AN: Here we are! Back with Arc Two! Hurray! Be sure leave a review and tell me your thoughts on the chapters! I love to know what you all think! Enjoy!
Berserk
Arc Two: Chapter Seven
{those intrepid heroes; those who wade out into battle}
The flickering lights strung through the trees seem like stars in the low night, each fire crystal casting a faint glow throughout the clearing. The Sola Tress is decorated with dozens of them, each no larger than Lucy's fist, and it casts a magnificent gleam around the clearing, the Sola Tree appearing in flames, a trick of the mind. Where Makarov obtained so many Minstrel fire crystals, Lucy can't be sure, but they've turned the clearing into a warm, hazy place that she wants to fall into, the moon and stars bright in the sky, casting enough light for their festivities.
She glances across the clearing, spotting Romeo near the edge of the woods, surrounded by a small group of friends. He throws his head back in a laugh, tossing an arm around one of his friends, and lights up when he meets her eyes from across the glade. Romeo grins at her, the fire crystals making his eyes flicker in the darkness, and Lucy finds herself smiling back at him when he mouths her name.
The present in her pocket weighs heavy against her hip, thudding against her side whenever she takes a step. Her fingers slink into her pocket, finding her gift for him easily. Her hand clenches around it, tracing the delicate design carved into the top. Lucy hopes he likes it. A lump rises in her throat, Lucy chewing her lip nervously.
She was so sure he would adore it when she first left home, but now she can't be so sure. Lucy was gone for months, and so much can change in that amount of time. She's only been home for a week, she hasn't yet had the time to meet her family for the second time. Things have been strained between them. Conversations with Laxus are clipped, and Romeo seems quieter than usual, a bit soft spoken, though not caustic.
He's wary of Natsu, the Berserk always near her side, following behind her like some kind of shadow. She can't blame him for that, they've all lost people to the Berserks, even those not controlled by Pergrande. Romeo lost his father when he was younger than either Lucy or Laxus, hardly remembering Macao, but that doesn't take away the lingering fear.
Even now, Lucy finds herself afraid of the Berserks, even if she has a better understanding of them. She knows better than to think every one of them is like Natsu. While she trusts his word that some are good, like Igneel was, she isn't foolish enough to believe some wouldn't tear her to pieces even without the collars.
At times, she thinks of the Berserk that found them just outside of Jorah, how he chose to attack them on his own volition, uncaring of their lives. Natsu told her that some Berserks choose the bloodlust over anything else, reveling in the chaos they create. In a sick way, she understands. Power is a dangerous thing, it tears people apart, destroying them from the inside. Fear breeds power.
She clenches the gift tighter in her fist, her other hand finding the necklace draped around her throat, a comforting weight. The chain tangles with her fingers, cool from the night against her skin, and she hums to herself as she watches Romeo turn back to his friends, her foot rooted in place, something holding her there. The crystal in her pocket begins to warm, heating nearly to the point of burning her, and she releases it with a gasp, eyes snapping to her palm, a faint red mark appearing on her skin.
Lucy certainly hopes he likes it.
Someone comes up behind her, casting a dark shadow across her form. Lucy glances up, smiling as a familiar weight settles against her back. An arm snakes around her front tugging her against a large, warm figure. Natsu ducks his chin, pressing his forehead against the side of her head, breath puffing against her hair and making the strands dance, her hair turned to gold in the amber glow from the fire crystals.
Rough lips press to her temple, only for a moment before Natsu releases her, stepping back. Lucy turns around to face him with a small smile, glad to see him more like himself again. The few days since he came back have been tense, with both Natsu and Laxus more irritable than usual. Since their fight, Natsu has been wary, spending more time in the woods. She's found him by the Sola tree more than once, staring at it like it might have answers. She wishes it did.
Goose bumps rise on her skin, Lucy feeling eyes on her, and she knows they're being watched by someone in the glade, a stranger trying to figure out exactly what Natsu is. She doesn't know what might happen if everyone were to find there's a Berserk among them, but she doubts it would be a pretty thing.
