BROKEN AND BRUISED
CHAPTER 6
Lucy woke up in her bed next to a sleeping exceed, she recognized it as the one she saw at Porlyusica. Quietly she tried to move but the exceed woke up nonetheless, he rubbed his eyes open and sat up looking at her.
"Um sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Whispered Lucy blushing slightly.
He just chuckled at her and extended his paw in greetings "No worries Bunny, my name is Panther Lily, nice to meet you!"
She shook his paw and smiled slightly while answering him "Nice to meet you too! I suppose you are my brother's exceed."
He nodded, she giggled and continued "Finally he got you, he was starting to get jealous of the other dragon slayers."
He gave her a small smile before he began speaking "Gajeel told me who you are to him, and also what happened to you in the past, as well as your condition at the moment, so if you ever needed assistance in anything I am more than willing to help you."
She smiled at him and nodded "You are really quite the gentleman, I wonder how your partnership with Gaj-nii is going to fare…" they both chuckled at what the blonde said.
"I get your point. But truly what I learned about your bond with him is amazing."
"Really? What did you learn?" asked Lucy not knowing that later she was going to regret ever asking that question.
"Well for one that the bond between you two is unbreakable no matter the hardships you go through, as well that Gajeel would be able to sense if you are ever in trouble and vice versa, and that he would become overprotective of you to ensure his family's safety." He talked slowly noting the fascination on the girl's face.
"Wow that is amazing! You said you read about this, where?" the blonde inquired enthusiastically.
"It was in a book that Gajeel has in his room, it talks about all the different things that a dragon slayer goes through. Something caught my attention that I found fascinating back when I was reading… it said that a dragon has a mate, that he will form a bond with and love and cherish for eternity and that if she or he died the dragon would never find love ever again and often end up killing himself." Lucy was so mesmerized by all this information and she kept asking him more questions.
"So does that imply as well on dragon slayers?"
"Yes it does, all dragon slayers have mates that they will love and cherish till the end, and get this… a slayer can only impregnate his mate and only his mate- Bunny are you alright?" he was concerned for her when he saw her go pale and her eyes open widely.
"Bunny…?" he was now more worried when he saw the pure horror in her eyes.
Lucy got up slowly from her bed and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen when she heard noise and figured Gajeel is cooking while Lily flew behind her. Gajeel having already sensed her coming looked in her direction, the knife he was using to cut the meat fell from his hand when he saw the look on her face, but before he could ask her what was the matter she asked him a question that left him shook.
"Am I his mate Gaj-nii?" Lucy looked at her brother searching for some kind of comfort, she was done with all these surprises.
"Is the reason why I can't hate him is because of the bond?" now Lucy was trembling because she couldn't stand the idea that the reason why she couldn't hate Laxus was because of the bond, that it is controlling her feelings towards the lightning dragon slayer.
At this moment, the Raijinshuu walked in holding a couple of grocery bags, but they remained silent when they sensed the atmosphere in the room, they sneaked glances towards each other and then to the blonde only to see her trembling.
Gajeel sighed and looked at Lily who was avoiding Gajeel' eyes "No, it's not." He answered his sister "I didn't want to tell you this at the moment because your body is too weak to handle such things."
The blonde widened her eyes "What do you mean my body is too weak?"
"The old hag said that your body is being drained of magic constantly which means that some of your kids or maybe all are wizards. That constant drain will effect on your emotions and body, so you are to avoid stress because it will only strain your body."
The blonde stopped trembling and spoke softly "Please tell me what it all means? I can't handle more surprises about my pregnancy."
He walked close to her and hugged her tightly "It means that you are his mate, the one to complete him, the one who only with could he experience true happiness and love. And the only one who will bear his children."
She started crying and he held her tighter "But Bunny, what you are feeling has nothing to do with the bond because you never interacted before, you didn't form a link between the two of you. So the reason why you can't hate him is only because you have a big heart, a stupid one at that but still."
She giggled and stepped away from him "But then does that mean that I will be forced into a relationship with him?"
"Not at all, you could reject the bond and go on loving another."
"But what would happen to him?" she asked him, and he knew the answer to that question, but he didn't want to tell her.
