No Rogue appearances in this chapter. But we do get to see Natsu's side of things.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Writing letters, Lucy discovers for the first time, is a vastly different experience when you actually plan to mail them.
Correspondence is the preferred method of communication in Fiore, as lacrimas that performed the duty were rather more expensive than most could afford. In fact, only mages and high ranking officials possessed ones for personal use.
This means that Lucy will probably never be able to own one, her meager savings disappearing to fill her teammates' bellies and line her landlady's pocket.
Unfortunately, Lucy was unable to speak with Yukino-chan directly regarding the Zodiac Spirits, as Team Natsu took a job immediately after the incident with Sabertooth and Frosch. When they returned two days later, scorched, and tired and hungry, Lucy couldn't summon the energy to make the two hour walk to their rival guild. Instead, she turned to the postal system to reach Yukino-chan.
Natsu attempted to dissuade her from utilizing the service, claiming that whenever he tried to mail anything it never made it to its destination. She decided to go through with it despite Natsu's advice.
Actually writing a letter proved to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. Heming and hawing for hours over how she would phrase her request, when Lucy finally started to write she found it stilted and strange to read. Soon her trash overflowed with scrapped drafts. She never had this problem when penning letters to her mother.
Which was the key. She encounters no trouble in writing to Yukino-chan when she pretends she's having a one-sided conversation with the Sabertooth girl.
Early the next morning, she sent the letter off, not expecting a reply anytime soon.
When one arrived later that same afternoon, she was shocked.
A little research into the matter uncovered the fact that the postal service was far more reliable and efficient when one actually paid for postage and wrote the destination in a legible script. Go figure. All attempts to explain the concept to Natsu met with dismal failure.
The two Celestial Mages agree to continue their correspondence even after their collaboration for the Zodiac keys on Star Hill.
Lucy is surprised when, three days after Star Hill, a package appears at an unholy hour on her apartment doorstep. The lack of note accompanying it did nothing to conceal the sender's identity, however. Warmth spread throughout Lucy's body as she unfolded the jet cloth from the bundle.
Rogue's timing is impeccable – the last cloak she borrowed has only just lost its scent as well.
It does… bring up some pressing questions in Lucy's mind, however.
Such as how Rogue got her home address. She's hoping he asked Yukino-chan for it, but it's difficult to envision the impassive Dragon Slayer doing that. Though, that explanation is still much preferred compared to the other possibilities her brain is coming up with.
She also wonders just how many cloaks Rogue owns, as this is the third he's lent her and the designs and cuts are varied for each. The first was a plain thing in its practicality, with no need for adornments. A high collar, gold trim, and buttons characterized the second. This third cloak possessed a hood but was otherwise much the same as the first. Seriously, just how many of these things did Rogue own? The man clearly had a style preference.
Last, but far from least, how in Earthland was Lucy going to thank him? And inquire about how he found out her where she lives because if Sorcerer Weekly has printed her address again…
Laundering and sending the other cloak back is a must, but perhaps she should include a thank you letter?
If she thinks writing a letter to Yukino-chan was problematic, she can only imagine the nightmare penning one to Rogue would swiftly become. At least with Yukino-chan she has a lot of common ground; Rogue is still largely a mystery to Lucy. Where she stands precisely in his regard is unclear. She's pretty sure they're more than just casual acquaintances, but are they to the point of being friends?
Which is an uncomfortable situation to contemplate, as she's never had this difficulty before. Even when Gajeel joined Fairy Tail it was easy to determine that they were mostly just going to ignore each other and pretend the torture session didn't happen.
Besides, even if she were to undertake the enormous endeavor that composing a letter to Rogue would inevitably entail, how would she possibly find enough material to fill said letter with?
A thank you note, then? She'd written a million of those things before after parties and such her father had held, but it would be a completely different issue when she was sincere in her gratitude.
Or maybe she is overthinking this and should leave it until a more decent hour when her brain is greater prepared for complimin-cated… convolted… cogniritive… processing… sses?
…Screw it. Too early for this crap. She's going back to bed. Complicated convoluted cognitive processes be damned. Ha! She got it right this time. Take that sleepy brain!
On another note, there is now a best-friend-shaped lump in her bed that hadn't been there ten minutes ago. This is a much more pressing concern that needs to be dealt with before he starts leaving singe marks on her sheets in his sleep. Bed sheets and mattresses, especially, were expensive, dammit.
Natsu would prove Future Rogue wrong once again. Lucy is going to end her best friend long before any stinking, shitty flying lizards get the opportunity.
She eyes the scaly scarf that trailing out from under her covers. Wondering if he would even wake up if she were to truss him up in his beloved memento.
Shoving him aside is a wasted effort, as he just flops onto his stomach and plants his face smack dab right in the center of her pillow. Her covers now cocooning the Dragon Slayer, there's no way she's untangling them from him anytime soon. At least the pillow will be cheaper to replace than the rest of it.
