Hi all! I'm mostly a fanfic reader but this storyline has been stuck in my head for a while so thought I'd give writing a shot!
I'm setting the story roughly three years after the war. Lucy will have received her award a couple of months prior to the start of the story, spending the last two years writing and publishing her book. Things are relatively smooth and steady at the guild, and well... that's it I think?
This is my first fanfic so please be kind! xx
She blamed Levy.
Caught between a groan and a sigh, Lucy dropped her pen to one side, giving up any more attempts to write on her novel and resigned herself to the cause of her distracted mind.
Lucy Heartfillia prided herself on her intelligence and wit. They were her solid allies throughout the years and never had they failed to earn her some decent discounts with merchants or baffle the many dim-witted males foolish enough to believe she was just another blonde bimbo, made to all but spread her legs and dangle prettily at their side.
She was a Fairy Tail mage, and a damn good one too! Lucy trained relentlessly and paved her way just as equally as her fellow nakama did at the guild. Her strength had matured over the years, both mentally and physically, all with the help of her spirits and the bonds forged with her new family.
Alas, it seemed said intelligence would have deserted her earlier that day, and Lucy found herself facing a world of confusion paired with a headache rivalling the ones usually brought on by Cana's infamous cocktails.
Because who else could pick out a simple detail in an otherwise overtold story than Fairy Tail's sweet, innocent (Lucy scoffed at this, where did people think Erza got her raunchy books from?) resident bookworm?
So yes, Lucy concluded, this was Levy's fault.
"You wanna run that by me again, ice prick?"
"What's wrong flame-brain? Ears blocked from your own bullshit?"
"That's it! Fight me asshole!"
Wendy absent-mindedly weaved her way through the guild, occasionally ducking through flying chairs and knocked-over mugs towards her destination. An almost instinctual task by now given her years at Fairy Tail.
The bluenette dragon-slayer approached the table on the far side of the guild by the bar, plopping herself down next to a content Erza munching away on her (fourth?) slice of strawberry sponge cake. Sat with them were Lucy and Levy idly chatting about an upcoming new sale at their local bookstore, with Juvia half listening, half gazing at her beloved Gray-sama. Cana sat cross-legged on a barrel, bottle in hand, fully intent on staying out the brawl to attend to her liquid boyfriend, while Mira peacefully polished glasses and ignored the impending mess that was to come.
"Would you like me to get you a drink, Wendy?"
Wendy looked over to the smiling barmaid and admired the calm aura Mira exuded, and asked for a juice. Once served, Wendy took small sips and took her time to admire the women around her, warmth spreading through her at the sight.
These were easily the most powerful female wizards in Fairy Tail, and they were her family - a fact that never failed to bring a fierce sense of pride and joy. Wendy's lips spread into a happy grin as she listened to the conversation around her. She looked up to these women, all of whom took her under their wing and helped her develop into the person she was today. Whether it was a trip to the shops to get her first bra (Cana's questionable way of sizing her up by physically cupping her still made her squirm in discomfort), or a simple chat about boys, Wendy knew she could count on them all to be there for her.
For the strength of the guild lay in the strength of their camaraderie. And in Fairy Tail, members always looked out for each other.
Wendy had a lot of love for them and knew she would do anything to protect her friends, eyes lingering on a particular script mage, whose stomach started to protrude more with time. Her instincts were always honed in on Levy, mindful of the soon-to-be new addition to her already big family. No doubt a dragonslayer trait, one that Natsu mirrored and one Gajeel thoroughly approved of, much to Levy's bemusement.
"I'm getting really desperate for rent, might not be the greatest time for me to buy anything right now. Sorry Levy…" she heard Lucy say. Wendy took another sip from her juice and looked up to the celestial mage.
"What a shame, I was really looking forward to having a fellow enthusiast come book shopping with me! Maybe next time?" Levy replied.
Lucy looked dejected for a moment and dropped her head on to the table. "There just haven't been any great jobs on the board at the moment. At least, none that would keep Natsu interested. Mavis help me if he gets bored on a job and destroys something again." Wendy cringed a little at the latter remark and remembered the last team mission they went on together. The supposedly easy mission required them to act as bodyguards for a wealthy family at their masquerade ball. A simple task that certainly had its perks – Wendy never thought she would get to wear such a pretty dress again in her life – especially considering there wasn't much threat and they were hired as more of a precautionary measure.
Even Natsu was able to enjoy the party to a certain extent once he saw the many tables awash with all sorts of food laid out. It was only when a show started which included a flashy smoke and light display that Natsu decided there might be danger and proceeded to destroy half the ballroom. Erza's wrath only added fuel to the fire (proverbially and literally) and Gray's attempt to smoothen the situation almost froze half the guests. Truly, it was no surprise they lost their reward money.
