Chapter Eleven
The Bonds Between
Natsu watched the dark haired woman's form shrink in the rear view mirror, his hammering heart finally calming down. The reality and success of what they'd just done was finally settling in, and he couldn't help the triumphant grin that threatened to break out across his features.
But the glory of the moment shattered as soon as the hand that was still grasped within his own began to tremble.
His gaze slowly traveled to the blonde seated beside him, and his grin faded when he saw the tears pooling in her eyes, her brows pinched together as she stared blankly forward. He'd expected her to be thrilled and relieved that she was finally free, but still, she looked almost terrified, her bottom lip beginning to quiver.
"Lucy…" he hesitantly started, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand.
His voice seemed to snap her out of her detached state, and the dam broke, her tears flooding down her face as sobs erupted from her chest. The hand that wasn't held within his shot to cover her mouth as she curled into herself, her eyes sliding shut and sending more tears down her cheeks.
Loke and Elfman were silent in the front seats, though both had furrowed brows and varying degrees of worry across their features as her cries sounded in the small space.
Natsu reacted purely on his gut instincts, quickly shifting her palm to his other hand and reaching around her shoulders with his now free arm to pull her into his side. She willingly collapsed into him, burying her face in his shirt and soaking it with her tears.
"It's okay, Lucy," Natsu breathed out right next to her ear, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I won't let them take you away again. I promise. You're safe."
Lucy fiddled with the bandages around her right palm, the cut that she'd given herself when she'd clasped the jagged shard of glass two nights ago beginning to sting with how much she'd used her hand during her escape. Her other injuries, both surface and internal, were aching too, though the fading adrenaline in her veins was still making her somewhat numb to the pain.
The boys had driven her to the shore of Magnolia's one and only lake, and the blonde could tell that they came here often by how at ease they were as soon as they stepped foot onto the threshold. Loke almost immediately plopped himself on one of the benches, his two friends gathering around as he began to fuss over the bloody nose Zancrow had given him, the only injury any of them had sustained in the fight.
They seemed to have come here with the purpose of waiting for something, though they hadn't told her what. None of them had said a word to her since she'd managed to stop sobbing earlier, though she knew they were quiet because she purposefully exuded the vibe of wanting to remain silent for the time being. She needed time to allow her mind to catch up with all that had happened, because all of this, her freedom and the three that had saved her, still seemed too splendid to be reality.
As she stood a short distance away, quietly observing Elfman and Natsu's somewhat affectionate teasing of the orange haired boy, she couldn't help but feel like an outsider. She was sure that they didn't purposefully mean to exclude her, but as they tossed jibes at one other in a way that only best friends and family could, she realized that not only did she not belong in their group, but that the feelings of comradery and familiarity that they were enjoying right before her eyes had become completely foreign to her. She might once have relished in such intimacy with her and Sting's friends back in Crocus, but it had been more than three years since she'd seen any of them last, and the fact that she would never see any of them again had turned the nostalgia she might've felt at recalling her memories of them into bitterness and despair.
When she had first moved to Magnolia, she had hoped that she might one day be able to find happiness in the company of new friends once again. At first, Natsu and Gray had seemed like the most likely candidates, especially when the salmon haired boy approached her on her first day school, unwittingly asking her to play her favorite sport with them. Watching him throw his body around to dodge her spikes had been more than enough to cheer her up, and the boys coming to her and her twin's aid in the cafeteria that same day had only made her want to trust them more.
But even that had fallen through, Natsu's ignorance of her plea and Gray's imprisonment bringing an end to whatever beginnings of a relationship there had been between her and the two boys.
Considering all that she'd endured, and how it had changed her into a shell of what she used to be, she didn't think she could ever again have what the boys before her had. Although they'd just risked themselves for her, she admittedly really didn't know any of them all that well, nor did she have anyone else with whom she could say she was 'friends.' All of the people she'd given the term were either dead or long forgotten.
And after all that had happened three years ago, she thought herself foolish for ever thinking she could have been friends with the quartet of boys she'd met in the rain on her first night in Magnolia. They'd obviously been best friends for years, and hoping that she might one day fit into their group was a childish and selfish thought. In her eyes, she'd be imposing on their friendship, and she didn't want to force her mess of a life upon them or anyone else, regardless of their willingness to help her.
She wasn't sure what the future would bring, but she knew that now, even if this freedom lasted, she would never go back to how she used to be. She felt like she didn't know who she was anymore, and if she didn't know herself, then how was she supposed to expect anyone else to accept and care for her?
Her hands paused in their fiddling when she saw someone approaching their lone group from the corner of her eye, her heart rate immediately spiking in fear as her mind automatically went to the worst situation possible. But a wave of calm overcame her once more when she turned her gaze to find that it wasn't a member of Zentopia that was coming closer, but instead it was the only member of the quartet of boys that she'd ever felt she might be able to at least somewhat relate to.
Gray's hands were tucked into his pockets as he approached, a strange mixture of discomfort and conviction on his features. The emotions conflicted one another, and Lucy got the feeling that he shared her thoughts on wanting to be here more than anything, but feeling like they didn't belong. He kept dropping his gaze and returning it to her, as if he was undergoing a steady process of losing and gaining confidence again and again.
Upon catching sight of him and the way he was acting as he approached, the blonde knew right away that something must've happened between the four of them while she'd been away. The raven haired boy hadn't been there that night she'd run into the other three in the alley, nor had he been there when they'd approached her on the street nor earlier during her rescue. Those had been her first clues, and all those years ago, Natsu had confessed to her that he blamed himself for Gray's imprisonment. But the details of what had happened beyond that remained a mystery to her. It must've been bad, whatever it was, and she felt slightly guilty, for she knew that what had happened with Sting surely must've been the impetus for the change that had occurred in their friendship.
She noticed that the chattering and fussing of the three boys behind her had faded into silence, and she didn't have to tear her focus from Gray's to know that they had caught sight of the raven haired boy, too.
There were no rambunctious greetings or showy handshakes like Lucy would've expected of the four. There was only silence and complete still as Gray joined their small cluster around the bench.