"I don't know, all the information I got are from the book and the stupid poison lizard." She punched him on his chest and he gihi'ed.
Freed looked at Gajeel and knew that the slayer was hiding something but after hearing all this explanation, a lot of things clarified for the Raijinshuu, and it all had to do with Lucy. They snuck a few glances and nods between each other that did not go unnoticed by the slayer resident in the room.
"Well we're back." Shouted Bickslow from behind Ever and Freed.
Lucy turned to them and smiled "Welcome back!"
Evergreen went and hugged the blonde while Bicks and Freed went outside to organize the table.
"Imma go back to cooking." Gajeel said as he ruffled the blonde's hair only to earn a pout in return.
"So Lucy tell me what happened with you in Edolas?" asked Evergreen.
"Wait wait…" both girls turned their attention to Lily "Your name is Lucy?"
Both girls tilted their heads to the side with Lucy nodding slowly.
"But Gajeel said your name is Bunny."
The blonde looked in the direction the slayer was, only to find out he disappeared, and then she started to giggle, soon Ever joined in only for it to turn into a full blown laughter with Lily standing between them confused.
After a half hour the food was cooked and they took it out to the garden so they could eat their food while enjoying the scenery. Freed helped set the table while Gajeel was bringing in the plates, Bickslow arranging the chairs and Ever getting the drinks, all the while Lucy was sitting on a chair near the table with a pout on her face.
"This is really inappropriate for me to sit while you guys do all the work."
Bickslow walked up to her and ruffled her hair "Don't worry about it, you just take care of feeding these little monsters that you are carrying."
She giggled and looked at him "One day you are going to be an amazing father if you call your kids monsters."
He grinned and rolled out his tongue "Facts Cosplayer, I'm just stating facts."
They both chuckled before they heard Gajeel bark that the table is set, Bickslow helped Lucy get to her chair then sat down next to her with Gajeel on the other side of her.
They all chatted happily while eating, and once they were done Freed and Bicks cleared out the table while Evergreen prepared drinks for the rest of them. She handed each one their respective ordered beverages and sat down on her chair enjoying the view.
Lucy was pealing Kiwis so they could eat them when Panther Lily walked up to her "What are those things Bun-um Lucy?"
She giggled and replied to him "Those are kiwis and you can call me Bunny Lily it's alright. Do you want to taste one?"
He nodded and she handed him a small piece, the minute he took a bite he felt as if he was in heaven, its sweet yet a bit sour taste made him hum in pleasure.
"You like it?" the blonde asked him.
"Very much."
"Great, then I will peal some more for you." He nodded appreciatively in her direction.
"So are you going to go to the party tonight man?" Bickslow looked at Gajeel as he was passing by him.
"I don't know man, I don't wanna leave Bunny alone."
"What party?" inquired the blonde.
"It's a welcome home party for Lisanna, Mira's younger sister." Replied Freed to her question.
The blonde oh'ed then looked at Gajeel "You should go, don't worry about me I will be fine."
The iron dragon slayer shook his head "And if something went wrong, what would you do?"
"You do know that you gave me a communication lacrima."
"Also the master requested for all of fairy tail members to be present." Interjected Evergreen.
"Fine! But the minute you don't feel well you call me." Growled Gajeel out.
"Aye sir." Lucy saluted him with a smile on her face.
Later on they all, minus Lucy, left the cabin and made their way to the guild.
"Out with it Freed, what do you know about the lightning freak's condition?" grumbled Gajeel.
"It appears nothing gets past Black Steel Gajeel huh? Well unfortunately to you nothing gets past me too, you know what happens to dragon slayers when their mates reject them don't you?" Freed looked quizzically at the man who grumbled in response to his remarks.
"You first."
Freed sighed and shook his head, he should have seen this one coming, he knew the man was a bull "Laxus-sama always looked out for Lucy-sama whenever she was in the guild or coming back from missions, at first it was subtle, but then it became more."
"Whenever he would see that fire idiot with her he would growl or hiss, clearly showing his disdain of the relationship between the two of them." Interjected Evergreen.
"And when he found out that the fire crack head took Cosplay-girl to the S-class mission he stole, Laxus got so furious that he stormed out of the guild and almost burned down a whole forest with his lightning." Continued Bickslow.
