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April 11th, X778
Lucy was grateful to Yukino. She'd patched Lucy up as best as she could, mostly fretting over Lucy's face. It ached terribly now that the adrenaline had worn off, and a beautiful bruise was already sprouting along her cheekbone and eye. Her lip was so swollen, she could almost see it in her peripheral view. Yukino expressed concern over Wendy's definite concussion, but seeing as there weren't any proper hospitals or equipment to do scans with, she'd settled on just keeping an eye on her for the next day or two.
Which wasn't necessarily the end of the world, but Lucy was frustrated. She was sure as hell not staying in Hyacinth after all this. These people, while they weren't at fault for Jerome's actions, had chosen to ignore the danger. And who knew what kind of danger would come later, if their defenses failed? Still, she couldn't leave without talking to Wendy about it though. She wouldn't. Wendy deserved a real conversation about it and she deserved the chance to choose if she wanted to come with them. Lucy chose to view it as a blessing in disguise, noting that she'd have to take time to gather supplies and such anyways, and then figure out where to actually go. Even if she trusted no one here, she would wait for Wendy's choice.
But Lucy trusted Natsu, who stood outside of Yukino's home waiting for her, speaking pleasantly with a confused Sting. He must have seen Natsu on his way in, she mused. He perked up, completely diverting his attention from Sting as he called Lucy's name in a warm greeting. He'd cleaned his scarf, erasing the blood and dirt that had stained it. Lucy grimaced at the reminder as she rejoined him, relieved he was right where she'd left him.
Ignoring Sting for just a moment as he stared wide-eyed at her bruised face, Lucy reached out and tugged gently on the end of the scarf Natsu had thrown around his neck. "I'm sorry about throwing it aside like I did," she said quietly. "I know it means a lot that you let me hold onto it."
Natsu's grin was easy-going, though there was a hint of that earlier rage lingering in his gaze, intermixing with worry. He said nothing though, nor did he seem annoyed with her for what she'd done to his diale. Instead, he bumped her gently with his shoulder. "I could barely track it as it was, Luce. I wouldn't have known where you guys were if you hadn't done it." It eased some of her guilt.
"Your face, Lucy," blurted Sting, unable to hide his alarm anymore. "What happened?"
Natsu answered for her with a light frown. "Luce found trouble in the safe zone," he said lightly, though it didn't sound like a joke.
Lucy shot him a half-hearted glare that faded quickly enough. She sighed softly. "Long story short, we found the person hurting others," she told Sting tiredly. "And I got a little too close for comfort." Sting sputtered, clearly having questions, but Lucy ignored him and turned back to Natsu. "Can we go back to the townhouse now? I'm tired."
Natsu didn't question it. He bumped against her shoulder again without a word and spun away from Sting, not even bothering with a farewell. Lucy, more polite, waved at Sting, who immediately made a beeline for the front door of his shared home. Lucy suspected he was going to track down Yukino and find out what the hell had happened.
As she and Natsu began making their way down the street, heading for the townhouse Lucy had been occupying, Natsu was surprisingly calm and quiet. Normally, her friend bounced about, chatting about something or another. He seemed lost in thought at the moment. Lucy couldn't read his expression as she copied him and bumped into him cautiously, hiding her wince. It wasn't just her face that was bruised; tackling someone down a flight of stairs created a number of them it turned out. "Natsu? Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that." He snorted loudly at her question, startling her when he reached out and gently prodded at her bruised cheek. He took in the changing color with a grimace. He retracted his touch immediately when she hissed at the throb of pain that splintered through it. "Sorry."
Lucy couldn't help the swell of warmth that blossomed in her chest. "It's fine. I'll live." She exhaled in a large gust of air, sighing. "I don't want to stay here though," she added, uncertainty coiling in her chest. Maybe this place was essentially the one he'd promised to find her when they'd first met now that Jerome was gone and the Vhalis dealt with, but…she didn't feel safe. Not with the knowledge that so many people had willingly let Jerome continue killing women without so much as trying to find him.
Rather than pointing out any of that, Natsu said simply, "Okay."
