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Chapter Text

Lucy Heartfilia was four years old when she lost her brother because criminals attacked their town. Jude and Layla, her parents, had decided to move out in a big mansion far away from the town and its dangers. But Lucy didn’t forget this event, she couldn’t forget, because one thing had been taken away from her forever that night.

Her brother.

She remembered that night vividly and hoped that one day, these awful memories would go away.

Their parents had been away for the night, and a servant was keeping an eye on Lucy and her brother. The servant made them dinner, read them a bedtime story, and had waited for them to fall asleep.

Lucy woke up in the middle of the night because her brother was shaking her and shouting her name.

“What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

“There are strangers in the house, we need to hide,” her brother replied, rather calmly.

It wasn’t surprising coming from him, he had always been collected and calm, probably from the education he received because he was the one who would take their father’s place when the time would come. She refused to believe him at first, but then she heard voices and footsteps downstairs that did not belong to the servant nor her parents. Her brother grabbed her hand, and they ran to their parent’s bedroom, he opened the wardrobe and removed a wooden plate from it. Lucy wanted to ask a thousand questions, but she knew that he wouldn’t answer, not when he was too busy trying to protect her. It has always been like this, she was his priority no matter what, when she made a mistake, he was always the one who took the blame for her and would get punished in her stead. So, of course, he would hide her and protect her, he always did that.

“Hide there,” he ordered, giving her a reassuring smile, “I will come and get you when they’re gone.”

“Don’t leave me here alone,” she pleaded, almost crying.

He gave her a big hug and smiled.

“Lucy, I promise that everything will be alright, but for now, you just need to hide. Trust me.”

“But-“

Her brother shook his head to shush her, he helped her get into the little hideout in the wardrobe before putting back the wooden plate.

“Stay quiet, I will be back soon, I promise.”

So, Lucy obeyed. She stayed quiet in the dark, waiting for her brother to come back. She didn’t hear anything, no footsteps, no voices, nothing. She was just waiting in the dark, shaking and doing her best not to cry. She was terrified.

She didn’t know how long she waited here before she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

“Lucy! Lucy! Where are you?” the familiar voice shouted.

Relief flooded her. The little girl knew it was her mother calling her name, her parents were home, she was safe now.

“Mama!”

Immediately, footsteps rushed into the room and removed the wooden plate. Her mother’s face came into view and Lucy jumped in her arms, bursting into tears. Layla hugged her tightly.

“You’re alright,” she said, hugging her and patting her head.

The little girl looked at her mother and she noticed that she was crying.

“Mama, why are you crying?”

“Oh… Don’t worry, I’m just so relieved to see that you’re fine, where is your brother?”

“I don’t know… He asked me to wait here and that he would come back to get me, so I waited.”

Layla hugged her daughter strongly and started to sob, Lucy didn’t understand why. She was too young at the time to understand what had happened that night.

The next morning, her parents ordered her to pack her things because they were going to move out far away from the town. The atmosphere had changed in their home, Lucy was often alone, and she was now studying to inherit Jude’s business. Her parents argued more often, and it always ended up with her mother crying and her father locked himself up in his office.

Lucy asked about her brother a lot, she didn’t understand why they had left without him or why she was now studying instead of her brother, she always repeated that he would come back, but every time she asked her mother cried harder and her father raised his voice and told her not to speak about him ever again.

Your brother is gone. Your brother is dead.

These were the words that she heard when she asked questions, she was too young to understand what all of this meant, she kept thinking that her brother would come back. It is only one night, when they were settled in their new mansion that Layla sat down and finally explained what death meant, so that Lucy would stop talking about him. That night, her mother slept with her, because she couldn’t stop crying once she realized that her brother was gone. Forever.

Two years later, her mother took her on a ship, and they sailed to her father’s workplace.

The Tower of Heaven.

Lucy was a bit happier at home now, because her father rarely left his workplace, so she didn’t have to see him often. He wasn’t here to shout at her that she wasn’t good enough or that she would bring shame to their family. It was only her and her caring mother, and that was enough. It had to be enough. Even if she always felt that something was missing, she knew what was missing, but she couldn’t bear to even think about it. It would only make her suffer more.

So, when she had learned that she had to go to her father’s workplace, she hadn’t been happy to go, but her mother had insisted because it was a long trip and she didn’t want to let her alone with the servants, probably too scared that what had happened two years prior would repeat itself.

They arrived at the port, and Lucy was a bit surprised to see a lot of armed guards, they all bore swords and wore a big armor. Layla took her hand, and they went inside the tower without even glancing at the guards, when they entered, her mother turned to her.

“Lucy, I need you to listen to me, this is very important.”

The little girl looked at her mother’s eyes and nodded.

“You stay here. If a guard approaches you, you show them this,” Layla said, handing her a small white card, “You eat your bread and stay with your teddy bear, I will come back soon. Just stay here and don’t talk to anyone, okay? And try not to look around too much, I’m sorry to take you to such a place, but I had no other choice.”

She only nodded and sat against the wall while watching her mother leaving with a guard.

She wasn’t hungry, so instead she played with her teddy bear, imagining wonderful stories in her head because she was trying not to disobey her mother’s order of not looking around too much. She hummed songs in her head to block the other noises, but one was louder than the songs in her head.

A scream.

Someone was screaming.

She couldn’t help herself this time and she raised her eyes, trying to see where the scream had come from. A door opened in front of her, and a little boy with crimson hair got thrown on the ground by one of the guards.

“Don’t ever think about restarting or I won’t be so nice next time,” the guard shouted at the boy, before slamming the door.

She watched the boy cough blood, and glance at the door with a determined look, before crawling to the nearest wall and leaning against it. Lucy watched him, she noticed that he was shaking, and his head was in his hands, that boy was not alright at all. And without even thinking, Lucy got on her feet and approached him.

“Are you alright…?” she asked timidly.

The boy raised his eyes to look at her, a bit taken aback by the question. Lucy observed him, he was only wearing a ragged short and shackles on his wrists, she also noticed scars on his torso and blood dripping from his back and his face.

“Leave me alone,” he said, looking away.

Lucy refused to leave him like this, the boy was bleeding and probably suffering, she grabbed a handkerchief and wiped his face. She saw surprise pass on his face before he hit her hand.

“Don’t touch me.”

She was a bit surprised by what he had just done, she had never met someone that would refuse help like this. The boy refused to look at her.
She took the bread her mother had given her and handed it out to him. Again, surprise passed on his face, before looking away once more.

“It’s yours.”

She kneeled beside him, put the bread on his arm and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

“Take it, please.”

This time, the boy did not refuse her help. He looked at her one last time just to be sure that it was alright before eating the bread. It looked like he hadn’t eaten in days with the way he ate.

“You’re very brave, you know,” she said while he was still eating, “I’m Lucy and you are?”

He stopped eating to look at her, before leaning his head against the wall and looking at the ceiling.

“You don’t need to know, because we will never see each other again.”

“I’m sure that we will!” she replied, giving him one of her brightest smiles.

It felt like the boy came from another universe, or that he didn’t live in the same world as her, because almost at everything she did, he had been surprised, or slightly blushed. It was as if he lived in a world with no kindness in it, or where it had been forgotten to the point where he didn’t know how to act when someone was nice with him.

The girl watched him, she didn’t understand what this place was or why such a young boy, probably her age or a bit older, with a lot of scars on his body and bleeding from his back was here. She hated seeing people suffer, but what she hated even more was to be useless. She wanted to help that boy, but he had refused his help and honestly, she didn’t even know what she could do. She was just a young girl; she couldn’t help him.

“Lucy! We’re going home!” her mother shouted.

“Oh yeah… I’m coming.”

She rose to her feet and waved at the boy with a big smile on her face. The only thing she could do was maybe cheer him up a bit, so she gave him one of her brightest smiles, hoping that it would bring him some joy. The boy looked at her still a bit surprised by what she had done for him, he waved back timidly, as if he didn’t know if that was the right thing to do.

Layla grabbed her daughter’s hand; it startled a bit Lucy that was still just watching this brave boy.

“Let’s go,” her mother ordered, pulling her away from this terrible place.

It’s only when they were back on the ship, already sailing far away from that place, that Lucy noticed that she had lost her teddy bear.

And now, Lucy was twenty-two years old, a celestial mage and a member of the renowned guild Fairy Tail. She had made new friends, become a member of a new “family”, and was ready to go on a lot of adventures.

Chapter Text

The Nirvana had been activated.

They had failed in stopping the Oracion Seis’s plan.

Lucy was tired, she had used a lot of her power in her fight with Angel, but she couldn’t give up now. She was clinging to one of the Nirvana’s legs, Natsu was beside her, but he quickly let go because of the motion sickness, luckily Happy caught him and they flew over the top of the Nirvana. Gray helped Lucy to get up on the structure’s leg and they finally arrived in the city. Jura was with them, and they were joined by a member of the Oracion Seis who had changed side because of the Nirvana’s power. Jura insisted to say that Richard, also known as Hoteye, was a good man and would not hurt them. The small group was now walking and they were ready to fight the rest of members of this dark guild. Richard stopped them when they arrived in front of Midnight, the strongest member of the Oracion Seis.

“How dare you betray my father?” Midnight said with a sadistic smile on his face.

Richard told Lucy and her friends to leave because they couldn’t win against Midnight.

