BROKEN AND BRUISED
CHAPTER 9
Cobra was drifting in the lake on his back with his eyes closed, next to him was Layla in a white baby unicorn float, the little blonde was splashing the water beside her. Cobra had his hand on the float to keep her near him and not drift off. He wondered when he became such a sap, it was probably all because of Sunshine, if only the Oracion Seis saw him now, he would probably off himself from embarrassment. This thought made him shudder, to say the truth he somewhat missed his tower cellmates, they were together since they were young, but now they were in jail while he was enjoying himself in the lake.
He heard a giggle and opened his eye to peer at Layla, he saw the girl in her baby one piece swimsuit giggling at the water as she splashed it, she was strapped to the float so she wouldn't fall, but the girl was wiggling trying hard to dump herself in water. He smiled at her, he knew that if they received an ounce of the love and warmth Sunshine provided him and is still, none of his old guild mates would have went down this way.
Sunshine's kids were lucky, that was something he knew for sure. He remembered his days in the tower, how utterly scared and frightened he was, but no one lend him a comforting hug, told him things would get better, told him that he had to stay strong and encouraged him, none of them had, because they all needed it and didn't know what to do. But now, he just has to sigh in front of the blonde and she would bombard him with questions, ask him if he was okay, if something was wrong. And then before he even answers she would already be on her way to hug him… yeah Sunshine's hugs were something he could never tire of, she would hug him and he would feel the most calm and safe in her arms.
He sighed and then closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it. That's when he opened his eye in fright, he smelled something different in the air, a new smell, he knew Lahar was going to come tomorrow, and he knew the man's scent, it always seemed tinged with a lot of guilt, and he noticed it always amplified whenever he looked at the blonde.
Now alert, Cobra shot up from the water and walked closer to the edge, pulling Layla with him. The baby screamed and was about to start crying when he rubbed circles on her back and shushed her, she was furious she got interrupted from her fun. Arriving at the porch, he opened the door and walked in dripping wet.
"Sunshine are you alright? I smelled someone… different." He said the last bit quietly as his eye locked with piercing black one.
He could see Sunshine stiffened in her place, her back to him. He could smell the nervousness coming from her in waves, she turned slowly and smiled weakly.
"Father this is Cobra, my brother… and the girl in his arm is my daughter, Layla." Jude widened his eyes at those words, he looked back and forth between his daughter and his seemed to be granddaughter, then his eyes landed on the maroon haired man with one eye closed, and he eyes him closely… Lucy introduced him as her brother, what did she mean by that.
The blonde continued "Cobra this is my father, Jude Heartfilia." She signaled to the man behind her, her voice quivering from the stress and shock she was feeling at the moment.
Cobra took a sniff of the air around him, the man before him smelt differently than Lucy by a lot, but there was a distinctive smell to him that only screamed Sunshine. He also smelled something vile coming from the man but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Jude cleared his throat and fixed his suit, he was clad in a simple maroon business suit, he locked eyes with Cobra once again and spoke, his voice deep "Nice to meet you… Cobra."
The slayer nodded his head in acknowledgment to the man "Likewise." He figured it would be a good choice to not show the ass side he has to her father, because even though the man was not a mage, he looked intimidating. Now Cobra was not scared at all by the man, he knew that even though he was without his magic, he could easily beat him, but out of respect to Sunshine as well, he decided to be polite, as much as he can. He knew he was going to slip somehow.
Jude then turned to Lucy "Lucy."
She looked at him slowly and nodded, he knew she was still wary around him, after all the mistakes he has done in the past with neglecting her then sending a guild after her because he wanted to sell her off in marriage, were not something someone can easily forget, and he expected that reaction from her.
"May I please speak with you?" he asked as gently as he possibly could. He wanted to elevate some of the wariness from her eyes, and it seemed to do the trick when she relaxed a little and gave him a small smile "Sure."
Just then, Layla started crying stretching out her hands to her mother. Lucy softly smiled at her little girl and crossed the room to get her. Once in her arms, the baby wailed then snuggled in Lucy's neck, the blonde started shushing her and rocked her till she quieted down.
Lucy looked at Cobra and asked "Did she have lunch yet?"
The slayer shook his head no, he then saw Layla shiver a bit and almost face palmed himself, he should have known better, she just got out of the lake. He went upstairs and after a few seconds came back down with a towel, he wrapped it on the little girl and took her from her mother's arms.
"You should go talk to your father. I will hold down the fort here." He gave her his mischievous grin and Lucy knew he was up to no good, and by the sounds coming from upstairs, she knew he was going to troll Corvus. She shook her head lightly at his antics and smiled brightly at him "Alright, don't do anything stupid till I come back."
She went and grabbed her keys, purse, and shades. Walking next to Cobra she kissed the top of her girl's head making the latter giggle "Mommy will be back soon, in the meantime, try as much as you can to wear your uncle up."
"Hey!" Cobra protested.
"Oh please, I know you are up to no good. I'm just taking measurements." She swatted his shoulder.
"Well it won't work, your daughter adores me." He grinned at her. It was only seconds before the grin faltered when Layla started smacking him with her tiny arms on his face while Lucy laughed at him.
"She may adore you, but she is still my daughter, and she knows better than to side against her mother." She winked at him.
She turned around and headed to the door, her father stepped aside to let her walk ahead of him, she called back looking from her shoulder "Take care Coco."
The door closed in his face as he hissed, he hated that nickname with a passion, you would think something as cool as the name Cobra could never be ruined, but then Sunshine comes waltzing in his life only to call him Coco.
He looked down at Layla who was still swatting at his face "You wouldn't always side against you dear uncle would you?"
She giggled as she continued her onslaught on him "Then again if you are anything like your mother I would doubt that." He sighed "Come on Munchkin, let's get you fed."
XXX
Lucy led her father to the clearing she used to train in, all the while her mind was in chaos, questions like how he found her, what does he want, zipped through her mind at an unbelievable speed.
