A/N: Alright, so this was not how I planned on doing CoLu Week at all this year. Normally you can find it all in one place, and the stories are stand-alone pieces. The inspiration was just very touch and go, so I clung to the things I could get. That being said, I really enjoyed this universe and I wanted to see what happened in the next part of it. I'm not sure if the story will end with this or if I'll come back at some point and add more to it.
If I do, it'll be like Midnight to Dawn, where it jumps around in time. That won't happen until chapter 3 (if I write one) though, so this is a direct sequel to the previous chapter.
Also, I'll put this here. I've tried doing some research on biker gangs/motorcycle clubs/riding clubs. Some of the information here is accurate, and other parts intentionally are not accurate, and others are unintentionally inaccurate. I don't claim to be an expert. So, for anyone who knows anything about that sort of thing, mistakes based on real-world information are either intentional or me just not knowing, but this is set in a fictional world, so… it doesn't have to be spot-on.
Important note: This is in regards to reading the rest of this story. There's a difference between Motorcycle Clubs (MC's) and One-Percent clubs ("one-percenters"). You know when you hear the term "biker gang" and you think they're a bunch of hooligans who go around breaking into places and committing crimes and things? Those are considered 1% clubs. There's an old quote concerning this, about how 99% of motorcycle clubs are law-abiding citizens. So the ones who don't do that classify themselves as one-percenters. Not all MC's are like that, so please keep that in mind both in real life and while reading this story. The Slayers are occasionally called a gang, but they're in the 99% who don't commit crimes.
I will give super-duper thanks to LittlePrincessNana (again) for helping me understand biker terminology and mentality, and sharing her own crazy experiences being around biker bars and things.
2017 - Endearment
Ace of Hearts, Part 2
They woke up just after the sun came up and got dressed slowly, adding extra layers because of the several feet of snow that had fallen the night before. Luckily, Erik kept several sets of clothes at her house for the random nights he stayed over, and Lucy had been given Acnologia's biker jacket to hold onto years ago. Erik's was still at the Lounge, and she had her own leather jacket with a couple minor patches on it that she still wore, so he had to settle for a sweater until he picked his up.
More than likely, Acnologia would be wanting his jacket back, and it would have been disrespectful for Erik to even think about wearing it. That just meant they would need to stop at the Lounge for Erik to pick his up.
They got in the car and Lucy called Wendy while backing out of her garage. They were pulling around the cul-de-sac by the time she answered. "Mrrhh…?"
"Good morning, Wendy," Lucy said to the tired mumbling greeting. "Do you have work today?"
"Yes," she yawned. "At noon. What do you want?"
"I want to buy you enough breakfast to feed a bear," Lucy chuckled. She frowned when Erik took the phone from her ear and set it to bluetooth so the sound would come through her car speakers. So, maybe she'd forgotten to do that. "Is that alright?"
"... Sure."
"Want me to watch Carla for you today while you're at work?"
Wendy was silent for several long seconds, then she let out a quiet sigh. "Yeah," she said. "If you want to take my cat to your place, you can do that too. Little asshole's getting stir-crazy and set off my smoke alarm at two in the damn morning."
Erik laughed at the sudden venom in her voice. Wendy never talked like that, unless she was really aggravated. It made him wonder just what his father had been doing while she was keeping an eye on him. "Sounds like you should put it in a kennel," he said.
"Maybe I should."
"Well, we'll bring the food," Lucy said. "I've still got a key to your place, so just stay in bed until we get there."
"Stopping anywhere else?"
"Lounge," Erik said. "I need my jacket."
"I heard Gajeel threw you into a pool last night," Wendy snickered.
"Yeah," he said, narrowing his single eye at the passing scenery. "If he didn't need to start on my tattoo next week, I'd punch him right in the taint for it." They talked for a couple more minutes until Lucy pulled into the parking lot of the Slayer Lounge. Erik gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left Acnologia's jacket in the backseat of the car, then dashed to the side door and put in the code on the keypad lock to get inside.
She waited with the car running and the doors locked for ten minutes - having gotten off the phone with Wendy when she started snoring - before she saw him come walking back out with his leather jacket in his arms. He still had all the patches on it, just like back in the day, and she knew that he still wore it any time he was riding. Or pretty much anywhere. But with where they were going, it wasn't the best idea to draw more attention to himself with that roaring engine pulling up to Wendy's cute little brownstone. Which was why they were taking her car. Lucy unlocked the door and waited for him to get in and buckled up before getting back on the road. Of course, he would have had to take his jacket right back off once he was in the car, so it made sense for Erik not to wear it. Just another of the gang's rules. It wasn't until they were several blocks from the Lounge that he pulled anything out from beneath his jacket.
Namely, a pair of jeans that looked too big to fit him and two shirts, underwear, socks, a toothbrush and comb. Everything he could think of that Acnologia might need, that he hadn't grabbed the night before when Rogue had snuck him out of the Lounge in the first place. They were silent when she stopped at a fast food place and ordered enough breakfast to feed ten men. Acnologia had always been a big eater. Just like all the other Slayers, in all honesty. Even Wendy could put away two large burgers and fries when she wanted to.
She didn't bat an eye over the cost. It was the least she could do, and spending nearly fifty dollars on breakfast wasn't enough to dent her bank account. Then it was on to Wendy's.
"Are you worried?" she asked when they reached a red light. She looked over at Erik to see him staring out the passenger window, peering into the side mirror and checking their surroundings.