Lucy looked at Hoteye and then at Midnight, she didn’t believe that two members of the Oracion Seis were about to fight each other. Suddenly, she met Midnight’s eyes and instantly regretted it, his gaze sent shivers down her spine and her body refused to move. She felt Gray grab her arm, tugging her far away from Midnight.

“What happened?” Gray asked her while they were running, leaving the two Oracion Seis member behind.

“I don’t know, maybe his magic paralyzed me, I don’t know if he can do that. But he is scary.”

“Yeah, let’s hope that Hoteye will be able to defeat him.”

She nodded, shaking away that awful moment that she had just lived, they needed to find Brain now.

They were running and they watched the sky, they could see fire moving in the dark sky and immediately Gray and Lucy shared a look. They knew who it was. It was Natsu of course. It filled her with relief, she didn’t know what had happened to Natsu when he had left with Happy, but they were probably fighting an Oracion Seis member.

“We should go in Natsu’s direction,” Gray said to Jura.

The sacred mage nodded, and they tried to find a way to their friend. At one point, they heard a big roar. Lucy and Gray exchanged a look, they knew that it was probably Natsu. The noise was so strong that the buildings on the Nirvana started to fall, and one fell just in front of Lucy separating her from the rest of the group.

“Lucy!” Gray shouted from behind the rock that separated them.

“I’m fine! Don’t worry, go on ahead, I will find another way.”

“I will just destroy the rock,” Jura intervened.

“We don’t have time for that, you need to find the leader of the Oracion Seis.”

“Just stay safe,” Gray said.

She smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

She heard them leave and she sighed. She had been lucky enough not to get crushed by the building that had fallen, but she was still exhausted from her fight against Angel, and she truly hoped that she would not have to face another member of the Oracion Seis. She clearly avoided to backtrack, because Midnight was not far away and if Hoteye didn’t win, she didn’t want to be the next one to fight him.

She slowly got up and chose a random direction, this place was a real maze, and she didn’t know if she would find a way to Gray and the others. So, she walked, not knowing where she was going.

At some point, she heard a hissing noise, and she hid behind a wall with her hand on her mouth, she knew fully well what it was, the purple snake belonging to Cobra, that could only be it.

Luck was not on her side.

She stayed as quiet as possible, trying not to make any sound. If she could avoid a fight, she would, she didn’t think she could win against Cobra.

“I can hear your thoughts and your fear,” a voice said.

She gritted her teeth, hoping that the voice wasn’t talking to her.

“I am talking to you. Why don’t you come out of your hideout?”

She could easily picture a grin on the man’s face.

She had no other choice now, did she?

Lucy touched her keys, ready to call her spirits, but she had barely the time to take them, that the purple snake grabbed them and flew away.
“No!” she shouted, trying to catch the snake, and revealing her position at the same time.

“There you are, Blondie.”

She turned her head and their eyes met. For one instant, she looked at him in the eye, and she almost lost herself in his deep purple eyes. She quickly shook her head to look away. Even if he was her enemy, she couldn’t deny that the man was beautiful.

I should not be thinking about that right now.

Cobra grinned.

“My name is not Blondie.”

Really Lucy? That’s your first thought?

Cobra’s grin widened at that. It was as if he could hear her thoughts.

“Yeah, well, I prefer Blondie.”

She rolled her eyes, she hadn’t expected him to just talk, she had thought that he might just attack her and kill her. It would be easy for him, he just had to poison her, and she would die, she was alone and without her keys.

Lucy saw the snake reappear next to Cobra and it gave him her keys. The man patted the animal’s head with a gentle smile. She watched him intensively now, and she noticed one thing, his coat was tattered, his face was bruised, and he looked tired as if he had been in a fight. She hadn’t noticed at first how he was leaning against a wall, probably because he couldn’t walk by himself.

He had lost a fight, probably the one against Natsu.

She could probably win the fight, then.

So why didn’t he attack? Was he waiting for her to make the first move?

She could see Cobra eyeing her carefully, waiting for her next move. He didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything.

Why? Why isn’t he attacking me?

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said with a tired voice, “I just want to be free.”

“You’re a criminal, the Magic Council will soon be here, and you will be arrested. I can’t let you go.”

And that was it. That was what he had been waiting for.

“You leave me no choice, then.”

She saw crimson Dragon scales cover his hands and forearms, and the snake hissed at her. In one instant, he was lunging at her, and her only way to defend herself now was her whip. She grabbed it and swung it around.

She hadn’t expected this reaction, though. She hadn’t even hit him; she had just hit the ground in front of him.

Cobra leapt backward, and fell on one knee, his whole body shaking.

“Shit,” she heard him mutter.

He had his hands on his ears, his whole body was shaking, and she could see tears in his eyes.

What was happening?

He closed his eyes and tried to breathe, probably to calm himself.

She couldn’t help it but feel bad about him, she didn’t understand what she had done to put him in that state. She took a deep breath and approached him, putting away her whip. She doubted that he was very dangerous right now. Well, it could be a trap. But it seemed way too real to be a trap, she was convinced that he wasn’t faking it.

“Cobra?”

He looked up, his eyes wet and full of fear. He looked terrified. And for one moment, she was under the impression of being in front of a little boy, his face and his eyes were full of innocence. Lucy was not in front of Cobra, member of the Oracion Seis right now, she was in front of a traumatized boy, a boy that was terrified of everything.

She felt bad for him, which was completely stupid because he was her enemy, but seeing him like this made her heart ache.

She didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t help but feel bad for him, but he was a criminal, he was evil and cruel. She had never expected him to show so much fear, to be so lost and terrified. She crouched in front of him, keeping a certain distance and looked at him.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

She saw surprise flash on the man’s face before it turned into anger or maybe shame.

“Leave me alone,” the man answered abruptly.

And that was what she should have done, she should have left him here, the Council would soon be here anyway so she shouldn’t have to worry about his fate.

But she didn’t move, she kept looking at him, the curiosity getting the better of her. He intrigued her, she had never expected to see a criminal look so innocent, but a criminal was still a criminal no matter what he looked like. He had committed crimes, probably tortured people and done way worse.

“You’re hurt,” she blurted out, noticing the blood that kept falling on the floor from his shoulder.

You should really stop worrying about your enemies, Lucy. He is a criminal.

“It’s nothing,” he answered weakly.

She realized that he was probably about to pass out, he had lost a lot of blood, and he was exhausted.

He wouldn’t have gone very far with that wound anyway.

“I don’t want to go to jail,” he pleaded.

Again, she saw the little boy in him. Why did her heart ache at that sight?

He is cruel, he probably killed a lot of people, he destroyed villages, he tortured innocents. So why do I feel so bad?

“You’re a criminal, you won’t escape it.”

A hint of a defeated smile appeared on his face, he knew he had lost, he knew it was over.

“It’s not like we had a choice,” he said before giving her back her keys.

She blinked, surprised by his action.

“Why?” she whispered, holding her keys close to her heart, relieved to have them back.

“Because I admit my defeat, I lost. I’m not fighting you.”

She gritted her teeth; she had never thought that he could be kind, never thought that this dangerous man could accept his defeat so easily. She had expected him to resist, to fight, not to just sit here with a defeated look on his face.

And that was at this moment that a memory of her brother crossed her mind, the memory of when he had told her that you couldn’t know what a person had endured, what choices they had had to make that lead them here, even the kindest soul could turn into the cruelest person, but the kindness never fully disappeared.

That was what was happening right now, Cobra was a monster, a criminal, but she didn’t know what he had endured that had turned him into a criminal, surely, he must have had a reason, well no matter the reason, he was still a criminal, but deep down, there was a kindness in him that had never disappeared. Deep down, he was still a young boy that had chosen the wrong path but had never lost himself completely to the evil forces.

She saw Cobra’s eyes widen when the thought of her brother crossed her mind, she was pretty sure now that he could hear her thoughts.

“Your brother is alive,” he said, before passing out right in front of her.

“What? Cobra?”

He knew her brother. This criminal knew her brother, her brother that she kept desperately looking for on every occasion she got.

“Cobra, wake up,” she said, shaking him hoping to see him open his eyes.

She wanted answers, she wanted to know where her brother was, she needed to know that he was okay. She wanted him to be more than memory, she wanted to see her brother.

She tried to wake him up, but he didn’t open his eyes.

A few minutes passed, she didn’t want to leave him alone, but she also had to join the others.

“You’re Lucy Heartfilia, right?” a voice said from behind her.

She jumped, she almost had a heart attack, it had been so calm, and she hadn’t heard anyone arrive. She turned and in front of her was Lahar, a member of the Magic Council.

“You’re finally here.”

“We have already apprehended some members of the Oracion Seis; we are glad to know that you are safe and that you succeeded in stopping Cobra.”

“Oh, it wasn’t-”

She didn’t finish her sentence; it didn’t matter anyway. The Magic Council was just glad to arrest another criminal.

Lucy saw a man approach Cobra and handcuff him.

“Thank you for your help,” Lahar said before disappearing with Cobra and the other mage.

Well, she had done it, she had accomplished her mission, she had helped in stopping the member of the Oracion Seis. So why did her heart ache? Why did she feel so bittersweet? And mostly why couldn’t she forget the last thing he had said to her.

Your brother is alive.

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks since Lucy and her friends had helped in arresting most of the member of the Oracion Seis. They had heard that Midnight and Angel had successfully escaped the Council and were still on the run, but all the others were in jail.