"Relax a bit. Your shoulders are so tense." Jude remarked, he was eying her from the corner of his eye as he walked beside her.
She rolled her shoulders to relax the tension between them "Can you blame me? Don't you find this a bit weird?"
He heaved a sigh and stared before him, the blonde the whole time couldn't meet his gaze, after what just happened, she knew he wanted answers for questions she is not ready to answer, at least that's what she thinks.
"I'm sorry… for everything." The man beside her whispered. Lucy widened her eyes and stopped dead in her track, she slowly looked at the man before her and wondered if she heard right "What?" she softly asked.
"I'm sorry." This time he declared so louder, Jude was a loving father but after her mother died, he became a shell of the man he was, locking everything in his heart except his rage and sadness, which he took out on Lucy. In those times, he forgot what the word sorry means, for he never once used it when he lashed out on his daughter.
"I was a horrible father…" he continued gazing into his daughter's wide brown eyes, the same eyes his wife had "Instead of getting through the death of your… mother like a family should, I pushed you away, I pushed everything away except for work, I lashed out on you, I let all the pent up frustration and anger inside of me on you, I… I failed you as a father."
Lucy was now crying, she tried to wipe away her tears but they kept coming "Why?" she whispered.
The man before her widened his eyes, he thought the answer was clear, but after he thought about it he knew that wasn't the answer she was expecting "Because every time I looked at you, I saw her. And it…" he let out a harsh breath "It broke me."
The blonde before him meekly nodded, she understood what he went through, but it seemed that he was forgetting something "And you don't think that's how I felt?"
Jude was shocked by her answer "What do you mean?"
"You don't think every time I looked in the mirror I didn't see my mother's reflection? You didn't think I was in pain too? The same hair, the same eyes, everything was the same, and when I turned to you for comfort, you shun me out… you shut yourself far away from me, it hurt so bad, because now I had to grieve my mother while wondering what did I do wrong to deserve this attitude from you. That day, I lost both of you."
A tear trailed its way down Jude's cheek, he made his little daughter go through double the pain with his actions towards her, he slowly approached her then all of a sudden he swept her in a bone crushing hug where he cried on her shoulder. Lucy, pretty much in the same condition, hugged him back as she sobbed.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything." He wept as he held her closer. He knew it was going to take time for his daughter to forgive him, but he also knew… that time wasn't something he had much left of.
XXX
Lucy led her father out of the forest and bid him farewell, she got back to the open area she was in before and let out a heavy sigh.
She looked up and saw the sun beginning to set, she wondered back to her conversation earlier with her father…
"Come back with me… let me take care of you." he gently told her.
"I don't know dad, there is so much going on I-"
"You don't have to tell me anything, I just want to spend time with you and your kids. I will wait for you to be ready." He caressed her cheek, being successful in wiping some of her tears.
"I will not leave Cobra behind, not a chance of that happening."
"He can come too, I would love to get to know him." He smiled at her as she blinked back her tears.
"Wha- what?"
He heaved a sigh "Lucy I want to make up for everything that I did. So please let me, come back to the Heartfilia Konzern."
"B-but I heard it got sold!" she stuttered at his answer.
Jude chuckled and patted her head "I made a successful deal and got a lot of wealth from it, so I bought it back, I worked a lot and got back everything."
She stood silent for a moment, he sighed and looked at the setting sun "You know, I went to the Fantasia parade to see you, but it appeared that you weren't there." She widened her eyes 'He came to see me.'
"Do you know what I realized back then?" he asked her and she shook her head no.
"I realized after watching Fairy Tail's show that you were in good hands. But then… I heard what happened, I went and asked the current master of Fairy Tail where you were, only to tell me that you left the guild before the Tenroujima accident, and that's when I knew that something happened to you. The thought of you leaving the guild you stood up for against me baffled me, but it also led me to believe that you had a good excuse. So I searched for you everywhere, and today when I saw you at the market on the outskirts of Magnolia, I followed you. I just want to redeem my mistakes… before it's too late." He whispered the last bit to not alert the blonde.
The blonde looked at the sky seeing the fading yellow turn to orange then be replaced by a soft blue hue. She tightened her hair in a ponytail and ran around the field, she kept running and running to clear her thoughts.
She knew that there was something wrong with her father, she could sense it. But she didn't feel any deceit, he was honest with everything he said. So why? Why now? Why accept her situation with ease? Why not question her about what happened? Why? Why? Why?
Sadly, as she skid to a halt and fell from exhaustion, she didn't know the answer to any of those questions.
When she mentioned that she had three kids, he only smiled at her and said that he would love to meet them, when she talked about Cobra and told him he was a criminal under house arrest, he told her that what he saw was not a criminal, he saw a brother looking out for his younger sister, when she explained the dragon marking thing and about how they mark their kin and the fact that she had another brother, he told her that only she could do this.
Why was he acting this way? She badly wanted to find out, but he just left her to her thoughts and told her that he would leave her to ponder the whole thing.
XXX
Cobra stood outside the cabin, in front of the line he wasn't supposed to cross. He was worried sick about Sunshine, it had gotten late and he still hasn't heard a thing about her.
He put one foot outside the line, he made up his mind, he was going to search for her because he felt it through their link that she was upset. He was about to put the other foot out when he heard a rustle, turning his head upwards he saw a crown of blonde hair coming his way.
"Sunshine you had me fucking… worried." The blonde's face was shadowed as she approached him, before he could ask her what's wrong she flung her arms around him and he quickly reciprocated pulling her in a tight embrace.
"Come on, let's get you to calm down." He pulled her towards the cabin.
"I want some ice cream." She mumbled as she held on to him.
He chuckled "There are still some in the fridge." Cobra sometimes forgot that the girl he was holding is a seventeen year old teen, who never will get to experience as people say, the best age of their life. Well not if he had any say in this!
He released her and crouched down low "Come on, hop on!"