All the while Gajeel was listening attentively to everything being said to him, at the end of their explanation he let out a sigh, he knew they wanted to know what happens to slayer who are rejected but he wasn't sure if telling them would do any good, he feared it would do bad.
"Now we shared our information with you, it is your turn." Reminded him Freed.
He took a deep breath and began telling them "When a mate rejects his or her slayer, the latter goes through different stages of rejection, the slayer could be in denial, continue to follow his mate around, he could go mad and end up destroying an entire city, or he could get depressed which usually ends up in suicide."
Gajeel looked at the horrified faces each of the Raijinshuu have at the moment "But, if the slayer is strong enough, he could pull through with minimal damage."
After a few minutes of silence Freed spoke up "Then we need to convince-"
"Fuck no! You will not talk to Bunny about this!"
"But-"
"NO! Bunny needs to make her own decisions about this matter, don't you dare influence her opinions on this matter."
"This goes to you too iron head, you can't influence Cosplay-girl's decision."
"I fucking know! Doesn't mean I have to like it though…" he whispered the last bit to himself. Truth be told Gajeel doesn't want Lucy anywhere near Laxus, he doesn't feel that Laxus can keep her safe and happy, but he also understood that he has to keep an open mind about this for when Lucy forgives the fucker because he knows in the end Bunny is sure as fuck going to take Laxus back, that's just who she is.
"Anyway we don't have to worry about that now that he isn't… you know."
The Raijinshuu nodded their heads solemnly towards Gajeel.
"Anyway let's change the subject, this has become very depressing. What are we going to do with Lucy when the S-class trials arrive? It's only a month away." Recalled Evergreen.
"We would need to take more jobs, that's good it would create an excuse for my constant disappearance. I need to take on more jobs because Bunny is eating for four now."
"We will help you as well in buying groceries and anything you need" Gajeel nodded his head appreciatively towards Freed "But the problem here is who is going to stay with her? We can't possibly leave her alone!" finished Freed.
"We won't, I'm staying with her." Answered Gajeel.
"And if you got picked?" asked him Bicks.
"I'll refuse."
"I don't think Lucy is going to like that." Remarked Evergreen.
"She won't know." Shot back Gajeel.
"So what you going to do till then?" questioned Evergreen.
"Take on jobs, Bunny wants to visit the poison lizard tomorrow so we are going to the council's headquarters and such…"
The Raijinshuu nodded their heads, then the group of four continued their walk to the guild all thinking about different things.
XXX
Gajeel was drinking his beer on the porch when he recalled what happened the other day.
The master announced the nominees to go through the S-class trials but then he adds the point where every nominee have to choose a partner, and when Levy came and asked him to be her partner he couldn't refuse her request.
And now after a week they are leaving to the island where the trials are going to be held. But what is already worse is that Lucy knows about the trials and also about the fact that he is Levy's partner and she couldn't be more excited for him. It was all because of that stupid kitty of hers who asked her permission to be Popsicle's partner and then went ahead and told her about everything.
He took a deep breath before standing from the porch and throwing his beer, since all the Raijinshuu plus Lily because Cana chose him as her partner are going, no one was left to stay with the blonde and even though she said it was okay, he didn't believe her so he knew what he should do.
...
Now arriving at the guild, Gajeel quickly shot up the stairs before Levy could catch him, he knocked on the master's office and once he heard a faint come in he opened the door leading to the master's office and walked in.
"Gajeel what can I do for you my boy?" inquired the master as soon as he laid his eyes on Gajeel' form.
"Master, could sign you another partner for Shri- Levy? I am not able to be her partner."
"Well of course, but is everything alright with you Gajeel? You have been working nonstop these last couple of months?"
"All is good master, don't worry about me." Gajeel reassured the master though Makarov didn't believe him but he refrained from probing any further.
"Alright who does she wish for her partner to be then?" the master asked Gajeel eyeing him as the man started fidgeting where he stood.
The master sighed before looking at the slayer "She doesn't know does she?"
Gajeel let out a breath and shook his head.
"Well I'm sorry but I won't be able to help you unless you talk to her and I have a feeling that you are not going to do that or you wouldn't have tried to do so behind her back in the first place."
