End Act One
13
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
"I sometimes think if we knew all, we should be more glad to get away."
― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The next day, Lucy found herself waking up curled up next to Levy with a slightly aching head. Her new friend, who was possibly more book mad than she was, had her head pillowed on a massive tome they'd been going through the night before and was still out cold. Jet and Droy were passed out nearby, the number of tankards around them proof of their inability to drink Cana under the table. She didn't envy their hangovers one bit.
She carefully extracted herself and tiptoed over to the bar where Mirajane was humming happily as she cooked up some breakfast by herself.
Lucy had no idea how Mirajane was so completely unaffected by the drinking she'd done the night before, but she wasn't going to complain at all. She sniffed the food appreciatively as she sat down, "Smells good." She complimented.
"Thanks!" Mirajane chirped, smiling over at the blond, "There's some coffee brewing over there." She gestured to the pot of caffeinated gold, "And you can clean up in the back again if you like."
"Thanks." Lucy replied gratefully and went to go freshen up and get that cup of coffee. She took a few moments to sit and just enjoy it as she woke up, "Would you like a hand?" She offered, "I'm not a great cook or anything, but I can at least avoid burning most things."
She figured it wouldn't be long before the smell of cooking bacon, sausage, and pancakes started to wake up even the most hungover. And those that didn't run at the smell of food would probably descend on it like a pack of starving wolves.
"That would be wonderful Lucy!" Mirajane replied gratefully, "Thanks!"
Lucy smiled and slid back behind the bar, deciding she would think about all the things she still had to worry about, like where she was going to stay and what she was going to do for money while she trained, later. For now, breakfast was the most important thing.
And it was exactly as Lucy predicted. The guild was awake as soon as the food reached its final stages of being completed and everyone began to clamber over one another in their attempts to cut in line for a helping.
Mira seemed quite used to the hungover and grumpy mages, and whispered to Lucy over how everything was specially prepared to help with a hangover. A recipe courtesy of Cana.
Lucy thought that figured.
She glanced around at the milling guild after managing to snatch a plate for herself from the grabby hands of her guildmates. It took some careful maneuvering for her to be able to get around them, but she managed to slide back into a seat next to Levy.
The girl had become a fast friend overnight. All the information she had been able to provide was amazing, and Lucy was thrilled to know a little bit more about this strange new land.
Just as surprising was to realize, her new world was not all that different from her old one. There were obvious changes in architecture and technology of course, as well as new things like the magical wizards and dragons.
However the core of it operated in the same way. There was a government and the guilds operated as sort of a work agency. It was a very interesting set up, and not too different from what she was already used to.
After breakfast, she was pulled to the side by Erza, who insisted that she would be willing to put her up in a small apartment building near Fairy Hills until she mastered her magic enough to go on jobs for the guild. Unfortunately for Lucy, she couldn't live in one of Erza's spare rooms as the Natsu-shaped ball and chain she was attached to would prevent her from entering very far into the building.
Men were not permitted access into Fairy Hills.
Lucy didn't mind, although she didn't like how she was putting Erza out of money for however long it would take for Lucy to get on her feet. The generosity of these people was overwhelming.
No doubt Natsu would be more comfortable away from so many people, and while his idea of comfort wasn't highest on the list of Lucy's priorities, she would rather he not instigate a fight every other hour.
She turned around to find him to share the news, but found he was no where to be seen.
Huffing, Lucy dragged her arms over her chest and tapped her fingers into the crook of her elbow. It wasn't too strange she supposed, Natsu had been gone ever since the previous night. Slipping out without anyone realizing, the dragon had disappeared shortly after receiving his guild mark.
But Lucy had expected he would return by now at the scent of food. The guy was like a bloodhound after all, something like sizzling bacon would surely catch his attention.
During their first odd trek in the woods, Lucy had seen Natsu sniff out rivers for water and rabbits for lunch. Surely he wouldn't hide away for this long - perhaps he was still asleep?
Lucy collected a plate of food, the remaining bits of whatever was left, and headed outside. If he wasn't inside the guild, perhaps he was out of it?
She stepped outside and looked around curiously, "Natsu?" She called. He couldn't possibly have gone too far. Their bond wouldn't permit it. However, it wasn't until she looked up that she actually spotted him. He was sitting on the roof, giving her a lidded look that was probably a glare of some kind, but at that distance it was too difficult to make out the details.
"Natsu! What are you doing up there?" She grinned and held up the plate, "You missed most of breakfast, but I got a plate for you anyway!"
Though she couldn't figure out why he'd missed breakfast in the first place. He was awake, and had to have smelled it cooking. Did he think it wasn't for him or something? Nah, couldn't be. Even if he cared about that, which she doubted he did given his penchant for stealing, he was a member of the guild. He had as much right to it as anyone else.