'It's just too fucking early in the morning for this. I hope that pillow smothers you.' Uncharitable? Yes. Deserved? …Does that even require a response?
Now she's left with two options. Attempt to remove Natsu from her bed and relinquish his death grip on her covers, or just give up and curl up next to him to salvage some snoozes.
A glance at the clock reveals the time to be 4:17.
'We're sacrificing the pillow.'
The second cloak Rogue had lent her is lying on the floor halfway across the room from the bed where she'd dragged it with her zombified lurch-stagger to the door to retrieve the post. Wrapping it around her, she snuggled into its warm folds. Despite the scent being gone, it was still one of the softest pieces of clothing she'd ever felt and she's loathing the inevitable parting of it.
Grabbing the folded third cloak, she sets it down on her bed. Climbing next to Natsu, she presses her back against that of her best furnace, and lays her head upon the cloak.
Warm and comfortable, nose full of musk, she starts to drift off.
Natsu is sure to comment on the cloak situation when they wake up, but… eh. She can deal with the consequences when she wakes up.
Awake Lucy really hates Sleepy Lucy right now.
Because Natsu is sitting with crossed arms and legs on the bed in front of her, awaiting an explanation. An unnaturally serious expression on his face, he's being patient for now though it won't last if she stalls much longer.
In hindsight, Sleepy Lucy really is the source of all her problems right now. This whole thing wouldn't have even come about if she hadn't fallen asleep on Rogue and stolen his cloak. Sleepy Lucy cares very little for the messes Awake Lucy has to deal with.
She was going to have to have a discussion with that woman.
"Luce." Natsu asserts his presence to his vacant-eyed friend. "Why are you sleeping with Rogue's cloak?" He glances at the one she was using as a pillow. "Two of his cloaks," he amends, refocusing on her.
He's cornered her with that simple accusation. There is no way she is going to fool him by lying and saying the cloaks were hers. Stupid Dragon Slayer nose.
"He… lent them to me," she admits weakly.
Natsu snorts. "I didn't think you'd stolen them, Luce. I asked why you were sleeping with them, not why you had them."
Why oh why did Natsu choose now, of all times, to develop a brain?! That was just not fair.
Fidgeting, her best friend suddenly blurts out, "Why won't you talk to me, Luce? You've been avoiding me for weeks now."
Yeah, to avoid this exact conversation.
"Aren't we…" Gulping, he whispers, "Aren't we partners?"
Sighing, she reaches out to hold his hands. "I'm sorry, Natsu. I didn't intend to be mean about it." She loves the man before her so much it's sheer agony to be the cause of any pain he might be feeling. "I'm just a bit embarrassed by this, is all."
He grips her hands with more gentleness than he usually displays. "Then talk to me, Luce. What's going on with you? Is it something to do with Rogue? 'Cause I'll kick his ass again if you want."
She won't meet his gaze, and instead stares at their hands when she answers, "It's not Rogue, Natsu. He's been nothing but kind to me. It's... The nightmares won't go away, Natsu. The ones with Future Rogue. The ones where he wins. The ones where everyone dies." Tears are now flowing down her cheeks.
Natsu stiffens at her admission, remembering those first days after the battle. Screams had awoken him every night, and he'd spent the majority of them holding the blonde while she sobbed. "You're still having them?" he asks, misery clawing at his throat. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Lucy shakes her head at him, still not meeting his gaze. "After the party, I accidently borrowed the current Rogue's cloak. I fell asleep with it, and I didn't have any nightmares." She raises her head to finally look at her best friend. "None. I slept through the night. But then, a few days later, they came back. They returned because the scent from the cloak faded, I think."
Tilting his head to the side, he regards her curiously. "So that's why he gave you another one when Sabertooth came to visit last week."
He knew? The whole time? Angry, she jerks her hands away from him and wipes her eyes. "You already knew," she accuses.
The Dragon Slayer flinches at her tone. "A bit," he admits, reaching out to her only to let his hand drop to the mattress when she glares at it. "I overheard some of your conversation with him. I wanted you to talk to me about it. I waited for a long time."
Almost a full week, now that she thinks about it. For Natsu, it was very uncharacteristic of him to wait that long for anything. Let alone with that much grace. And he looks so pitiable, and not his smiling self that she adores, that she forgives him.
"It's okay, Natsu." She pats his hand, to show him that it really is. "Thanks for your concern."
He heaves a sigh of relief at her words, and pulls her into a quick hug. Upon releasing her, he grins toothily at her. "You still owe me that home-cooked meal, Luce!"
…Shit. She was hoping he'd forgotten about that. Does she even have anything edible in her fridge? Or had Natsu and Happy cleaned it out again?