The iron dragon slayer nodded and turned the door knob to leave.
"By the way Gajeel, how is she?"
The slayer froze, this old man couldn't possibly know that he is taking care of Lucy could he? He may be asking about another person, but in the guild the only person he hangs out with is Lily and Levy, so the master must mean Lucy. But Gajeel isn't going to take any risks, the last thing Lucy needs is the master knowing the truth, so he opted to feign ignorance "I don't know what you're talking about."
The old man only chuckled before rummaging through the files and dropping one in front of the slayer, he then laid back in his chair.
"In this file it says that you live in Fairy Hills but everyone knows you don't anymore and you haven't given us any information about where you are staying now-"
"That doesn't mean anything-"
"But there is a deed to a land in the forest, where a cabin lays, quite isolated from the town and peaceful, very appropriate to take care of someone, don't you think? I've seen the two of you outside the guild many times, you treat her like a sister and she treats you like a brother… I may be old Gajeel but I am not stupid"
The slayer was fascinated by this old man's wits, he then gihi'ed "No you certainly ain't. She's fine."
"Good, that's all I wanted to know."
Gajeel was shocked to hear this "You don't want to know what's wrong with her or anything?"
The old man heaved a sigh "More than anything, but she isn't ready and I respect that. It appears though that you do which means she entrusted you with it, she chose finely as well in doing so."
There was a small tint of blush dusting Gajeel' face after he received the compliment from master "Yeah… Well I should go now."
The master nodded towards him and watched as he left, leaving behind him more questions of the blonde than before, all swimming in the master's head. He didn't know anything about the blonde's condition but he is certain from something, this all has to do with his grandson.
XXX
Gajeel woke up and started preparing his bag, today was the day he leaves for the S-class trials, and he was excited and afraid at the same time. He feared that something would go wrong with Bunny while he isn't here, and no one would be able to know. What's worse is that Loke is going with Gray so only Corvus can open his gate if something went wrong with Lucy, and that thought didn't make him feel better, he knew that the spirit is strong but he didn't feel that he would be enough.
Sighing, Gajeel walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two when he saw Bunny and Lily already up and moving around in the kitchen.
"Oi! What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving about." He hissed at her and she just rolled her eyes, grabbed him by his shoulders and sat him down on the chair nearest to the table.
"Calm down I am just making breakfast, plus Lily was helping me."
"But why are you? Usually you'd be asleep at this time." He was confused as to why the blonde was up so early.
"Well because a dear brother of mine and his exceed are leaving today to participate in the S-class exams, and as I already said goodbye to Freed, Ever and Bicks yesterday, I decided to surprise you with a breakfast this morning before you leave as a form of encouragement!" smiled Lucy at her iron dragon slayer brother who wasn't believing that the blonde woke up early and was cooking him breakfast as a mean of encouragement, he then chuckled and shook his head.
He couldn't help but think that this is exactly something Bunny would do, so he decided not to fight her on it and help her prepare breakfast for the two of them and peal some kiwis for Lily.
After they were done, they sat on the table and Lucy started asking him questions about the exams.
"So you and Levy are partners?" inquired the blonde while subtly smirking.
"Yup! Me and Shrimp are going to beat this shit." He enthusiastically bumped his fist on the table while Lucy all the while was smirking at him, it was then that he noticed her smirk.
"What the hell are you smirking at Bunny?" he questioned already knowing that he isn't going to like the answer.
"Nothing… it just seems fitting that you and Levy are partners."
"Meaning…?" one of his eyebrows rose while he looked at her skeptically.
Meanwhile the blonde was enjoying the torment she was inflicting on her brother "Meaning that partners in life, guild and… love is really amazing."
Gajeel choke on the pancake he was eating and said with his mouth full "You dreaming Bunny!"
"Well it seems it's the other way around, you were the one dreaming yesterday on the couch when you were whispering her name in your sleep- ah sorry, when you were whispering Shrimp in your name."
He swallowed and continued "I could be dreaming about shrimps."
"Do shrimps like positions Gaj-nii?" at this his face reddened "And now I am kinda wondering what this dream was about… could it possibly be-"
"Oh shit I gotta run, Lily come on we gonna be late!" Gajeel yells as he jumps over the table and grabs his bag, puts his dishes in the sink and runs to the door, there he stops and looks back at Lucy to see her smiling.