"Okay?" she echoed, glancing at him.
"Okay." Natsu gave her a small grin. He folded his hands behind his head, glancing skyward with a thoughtful look. "If you don't think it's safe, then it's not. We'll find somewhere better for you to live."
He'd help her, and even better…Natsu wasn't going to leave her. Lucy blinked back the annoying flurry of tears that threatened to rise. When Natsu glanced at her, a frown tugging at his lips, Lucy averted her gaze quickly. She didn't want to cry, let alone for him to see it. Clearing her throat, she told him, "Mira came all on her own, you know. You didn't have to leave town."
"I noticed." Natsu rolled his eyes. "At least she likes you. She's a good person to have on your side." For a moment, Lucy could have sworn there was a hint of displeasure there, as if he was more annoyed about Mirajane being fond of Lucy than about the fact that Mirajane had shown up when he wasn't there.
Lucy's lips quirked. She supposed that Mirajane had become a fairly good friend. She'd not once doubted Lucy in anything Lucy had told her regarding what had been happening. She'd only helped, just as Natsu would have. Lucy hadn't been willing to let Wendy help, but she was sure Wendy would have, too. "I like Mira," mused Lucy. She glanced at him, unable to help the soft laugh that escaped her when Natsu only scowled. Playfully, Lucy mused, "But Mira's not the one who wrecked my apartment, so you're going to have to suck it up and help me find somewhere again."
She saw the annoyance seep away immediately, replaced by such a bright smile, Lucy thought he had regained some of that power he'd lost. She almost laughed. But that laugh wavered into a near sob that she just barely managed to bite back before it escaped, and Lucy kept her mouth shut after that.
She was so happy that Natsu was back.
Mirajane and Gray waited for them back at the townhouse. Mirajane had been in the midst of whipping up a small meal. Lucy couldn't bring herself to tell Mirajane she wasn't hungry. Gray seemed amused with Mirajane's efforts though, enthralled with the goddess of witchcraft's ability to cook. Lucy agreed it was interesting to watch. Mirajane was quite good at cooking.
"How's Wendy?" asked Gray as soon as they'd stepped inside, and Mirajane glanced up eagerly for their answer.
"Hopefully she'll be alright," answered Lucy, shrugging her jacket off stiffly and hanging it by the door. "Yukino's going to keep an eye on her for a bit, but there's not much more we can do. She's definitely concussed, but there's no hospitals to make sure there's not anything worse."
"That's good to hear." Mirajane looked sharply at Lucy. "And you? You had your injuries tended to?" Lucy nodded firmly, and Mirajane's smile eased. She was pleased by that. "I'm glad I was given the chance to eat that soul," Mirajane said rather smugly, her blue eyes gleaming with a gutteral rage that was gone as quickly as it came, accompanied by an underlying ancient rasp to her voice. "Now," continued Mirajane, pointing at the table Gray sat at, "go sit down so you can eat."
Natsu perked up at the idea of food, which made Lucy fight back a smile. She wasn't really hungry, but she didn't want to argue, so she dropped heavily to sit in the chair across from Gray while Natsu chose to wander over and peer at what Mirajane was making. Lucy settled back cautiously with a wince, muttering more so to herself than any of the gods around her, "Remind me to never throw myself down a flight of stairs again."
Gray's lips twitched in amusement, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he rocked back and draped an arm over the back of his chair as he said, "I was able to save that soul, you know. The one he'd kept in the house." His jaw tightened and frost crept along that chair for a moment before vanishing. "She was his most recent victim."
Quietly, Lucy murmured, "I don't know how he managed it, but he had her trained like a dog. It was horrible." She still felt immensely guilty about commanding the Vhalis as she had. Perhaps it had been in self-defense, but it definitely wasn't one of her proudest moments.
Natsu didn't look over, but Lucy saw his face twist into a scowl momentarily. He said nothing. Instead, he turned his attention onto another, likely more important matters now that the danger of Jerome was gone. "Mira, what do you know about Valhalla?"