The look on her face brightened as she quickly nodded her head and accepted his invitation to a piggyback ride. Sure, it wasn't going to fix anything at the moment, but at least the blonde felt better. He could only imagine the look on his old guild mates faces if they saw him now, but in truth, when it came to the blonde and her kids, he didn't give a shit about his badass reputation, he just liked to play tough.
When they entered the cabin he put her down on the couch and went to the fridge to retrieve some chocolate ice cream for him and strawberry for Sunshine. After coming back he hands her the ice cream bowl and sits next to her. She quickly opens the lid and starts eating her ice cream after thanking him. He patiently awaits till she's done when he puts his own bowl on the table before him and turns to her.
"Alright Sunshine, what's up?"
The blonde turns to him and sighs "I need a therapy session."
He puts a pillow on his lap and pats it "Bring it."
She lays her head on the pillow and starts telling him all about that happened this day with her father, he was listening intently to what she was saying while running his fingers through her hair. To say that Cobra was surprised was the understatement of the year, he doesn't know how to feel about all of this and the fact stands that he feels the same as Sunshine does, there is something else going on here.
"Do you think a mage took his form?" she asked him as she tilted her head to look at him.
He shrugs "I doubt it, plus when I smelled him there was a faint smell of you in it as well."
This only caused the blonde to huff, she closed her eyes and massaged her temples "What is your intake on this Coco?"
He took a deep breath and thought deeply "Honestly I will do whatever you want Sunshine, but maybe he is really just asking for forgiveness. Plus I might add that you might need to have a decision by tomorrow because Four eyes is coming."
The blonde nodded and got up "Alright, I'll think about it. Are they asleep?"
The slayer grinned at his sister "Yep, fed, changed and asleep. Just how you like em."
The blonde giggled at her brother "Is that so?"
The slayer winked "You betcha!"
She bid him good night and walked up to her room, entering slowly she looked at the cribs to see Layla and Red asleep but Justin wide awake looking at the lion plush in his bed. The minute he saw her he squealed and stretched his arms her way, she giggled and took him in her arms, he quickly nuzzled in her neck.
"How is mama's big boy?" she whispered as she rocked him, she sat in her chair and looked out the window.
"What do you think big boy? Should we move?" she asked him as she held him in her lap.
He giggled and started jumping while she held on to him, grey eyes glimmering with excitement, Lucy smiled at her baby before placing a soft kiss on his forehead "I wonder how you will be when you grow up?"
He looked at her, his little bright smile never wavering from his face "Alright sweetie, it's time for you to go to sleep."
She laid him in her lap and started humming a soft tune that she knew Justin would immediately fall asleep to, she found out that each one of her little babies fell asleep to something, Justin to the tune, Red to the rocking and Layla to a song. Not long after, Justin was fast asleep in his mother's lap, she gently laid him back in his crib only for him to quickly latch on his lion plush.
"I can imagine how big Loke's ego would get if he saw you now." She giggled at her thought, almost immediately, Loke appeared in a shower of gold.
"It's kind of mean of you to not call me to such a great event!" he exclaimed as he crept closer to the crib Justin was in "I have the right to see my plan succeeding."
"Your plan?" the blonde questioned as she peered at her faithful spirit.
"Of course, the plan to make the kids love me and only me from the spirits. And I sure as hell am not going to lose to Birdie." He hissed the last part.
At that moment, a shower of black flecks appeared "As if Kitty, they will always love me more no matter what you do." A deep whispering voice said as he butted heads with Loke.
"Like hell that would happen, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if you were using some charms on them." Loke grit his teeth.
"Why you-"
"You two quiet, because if they wake up, believe me when I tell you that hell would be nothing to what I plan on doing to you two!" Lucy whisper-yelled as both Loke and Corvus shrunk back from her and whispered "Hai!"
The blonde sighed and closed her eyed before smiling slightly "You two are both idiots."
Loke grinned as Corvus winked at her.
"I need to sleep you two, so goodnight and shoo!"
"Princess! Are you kicking me out? You have wounded me severely Prin-"
Loke faded back to his world with a pout on his face while Corvus shook nervously, the blonde turned her gaze towards him "Do I need to force gate closure on your ass too?"
He waved his hands in front of him "Don't bother, I'm gone!" Poof!
Lucy sighed while closing her eyes "Did you enjoy the show Eric-nii?" she whispered.
Cobra's head popped from her doorway "Much!" he grinned as he disappeared back to his room.
"Can you believe that this is your family my little angels? Hmm… I agree with you, they are such a crazy bunch. Goodnight little stars." She kissed her three babies on their forehead and went to sleep.
XXX
Morning soon came, birds chirped outside, the trees swayed softly at the gentle breeze that touched them. Gazing at this scene, Lucy only had one thought running through her head, and it was how much she was going to miss waking up to this beauty, because she made up her mind, she was going back with her father, but she will always come back here. This place held a lot of great memories of her time with Gaj-nii and the Raijinshuu, plus all the memories she made with Erik-nii and her little babies.
Cobra entered her room quietly to not disturb her, but he stopped short when he saw the sun illuminating her serene face as she gazed outside her window.
"So I guess you made your choice?" he asked her softly as he stood beside her enjoying the scene before him as well.
She nodded her head then sighed "I know that back at the mansion, it's better for the kids, but I can't help the sadness that's tugging at my heart."
He pulled her into a hug then spoke "It's alright Sunshine, I think you made the right choice. When the kids grow up, I think…" he didn't know how to continue his train of thoughts, luckily he didn't need to because Sunshine already understood where he was going with this because she nodded.
"I know." Lucy knew that this place is small for five people to live in, the mansion was a better option because not only it's bigger, it has more resources that the kids will need later on that she doubted she would be able to get them alone.
"Oh look, Four eyes is here." He let her go as he pointed his finger to the figure walking out from the trees.
Cobra turned to his sister and gave her a devilish smirk "So you ready?"