She had taken a few days off, because the fight had been rough, and she was still sore even with Wendy’s magic. Of course, Natsu and Happy still visited her, and asked if she was alright, it was weird for her not to be at the guild. Every time, she said yes, then talked a moment with Natsu and waited for him to leave. In reality, she was not so alright, she kept thinking about what Cobra had said about her brother. It had been two weeks, and she kept thinking that he had lied, he was a criminal, so it would be completely normal, but at the same time, in a corner of her mind, she couldn't stop thinking: but what if he had told the truth? What if he really knew where is my brother?

She was at her desk, trying to write her book, but again, the same sentence kept haunting her: Your brother is alive.

She closed her book and got up, she had had enough, she wanted to be certain now. She needed to speak to Cobra. She left a word on her bed just in case Natsu decided to come, she didn’t know how long she would be gone. The Council was not close to Magnolia, so she would probably be gone for a few days. She quickly prepared a suitcase and then left her apartment.

She bought a train ticket, and sat in the train, thinking about how she was going to ask the Council about talking to Cobra.

She sighed, already having some trouble imagining how it would go, when two persons sat in front of her. She raised her head and her eyes widened at the sight; she recognized them immediately.

“Gajeel? Levy? What are you doing here?”

“Well, there is this book fair, and I really wanted to go, and Gajeel offered to come with me.”

Lucy squinted her eyes at the man who only looked away, and then looked at Levy who also looked away. She could guess that there was starting to be something more than just friendship between the two of them.

“Oh, I see,” Lucy said with an almost wicked smile.

“Lucy! That’s not what you think, I swear!”

“Yeah. I totally believe you.”

Her friend was starting to turn red which made Lucy smile.

“And you where are you going?” Levy asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, I’m going to the Magic Council.”

They looked at her, confused.

“That’s not a super place,” Gajeel said, looking at her.

Levy hit him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Ouch!”

“Why? Well, if you are alright with telling us.”

“It’s complicated, I just need to talk to someone there.”

Levy nodded, she would not push it, and Lucy was glad for that. She knew that if it had been Natsu, he probably would have insisted on knowing what was wrong, but this, this was something that Lucy needed to do, by herself.

The train started to move, and immediately Gajeel paled and leant against the window. Levy sighed and signaled him to lie on her knees.

“I don’t want to hear anything,” she glared at Lucy.

She just answered with a big smile. She was happy for Levy, Gajeel and her seemed really close, and he really seemed to care for her which was great.

The conversation shifted and they talked about books during the train ride while Gajeel was trying to sleep. The train stopped and Lucy got up, ready to go.

“Have fun at the book fair, oh and if you find the last book by this author could you buy it for me? I heard that he would be there, but I don’t if I will have the time to go after my visit to the Council.”

“Of course, don’t worry and good luck.”

“Thank you, Levy.”

She got off the train, took a deep breath and walked in the direction of the Magic Council. She would have to improvise what she would say to Cobra. When she stepped into the building, the receptionist immediately waved at her, so Lucy went to her.

“Hello, I would like to talk to a prisoner. Is it possible?”

“Yes, who exactly? I will ask someone to prepare him.”

“Cobra from the Oracion Seis.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened, she seemed really surprised and also terrified.

“Are you sure? I heard he was one of the worst criminal here.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. She did not want to explain her reason to the receptionist.

“Can I see him, yes, or no?”

“Lucy?”

She turned and saw Lahar approaching her.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Oh no, I just wanted to talk to Cobra.”

The Council member was quite surprised by her answer, he looked at her and saw the determined look on her face.

“Fine, I guess, you can see him.”

“Is it possible to talk to him completely in private? I don’t want the Council to know what I’m about to ask, it’s personal.”

He thought about it for a moment and nodded.

“I guess you can.”

If she had been a simple citizen, he probably would not have accepted that, but she was a member of Fairy Tail and he knew she could be trusted.

“Give me ten minutes.”

“Thank you, Lahar.”

She nodded and sat on a chair, waiting for him to come back. She was starting to feel a bit stressed, she had acted on a whim, and now she didn’t know where this situation would take her. But she somehow felt that she was getting closer to her brother, and if Cobra wasn’t a liar, well, she would see her brother soon. And if the price to pay was to talk with a criminal to get her brother back, she was ready to do it.

Lahar finally came back and asked her to follow him, she simply followed him, and he led her to a door.

“He is behind that door, don’t worry, he won’t be able to hurt you, his hands and his feet are bound. And you will be alone with him.”

That seemed a bit extreme, but after all he was still a criminal, so it was probably normal.

“Thank you, Lahar.”

“You’re welcome.”

She took a deep breath and then walked in. The man was in front of her, looking out the window. He turned his head when she sat in front of him, a small smile appeared on his lips.

“Hello, Blondie.”

She rolled her eyes at that; she had forgotten just how insufferable he could be. She quickly looked at him, he was wearing a prisoner uniform, and she rapidly shook the thought away that she missed him in his white coat, when she only had seen him once.

What is wrong with me? You’re not here for that.

“You said that my brother was alive, what did you mean by that?”

“Oh, I see you are immediately getting down to business.”

“I don’t know what you expected, I didn’t come here to see how you were.”

“You wound me, Blondie.”

“Stop calling me that and answer my question.”

She could see a little smile on Cobra’s face, and she almost wanted to punch him. He was an arrogant prick, even when he was in jail.

“Why would I do that?”

Yeah, Lucy. Why would he help you? He is a criminal; he is an arrogant prick and he probably lied to you.

“Wow, calm down on the insults, I may be a criminal and whatever you want me to be, but I’m not a liar.”

She had forgotten that he could hear her thoughts, Natsu had confirmed it to her when she had asked him.

“Why did you do it, then? Why did you give me hope if you don’t want to tell me? Is it simply to get your revenge for us arresting you?”

“Oh, come on now, Blondie. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Then why did you do it?”

Cobra looked away for a moment, he seemed pensive.

“What do you want to know?” he said, dodging her question.

“Where is he?”

“That’s a bit complicated.”

Lucy clenched her fists, clearly losing patience.

“Why can’t you just give me a simple answer?”

“I’m just telling you the truth, I can’t hear him from down there, I can’t smell him either. So, I can’t tell you where he is.”

Well, he had a point.

“Is he alright?”

“As alright as he can be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Physically he is fine, mentally that’s another story. Honestly, I don’t think he remembers you or he probably don’t want to see you ever again.”

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her brother had forgotten her. Or didn’t want to see her again.

“I need to find him.”

“Good luck with that, he knows how to hide pretty well.”

She only noticed now how much her enemy looked tired, and how he always looked through the small window that was in the room when he had the occasion. She remembered how he had pleaded, how he had looked so innocent and terrified. And even though he was a criminal, he had still tried to be kind, he had given her information on her brother, and he hadn’t asked for anything in return. Cobra had accepted his fate, he probably had always known that he would end up in prison one day, but still he dreamt of freedom, always trying to grasp every bit of it by simply looking outside. She then remembered vaguely what Erza had said to her, the member of the Oracion Seis were children of the Tower of Heaven, and if she had told the truth then the man in front of her had never known real freedom, he had walked on a path filled with death and blood only to survive. He was evil, but could he change? Was there a possibility that this man could change given the opportunity? She didn’t know, probably not.

“Hey, Blondie. Let’s make a deal. I will help you find your brother, if you find a way to free me,” he said, interrupting her train of thoughts.

“What? You can’t be serious,” she almost laughed at his stupid proposal.

Cobra shrugged.

“I mean, I’m the only one who can help you, and I’m stuck here, so either you wait for me to be free which may likely never happen, or you find another way to get me out of here, your choice.”

She gritted her teeth, slowly thinking about it. He was not wrong, which actually annoyed her, she had fallen right into his trap. That is what she should have expected from a man like him, of course, he would bargain his freedom. It was her brother for his freedom, was it worth it?

She didn’t know.

But she knew one thing for sure.

Cobra was her only way to get her brother back.

“Be honest with me,” she said looking at him in the eye, “could you find him if you were free?”

“Yes,” he answered, and she could feel he was being honest.

She had him figured out pretty well. There was only one thing that this man wanted, he wanted to be free. And well, if he wasn’t honest, he was probably the best actor she had ever seen, because at the simple mention of freedom, she saw his eyes lit up with hope, it had disappeared quickly, but she had seen it. She knew now that this man was driven by freedom.

So, if she could find a way to free him, he would help her. That seemed like a stupid plan, really. Was she really about to trust him when she was pretty sure that he was only a liar who only thought about himself? But if there was a chance that he was actually being honest, she would take it.

She left the room without saying another word. Lahar was outside waiting for her.

“Was your talk with him satisfying? He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. He refused to talk to us, he didn’t even tell us his name.”

“It went well, but I need to talk with the higher members of the Council.”

Lahar raised an eyebrow; he must be thinking that she had gone completely crazy.

“Please, it’s important.”

He sighed and led her to the office where all the higher members were. She was really grateful for Lahar’s kindness.

She put her hand on the handful and took a deep breath. Was she really about to ask for Cobra’s liberation, just to get her brother back? That was the deal that he had offered her.

She entered the room and all the members looked at her, confused.

“You’re Lucy Heartfilia, right?”

She nodded.

“How can we help you?”

“I need Cobra’s help.”

