Wendy woke first the following morning, she stretched and yawned as her exceed rolled over curling further into the pillows. She immediately looked over to Lucy to find that she was wrapped up tightly in blankets and snuggling into Cobra's side. The small slayer smiled at the scene as she got up to go to the bathroom. By the time Wendy was finished, she exited the bathroom to see Lucy sitting up with a dusting of pink covering her gaunt cheeks.

As Lucy saw Wendy emerge from the bathroom she smiled broadly at her, feeling the tightened muscles in her face from their lack of use. She tried to stand quickly to greet her but stumbled to the side leaning onto the other bed for support.

Wendy quickened her steps toward the blonde and helped her sit on the bed she was leaning on. The two women embraced tightly physically expressing just how much they missed each other. Their eyes glistened with unshed tears of joy as they sat back and looked at each other.

Before either one of them could say anything, they heard a snorting growl coming from the other bed and they both looked over at the sleeping Poison Slayer. He was contorted into the most awkward position with his head tilted back and mouth wide open, a hint of drool sliding down the side of his face. His arms crossed securely over his chest.

The girls looked back at each other, resisting the urge to laugh at the awkwardly endearing sight of the sleeping slayer. Wendy cracked a smile first and Lucy followed with a heartfelt laugh. It was like the floodgates opened for the pair, giggling as they looked toward the slayer. Wendy spoke first, "He looks kinda like a vampire with his arms crossed like that." Lucy laughed harder as she instantly thought of the old films depicting vampires, "He kinda looks like Nosfurato like that!"

Their laughter and whisper-shouting woke the slayer but before acknowledging them he bathed in the delightful sound of the girl's pleasure at his expense. It was sound he didn't know he needed to hear until he heard it. He let it go on a few more seconds before using his arm to wipe away the drool, "Fuck you," he growled out which only made the girls giggle harder.

Lucy reveled in the light-hearted feeling, it was something she hadn't had in so long and it felt so good sitting next to Wendy and laughing like they used to. She experienced a moment of true peace; like the events of the last year had never happened; like she hadn't missed a moment in the small slayer's life.

Cobra smiled briefly hearing a small delightful spark in the soul of the woman he felt a deep connection to.

Wendy assessed Lucy again now that she was up and they sat quietly discussing what needed to happen over the next few weeks of her recovery. All the while Cobra busied himself packing up and preparing to head out, not missing one word the two girls shared between them. He was concerned that Lucy was taking the news of her injuries with almost no reaction, externally or internally.

It wasn't missed by Lucy that Cobra appeared to be packing, she felt a sudden icy wave of panic rush through her veins. It didn't occur to her that he would be leaving, her sense of time was lost a long time ago. Just the thought of him not being there, of him leaving her, left her with a sickening weight in her stomach.

He tried to ignore her visceral reaction to the very thought of leaving her high and dry. He didn't want her to be attached, she was in a fragile mentals state and the last thing he wanted was to be attached to an equally unstable asshole. However, he knew deep down; deeper than he was ever willing to listen that it was already a hopeless cause, on both their parts. "Chillax Sweetness, we are heading out of this money pit and moving on to something more comfortable to get you fixed up."

He heard the explosion of internal objections that the women were suddenly piecing together in their minds. He cut off their thoughts, "No we are not going back to the guild, or Magnolia. No, they don't know anything yet. We aren't going far, Freed has safe about a day's journey and no Lucy we don't expect you to walk." Cobra finally inhaled.

Wendy smiled at the maroon haired man who towered over her. "Great, then all we need to do is get everyone ready and grab breakfast."

It was this moment that Carla had awoken and decided to spout her divine wisdom, "Wendy, you need to make sure you eat a healthy breakfast if you are going to be using all your energy to heal Lucy." her prim voice grating on Cobra's nerves. He hated the prim and properness she tried to exude and the implication in her words that Wendy couldn't take care of herself. He merely let out a menacing grunt as he glared at the cat.