Just like the other three boys, she kept her gaze steadily trained on the raven haired boy, doing her own look over of how he'd changed over the past three years just like she'd silently done to Natsu, Elfman, and Loke earlier. If she'd thought that he looked like he'd seen hell before, she could tell that he'd seen even more of it now. His time in prison undoubtedly hadn't been kind to him despite his still rugged and adamant physique, the age and understanding in his eyes no longer matching the youthfulness of his features.
Lucy swallowed heavily as she took notice of his changes. She'd been the one to drag him into the conflict between Sting and Macbeth and his friends, and thus she felt like she was at least partially responsible for the incident that had sent him to prison, even if she hadn't played a part in the actual event herself.
Her thoughts momentarily drifted to the last time she'd seen him, when she'd visited him right after he'd first been imprisoned. She had gone with the intent of thanking him and giving him all the encouragement and reassurance she could, and even though she'd accomplished her task, she'd still left their encounter feeling unsatisfied with what she'd said.
One 'thank you' wasn't enough. Not for Gray. Not for Natsu. Not for any of them, really. Even if she'd never really formally met Elfman and Loke, they'd still participated in the fight for her freedom, and for that, she was eternally grateful.
Despite her lingering uneasiness, she desperately needed them all to know how she felt before anything else happened, so she took it upon herself to break the serene silence.
"Thank you," she lightly breathed out, passing her gaze over each of them in turn. "Seriously…" she allowed her gaze to settle on Natsu as she murmured once more, "Thank you." She felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for the salmon haired boy in particular. He had been the one to overhear her desperate cry that night in the alley, and despite how strange the situation must've seemed to him, he hadn't ignored it. And he had been the one to confront her on the street about her safety, too. She'd pegged him as the leader of their little group the moment she'd met them, and she had no doubt that he'd been the one to orchestrate her entire rescue as well. He'd even taken the time to come to her home and reassure her of her forthcoming freedom, and that little moment they'd shared through the glass of her window had been the push she needed not to lose all hope.
The salmon haired boy gave her a gentle grin in response to her sentiment, letting her know that even if he didn't fully understand the situation she'd been in, her gratitude was one thing that was blatantly clear to both him and his friends.
He let out a heavy sigh as he looked between the four before him, "Things are going to get harder from here on out. They'll definitely try to track us down, and they'll probably even report us. We'll all have to be careful about being seen out and about."
"Then where do we hide?" Elfman asked.
Natsu ran his tongue across his lips before catching the bottom one between his teeth in uncertainty, "I've got an idea, but I think we should ditch the car as soon as possible."
"What about Juvia?" Gray chipped in. "Won't they go after her since it's hers?"
"We taped over the license plate and anywhere the company name appeared," Natsu informed him.
"I think she should be okay," Loke mumbled through the fabric of the sleeve of his sweatshirt as he pressed it underneath his nose, the green quickly turning brown as his blood seeped into the material, "but she can keep using my bike to make deliveries until things calm down."
The raven haired boy nodded his head, content with the measures his friends had taken.
Natsu's gaze shifted to the blonde, who'd stood silently during the entire exchange, her hands quietly clasped in front of herself. Her face was still pale, her hands still clenched tightly together in uneasiness. He wasn't sure she'd even been paying attention to what they'd said, so he took a small step towards her to gain her attention as he comforted, "We're gonna take you to a friend's place, so you don't need to worry. Trust me, once you meet her, you'll feel totally safe." He did his best to summon his signature grin, though it'd been a long time since he'd used it, his voice light as he soothed, "I promise."
Lucy gave him a small nod of her head, though no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get herself to smile back. Despite her lingering uncertainty, his words still provided her with great comfort. She'd lost count of how many times he'd said those last two binding words to her over the past couple days, but every time they'd slipped from his lips, she'd felt that he genuinely meant them, and that he'd become someone who never went back on his promises.
Lucy quietly watched on as Natsu swallowed heavily, the salmon haired boy quickly inhaling as if to steel himself before he lightly rapped his knuckles on the apartment door before them. She was instinctively curled into herself as she stood a bit behind the group of four boys, though all of them were still clustered tightly together in the narrow hallway of the building.
The blonde didn't know what she'd been expecting when they'd told her that they were taking her to one of their friend's, but the scarlet haired girl that answered the door definitely wasn't what she'd anticipated.
The red head's features shifted to show her surprise as she caught sight of them, and though her reaction wasn't one of displeasure, it wasn't entirely merry either, almost as if she could already tell that they hadn't come for a simple visit. She seemed to read the mood immediately, and Lucy was overcome with an even greater sense of not belonging when she realized that the red head must be someone that had known the four boys whom accompanied her for some time.
"Hey Erza," Natsu nervously scratched at the back of his head, forcing himself to sound pleasant to mask his still obvious anxiety as he tentatively requested, "Can we…crash here for a bit?"
The red head's features immediately settled into a look of irritation, "Geez…you guys haven't changed a bit since high school." She kept one of her hands on the door, the other settling on her hip as she scrutinized each of them with her gaze.
Lucy curled into herself even more when the scarlet haired girl's attention settled on where she stood at the back of the group, immediately dropping her focus to the floor to avoid making eye contact.
Erza quirked a brow at the blonde girl whom she didn't recognize, not missing the scrapes, bruises, and other discolored patches of skin across her pale face. It seemed that the four boys whom she'd taken under her wing as freshman during her sophomore year of high school were back to their old ways, getting into trouble at every turn by dabbling in matters that didn't concern them.
She was fully intent on figuring out whom the blonde was later, but for the moment she decided to deal with the matter of whether or not she'd let them in like they'd asked, her brow quirked as she ground out, "I've barely heard a word from any of you since I graduated, and now you think I'll let you crash my apartment?"
"Uh…yes?" Loke put on a cheesy grin, his bruised and swollen nose doing little to aid his attempt at looking charming, "Please…?"
Erza's taut expression didn't flinch.
"Look, Erza," Gray started with a heavy sigh, "I know we haven't really talked to you in years, but this is important."
"I promise we'll explain everything," Natsu cut in, his features earnestly hardened in determination. "Just…let us hide here for a few hours, please?"