"Cheer up, Lucy!", Mira quipped from the bar. "There's actually a new request that came though: an innkeeper from Hargeon Port is looking for some help with some shipment. The reward is fifty-thousand jewels a day with free accommodation as it states the job might take up to three days. It's not action packed, but it will certainly give Natsu something to do, ne?"
At the mention of the jewels Lucy already perked up from the table and gave a relieved grin to Mira. "That sounds perfect! Always the lifesaver, what would I do without you?"
Mira giggled and made her way behind the bar to their table with the job flyer in hand. "You just get your rent in order. Besides, it would be a great opportunity for you and Natsu to spend some time together. After all, that is where you met each other, right?"
Wendy did not miss the sharp, mischievous glint in the elder Strauss' eyes, and by the looks of Lucy's ever so slight shiver, neither had she. Wendy felt a little sweat drop, understanding now when Mira was in one her infamous match-making moods.
"Ah ha… yes, I suppose it's been a while, a little break won't hurt." Lucy said. She glanced a wary eye towards Natsu, currently entangled in a headlock by a triumphant looking Elfman and gave a resigned look to Mira. "We'll take it, Mira, please could you put our names down? I'll inform Natsu about it in a bit."
The white-haired barmaid put down another polished glass and smiled. "Of course! I'll let the Master know to contact the clients later today."
Wendy watched the exchange, her interest piqued with what Mira had mentioned earlier. "I didn't know Lucy-san and Natsu-san met in Hargeon." At this, most of the girls paused and turned to look at the bluenette. She fidgeted a little under their attention and carried on. "Come to think of it, I don't actually know how Lucy-san and Natsu-san came to know one another."
Cana cackled wildly, "It's certainly a fiery one!"
Meanwhile Juvia gasped. "Oh my, not even Juvia knows this story! She only knows about her previous connection to her family from when she was with Phantom Lord. Is it as romantic as her encounter with Gray-sama?" she exclaimed.
Lucy let out a small nervous laugh, knowing full well there was no point in refuting Juvia when she was in her romance-fantasy land. "Well Wendy, I suppose you wouldn't know, would you? It's not as romantic as Juvia is making it out to be," she smiled and ignored the glare Juvia threw her way, "but it was quite the meeting! Not all that surprising really, considering it's Natsu we're talking about…"
"Would you please tell me about it?" Wendy asked, eyes wide with wonder and excitement.
How could Lucy say no to that?
"I guess so. It started not long after I ran away from home…"
She smiled fondly as she recounted the events that led to her meeting Natsu and Happy. Lucy never had much reason to revisit this particular memory, not so much because she didn't want to, rather she'd come to learn to live the day and look to the future instead of the past, much like the rest of the guild members did.
It dawned on Lucy that she had captured the table's attention, including Mira who was leaning on the bar top using her elbows, head propped up by her hands on either side of her face. Juvia and Wendy were raptly listening, Cana wasn't swigging her drink as fast, Erza sported a motherly smile and Levy had both arms crossed over her book on the table throughout Lucy's storytelling.
They laughed with her as she regaled them on her hectic encounter with her now favourite boys, gasped when she revealed the evil plan behind the sleazeball of a man who pretended to be Fairy Tail's Salamander (Dora?), exasperated when hearing of Natsu's lack of heroics when he got sea-sick in his rescue attempt, whooped when he beat the guy (Tora? Clearly, she didn't care much to remember his name), and squealed after hearing Natsu had grabbed her by the hand to run away and be introduced to Fairy Tail.
"Juvia thinks it's so romantic… just like how Gray-sama grabbed her hand to prevent her from falling to her death!" the water mage gushed.
Cana looked a little thoughtful, "Charm magic, huh? Didn't think there was much of that goin' around anymore."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Erza quipped, "it's been banned for a few years now for the very same reasons these vile creatures intended to lure young women into a trap." Her grip on her fork seemed dangerously strong, Lucy thought she could hear the metal groaning from the pressure.
Lucy slowly backed away from said redhead, not wanting to be within Erza's vicinity during her "feminist justice mode" as she called it. She gently bumped into Levy, who she now curiously observed to be quiet and pensive, if said script mage's furrowed eyebrows were of any indication.
Seeming to snap out of it from Lucy's nudge, Levy noticed her surrounding and finally joined in on the conversation.
"Well I suppose it explains a lot though," she voiced out while waving over to the bar. "Hey Mira, can I get another of the same drink please? Maybe with a bit more iron too, if possible." She added sweetly.
Confused at her remark (and inwardly gagging at her new choice of beverage), Lucy looked over to her best friend. "What do you mean? What explains a lot?"
Levy shrugged nonchalantly. "You know, how you and Natsu ended up being so close together so fast."