Instead of dwelling on the thought, she grins at him, watching his eyes turn a shade darker in the moonlight, green turned near black. For a moment it unnerves her, but his hand finds hers suddenly, lifting her palm skyward and running a finger down the faint welt marring her skin.
She takes a moment to really look at him as he drags a finger along her reddened skin, his lips downturned and brow pinched as he observes the mild burn. He looks clean for the first time since she met him, the dirt and blood washed away, his wounds finally healed after so long. He isn't nearly as thin in the face as he was when they first met, his arms bulkier with muscle gained during their travels. Natsu was already strong when they first met, perhaps even more so now.
His clothes are new, much like her own, his dark pants styled the same as his last, though free of tears and no longer falling apart, they found him a pair of boots no longer torn at the heels, the buckles a shimmering gold to match the red and gold cloth belted at his hips. She asked him once why he kept it, the colors of Pergrande standing out in Fiore, and the clothes a keepsake of bad memories.
Natsu only smiled at her then, telling her he liked the look of it, told her it Pergrande doesn't control him anymore. He allowed Lucy to fix the holes in the fabric, sewing it back together one night while they talked by the fire, the house quiet and dark. She can admit that the fabric is soft, comfortable to wear, and the color is nice on him, though she hopes he never feels trapped here like he was in Pergrande.
She hadn't managed to get him into a shirt, his torso as bare as ever. Perhaps one day she'll get him into something, but she won't push him for now. Lucy herself doesn't mind much, and her family has gotten relatively used to Natsu walking around, looking very much a wolf among sheep. Their party guests aren't nearly as welcoming, eyeing hiM warily and staying far away, as if he might snap.
"You haven't given it to him yet?" Natsu murmurs, leaning in to nose at her hair, fingers caressing the slight burn on her hand. His free hand bumps against her side, nudging the object hidden by the soft fabric of her coat, feeling the heat of Romeo's present resting against her hip. Natsu looks down at her curiously, lacing his fingers through hers as he stares into her eyes.
Lucy sighs, squeezing his fingers before letting her hand slip from his. Natsu dips his chin, leaning down to meet her gaze, his nose bumping against her cheek, and pulls a small smile from Lucy. She glances back at him, softening when she sees the concern in his gaze, his green eyes wide, brows narrowed just a tick. Lucy leans into his touch, knocking her head against his gently, and a low sound pulls from his throat, soft, his breath puffing against her hair.
"What if he doesn't like it?" she asks Natsu, chin tilting up to meet his eyes. He only frowns, brows knitting together, and reaches up to cup her cheek, fingers warm against her skin. Lucy's lips twitch when his thumb sweeps along her jaw, so light she can barely feel it. Swallowing, she lowers her gaze again, capturing her lip between her teeth.
Things change so quickly between people, for better and worse.
Natsu's frown deepens at her quiet words, his brow pinched, and then he snorts, amusement flitting across his face before he shakes his head. Lucy's eyes narrow in return, unsure where he's found the humor in her predicament, but not enjoying the slight quirk of his lips.
Her lips part, a barbed remark on her tongue, but Natsu silences her when he curls his arms around Lucy's waist, dragging her up against him. He presses his face against her hair, mouth by her ear, and nuzzles her, a chuckle rumbling in his chest. "He loves you," Natsu reminds her, twisting to press his lips to her temple. "Whatever you give him, I'm sure he'd love it either way." The words are breathed against her skin, so quiet she almost doesn't catch them, Natsu more subdued than usual.
Lucy curls her arms around him in return, holding him for a long moment as the tension seeps from her like water. Natsu's fingers tangle through her hair, pulling at a small, stray braid teasingly, and she feels him grin against her hair, a mischievous thing. Lucy tilts her head to the side, pressing her ear to his chest, lulled by the steady beat of his heart.
"Have a little faith in them," Natsu continues after a long moment of silence, his arms wound tight around her, fingers tracing shapes along a bare strip of skin at her hip. Lucy tenses, aware that he isn't simply talking about Romeo and his birthday gift any longer.
She's always had faith in Laxus and Romeo, more than she thinks she should, at times. Romeo has always been an encouraging presence in her life, doing his best to support everyone and simply wanting the best for his family. Laxus has always been the strong one, her backbone when she needed him, but now it's like she hardly knows him. He's angry with her, and Lucy understands, she does, but it's like he doesn't trust her to know what's right.