The answer she got was a general “what?”, then murmurs rose in the room and eyes filled with confusion looked at her.

“We can’t free him like this, he is one of the worse criminals in here.”

Maybe, she thought, but he is also my only chance of finding my family.

Her mother was gone, her brother had disappeared, and her father was one of the cruelest persons in this country. Her father had taken a part in the Tower of Heaven project, and she still didn’t know how he had managed to escape jail, money probably. She always felt guilty about it, because she felt responsible for Erza’s traumas, and for every child that had been in the tower. Even if Cobra was a criminal, Lucy still felt a bit responsible for what he had endured in the tower, well she didn’t know what he had endured, but she knew it probably wasn’t positive.

“May I ask you the reason?” an old woman said, “you don’t look like you’re joking so you must have a pretty good reason to ask that.”

Lucy took a deep breath. She had never told anyone about her brother, but she had no other choice right now.

“He is the only one who can find my missing brother.”

All the members looked at each other, the Heartfilia’s family was quite known, but it seemed like they had never heard of this son.

“You have a brother?” the same woman asked.

“Yes, for years I thought he was dead, and now Cobra assured me that he was alive.”

“You know that he can lie? He is probably using you to get his freedom, don’t you think?”

“And even if that’s true, I’ve never been so close to finding him. I beg of you, give Cobra a chance to redeem himself by helping me find my brother. When we were fighting, he told me that he didn’t have a choice to act like he did, give him a chance to see if he was telling the truth or if he is just a liar and a villain.”

All the members thought about it for a moment, carefully listening to her.

“Actually, she could be the first one to try out our new project,” the old Yajima said.

“You’re not serious, I thought we had decided to never talk about this again,” another man argued.

“She seems pretty determined to me,” the same woman said, with the hint of a smile on her face.

Lucy didn’t know what they were talking about. A new project? What was she about to get herself into?

“There is a way to free Cobra. A way for you to get what you want. You will have to work for the Magic Council for a year.”

She looked at them, confused. She had never expected them to find a potential agreement, she just had thought that she would have to forget the possibility of seeing her brother again.

“Cobra will have his magic sealed and he will live with you. He won’t be able to leave your apartment if you’re not with him, and otherwise he will need to stay around you in a perimeter of 100 meters when you’re outside. If he doesn’t respect these rules or refuse to cooperate, he will be sent back to jail immediately with no possibility of getting out ever again. If for one year, he shows a good behavior and help us, we will free him.”

Oh wow.

She had never thought that the Council would propose something like this.

“And the guild?”

“You probably won’t have the time to do any missions with your friends, you will probably be too busy with our tasks. It’s your choice, Lucy.”

She had to make a choice now. Fairy Tail or the Magic Council. Fairy Tail or the possibility of seeing her dear brother. The guild was her family, and she knew that they would understand her choice as long as she was happy.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” she said resolutely.

She didn’t know what she was getting herself into, but she knew it was her only way to get her brother back, and she was ready to do anything for it, even if it meant working with Cobra for the Magic Council.

“Belno,” said the old Yajima.

The woman who had questioned Lucy several times got up and left the room without another word.

“Sit down, Lucy. We will talk about the details of this project.”

When Cobra had seen his cell door open, he hadn’t thought that it would be for getting out today. When he had asked what the reason was, the only answer he had gotten was that someone wanted to talk to him. And when he had listened to their thoughts, he hadn’t been able to get the name of the person either, which was a bit weird. But he hadn’t resisted, he let himself be led to the room, let the members of the Council tie his hands and feet. Honestly, he didn’t have it in him to resist, he had failed, the Oracion Seis had been caught, so he has now accepted his fate that he deserved to be locked up for all of his crimes, and just pray that one day he would be able to get out of this awful place, a thing that was likely never going to happen.

The only thing that brought him comfort right now was the little window in the room, he just enjoyed watching the outside world, watching the birds fly. It comforted him, and it also reminded him how much he wished he could be outside, too. Something he had never tasted, real freedom. He had never been free in his life. He had been captured at a young age by the soldiers of the Tower of Heaven and he had never been able to know what real freedom was. Even when he finally got out of that awful place, it was only to get used by Brain, it was only his master that had changed, and it felt like he had never been the master of his own life. He had never made a choice that came directly from him. But honestly, he knew that after everything he had done, he deserved to be in jail, that was the kind of bastard he was. He just hated himself, really. And now he was just glad to know that at least Angel and Midnight were still free. Well, as free as fugitives can be, but they could still enjoy the outside world.

He heard the person come in, and only decided to turn his head when she sat in front of him.

Well, that was a surprise.

He hadn’t expected to see her.

Lucy Heartfilia was sitting in front of him.

“Hello, Blondie,” he said, not able to contain the small smile that was slowly appearing on his lips.

He immediately saw how that pissed her off, and he couldn’t help it, she was fun to tease. And after all, he knew who she was, he had never forgotten her. The little girl that he had met one random day at the Tower of Heaven, the little girl that had shared her food with him and had forgotten her teddy bear, the little girl that had given him the strength to continue to live. He was sure that it was her, she looked so similar to the girl, and she had the same name.

Without sparing him another glance, she went straight to the point and started questions about her brother. It did not escape him how many times she could insult him in her thoughts, she truly disliked him, and well, she had every right to. Honestly, Cobra could just tell her who her brother was, but he had made a promise to Lucy’s brother, and he would keep it. Her brother had told him that he didn’t want to see her again, he didn’t want her to know what he had become, what awful things he had done, and Cobra could understand that, and he wasn’t about to betray his friend for the girl in front of him.

He did not like how she insisted about her brother, she was really determined to find him, and he felt like no matter what he said, she would never give up.

“Physically he is fine, mentally that’s another story. Honestly, I don’t think he remembers you or he probably don’t want to see you ever again,” he said, hoping to scare her and stop her from looking for him.

He needed to stop her right now. And so, the only idea he had in mind for that was to offer her an impossible deal.

“Hey, Blondie. Let’s make a deal. I will help you find your brother, if you find a way to free me,” he said.

This was a desperate move, really. His wish for freedom had gotten the better of him, and he had proposed this stupid thing, but he knew that the Council would never allow something like this, that’s why he had offered it in the first place, because he knew that it was impossible.

“What? You can’t be serious,” she almost laughed at his stupid proposal.

And now he was pretty sure, he had succeeded in making her give up. She couldn’t believe what he was asking. He knew she would never ally herself with someone like him, he would not have to look for Lucy’s brother meaning that he could keep his promise. But that also meant that he would never be free. It was alright, he could live with that, he didn’t deserve it anyway.

When he saw Lucy’s surprise, he only shrugged. He had to act like he didn’t care, like he just did this for himself, he just had to pretend that he was the bastard she thought him to be.

“I mean, I’m the only one who can help you, and I’m stuck here, so either you wait for me to be free which may likely never happen, or you find another way to get me out of here, your choice.”

He saw her grit her teeth, but what worried him was that she was seriously considering his proposal.

Oh, come on, Blondie. Just give it up already.

“Be honest with me,” she said looking at him in the eye, “could you find him if you were free?”

“Yes,” he answered, and he was telling the truth.

He should have said no, he should have given up on the small possibility of him getting out, but at the same time, he dreamed of freedom. He was selfish, but he doubted that he would be getting out anyway. And seriously, he didn’t know what to do, he wanted his freedom, he wanted to keep his promise to Lucy’s brother, and he also wanted to help Lucy because she had given him hope during his childhood.

The Magic Council wasn’t going to release him anyway, so he really shouldn’t be thinking about all the possibilities that lied there when the only thing that was going to happen was that he would never see her again.

She left without another word, and he was brought back to his cell. That had been one hell of a conversation, but it had brought him a kind of comfort, it was different from his usual day where he just sat in his cell, looking at the ceiling or listening to all the other prisoner’s thoughts.

And sometimes, Cobra really wished that he could stop just hearing everything, even if he tried to stop it all, he kept hearing things anyway, and that exhausted him. In his cold and little space, the only thing he could hear was self-deprecating or angry thoughts, and he only wished that it would stop. That was why he enjoyed the outside world, because there was a lot of sounds, new and old, but he was not forced to focus only on the negativity, he could hear positive things out there, there was so much possibility that even he knew he couldn’t listen to everything. Plus, the fact that his cell was not far away from Brain’s bothered him greatly, and clearly did nothing to brighten his days, because the only thing he could hear was how pathetic the Oracion Seis had been.

I can’t believe they lost. How could they be so weak? Once I’m out of here, I will find new children and I will train them, and we will start by destroying the Council, he heard Brain think.

Cobra sat on his bed and put his head against the wall. He almost wanted to laugh at his former master’s thoughts.

New children to train? No, that bastard wants new children to break, new children to turn into slaves like he has done with us.

Brain had been their father figure, but Cobra had quickly realized how they were only the pawns to his plan, and he had never considered him like a father after that. He may have been a child, but hearing thoughts made him less manipulable than the others. Well, that hadn’t stopped him from following his orders anyway, he still had been swept away by a promise of freedom and a better world, so he guessed that he was still manipulable.

And now he was in jail, with a new wound on his back made by none other than the man he had trusted for years.
He hated himself for having been this stupid, but well; now he got what he deserved. A life in prison, that was the life that awaited bastards like him, and he had finally come to accept it. But he knew deep down that if he was given an opportunity, he would do anything to prove that he was better than this, that he could be a better person, that he had never wanted to do all of this.

