Lucy took in her surroundings. The tub was not going to be full for quite a few minutes so she decided to take a shower first and wash her hair of all the grime. She glanced at herself in the mirror and didn't recognize who she saw.
It shocked her to see her eyes, black and blue and bloodshot. All the scabs and cuts all over her face and the bruising on her cheekbones. She had almost no recollection of what happened to her face.
She remembered that they kept her heavily drugged and not wanting to deal with it at that moment, she ignored it all in favor of getting clean. She knew it would heal, so why start fussing over it right now. It happened, it's done.
Turning on the shower, she looked down at herself and realized she must have been wearing one of Cobra's shirts. As she pulled it over her head slowly as she felt every aching muscle. She paused, inhaling that soothing woodsy apricot smell as she continued removing his shirt; something akin to contentment or happiness settling over her being.
She knew she should look at herself, inspect the damage that had been done; she knew it was there but wasn't ready to face that reality yet. She chose to postpone the inevitable as she closed her eyes and entered the shower. It was one thing knowing it was all there, it was another thing entirely to see it. Stuffing the feelings of unease away, she began washing the filth of the past god-knows how long off of her sore and battered body.
After her quick shower, she toweled her hair dry and made her little turban to keep her wet locks out of her face. The tub was now a perfect level and she was surprised that Cobra had gotten the temperature just right, along with the soothing smell coming from the water.
She hissed as she stepped slowly into the tub and lowered herself in. Every mark on her skin stung angrily. The scalding water was turning her skin a pinkish hue after only a few moments of sitting.
She stared at her products on the side of the tub, she recalled exactly where they were in her bathroom at home. The image of Cobra going into her home and collecting her things was a jarring image. "Why was Cobra in my house? Was he alone or did someone let him in? Why would they let him in my house? How come no one from Fairy Tail is here?"
She forced her mind to quiet, these were all questions to ask the slayer, there was no point in dwelling over things she had no answers to. So she decided to close her eyes and relax. As she relaxed, she began to mull over what exactly had happened to her. She thought about how nice it felt to have her wrists or ankles no longer shackled.
Opening her eyes, she brought her wrists up to look at them and compare them to the ankles that were peeking out the other end of the tub. Tears started pricking her eyes as she examined the varying degrees of scarring. Different shades of purple and red decorated her wrists and ankles. As she peered through the water she noticed how her skin was decorated with them everywhere.
She knew then that her body would always look like this from now on. She would have the appearance of someone who was hacked, slashed, chained, and whipped. She would be the one that people would stare at, all of them knowing how she failed to protect herself. The one who would never get people to truly look her in the eyes again, too uncomfortable with the potential of what had happened to her.
They would see poor Lucy Heartfilia, the fragile girl who always needed rescuing. The pity she would find in their eyes would do nothing to help her feel any better.
Tears streamed down her face and she hugged her knees to her chest. She mourned who she used to see in the mirror. The confident girl who could use her feminine wiles in battle. The one who would be on the cover and spreads along with Mira Jane in Sorcerer's Weekly.
She knew logically that is not all of who she was, that her appearance was not even a tenth of the person she is. There was a confidence lost though and Lucy cried none-the-less, she couldn't get past the hurdle at that moment.
She looked at her arms trying to remember how some of the marks got there. Some she did remember but the rest were under whatever drug-induced haze she was in.
They served as constant reminders of the hell she was put through. Some of them will fade away, but the worst ones would stay with her forever. It was all proof that Black Sun loved torture and misery.
They did have healers in their guild but they weren't there to help you, they were just there to prolong your agony. The number of tools that were used on her too numerous to count, or that she could remember.
One thing she did remember clearly was how she was branded. One evening after she put up a good fight they decided to teach her a lesson by branding the soles of her feet. That was painful enough, but they weren't finished. They chained her up to a horse and forced her to walk on her sore branded feet for two days.
Remembering this moment opened up the flood gate of memories. She was so entrenched in reliving the nightmares that she didn't hear Cobra come back. Nor did she hear him approach the bathroom door.
Cobra stood outside the door, not sure of what to do. Her soul was cracking, he understood at that moment that it was stupid to think she would walk away from her experience unscathed. As much as he wanted to interrupt, she needed to process what had happened to her.
So he sat there on the floor outside the door and listened to her memories while she recalled some of her experiences. He needed to know what happened to her, he vowed that she would not suffer the way he and the rest of the Seis did. No way in hell would he allow it.
Lucy's thoughts droned on remembering how sadistic they were and how they took a lot of pleasure in their infliction of pain, some loved it so much that she was forced to witness some of their perversions first hand.
Cobra's jaw tightened as he began to hear the untold horrors of what they did. He felt a fucked-up sense of relief that she wasn't raped but he was disgusted at what they had put her through.
One particular instance that he could not unsee through her was the sexual acts committed as a result of her pain. One mage, in particular, got his rocks off while dragging his knife along her body. The more blood he saw the more compelled he was to whip it out in front of her and rub one out while he continued carving into her flesh. On occasion using her blood as a lubricant for his depraved act.
Cobra could not control the low growl that sprang from his core, he was glad he dispatched of those sick fucks.
As Lucy sat crying into the warm soothing waters the worse she began to feel. She was going down a rabbit hole of emotions and memories that she had locked away in an attempt to save her sanity.
She remembered that she was drugged on so many occasions but what happened during those moments she could not recall. All she knew was that when she came to herself again she had new bruises and fresh slices on her skin.
She was thankful, in a way, that there were portions she could not remember because what she did remember was horrible enough.