The blonde noticed his smirk and wondered out loud "I am, but what is going through your head?"
His grin seemed to widen as he jumped from her window yelling behind him that there is nothing to worry about. Lahar looked up to see Cobra jump from the blonde's window and shook his head, he should have known that the slayer will never change.
Cobra jogged towards him with a serious expression "We need to talk."
Lahar was shocked by the look on the slayer's face but nodded "Alright."
They went and sat on a boulder next to the lake. Cobra was studying the man's reactions when Sunshine appeared by to greet the man, he could smell the tinge of guilt strengthen when the blonde shook Lahar's hand, lahar's heartbeat increased as if he was afraid of something. When the blonde left the two of them alone with some lemonade that she made, Cobra turned to Lahar "Alright explain why do you feel guilty around Sunshine."
The man in question almost dropped his lemonade "Wha- what are you talking about?"
"You know you can fool anyone but not a dragon slayer." Cobra tapped his nose "I can smell the guilt washing all over you, and I noticed how it increased the last couple of times you visited."
Lahar heaved a sigh, removed his glasses to wipe them then put them back on. He leaned closer with his hands under his chin "Do you remember the accident a year ago?"
Cobra nodded "Of course I do."
Lahar sighed once again as he rubbed his temples "Well before they went on this trip, the council had a meeting to figure out a way to disband Fairy Tail because of the destruction they cause."
Cobra nodded, he always heard about the destruction Team Natsu caused from Sunshine, hell he witnessed it first hand with Nirvana.
"So we sent someone to infiltrate them, his name was Mest, the guard who put the monitor on you."
At this, Cobra raised his eyebrows "The man with the scar?" Lahar nodded "I suppose you sent him to find a way to disband them from the inside." Everything the man was saying didn't sit well with him, but Cobra knew it was going to get worse.
"When the fight happened, the council was ready to fire Etherion on the island to wipe everyone there. But then Acnologia came and wiped the island."
Cobra's whole world seemed to freeze, he didn't register what the hell the man before him said, his mind ran rampant of endless possibilities of what would have happened if sunshine was there. After a while he chuckled, then it turned to a full blown cackle, Lahar stood flabbergasted at the man before him, after telling him all of that how could the man laugh?
When cobra stopped laughing, he looked directly in Lahar's eyes that the latter shivered from the intensity of it.
"So you are telling me that the magic council, that is supposed to protect every fucking person, was ready to kill a guild just because of the destruction they cause?"
Lahar stood paralyzed, Cobra's eye seemed to be digging deep in his soul. He wanted to say something but he couldn't, that didn't mean that Cobra was going to relent with his brutal words "The guild that has done so much good for this world, saved a lot of people, broke a fraction of the Balam Alliance, a job that was meant for your council buddies, was condemned to death? If I didn't grow up the way I did, I would see myself joining Fairy Tail."
His words cut deep through Lahar, now he understood what Mest was feeling. Now he no longer questioned why the man quit after the blonde delivered her kids, he finally saw it from Doranbolt's point of view, the man was shattered by what he had done.
"Funny how murderers are judging criminals, don't you think?"
Cobra's question rang inside Lahar's head. Cobra was beyond furious by what he learned, he couldn't imagine the thought of the council, that condemned his guild mates to prison, was ready to kill innocent people. People he started to like by the stories Sunshine told him all the time. And then he thought of Sunshine, and how heartbroken she would be if she ever learned of this.
"Is that why?" Cobra asked Lahar who only nodded. He should have known earlier that the fact why he is living here with Sunshine wasn't because of him and the bond he has with the girl, it was because of Lahar's guilt that was slowly eating the man up. Though Cobra wasn't ungrateful, he was able to be with his sister after all and he didn't really give a fuck about how.
Cobra leaned in and whispered "Sunshine does not hear of this, you fucking understand? Also, relax, I ain't mad with you, you were just following orders."
Lahar nodded in understanding, he was doing all of this to lessen the guilt that had clutched to his heart, but Cobra's words made it all the more worse, because he never saw it like the slayer did, he saw it as his fault, and it appears that Doranbolt saw it the same, but Cobra saw the fault in the council and not in him. It was then that Lahar thought of all the bad things the council did over the years, of all the secrets they kept from the people, and he almost couldn't believe that he was working for them. He stopped himself at this thought, he is working to keep the peace in the world and not to follow orders. He looked at Cobra with determination "Thank you." he curtly said.
The slayer grinned at him "For what?" he saw the determination that flashed in the man's eyes, and he was glad for the man.
Lahar just shook his head "Never mind." After taking a deep breath, he asked how they were doing, and that was then Cobra told him about the fact that they were moving which shocked Lahar but he didn't comment about it.
Lucy then appeared from the porch "Hey if you guys are done, can we get moving? I assume by the shocked look on Lahar-san's face he already knows."
"Yup, we'll be back in a bit." Cobra reassured the blonde as she nodded at him and disappeared back inside.
"Come on let's go." Cobra patted Lahar on his back and left to go in the cabin. Lahar watched the retreating figure of the slayer, and he couldn't help but think how much has the slayer changed, the last thing on his mind to happen was to be reassured by a criminal. He looked at the blonde who was swatting the slayer because he was teasing her 'Just how much did he change? And was it all because of you Lucy-san?'
"Yo Four eyes, hurry up. We ain't got the whole day." The blonde smacked the slayer on his head for yelling so loud that he woke the kids up.
He shook his head and went after them, because of Cobra he realized many things, he was able to see the fault in the magic council in a much bigger picture and he was determined to work on it.
While he and Cobra walked ahead, the blonde trailed behind them slowly, she could feel a bit of tension between the two of them, even though it's faint, it was still noticeable. She looked behind her to the fading cabin and smiled sadly 'This is not the end, it's just the beginning.' She thought as the cabin faded completely out of view, a lone tear slid down her face that she quickly wiped away.