Probably one hour later, another guard came, accompanied this time with Belno, a higher member of the Council.

“Cobra,” the woman said from the other side of the door.

What had he done? Had he been that mean to Lucy that he was about to get punished now?

He got up from his bed and looked at her through the bars.

“Put your hands in front of you.”

He shivered and obeyed; he knew it would not end well now. He should have been kinder to Lucy; he should have been more cooperative. He had been so stupid, and now he was going to be punished for it.

He looked down and suddenly two bracelets appeared on his wrists, he looked at the woman with eyes filled with confusion.

“What?”

“Lucy Heartfilia has accepted to participate in a project that also involves your participation and your potential release. You will spend a year with her, and you will work for the Magic Council, if you have a good behavior during this time, you will be freed officially. Your magic is sealed, and you need to stay around her in a 100m perimeter when you are outside of her apartment. Also, and it’s only if you find yourselves in a desperate situation, Lucy can allow you to use your magic, but she will have to grant you permission.”

What the hell?

He blinked several times, for the first time in his life he was pretty sure that he had heard wrong.

“This is a test, and if you fail, you will be back in your cell until the end of your sentence. We expect your full cooperation, I got told that you were ready to do anything to be freed.”

He was still sure that he had heard wrong.

Belno opened the door and put his old clothes in his hands.

“Put this on, and then a guard will take you upstairs,” she said before leaving him alone with a guard.

He was still frozen in place.

What had Lucy done?

She had offered him a chance to redeem himself and he would not waste it; he would take it. Prove that he had never wanted to be a criminal, prove that he could change, prove that he could be good. But at the same time, he was so screwed, he would have to look for Lucy’s brother. Well, he could still lie to her, lead her down the garden path for a while.

He quickly put on his old clothes, he was glad to have his white coat back, he cherished it dearly. The guard looked at him and just gestured to him to follow him. He followed and they arrived in the main hall, he saw Lucy sitting on a couch her head in her hands.

You already regret your decision, huh? he thought.

She had clearly acted on a whim and had not thought that through, clearly. She had to be really desperate to get her brother back, he could understand it, if he was certain that a member of his family was still alive, he would move heaven and earth to see them again.

“Cobra, Lucy will be your guardian for a year. If you hurt her, if you don’t respect the rules, you will be back in your cell,” Belno said, “you have one chance to redeem yourself, and prove the Council that you never wanted to be a criminal and you only acted like this because you had no other choice.”

“Thank you for offering me this opportunity,” he said, not sure if he should say something.

“Don’t thank me, thank Lucy.”

He looked at Lucy who desperately avoided his gaze.

Oh, it wasn’t going to be easy, if she regretted it like this.

“Well, Cobra you are free to go with Lucy, now. You and Lucy will receive your first mission soon, and you can also expect a member of the Council to question you about the Balam Alliance in a few days, as I said before, we expect your full cooperation if you want your freedom.”

Of course, the Council wanted something from him in exchange. It couldn’t be that easy. But seriously, he didn’t care that much about the Balam Alliance, the Oracion Seis was gone, and Tartaros and Grimoire Heart were guilds so powerful that even with the information he had on them, he knew that the Council wouldn’t be able to stop them. In the end, it didn’t matter if he had to speak about that, he just knew that he would never betray the Oracion Seis, but the others, he didn’t mind.

Belno left, then Lucy got up and approached him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just don’t make me regret my decision. Let’s go, we have a train to catch.”

And with that, they left the Council.

Chapter Text

Lucy had not expected her life to take a turn like this. She was now in charge of Cobra for a year, and she worked for the Council now, maybe it had been a dumb thing to do. But it was only a year, and she could still see her friends and spend time with them, she would just not be able to go on missions with Natsu and the others. But she really needed to find her brother, for herself, but also for her mother, she knew it was what Layla would have wanted.

Be brave Lucy, it’s just a year, you can do it.

Honestly, she hadn’t thought that her stupid actions would go so smoothly with the Council, she had expected to stay there for days, hoping to convince them, so when it had been done in a couple of hours, well, she had been quite surprised. It wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t need anything from Cobra, she hadn’t asked what they wanted from him, she wasn’t about to question the Council’s decision, she had gotten what she wanted after all.

They were now in the train waiting for it to leave, Cobra had followed her without causing any trouble, they had simply walked in silence. He was probably still taken aback by all of it, when she had seen him appear in the hallway, he had so much surprise on his face, it really seemed like he wasn’t believing that any of it was real.

“So, where are we going, Blondie?” he finally asked when they sat on the train.

She was starting to wonder if he knew her name, because he had never called her Lucy once since they had met. She sighed when she heard that dumb surname again, and she could see a little proud smile on Cobra’s face when he looked at her which only irritated her even more.

Oh, he was insufferable, already.

“My friend told me there was a book fair in a town nearby, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to go, but since all of this got wrapped up pretty quickly, well I guess I can authorize myself to go.”

He simply nodded, looking confused for an instant, as if he hadn’t expected this answer.

“I thought you would want me to find your brother immediately.”

“I want to, but I still need to think about how I want to do it.”

“You’re not ready, huh?”

Ouch.

She hated that he was right.

Yes. She wanted to see her brother, but Cobra had told her that he didn’t want to see her, and she needed to think about what to say to him when she would see him again. So, she needed some time before looking for him, but now she had Cobra which meant that she could find him whenever she wanted.

“It’s none of your business.”

A small, satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

It was going to be a long year if their conversation consisted only of this. She sat back comfortably on the seat and crossed her arms.

It’s normal, Lucy. He doesn’t want to go back to jail, and he must still be pretty shaken up by all of that.

“I hope you don’t mind, it’s just that there is an author that I like quite a lot.”

Why are you telling him this, Lucy? He probably doesn’t even care.

“It’s not like I have another option,” he answered.

She put the back of her head against the seat, it was not going to be easy.

“Do you like books?” she decided to ask, she could at least try to start a conversation.

He looked at her confused for an instant, as if he hadn’t expected her to talk to him or to ask that.

“Let’s just say I’m not a big reader, but really don’t mind me, do whatever you like, I’ll just follow.”

She had still some trouble thinking that he could be nice. It probably hid something else; he was so calm, it was weird. He leant against the wall, crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Super. Am I that boring?

“I’m just tired.”

“Don’t listen to my thoughts.”

“Not my fault if you think that loudly.”

She gritted her teeth and stopped herself from punching him.

The train left the station, and instantly she noticed how Cobra paled. She saw him clench his fists and do some breathing exercise.

Oh shit.

For one moment, she had forgotten that he was a Dragon Slayer, she had forgotten that he had motion sickness.

“Are you going to be alright?” she asked, feeling a bit guilty for putting him up through this.

“Are you worried about me, Blondie?”

“Not at all, I just don’t want you to throw up everywhere.”

She saw a quick smile appear on his face, before the motion sickness got the better of him.

“I’ll manage, don’t worry,” he added, probably feeling her intense gaze on him.

“The trip won’t be long,” she said, hoping to reassure him.

But honestly, she wasn’t sure he still listened, he was doing his best to fight against the motion sickness. It was almost weird seeing him like that, the man that was usually filled with pride and arrogance, now so vulnerable. She took advantage of that moment to look at him, to really look at him.

She had only one word that crossed her mind: beautiful.

Cobra was beautiful, it was undeniable. The messy crimson hair, his perfect jaw, his mouth, everything about him was just gorgeous. Then her eyes landed on his hands, and that’s when she saw them. The hundreds of tiny little scars that covered his hands.

She was quickly reminded that all of this was her father’s fault. She didn’t know what Cobra had endured that had left such scars, but she knew that Jude Heartfilia had a part in his suffering.

She really hated her father.

She almost reached for his hands, wanting to see more, but she contained herself.

Calm down, Lucy. He is still a criminal; he is not your friend.

For the rest of the trip, she decided that looking through the window was better than looking at him, only because she would never hear the end of it if he knew that she was watching him.

The train arrived at the other station, and Cobra almost rushed out of the train, he probably wanted to be out of this as quickly as he could. And Lucy could understand this, on the contrary to Natsu, Cobra didn’t complain and just stayed silent whereas Natsu complained during all the trips. She was almost grateful for Cobra’s calm and self-control.

She joined him outside of the train, even if he had a certain perimeter where he could walk freely, it seemed like he didn’t want to go too far from her, well he probably was too scared to be sent back in jail after only one day.

"Lead the way, Blondie."

It was impressive how he had looked like so sick a few minutes ago and now he was already back to his usual annoying self.

“You know that I do have a name, right?”

“Oh, you do? I thought it was Blondie,” he said, putting his fingers on his chin as if he was seriously reflecting about it.

Don’t punch him, Lucy. Don’t punch him.

She took a deep breath and started to think about the book fair more than the criminal next to her. She was excited, she was about to meet her favorite author, and she would also be surrounded by books, there was nothing more perfect than that. She might also see Levy, and if that was the case, they would be talking about books non-stop. She could feel the excitement rise in her chest and she would not let Cobra’s presence ruin it.