Mirajane stilled, spatula still pressed into her pan. She exhaled softly, slowly going back to cooking, albeit a little rougher than before. Her voice was a soft hiss again. "Nothing. I know nothing. And Mavis won't answer me. I can't say I mind though," she admitted, rage seeping away. "I've missed this world. I found my family, you know. Or, at least, their descendants. They've protected themselves with spells I blessed them and only them with years ago. They're alive and well, which is more than so many can say nowadays."
Gray stiffened. "Mira…"
She rolled her eyes, waving him off. "They didn't know who I was, Gray. It's fine. I'll deal with the trouble I'll be in later." Mirajane appeared wistful as she dumped the meal she'd made onto a plate, shooing Natsu's hands away when he tried to snag a bite. Natsu pouted as Mirajane placed what looked like an omelet firmly in front of Lucy, whose lips twitched. She thanked Mirajane quietly.
Natsu made a detour to come and sit in another chair close to Lucy's. Amused and not really wanting to eat it, she let him steal a few bites of her food as she said to Gray and Mirajane, "Natsu and I are going to find another place for me to live. As nice as it was for Juvia to let us come here, I've…it's not going to work."
"Figured." Gray seemed unsurprised, although he didn't seem too bothered by it either. Lucy wasn't expecting that; Gray had been one of the ones most interested in them finding the safe zone. "And probably not a bad idea. When Juvia hears what happened to the lost souls, she'll withdraw her protection. She's sensitive about people taking advantage of her."
Mirajane murmured, "A bit of an understatement. Convince her otherwise if you can, Gray. Not everyone here is guilty. Though…they do deserve a scare or two." A purr crept into her voice then, blue eyes bright. "Just to remind them they aren't at the top of the food chain like they think they are."
Lucy immediately decided she needed to leave Hyacinth sooner rather than later. She had no desire to know what surprise Mirajane thought appropriate for Hyacinth. She pushed a bite of food around her plate, ignoring the hard stare Natsu immediately gave her. There were a few things she'd miss about being in such a place. There were no concerns about starving here, when there were fish always coming from the docks.
"The markets will continue tomorrow and the day after," continued Mirajane suddenly, leaning back on a counter. She searched Lucy's gaze when Lucy warily looked at her, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "It might be worth your while trying the markets again, Lucy. There will be supplies that you will find useful while you're traveling, I'm sure."
Lucy thought of the water bottles she and Wendy had acquired just an hour or so before everything had gone sideways. She wanted to walk in the opposite direction from the docks. She really, really didn't want to go back to them after what had happened. But she didn't really have a choice, seeing as that's where the market was. "We'll need better things to trade," admitted Lucy. "There were a few things, but…we didn't have anything useful for trading."
"Good things wash up on the shores. I'll go walk them now." Mirajane beamed, pleased at the idea of being useful. Mirajane glanced briefly at Natsu, who was still watching Lucy as she pushed food around the plate, not wanting to eat it. "Natsu, keep an eye on her, alright?"
Lucy snapped a glare up to Mirajane. "I'm not a child."
Ignoring her, Natsu playfully saluted Mirajane though he didn't smile or laugh at Lucy's protests as he should have. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. She'd survived just fine on her own, today and in the past. Mostly, it was their fault actually. Their fault that she'd been struggling with it lately. At least, she thought it was their fault.
Mirajane left after that, and Gray excused himself, too, promising to check in later. He didn't bother to tell them where he was going. With only Lucy and Natsu left, Natsu stared openly at Lucy as she finally pushed her plate away. He snagged it, furrowing his brow at just how much food was left on it. Lucy never left anything left, not when she knew food wasn't always a guarantee. "You should eat, Luce," he said lightly, but Lucy shook her head, pushing away from the table.
"I'm not hungry," she muttered. He was right; she really ought to eat, but she was simply so tired, and her head had begun to throb painfully along with the rest of her body. Not wanting to argue with him about it, she turned to leave, only to falter. "You'll be here when I wake up?" she checked.
Natsu didn't respond at first, simply watching her. After a long moment of staring, he nodded curtly. "I won't go anywhere. I'll start sorting stuff for when we leave."