XXX
They were on the road that led to the mansion. Before they left Lahar disabled all the sensors and brought them with him, while Lucy and Cobra took everything they needed from the cabin. It was left almost the same except that they took their clothes as well as the babies's, and threw out the food.
Cobra was looking around him while holding the baby basket, Layla was sleeping while Red and Justin were wide awake. He was holding Red while Justin was clutching to his mother's neck.
"Wow, such a nice town." He noticed the scattered houses here and there. He immediately turned his head to Sunshine when he heard her laughing.
"What's so funny Sunshine?"
She was laughing so hard that tears started to form at the corner of her eyes, Lahar looked perplexed at the blonde next to him while Cobra looked annoyed that she wouldn't answer him.
"God you remind me so much of them." She breathed as she wiped her tears.
"Who?" Cobra asked already dreading the answer.
"Team Natsu." At this Lahar flinched a bit.
"Fuck no!" he yelled loud enough that woke Layla up and she started crying.
"Seriously Cobra?" she rolled her eyes at him and turned to Lahar, handing him Justin "Please hold on to him tightly." Lahar could barely comprehend what was going on but he held on tightly to the baby while Cobra chuckled at his red face.
Lucy picked up her daughter from the basket, the baby was fussing and screaming about "Oh my poor girl, your mean uncle woke you up from your little nap didn't he?"
"Hey that was not my faul-"he quickly shut his mouth when she peered at him from the side, but he continued to mutter the rest.
"The reason why I was laughing is because this is our garden not a town, and team Natsu said the same thing about it."
Cobra and Lahar almost stumbled when they heard what she said "This is your garden Sunshine?" she nodded "Damn! This place is fucking huge."
They walked a bit further until they saw the figure of her father, behind him stood the workers of the house. The minute they spotted Lucy, they all started fawning over her. Lucy greeted everybody then met up with her dad.
"When you called me this morning I was ecstatic with the response you gave me. Welcome home dear daughter." Jude smiled warmly at his daughter as he guided her in the mansion.
They all entered through the main hall and went into the living room. It was still as Lucy remembered, tile beige floors with a white table in the center of the room, surrounding it are beige colored couches with white pillows decorated with Yellow flowers. A white fireplace on the wall between two balcony doors and huge windows overlooking on a beautiful garden filled with different roses. This was her mother's second favorite room because of the view it overlooked. At the far end of the room is a huge bookcase filled with ancient tomes and biographies of some very famous people.
Jude ushered them to sit down while Spetto went to the kitchen to prepare some tea, she arrived minutes later and handed them each a cup of tea before going back to the kitchen. Red and Layla were both in the basket playing with their plush while Justin who was still being held by Lahar decided it was a good time to nap, so he lay asleep in Lahar's arms while the latter was still flustered from what happened earlier.
The blonde turned to check on Lahar only to see him with a red face and his body stiff as a stick as he held on to Justin. Upon feeling that someone was looking at him Lahar turned to lock eyes with Lucy's brown one, pools of brown that were swimming with mirth, before he could say anything though she beat him to it.
"Lahar-san you are a natural in this, you also look good while holding a baby." She grinned once she saw his already red face turn to darker shades of red. Beside her, Cobra couldn't breathe from how much he was laughing, even her father looked amused at the man's reaction.
"I-i…" the poor man stuttered as he tried to regain some self-esteem, unfortunately though, after his stutter he knew that chance flew out the window when he saw even Jude let out a small chuckle while Lucy was now full on laughing next to Cobra. He used to doubt whenever Cobra said that this was his sister, not anymore he won't, not anymore.
He cleared his throat and was about to talk when a fart noise sounded from the little creature he was holding in his arms. At this both Lucy and Cobra let out booming laughs and started crying, hell Jude joined in while Lahar detached his other hand from the baby to clasp his nose with it.
Lucy got up to retrieve Justin from the poor man who gladly gave him to her, she turned to her father with a quizzical look "Father, is there a place where I can change Justin?"
Jude nodded his head "Yes, upstairs, Spetto will take you." he called the woman's name and shortly after she came and led Lucy up the stairs.
Meanwhile with the men, Lahar explained what was to happen and what was going to be added to the landscape, Jude gave his permission and Lahar left to make preparations.
Now both alone in the room, Jude turned and eyed the man his daughter calls brother, Cobra noticing that he was being studied by the man before him, returned the favor. He noticed his sharp face and piercing eyes before, but now there was something bugging him about the man before him, he seemed tired and restless, unnoticeable bags under his eyes showed as he took in a shaky breath, and before he could stop himself he took a sniff of the air, that was when he scrunched his nose up in disgust, the man smelled like death, it was also when it clicked in his head the reason why he wished to seek forgiveness from his daughter.
He cleared his throat and looked at his sister's father "How long?"
The man in question closed his eyes and let out a deep breath while crossing his arms "How?"
Cobra tapped his nose "I'm a dragon slayer, and being one comes with certain advantages, one being that my senses are all heightened. I can smell it. So how long?"
Jude opened his eyes and fixed them on Cobra, he got up from his chair and went to the bar "What do you like Cobra?"
"Whatever you're drinking." Replied Cobra as he leaned back in the couch.
Jude brought back two glasses of whiskey and handed one to Cobra before sitting back in his couch "It's funny isn't it, how all this time I ran after money, only to run out of time. I was a fool back then, to drive her away from me… and I wish I could turn back time, but sadly I can't. The least I can do is use whatever time I have left to gain her forgiveness and get to know her, be the father I should have been. So to answer your question, couple of years at most."
Cobra took his time to digest all the new information the man before him gave, he played with his glass before he asked the man if he was going to tell his daughter.
"I don't want to worry her, she has enough of problems. I know…" Cobra met his gaze "I know that something horrible happened to her, she doesn't need to tell me, I already see it in her eyes. So I want to free her of an extra burden to carry, I will do whatever she wants, get her whatever she needs, that's how I want these couple of years to be."
