[ Eisenwald {3} ]
-L-H-
"Open the Gate of the Maiden, Virgo! "
A petite and feminine woman appeared with medium-length pink hair and piercing blue eyes as she stepped out of her golden gate, making eye contact with Lucy as she immediately bowed before her.
"Princess," Virgo greeted as Lucy let out a gargle in the back of her throat at the display, frantically moving her hands as she quickly urged Virgo to stand up straight.
"Please, there's no need for all of that, Virgo."
"Very well, Princess." Virgo blinked as she stood still as per Lucy's instructions, and for a brief moment Lucy regretted summoning the maiden due to the lack of understanding of how she operated. She's known her other golden keys for years and was able to deepen their bonds as she understood how they operated for the most part. With Virgo, their connection was too fresh. Why was she calling her princess? Why did her appearance change? So many questions that Lucy wants to ask in order to get to know her latest spirit on a personal level, but they didn't have time for that at the moment.
"We've talked a bit before about your magic, but I have a theory that I'd like to test out with you if that's alright," Lucy asked as Virgo blinked at her, but raised the slightest of her eyebrow at the politeness of her master.
"...of course it would be alright, but quite frankly, you do not need my permission for anything as my summoner. I am completely and utterly at your will," Virgo assured Lucy, who looked at her in mild confusion.
"I don't want you to be at my beck and call completely, I just want my spirits to be able to handle themselves in case something happens and how the ability to exercise judgement accordingly without having to hang on every word that I say." Lucy said slowly, "I am not some supreme god who's word is law. We are comrades on the battlefield and friends off it."
"Friends…" Virgo looked a bit unsure at the word as she stared at Lucy, before clearing her throat as she stood tall once more. She nodded towards Lucy, and that's when the latter knew that their conversation will be tabled for another time. Virgo closed her eyes as she surveyed their surroundings thanks to the use of her Diver Magic. She opened them quickly, and looked towards Lucy,
"It is possible to escape the wind imprisonment from creating a pathway from underground."
Lucy smiled and Virgo watched in small wonder at the sight, especially when Lucy quickly wrapped her arms around the spirit which caused her to stiffen. Lucy ignored Virgo's awkwardness as she let go, thanking the spirit before politely ordering her to begin the process of escaping, in which Virgo was happy to comply. It was better than trying to understand that her summoner had hugged her, which was something so foreign she didn't know what to think.
'The Hearfilia brat is different. Their whole bloodline is, actually, but this girl really is special.'
Virgo was reminded of Aquarius's words as she began to cast her Diver Magic, making a rapid hole into the ground that was big enough for people to walk through. The commotion caught the others' attention, and they quickly made their way over towards Lucy and the giant hole that Virgo was currently making.
"A hole…? Actually that's a good idea…" Gray murmured as he looked into the hole as Erza clapped Lucy on the back harshly, with a smile on her face in thanking the blonde for her swift solution. Lucy just smiled back as she held in a cough at the weight of Erza's hand before she turns back towards Natsu who was already carrying an unconscious Kageyama in his arms.
Lucy looked at latter before glancing back at Natsu who just stared at her with a determined expression on his face. It was clear that he wanted to bring Kageyama along, but why? Was he not the enemy no longer, just because he got hurt one time?
"You're bringing him."
"Yeah."
"...okay." It's not like an unconscious body would be able to do something. And even if he tried to get up, he had a stab wound in his abdomen for goodness sake. If they couldn't take down a target like that, then they had no right to be partaking on missions. Natsu let out a small breath of relief as he flashed Lucy a thankful smile, before hopping into the hole with a second thought.
Everyone trailed after him soon and they found themselves on the other side of the wind pillar within the ghost town that housed the Kunugi Station. It was eerie quiet as they managed to find another Magic Four Wheeler, this time Gray taking the wheel as the rest piled into the back of the car.
Erza had offered but both Lucy and Gray shivered at the memory of her reckless driving from before, and Gray did not want to be forced on riding up top with Erza at the steering wheel again. He quickly said no and took the driver's seat as Erza shrugged as she got into the car, snatching Kageyama from Natsu who declared that he was going to fly with Happy.
And thus Team Haluna found themselves racing/flying to Clover Town once more.
"The guildmasters…" Lucy spoke in shock as Erza caught her up to speed with what they know so far. It was a good trap and they definitely had fell for it considering they were successfully trapped. Lucy frowned as she thought about the still state of the town as they had entered it, and briefly wondered if they had already accomplished their original goal, if that had been it.
Erigor had been rather emotional during his quick spat with Erza, after all. Lucy reckoned that he had held some belief in his words at the time. It made Lucy sick to her stomach as she quietly asked,
"Was it really a trap? Or was Clover Town simply the end goal?"
Erza remained stoic as she glanced at Kageyama's body before turning to look out the window.
"Are you asking if they already used Lullaby on the town before we got there?"
Lucy nodded silently as Erza closed her eyes at the horrid thought. "...I don't know."
It was a tense silence after that as the two girls swallowed down the thought of them walking through a deadman's land prior to confronting Erigor. Dark guilds, Lucy scowled mentally as she thought about the violence she's seen today, they truly are dark .
Lucy clenched a fist around her keys as she stared at them defiantly.
She'll stop them.
They'll stop Eisenwald before they can do more harm.
A groan alerted them as they quickly looked at each other before glancing down at Kageyama who let out a moan of pain as the wheeler jostled over a bump on the road. Lucy stayed quiet as Erza geared up for an interrogation, watching her take control of the situation now that Kageyama regained a piece of conscious. That's why it surprised her when he spoke up first as he laid in a painful daze, murmuring quietly,
"Why did you save me?"
'Thank Natsu' , Lucy thought briefly as she stayed quiet. Because it suddenly hit her that none of the others had even thought to bring the injured Kageyama along, and maybe that meant something about them. And that it meant something about Natsu, who seems to have compassion even for his enemies.
"Were you prepared to die?" Erza countered and Kageyama fell silent for a moment before answering.
"Of course not. Me getting stabbed was never in the plan.."
"The plan? Right, the plan to kill the guildmasters at their monthly meeting in Clover Town."
Kageyama flinched at the quiet, but hard tone that Erza used. Lucy remained silent as she squirmed a bit uncomfortably in the loaded car.
"... why did you save me? " Kageyama asked once more and this time Erza let out a tired sigh as she crossed her arms, still making direct eye contact with Kageyama.
"At the end of the day, most people deserve the chance to live their lives more positively after such a negative circumstance. Some of us pity you in fact because in the end even you were betrayed by one of your own, and now you're sporting a potentially fatal wound because of it. If this isn't an eye-opener to change then let me know right now, because I will gladly deliver justice if need be."
"N-No-I get it. I'm…done."
Lucy isn't sure what to make with his tone of voice however, as he sounded rather conflicted with himself when he said that. She didn't bring it up though and the car feel into silence once more.
-L-H-
"Aye! Is that Erigor up ahead?" Happy squinted as he carried Natsu, who suddenly raised a hand to protect his eyes from the sun as he squinted to see what Happy was looking at. Judging by the scythe that was in the air and wind that seemed to be manipulated around the figure in the distance, Natsu quickly smirked and yelled towards the others in the car,
"Found 'im!"
Natsu boosted their speed with the help of flames on his feet, as he stuck his tongue out at Gray who bucked at him as he flew past the four wheeler. Gray scowled at the sight of the dragon slayer getting a head, but there wasn't much that he could do as they were already going at their maximum speed. Whatever, Gray grumbled as he watched Natsu catch up to Erigor and twisted to kick him into the railroad bridge that was below them.
A boom crashed in the distance as Lucy stuck her head out with confusion on her face, "E-Eh?!"
"Don't worry about it, Natsu just found Erigor!" Gray shouted.
"Oh okay," Lucy said as she settled back into her seat. She's starting to understand that her best friend was very trigger happy, and loved to fight. She has not doubt that Natsu will be fine as they made their way to come support him eventually.
Meanwhile Natsu quickly set Happy down as he had used a lot of energy in order to fly Natsu over towards Erigor, patting the top of his head softly for a moment before he turned out to get ready to fight Erigor. Past the debris and dust from his kick attack was the said man as Erigor used his wind to quickly try to push Natsu off of the bridge into the river below them.
Natsu's arms flapped aimlessly as he flew back, flipping in the air. Thinking quickly, Natsu recalled a technique that he could use in order to manipulate his flames thanks to Romeo's father, Macao. Due to their magic being similar in attributes and in some cases properties, Macao was able to teach Natsu some tricks when he was younger. A small smile flashed across Natsu's face at the memory as he began to mold a pair of arms out of his flames that even caught him on the side of the bridge.