The simple vow eased her sudden fear, and Lucy relaxed almost immediately. She offered a hesitant smile that he didn't return. "It's nice to have you back. We'd have been toast if you'd not shown up. Thank you for that," Lucy said as sincerely as she could. "And thank you for the keys. They helped me a lot while you were gone." She touched her pocket, sending a silent thanks to the minor gods in charge of those keys. She could have sworn they warmed against her fingers.
Only then did Natsu's harsh gaze soften and a hint of a smile curve over his lips. Lucy was relieved. It didn't fit him, that seriousness. "I'm glad you're okay," he said. "Wendy, too."
A soft snort left her. She wasn't sure about that. But she only murmured that she'd check in with him after her nap and headed for the stairs, comfortable knowing that a god would be keeping watch.
Lucy awoke gasping for air, hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. She rocked upright, immediately grasping for anything that might give her some light, only to remember that there were no lamps, no light switches that would work, no phone even. So, she made do with a flashlight she found in her pack, which had been put beside her bed at some point. A lump formed in Lucy's throat. Natsu had likely moved it there, knowing she liked to keep it close in case an emergency arose.
Her heart rate slowed after a few minutes, though she found she couldn't make her hands stop shaking. The nightmare lingered in her head. She'd seen the Vhalis, ripping apart Jerome, and Jerome, himself, with his hands wrapped around Wendy's throat. She'd screamed and tried so hard to help Wendy and hadn't been able to do a single thing.
Lucy tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't, so after a while, she gave up and shakingly left the room entirely, seeking the comfort of someone else's presence. She was relieved when she heard familiar muttering in the living room of the townhouse and stopped on the stairs to find Natsu standing in the midst of chaos, sorting through things he'd found. He had his hands on his hips, gaze expertly skimming the piles. He looked mildly annoyed by something until he realized Lucy had appeared. The annoyance vanished immediately as he focused on her rather intensely, frowning deeply. "Luce?"
The fear faded. Everything was fine, she told herself. Wendy was safe and alive at Yukino's. There weren't any Vhalis about. Jerome was dead. Everything was alright.
It didn't soothe the lingering shakiness though, so Lucy simply went all the way down the stairs, checking the windows. It was the middle of the night, more than likely. Natsu had been using a few candles he'd set around the room to light it so he could see what he was doing. "How's the packing going?" she said hoarsely.
His gaze lingered on her, and Lucy knew for a fact that Natsu knew she wasn't okay. But he didn't push her, didn't demand answers. Instead, he shrugged and said simply, "Okay, I guess. We'll have to go find a few things." He pointed to a single set of items. "I brought out Wendy's stuff, too. In case she decides to come with us. And," he added, beaming proudly, "I found all the things you always tell me to look for. Including that sleeping stuff you like. The only thing I couldn't get was the blanket you were using."
Lucy's lips parted as she shone her flashlight over a few smaller things she'd not have thought to ask him to grab, too. There was an extra pair of thick gloves, and even the notebook she'd been using alongside a few pens he'd found. It did nothing to help the shakiness in her chest, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat. "Good job."
It was as if Lucy had handed Natsu the sun and moon all in one. She could have sworn her friend's eyes shone abnormally bright as he turned to a pile of food he'd made, frowning at it. "You'll have to go through this stuff. I don't know what will keep better than the rest. I know you don't like when I find sweet stuff, but I threw in some anyway 'cause I know you like them, even if you get mad at me about it."
The tether she'd kept on her emotion snapped. It was such a stupid thing to cry over. She absolutely did not want to cry, let alone over candy after everything that had happened in the day. Especially given their circumstances. The world had ended. Millions had died and turned into souls so twisted by pain, they became creatures straight from the nightmares she'd never thought of. She'd effectively killed someone, and Wendy had been put in danger by her because she'd wanted to stop a serial killer. And that was before she even looked at Natsu's side of all the trouble.
But Natsu had decided to throw in a pack of candy because somehow, in the midst of everything, he'd noticed she liked it, even when she refused to waste space by bringing it along over other supplies.