The slayer nodded "If you are asking me to keep it a secret I will only do so because it's not my business to tell, though I do believe it's your daughter's business. Just saying, give your daughter more credit, she faced a lot of things by now and though I do agree that she doesn't need any more, you are her father and she deserves to know."
Jude listened to the slayer speak while gazing at his almost empty glass "I do believe you are correct, but…" he looked up at Cobra "How does a father tell his daughter that she's going to lose yet another person?"
This question sucked the air out of the room as both men felt the pressure from the situation, and they were relieved when Lahar walked in and explained where the sensors were put before he left. Cobra had access to almost the whole Heartfilia's land, which he was over the moon to find out, it meant that he would be able to explore the land and get some breath of fresh air, not like he wasn't happy back there at the cabin but here the land is way wider than back there.
Meanwhile with Lucy, she just reached the top floor and was following Spetto-san to a room at the far back of a long hallway. She started to look on the pictures framed on both walls of the hallway, she saw that the whole mansion stayed the same but this hallway, it used to be empty with only a few vases of flowers here and there, now the walls were adorned with the color burgundy as a deep red carpet stretched at the length of the hallway. Pictures and images of her and her parents when she was a kid decorated the walls, she also found one of her mother at the end of the hallway next to another one showcasing her father.
Reaching the door, Spetto-san opened it only for Lucy's eyes to bulge wide open. It was a nursery room.
"How the hell did he have time…?" Lucy couldn't continue her question, Spetto gave the blonde a soft smile and answered her question "The minute he arrived yesterday back home, he made some calls to prepare some stuff and have brought in to work immediately, the room was full and ready this morning."
Tears started forming at the corner of the blonde's eyes, any doubt she had of her father and the situation vanished from her mind completely. The blonde looked at the woman next to her "But how was he so sure that I will." She chocked on the last bit.
Spetto patted her on her arm and sighed "He said that he knew, he knew you will forgive him and come here, he even betted on it. He said that you have the biggest heart there is, he sounded very confident with what he was saying. And I believed him, I still remember when you were young and I knew from back then that you have the biggest heart, you never let failure stop you from doing what you want, nor do you let your fear or consequences do so. I missed you so much, welcome home Lucy-sama."
At the end of her little speech both the blonde and the woman were crying "Oh Spetto-san, I missed you too." She hugged the woman while holding onto now a woken up Justin with her other hand.
Now facing the room once again, she sighed with a small smile on her face. The walls were light blue while the carpet was a blue gray color. She saw three cribs, one blue, one red and the last a pink one. She saw a white rocking chair next to them with a bed to the other side of the room, she figured it was for if she ever wanted to stay with her kids. She saw the huge white wardrobes lined next to each other, on the floor were toy boxes scattered around, changing tables, high chairs, everything that was meant to be in a nursery, it was in this room. But Lucy's favorite thing was the huge window in the center of the room that overlooked the garden her mother spent a great amount of time on taking care of.
She quickly changed her baby, the minute she was done she turned around only to see her faithful spirit hunched over the cribs with a lion plush in his hand. She also noticed that two of the cribs already contained one.
"Loke what are you doing?" he almost jumped out of his suit when she called out to him. The spirit had the nerve to look at her over his shoulder and smirk "Marking my territory before a birdie swoops in."
Lucy had to restrict every urge she had to kick the living daylights out of Loke. Instead she shook her head and went downstairs with a clean Justin in her arms. The minute she entered the living room she handed Justin to Cobra and threw her arms around her father "Thank you so much, it's beautiful."
The man circled his arms around the blonde and held her tight "I'm glad you like it."
Cobra looked at the two of them and he was at a loss of words, he didn't know what to do so he just stood awkwardly to the side. Jude noticing the weird behavior the slayer was showing, stepped away from the hug and opened his other arm "Join us son."
The blonde looked at her father with wide eyes but then a smile formed on her face while Cobra, he just stood there dazed. This man just called him son and he doesn't even know him, he didn't know how much he needed to hear this word in his life, but what baffled him with the kind look he had in his eyes, the man was looking at him like he has known him his whole life. Like he appreciates his existence and does not give a fuck about his past. That alone was what made Cobra's legs move and join in the hug. The blonde snaked her right arm around his waist while the man clasped his left arm around the slayer's shoulder. And they both held him tightly.
…
Lucy was now in the nursery room watching her three babies sleep in their respective cribs. Layla in pink, Justin in blue and Red in… well red. Cobra peeked his head from the door and walked in while whispering "Sunshine did you see my fucking room? It's HUGE!"
The blonde giggled at her brother's reaction and shushed him with her finger "Be quiet they are sleeping."
The slayer stood there with a baffled expression "You do know I was whispering… right?"
The blonde giggled once again quietly "I do know you are whispering but Red and Justin hear the slightest of noise and I do not want them up."
He came to stand next to her "Oh look how Munchkin is sleeping!" he squeaked and quickly clasped a hand to his mouth, he looked next to him to see Sunshine gaping at him with her mouth wide open "What the fuck… was that?"
A pink tint that was barely visible on his tanned face appeared "A dragon… chuckle."
At this the blonde snapped her mouth shut and held her hand to her mouth to stifle the giggles, tears started forming at the corner of her eyes and her face become redder, she started shaking from the force of her laugh that she fell on the floor clutching her stomach while crying from laughter. Cobra stood there whisper-yelling at her to 'stop laughing' and continued on with threatening her while saying that this does not leave the room. He couldn't help it with how cute Layla looked asleep in her lion onesie while sucking her thumb and holding the lion plush with her other hand, and this was how he usually talked with her when they were alone.
"Okay, seriously quit it! It just slipped!" he hissed quietly at her.
"Okay sorry, sorry. But man she has you wrapped around her finger eh?" the blonde chirped while wiping her tears.
He gazed at Layla softly "Yeah… she has." The blonde grinned at the man and poked him on his shoulder "Wanna have a sleepover?"
The slayer quirked his lips "You betcha!"