Her brows furrowed at the word 'hide,' but she felt herself caving at the desperation in his voice. Helplessness wasn't something she was used to hearing from Natsu, but he, and the rest of them for that matter, had made it clear whatever situation they'd gotten themselves entangled in was dire, and she had a feeling that it had a lot to do with the quiet blonde standing at the back of the group.
She let out a heavy sigh, her hand sliding from the door as she opened it further, "Fine. But you owe me."
Natsu might've said a quick thank you in response, but Lucy didn't hear it, having long since withdrawn into her own thoughts. She numbly trailed after the four boys as they filed into the red head's apartment, the door slamming shut behind them.
As the boys threw themselves across various couches and chairs like they lived in the place themselves, the blonde silently tucked herself into a corner created by a wall and a cabinet, her back sliding down the surface until she was on the floor. She immediately drew her knees into her chest, her hands clasped tightly together and pressed against her sternum, fear beginning to trickle into her thoughts once more now that her adrenaline had completely faded.
Pots clanked in the kitchen, which was where the red head had disappeared to, but the blonde tuned out all of the noise in the room, her chest beginning to feel stuffier the more in tune she became with reality.
She didn't have a clue about what was going to happen now that she'd accomplished the only goal she'd set for herself, and she hated the weight of the uncertainty. She didn't know what the boys who'd rescued her had planned, but she knew that sticking with them was her best bet, regardless of what their next move was. It was terrifying to think that she could trust people she barely knew more than she could trust people that she'd known for three years, and even her entire life in her father's case.
A hand suddenly settled on top of her knee and she jumped, her eyes shooting from where they'd numbly zoned out to the figure that had come to crouch in front of her without her realizing.
Natsu was there, giving her a soft smile and doing his best to speak softly as he reassured, "You're okay now, Lucy. So stop trembling."
The blonde swallowed and looked down to her hands, only now becoming aware of their quivering. She bit her lip as she folded her arms to hide her trembling hands, her gaze shakily shifting from Natsu to where Elfman and Loke had plopped onto a couch and lastly to Gray, who'd settled in a wooden chair at the small table in the center of the room. She took a deep breath, fighting to get her voice to remain even despite her lingering fear as she breathed out once more, "Thank you."
Natsu let out a small chuckle, finally pulling his hand back from her knee, "You already said that, weirdo. And you don't have to say it for us to know."
Lucy wanted to smile back, but no matter how much she fought to, her lips wouldn't comply. She only managed to give him a small nod, her eyes still connected with his as he settled on the floor next to her, leaning back against the same wall.
"We've already come this far…" Loke suddenly started, his voice somewhat hesitant, "…mind telling us exactly what it was that we saved you from?"
The blonde dug her fingers into the sleeves of her sweater, unable to find her voice for the moment as her focus fell to the fabric of the jeans that stretched over her knees.
Telling them everything would be the final tug that sent them tumbling into the situation with no escape. Although she didn't know any of them particularly well, she'd could blatantly see that they weren't going to turn their backs on her this time, and their dedication to her cause could very well get them hurt. She'd never been one to ask for help at the expense of others, and getting them involved with the matters of Zentopia would no doubt be putting their lives at risk.
The apostles of Zentopia had already killed one person she held dear without any regret, and she had no doubt that they could do it again.
At her silence, Natsu gave her a worried look, and Gray seemed to catch onto her small panic as well. The raven haired boy cleared his throat to break the silence, giving the blonde a small smile, "Let's eat first. You're probably hungry."
As if on cue, the red head, Erza if Lucy remembered correctly, came into the room with oven mitts over her hands and a pot of something steaming in her grasp. If the girl had had the time to prepare them a meal, Lucy wondered how long she'd been spaced out before Natsu had something, because it certainly didn't feel like she'd been in the apartment for long.
The boys were all quick to gather around the table and take their seats, passing silverware and bowls around and scooping spoonfuls of mac and cheese into their respective dishes.
Lucy silently moved to sit next to Gray, almost unconsciously heading for a seat at the corner of the small table. She didn't scoot her chair back in all the way, purposefully keeping a bit of distance from the group and refraining from touching her utensils.
She suddenly felt sick, her stomach churning like she was going to throw up at any second. She'd begun thinking over what she was to going to say, and recalling all of the things she'd endured that she thought they should know had made her queasy. Her encounter with the cops two nights ago had made her mindful of how outlandish the situation she'd found herself in was, and she was suddenly overcome with fear as she realized that they might think she was insane just like the blond sergeant had.
Gray turned to her, his gaze momentarily dropping to where her fingers were clenched around the edge of her seat, "Lucy…aren't you going to eat?"
"Those people I was with…" the blonde lightly breathed out, tightening her grip on the chair. Speaking out about it was hard, a baseless doubt in the back of mind making her unsure of whether or not they'd believe her words. Zentopia had a pleasant and decent reputation after all, and the information she was about to share told a story that was quite different from any other account of the happenings at the church. Her quiet voice drew everyone else's attention, their utensils falling back into their bowls as she shakily finished, "…they…they were the members of a cult."
She finally managed to lift her gaze from her lap, tentatively shifting her gaze to each of the table's occupants to see their reactions. Shock and confusion were the most prevalent, and disgust soon joined the fray, Natsu's features in particular shadowing over with rage as she unsteadily muttered, "They wanted me…they wanted me to marry their leader…in order to find salvation."
"Loke, give me your phone."
"Why?"
"Just do it," Natsu pressed, already losing his patience.
The orange haired playboy pursed his lips, but dug in his pockets for his phone nevertheless. He plopped into Natsu's waiting hand, and the salmon haired boy immediately turned to hold it out to Lucy, "Take it."
Her gaze slowly traveled from his hand to his face, her brows slightly pinched and traces of fear in her voice as she breathed out, "Are you…you're leaving?"
"Just for a bit," he momentarily looked over his shoulder to where Loke had just joined his other three friends in the entryway of Erza's apartment, pleased to note that their attention seemed to be occupied by other matters. It looked like Gray was better explaining things to Erza, the way the red head's gaze kept shifting to Lucy tipping him off.