"We're not being followed," he said.
"I don't mean about that."
Erik sighed when she lightly grabbed his hand and the car started to move again. Their fingers laced together and he just took a moment to feel the heat in her hands with her gloves off. "Yeah. A little."
"It'll all work out though." She smiled when he frowned her way. She didn't need to look at him to know he was frowning. That was just his usual expression. "We'll find a way."
Lucy unlocked Wendy's door and went inside with Erik right on her heels as he held the bags of food in his arms. All she was carrying was her purse, but that had been stuffed full of Acnologia's belongings. Her jacket was on, and his much larger one was carefully draped over her arm Erik's jokes about her very own Mary Poppins bag had been pretty funny though. Once inside, she pointed him toward the kitchen and locked the deadbolt, then the chain above it. And the extra lock above that. She didn't blame Wendy for being cautious - even though she was a doctor and lived in a beautiful, quaint neighborhood - because there were some people who knew that she actually did have ties to the Slayers.
One of the many benefits of her tying her hair up and hiding it in her helmet was that no one could tell Wendy was part of their gang. She looked so different with short hair and dark sunglasses on.
Erik walked off to the kitchen and Lucy made her way to the living room. And there Acnologia was, still asleep on the couch with three fuzzy blankets thrown over his hulking body. He still had those pale blue tribal tattoos on his arms and face - not that she'd expected them to disappear. His hair was still the same silver she remembered, but maybe a little longer than it had been before. She could fix that for him if he wanted.
Lucy bit her lip and made her way to the coffee table, setting her purse on the floor and Acnologia's leather jacket on an arm chair. The house reeked of smoke, and she found a half-full pack of cigarettes beside an ashtray on the table. That must have been the reason for Wendy's aggravation with him. She wanted to move closer and wake him up, but she'd heard so many horror stories about people in prison waking up and being aggressive. She really didn't want to get choked out or punched in the vagina.
Those were the only things she could see happening if she touched him while he was still sleeping.
"Why the hell are you staring at me?" Acnologia muttered. His eyes stayed closed and his nose scrunched as he pulled in a short whiff of the air. "And what kind of perfume is that?"
"Rose something or other," Lucy said with a small smile. His eyes snapped open in an instant to stare at her. Maybe he hadn't been expecting her. "Good morning, Pops."
"What the fuck..." Acnologia sat up and watched Lucy's hands wring together nervously for a moment before she came closer. Just by a step. But then he stood and towered over her, just like he used to. "You're wearing your jacket?"
"We all do," she said softly. "Especially Erik. I hardly ever see him without it."
Hers wasn't nearly as covered in patches as the guys' or even Wendy's. She didn't have the top Slayers rocker that curved around the gang's symbol of a dragon roaring into the air - though she did have the gang's emblem in the center of the back of her jacket - or the bottom Magnolia rocker that marked the gang's territory. She didn't have the MC patch off to the right like the guys that showed they were part of a motorcycle club. But to the left of the dragon emblem was her own patch - she was the only one that Acnologia had given it to, but that was fine with her - that simply had SBG embroidered on it. Slayers Baby Girl.
On her breast was her honorary road name, Baby Girl. She hadn't been too happy about being called that all the time by the guys - and she was glad that she'd nipped them shortening it to Baby in the bud as quickly as she had - but when Acnologia had taken her to the side one day and explained it to her, Lucy felt like she really belonged. She was the baby of the group, a younger sister for the gang. They cared about her, wanted to protect her, and even if she never rode a day in her life on a bike of her own, she was one of them. As long as she wanted to be. She wasn't a patched member, not like everyone else, but she was still one of them. And Lucy knew for a fact that there weren't many other clubs that did it quite like Acnologia.
When they were more active, it had meant a whole lot of something. It still did to them. But the few times other biker gangs had come through town, looking for trouble, that patch on her own jacket let them know that she was protected. She wasn't one of the riders, and she wasn't anyone's property or bitch - Acnologia hated the gangs who used that tradition - but she wasn't an Old Lady, either. At least, she hadn't been back then.
According to Erik, if she wanted it, he'd gladly give her an SOL patch. One that said she was his Old Lady. Lucy had sputtered and nearly collapsed from embarrassment for several painfully long minutes that day, five years ago. All he'd done was laugh and tell her that it was up to her.
"Does it still look okay?" she asked.
"It looks perfect," he said. His eyes were still wide as he looked down at her, and it made Lucy feel just a little more exposed. But she'd had enough of the awkward tension, and rushed through the last bit of distance between them, jumping just a little so she could get her arms around his neck. "What-"
His arms wrapped around her so easily, and Lucy sniffled as tears gathered on her lashes. "Welcome back, Pops." Just like that, all she could think about were the long days she'd spent at the Slayer Lounge, how Acnologia had cordoned off a section of the bar just for her so she could work on her university assignments. She couldn't remember how often he'd been the one to come to the rescue for her, whether it was her car breaking down or getting drunk at a party and needing a ride. If it wasn't him coming personally, he'd sent one of the guys. But Lucy had always been able to call Acnologia whenever she needed help.
And now she knew even more. She knew that there was a kinder heart than she'd ever seen before. He'd sacrificed years of his life for Erik to stay out of prison, to keep his record clean.
"Aw," he chuckled. His nose nestled in her hair and he gently rocked her from side to side while her feet dangled in the air, and she hiccupped against his collar. "Don't go crying, Baby Girl."