Cobra waited for Lucy to buy the tickets to the book fair, honestly, he didn’t care about books at all, but he was not about to complain when he was free. Well, free was a bit of an overstatement, more like he was outside. It was nice, way nicer than the prison. And well, even if she had tried not to show it, he could see how happy Lucy was to go there, and he would not ruin the moment. He knew they had a rough year ahead of them, so he was not going to deprive her from her happiness. Lucy was kind, way too kind, he still couldn’t believe that she had managed to get him out of his cell. Even, if he failed this year, he would forever be grateful for what she had done, but he really hoped that he was not going to fail, he really wanted to be free, not working for someone else ever again. One year. In only one year he could earn his freedom, and he would not waste his only chance.

He was sitting on a bench waiting for Lucy to come back with the tickets. He still felt sick from the train ride, he had forgotten just how bad his motion sickness was and he had not missed that at all.

“Let’s go, I got the tickets,” she said when she came back.

The bright smile on her face did not escape him, it was almost like she had forgotten for a few seconds that he was a criminal.

Wow, she really must be excited for this book thing.
He nodded and got up, going for the first time in his life in a book fair. His first thought was that it was really noisy, and he shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but at the same time, he hadn’t expected that that many people could like books. Were books that interesting?

He could almost see Lucy jump with excitement, it was like she was a totally different person from earlier, she was just so happy to be here, and he would not steal that from her. So, he just kept walking behind her, looking at what she looked, not bothering her. But surprisingly, she talked to him, she didn’t stop talking about books that Cobra had never heard of, but she talked, and he simply nodded, sometimes it was interesting and sometimes it wasn’t, but he kept listening. He enjoyed seeing her so passionate about something.

She was now looking at the tiny map in her hand and pointed the booth where she wanted to go next.

“Hedgar Hizoku is signing his books! He is the author of the Silver Angel and he is also my favorite author! I’m so excited to meet him.”

Cobra only shrugged, not really listening to what she was saying, it was not like he knew any of these authors anyway, but somehow this name rang a bell. They arrived close to the queue, there were a lot of people waiting to get their books signed. Was that man that well-known? He still had some trouble thinking that that many people could be interested by one man who wrote a book. He really wasn’t in his element here.

He saw Lucy grab her book from her bag and hold it close to her chest. She was cute like this, all giddy and happy, and he couldn’t help but smile a little at this sight.

Never in his life did he think that he would be waiting in a queue to meet an author, especially when he hadn’t read the books. But it was a new experience for him, and it was not totally unpleasant, even though the only thing he wanted to do right now was to take a nap.

The queue moved slowly, and he could see Lucy’s stress rise, she was excited but also terrified and well, he had trouble understanding why.

In the meantime, he tried to think where he had heard the name before. But he couldn’t remember it, so it probably wasn’t important, or just a similar name.

“It will soon be our turn,” he said, trying to look above the head of the people in the queue.

He couldn’t see the author behind the mass of people, but he knew they weren’t very far now.

Finally, there was only one person left before it was their turn. Cobra looked at the author, but only saw short brown hair, he couldn’t see the face of the man otherwise. When the person in front of them left, the author took his glass of water to his lips, raised his head and instantly locked eyes with him.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.

That was why the name was familiar.

Hedgar Hizoku was Midnight’s pen name. How could he have forgotten this? Well, probably because books had never interested him.

He saw the author become as white as a sheet and then choke on his water before he started coughing.

“Are you alright?” Lucy asked, seeing how her favorite author was doing his best not to die on the spot.

Once Midnight had calmed down, he glared at Cobra, who only decided to glare back.

What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in jail, and you are with… Oh you’ve got to be joking, what are you doing with Lucy Heartfilia? He could hear his friend ask him through his thoughts.

The only answer he gave him was a little shrug and he looked away; it was not like he could answer him out loud without blowing up Midnight’s cover.

But he was relieved, relieved to know that his best friend was fine. He just hoped that Angel was also doing fine. But Cobra couldn’t believe the boldness of his friend, Midnight was a wanted criminal, and he still dared to appear in a public space like this, well, under another appearance but still.

Then he got hit in the ribs, and he saw Lucy giving him a death stare.

“Ouch.”

She was seriously thinking that he was the reason behind Midnight’s reaction, well he was, but she had it completely wrong.

“Do not glare at people like this.”

He wanted to complain, but well, it would probably only add oil to the fire.

“I’m so sorry for him! I didn’t think he would do that; he is not used to places like this! I really hope he didn’t scare you!” Lucy apologized on his behalf.

Oh, she really did not have a good image of him if she thought that he glared at everyone like this.

“Not at all, don’t worry about it,” Midnight answered with a small laugh, still glaring at Cobra.

There were a thousand questions in his friend’s mind, and Cobra could not answer a single one without revealing his real identity.

Why would a criminal like him know an author that popular? Lucy was not dumb; she would get suspicious and ask questions. And well, Cobra was not about to betray the Oracion Seis, so that’s why he preferred to keep quiet.

“I just wanted to say that I really love your work, and this book, I’ve read it multiple times and it is always so full of surprises and really touching,” Lucy said, shyly.

Cobra had never wanted to disappear more than in this moment. What were the chances that Lucy’s favorite author was Midnight? Oh, he couldn’t believe it. What was the mess he was getting himself into? He wondered how she would react if she knew that she was talking with a member of the Oracion Seis, but oh well, she would never learn it from him, that was certain, and she would probably never learn it at all actually.

“Thank you, it really means a lot,” the author answered.

And even if Cobra wasn’t looking directly at him, he could feel Midnight shooting daggers at him with his intense gaze.

Please, let me disappear right now.

“I really admire you,” she said, holding out the book to him.

“What’s your name?”

As if you didn’t know it, he said to himself.

“Lucy.”

Midnight signed and then, Cobra’s hell finally came to an end.

“And you, sir?” he asked, waiting to add another’s name in the book.

Oh, Midnight sometimes I really hate you.

“Oh, he is not interested in that, don’t worry,” Lucy intervened, “it was an honor to meet you and thank you again.”

His friend gave her back the book. Lucy signaled to Cobra to follow her, and even when they left the queue, Midnight was still glaring at him.

If looks could kill, well Cobra would be dead already.

They spent a few more minutes looking at the books, before Lucy decided that it was time to go home, they would have the time to take the last train to Magnolia.

“How long did you say the ride was?”

“Two hours.”

Oh, he was so going to die during the train ride.

Two hours with motion sickness, he was not going to survive this.

“Are you trying to take revenge on me or something?” he asked, watching her walk in front of him.

She then turned, looked a bit pensive for a few seconds.

“Maybe? You deserve it for all the times you called me, Blondie,” she answered with a small smile on her lips.

He knew she was joking. Lucy was not the kind of person to take revenge for something so trivial, she probably wasn’t the kind to take revenge at all.

“Alright, you win,” he said, admitting defeat.

They were about to get out of the building when Lucy almost pushed him in a plant, he caught himself before falling in the dirt and he looked at her, confused.

Hide yourself! She screamed in her mind so that he could still hear her.

Cobra hid himself behind the plant, not wanting to disobey Lucy’s orders and ruin his chance to be free on the first day.

He could hear her talk to two persons, he rapidly guessed that they were Fairy Tail members, because they seemed to know her pretty well.

What a day.

He had been out for not even more than a day now, and he had almost thrown up in a train, visited a book fair, saw Midnight and almost got pushed in a plant.

Seriously, that had been one hell of a day, but it had been fun, he had enjoyed it, it was way better than the prison.

Cobra didn’t really listen to their conversation, he was thinking about a way of explaining his situation to Midnight, but seriously he had absolutely no idea how to contact him, and if the Council learned about it, well it probably would end their deal. So, he just waited for Lucy to end her conversation.

After a couple of minutes, she finally appeared in front of him.

“You know that pushing me in the flowers wasn’t necessary, Blondie?”

She looked away, a bit guilty.

“I panicked, and if they had seen you, well it could have ended in a fight. Gajeel would probably have kicked your ass.”

“You wound me; do you really think I’m that weak?”

She sighed and pointed at the bracelets on his wrists.

She had a point. Without his magic, he probably would have lost the fight.

“You know that you probably won’t be able to keep this situation a secret forever?”

“I’m not planning to, I just want to announce it to the guild, so that I won’t have to repeat it again and again.”

“Smart move.”

“I know I’m pretty smart.”

He couldn’t help but smile at that. He did like her comebacks, even if she still hated him and was not really relaxed around him. All her answers were just in hope for him to shut up, but it was fun, he liked this.

They finally got back to Magnolia after two hours of train ride, Cobra had tried to sleep, but seriously, it had only worsened his state. There was nothing he could do against motion sickness, and everything he had learned to endure it had not worked. He just had been in pain for two hours straight, but he had successfully managed not to throw up in the train. Lucy had apologized countless times, she felt guilty for putting him through this, and more than once he had repeated that it wasn’t her fault, because it truly wasn’t.

They walked back from the station to her apartment in silence, Cobra was not really in the mood to talk, still feeling sick and he was tired. The day had been exhausting.

She opened the door of the apartment and stepped in, she then stopped on the doorstep, only realizing the small problem. There was only one room, and a little couch full of random stuff in the living room.

“Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t think that through,” he said when he looked inside, noticing just how small Lucy’s apartment was.

He was a bit confused at first, because he had thought that the Heartfilia family was rich, so it surprised him to see her living in such a tiny space.

“I did not think that through.”

“I thought you were smart.”

She glared at him and sighed.

“So, uh, you can sleep…”

He looked at her, and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.

“You can sleep on the couch,” she said, quickly tidying all the mess that was on the couch.