They had to ditch Juvia's car first and foremost, but the real reason they were all leaving was to discuss things now that they knew the full situation. He didn't want Lucy to have to sit through another conversation about what she'd been through, knowing that it'd been hard enough for her to recount a few of her experiences the first time.
He turned his focus back to the blonde, desperately wanting to reassure and comfort her but not knowing where to even begin doing so.
Cults had always seemed like something of fiction, the dark organizations part of a distant world that had no influence in their little valley town. Magnolia was too happy and vibrant for such a thing to exist anywhere in its proximity. The fact that a real cult was so incredibly close to his hometown and that someone he'd known had fallen victim to their practices was a lot to take in.
His shock aside, fury was the most prevalent emotion running like fire through his veins. What those people were trying to force Lucy into doing was disgusting, and he didn't see how any person in their right mind would urge an unwilling twenty year old to marry someone over three times her age. Though, he supposed his answer was right there; that anyone who associated with that cult absolutely wasn't in their right mind.
He decided to save the rest of his thoughts for later, when he could discuss them with his friends and they could decide how the hell they wanted to go about the situation they'd gotten themselves entangled in.
He let out a small sigh, still holding the phone out to Lucy as he did his best to keep his anger from slipping into his voice, "I promise you'll be fine here with Erza for the time being, and I'll be back later, but…" he firmly connected his gaze with hers, "…just in case anything happens, call me. I'll come running."
"So, just so we're all clear…her dad basically sold her off to these people?"
Natsu clenched his jaw at Loke's choice of words, but didn't say anything on the matter, knowing that there really wasn't a lighter way to put it. He silently picked at the chipped wood of their usual table at the Fairy Tail bar, his lips pressed tightly into a grim line.
Gray was similarly silent next to him, his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze turned away as he did his own think-over of things.
Loke shook his head and tsked, "This whole thing is just…insane."
"Their leader probably tricked her dad into joining," Elfman added in from place beside the orange haired boy. "That's gotta be the reason why he's just letting them do it."
Natsu clenched his fists on top of the table, hatred for Lucy's father rushing through him once more, just like it had on that night he'd snuck into her yard to find her locked into her room. His willingness to give his daughter to a man that was old enough to be her grandfather was sickening, and the salmon haired boy was overcome with the urge to hunt the Heartfilia patriarch down and sock him in the face.
But rational thought caught up to him before he could let himself get too carried in that fantasy, the idea immediately getting shoved back down when he realized that charging into a church full of cult members all on his own would likely do little good.
If he really wanted to help Lucy and get rid of those cult freaks for good for her sake, he definitely needed all the help he could get. Going at it alone wasn't an option.
He swallowed heavily, lifting his gaze to his friends, "We'll let Lucy rest up a bit, then take her to the station that Mira and Laxus work at tomorrow. We'll ask them for investigation."
Loke nodded his head, letting out a heavy, resolved sigh.
"Hey."
The orange haired boy jolted at the sudden voice right next to his ear, whipping around to find the brunette waitress' head peeking over the back of their bench, a tray of beer balanced in her arms.
"Jesus, Cana," Loke huffed out. "We're talking about important things, you can't just sneak up on us like that!"
Instead of getting back at the orange haired boy like she normally would, Cana narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she made her way around the bench to stand at the edge of their table, "You guys aren't up to something silly again, are you?"
Not in the mood for her or Loke's antics, Natsu simply responded, "It's nothing like that."
She pursed her lips and stared at them in suspicion for a moment more before sighing and distributing the drinks on her tray across the table, "Here. It's on the house."
Loke glared at her back as she moved to tend to the bar's other patrons, "Geez, she could've just given it to us nicely in the first place."
There was silence between the four for a few moments, all except for Gray indulging in the free drinks Cana had given them.
"Natsu."
They all looked to the raven haired boy as he huffed out his first words since they'd entered the bar, his focus finally shifting towards their table from where it'd been focused elsewhere for the entirety of their conversation thus far.
"Do…do we really have to take Lucy to the station?"
Natsu could immediately tell that something was up, his brows furrowed as he asked, "What's wrong?"
Gray's eyes quickly shifted between Loke and Elfman, "No offense, but…I don't trust them. We don't have much solid evidence yet, so you really think they'll do a proper investigation?"
The salmon haired boy knew that his rival was thinking about his own unfair investigation all those years ago, so he hurriedly reassured, "We have a witness, and they'll find evidence as they investigate."
"'Evidence?'" Gray repeated bitterly, huffing out an incredulous breath. "Do you really think these people are careless enough to leave behind evidence? If they were, don't you think they would've been caught already?" His tone suddenly grew darker, "In this town, if you have money and connections, you can easily make an innocent person guilty. That's what happened to me, so who's to say that it won't happen to Lucy just as easily? They can make her out to be anything they want as long as they can keep the truth hidden."
Natsu swallowed heavily, fully feeling the weight of the truth of his rival's statement. His own brother was guilty of such corruption, and since Gray had suffered because of it, he knew he'd never be able to forget such a grim truth.
But he refused to let that happen again as long as he could prevent it, especially when Lucy would be the victim.
He knew that Gray would still have a hard time trusting him for the time being no matter what he said, but he steeled himself and did all he could to reassure his friend through his gaze as he promised, "It'll be different this time. Trust me."
Levy swallowed heavily as she entered Layla Heartfilia's room, the packet Apostle Milkovich had given her clasped tightly in her hand as she slowly came to stand by the blonde's bedside. The dark haired woman had asked the blunette to fill in for her during her rounds to deliver the patients' pills to their rooms, and she'd given her very specific instructions. Levy was to place the small, glossy red pill she'd been given into Mrs. Heartfilia's mouth and give her a glass of water, and she wasn't to leave the room until she knew that the pill had been swallowed.
She tore the plastic packaging and pinched the pill between her thumb and forefinger, slowly withdrawing her hand and glancing to where Layla was sitting on the bed, her mouth opened and awaiting the pill just like she'd been trained to do over the past three years.
Levy bit her lip. This pill certainly looked sketchy, and it hadn't come out of a prescription bottle like the rest of the patients' pills usually did. Ultear had given it to her separately, and the blunette knew that that meant it wasn't anything good.