"But you're back," she said. "A-And… It's been so long. And Laxus said I wasn't allowed to go see you, and..."
"No one was," he sighed. "My orders."
"But why?"
"Less contact the better," he said. "Less chance of anyone suspecting you guys would do something to get me out." He chuckled softly a moment later. "Not that it ever stopped you from sending me those books you wrote."
"D-Did you like them?"
"Confessions of a Biker Baby... I can't believe you had my ass reading raunchy romance novels in prison."
"Sorry…"
"They were worth it," he said, grinning when he heard her quiet, teary laugh. "Couple guys tried to give me shit about it, but that picture on the back cover of you in your jacket shut them up pretty damn fast. And telling them that you're my Baby Girl."
"You didn't."
"I did," he smirked. "Even though I didn't have to. You dedicated the first fucking book to me."
Lucy smiled and squeezed him tighter than before. "For Acnologia," she said, "The most badass Slayer. And the oldest."
"Asshole," he snorted. "You couldn't just leave that part out, huh?"
"No way."
"I'll go wake up Wendy," Erik called as he walked past. He didn't even look at Acnologia, and when Lucy saw the decidedly cold shoulder he was giving off, her lips pursed and her brows drew together.
"Erik," she said slowly. Acnologia blinked in surprise when Erik stopped dead in his tracks. He looked back down to Lucy, still wrapped up in his arms and hanging in the air. "Be nice."
He sighed and turned just enough to see his father out of the corner of his eye. "Morning, Acnologia," he muttered before walking off down the hall.
Lucy rolled her eyes with a soft smile. "So-"
"What the fuck?"
"Huh?"
"What the fuck?" Acnologia asked again. "How the hell did you… I'm missing something." He finally set her down and took a seat on the couch after pushing the blankets out of the way for her to sit beside him.
"Not really," she said, wiping her eyes. "He's being an asshole like usual. It's my job to keep that to a minimum." Once she realized what she'd said, Lucy froze. Her gaze slowly drifted toward Acnologia and he raised a brow. His lips curled into a slow smirk.
"Is that so…"
"Um… So, how was prison?" she asked a little too loudly.
"Don't go changing the subject, Baby Girl…"
"Did you find a nice bitch?" she asked far too quickly. Her voice was too high pitched. She knew it was obvious, but that didn't mean she had to acknowledge it. "Maybe two? A whole gaggle of bitches? You look like you've been eating well, so that's good. Erik and I got some breakfast, so I hope you're hungry for some greasy food! I made sure to get your favorite, and there's some orange juice too because I bet you weren't getting all the vitamins you really needed while you were locked up, and… And wow, your hair has gotten so long now! Do you want me to trim it for you, or-"
Acnologia laughed as he watched her cheeks flush with embarrassment. It was the longest and loudest that he'd laughed in a good long while. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her into his side, then gently squeezed her. "No questions," he said. "You got it."
Wendy stumbled out of the hallway with her long blue hair in a messy bun that hung mostly off to one side. "Cobra, shut up. It's too early…"
"Fuck no, I won't shut up," he growled.
"I told you," Wendy yawned. "No one called and no one came looking here. I'm a doctor. If anyone's gonna come asking questions, they'll come to my office."
"I just have to make sure."
"Erik," Lucy squeaked, drawing his attention to how Acnologia was still holding onto her and laughing. "Come hug him or something. I broke him! I didn't mean to!"
He blinked slowly while listening to Wendy pour her first cup of black coffee for the day, then his gaze locked onto his father's. "Let go of her."
Acnologia paused and cocked his head to the side, his smile widening further than before. "Oh?" he chuckled. "How come?"
Erik's arms crossed over his chest and his gaze shifted to Lucy. He'd promised her when they first started doing anything that he wouldn't say a word about their private life. She'd explained that it was easier if people just didn't know about it. She didn't want tons of questions about how she could "be with him" while still being the way she was. Granted, Laxus had found out the night before, but that had been an accident. He'd made her a promise, and he wasn't going to break it.
It wasn't like people needed to know about their personal lives anyway.
Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw the tension rising in Erik's shoulders and pursed lips. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't too big of a deal for people to know by that point. At least, not Acnologia and Wendy. Or any of the guys, for that matter. They were family. She wouldn't get hounded for answers by any of them. At least, she hoped that she wouldn't.
"Because you're hanging all over my…" He paused, still looking at her. They had never tried to name it. They'd never wanted to. He was honestly lost on this one.
"Your… what?" Acnologia's smirk widened slightly at the way Erik shifted from one foot to the other.
Lucy bit her lips to fight back a bashful smile. She could tell he wasn't going to say anything, so she said it for him. "His Old Lady." They'd been together, in a sense, for six years. She figured it was alright to call it that by then. It wasn't like she was really looking anywhere else. She'd never wanted to. And she already knew that Erik would have proposed by then if he thought she would let him. Or that she would say yes.
Which, when she thought about it, maybe she would. Maybe.
But with the way Erik's life was, there really wasn't any point in saying she was his girlfriend. She wasn't raised in this life, but for nearly a decade the gang had been a large part of life for her. And she knew for a fact that saying she was more than just some girlfriend was a big fucking deal.
A huge one.
She was fine with that.
"Old Lady," Acnologia said slowly. His arm slipped away from her shoulders and he looked down at Lucy's flushed cheeks before his attention returned to Erik, only to find his son staring at Lucy with a wide eye and his mouth hanging open.