She wouldn't have brought Natsu here if she thought he would hurt her family, and Laxus' insinuation that she would do something so foolish and fickle as to bring a dangerous man to her home simply because of pity or her feelings hurts more than anything else. He knows her better than that. At least, he used to. She doesn't want to fight with him, but she won't take his anger lying down, not when he won't even listen to her.
Eventually, Lucy nods against Natsu's chest, her grip on him tight before she unwinds herself from his arms, taking a small step back, putting distance between them. Natsu merely watches her, expression revealing nothing. Lucy slips her hand back into her pocket, fingers clenching around the warm stone in her pocket, rubbing her thumb along the smooth surface slowly as she stares up at Natsu.
Her gaze slips from his, wandering to where Romeo stands towards the edge of the woods, still speaking with his friends. Lucy watches him for a moment, and Romeo turns, as if feeling her gaze. His eyes lock with hers, a grin lighting up his expression once again. Her brother catches sight of Natsu standing beside her, but his smile doesn't slip. Lucy relaxes when Romeo merely turns back to his friends, sighing in relief when she doesn't sense any anger coming from him.
Lucy glances up at Natsu, reaching for his hand slowly, and he looks down at her, head cocking to the side as his fingers link through hers. "Will you be all right here by yourself?" she asks him, not wanting to leave him in the midst of strangers.
His lips press into a thin line, brow furrowing. Slowly, he glances around the glade, taking in the multitude of strangers. Natsu shifts on his feet, his free hand clenching into a fist. "I might take a walk," he admits quietly.
Lucy nods, and he disappears from her side slowly, slinking away into the shadows after pressing a chaste kiss to her temple. She feels eyes on them, a gaze burning against her back, but she doesn't bother to look, already knowing who it is.
She'll deal with him later.
Her fingers curl tight around the stone in her pocket, a pleasant warmth spreading through her fingers and up her arm. For a moment she's reminded of the aching sensation in her arm from weeks ago, the prickling sensation on her skin, but it's gone as soon as it comes, and Lucy shakes her head, banishing the thoughts quickly, not wanting to dwell on them during such a celebratory time.
Romeo's birthday came quickly, sneaking up on Lucy, something that's never happened before. Usually she's more on top of things, and it isn't that she forgot, per se. Romeo's birthday has been at the front of her mind for weeks, it's the one thing she never stopped thinking about, not wanting to miss it. It simply came quicker than she realized after returning home. The entire week seeming to pass by far too quickly, there and gone. It was too much to process at once, she's home, but Laxus won't talk to her, and Romeo's came sooner than expected, the dates a mess to her.
Things have been foggy to her since she woke up in Bosco, she slept for a long time, her nightmares constant, and there was no escaping them. It's simply been one thing after another since then, everything moving faster than she remembered.
She never would have remembered the date if it hadn't been for Makarov dropping hints to her the day before. It nearly sent her into a blind panic, thinking she forgot and realizing the date came much quicker than she was expecting. Thankfully, everything was already planned. Lucy had his gift stashed away, ready and waiting, and though originally they planned to take a trip to Crocus to celebrate, those plans were easily brushed aside. There was no time for them to travel there in time, and Lucy wouldn't dare bring Natsu to the capital, fearing the worst could happen.
Makarov was quick to move the party to the glade, eagerly sending Romeo off to watch the shop in town as the rest of them set up lights and moved tables into the grassy space. They ended up finishing early, Jellal and Natsu added help Makarov wasn't expecting.
Lucy smiles fondly as she crosses the clearing, boots moving silently across the grass, Lucy practically a ghost in her movements. Romeo never sees her coming, his back to her as he talks to his friends, a pair of girls no older than him, their eyes bright and their grins large. Their gazes flick to Lucy as she comes close, expressions turning sly as they begin talking animatedly, waving their arms around and clearly trying to distract Romeo, though her dear, sweet younger brother doesn't appear to notice.
Romeo has always been a tad clueless, though his heart is in the right place.