Though, she supposed them having recently been enemies would make that kind of awkward. Sill...she had the plate now. Why wasn't he moving?
Natsu just glared at her darkly, his conversation, if it could be called that, with Leo was still running through his head. Along with his declared intent to kill her. He meant it. He really would kill her when the bond was lifted. So why did something in him twist painfully at the sight of her smiling and holding up food in offering?
It had to be a trick. There was no way she was really that nice. And it wasn't like Fairy Tail would want him eating their food anyway. He was the enemy. They'd probably rather try to poison him first or something.
So he growled softly and stayed put regardless of how delicious it smelled. Or the fact that she'd loaded it up with enough odds and ends to satisfy even his enormous appetite.
"Natsu?" Lucy frowned when he narrowed his eyes and hunkered down stubbornly, "Aren't you going to come down?"
She frowned in annoyance when his only response was a growl, "Fine then!" She huffed, "If you won't come down on your own...I'll just make you!"
Make him? What? His eyes widened in horror as he suddenly realized what she meant as she started marching towards the edges of their bond boundaries. She wasn't! She was. He yelped as he felt the bond tug at him and tried to hang onto his section of roof only for it to pull even more strongly until with a yelp he had to let go, and was crashing unceremoniously towards the ground.
Lucy smirked a bit at the thud that told her he was finally on the ground and came back, "That's better." She told him with a smile and held the plate out, "Now eat up. I don't want to deal with you cranky because you missed breakfast."
She spotted his hesitation and rolled her eyes, "Honestly Natsu. What's your problem this morning? Normally I have to beat you off the food not try to cram it down your throat."
She watched him peel himself up off the ground, a clod of dirt stuck in one of his rosy spikes. Once he was free from the ground, she sighed and nudged him up with the toe of her foot.
"What're you looking at me like I'm-.." She hesitated and stared at Natsu as her brain blanked out, "-what are dragons even disgusted by?"
Natsu gave her a very smug look, but before he could reply, Lucy cut him off.
"Don't even say 'humans,'" She wagged a finger at him.
Natsu pouted when he was interrupted, and Lucy thought he looked rather like a petulant child the way his cheeks puffed out and he glowered at the ground.
She sat down next to him, ignoring his warning growl. It wasn't like he could hurt her. That thought gave her comfort along with a sense of security that was probably going to get her killed one of these days. But for now she would take shameless advantage.
"C'mon, what's eating you?" Lucy asked, picking a strip of bacon up off the plate and munching into it.
Natsu's eyes practically bugged out of his head at the sight of the simple gesture, and Lucy froze mid-swallow. The intent expression on her companion's face was surprising by itself, and she suddenly realized why he was so hesitant in taking the food.
"Seriously? You think this stuff is poisoned?" Lucy laughed incredulously. A red hue colored Natsu's cheeks, a dusty pink which reminded her of his hair, but the thought was cut off when he snatched the plate from her.
So that was it!
"Why would you think there would be poison in this?" Lucy asked, watching Natsu sniffing it suspiciously.
He shifted his shoulder and his jaw twitched.
A heavy silence fell between them, so thick Lucy thought she might have accidentally stepped into a landmine. A strange expression was on the dragon's face.
He didn't answer her question, but suddenly looked at her so quickly she jumped. Again his gaze was intent, his nose crinkling up near his brow. The intensity behind his fathomless eyes was so fierce, Lucy thought she might catch fire herself.
Somehow through a great force of will, she was able to keep her eyes level with his.
"Why are you so nice to me?" He demanded
Lucy blinked at him, honestly not having expected that particular question given the buildup, and opened her mouth to ask why she shouldn't be when it hit her that it was a legitimate question. Why was she being nice to him?
He'd tried to kill her, threatened to kill her, laughed at her, and been generally rude, inconsiderate, and obnoxious to her. And yet she was going out of her way to make sure he had food, and was taken care of. As much as he would let her anyway. By all rights she shouldn't be doing that. So why was she?
She closed he mouth thoughtfully and studied him, "I don't know." She replied honestly, "For the most part you've been a complete jerk to me. You'd think I would want to return the favor, but I just don't." She canted her head slightly, "Maybe it's because I know that if I'm mean back it'll just create an endless cycle of anger and hate between us, and I have enough on my plate without that."
She grinned a little at him, "Maybe I just don't feel like indulging my inner monster. Maybe I really am just that nice." She shrugged a little, "Whatever the reason, isn't it enough that I am? That I don't really hate you, despite how you've treated me?"
It was Natsu's turn to blink at that absurd answer. She didn't know why she was being nice? What kind of answer was that? No one was nice without a reason! He knew that first hand. She had to have a reason.