Lucy brought the pillows and sheets from the bed near her while Cobra brought the ones in his room, they laid them on the floor and sat down.
"Oh shoot gotta turn off the lights." Cobra jumped up and turned off the lights.
A small light shone on the ceiling and both the slayer and the blonde looked up in amazement.
"Wow! It's just like the night sky!" the blonde mumbled as her eyes radiated the awe and happiness she was feeling.
"This is beautiful." Cobra commented as he laid down next to the blonde on their makeshift bed.
"How didn't I notice this before?" Lucy asked as she started aligning some constellations that were portrayed on the ceiling.
"He really went all out huh?"
"Hey wanna make a bet on the kids?" Lucy asked her brother.
"What do you have in mind?" Cobra quirked an eyebrow at her question.
"I bet that Justin and Red are both going to be dragon slayers." The blonde replied.
"It's kinda obvious, let's change the bet to what type, I bet one celestial and one lightning."
The blonde tapped her chin in thought "Alright, I bet both are lightning dragon slayers."
"You sure Sunshine?"
"Yup, and the bet will be that the winner will get to do whatever they want with the loser."
"Deal, you are going to lose Sunshine, that's a fact. But what about Munchkin?"
"Hmm, I dunno, I mean it's obvious she's not a slayer."
The slayer nodded "Yup! Let's just keep the bet on the boys for now."
"Alright."
Lucy looked at her brother to see him lying next to her with his eyes closed, after a few minutes she could hear him snoring.
"What a sleepover." She giggled as she covered her brother with a white sheet and left the room quietly. She trekked down the stairs and out in the garden. She looked in awe at the condition the garden was in, it was kept clean and tidied up, all the flowers that were there when she was young bloomed before her, it brought back too many nostalgic feelings, after all this was the garden she had her most important birthday party in.
"This was one of your mother's favorite places." Jude remarked from behind his daughter, which led to his daughter squeaking and falling on her butt.
Jude chuckled at her as he extended his hand to help her up "My apologies."
The blonde giggled as she accepted his offered hand "No worries. By the way, the ceiling in the nursery…"
"Ah you saw it, hope you liked it."
"Dad, I love it. Thank you so much." She smiled at him warmly and he reciprocated her.
They stood staring at the night sky when Jude broke their silence "Layla would be proud of you." The blonde swiftly turned to look at her father who kept his gaze on the stars "I know she is watching right now, with a smile on her face, proudly pointing out that you are her daughter." He sniffled as did Lucy "God I feel like she is going to kill me when I join her."
The blonde quickly latched her arms around him "Don't talk like that dad, please. You are not going anywhere, and I already forgave you so you shouldn't worry about mom, I'm pretty she forgave you as well."
He held his daughter close to him as he cried, thinking of how he failed both his wife and his daughters "I'm sorry." He kept on repeating while Lucy held him closer to her and reassured him that everything is alright.
XXX
Lucy lay on the wet grass as she tried to labor her breathing. She was going to kill him. She was going to skin him alive and feed him to the sharks. She was going to hang him upside down from the porch and watch as the birds pecked at his flesh.
"Come on Sunshine it wasn't that hard."
She grabbed a small rock beside her and threw it at his head "Not that hard?! Are you an idiot! You do realize I am not a dragon slayer."
He has been agonizing her for the past three hours straight, she was tired and hungry, not to mention all sweaty.
"That was seriously uncalled for. Come on Sunshine we have been doing the same training routine for two years now, you still haven't gotten used to it?"
She straightened up her back and glared at him "Yes, we have been so why did you decide that today we would be throwing huge rocks at each other? No let me rephrase that, why did you decide that today you would be throwing huge rocks at me?"
"Because Sunshine we need to work on your reflexes, at hand to hand combat you have become amazing, at defense you have far improved from where you have been, and that whip, you are a demon with it… but your dodging skills need some work, so that's why I am throwing rocks at you. Your speed and reflexes could use some work."
Here she thought that Gaj-nii was a demon while training, the asshole before her turns into a sadistic demon when training another person. She heaved a sigh and popped her bones. Since they moved two years ago back to the mansion, both her and the slayer decided that they will train together in the morning at 6, she wanted to do so to get rid of the excessive body fat after the pregnancy and for Cobra, it was to stay in shape.
"I'm going to meditate a bit alright?" the blonde informed the slayer.
"Alright I'm going to take a shower and wake up the little rascals." He said as he turned towards the trek to the back door. The minute the words left his mouth the door flew open and three heads of blonde shot through it.
"Mommy!" three little blondes yelled in unison.
"Hey I'm also here." The poison dragon slayer huffed.
The three heads turned towards him "Coco!"
One particular blonde ran to him with her arms outstretched ready to throw herself at him, he crouched low ready to accept the hug when she ran past him and into the outstretched arms of another man. Jude looked at him with a smirk as he held onto to Layla "My granddaughter has an impeccable taste." Cobra stood there gawking at the scene that happened before him.
"Sowwy Coco, but jiji pwomised me pancakes!" Layla pouted at him and he couldn't handle the look she was giving him so he turned away.
"No way, uncle Coco is mad that you betrayed him."
"Uncle Coco…" Layla whimpered, Jude looked at her and soothed her "Don't worry honey, uncle Coco is just mad that he lost yet another time to me."
"Oi, old man! Yesterday does not count! And I am sure as hell that you cheated."
"Erik-nii…" he turned to his Sunshine to see her tickling both Red and Justin "You lost fair and square yesterday, so stop pouting about it you sore loser. You are just not good with poker."
"Sunshine… not you too!" he feigned his hurt as he clutched his shirt right above the heart.
"My god, honestly the Loke disease is spreading." The blonde chuckled as she saw the horror settle on her brother's face.
"Do never. EVER. Compare me to that idiot." The slayer seethed but before he could do anything Red already snuck away from his mother's torture to jump on his uncle's back.