It took a little bit of effort to maintain the shape while moving his physical body, but Natsu loved nothing more than a good challenge when fighting.
Using the flame arms to rapidly climb up before launching his body from the edge of the bridge, sending Natsu towards Erigor with a wild grin on his face as his eyes sharped once he punched Erigor with his own fist and a flamed one. Erigor spat out in surprise as he stumbled back, looking at Natsu's extra appendages warily before launching sharp wind attacks towards him. Natsu's face got cut by a sharp wind blade but thanks to his extra hands, he was able to defend himself relatively well as he inched closer to Erigor piece by piece.
This enraged Erigor who let out a frustrated hiss, before he activated his Storm Mail ability which quickly created sharp winds around him like a suit armor, winds that were as dense as the pillar he had left back in Kunugi Station. Natsu blew a powerful Fire Dragon Slayer's Roar as a follow up, but frowning once he saw that the flames died off before it could reach Erigor.
Erigor looked upon the turn events in slight surprise as Natsu stood frozen, before he let out a dark grin at the sudden change of pace. Now it was Natsu who was on the defensive side as Erigor knocked him down over and over again, and he was getting irritated . A deep growl settled inside of his chest as he glared at Erigor who laughed at him, as he sent a small, temporary moving tornado towards Natsu.
It was a distraction however, as Natsu moved to the side to dodge the tornado, Erigor had already begun conjuring his next attack as he crossed his index and middle fingers to create an X-shape towards Natsu, before blasting a concentrated funnel of wind blades towards him.
"Emera Baram!"
"Fuck," Natsu cursed as he crossed both sets of his arms in order to take the direct hit which slammed him into the ground. The wind was knocked out of Natsu quite literally as his back hit the ground and he let out a strangled wheeze for a brief moment as he was stunned. Erigor flew above him and prepared for another Emera Baram with dark amusement in his eyes at the sight of Natsu's short term stun.
He unleashed it towards Natsu, only for Erigor to be surprise when a massive cow suddenly appeared in front of Natsu as he took the hit for him instead. Taurus grunted as he was hit with Emera Baram, moving his body backwards as he held his ground. After a close-call however, Taurus was able to remain standing as he successfully defended Natsu longer enough for him to get back up.
Natsu nodded at Taurus, "Thanks."
Taurus just nodded at him as he turned to face a running Lucy, who's hair was flowing behind her thanks to the heavy winds that Erigor had generated. Immediately, Natsu walked past Taurus without a second thought to position himself in front of Lucy to take the brunt of the wind as she shouted, "I'm here, Natsu!"
Looking over his shoulder, Natsu flashed her a bright grin as he was excited at the prospective of fighting side by side with his teammate, his team leader, his best friend.
"Team Haluna is here for the final boss battle!" Natsu said suddenly excited as Lucy chuckled before looking around for Happy. Natsu told her that he was resting in a safe place off to the side, at which Lucy nodded in confirmation as they both turned back towards Erigor with matching serious expressions.
"My flames aren't able to reach him anymore," Natsu confessed bregudgingly, feeling annoyed at the fact. Lucy just hummed as she narrowed her eyes at Erigor, wondering how to be able to penetrate his wind armor.
"Let's see if we can create an opening in the meantime, together." Lucy said as Natsu immediately took off with Lucy on his heels as he leaped into the air to fight Erigor. Using Taurus as a platform, the spirit spun around for a moment before he threw Lucy like a discus towards the men.
"Natsu!"
Without looking at Lucy directly, one of Natsu's flamed arms reached out to grab Lucy's incoming whip as it wrapped around it before he twisted his body to propel Lucy further towards Erigor. Still holding onto her end of the whip, Lucy kicked towards Erigor who was momentarily surprised at the sudden combination attack as she managed to land a hit. He flew back for a moment but managed to regain his balance as he countered with a wind blade that hit the duo, causing them to stumble back towards the ground.
Natsu had made sure to grab Lucy before they crashed onto the ground however, causing her fall to be cushioned a bit more than Natsu. With small groans, both of them got back up as they tried to come up with another plan of attack.
Lucy pointed at her leg, in which her pants were shredded from the kick and the wind. She was relatively okay though.