Lucy grins as she steps up behind him, Romeo laughing at something one of the girls said, and she has to fight back a laugh when she tosses her arms around him from behind.
Romeo startles, gasping, and nearly smacks her as he flails, glancing over his shoulder to peer down at her, eyes blown wide with confusion. His friends giggle as Romeo wobbles on his feet, unsteady with Lucy clinging to him from behind. The girls leave while Romeo is distracted, his neck twisted at an odd angle to see her, a grin lighting up his entire face. "Lucy!" He twisting in her arms, long limbs wrapping around her as he lifts her straight off the ground, dangling her several inches in the air and twirling them around.
He buries his face against her shoulder, squeezing her so tightly she loses her breath for a moment. "Got you," she laughs against his ear, though she thinks perhaps it might be the other way around. Romeo laughs with her, arms tightening around her waist for a moment before he sets her down, though he doesn't release her for a moment.
"Why are you being mean to me?" Romeo jokes, pulling back enough to meet her eyes. His lips quirk into a small smile, a mischievous look in his gaze that Lucy is familiar with. Though he's always been a sweet kid, Romeo has always been something of a prankster, more teasing than anything else.
Lucy snorts, grinning and reaching out to tap him on the nose affectionately. "Because I'm your sister," she reminds him, "and that's what I do."
He snorts, then laughs as he shakes his head, expression fond when he grins down at her. "You sound like Laxus," he informs her, and for a second her smile slips, Laxus' coldness to her still a sore spot. Romeo's own smile dims in response to her silence, his gaze apologetic as he looks at her, and it makes something like guilt curl in her stomach, Lucy not wanting to make him feel bad for something like this. She knows he means well.
Instead of responding to the joke, Lucy tells her what she came to say to begin with. "Happy birthday," she whispers against his ear, dragging him down into a tight hug. He holds her just as fiercely, Lucy hardly able to breathe as he clings to her, not daring to let her go. "You're finally growing up," she teases, fingers wiggling against his sides and making him squirm as she tickles him.
"Not too fast, I hope," he murmurs back, nosing at her, Lucy feeling him smile against her hair. She sighs, perfectly content in that moment, and she relaxes for the first time since she's come home. Laxus may not have forgiven her yet, but she should have known better than to think Romeo would stay angry for long.
She shakes her head, knocking her temple against his. "Nah," she muses, "just enough." They stay there for a long moment, clinging to each other, afraid to let go. Lucy works her fingers through his hair, Romeo sighing slightly, and Lucy releases him, taking a step back so she can look at him, her hand digging into her pocket. "This is for you."
Lucy pulls the warm stone from her pocket, and Romeo's eyes widen slightly when he sees the gem, his lips parting in awe. The stone warms against her palm, red light flickering from deep inside the gem, a soft pulsing reminiscent of a heartbeat, or a flame. Her skin tingles where it touches the rock, and Lucy fights to keep her emotions tame, no wanting flames to burst from the stone.
"What is it?" he asks softly, reaching out with tentative hands. Lucy smiles as she slides the stone into his palms, Romeo cupping the stone, wonder in his gaze. A flame no larger than an ember sparks against the rock, dim, but alive.
Another small flame jumps from the gemstone, fire twisting around his hands almost playfully, teasing as it winds around his fingers, careful not to burn him. "It's an Encan fire stone," she explains, an amused lilt to her voice as he stares at the fire, wide-eyed. "I know you've always liked to play with fire," she jokes. Romeo is too good for petty envy over the rest of his family's Faeborne blood, but she wants him to feel like he truly belongs. "Besides, if you're going to the markets, you're going to want some magic."
The fire stills in his hands, and Romeo's eyes snap up to meet hers. "Lucy?" he whispers, confused.
She only grins back at him, Romeo suddenly appearing much younger than he truly is. His lips part, a silent question in his eyes, Romeo unable to find the right words. The flames flicker, dancing around his fingers, careful not to burn him. "You're one of us now, Kid," Lucy jokes, her hair whipping around her face as her magic stirs, curling through the air gently.