Well, that was still a better option than the floor.

And without another word, he sat on the couch and closed his eyes, he really wanted the sickness to pass, and sleep was really his only option.

He just hoped that his sleep wouldn’t be plagued by nightmare like it usually was.

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since the book fair, and Lucy had had the time to explain the situation to the guild and her friends. She had not mentioned the real reason why she had accepted to participate in this project, but her friends were really understanding, they hadn’t asked her to go into the details. Erza had also promised her that she would not let Natsu come into her apartment, because it probably wouldn’t end well if Cobra and Natsu met. Lucy apologized several times, because she was sad not being able to go on missions with them, but they had understood that she had to do this for herself, and they had promised her that she could join them again when the year with Cobra was over. She was relieved to have such nice friends, and she already missed them deeply, but she knew she would still go to the guild when she had a free moment or when Cobra was just really insufferable to the point where she needed to take a break. She had also started thinking of what to say to her brother when she would see him back, she still wasn’t sure what to say or how to act, so for now she just didn’t ask for Cobra’s help with that matter.

Surprisingly, living with Cobra was easier than she thought, he mostly stayed quiet except for the teasing, and he helped her with the household chores, a thing that she had never expected him to do. He was very different from Natsu, but she was a bit used to have a presence in the house, it was just that normally it wasn’t that calm. The atmosphere was still a bit weird between them, but maybe it would change when they would have to cooperate for their first mission. She sometimes wondered what he was thinking about, she really couldn’t believe that he was just nice, he probably had something in mind and that was why he was acting nicely with her. One thing that she had noticed about him was that he was always awake before her, and she didn’t know if it was because she was so loud that she always woke him up or if he was just not a big sleeper.

This morning was different, though, she had gotten a letter from the Council and when she had opened it, she had received the details for their first mission. And honestly, she couldn’t believe what she had just read. Was the Council serious? She had never thought that she would be asked something like this. She knew she was more like a guardian than anything else and didn’t really think she would have to play a major part in his mission, she thought she was just here to make sure that Cobra was not making any mistake.

“Is that the information for the first mission?” Cobra asked, coming into the kitchen where Lucy was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in one hand and the Council’s letter in the other.

She looked at him, he had just gotten out of the shower and his hair were still wet and messy. Sometimes it annoyed her to see just how beautiful he was, and the worst part was that he was aware of it.

Why does he look so gorgeous even in the morning?

It was the same thing every day, sometimes her thoughts slipped, and Cobra heard her say things about him that she didn’t want him to know.

She saw him smile and she glared at him.

“Don’t listen to my thoughts,” she ordered him.

“I’m not, it’s written all over your face, Blondie.”

She looked away and felt her cheeks heat, she hated that she was so obvious about it and that he always needed to comment on it.

He grabbed a cup of coffee, sat in front of her and ran his hand through his hair.

Arrogant bastard, she thought, glaring at him, but also not totally unaffected by what he had just done.

He had beautiful crimson hair, and seeing him run a hand through it, well that was a beautiful sight that did not let her totally indifferent, and the worst was that he didn’t do it on purpose, it was just one of his many habits that did not help to make him look less pretty.

“So, is the first mission that bad to the point where you had to scream it that loud in your thoughts?”

“I don’t know, maybe you should just read it and see for yourself,” she said, handing him the paper.

He didn’t take it, he just looked at her, waiting for her to explain the mission.

“They want us to go to a fancy café and act like a couple, while you listen to this man’s thoughts,” she sighed, handing him a picture of the man.

“I don’t see why it is that bad,” he said, staring at the picture of the man.

“Did you miss the part where I said we had to act like a couple?”

“No, but I don’t see why it is a problem.”

“It doesn’t bother you? Do you think you can do it?”

Cobra started eating his breakfast and simply shrugged.

“It’s just a mission like any other, of course, I can do it.”

Yeah, he was probably thinking that he could do anything if that meant that he could be freed. But seriously, Lucy didn’t want to do that. She never had a boyfriend to start, but the problem wasn’t that. The problem was that she had to act like she was the girlfriend of a man she didn’t really know except for the fact that he was a criminal, and an arrogant prick with a pretty face. She would have preferred something that required fighting, not play-acting when she clearly was not a great actor.

“Yeah… I guess you’ve done a lot of this kind of mission, but if I’m being honest, I don’t have it in me to play-act this with you.”

She looked at him, trying to decipher the expression on his face, but he was undecipherable, and she wondered if he was always like that, or if it was only in front of her, like he never wanted to show what he was thinking to her unless he really wanted to show it. He was a real mystery and really one of a kind.

“You know that you don’t really have a choice, right?” he simply answered.

It was crazy how this mission didn’t bother him at all, when on the other side Lucy was clearly bothered by it and would love to escape it.

“Thank you for reminding me.”

“You’re worrying about this too much, I don’t know what you are imagining, but seriously it is not that complicated.”

“Did you look at us? People know who you are, you are a criminal and I’m a member of Fairy Tail, no one will believe us.”

She didn’t know if she had gone too far, but she had hurt him, she had seen it briefly in his eyes before he put on his undecipherable mask again.

“Well, according to the Council, it should work, they wouldn’t be asking us to do something this stupid otherwise,” he replied, and she could hear a little bit of anger in his voice.

She didn’t know what she had said that was so bad for him to be upset, she had only stated facts after all.

“They are clearly overestimating us; I don’t usually do that kind of mission.”

“Blondie, everything will go well, I know that this mission seems ridiculous and well it is, but we don’t have a choice. And I know you can do it, even if you don’t believe it for a second,” he sighed, all the anger that was there before had disappeared.

“Maybe you should start by not calling me Blondie.”

“Really? On the contrary, I think it’s rather convincing for a couple.”

Why was he always right like this?

She wanted to punch him in the face and make that damned satisfied smile disappear from his pretty face.

“Maybe, you’re right,” she admitted through gritted teeth.

“Honestly, I think the only thing you will have to do is probably hold my hand, it can’t be that bad, right?” he said, with a little laugh.

She glared at him.

“You can’t imagine how excited I am,” she answered sarcastically, before getting up from her seat to go into her room.

“I can see that,” she heard him say before she closed the door of her room, and she could easily picture that damned smile again.

Remember the reason why you’re doing this, Lucy. You’re doing this for your brother. It’s only a year, and then you will never have to see him again. He will never bother you again, and you will be happy with your guild and your brother.

She couldn’t wait for the year to go by and be free of the burden that was Cobra.

The Council’s mission was totally ridiculous. Of course, Cobra didn’t mind, he would do anything to earn his freedom, but he didn’t really like how Lucy was also involved. There was no need for her to be involved in this mission, he could simply listen to this man’s thoughts from another café or even simply on a bench in the street. So why was it so important for the Council to act like they were a real couple, well, Cobra had learned not to question any orders coming from what he would call his superiors. It was a mission like any other, and he would accomplish it without any trouble, he just didn’t like the fact that Lucy had to suffer through that, too. But well, she had accepted to Council’s proposal, she should have expected something like this and not take it on him when she was upset. She had kind of turned the knife in the wound, when she had explicitly stated that he was a criminal and her a wizard of Fairy Tail.

Of course, Blondie, I will always be the bad guy, he thought. And even if it was hard for him to admit, she was right. Even if he was freed and got his pardon, nothing would change the fact that he was a bastard, a cruel man that had done awful things. He just hoped that when it would all be over, he could find a way to make things better.

They were now on their way to the café, and Lucy was not in a great mood. She walked in front of him, her arms crossed, and he didn’t need to listen to her thoughts to know that she was radiating anger. Honestly, he didn’t really get why that was so bad for her, but he was not about to ask when she was in this mood. If he had learned one thing during his life, it was that calm people are always the scariest when they are angry, and well he felt like Lucy could be really terrifying when she wanted to.

They were about to enter the café, when he quickly rushed next to her, gently grabbing her hand and only earning the most terrifying glare he had ever gotten in his life.

“I get it, you’re upset, but we don’t have a choice,” he whispered in her ear, hoping to maybe soothe her a bit.

She squeezed his hand strongly, making sure that he understood that she was not in a good mood, but that she knew he was right. He couldn’t help but smile at that, well, she might be in a sour mood, but he wasn’t going to stop teasing her for all that. After all, she was always pissed in his presence, and he did like her comebacks, and if she was like this, he was fairly sure that her comebacks would be even better than usual.

She pulled him in the café, and they immediately went in the queue and looked at the menu in front of them.

And Cobra had never been so lost in his life, he had never set foot in a place like this, and everything that Lucy read in her mind seemed sugarier than the previous one. He had never been a big fan of sugary things, and well that place seemed like the kingdom of sugar to him.

“What do you want?” she asked in an indifferent tone.

Oh, come on now Blondie. You will have to do your part if you want this mission to be a success.

He knew he was about to regret his action, but well the success of this mission was important for him, and he would not let Lucy ruin it. So, he would play the clingy and head over heels boyfriend if he had to.

“Oh, Blondie, you already know what I want,” he said, poking her cheek with a devilish grin. He saw surprise appear on her face, then she looked at him confused and slapped his hand, clearly not liking what he had just done.

Yeah, don’t make it easy for me, it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.

She then looked at the menu, and he could swear he saw the hint of a sadistic smile appear on her face.

“You’re right my love, go find a table, I will bring us our drinks,” she answered softly.