"We managed to surprise him with that one, but I don't think it'll work again," Lucy sighed as Natsu grunted in confirmation as he unconsciously grew hotter as his body slowly became engulfed with flames from his growing frustration. Lucy was thinking for a moment before she realized that Natsu's flames were lowkey causing Erigor's wind to blow at an odd direction. With her mind racing, she realizes that fire did suck up oxygen and suddenly, what if Natsu's flames were so potent that Erigor doesn't mitigate him but fuels him in a sense?
With newfound hope, Lucy's eyes light up as she looked at Natsu, "You need to increase the heat of your flames!"
"What'll that do?" Natsu asked curiously as he began to do what she asked.
"Fire naturally consumes wind in order to fuel itself, but if the wind is stronger than the flame, then it'll just go out which is why you were losing in the beginning. But if you were to increase the heat of your flames…"
"...then it'd be like a power boost, right? Huh." Natsu said thoughtfully before he let out an excited grin. Due to his excitement, his flames grew even higher as they began to absorb some of Erigor's wind subtly and he shot Lucy a wink before he launched himself recklessly towards Erigor once more, eager to pick the fight back up again. Lucy opened her mouth to tell him to be careful but ended up faltering at the wink before she ended up rolling her eyes at the dragon slayer as he pressed forwards.
"Watch this, Luce!"
Natsu propelled his aflamed body forwards as he aim for Erigor who still had an arrogant look on his face as he protected himself from his Storm Mail. His look quickly fell and morphed into fear as Natsu's sharp smile was suddenly in his face as he nullified Erigor's Storm Mail almost immediately, using his manipulated arms to hold him in place as he began to push Erigor's body at a high speed towards the ground, refusing to stop even as they crashed into the ground.
It left a massive crater that had random flames and lacerations in the dirt from the aftermath of their magic attacks as Natsu huffed as his flames spluttered out which a knocked out Erigor underneath his body.
Gray parked the four wheeler right next to the crater as he got off from the driver's seat to squint at Natsu and Erigor before smirking arrogantly, "Damn, he really did a number on you, Fire Clown."
Natsu looked down towards his attire, which had cuts littered on his body and his clothes were ripped and he pouted childishly back at Gray who began to laugh at him. "Shut up!"
They began to argue from meters away as Erza took a step out of the wheeler next, surveying the damage and how the battle ended before she nodded in approval to herself. Natsu did well, defeating the enemy. She leaned against the door of the wheeler and said,
"Your leader has been defeated, Kageyama."
Kageyama blinked dully in slight disbelief at the turn of events, but then he looks at the state of the Fairytail members and the sounds of their voices carry in the soft wind. He didn't hear the usual taunts of his leader, and that's when he realized that Erza's words were most likely true. Lucy walked over from her side of the battlefield with Happy in her arms as she smiled at the sight of a defeated Erigor, making her way slowly around the crater towards the wheeler where Erza called out to her.
"I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when you suddenly jumped out the car in order to support that idiot."
Lucy laughed wholeheartedly at her words, "He's my teammate! Of course I was going to support him in any way that I can, that's the whole reason why we created Team Haluna after all. To go on adventures together. His words, not mine."
"But you believe them," Erza stated pointedly as she took a glance at Natsu who was in Gray's face as they spounted nonsense to each other.
"That I do," Lucy answered softly as she idly glanced through the windows of the wheeler only to tense once she realized that Kageyama was gone. " Erza ."
Erza furrowed her brow as she quickly looked behind her, following Lucy's eyesight only to see a lack of an injured shadow-magic user. With a loud cruse, she quickly ran towards Erigor's body which was left to behind in the crater ever since Gray and Natsu started arguing by the car. When Lucy ran past them to follow Erza in a hurry, Natsu cut Gray off with him snapping his attention towards the blonde as he followed her without a second thought.
Gray was left feeling rather surprised at the turn of events, because Lucy hadn't even said a word to Natsu and yet he had already taken off after her. It reminds him of how they greeted each other in the first place, and as he eventually makes his way to follow the rest of them, he thinks about how Lucy seems to draw Natsu in without even trying. Is that what it's like to be her friend? Is their bond that strong already?
Gray thinks he would've remembered a little blonde running around, hanging out with Natsu. In fact, the only girl that he remembered Natsu treating the same as Lucy to a certain extent was…Lisanna.
He felt his heart sink a little bit at the thought of the girl as he quickly refocused and regrouped with the others.
Now was not the time to think about the dead.
