing them. I feel a warm hand on mine. I turn quickly. Natsu is looking up at the sky with me.
His hand was on top of mine, following mine when I trace the constellations. I blush and look down. I write down what I see in my notebook. I sigh. This was so romantic. I double take. Did I just? I think I did. I Lucy, captain of the dread Fairy Tail pirates, was fantasizing. About romance.
Of all things. I sigh a bit. I shiver a little as the breeze picks up. I keep drawing, feeling Natsu's warmth. I hear him mutter well known constellations. I nod. Of course he knows them. I finish up what I was drawing and started charting.
A few hours later
I hear Natsu's soft breathing. I look over and I see he's asleep. I sigh. How cute. He snores lightly, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I jolt. When did that happen?! I'm about to draw away when I hear him sigh. I stop.
"He's kinda cute.." I murmur. My eyes drop. I am a little tired. A little sleep doesn't sound so bad….I lean back and slowly let my conscious fade….
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Guess who decided to be really nice and post the really freakin long chapter six? I hope y'all are ready for the fluf coming later!
Review and stuff
and
ummm
I SWEAR I WILL POST THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON!