Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima.
I realize it's late and yet on time at the same time. Sorry guys, it's snowing like crazy here in Canada and I had to go shovel my grandma's driveway and sidewalk and then salt it. It only took two hours after school but then I got invited to dinner with her. I only just got home so I hope it's worth the wait.
And... chapter begin!
Levy's body shuddered as her stomach squeezed painfully and, with a final heave, deposited some of her breakfast into Lucy's toilet. Letting out a moan of pain Levy crumpled to the cold tile floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her stomach. Her forehead shone with a thin layer of perspiration and her whole body was racked with shivers.
A hesitant knock sounded on the door and Levy groaned in answer. "Are you okay?" Lucy's worried voice called, muffled by the thick wood. Levy just moaned and jerked upright, her stomach heaving a final time as it emptied itself.
Lucy called again but the sound barely registered in Levy's mind as she collapsed onto the floor once more, her eyes flickering with exhaustion. She was aware of a dull ringing sound and a pair of warm hands grabbing at her arms. Lucy's face, dim and out of focus, appeared in her line of sight and she offered a small moan of recognition.
"Levy-Chan!" Lucy screamed repetitively, trying to get through to her friend. Levy's eyes just rolled back in her head as her body went limp. Instinctively Lucy felt for a pulse and breathed a small sigh of relief when she found it.
"Lily!" She called, her voice cracking with the strain of not breaking down. The small cat suddenly appeared, rubbing his paws over Levy's arms to get rid of the goosebumps that had arisen.
"Get her dressed, we have to get her to the guild." He ordered, popping out his wings and flying to the living room.
Lucy nodded numbly, carefully picking up her tiny friend and hugging her cold body close. Entering her room, Lucy gently laid Levy on her bed, thankful that her friend was already wearing undergarments. Grabbing the first dress she found Lucy carefully pulled it over Levy's head, afraid of injuring her unconscious friend. Then she wrapped a thick blanket around Levy's shoulders and summoned Loke.
"Can you carry her to the guild for me please?" Loke nodded, carefully gathering Levy into his arms.
"What happened?" He asked quietly, cradling Levy's head to his shoulder.
"I-I don't know..." Lucy muttered. "She was fine last night." Loke nodded in understanding and nudged Lucy towards the front door.
"Come on princess, we'll make sure she's okay." Lucy looked up at him with anguished eyes and nodded, smiling softly.
"Thank you, Loke." Loke smiled gently in response, opening the front door and allowing Lucy and the exceeds to exit before him.
The walk to the guild was short and silent, nobody dared to talk for some reason. Upon arriving at the guild the group kept their silence going, ignoring the shocked stares of their guild mates. Mira hurried off to get Porlyusica after ushering Lucy and the lion spirit into the infirmary.
When the door closed behind Mira Lucy let out a shaky breath of air. Loke gently laid Levy out on one of the pristine cots and made sure the blanket was wrapped tightly around her before walking over to Lucy and opening his arms invitingly. Lucy let out a sob and flung herself at him, pressing her face into his chest.
"Levy will be just fine. Porlyusica will take care of her." Loke murmured, rubbing her back soothingly. Lucy nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I know, but I'm still worried." She whispered fearfully, resting her head against his shoulder. Loke sighed and moved one hand to the back of her head, stroking her hair comfortingly.
"Natsu's one lucky guy." Loke mumbled into his master's golden locks. Lucy smiled, blushing lightly.
"Whatever Loke, you should probably go now." Loke nodded, releasing his hold on her and taking a step back.
"Until next time, my princess." He whispered, winking seductively before disappearing in a puff of orange stardust.
Lucy shook her head at her spirits behaviour and hesitantly made her way to Levy's side. Her friend's wavy blue locks were stuck to her forehead with sweat but her body shook from the cold and her pale face was contorted in a grimace of pain. Lucy sat on the bed beside Levy and gently stroked her cheek, smiling slightly when Levy grasped her hand firmly, her mouth parting in a silent sigh.
"Nhg... Gha... Gajeel..." Levy breathed, her face relaxing into a small smile as she curled in on herself and clutched Lucy's hand tightly.
"I've got Porlyusica-San!" Mirajane gasped, exploding into the infirmary with a flurry of skirts.
"All of you, get out." Porlyusica barked, shooing out the two women.
"Gajeel!" Levy screamed in fear and pain as Lucy's hand left hers, her face screwing up as she thrashed about. Mirajane's eyes widened in fear as Lucy raced back to her friends side, grabbing her hand and lightly stroking her cheek. Levy let out a whimper and closed her fingers over Lucy's in a vice-like grip.
"Shh, it's okay." Lucy whispered, turning her gaze to Porlyusica and clearing asking what she should do.
"You, go." She sighed, pointing to Mirajane. Mira nodded quickly and left the room, closing the door behind her. "I guess you have to stay..." Lucy shrugged apologetically.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered, her eyes downcast.
"It doesn't matter... she needs you. But you're not Gajeel... where is that thick-headed brute?" Porlyusica questioned, coming around the bed to lay her hand on Levy's forehead.
"He's, uhm, busy..." Lucy murmured, unsure if she should tell Porlyusica the truth. The pink haired woman glanced up at her suddenly and her eyes burned with an intensity Lucy hadn't seen before.
"What's her relationship with Gajeel?" Lucy furrowed her eyebrows at the question.
"Well, they're close. They live together now. I haven't had a chance to ask Levy recently but I believe they are mates now." She squeaked, uncomfortable about spewing facts about her best friend and probable mate. Porlyusica nodded briefly at Lucy's response and cast a calculating glance at Levy's inert form.
"When did Gajeel leave?" She asked, her eyes narrowing in thought.
"A little over four days ago." Lucy replied, her eyes darkening sadly as she was reminded of Natsu.
"And how has Levy acted throughout his absence?" Lucy tilted her head, trying to remember.
"She's always hungry or tired and is quite... depressed almost. At the moment she's quite stressed and worried as well since she was attacked last night." Porlyusica shot a withering glare at Lucy.
"Was she harmed?" She barked, her red eyes gleaming with anger.
"N-no!" Lucy squeaked, shrinking down beneath the woman's withering glare.
"That's good then I suppose." Porlyusica muttered, running a hand over Levy's arms and legs.
"Is she okay?" Lucy asked quietly, squeezing her friend's hand. Porlyusica didn't answer and instead rubbed her temples tiredly. Lucy watched Porlyusica continue her examination, scanning the elder's face for some sign of Levy's condition.
"I think she'll be okay." Porlyusica finally sighed, pulling the blanket up to Levy's chin.
"What's wrong with her?" Lucy demanded, annoyed that Porlyusica was being so secretive. The pink haired woman sent Lucy a withering glare and the blond shied away. "Please Porlyusica-San, I just want to know that she'll be alright."
Porlyusica turned her gaze to the worried spirit mage and sighed. "At this point I'm not entirely sure but I believe she's pregnant." Lucy gasped, turning to stare down at her petite friend.
"Are you sure?" She whispered, glancing up at the healer.
"No! I just said I wasn't!" Porlyusica scolded, a vein popping in her forehead.
"Of course, forgive me." Lucy apologized, carefully pulling her hand out of Levy's grip. "Thank you for everything Porlyusica-San." Porlyusica nodded curtly.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be going now." Lucy nodded, hurrying to get the door. The pink haired healer left the guild quietly, refusing to acknowledge anybody's questioning stares.
Mirajane hurried to the infirmary, bringing Pantherlily with her. "Lucy, it's Mira, can I come in?" The barmaid asked softly, her eyes flicking nervously from the door to her feet.
"Of course." Lucy replied, opening the thick wooden door. Mira stepped in quietly and Pantherlily flew over to Levy, curling up into her stomach. Levy immediately latched onto his tiny body, clutching it tightly.
"Is she okay?" Mirajane asked softly, cautiously padding over to the blunette's side.
"She's fine Mira, don't worry." Lucy soothed, beckoning for the barmaid to come closer.
"She gave me quite a scare earlier. Coming in unconscious and then screaming like she'd been branded." Mira choked, placing a hand on her chest to slow her pounding heart.
Lucy pulled herself off of the bed beside Levy and carefully laid an arm over the elder Strauss' shoulders. "I know, she scared me too. At least you didn't walk in to my bathroom earlier. She was passed out on the floor, sweating profusely but blue from cold and had completely emptied her stomach into my toilet."
Mira gasped in horror and snapped her gaze to Levy's petite form under the thick blanket.
"Do you think she'll be alright?" Lucy nodded.
"She'll be fine as soon as Gajeel's back." Mira sighed, gently stroking Levy's hair.
"I hope they're all okay." She murmured softly, her eyes showing her worry. Lucy nodded silently, removing her arm from Mira's shoulders and moving to sit beside Levy once again.
"You should probably go and let everyone know that she's okay. Make them happy somehow... bring up that pool party thing again." Lucy murmured softly, gently pressing a damp cloth to Levy's brow. Mira nodded and left quietly, the door thudding closed behind her. "Please wake up soon."
(^.^) (^.^)
Laxus groaned loudly, pressing a hand to his temple as he sat up. Blinking against the bright sunlight pouring in from the roof Laxus peered down at his stomach. There was a light purple mark where Natsu hit him.
"Damn you, flame breath." He growled, pulling himself to his feet. Natsu glanced up from the doorway to the room where he and Gajeel were inspecting the door.
"Heh, sorry 'bout that. At least you feel better." Natsu apologized sheepishly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Laxus scowled at Natsu and braced his hand on the wall for support.
"My stomach is bruised and I have a headache. How is this me feeling better?" Gajeel laughed loudly for the first time in days and walked over to Laxus, clapping him on the back. Cringing at the jarring movement the slap caused Laxus couldn't help the smirk that inched onto his face.
As pissed off as his pain was making him Laxus could tell the Natsu had tried to help and he did, to some extent. The bruise was really goddamn annoying though.
"You'd probably feel a lot better if you had something to eat." Gajeel commented randomly, motioning to their daily rations. Laxus raised his eyebrows.
"I'm pretty sure that slop won't help." He muttered, glancing up at the darkening sky. Gajeel shrugged and picked up a decent looking apple, finishing it in three seconds and tossing the core out of the hole in the roof.
"Your element would help but how on earthland do we do that?" Natsu mumbled, shooting a look at the iron door.
Laxus shrugged. "You want something to eat instead?" He offered, stifling a sigh of annoyance. Natsu looked up at him, his eyes shining with hunger. Taking Natsu's look as a yes, Laxus wandered over to a pile of debris from the roof and made a small pile in the center of the room.
"Laxus, I'm not eating roof bits." Natsu declared, taking a step backwards.
"Suit yourself." Gajeel mumbled around a mouthful of screws. Laxus rolled his eyes at the two before hitting the chunks of wood and who-knows-what-else with a lightening bolt and smiling as the debris ignited into a decent sized bonfire.
"I take back what I said earlier." Natsu mumbled, glaring at Gajeel as the iron mage laughed loudly. "Shut it." He growled, shoving a fistful of flames into his mouth.
The three males sat quietly, the only noises coming from Natsu and Gajeel as they ate, until water started dripping down on them from the open sky above.
"Damn." Gajeel grunted in annoyance, shaking his head to dislodge the drops of water. "Rain really screws with my voice." Natsu chuckled then, glancing up from the flames to quirk a brow at Gajeel.
"Since when do you care what you sound like?" Laxus asked breezily, edging away from the rain.
"Since it became fucking annoying... why are you inching away?" Gajeel countered, smirking at Laxus.
"Well I figured I'd move away from open air so I don't attract lightening and fry you two idiots to death." Natsu and Gajeel glared halfheartedly at him.
"Well gee, thanks Laxus..." Natsu mumbled sarcastically, turning back to his 'food' so he could finish it before the rain did.
"Want me to move back to the center? Don't complain when you die though. Oh wait, you'll be dead." Laxus shrugged in indifference.
"Considering lightening isn't normally my friend I'll let you stay where you are." Gajeel grumbled, crouching down beside the metal door so the lightening would hit it and not him should there be any, or at least that what he hoped.
"I humbly express my thanks." Laxus bowed dramatically, his voice edged with sarcasm and annoyance. Natsu smirked, wiping his mouth as he stood up from the sizzling debris.
"Did you guys see notice anything odd while I was eating?" He questioned, glancing absently around the room. Gajeel and Laxus turned to him questioningly.
"Whaddya talkin' bout?" Gajeel mumbled, still pressing close to the door.
"I just ate all that fire and I'm not tired. I'm more fired up than anything..." Laxus' eyes widened and he turned to stare at the large lacrima. There was no noise coming from it nor did it look damaged but Laxus could see a slight trail of smoke rising from it, blending with the smoke from the extinguished fire.
"I think the rain short circuited the lacrima... Gajeel! Eat that door!" Gajeel glared at Laxus in annoyance.
"Don't tell me what to do, Blondie." He growled but quickly pulled a strip of the door and shoved it into his mouth. Laxus' mouth twitched in amusement but quickly transformed into a somber line.
"Let's get ready for the attack. I have a feeling that, with or without Wendy and the others, we'll have to fight for our lives soon, and if that does happen we can forget about our freedom." He told the others, staring up at the darkened sky in apprehension.
"Tch, they got nothing on us!" Natsu scoffed, poking around at the back of the lacrima until it sparked and quickly shoving some semi-dry wood underneath it for more fire.
Laxus sighed inwardly. Figures these two hard heads wouldn't understand. Oh well, at least he knew they'd fight well and, for the most part, never fail Fairy Tail.
(^.^) (^.^)
Wendy gasped as the rain pelted down on her, tormenting her bruised and bloody body.
"Don't worry Wendy, you can do it, it's just a little rain." She mumbled to herself through gritted teeth, cringing as the wind changed and the rain followed, pelting her face. The one blessing in this downpour was that it was rinsing away all the blood and dirt that accumulated on her body during her long walk back.
A loud honk sounded from above her and she glanced up in surprise. Surely nothing would be out flying in this weather. A lone flying fish flapped above her, luxuriating in the cool drops. Wendy smiled slightly, forcing her legs to continue their journey as he eyes followed the fish until it disappeared from sight.
Pulling her gaze back to the path in from of her, she let out as squeak of surprise before smashing into a wall, unable to stop herself in time.
"Ouch." She whimpered, pulling herself off the ground. Turning to glare at the wall she walked into Wendy realized she was on the edge of a town. "Strange... I don't remember there being a town between Magnolia and Raven Tail." She muttered uncertainly, beginning to panic at the thought of being lost. Quickly limping around the building she saw a familiar place, the bakery where she always gets Erza cake from. She had finally arrived in Magnolia!
A/N: So? Love it? Hate it? Don't really care? You should still review. Were they too OOC? Do I have any errors or things you did/didn't like? Please tell me and I'll fix it for you, for the most part. Anyways, here is chapter 19! One more to go and I'm at 20! Woot! I hope you enjoyed and stick around for the next chapter. Who's itching for the battle? Or possibly the fluffy moment when the couples are reunited? Huh, huh? I know I am (but mostly cuz I haven't written them yet soo... lol). See you next time~!