"Knock em dead Gaj-nii." She calmly says while giving him a soft smile.
"You know I will Bunny." And he walks out with Lily.
No goodbyes were needed because they both knew, this isn't and will never be a goodbye. He will come back after a week tops and Lucy would bother him for all the details, and he will whine that she is annoying him but then give in to her requests and tell her everything, because that is what always happens.
"Be safe Gaj-nii, and come back to me." She whispers as she stares at the door almost immediately missing his presence.
Gajeel who was a bit far away heard her whispers and chuckled "Don't worry Bunny, I'll be back in no time. What could possibly go wrong?"
…
…
…
If only he knew…
XXX
Lucy was sitting at the porch staring at the yard in front of her that was shining by the setting sun, the blonde was wondering about her brother and friends, how they were faring and such when Loke stumbled in front of her breathless and beaten. She was quick on her feet and next to him rubbing his back as he coughed.
"Loke what's wrong? Are you alright? What happened?" she hurriedly asked him questions as she was freaking out, sitting next to him on the ground with a belly in front of her wasn't comfortable, but she managed for the sake of her spirit.
"Lucy, somethi-cough- something bad has happened…" he was trying to catch his breath, but he was also stalling, he didn't know how to tell his precious friend and master, that Tenrou island is gone, that when the fight ended between him and Capricorn, even though he was depleted of magic, he still stayed with the members when out of nowhere, Acnologia, the arcane dragon came and attacked the island, how everyone attacked him and didn't even scratch him… and how when the dragon blew up the island, that was when his gate shut sending him back to his world, how in those last minutes before it completely shut, Gajeel looked at him, the Raijinshuu looked at him and they all nodded, how Gajeel then whispered a 'Take care of her Kitty.' Before the island was no longer.
He couldn't get the image of Laxus there out of his head, not caring at all that Lucy was not in the guild, he wasn't even sure if he noticed. But Loke was sure of something, the Laxus on the island is nothing like the Laxus from four month ago, it was as if something changed within him, but even after all the things he discovered about Laxus, he wasn't going to let him near his princess.
And it hurt watching the guild act as Lucy was never a part of this guild, his heart ached when he found out that Lisanna is the new member of team Natsu, as if Lucy was no more than a replacement. And it seemed that Gajeel and the rest knew because they all looked at him and shook their heads when he was gawking at team Natsu talking after the fights with Hades when it was over.
It was then, that Loke started crying. He cried because he couldn't help his princess, because he failed her yet again… she gave him one simple request before he left, to watch out for the Raijinshuu and Gajeel, and he failed her.
He cried harder deeper his thoughts wondered, he clutched at Lucy for support while the latter was trying to understand what is wrong with him. He cried when he remembered the face of the master when he laid his eyes on him, as if he wanted to ask him something but knew that he wouldn't be able to give him an answer, when he remembered the face of Gray when he walked in the guild and told him that he will be his partner, he noticed then that Gray wanted to ask something but refrained from doing so, as if they asked information about the blonde, it would hurt them. He knew that, but he couldn't shake his feelings of hurt when he learned of the new addition to team Natsu.
"Loke, talk to me what's wrong? Why are you crying?" at this point Lucy also started crying, she couldn't bear seeing him like this.
"They- they are all gone…" he sobbed into her shirt.
"Who Loke, who?" she whispered, already dreading his answer.
"Everyone who was on the island… they are all gone, a dragon came and blew up the island, my gate closed while it was happening, everyone Lucy, they all…" he couldn't continue after he saw Lucy's blank face, he searched his pockets and let out something that he put in her hands. Lucy ever so slowly lowered her head to look at the object, only to find out that it was Capricorn's key with a note attached to it, and it read…
Bunny, I know you gonna enjoy the new addition to your family, Kitty got it for you but I thought I should send something with him for when his gate closes, I am fine, got one hell of a beating though, don't worry about any of us, we'll be back in no time, in the meantime at least you will have this to reassure yourself with… stay safe and wait for me, I got some interesting stories.
Lucy clutched the key and brought it close to her heart as she sobbed loudly "GAJ-NII!"