Her chills got the better of her and she tossed the pill and its packaging onto the cart she'd brought in with her, her hands going for a bottle of digestive aids instead. She knew that the woman in the bed wouldn't be able to tell the difference, and that meant that there would no one to tell on her for what she'd done.
"Gray!"
The raven haired boy flinched at the sudden, dreamy cry of his name, his eyes going wide at the blue haired girl barreling towards him. When he'd first entered the pizza shop, he hadn't expected her to catch sight of him before he could find her, nor did he expect her to vault over the counter to get to him.
He didn't pull back or cringe like he would've three years ago as she tackled him in a hug, instead simply setting a hand atop her head and smiling softly, "Hey, Juvia." After three of years of isolation from everyone he cared about, he'd take all of the hugs he could get.
"Why didn't you come to see me sooner?" she pouted as she pulled her head back to look up into his face, her arms still tightly wrapped around his middle. "I know you've been out for a few days now."
"Yeah…sorry 'bout that," he mumbled. "It's been kinda rough…"
"That's okay," she gave him a warm smile before burying her head in his chest once again, squeezing him even tighter, "You're here now and that's all that matters."
Gray felt his cheeks warm just a tinge. Juvia had had a very obvious crush on him since middle school, and her overwhelming affection for him used to make him feel like he was suffocating. But for once, he didn't mind having her hold him close.
"The guys wanted me to let you know that we stored your car in one of the garages at the Stauss' shop," he started, finally fulfilling the reason for which he'd gone looking for the blue haired girl. "You can keep using Loke's bike for now, but we'll get your car back to you as soon as stuff calms down."
She pulled back once more, her arms slipping from his sides this time and her brows pinched in concern, "Did something bad happen?"
Gray dropped his gaze to the floor, deciding not to tell her the specifics for her own sake, "We…might've done something really reckless, but I swear we had the best intentions."
"You're not in danger are you?"
"In all honesty…" the raven haired boy huffed out, "…I don't really know."
He flinched back a bit in surprise when her arms shot around him again, her head burying in his chest once more, "If you ever need anything, I'm always here. Be safe."
Gray finally let himself relax into the hug, throwing his own arms around her own smaller frame. Three years ago, he would've vomited at the thought of hugging the girl that had nearly become his stalker, but now he relished in her undying care for him, even after all that he'd endured.
She was someone that was just as stupidly loyal as his friends, and he was grateful for it.
Lucy swallowed heavily as she pulled her knees tighter to her chest, burrowing further into the couch and wrapping herself tighter in the blanket Erza had lent her. No matter how stuffy she felt, she didn't dare risk going near the windows for the sake of avoiding being seen by anyone outside. She would stay inside this apartment forever if it meant that she didn't have to go back, and letting herself melt into the couch to avoid having to talk to anyone in general was becoming more appealing by the minute.
Erza had tried to talk to her more than once over the few hours that she'd been staying in her apartment, but Lucy couldn't find it in herself to carry on the conversation for more than a few words. It seemed like her ability to converse with others about the mundane happenings of the world had been chipped away at over the past three years, and speaking about anything other than what was constantly on her mind was impossible. She couldn't stop thinking about Zentopia, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling afraid, no matter how much she told herself that she was safe now.
It just didn't feel permanent. Both Precht and her father had promised her countless times that no matter how much she resisted, they weren't going to give up on her, and she knew that those words still held true.
The blonde thought about her own promises, specifically the one she'd made to her mother.
"I won't run away anymore, mom. I'll save you from this place myself."
Layla was still there. Still suffering at their hands. And here Lucy was, swathed in a warm blanket and miles away from the church. She felt incredibly guilty for leaving her mother behind, and she prayed that the apostles of Zentopia hadn't followed through on all of the threats they'd made previous. She'd been told that her mother would be the one to suffer the consequences of her disobedience, and she hoped against all hope that her father still had the decency to stop them from doing anything to harm his wife.
But her father could very well be suffering, too, Lucy realized. Who knew what kind of punishments Precht had in store for the people who had let his dear bride be stolen away from him.
A knock suddenly echoed throughout the apartment and Lucy froze, her mind immediately going to the worst situation possible. Had they found her already? Were they going to take her back and torture her for her disobedience? Would she be dragged back only to find her mother already dead?
Her heart was set at ease when a voice from beyond the door called, "It's Natsu."
Lucy tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders, holding it secure with a hand pressed against her chest as she slowly stood, her legs aching from how long they'd been scrunched up. She approached the door slowly, rising up onto the balls of her feet to take a precautionary peek through the peephole even though she already knew who was on the other side. She didn't want to let her guard down so easily, and she'd take every measure possible to make sure she stayed hidden, even tucking herself behind the door as she slowly pulled it open.
"Hey," Natsu greeted her with a warm smile, his voice light and soft.
The blonde's brows furrowed as she leaned her head forward a fraction, glancing down the hallway on both sides of the salmon haired boy.
Natsu seemed to catch on to her thought process, filling her in as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him, "Gray had to go to work, and Elfman and Loke had to go home. They've got people waiting for them, so they couldn't be here. And Erza's gonna be at her fiancé's all night." He cleared his throat as if in embarrassment, "I…I didn't want you to have to be on your own. Erza said you could take her bed. So…I'll take the couch, I guess…"
Lucy nodded her softly and caught her bottom lip between her teeth, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself as they both stood awkwardly in the entryway of an apartment that neither of them owned.
It was obvious to the blonde that Natsu didn't feel completely at ease in the foreign space either. His weight was pushed forward onto the balls of his feet as if he were constantly ready for action, his focus rapidly jumping from place to place.
Lucy didn't blame him for his fidgety behavior. She felt the same panic and anxiety that he did, but they just had different ways of showing it. Unlike him, she fought to keep all of her emotions internal and put on a strong front, though that method of coping was beginning to wear her down on the inside. She supposed her emotions were more apparent on her face now than they had been before, and her control over her feelings was beginning to slip. Her breakdown in the car earlier was proof of that.
Natsu cleared his throat and took the initiative of moving them further into the apartment, dumping the pair of grocery sacks in his hand onto the small kitchen table, "I picked you up some stuff on my way here. I thought you might be kinda hungry, but I didn't know what you liked, so I kinda just…got a little bit of everything."