"Where did you…" he trails off, shaking his head as a laugh bubbles up from his throat. "How?" Romeo's gaze tears from hers as he stares down at the flame in his hands, fascinated by the soft dim orange wicks of fire lick at his skin, so close Lucy fears he might hurt himself. But the fire doesn't burn him, the stone's magic reacting to Romeo's joy, flames warm but not scalding.
He shakes his head, the flames going out as he shoves the stone into his pocket, his arms wrapping her tightly as he drags her in for a hug. His grip around her is near suffocating, but Lucy only laughs and squeezes him back twice as hard. "Thank you," Romeo whispers against her ear, and Lucy can hear the smile in his voice.
"There's still magic in the world," she reminds him softly, rubbing his back in small circles, feeling him tremble against her. Romeo nods in response, the words familiar to them both. Even in such dark times, magic hasn't left them yet.
He pulls back slightly, keeping an arm tossed around her back. "Lucy," he whispers, breath foggy in the night air, so soft she barely hears him at first, "you didn't have to get me anything." He sends her her favorite lop-sided grin, the right corner of his mouth tugged up higher than the left, Romeo's expression bashful but honest as he stares at her, perhaps a tad melancholy.
She scoffs, shaking her head. "Of course I did." Lucy steps out of his grasp, placing a hand on her cocked hip and sending him a teasing look. "It's your birthday." She reaches up to tweak his nose, and Romeo shakes his head, grinning down at her fondly.
"I already got what I wanted," he replies quietly, running a hand through his messy hair as he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, worrying the skin until it pinkens, raw from the biting. Lucy blinks back at him, confused, and Romeo refuses to meet her eyes for a minutes, staring down at his feet and scuffing his boots against the damp grass, shifting awkwardly.
Lucy swallows, her eyes narrowing as she stares back at him, wondering what he means by that. She tried so hard to get something she thought he'd like, so she knows that isn't the problem. "Was it from Laxus?" she jokes, lips quirking up at the edges as she snorts, shaking her head. "Gods he ruins everything." Lucy glances across the glade to where Laxus still stands beside the Sola tree, gaze locked on her, his lips pressed into a thin line.
She turns back to Romeo quickly.
He smiles at her, small and a little sad. "It was you."
Lucy stares back at him, smile faltering at the seriousness in Romeo's gaze, his expression resolute, jaw locked, blue eyes raging with a soft storm. "Romeo?" she chokes out, a quaver in her voice, and Lucy's throat tightens, tongue thick in her mouth, unable to form anything more than his name. Her arms fall back to her sides, fingers twitching, wanting to reach out to him, but she's grounded in place.
He wets his lips, shuffling before finally meeting her eyes once again. Romeo's voice cracks when he opens his mouth, eyes glossy in the hazy lights from the firestones. "I just wanted you to come home," he admits, voice shaky and thick with emotion. A tear slips from the corner of his eye, barely visible in the low light, but he wipes it away quickly, blinking rapidly.
She doesn't hesitate to step forward and pull him into a tight embrace, Romeo crushing her to him tightly, Lucy hardly able to breathe, but she doesn't care as she clings to him in return, pressing her cheek to his shoulder and burying her nose against the collar of his shirt. "Well, I'm home," she whispers thickly, voice cracking as she feels something wet drip onto her hair. "Romeo, I'm home." She echoes the words against his shirt, squeezing him tightly around his middle, duly noting him nod against her, cheek resting against the side of her head.
"I thought you wouldn't come back," he breathes against her, choking on a sob as he curls around her in the darkness. Shadows from the trees stretch across the ground, threatening to swallow them whole, but Lucy shushes him, cooing as she strokes his hair.
"I know." Lucy cradles him to her, rocking them both slowly. "But I'm home now," she tells him, eyes squeezing shut when he trembles against her, so much younger than he is. "And I'm not going anywhere," Lucy promises.
AN: Almost caught up. I'm not making edits on Arc Two unless noted at the top of the chapter. There's really not much I feel the need to change, aside from a few lines and character mentions. A completely new chapter will either be out this Saturday (June 2) or the next Saturday, as I'm restructuring the arc and trying to remember exactly what I was trying to do with it.