Nothing could have prevented the following silence from the group.
Wendy looked around and silently amazed at how Levy seemed so oblivious to the amount of scrutiny surrounding her. Mira came by to drop off her beverage on the table and Levy looked up in thanks. Before she could utter a single word though, Levy suddenly took note of a heavy demonic aura choking her, contrasting greatly to the awfully sugar-sweet smile Mira gave her.
"Care to expand on that point, Levy?"
Said bluenette gulped, hands automatically settling on her pregnant belly (Wendy hissed lowly at Mira before clamping her mouth in horror, not that the Strauss paid much mind to it). "Aah… aha… what I mean is, it all makes sense why they've both been glued to the hip from the beginning? Why Natsu is more tactile around her? We all knew he was close to Lisanna before but even you guys have to admit he was never that attached to her."
Erza hummed thoughtfully at this. "That is true. While they were undoubtedly close, Natsu was not quite as forthcoming as he has been around you, Lucy."
The blonde woman spluttered and blushed profusely. "Wait, hold on! What exactly are you saying here?" She cried out.
"Lu," Levy started gently, "think about it. That moment when you realised the creep was using a charm spell?"
Lucy seemed hesitant to respond, instinct almost activating into fight or flight mode, yet for the life of her she could not quite figure out why. "Yes…?"
"We know that charm spells can only be broken three ways, right?" Levy continued, hoping Lucy would quickly catch on before the others did.
"Of course: if the caster stops using the spell, if the other person 'understands' the charm and knows about it, and lastly when –" Lucy abruptly stopped, eyes widening in shock though no one knew why.
Wendy could not help her curiosity at this point, the silence that followed felt thick with awkward tension as everyone waited to hear the rest of Lucy's answer. "What was the third point?" she prompted.
Lucy, on the other hand, stayed eerily quiet. Apprehension mixed with shock horror filled her being as a heavy understanding dropped into her stomach like a rock.
Surely, she wasn't implying –
"They say the third way of breaking a charm spell," Lucy looked up in panic at the sound of Levy's voice, "is with the presence of an animae dilectus."
The following silence reflected the confusion on everyone's face, Cana the first to crack. "An animal rectus? What's that supposed to mean?" She slurred.
Levy inwardly lamented, knowing she had basically opened a can of worms and no amount of complicated jargon would get her out of this mess.
"Animae dilectus." She repeated carefully. "It refers to a person with whom you share an instant, absolute and unconditional bond. It's Latin for soulmate." Levy finished, waiting for the inevitable penny to drop on the group.
"…"
Wendy gasped softly. "Oh my."
What ensued next was a domino effect of mass proportions.
Mira promptly fainted, Erza's face exploded in a fierce blush, Juvia shook Levy to find out where she could find such a spell (presumably so she could test her love for Gray) and Cana sloshed around her booze while doubled over in laughter.
"Who'd thunk it after all this time!" She cracked out.
Lucy, on the other hand, felt her hackles raised by Cana's statement. She was utterly floored by Levy's suggestion and felt embarrassment creep up her body. "Now wait a minute here, Natsu may have contributed to my understanding of the charm spell, but I understood it! I realised what it was and that is what broke the spell for me." She emphasised.
The girls somewhat calmed down around her at this information, until Levy piped up again.
"Maybe so, Lu, but had Natsu not intervened and pushed his way through to meet the fake Salamander, which by extension led to your sighting him, you would have remained under the spell," she said, "You said so yourself, you broke out of the trance only after Natsu appeared, and only then did you realise you were under the charm effect."
Lucy could only gape at her, heart pumping wildly and words failing to form in her mind faced with Levy's simple logic. "What… But the…. So, what are you saying?" She sputtered.
Levy shared a cautious glance to the others, stuck between a rock and hard place. She hadn't meant to create such a fuss over what she thought was a simple observation, and she couldn't help but feel guilty when looking at Lucy's conflicted face. Levy belatedly realised this was an incredibly personal discovery that only Lucy should have had to deal with eventually, yet here she all but threw it to her, and in the open no less.
She heaved a sigh and looked at the celestial mage square in the eyes. It was too late now, and if Levy were a little honest with herself, maybe this would be the push the blonde needed to finally come to terms with her not-so-platonic relationship with the dragonslayer. Mavis, even everyone and their mothers knew it except for the two in question.
"Lu, isn't it obvious? Natsu was the one who broke you out of the spell," Levy tried slowly.
"…"
"I'm saying he's your soulmate."
Tadaaaa!
Guys, I can't emphasise how daunting it is putting yourself out there so please be kind, all criticism welcome but I implore you to keep it constructive. This was super fun to write and a great learning curve for me. Let me know your thoughts!