If things were different, Lucy would've giggled at his simplicity in trying to accommodate to her taste. It would've made her heart soar, and her chest feel light and fluffy. She probably would've blushed too, and smiled till her cheeks were sore.
But because things were the way they were, any sound that she would've made got stuck in her tight chest, and her features remained blank and immovable. She was only able to manage another small, soft nod of her head from where she stood a few feet away, still partly in the entryway. She wasn't comfortable or brave enough to go closer to him for the time being, even though she knew that Natsu was undoubtedly someone she could trust. He'd saved her after all, and he hadn't thought her crazy after hearing her tales of all that the people of Zentopia had done.
He began pulling items from the bags and spreading them out across the table, happily listing them off as he did so, "I got some sandwiches; some chips and crackers; a little jar of salsa, the extra spicy kind 'cause that's my favorite; various juices; some chocolate, 'cause chocolate always makes me feel better; and…" his voice faded as he rummaged in one of the sacks for its last item, a soft, yet still triumphant grin on his features as he withdrew his hand, a roll of bandages clutched in his grasp, "this."
Lucy's brows furrowed for a moment, but then she noticed his gaze had dropped to the hand that she was using to keep the blanket wrapped around herself, the one with the bandages still wound around the wrist and palm. She curled into herself and turned her focus away, partly because he was still staring at her and partly because she was ashamed at having her injury found out. Natsu and his friends had already done enough for her, and she didn't want to cause them any further trouble or concern.
But it seemed like Natsu didn't care about her desire to refrain from being more of a 'burden,' and he tossed the roll into the air nonchalantly before catching it again as he nodded towards the table, gesturing for her to take a seat, "I noticed that you kept fiddling with 'em. Ya know, that kinda defeats the purpose. Figured we should get some new ones on there soon."
Lucy swallowed heavily. She didn't want him to see the gashes that littered her palm. She didn't want him to even think about how she might've acquired them. That story would undoubtedly make him think she was insane, and that was she an unstable threat, too.
But she could tell from the look in the salmon haired boy's eyes that he wasn't going to give up, and so she silently brushed past him and lowered herself into one of the chairs at the table, switching the gathered edges of the blanket at her chest into her other hand and shakily holding out her trembling right palm for him to see.
He gave her another soft smile, one that perfectly resembled the countless others he'd given her, as he plopped himself in the chair next to hers, sitting in it sideways to face her and gently taking her hand between both of his own, his fingers working to unravel the bandages.
His warm expression faded as the wrappings fell to the table, the two cuts running almost parallel across her palm finally seeing the light for the first time since the blonde had collected them.
The smaller of the two ran over the fleshy padding just beneath the bases of her four fingers, the other spanning from the dip between her index finger and thumb to the opposite side of her hand and coming to an end near her wrist. Both were crusted with dried blood, though due to the use of her hand during her escape, the scabs had broken away from the skin and fresh blood was beginning to seep through.
"Shit…" Natsu hissed. His gaze shot up from her hand to her face, fury beginning to filter into his irises as he demanded, "What happened?"
Lucy's gaze had drifted off to the side, her lips pressed into a thin line. She wasn't about to tell him that she'd tried to kill herself, nor was she going to whisper even a word about how she'd threatened her own father and three others with a shard of glass. She fought to get her voice to work nevertheless, knowing that giving him no answer was unacceptable, "I…don't really want to talk about it."
He stared at her for a moment more, obviously frustrated with the nonexistent amount of information she was giving him. But he quickly let out a heavy sigh, his gaze falling back to her hand as he twisted her palm to get a better look at it in the light, "They're both pretty deep. I'm glad I bought some disinfectant." He released her hand for a moment as he rummaged in the sacks on the table, pulling out a bottle and a package of cotton balls. He pressed a fluffy ball to the top of the bottle after he'd removed the lid, tipping the container over to wet the ball before grabbing her hand once more and warning, "This is gonna sting."
She let out a small whimper at the burning sensation that spread through the two cuts as he gently pressed the cotton ball against them, biting her lip to keep herself from letting out any more noises of weakness. The pain soon faded into small tingles though, and Natsu was quickly wrapping her hand once more, having to extend the bandages down her wrist again because of the odd placement of her injuries.
The blonde's brows furrowed as she watched him work, quickly swiping her tongue across her lips before hesitantly asking, "How do you know how to do this?"
He lightly chucked as tucked the end back into the wrappings to secure them, "Trust me, I've been in more than my fair share of fights. When we were kids, Gray and I would beat each other up almost every other day." He rubbed the tender flesh of his jaw, his finger lighting trailing the area where Gray had punched him in the plaza of the bull fighting stadium, "I guess things haven't really changed."
Her head tilted to the side in a silent question.
"All I'm saying is that we still fight," he answered, beginning to clean up the mess he'd made on the table while redoing her bandages, "and a hell of a lot more than regular best friends do, too."
"If you fight so much," the blonde started hesitantly, obviously worried that she was prying too much, "then why do you call each other 'best friends?'" She didn't expect an answer, knowing that just like she didn't feel like she could him everything, he shouldn't have to feel like he had to tell her everything either. She had her secrets, and he had every right to have some of his own, too.
But she did get an answer, one that was far more thoughtful than she would've expected from someone as impulsive as the salmon haired boy.
"Because during those fights, we understand the things that aren't said. As much as I hate to admit it, we just…get each other...better than anyone else does."
"I see," the blonde softly breathed out. Once more she was overcome with envy. The only person she'd had such a connection with had been dead for three years now, and the thought of finding someone else whom she could understand to such a depth felt almost like she would be betraying what she'd had with her twin.
And of course, the simplest thought of Sting brought a whole wave of horrid memories rushing back, a few of which included the salmon haired boy seated beside her. She stood before she could let her recollection of the past get the better of her. She'd already broken down in front of Natsu once today, and she wasn't keen on doing it again, quickly standing from her seat, "I…I think I'm going to go to bed." She turned her back on him, taking her blanket with her as she headed towards the bedroom, "Goodnight."
"Wait," he softly called after her, continuing once she'd turned back to him, "Aren't ya gonna eat something?"