"Yep," Lucy said. "Six years now."
"It's about time you admitted it," Wendy said before taking a sip of her coffee. "Everyone but Laxus saw all that sexual tension from you guys keeping it a secret."
"We don't have sexual tension," Erik growled, rounding on her.
"Call it what you want. You wanna bang her all the time."
"That's not the fucking point," he spat.
Acnologia snorted and shook his head as Erik and Wendy started arguing with one another. He could still remember the days when she'd been nothing more than a shy little slip of a kid hiding behind Grandine's white leather pants. All the kids had grown up, it seemed. Lucy definitely had. He was just glad that she hadn't let the shit Serena had done affect her. She was still able to be a normal girl. And the fact that Erik had snagged a beautiful woman like her… Well, he was definitely proud of his son for that one.
He was more than happy to slide down on the couch when Erik came to sit on her other side. And when his son's pinky discreetly wrapped around hers while they stuffed their faces full of greasy, delicious egg and sausage muffins and hashbrowns, Acnologia knew it was a long-haul kind of thing between them. Maybe if the gang had still been going as strong as it had before, they would have already been married. Maybe he would have been able to convince them to get married, so he could see her riding on the back of Erik's motorcycle.
He wondered if they ever rode around together, like he'd done with Erik's mother all those years ago.
"When am I getting grandbabies?" he asked. Erik choked on his food. Then again, Acnologia had been waiting until his son took an overly large bite to ask that.
"We're not there yet," Lucy giggled.
"Yet, she says," Acnologia chuckled. He waggled his eyebrows at his red-faced son. "You hear that, Cobra? No grandbabies yet. Soon though. Lots of little ones. Picture them on their little trikes, Cobra." Lucy started pounding a hand on Erik's back while Wendy sat by and watched. What a wonderful doctor she'd grown up to be.
"Hit him harder," Wendy said. "He's still coughing."
"Assholes," Erik croaked. "All of you…"
"Keep going, Lucy," she said with a smirk. "He's still breathing."
Acnologia grinned as he took a bite of his food. Their fucked up family hadn't changed all that much in the time he'd been gone. Wendy had definitely gotten funnier. And he was more than supportive of having another person willing to tease the hell out of his son on occasion.
Acnologia was surprised to find out that Erik had kept the apartment above the bar. He was surprised that the bar was still running in the first place. There was one big difference though. New locks had been put in place to separate the main floor from the basement, that had become the place for them to hold club meetings.
The only way to get down to the basement was with a key card, and the only people who had them were the initiated Slayers. Not even Lucy could go down unless a rider let her in.
The rest of the bar was run by a woman named Sorano and her business partner, Richard. They were friends of Erik's, and that was all he needed to know. They kept the business coming in, and revenue in the black. Most of the clientele was other bikers. There wasn't a new gang that tried to take over their territory, but some nomads had settled down and made the bar their go-to place for drinks. Every once in a while, there were some other gangs that rode through, but Erik and the boys made sure nothing ever got out of hand. They made their presence known when people even looked like they would make trouble, and that usually stopped it before it could begin.
The basement had been extended, that much he'd seen the night before when he'd been there for less than twenty minutes. But once they'd arrived back at Lucy's house, with her dropping Erik off at the Lounge to cold-proof his bike and ride over, she'd taken Acnologia to the room that he was going to stay in. She pulled out a scrapbook she'd been keeping of all the changes that had been made at the Lounge.
A bar had been added in the basement, and Macbeth was usually the one behind the counter. He'd forgone having a jacket or vest, since he didn't want to be part of the gang. He apparently just liked tending the bar and hanging out with the guys, and that was fine with Acnologia. Pool tables were now in the main bar and downstairs. The color scheme had changed a bit, with everything done in black, blue, grey, and white downstairs. He didn't understand the white, but Lucy just shrugged it off. She hadn't picked it, and said it wasn't her place to question anything about the design. The upstairs still looked like an old school bar with years of memorabilia hung on the walls, pictures of the original seven Slayers, and even more of the next generation growing up with their own motorcycles.
Lucy told him that Serena had been crossed out of every picture he'd been in with a red X by Erik. Acnologia definitely approved of that. It was something she hadn't understood - and it wasn't one of the better known traditions of biker gangs - but any other biker who came in and saw those red marks knew that the person who'd been removed had been killed by one of their own for betraying them.
His first home-cooked meal in seven years was everything he could have hoped for. Grilled cheese and a salad. Lucy was adamant about taking care of him, letting him relax and get used to everything again, and before he could even say something about how she should be the one relaxing, he'd very wisely been told by his son to keep his mouth shut and let her baby him. Apparently, that was what she did. Not all the time, but he could see a good number of reasons why Erik had wanted to be with her. When Lucy was happy, she pampered people. When she was upset, she pampered people she really cared about. And she baked.
Lucy was a whole lot more intimidating than he remembered her being when she said that he was going to eat something healthy to counteract the greasy goodness he'd had for breakfast. Anything was better than soup sandwiches made from ramen and questionable bologna.
"You're spoiling me, Baby Girl," he said when she took his empty plate away and started washing dishes. "I'm a grown man. I can clean up after myself."
"And I fully expect you to do just that," she laughed. "But not today. And no smoking inside, Pops." Her hand dripped bubbles over the counter when she pointed to the door leading out of her kitchen and onto the back porch. She didn't even have to look at him to know he was reaching for the pack he'd set on the table. "You go out back and smoke there. I have a fence, so the neighbors can't see you. And close the door all the way. I don't want smoke getting inside."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled.
"Don't worry, I get the same lecture," Erik said while carrying his boots to the back door. "It's best to leave your shoes here. Or get some slippers. You track dirt in and she whips out the fucking toothbrush so you can clean the grout like this is Full Metal Jacket or some shit."
Acnologia rolled his eyes and grabbed his own boots from the front entryway, then carried them through the house. It was spotless, and he wasn't going to be the one to make a mess in Lucy's house. She had a temper from what he remembered. Now that she was older, it was probably worse. Once he and Erik were outside, sitting on a pair of black wicker chairs with pale green cushions, he quickly lit up a cigarette. Then watched as his son did the same. "When did you start smoking?"
"When I started dreaming about Serena not being dead enough." Erik took a drag and exhaled through his nose. "Lucy hates the smell."
"It's a shitty habit."
"Says the one who's always smoked."
"I never said I was a good role model."
Erik took another drag and stared at the snow-covered backyard for several long seconds. He took in the familiar cherry oak planks of the fence, the woods just beyond the back border, the looming oak whose branches were bare and spindling. "You were great," he said. "You raised me to be able to function in society, no matter what I chose to do."
"And you're in a fucking gang. Great parenting."
"You went to prison for me," he said with a scowl. "Name someone who would do that for their fucking kid. Not just someone who says I'd do anything for my widdle baby, but actually fucking goes through with it. You did that for me…"
Acnologia's hand came to rest on Erik's shoulder and he gently squeezed in reassurance. "Because we all saw you that day," he said. "You lost it over what he did."
"That son of a bitch betrayed all of us," Erik spat. "He took that brotherhood that he was always preaching about, chopped its head off and shit down its fucking throat."
"I know…"
"She doesn't know."
Acnologia paused in bringing his cigarette to his lips, then stared at Erik. "What do you mean, she doesn't know?"
"She doesn't remember," he said. "I don't wanna know how or why, but she doesn't remember any of it. Not the drugs or whatever he did. Not that fucking cage. None of it."
"She should know-"
"No," Erik said. He watched his breath puff out in a silvery cloud before his face. "She's happy like this. Not knowing is a lot fucking better than remembering what he did to her."
Acnologia was silent, simply staring at his son who had barely aged in the last seven years. He looked a little older, sure, and his tan was darker from riding in the sun all the time. But when he looked at Erik, he could still see the little boy who'd begged to sit on his motorcycle when he was only three years old. He could still hear Lucy washing dishes inside, the soft clink of ceramic on the metal basin broken up only by Erik's nicotine-filled breaths. The barely there crackle of burning tobacco followed by a sharp inhale. A slow, smoky exhale. Flicking the ashes. Repeating.
"Are you really okay with lying to her?" he finally asked. Acnologia crushed his cigarette and lit another. He was going to fucking need it with how the conversation was going.
"I have to be." Moments later, Erik did the same. "She's never brought it up, and she tells me everything."
"Erik…"
"Don't," he said. "Do you even know what he did? What we found out after you went to prison?"
"No. Regardless of what he did, she has a right to know. I won't budge on that one."
Erik looked back toward the house. He set his cigarette in the ashtray, then made his way to the door. "Baby," he said once it was open and his head peeked inside.
"Hm?" Lucy turned from the draining sink with her wet hands paused as they reached for a towel.
"Club shit," he said. "We'll be a while."
Lucy smiled while drying her hands. "You got it. I'll go vacuum. And I'll put some gloves by the door if you need them."
"You're the best," he chuckled. He closed the door and took his seat again, then set his attention on Acnologia. His smile melted away.
"She knows not to listen in," Acnologia said. "That's good."
"Lucy's been around long enough to know that it's better she doesn't hear everything the club does. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."
"True, but you could've been a jackass about it." Acnologia smirked and ruffled Erik's hair. "Good to see you picked up a couple fucking manners. The TV is actually good for something."
Erik chuckled, but his humor was short-lived when he thought about what he was about to say. "I'm gonna tell you the truth," he said. "It's personal for her, but all the guys know about it. She hasn't told them, and she doesn't think they know, but…"
"They were there."
"Yeah."
"So, what is it?"
Erik sighed, tossing the burnt butt into the ashtray, then leaned back with a frown. "Wendy knows the more technical side of it, but… Serena… Whatever he did to her…" He was more than thankful that Acnologia didn't try to interrupt him while he gathered his thoughts. "She lost almost all feeling between her… her legs."
"... What?"
"She can't feel a fucking thing," he said softly. "Not really… I mean, there's some feeling there, but… She thinks it's normal, Dad."
Acnologia's eyes widened at the sudden name-change. He hadn't been Dad for years. Only when it was something really important. Only when his son needed him to really be a father. Usually to listen. Sometimes for advice. Always as someone to lean on. "How the hell does she think it's normal?"
"Because Lucy never touched herself before then. She'd never been turned on or anything remotely close to it, from what she told me."
"How would she know though? If she doesn't remember what Serena did-"
"Because the first time I fingered her, she told me. She'd never done it. Any of it. She said I was the only person to touch her like that, and she just assumed that's how it feels. Either for everyone, or only for her because she's asexual, whatever. Lucy thinks it's normal."