Wendy smiled sweetly to Carla, "Of course I will Carla, I will be fine."

Carla just looked at her blue-haired companion, "I will run to the market and get some fresh fruits and snacks."

Lucy watched the interaction and felt a pang of sadness, she wasn't entirely sure what made her sad about it. Maybe it was witnessing the normalcy of the whole exchange that played out before her. She longed to feel that sense of normalcy again, but to have the mundane scene happen in front of her made it feel so foreign. She didn't feel normal anymore. She wasn't even sure how or what she should feel.

Lucy looked on with a vacant stare as she watched the small blue-haired healer float about the room preparing herself to leave. She was envious of how effortless Wendy made it look, how easy it came to her to just do those idle tasks about the room like checking her belongings in her bag or grabbing a brush to brush her hair.

Lucy couldn't help but chastise herself for being incapable of brushing her own hair, being too weak and in pain to complete such a simple task. She continued following the negative threads of thoughts weaving their way through her mind. She only felt the tears streaming down her face when the bed dipped behind her under the weight of someone sitting. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, relaxing into the unique scent that was Cobra. She didn't flinch when she felt his hands grab part of her hair and brush the tangled nest that was her hair.

She couldn't bring herself to feel indignant over the action and was just thankful for his uncharacteristic actions. She thanked him silently in her mind. He said nothing as he continued to gently detangle her hair.

Wendy had emerged from the kitchenette area and said nothing as she momentarily watched Cobra brush Lucy's hair. She smiled at Cobra as she went on about the room double-checking to make sure nothing was left behind when they departed. Cobra's face was an emotionless mask that gave no hint to how he truly felt. They all shared the silent understanding that this was a private moment never to be spoken of.

Lucy's mood had improved greatly after she had her hair into a ponytail and Wendy's help getting freshened up and dressed. Having a better frame of mind allowed her thinking to clear up a bit. She realized that Wendy did not travel here alone and she was truly curious who in the guild had escorted Wendy, although she did have her hopes on who was next door.

"Wendy, who else is with you?" Lucy asked apprehensively.

The sky maiden smiled broadly, "Bickslow, Midnight, and I were on a job when Cobra called us to take a detour to see him."

Lucy displayed a warm genuine smile at the information that one of her close friends was with them. Granted, it was kind of a secret friendship with only the present company aware of it.

Lucy had befriended Bickslow at some random point in the past, after a few times of sitting together at the guild talking, their respective teams lost their respective shits over the friendly development between the two mages. Each team has its own set of unreasonable issues with the blooming friendship that frustrated Lucy and Bickslow to no end. In an effort to allay the potential disaster they decided to hide their friendship.

They much preferred their friendship under the radar due to the peculiar antics and quirks of their fellow guildmates. While they went through a few extra hassles to spend time together, it turned out to be peaceful times that allowed them to make a more meaningful connection as friends.

Cobra listened in on the blonde's thoughts; he knew they had a secret friendship but hearing the blonde think about the man in the room next door made him feel a sliver of jealousy. He wasn't sure if he was sour on the idea that her attention was on Bickslow, or that Bickslow's attention was on her. Either way, it didn't matter because his feelings on the matter were fractured in so many directions that he grew agitated with the whole concept of them being friends before he entered the picture almost a year ago.

At that moment he felt the need to escape and be alone, using the excuse of checking out with the desk downstairs he quietly walked out of the room.

Wendy and Lucy briefly acknowledged the slayer's exit while they continued talking. Lucy was inquiring about how her mission had gone and how it as working with Midnight and Bickslow.

Wendy was dancing around the details since it was shed light on the fact that a lot has changed at the guild. She didn't want to upset Lucy in any unnecessary way but things were not the same as when she disappeared. The blue-haired slayer knew from the brief time with Lucy already that the recovering celestial mage may not be ready to deal with the guild.

Lucy let Wendy finish her sentence before she asked her what she wanted to know, "So, how are things really back in Magnolia?"