"Search him!" Erza barked at Natsu who ran over towards Erigor's unconscious body, eyes darkening when he realized that there was a subtle, new scent of blood that lingered around the area. Focusing his eyes made him realize that there was a small trail, and that they were now in the beginnings of a hunt.
"He's on foot," Natsu said as he began to run in the direction that he smelt the same scent from. They followed him without a second thought as they chased Kageyama's trail, knowing that he hadn't gone too far due to his wounds. He's probably using his shadow magic to travel, but it'd be hard to go far in his state.
Eventually they found themselves standing behind Kageyama who's ragged body was barely holding together as he stood in front of their guildmaster, who was looking at him with small intrigue as he prepared to play Lullaby. The ragtag team froze at the sight as Makarov flashed them a small look and paused hand, before allowing Kageyama to continue with whatever they were saying.
"...w-would you like to hear this song that I've p-prepared today?"
Makarov paused for a moment before nodding his head as his eyes shone with curiosity. The fact that he had stopped Team Haluna and company from interfering meant that he must have some idea that this guy wasn't good news. Yet they weren't supposed to make a move? Lucy was confused.
"Are you even in the proper condition to be play anything, young man? That's quite the wound you are withstanding right now."
"I'm fine," Kageyama snapped but winced as it caused a flash of pain to pierce through his body. Makarov didn't make a move to help him, but his eyes shone with a sense of pity at the sight of Kageyama. It made the latter grit his teeth because he didn't want pity. Not from Titania, not from Makarov Dreyar.
All of Eisenwald knew what their mission was. They wanted to create a better world without any authority, without any rules so that their families could finally be free from the shackles of the upper class. No longer will they suffer from unfair conditions, no longer will they restrict themselves because they had magic and most people didn't. They weren't supposed to be on the bottom of the social ladder, they were supposed to be on the top! And if those damned guilds were out of the way, at least so that their enemies couldn't hire them to protect them, then it made the opportunity for revolution even easier.
"Are you sure? Odds are, we should probably take you to a hospital before it turns into something irreversible." Makarov hummed as he stared into what Kageyama felt to be his soul, and suddenly the kindness that the man was offering was making him even weaker in the knees. Kageyama angrily cursed at him, his resolve was shaking and he didn't even know why .
Maybe it was the fact that Fairytail was angered at the sight of his own teammate injuring him like this.
Maybe it was Salamander's compassion in taking him with them in order to stop his leader, despite knowing that he was an active member of Eisenwald.
Maybe it was the fact that Makarov Dreyar, the leader of Fairytail, was staring at him right now knowing that what he had in his hands was a dangerous artifact, and still hasn't made a move to suggest that he was going to take him down forcefully.
"Everything will change if I play this song," Kageyama tries to force himself to commit to the job, commit to the mission that he was suffered through so much to see through till the end. Makarov just scoffed,
"The weak will still be weak. Sure, taking us guild masters would help out, but eventually someone will replace us. Younger, stronger in many ways. What then? When would you put down that weapon, when would you be satisfied? The answer is never , because the problem isn't us , but you ."
"You don't know a damn thing!" Kageyama hissed at Makarov who crossed his arms as he sighed at the wavering man.
"You want to create change? At least live to see it before you become an unknown martyr in the midst of the chaos," Makarov started off sternly before letting his old voice into what could be considered as the tone of a wise old man who's seen many things, "Or-push yourself to do better, to be better so that you can gain enough power through your own methods in order to make the changes you want to see happen. Gain a real community to support you and your goals, something that doesn't involve mass destruction of others at the cost. You have the compassion already. You have the drive to fuel your strength but the key to understanding all of this is that true strength from the heart doesn't need to create victims. "
Kageyama's knees gave out as he fell to the ground at Makarov's words that resonating with anyone listening in the vicinity.
Natsu felt as if he could protect people without excessive violence, because one of his greatest strengths was compassion.
Erza straightened her back as inspired to be a shield of armor for all in need, because she doesn't aim to hurt, she only ever aims to protect.
Lucy looks at Makarov in a new light as she thinks about how she wants to take control of her life and change to live the way that she finally wants. Her own variation of freedom that she's craved for years.
And lastly Gray was left feeling a bit solemn, because he knows all too well about martyrs that sacrifice themselves for the greater good and the costs that come with it.
There's time to change and try something different, Kageyama thought tiredly as he finally finally succumbs to defeat. The Eisenwald bastards weren't about creating real change he thinks as he passing out for the second time, dropping the flute. If they were, they wouldn't have stabbed him the first place.