As for not hating him...he scoffed at that one.
"Everyone hates me." He told her bluntly, "I'm a monster. No one wants me around, and everyone wants to get rid of the demon dragon."
"Well...to be fair...you have terrorized a lot of people." Lucy pointed out dryly, "Burning forests, trashing towns...if I was one of those people I'd be pretty upset with you too." She shrugged again, "But I'm not one of those people, and except for your attempt to kill me, which didn't work anyway, I don't really hate you. You annoy me, but I don't hate you."
She smirked at him, "And I'll let you in on a secret. We humans are more terrifying monsters than you could ever be."
Natsu rolled his eyes and twisted around, scoffing a bit. His legs crossed under his weight and he bent forward, bracing his hands on his knees as he pressed into Lucy's personal space, "Yeah, I have terrorized a lot of people, which was kind of the point!"
"They never had a cause to hate me before, so I gave them one," He snorted and straightened his shoulders, "I owned up to what I was and I had fun doing it."
He hooked a hand around the plate and balanced it on his knee, looking at it thoughtfully, "You're right about one thing though. You're a monster too. I just happen to have more teeth."
He paused to snap his jaws and give her a petulant look, "Well most of the time."
Lucy gave him a confused look, watching him taking a fistful of food into his mouth and munching loudly. She didn't think he was trying to hurt her feelings by his statement. He genuinely seemed to believe what he was saying. It was a strange idea, but she thought she was starting to get some insight on his thoughts at least.
Honestly though, she thought he sounded a little lonely more than anything.
One thing that did reveal to her though, was Natsu hadn't always been such a colossal jerk. She wondered what happened to change him into the beast he was today.
She watched him closely. The way his grip tightened around the tail of his dirty scarf, even as he ate. Pretend. He was playing pretend. And he had played it for so long, Natsu had begun to believe his own lies.
Lucy knew that look. Playing a part he didn't belong in. She knew the feeling of that all too well. Surrounded by expensive gowns and private tutors. Oh yes, she recognized it. Whatever the circumstances of Natsu's life were, she didn't need to know the details. They shared something that caused that expression on his face, masked by huffy indifference.
"I think you're too suspicious, and wrong," Lucy said firmly, talking over the sounds of his ravenous eating, "Because there has to have been one person in your life to be kind to you just because they wanted to, and for no reason beside that."
Her eyes flashed to the scarf, "You said before you have a large hoard, but you hold onto that."
She pointed at the fabric around his neck and stood up, "That scarf looks messed up, and you've clearly had it a long time. If it didn't mean anything to you, it would have been thrown out a long time ago, wouldn't it?"
Natsu went very still, and his dark eyes widened on her. Knuckles turned white on the hand tight around his scarf, food forgotten in an instant.
Nailed it.
"It's sentimental to you, which means someone you care about gave it to you, right?" Lucy brushed off the back of her pants. Her eyes flashed with victory at the slack-jawed expression on Natsu's face.
"Even monsters have things, people, they care about." She told him quietly, "Things they would be willing to go to war to protect." Her lips twitched a little, "Maybe that's one of the reasons we humans are always fighting."
She eyed him gently, a feeling of kinship with the demon dragon rising in her, "Maybe one of these days you'll find something worth protecting again." She smiled, "I hope so."
She turned and headed back inside, leaving a stunned dragon behind her.
Something to protect? Natsu could hardly wrap his mind around the concept. He hadn't had anything to protect since the ones he had fought so hard to protect had turned on him.
He shook his head and snorted a bit. What was he even thinking? He knew better than this. Her words were naive, and he knew it.
He resolutely turned his attention back to his food, determined not to think about it anymore.
'Even monsters have things, people, they care about.'
The words buried themselves into him, settling into his mind and sinking into his being. No. She was wrong. He knew she was. He was not going to think about this anymore. He had nothing to protect and that would never change!
He growled at himself over that until the words were covered, buried away and not to be thought about again. But not once did he dislodge them. Or even shake them loose. And quietly, as such words do, they rooted themselves in deeper.
Alright everyone! Thanks SO MUCH for your sweet reviews! You really are great and we love you like crazy... omg. We had some questions, so we shall do our best to answer them!
We've seen in the canon show Celestial spirits open their own gates. Gemini even used magic on its own. Also, Hologarium often goes out on his own to save Lucy. I think that clock is her MVP spirit, I mean seriously. Anyway, we've also seen Leo go out and do stuff on his own, even sending Virgo instead when he's out on a date. Leo has more flexibility than other spirits I think, but he can basically show up whenever he wants. Even if it's just for a little while.
Hope that explained it!
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