She wondered where Natsu, Gray, and Erza were. She prayed daily for someone to help. She cried out for her guild and no one listened. She dreamed about her rescues, she also had nightmares about being the slave of Black Sun forever.
She cried harder as she looked over her body. It was almost unrecognizable to her, she was damaged and broken. She began questioning her existence, why she was a magnet for all these horrible acts, as she sank below the water.
Cobra couldn't listen to her downward spiraling soul any longer if it continues on this path she may do something she would deeply regret.
He slowly got up, still reeling from all that he learned. As he knocked he noted that it had gotten eerily quiet, he didn't hear her sobs anymore. After knocking a second time he panicked, he didn't hear her breathing and her heart rate began slowing.
He tried the doorknob and was glad to find it unlocked, he threw the door open and immediately looked to the tub. His heart nearly broke in that instant.
He saw her blond mop of hair spread out on the surface of the water. Seconds later though, relief washed over him as he watched her head slowly emerged from the water. His worst fear was not, in fact, happening.
As Lucy brought her head up out of the water she was startled to see Cobra standing there staring at her with a look of fear and relief battling across his face.
Once again she found herself in an unusual predicament, she knew she should be afraid and embarrassed that a man was standing in the bathroom while she was naked, but she wasn't. Maybe because it was him and deep down she realized he already saw her, or maybe she was just numb to it all.
Cobra realized they were making eye contact and turned around abruptly, "Fuck! Sorry, I…"
"It's OK." Lucy all but whispered. She suspected why he was there, she may have felt broken but she knew she wouldn't go that far. "You were worried I was trying to kill myself," she stated in a voice that held almost no emotion.
Lucy sighed as she looked at the back of the tall maroon haired man, "I may be broken and damaged goods now but I still want to live." her voice held a melancholy tone to it. She was relieved to hear the emotion in her voice, albeit sad.
Cobra fidgeted slightly, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurting yourself I'm sorry to barge in here like an asshat."
Lucy let out a small snicker at the term asshat, she found amusement in it. She watched how tense his shoulders were and she realized how uncomfortable he was.
She looked at her wrists again and began to think he was uncomfortable with her appearance, all the marks and scars that showed how ugly she was now. No one would ever look at her normally anymore and tears began to silently slide down her cheek again. Not even Cobra wanted to look at her.
"Fuck, doll, your naked, I am waiting for you to yell and screech and kick my ass for bursting in on you." he grabbed the towel off the rack in front of him and turned around with his single eye closed.
Lucy was curious why he was concerned with her privacy, he was Cobra of Crime Sorciere, former Oracion Seis. He has a long sordid reputation of not giving a damn about people, yet here he was being gentlemanly enough not to look at her naked. She chuckled at the situation, pondering for a moment if this was an alternate universe she stumbled into.
She lifted herself out of the tub and took the towel wrapping it around herself. Looking down at her arms as she clutched the towel, she feared the moment he would open his eye and he would see how ugly her skin now was. She feared to see the disgust in his eye.
When she raised her head to tell the slayer he could open his eye, she was shocked to see he was already staring at her. Before she could react or say anything else he guided her to sit on the edge of the tub. Her eyes widened as he began lifting his shirt.
Cobra listened to her inner monologue as she had wrapped the towel around her, he understood what she felt. He would never be disgusted by her. He also understood that words couldn't provide the understanding he wanted to convey to her.
He sucked up his own issues and decided to show her that he knew what she was going through. He never allowed anyone except Kinana see him with his skin exposed not even those he grew up within the Tower. He hated the way people looked at him, how they pitied him, how they feared him for it. He did not want Lucy to suffer the same way.
Cobra thought to himself, "who the fuck knows, maybe we can help each other, like some hippie-dippie kumbaya shit." He removed his shirt and looked at the reaction in Lucy's eyes and her soul.
He wasn't surprised when he found understanding, but what he was surprised to find was her private appreciation of his physique. It was like she didn't even really see the scars, she just saw him.
Lucy watched as the slayer shifted uncomfortably while she traced his roadmap of scars around his body with her eyes. She felt an overwhelming appreciation for the man that stood before her. While he may have lived with this far longer than she had, she also realized the courage it took for him to share it with her.
What shocked her most though, was right above his left wrist, on the soft underside of his skin was a Fairy Tail insignia.
She stood slowly and grabbed his hand with the insignia on his arm. She examined his scarred wrists and traced her fingertips over this puckered and shiny skin. This is what her wrists will look like, but on him, it wasn't disfiguring or scary.
Cobra's spine quivered as he watched her caress his wrist, it was cathartic in a way to have her touching him and not feeling overwhelming disgust. He watched as her fingers moved further up and traced the Fairy Tail symbol. He knew the questions that were coming.
He gently pulled his arm away before she could ask anything and looked down at her, "You get dressed and I will get food ready." He turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. He paused and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. "What the fuck is she doing to me? This is why I never went near her."
He went ahead into the kitchen and set their containers out, he knew she wanted a burger and fries and despite not knowing if her stomach could handle it. He also stopped and got some plain crackers and a few other stomachable snacks for her and himself.
Lucy stood stunned as Cobra walked out. She was so tired of questions and no answers. She got dressed and exited the bathroom to find the kitchenette table loaded with take-out containers. She could smell the fries and her mouth instantly watered.
She smiled as she sat down, "Thanks for the burger and fries. It's exactly what I wanted." She was going to ask how he knew, but she knew how silly that would sound.
"Damn right it would be a stupid question." Cobra chuckled as he sat down. He looked at her munching on a fry, "Ok sweetness, fire away."