Everyone watched as Makarov defeated Kageyama with words alone as the small old man suddenly sweatdropped and laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck, and that's obvious where Natsu got that habit from, Lucy thought with small amusement. It was reckless, what Makarov had pulled. What if Kageyama didn't hesitate in playing the song? They all would've been dead .
But Makarov took that chance to save Kageyama's life, in a way.
"Well that was something! What're you brats doing here though?" Makarov asked curiously as Erza stepped forwards to take the initiative in informing him what had happened prior to the present. Makarov hummed, winced, and then shuddered in small fear at the implied destruction that he knows his children have caused and was quick to summon them over towards them. It was quite silly to see five massive groups of people tiptoeing away from building in the distance with a blue cat with them, but when a loud voice roared "FAIRYTAIL!" once they took sight of the destruction outside, all secrecy was abandoned as they hauled ass out of there.
"God, when can I ever catch a break?!" Makarov groaned as he was carried by Erza like a sports ball. Natsu let out a bright laugh as he dodged an incoming magic attack, hopping over a rock as he picked up Lucy and threw her over his shoulder as she let out a startled shout. She blushed with embarrassment after being put face to face with Gray, who was taking the rear.
They made eye contact before he rolled his eyes at the sight of them and even let out a small amusement smirk at the sight of their actions. Lucy gave a sheepish smile back before she smacked the back of Natsu's neck at his roughness before allowing him to continue running as he carried her.
And maybe, she'll be able to make friends with Gray who suddenly wasn't super asshole-y as she thought.
(And maybe she's also a little glad that she didn't seem scare him away completely with their initial meeting.)
-L-H-
Waking up with a loud groan that ended with a small cough, a bleary eyed Lucy got out of bed as she blinked in a daze towards her dresser. Throwing on a big shirt that smelled strangely like Natsu a little bit and some shorts, she stumbled into her bathroom to splash some water onto her face. After stretching for a moment, as she let out another yawn, she through her blonde hair into a messy ponytail before trekking into her kitchen-
Only to let out a silent scream at the sight of a half-naked boy slumped on her couch.
Lucy grasped her chest and her rapidly beating heart, as confusion began to seep into her mind once she realized that it wasn't a pink-haired boy that barges in whenever he wanted. Instead, it was Gray which was shocking to say the least.
"Uh-" Lucy started before Gray grumbles as he props an eye open to look at the shocked blonde before closing it just as fast.
"Quiet, 'm tryna sleep here."
" Excuse me?!" Lucy said in disbelief at the audacity. In what universe did he think that he could tell her to shut up in her apartment, as if his stripped ass wasn't trespassing? It even startles her that while she's surprised, she's not surprised surprised at the turn of events and that only resolves her to hit Natsu the next time she sees him. "You know what-whatever. Whatever ."
She throws an apple towards Gray who catches it without opening his eyes, and suddenly she needs a coffee in order to get through the surrealness of the morning already. It's a bit domestic in a friendly sense, with Gray quietly snacking on the apple she had thrown him as she brewed her coffee. They really were opposites, Lucy briefly thought as she pulled out a mug.
Natsu was always full of energy, entertaining Lucy and keeping her on her toes inside of her own home. It was a time that always was filled with laughter though, teases and jokes as they hung out.
Gray was quieter, more content to live in the peace of the moment as he laid on her couch casually. It wasn't uncomfortable the more Lucy thought about it, as the smell of coffee filled the sunlight room as she poured it into her mug. Leaning against the counter, she took a sip as she looked towards Gray who had already placed the core of the apple on her coffee table as he got comfortable once more on her couch.
"So, you're actually willing to sleep now?" Lucy asked curiously. She had already called out the fact that he had bags under his eyes anyways, there was no reason to beat around the bush with his apparent sleeping condition. Perks to being incredibly blunt in their first meeting.
Gray grunted and shrugged softly, "I don't avoid sleep, it avoids me."
"...that was so cheesy," Lucy said with a small snort and Gray chuckled in response. It was silent in the open space room once more as Lucy took another sip of her coffee and Gray let out a small, almost inaudible sigh.
"I'm sorry," Lucy said softly as Gray's eyes opened as he looked at Lucy for a long moment, before letting out a louder sigh as he shrugged once more. Lucy winced. "That was a bit brutal of a first meeting and I definitely should've watched what I said more, I think."