Speaking of, where was the little blue menace?
"Where's Happy, Natsu?" she asks, her stomach dropping when Natsu gives her a look of surprise.
"He's right he… where'd he go?" Natsu lifts the comforter, and then the pillows in pursuit of his friend. "Happy? Where you at, buddy?"
…Double-shit. The window is cracked open, a thin stream of cool morning air drifting into the apartment. The Exceed is long gone, no doubt to break this latest development in Lucy's love life to Fairy Tail's resident matchmaker in the hopes of acquiring free fish.
"How long do you think I have until Mirajane accosts me?" Lucy inquires, a sense of dread settling over her.
Natsu shrugs, like it isn't his problem. "Dunno. Think you still have time to make me breakfast?"
Lucy groans at his one-track mind. "Sure, whatever," she agrees, standing up and wandering over to her kitchen.
The Fire Dragon Slayer watches her while she putters about for a while. Then he asks, "Why'd you have to go and say he smells nice, though?"
She freezes, milk overflowing her glass and spilling onto the counter, unnoticed. "Say what?"
"Last week," Natsu pipes up, eying the pale liquid as it descends towards her carpet. She was going to have trouble getting that out. "You told Rogue his old cloak didn't smell right anymore."
Setting the now empty milk carton in the puddle on her countertop, Lucy stares at him. The milk carton doesn't stay where she sets it, and floats along the ledge. "Yeah, his cloak didn't smell right after a week. His laundry detergent must have worn off."
Now Natsu is the one looking at her like she's gone completely nutty. "Rogue doesn't use detergent. No Dragon Slayer does."
He's right, she realizes. Back when she first came to Fairy Tail, she'd made the switch to scentless cleaning detergent herself in an attempt to spare her new partner the watery eyes and rashes he got from getting too close to her clothes.
Since Rogue used the same, his cloaks shouldn't smell at all, unless they were coated in his own scent.
She'd told the Shadow Dragon Slayer that he smelled nice. No, she told him that he smelled right.
"Um…" Her brain is struggling with this new information. "So when I said…"
Natsu blinks at her. "It's a pretty high compliment. How come you never tell me I smell right?"
Because he doesn't take enough baths, but that might not be the best thing to mention right now. "You smell okay, Natsu." For now, give it another week and she might have to summon Aquarius to pressure wash the grunge right off him.
He deflates. "Just okay?" And then, before she can correct herself, he shrugs. "That's fine. You smell pretty weird yourself, I guess." She always smelt like home, which was strange since she and Igneel had totally different scents. In fact, Lucy no longer uses fragrances at all in order to accommodate for her partner's sensitivity. There was no one in the world that smelled quite like Lucy; Natsu had checked.
It always mystifies him that she gets angry whenever he says it. It's a compliment! Didn't she know that weird and awesome meant the same thing? Cana had told him that years ago! Lucy is super weird.
Grinding her teeth together, Lucy grips the countertop to keep herself from strangling her best friend. Then she yanks her hand away upon discovering her milky nautical disaster. Great, just fantastic. Really.
After Natsu helps her clean up, she makes him that breakfast. It's not like it was just for him, though. She's pretty hungry, too, and intent on avoiding the guild for a while until Mirajane calms down from whatever Happy has filled her baby-crazed skull with.
Something occurs to her as she sits down and Natsu tears into his meal. "Natsu?" she inquires, pointing her fork in his direction. A rumble is her only indication that he is listening, but she accepts it as license to continue. "If you heard the conversation between Rogue and I, what about the other Dragon Slayers…?"
He peers at her, hovering over his food like someone might steal it from him if he isn't careful. Knowing the members of the guild, this is a valid concern most of the time. "Yeah, they heard," he mumbles around a mouth full of grub. Question answered to his satisfaction, he ignores the colour draining from her face and concentrates on the delicious meal once more.
Lovely. This sheds some light on why Gajeel and Laxus have been smirking at her recently. And why Wendy can't seem to talk to her for more than two seconds before uncontrollable stuttering and blushing takes over. Lucy would be sure to tell Wendy that she smells nice, later. The girl could use the ego boost.
She groans and slams her forehead into the table. Natsu jumps at the sudden sound and pauses in his obliteration of the food to check her for a fever. Swatting his hand to the side, she turns her head to regard him with one eye. "I guess this is why Rogue decided to mail the cloak this time, huh?" The Shadow Dragon Slayer is probably too embarrassed over this to face her. Oh Mavis, this explains Rogue's willingness to share the cloak with her. He had been flattered.
Natsu doesn't understand what she's talking about, so he shrugs. Sure the cloak smells like Rogue, but the package doesn't. It smells like Sting.
He pushes all concerns to the side. Breakfast requires his full attention right now.
I decided to end it there. Sting and Rogue's side of this is in the next chapter.