When Lucy didn't answer right away, Natsu looked back at her and blanched. "What?" he demanded, immediately anxious, and Lucy cursed aloud as she shoved the tears away with her hand. They fell against her will, careless of her wishes. She hissed at the pain that lanced through her black eye, mumbling, "I'm fine."
"But you're not." Natsu sounded distressed by that, hands fluttering uselessly as he tried to figure out what to do. He stood in the center of his mess for a moment, eyes wide, and then plucked up the candy he'd snagged. He picked his way through the supplies and tried to offer her a piece, as if it would help, but it only made the tears fall thicker and faster. "Luce," he cried, exasperated.
"I'm fine," she repeated, laughing thickly as she wiped her tears away yet again. She cleared her throat, voice trembling just a little. "I'm just…thank you." She didn't mean for the words to be laced with so much emotion, so much affection and warmth and gratitude, but she didn't regret it. She had a lot to thank him for.
Because while she'd had a decently safe place to live in before Natsu had come along…she'd been entirely alone. Now, she wasn't. Even as she planned to drag him back out into the unknown and dangerous world unnecessarily, she had a friend who cared. That was more than a lot of people had.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Lucy gratefully patted his shoulder and accepted a piece of candy – if only to make him feel like he'd done something to help her feel better. She began to scan the supplies he'd pulled together as a distraction. She forced herself to clear her head so she could ensure she didn't miss anything they might need. "You did a really good job," she said again. "We'll only need to get a couple things. Is Gray coming with us?"
Natsu shrugged, folding his arms and watching her closely. Clearly, he didn't think that Lucy was as fine as she claimed she was. "Maybe. I don't think he will though. He wanted to find some more lost souls."
"Then he ought to stick around us," muttered Lucy, cautiously nudging aside a few things with her foot that she didn't feel they needed to take. "Apparently, if you hang around me long enough, they just appear. Like magic."
Natsu said something under his breath that sounded rather akin to "no, you're just Lucy," but Lucy pretended she didn't hear it. Instead, she settled down to start organizing everything a little better, ignoring the chill in the house against her bare feet. Working on packing things was better than trying to go back to sleep when sleep was avoiding her in favor of nightmares. Natsu joined her, and they worked in a peaceful silence.
Eventually, however, her eyes began to droop. She was sure she could see dawn creeping up when Natsu elbowed her and said kindly, "Lucy, you really should go get some more sleep. You didn't get enough."
She shook her head, determined, but knew that the yawn she tried to stifle didn't help her case. "I don't want to," she said stubbornly, more than aware of her childish response. Natsu looked amused ever so briefly before it was replaced with sincere concern. He waited. Finally, Lucy admitted, "I'm…I had nightmares. I don't want to see them again."
Understanding flashed over his face. "Then go lay down over there," he said, indicating the couch he'd pushed against a far corner. "I'll keep an eye on you. We won't leave until you've slept a whole night. It's not safe for you."
Lucy hated that he was making sense, and that he was right. Still, she sighed and gave up. She didn't have the energy to argue. "Fine," she grumbled, reluctantly clambering to her feet and making her way over to the sofa. She flopped down onto it, admitting it was rather comfortable and almost wishing they could take it with them. It would far outdo any ground she had to sleep on. Natsu reached over and grappled around until he found a small blanket Wendy was fond of. He threw it her way.
Tucked beneath that small blanket, Lucy watched Natsu as he went back to work, humming. It was comforting, that hum. It wasn't the high-pitched one that frequently accompanied danger. It was in a far deeper voice, accompanied occasionally by words she couldn't understand.
Lucy thought it sounded like a lullaby, one that Natsu sang just for her.
Aftermath! I love that last section of this chapter.
Thank you for the well-wishes about my mishap on the stairs! I'm perfectly fine now, just embarrassed by what happened. Lol.
Thank you as always to the lovely reviewers (hopelesskar, SheWhoLeavesCrappyReviews, mayth2008, nerdalertwarning, CMenard, Meow Orbit, dooryy, & TaraPasty!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