"Well it's not everyday that you get called a bully, and then asked to be a friend in the same ten minute time span." Gray mused.
"Okay okay, I get it." Lucy grumbled into her drink as Gray sat up to look at her properly this time, maintaining eye-contact as he quirked his lips into a half-smile.
"I have to admit though, no one has ever said that to me in my entire life. It..made me think about some things in fact," Gray admitted and Lucy wanted to follow up with a question of her own, but quickly stopped herself once she realized that it probably would've been rather invasive again. She's already learned her lesson the first time.
"Is that right?"
"...yeah."
Lucy hummed as she down the rest of her coffee, placing the mug in the sink as she lifted herself up to sit on the counter as she kicked her feet idly as she thought about what to say next. It turns out that she didn't have to say anything, because Gray spoke up first this time.
"...to answer your question, it's a yes."
Lucy tilted her head. "Eh?"
Gray flushed a bit as he looked away from Lucy for the first time, "...to be friends. Yeah, that's okay."
"Wait, seriously?! But I definitely like, insulted you in a way-," Lucy cringed at her own actions as she remembered the complete 180 degree turn that she had initiated in the middle of her dissection of him. "-I bet I threw you in for a loop, oh spirits ."
A laugh came out of Gray this time as he nodded, "Oh for sure. Some spicy blonde just started to pick me apart and all I asked was if Lucy was her name. Can't say I saw that coming at all."
"Well you must've saw something in me if you decided to barge into my home and make yourself comfortable after all of that," Lucy bantered back as Gray scoffed playfully before rolling his eyes.
"If you say so."
"In fact," Lucy quickly looked around for something to grab before she landed on her dirty spoon and pointed it at Gray menancingly, "Don't even think about doing that again, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Good."
"I hate you."
Gray smirked, "The true measure of friendship."
"So that means you and Natsu are friends, by that logic."
"Shut the fuck up," Gray said flatly as Lucy cackled at how fast his smile fell off his face. But for some reason, she had a feeling that he wasn't pissed at her suggestion. Maybe they could reach a mutual understanding at some point in the future, she briefly thought. For now, it'll look like she'll be one of the may mediums that stand between the two rivals.
And suddenly, Lucy wanted to go back to sleep at the headache that formed at the thought of them arguing again .
Gray was actually there for a purpose, as she comes to find out once their moment was over. Fairytail was throwing a picnic as they spent time together, gearing up to watch Erza vs Natsu and whoever was to brawl afterwards. Lucy perked up at the thought of the picnic, and she agreed to walk with Gray over there. It wasn't until she was locking the door to her apartment when she realized that Gray had briefly mentioned that he had fell asleep a bit. Or at least that he was trying to before she "rudely interrupted".
She turns towards Gray who magically conjured a shirt, looking at her with an eyebrow raised as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"...if you feel comfortable enough to rest here, then you have my permission to crash whenever you'd like too, as long as you give me a reasonable heads up. The couch will be there."
Gray didn't say anything to that as he looked away from Lucy again, and she wondered if he was embarrassed by his insomnia. He did let out a miniscule nod though, and Lucy counts it as a win as they made small talk as they walked towards the picnic spot.
It seemed they came a little late to the party though, with a pouting Natsu being patched up by Mirajane while Cana laughed at him off to the side as Erza stood in the middle of makeshift arena with small burns but otherwise no other injuries on her as one of the Shadow Gear members raised her arm up in victory. Fairytail cheered for Erza who had slightly red cheeks as she stood before them proudly, before everyone decided to dig in for food and sit down.
Lucy managed to squeeze next to Erza this time around, as Gray and Natsu immediately found themselves drawn to each other with magic involved. Lucy was not going to get involved with that today, and thus she ignored them as they rolled down the hill with shouts and pouts.
"Boys," She rolled her eyes as Erza did the same in agreement, before she turned towards Lucy with her hand out to properly introduce herself.
"Erza. Erza Scarlet."
Lucy took her hand smoothly and shook it, "Lucy Heartfilia."
With that, the girls began to quietly bond as they talked about light topics, growing surprise at each other's answers to question as they sat together on one of the side picnic blankets. Lucy had inquired about the massive horn that she had brought in the other day, in which Erza dived into a story about how she fought that furry beast in the middle of the rainforest with only a shield and a butter knife.