"How is she asexual and still your Old Lady?"
Erik gave him a bland stare in response. "Really?"
"What?" Acnologia asked, shifting back a little in his seat. "I'm curious. I still don't even know what the fuck that asexual, b-sexual, pan-demi-frog-sexual… whatever the fuck it is… even means, so… Give a guy a fucking break."
"It's really not that hard."
"Then enlighten my old ass," Acnologia smirked. "In prison, there's fucking and getting fucked. It was pretty straightforward. No one talked about whether it was gay or straight or anything else. There's a dick and a hole. End of story."
"Did you fuck a dude?"
"Do you want me to answer that honestly?"
"Considering Macbeth is as gay as they come and he's been my friend for years, it doesn't bother me either way."
"Yes. Some pretty-boy named Rufus. He's got an eidetic memory, used it to memorize people's information while doing data entry for some life insurance place. You fill in the blanks."
"You fucked a pretty-boy."
"I can't fuck a pretty-boy?" Acnologia chuckled. "He came to me looking for protection. Big biker murders his best friend, that's the kind of guy you want on your side. We traded. Protection for him, and someone to keep me company."
"I just can't see you wanting a pretty-boy…" Well, Erik couldn't see his dad wanting to be with any man. But that really wasn't the point. If he had to picture a guy Acnologia might be interested in, it would probably be someone like Laxus or Gajeel. Someone a lot like him - huge, muscled out the fucking wazoo, rough and tough. Not someone smaller than him.
"If Macbeth was into older men and didn't wear more lipstick than a two-bit hooker, I'd have hit on him too." Erik's jaw dropped and Acnologia simply shrugged. "I fuck who I want. Doesn't matter what the equipment is, as long as they're old enough and want to get fucked."
It took a moment for him to process this new information about his father. Aside from the fact that he'd admitted to thinking Macbeth was fuckable - Erik could admit, he was damn pretty - he'd never considered that his own father would be into men. Or anyone, really. Acnologia hadn't bothered with women since leaving his mother up north with that outlaw gang he'd gotten out of. At least, Erik had thought he hadn't bothered with a relationship. Maybe he'd been wrong about that.
"But you were enlightening me," Acnologia chuckled.
Erik shook his head quickly. He just needed to reset his damn brain, apparently. "Lucy's asexual," he said.
"And that means…"
"She doesn't feel sexual attraction."
"But you two fuck."
"Yes."
"How?"
"I stick my dick inside of her and flail around like an epileptic chicken on six bumps of fucking cocaine for three to five minutes," Erik said. "How the fuck do you think we fuck?"
"Apparently not like normal people," Acnologia muttered. His eyes narrowed when Erik punched him in the arm.
"She doesn't think of sex like you or me," he said. "She can get turned on - it takes some work, but it happens - and she can have an orgasm and everything in between."
"She just… doesn't… want sex? Or…"
Erik sighed while leaning back in his chair, running a hand down his face. He was, by no means, an expert on Lucy's sexuality. He only knew what she told him, and what they'd figured out together on their own. She was still learning about herself as it was. He hadn't a clue where she fell on that spectrum she'd told him about. He didn't know the ins and outs of everything about it. He knew the important things though. He knew what applied to her own situation. Fuck everyone else and how they experienced their own sexuality with the same damn name.
Erik didn't give a shit about them. Just Lucy.
"She wants it in the sense that, because it's something I want, she'll do it."
"That sounds selfish as hell."
"She gets orgasms out of it," he deadpanned. "Trust me, I said the same fucking thing. And do you know what she told me?"
"No," Acnologia said. "I'm so fucking confused right now."
"She said, for her, it's no different than us cuddling up on the couch and watching a chick flick."
"That doesn't really bode well for your skills, Cobra," he chuckled.
"No, I mean she likes those movies and I don't really care about them," Erik said. "Some chick flicks are alright, but I could go the rest of my life never watching another one, and I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I watch them with her to spend time together, and because she wants to do it. Sex is the same for her."
"You could just watch some horror movie," he said.
"She loves horror movies."
"Action."
"We do," Erik said. "And if Lucy is doing something for me that she really doesn't enjoy - like watching some stupid Keanu Reeves movie or some shit - I don't even think about bringing up sex. Or anything close to it."
"What the fuck, Cobra?" Acnologia whispered. "You have the-"
"If you say my relationship with her is weird, I'll kick your ass," he said with his eye narrowed and dangerous. "I'm closer to her than any skank I banged before meeting her. Because we do a whole lot more than just fuck constantly. Because she doesn't always want to, so I respect that about her and we do something else."
Acnologia's jaw snapped shut and he simply stared at his son. His hand flew up a moment later and popped him right in the back of the head, earning him a hard glare. "I taught you better than that. Don't call women skanks or anything close to it."
"They were, asshole."
"Doesn't matter," he said. "Don't be a disrespectful little shit." The fact that he was able to watch his thirty-year-old son start pouting was definitely a sight to behold. He'd definitely missed that petulant lower lip and how his arms crossed over his chest. "But on the Serena thing…" Erik looked over at him again. "I still don't understand what all this has to do with that."
"Well-"
"But," Acnologia said, putting a hand up to stop him from speaking. "You're her Old Man. I'll respect it, and not say a word."
"Just don't talk about him in general. We put a club-wide gag order on anything to do with him."