Lucy's eyes traveled the array he'd laid out on the table, none of it sparking up her appetite. She swallowed heavily, softly admitting, "I'm…not really hungry."
"Oh…okay."
She immediately felt guilty at the way his features fell in disappointment, hurrying to fix things on instinct despite herself, "But…tomorrow. I'll definitely eat some of it tomorrow. I'll…I'll eat all of it." Her gaze dropped to the floor as she abashedly mumbled out, "But I…you…you can have the salsa…since it's your favorite."
His face lit up again at her scramble, a soft chuckle slipping through his lips, "Deal." He stood from his seat, "Goodnight, then."
"'Night," she mumbled once more, giving him a small nod of her head before she hurriedly shuffled into the bedroom, nearly tripping on the trailing edges of her blanket as she tucked herself inside and did her best to quietly shut the door behind her. She plopped herself face first onto the bed, not bothering to catch herself on the way down or to untangle herself from her blanket.
Why did she feel so nervous around Natsu? Was it just because she'd had a severe lack of contact with anyone that wasn't affiliated with Zentopia over the last three years and now her social skills had withered away? She'd surely made a fool of herself, with her lack of eloquence and her words tumbling from her mouth in disorganized, jumbled chunks. The her of three years ago, the one that used to wind phrases into stories, probably would've gagged at the word-vomit that had poured from her mouth. She was ashamed of herself for being unable to form cohesive sentences that she could say in one go without stuttering in embarrassment and self-doubt. Before her time in Zentopia, such never would've been the case. She'd always prided herself in her way with words, and her ability to compose perfectly structured responses on the spot. She seldom experienced the regret of having left things unsaid like others did, because that was just the way her mind had worked back then.
That church had permanently changed her, and certainly not for the better like its people had endeavored to. She was fairly certain that the damage they'd done was irreversible, though she'd never really been one to give up hope completely, even in the darkest of times.
The blonde finally untangled her limps from the blanket she'd had wrapped around herself, holding fast to the top edge and kicking the bottom upwards with her feet a few times to spread it across herself evenly. Once she was content, she turned on her side, tucking her hands underneath her head as she tried her very best to let all of her thoughts fade away so she could get some sleep.
Just when she thought she was finally drifting off, a wall would creak or voices from another apartment would whisper through the ceiling and floor. Her eyes would shoot open at the sudden break of silence, and her mind would craft human shapes out of the shadows of the room. The shifting of the blanket across her skin would turn into Precht's hands running over her, and she would swear she saw Ultear's and Zancrow's crimson irises glowing in the darkness in the edges of her sight, only to turn her gaze and find nothing.
She'd lost count of how many times that'd happened, but angry tears of frustration had quickly become present in her eyes. She was exhausted, yet her mind refused to let her sink into the vulnerability that came along with sleep. If only she could find a way to get over her fear, a way to let the shadows stay shadows and the natural sounds be just that instead of attributing such occurrences to the things she was afraid of.
She needed something to ground her to reality, something warm to contrast the bitter cold of her nightmares and so undeniably present that she wouldn't forget where she was, that she was safe now.
She swallowed heavily when a thought surfaced in her mind, and she remembered that she wasn't alone in the apartment. The salmon haired boy on the other side of the door was something she couldn't attribute to her delusions, his warm existence definitely very real and something she couldn't deny if he was right beside her.
A few moments passed in contemplation. She didn't want to be a burden to him. He was probably already asleep, though she couldn't be sure how much time had passed since she'd sat with him at the kitchen table. It had to have been more than an hour though given the way her eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room, and he'd looked just as exhausted as she felt.
But as her frustration grew, she made her decision.
She slowly slid her legs out from under the blanket, going to retrieve him not because she wanted sleep, which she undoubtedly did, but more so because she desperately wanted to stop feeling afraid. Maybe sleep would follow after her heart had been set at ease, but what she wanted more than rest was to know that she really was safe, that there was still someone there for her, someone she could trust.
Her bare feet skimmed the cold, hard-wood floor and she cringed back a bit at the temperature, setting them down much slower the second time around. The wood creaked beneath her feet as she stood, and she padded across the rest of the floor on the balls of her feet to avoid making any more noise.
She twisted the nob and opened the door slowly, peeking her head out first to see if he was already asleep before she called out to him.
Lucy's gaze found him seated on the couch, his legs propped up on the table and half-eaten chocolate bar in his left hand. He'd changed into an older-looking white t-shirt and a pair of dragon-covered pajama bottoms, a spare pillow and blanket piled on the edge of the couch beside him. His face was illuminated by the screen of his phone, and she could see that the thumb of his right hand was busy scrolling through a Google search page, but she couldn't read what he was looking up from where she stood.
The blonde bit her bottom lip, slowly working up the courage to softly call, "…Natsu?"
His head turned to look at her over the back of the couch, his eyes widened a fraction since he hadn't heard the door open, "Yeah?"
She crossed her arm across her chest to rest her hand on the doorframe near her head, her gaze dropping to the floor in embarrassment, "I…I can't sleep."
"Oh…" his eyes shifted away for a moment before snapping back to her, the salmon haired boy obviously not knowing how to handle the situation, "Is…is there anything I can do?"
"Could you…" Lucy took a deep breath and swallowed in an attempt to ease the tightness of her throat, once again taking a few moments to gather the courage to ask, "…could you come lay with me? Just until I fall asleep?"
He stared at her in silence for a moment, his eyes widening even more, "You…you sure you want me in there?"
She nodded her head and let out a small hum of affirmation, knowing that any attempt at actual speech would come out in a stutter. God, it was embarrassing. She felt like a little kid again, and the fact that she barely knew Natsu was making things even worse.
"Um, okay…" he tossed his phone onto the coffee table, shoving the rest of his chocolate bar into his mouth and mumbling, "…just…just give me a sec."
Lucy retreated back into the room and laid down on the bed once more, her back to the door as she scooted as close to the edge as she could manage without falling off.
She didn't have to wait long for Natsu to come in, the sound of the door softly closing breaking the previous silence, followed by the dipping of the bed as the salmon haired boy lay on the other side, also as close to the edge of the mattress as he could be.