"Uncle Coco!" he latched on his uncle's back tightly as Cobra tried to steady himself from the sudden increase in weight.
"Oi kid, how many times have I told you not to do that?!"
"But it's fun!" was Red's simple reply.
"Okay come on kids, let's go inside for breakfast." The blonde clapped her hands together and ushered the kids inside. Honestly with the kids, there was never a dull day.
After they showered and ate breakfast, they stood outside the mansion to say their farewells.
"Dad be safe on your business trip, and don't worry I already contacted our client and informed him about the changes to the contract, so everything is prepared, you just need to get there and approve the building then all is set." The blonde reassured her father as she hugged him tightly. Ever since she returned she started helping her father and the business bloomed, now she was his appointed partner, she helped him with finance, management and all there is to do.
"Alright, thank you my young partner." He kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry about it boss." She winked at him "Also, can you please hand this to the mail messenger?" she gave him a folder and he instantly knew what it was.
"Of course." He turned towards Cobra "I look forward to our next poker match."
The slayer snickered "Old man, next time I will be prepared so you better bring it."
Jude grinned at the slayer and gave him a pat on the shoulder as Cobra did the same. Ever since the slayer found out about his sickness, he and Jude became close fast, they bonded while playing poker, drinking, and watching after the kids while their mother was in business meetings. So when the news came that Jude's health was becoming better, Cobra was over the moon that his Sunshine won't suffer and that he won't lose someone dear to him.
"Be careful out there old man." The slayer softly said.
"You too son, you too." Jude patted him once again as he moved on to his three little grandkids. He crouched down low and crushed them in a hug "You three be good to your mom."
"Of course!" they all cheered. "We will be good so that you bwing us back presents!" Red yelled loudly in excitement while his other siblings nodded enthusiastically.
"Honestly dad, you spoil them way too much." The blonde shook her head at her kids's antics.
"It's alright, I like it!" the man smiled as he once again hugged his daughter. When Lucy opened up to him about what happened to her, he was more than mortified to know what happened to his daughter, and he blamed himself even more for his past mistakes. The what ifs plagued his mind constantly for a while, until she told him that if she doesn't regret it, because the blessings that got out of this bad situation far outweighed the bad. He was baffled by her response and tried his hardest to make up for what happened to her, one of the ways was spoiling her and her kids rotten, the idiot also!
With this he bid them farewell and left in the carriage. He looked back to see Layla perched on Cobra's shoulders waving her hands goodbye with the others as well, all grinning and some wishing him luck. Jude considered himself a lucky man with a beautiful family.
He looked ahead and his eyes stopped at the folder he was holding in his hands. Ever since Lucy started working with him, the money she made would be divided between for Fairy Tail and for her kids. The folder he is holding in his hands contained 100 thousand jewels for the Fairy Tail guild that his daughter would send every month and would always task him with dropping it off in the mail office.
…
It's now 4 pm, the kids were taking their naps and Lucy was working in the office. Cobra was checking up on the kids to see them all sleeping together in the bed. He closed the door behind him when he heard a ring coming from Lucy's office, he shrugged it off and went downstairs to grab something to eat.
He spotted the chef, Zeno, cooking up some chicken.
"Yo Chef, how you doing?"
The man in question rolled his eyes at Cobra's unoriginal and stupid nickname for him "Hello Cobra-san, I am alright. How are you doing?"
"Please drop the san, I feel myself gagging whenever I hear it." He made gagging motions with his hands and mouth.
"Always the dramatic one, how may I help you?"
Cobra grabbed an apple "You could by telling me where the stash is? Sunshine just won't let me!" the slayer whined.
"And I believe it's with good cause too. Red-sama was about to do the same."
"Like I would let one of these rascals drink bleach. So… you know?" he asked him with his infamous grin as he bit into his apple, only to stop mid-bite and release his hold on his apple, letting it fall on the kitchen floor as he raced up the stairs. Zeno stood there and knew… something has happened.
Cobra ran up the stairs as fast as he could, he knows that sound very well, he has heard it a lot of times already, more than he would like. The famous smell lingered in front of her door as he opened it hastily.
"Sunshine?" he asked softly.
"Thank you, I understand." She was standing with her back to him, her voice above a whisper. She disconnected the call and put the communication lacrima back on the desk.
Cobra watched her every move, the way her hand went limp next to her side after she left go of the lacrima, the way her shoulders shook, the strangled sob that was let out from her as she tried her best to keep it all in.
"He's gone… Erik my dad died." She turned to face him and he saw the sadness swim in her eyes, smelled the despair that washed from her as she fell to the floor while letting out her cries of pain. She pounded the floor with her fist while repeating the question over and over… Why?
Cobra didn't move from his spot, he froze as he saw the condition his Sunshine was in. But he couldn't help her, for as he brought a hand to his face, he also realized that he himself was crying. Crying for her lost… for the man who he thought of as a father figure.
He heard commotion from the downstairs and someone's footsteps racing towards them. Lahar came tumbling from behind Cobra into the office out of breath. He looked up to see the blonde on her knees crying while the slayer was gripping the door handle tightly.
"What do you want Lahar?" the slayer whispered. Lahar widened his eyes, in all the years he knew Cobra, he never once called him by his name.
"I just wanted to inform you that… the other members of the Oracion Seis escaped from prison… what happened here?"
But as he looked at Cobra, at Lucy, he knew that his problem was nothing compared to what happened to them.
Hello! How are you doing?
Just wanted to tell you that these few upcoming chapters are going to be longer. Also as you can see, I'm a cliffhanger maniac, so expect more in the future ;p. Thank you everyone for your support, favorites, follows and the reviews. It brings a smile to my face whenever I read them… and I would like to know your opinions of the story, and what do you think might happen when they meet again… you know who I'm talking about, it's going to be legen- wait for it –dary!
Also know that a lot, A LOT, is going to happen these upcoming chapters, so stay tuned. And who do you think will win the bet?
KAWAIINECKO, signing out!