Acnologia nodded his agreement. "Got it. That really won't be difficult. I don't like thinking about him in general."
"Good, because if someone brings that shit up and makes her remember anything, I'm calling up a friend of mine to handle it."
"Erik…"
He scowled at the snow that started falling, then lit up another cigarette. "This is fucking serious, Dad," he said. "I don't want her to have a mental breakdown or some shit because someone made her remember what she's better off forgetting. You've been gone for a long time, and I took over for you until you came back. No matter what, that's the one thing I refuse to change. You don't have to deal with them at all. I'll make the call myself if it happens."
"Who the hell agreed to something like that?"
"... You don't wanna know."
"Erik, you'd better fucking tell me." And all at once, he looked guilty. One of the few times that his boy was an open book was when he pulled out the Dad voice. "More than being the fucking founder, I'm your goddamn father. So you tell me who you got involved in this shit."
"He doesn't know any details," he said softly. "Just that I might call him in the future if I need a favor."
"And who is the favor coming from?"
"..."
"Tell me."
Cobra crushed his half-finished cigarette and stood, then started pacing back and forth. "I found your old address book," he said. "Called up someone from a branch of Spriggan."
"You fucking didn't," Acnologia growled. "Who the hell did you talk to?"
"Mard Geer."
"Oh, sure, just call the closest chapter and say I'm Acnologia's kid and I know he swore to never tell anyone about a fucking thing, but he told me enough for me to be able to fucking find you-"
"Dad, it's not like-"
"You shut the fuck up, kid." He stood and grabbed Erik by the shoulders, looming over him. "What did you say? What did you fucking tell Mard Geer?"
Erik's eye was wide as he was shaken and Acnologia's fingers dug painfully into his shoulders, hard enough that he could feel them easily through his leather jacket. "I-I said that I knew they were a one-percent chapter, and that we weren't," he whispered. "I said… We might have a problem that needed their expertise, but it wasn't anything to worry about yet. I just… I asked for a favor, just in case…"
"You don't just ask these guys for a goddamn favor and they say yes!"
"Let up," he said. "That shit hurts."
"I know I fucking taught you better than to ever call them. No matter what the fucking problem was, you never fucking call people like that! You know that!"
"Dad-"
"What did he want?" He shook Erik harder while pushing him until they were against the railing. "What the fuck did he want from you?"
"Dad, stop!"
"Tell me what he fucking wanted! What did you have to give him? What did you promise him?!"
"Fuck, I'm sorry!"
The back door flew open and Lucy rushed out onto the porch. Rules of the club aside, she had to break them up. She knew that it wasn't her business, that she wasn't supposed to butt in even if they were arguing, but doing that shit outside could get her neighbors' attention, and if they called the cops, that was it. "Cut it out!"
"Dad, you're hurting me! Stop!"
Lucy forced herself between them with her back against Acnologia and her hands desperately trying to pry his iron grip from Erik's shoulders. "I said stop!"
Acnologia snarled over her head and glared down at his son, but his grip didn't loosen. "You don't know what those people do," he spat. "What they're capable of. Why the fuck would you think it's okay to call the-" His breath left on a wheeze when Lucy's elbow connected with his stomach, but he didn't let go. Not until she reached down and got a handful of his dick and balls, and twisted. Pain soared through him so quickly he felt like vomiting, but Acnologia's grip on Erik slipped. She let go and he fell to his knees, holding himself and curling up on the cold wooden porch.
Lucy turned and pressed her hands to Erik's cold cheeks, looking up into his wide, horror-filled eye. "Hun, talk to me," she said gently. "What happened?"
"N-Nothing," he said. Before she could push any further, he crushed her to his chest and buried his nose in her hair. "It's nothing, okay? Just… I-I can't..."
"Okay," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her hand shifted beneath his jacket and ran back and forth over his back. "I'm here, okay? I won't ask."
"You stupid motherfucker," Acnologia snarled, and his burning glare lifted from the ground to his son. And then he stopped when he saw how Erik's eye was clamped shut. If he looked close enough he could see the way Lucy gently rocked from one side to the other and made it seem as though Erik was the one doing it.
"It's okay," she whispered. "I'm right here."
"Don't baby him," Acnologia coughed. He was more than surprised to find her eyes snapping open and locking onto him.
"Pops, I love you," she said. "But shut the hell up."
"Don't talk to him that way," Erik whimpered. "Baby, come on…"
"No. He doesn't get to just come in here and treat you like you're in the prison yard and you stole his stupid toilet paper! He doesn't get to hurt you over something stupid."
"Pretty sure my genius fucking kid here calling up my old one-percent gang and asking for a goddamn favor earned him a few good whacks," Acnologia said with a sneer.
"Erik-"
"Don't talk about it," he said, glaring at his father. "You swore."
"Oh, I won't. But how about I give you a goddamn lesson, kid? You wanna know what you got yourself into by asking for something from them?"
"They haven't done anything for us," Erik said.
Acnologia groaned while standing. He made sure he was gentle while pulling Lucy away from Erik, and once she was out of the way, his hand fisted in his son's hair and he dragged him right back inside. Wet boots and all, he didn't give a shit right then. He didn't care about Lucy yelling at him while slamming the door and locking it as he came to a stop in the kitchen and threw Erik on the ground.
"Erik!" Lucy pushed past Acnologia and came to kneel on the floor, helping him sit up.
"I said I was sorry!" Erik shouted.