The blonde was silently grateful for the fact that Erza had a full-sized bed, knowing that it would've been incredibly awkward if they had been forced to be closer than they already were. She probably wouldn't have even asked him to come in with her in the first place if the bed had been smaller though.
They laid in silence for a bit, and although Lucy admittedly felt safer, she didn't feel any more ready to drift off into unconsciousness.
Natsu didn't seem to be relaxed enough for sleep either, his frame still tensed as if he was trying his hardest to avoid movement.
Lucy decided that if they were going to lay their awkwardly together, she could at least do her best to ease the tension, her thoughts drifting to their earlier conversation as she gently called, "Natsu?"
"Yeah?" he hummed in response.
"Earlier…when you said that Loke and Elfman had people waiting for them…" she started tentatively, "…don't you have people waiting for you? Don't your parents live in Magnolia?"
He was silent for a moment, though she couldn't tell if it was because her question had caught him off guard or if he was thinking over his answer or if he didn't even want to respond at all. But he was soon letting out a heavy sigh, his voice heavy, but still full of acceptance as he explained, "My parents passed away when I was kid, so I barely remember a thing about 'em. My older brother and I were adopted by some really nice people, but they died too, about ten years ago. My brother still lives in Magnolia, but…I don't really talk to him much anymore."
Lucy didn't know what to say, but it seemed she didn't have to say anything, the salmon haired boy continuing on without her response.
"There was this other girl we were adopted with, Wendy, and she's like a real little sister to me now. If there were anyone waiting for me, it'd be her. But…she…she had an accident a few years ago."
Lucy braced herself for the worse, preparing to hear of the little girl's passing. Her heart lit up a fraction when she found out that such wasn't the case, but it was soon spiraling back into sorrow when she heard what had become of the girl Natsu considered his little sister.
The salmon haired boy's voice was strained and a lot quieter than it had been before, "Her spinal cord was injured, so she can't function like a normal person anymore. She's confined to a hospital bed, and she can't talk. We…we don't even really know if she's still processing anything, or if she's gone entirely."
Lucy sucked in a sharp breath, her brows furrowing in sorrow for him and the girl, "That's…that's awful. I'm so sorry." She didn't know how old Wendy was, but since she was definitely younger than Natsu, that meant she still had to be in her teens. To lose the ability to function at such a young age was a horrible thing, and she couldn't imagine what the salmon haired boy was going through as he watched his little sister suffer.
"You don't have to be," Natsu replied, his voice growing louder and gaining strength. "She'll get better. I know it."
The blonde gave him a small hum, admiring him for his faith in his loved one and his endurance in his trial. It seemed that her judgement of him had been wrong on that first night she'd seen him the rain. He'd obviously seen a bit of hell, too, just like she and Gray had. His refusal to let his tribulation weigh him down was beyond commendable, his vibrancy and determination to keep on living further testifying to his character.
Hearing Natsu's story of his little sister brought back memories of someone that had become like a younger sibling to her, someone that had been undergoing their own trial, but had kept on living nonetheless. It'd only been a few days since the incident on the train tracks, but with all that had happened, it felt like it'd been months. Her last moments with him were still constantly replaying themselves in the back of her mind, refusing to be forgotten, their presence further lengthened by the fact that she'd never gotten the chance to properly mourn over him.
She'd wanted to be able to remember him with someone else who could actually grieve with her over his loss, not someone that sought to comfort her by constantly reassuring her that he was now in the Almighty's arms.
Natsu was here now, and she knew that he'd understand.
She swallowed heavily before she began, her voice heavy with the weight of the past, "Back at Zentopia…there was this boy named Romeo. He had an intelligence disability, but he was still pretty outgoing and lively. He didn't let his lack of understanding slow him down. I was having a hard time when I first met him, because of what had happened to Sting…but Romeo kind of became like a little brother to me. He was the only reason I didn't go crazy over those three years I spent there."
The salmon haired boy silently waited for her to continue, knowing that she had more to say.
She wrestled with her throat for a few seconds, her voice choked as she shakily breathed out, "They killed him…pushed him in front of a train…" She swallowed heavily, tears filling her eyes but not falling, "In the official police report, they blamed his death on his disability, saying that he ran in front of the train himself. That's what kind of people they are…people that would kill an innocent kid just because he got in the way."
She'd been able to feel Natsu's body gradually growing more rigid through the mattress as her story progressed, and when she turned onto her other side to face him, she found him lying on his back, the hand that she could see tightened into a fist at his side as he glared up at the ceiling, his jaw clenched. He was angry, maybe even furious, but she didn't know him well enough to read to his expression to know exactly what he was thinking.
The blonde licked her lips and blinked her eyes free of her tears before she finished saying what she wanted to. Her voice was rid of its previous strain, but still soft as she started, "My mom…she's still there. And Romeo's dad, and countless other people who are lost and don't know what that church really is."
She held Natsu's gaze as his head turned towards her, her voice growing stronger as she steadfastly resolved, "But I know what they're hiding, and I refuse to let those people that call themselves Father and apostle get away with what they've done. I don't want to run away anymore, Natsu. I'm going to tear that place from the ground myself."
AN
Yaaaassss, the Nalu. That entire last bit with them in Erza's apartment wasn't in the show, it was something I created all on my own to give them some more time together since the show doesn't give their characters much, so I hope you enjoyed it :D And Gruvia, too, of course. That ship wasn't originally supposed to be a part of this fic at all, but then the opportunity to arose to add some in, so I figured I might as well ;)
And Lucy's goals are beginning to change! So the plot thickens~
I hope you see where I'm going by adding in all of these new characters. The network of people who know that somethings up with Lucy, the boys, and the church is steadily is growing, and they'll all have somewhat of a role to play in the climax.
Stuff gets crazy again next chapter, and a character that we haven't seen in a bit comes back, too!
I only have one more essay to write and one more midterm, and after that I'll be devoting some to Another World! Next Chapter will be out soon, I promise!
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for all of the support! Every favorite, follow, and review means a lot! I've loved reading about your reactions, thoughts, and predictions, and I look forward to hearing from you again!
See you next Friday!