Lucy was pleasantly shocked to say the least, and it if wasn't Erza, she probably wouldn't have believe it so easily. But Erza was recalling the story with such a serious expression on her face that she couldn't help but feel that she was telling the truth, which made it even more shocking. Erza doesn't seem to be the exaggerating type anyways, she's quickly come to realize.
"Oh-Um, let me know if I'm talking too much. I am not…very good with social cues sometimes," Erza spoke up a bit hesitantly as she realized that she had dominated conversation for a while as Lucy spoke every now and then to show that she was still engaged, but was otherwise listening intently. Lucy was quick to wave a dismissive hand, "Are you kidding? You're such a badass, Erza! This story is actually insane."
Erza flushed again at the praise a bit as she nodded, before letting out a small pretty smile at Lucy that caused her to squeal which had shocked Erza. "What?! Is there a bug?!"
"Wha-? Pfft, no . You're just so adorable." Lucy laughed at Erza spluttered at the compliment, feeling a bit awkward. Adorable? That was not a word that was normally associated with her, Erza thought as she looked at the laughing blonde. Fierce, strong, and commanding was more common. "I love your red hair, especially!"
Erza looked down at the scarlet strands as she muttered a thank you, with another small smile.
"It matches you, seriously!"
The revelation didn't surprise Erza as many people compared the redness to the color of blood. Fitting, for a warrior and knight as herself. It was one of her key symbols of power to the masses, as Erza was aware she had quite a bit of.
"The color of roses…" Lucy smiled at the romanticized thought as Erza suddenly blinked in disbelief as a small but growing sense of a foreign happiness settled inside of her. There was a small, small part of her that was happy to be associated with something so effortlessly feminine for a small change.
"Roses?" Erza repeated softly as Lucy nodded, looking out in the distance as even citizens came over every once in a while to interaction with the guild during their picnic. Everything seemed a bit happier today, she noticed. Maybe it was the nice feeling of the sun in the air.
"Of course. That's immediately what came to mind when I saw you in action. A beautiful woman who is passionate as she creates change with her own hands. Someone who is devoted and loves helping others in her own way." Lucy said thoughtfully as she turned to look at Erza who appeared to have mixed emotions on her face. A prominent blush was settled on her cheeks though, and Lucy bit back a coo at her flusteredness at the compliment. It came so naturally, it was just so easy to tease Erza it seemed. How cute .
Erza didn't know what to say in response for a moment as she looked down at her hands with Lucy's words in her mind, and that was okay. Lucy was just content in allowing Erza to know that she found her awesome, and that she should know that.
"Thank you, Lucy. I think you are quite interesting, and kind, a-and beautiful too. Also strong. Yes, your celestial spirit mage magic was very impressive." Erza complimented her back as Lucy thanked her as they began to chat some more, and suddenly Lucy hopes that she could become friends with the S-Class mage as well.
Natsu comes over later with Happy in tow, looking rather dirty despite the energy behind his eyes as he plopped right next to Lucy without a second thought. The girls paused their conversation to look at Natsu, looked at each other, before looking at Natsu once more as they began to tag-team in lecturing him about table manners, as Happy laughed at him.
He doesn't mind too much though because the sandwiches are good, Fairytail was hanging out in the sun, and Lucy had a smile on her face. Even when the Ice Prick joins them later on, and people gave them surprising looks at the uncanny group, it was somewhat enjoyable as they relaxed and talked with each other, with Natsu sprawled halfway off the blanket with his head on Lucy's lap as she sat against the tree while Erza and Gray sat across from them as the latter tossed a small sardine to Happy.
The sun was shining, on a nice day after a long mission indeed. It's a beautiful day, she was hanging out with new friends that she's made along the way in her life and suddenly Lucy is content as this was exactly where she wanted to be.
And as she talked, her smile never left her face.
A/N: This is a reminder that I'm changing some things in canon, rewriting or taking out certain moments because I feel as if personally, they were just filler action scenes. For example, Lullaby turns into a monster in the anime/manga and destroys some stuff which prompts their run-away scene. I changed it, and that won't be the only thing that I will change moving forwards.
Thanks for pointing that out, Guest! It reminded me to let you guys know that not everything is going to be the same!
For the most part I will stay close to canon, but there will be times that I won't.
Thanks to all who've reviewed so far, I enjoy reading them.
If you want the update to the latest chapters, read on AO3 under the same fic title (my username on there is: riddlercj)
is about 3 chapters behind compared to AO3.