"No, kid. You don't know what sorry is." Acnologia pulled his jacket off and dropped it onto the kitchen table, revealing the pale blue tattoos dancing their way down his arms. "Sorry is how you feel when you're a stupid fucking kid who thinks his shit doesn't stink, and you learn the hard way that it does."
Lucy's eyes widened when Acnologia pulled his shirt off over his head and took a step closer to them. More blue tattoos were visible along his chest and ribs.
"Sorry is joining those fucking Spriggan assholes, and willingly doing their initiation, because you're so fucking desperate to get patched and just fucking belong, then realizing just what the fuck they convinced you to do." His hand was gentle when he bent and pulled the hair tie off Lucy's wrist. She and Erik watched in silence while Acnologia stood and tied his hair up and away from his face, then wrapped it in a bun. "Sorry," he snarled, "Is burning down every orphanage in the area after locking the kids and nuns inside, watching it burn to the ground, hearing them fucking scream…"
Erik's stomach turned the longer he looked into Acnologia's eyes.
"Sorry is being branded with a blue fire for every building you torched, and having to remember all six-hundred and forty-nine children and the twenty-seven innocent women you murdered, just to be part of a biker gang. And having to look in the mirror every fucking day and see the proof of what you did, right there, staring back at you!"
They stayed completely still when he stood and kicked off his boots. He turned, revealing his back to the couple on the floor and the spiraling tribal fire tattoos along his ribs and hips and up into his hairline. He grabbed his shirt and jacket, then made his way out of the kitchen. He paused in the archway leading to Lucy's living room and looked down at them.
"Sorry is realizing that you're gonna bring a kid into the world, and that everything you've ever done is disgusting and wrong. It's knowing that you have to change things, to protect him from the world you grew up in. So, no you don't know what fucking sorry is, son. But I sure fucking do."
"Dad…"
"Don't. I'm gonna get a shower, and then I'll call up Mard Geer and deal with this clusterfuck you made. I don't care what you promised him, and I don't give a fuck if it hurts our reputation. We never deal with Spriggans." Erik nodded. "Swear it," Acnologia growled. "You swear it to me right now, son. We're Slayers, and the only ones we can rely on are who?"
"Our brothers and sisters…"
"Swear."
Lucy stayed right where she was while Erik slowly stood and squared his shoulders. She really didn't know what else to do aside from watch.
"I swear, Dad. I'll never make a deal with Spriggans. With any one percenter. I-I'll rely on my brothers and sisters, and…" He stopped talking when Acnologia turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. His single indigo eye lowered to the floor. "I swear, I won't do fuck up again."
Acnologia pulled him into a one-armed hug and gently kissed the top of his head. His lips curved into a small, tender smile when Erik hesitated in hugging him back but eventually gave in. He heard the quiet sniffle that came from his boy though. Always trying to be a man about things. "I'll handle it, okay? You leave it all to me."
Erik nodded and stood in the same place as Acnologia walked down the hall toward the bathroom. He didn't move more than necessary when Lucy carefully eased his boots off, or when she stood and pulled his hands and led him to the couch. She said nothing while grabbing a tissue and blotting at the tears on his cheek, brushing his hair back from his face and kissing his temple. She held his hand and laid her head on the back cushion beside him, but she was silent.
"I'm so fucking stupid," he said. Because even though he'd been able to feel Acnologia's fury leaking from his pores and in the forming hand-shaped bruises on his arms, there was something he'd never seen before. Genuine fear. His father wasn't afraid of anyone or anything. But Erik knew he saw it. He was scared of the Spriggans. Scared of what Erik might have promised them in exchange for the favor. Based on the things he'd learned about his father's initiation into that gang years ago, he understood it. Erik really didn't want to know what they'd made him do when he wanted to retire.
"It'll be okay," Lucy said. "It'll all work out, alright?"
He turned on the couch and pulled both of her hands into his lap, lacing their fingers together. "Baby... I'm sorry for being so fucking stupid."
"You're not stupid, hun."
"I am…"
"You made a mistake."
"One that could've gotten someone fucking killed."
"Y'know," she said gently. "You told me a few years back that you weren't ready to run the gang, but you took over for Pops. The gang was his, and you had to keep it going. That's what you said."
"So?"
"You weren't ready. You did what you could and you tried to do the right thing. The gang's still together though, and that's what matters. And I've been with you through every shitty night where you can't sleep, through it all."
"You have."
"Because I love you," she whispered with a small smile. "And I think you're doing a great job keeping it together. And if you want to give the reins back to Pops when it's safe, then go ahead. You've got my support one way or another."
He sighed while she dabbed at the fresh tears on his cheek. "You're too fucking good to me."
"Nah, I think I'm just right," she giggled. "Now get your snuggles before your dad comes back out here and catches us being all lovey-dovey and gross." Her smile widened when she heard Erik's watery chuckle and he leaned forward to press his lips to hers.
"Too late," Acnologia said. He grinned when they pulled apart and stared at him in horror. "God you two really are adorable, just like Wendy said."
"She never said that," Erik scowled.
"Oh, not while you were there. She told me you two were together last night. I bet her twenty bucks I could get you to admit it."
Lucy gaped at him, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling when he laughed while walking back down the hallway toward the running shower. She shook her head and turned back to Erik to find his face in his palms while he muttered curses under his breath. Things were definitely going to get interesting now that Acnologia was back, that was for sure.
.The End.
…
.For Now.