He looked at her confused for a moment, he had never expected to play the part and especially that good. She could be a good actress when she wanted. He smiled and then left her to find a table, he scanned the room to see if the man was there, but he wasn’t here yet.

Lucy came back a few minutes later with two drinks. One looked like a simple chocolate milkshake and the other was just a monstrosity.

“Here you go my love, the drink of all your desires,” she said, putting the monstrosity right in front of him.

From what he could see and smell, it was vanilla cream, with chocolate chips, an awful amount of whip cream and a caramel drizzle. He had a hard time hiding his distaste, he didn’t need to drink it to know that he already hated it, and he was pretty sure that Lucy knew that. He didn’t know if she had somehow understood that he disliked sugar or if she had simply chosen the worst item on the menu.

I would rather drink lemon juice than this horrible thing, he thought. 

But he didn’t have a choice.

“Oh, thank you, Blondie,” he said looking at her with a smile, but he made no move to touch the drink.

She glared at him and smiled sadistically.

“What are you waiting for? Treat yourself,” she said, drinking her milkshake happily.

Oh, she knew. She definitely knew that he would hate it.

“Of course, darling,” he answered before taking a sip of the drink.

And he had been right. The drink was awful, way too sugary for him.

She stared at him with her big brown eyes, waiting for his review on the drink.

“So?”

He did his best to hide his distaste and he gave her a bright smile.

“Amazing, as usual,” he lied.

She clearly was taking revenge for earlier, and now she was trying to piss him off.

Good luck with that Blondie. I know how to play this game, too. And we will see who ends up pissed at the end.

“That’s right, I’m never wrong. I know you so well my dear, you’d better drink it all if you really love me,” she smiled, clearly satisfied by his reaction.

“You can count on me, how could I not finish it when it is a gift from my dear Blondie?” he said, gently taking her hand and stroking her fingers.

He saw her blush and she rapidly withdrew her hand, before regaining her composure.

“Come on, my love. You can’t look at me like that when we are in public,” she replied, looking away and drinking her milkshake.

He only watched her with a satisfied smile. She was the one who had wanted to play this game first, well Cobra was always up for a challenge, and teasing Lucy was a very easy thing to do actually.

“But how do you want me not to look at you when you’re so pretty?” he said, “And I can see it doesn’t leave you unaffected, you should be careful not drinking too fast, or you risk choking on your drink,” he added, discreetly breaking his boyfriend act just to make sure that she understood that he was taking revenge for the drink.

She choked on her drink and coughed, and Cobra couldn’t help himself but laugh a little when he had seen how stunned she was.

“You… That’s nonsense, as if your comments could affect me…” she whispered almost angrily, “I mean, my love, uh… You’re getting a bit carried away, you should just shut up and drink,” she then added, putting the straw in his mouth.

He laughed a bit before taking another sip of the awful drink.

“You’re so cruel with me, darling.”

He could see surprise on her face and then he saw her fingers tense around the cup, and she gave him a forced smile, he could also see one of her eyebrow twitch.

“I know you like it that way.”

“Oh, come on, Blondie. What is making you so upset?” he said as he took one of her hands in his, “You know that you can tell me everything, right?”

He saw the surprise in her eyes, and her cheeks flushed a light pink before she pulled her hand away once again.

“Don’t touch me,” she whispered angrily.

“How do you want it to seem real if I can’t touch you?” he whispered back.

He saw her take a deep breath to calm herself, and then she did something that surprised him, because he didn’t know that Lucy could be that bold.

“And you?” she said as she leaned on the table and approached her face from his, “A mysterious man like you surely must have a lot of things to tell me, am I wrong?”

And this time, well, this time, Cobra couldn’t hide the surprise on his face, and he could feel himself blush slightly. He really had never expected her to be that bold, she probably was too invested in the game they were playing.

He blinked several times, regaining his composure and his confidence.

“Me? Mysterious? But you already know everything about me, darling.”

They probably should have thought a bit more about their couple background, because Lucy was probably thinking that they were a new couple, and he was thinking that they were an old couple.

It was at this moment that he heard the bell of the café ring and he saw the man they were waiting for step into the shop.

The target was finally here, and he signaled it to Lucy with a quick glance in the man’s direction. She looked at the man and he quickly brought her back into line with a light kick in the leg. It was her first mission like this, they couldn’t get caught that stupidly, so he needed Lucy to focus her attention on him once again just like before their target had come in. She glared at him, and he shook her head. The fun part was kind of over now, he needed to focus, but he was clearly not focused right now, because the first thing he heard was: He is going to kill me if he smiles like this every two seconds.

Again, he blinked several times, had he just heard Lucy’s thoughts? Had she really said that about him? He couldn’t believe it, and that made him laugh, a real and honest laugh.

“What did I say that was so funny?” she asked grumpily, playing with the straw of her milkshake.

“Oh, nothing. You just think very loudly,” he answered with a wink.

She flushed a bright red and kicked him in the leg.

“Ouch!”

And now he just couldn’t stop laughing. Oh, it was fun. Cobra really enjoyed that moment, when they were both teasing each other, both thinking of a way to bother the other. It was fun, and Lucy was fun to be around. It had probably been a long time since the last time he had laughed and felt that good. He had learned not to show his true feelings, always hiding himself behind a wall, and Lucy had been the first to make the wall fall in years. For once, he felt like he didn’t need to hide who he was, he felt like he could be himself. Lucy was glaring at him, waiting for him to calm down. He wiped away the small tears from his eyes, took a deep breath and then focused again on the reason they were here. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted like this, he gently grabbed her hands this time and squeezed hers lightly, making her understand that now he would be listening to the man’s thoughts, and this time she didn’t pull away.

And well, all good things come to an end, because Cobra started listening to the thoughts of the man more seriously, and all the joy he had felt during this brief instant vanished and brought him back to reality very quickly.

How did he do this?

How could he be so charming and at the same time so annoying? How could he make her feel so good and at the same time wanting to punch him? She had started to play the game when she had seen a drink that she was certain Cobra would dislike, and she wondered how he would hide it. Honestly, when he had told Lucy that she knew what he wanted, which of course, was a lie, she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know Cobra’s tastes, but well she might as well have some fun with it. She did want to take revenge for the moment he had poked her cheek, she had been completely taken aback by his action, and she had to remind herself quickly that he was only acting for the sake of the mission. And she had never met a man so annoying, he was always spewing nonsense and making her blush, and she hated this. She hated how easy it was for her to be affected by his nonsense, it shouldn’t be like this. And he had a beautiful smile, a really beautiful smile and that was really the worst part, because every time he smiled at her, she could feel her heart racing.

When their target had stepped into the café, she had eyed the man intensively and Cobra had to bring her back to reality with his annoying comeback, but it had worked. And she could somehow feel how he had changed, how he was now focusing on the mission, how he had been trained to accomplish missions like this.

She looked at his hand squeezing hers, noticing again the tiny little scars that covered his hands. And she couldn’t help herself but wonder what the cause of these scars were. But she would not ask, because she was not dumb enough to believe that he would open himself to her, they were not friends, they were only partners, colleagues and there never would be more between them. They were just using each other to get what they wanted and that was it.

And right now, he was so professional, she could feel that he had done plenty of missions like this one, how he had stopped her from blowing up their covers was the proof of that. But she could also somewhat feel that he was enjoying himself, and she could almost feel like she had been with the real Cobra right now, like he was really honest with her and not putting the mask he usually wore. And for an instant, she wondered if that didn’t even make him more beautiful, his honest smile, his eyes filled with amusement. She knew she was barely scraping the surface of who the real Cobra was, but he seemed so different, it felt like when they were on the Nirvana, when she had seen the little boy in him, the little boy full of innocence. There was almost something scary about how he could just switch between these two moods, as if there really were two Cobras, the one who was being honest with himself and allowed himself to show his feelings and the one with the mask, the one with a heart of stone, the one that she saw every day that refused to let anything show.

Today, she had seen a part of the man behind the mask, and she was not sure that she would ever see him again, because she was somewhat convinced that Cobra thought that feelings were a weakness. And that only made her realize that she didn’t know him at all, but actually she didn’t know if she wanted to get to know him, she was scared to learn who he was really, because what would happen if she started liking him? She didn’t know and wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.

They were still talking and teasing each other when suddenly she saw the light and amusement in his eyes fade away, all the casualness there had been between the two of them was gone. It felt like Cobra just shut down, and she could see his face slowly crumple.

Oh, he must be hearing the thoughts of the man.

What was scary was that she had never seen him like this. She had seen him listen to thoughts, but it had never been that bad to the point where it felt like she was with a different person than mere moments ago.

Was it that bad?

She wondered was he was hearing right now that could be so bad to make him look like this, he was like a completely different person now. She gently grabbed his hands, trying to see if she could get a reaction from him, because he seemed so far away and so out of it right now.

“Cobra?” she whispered, trying to see if he was still listening to what she was saying before he changed.

He saw his eyes look at her briefly, before he started watching the man again. And that was when she realized that he had lost all his means, because all of the professionalism that had been there before was simply gone. Shooting daggers at the man was not a good way to stay discreet. She could see him grit his teeth and clench his fists, he was still a bit mentally present, because he did not dare squeeze her hand too hard, but she could see his other fist, and well, it was almost trembling with rage.

It terrified her, this time Cobra did look like the arrogant man that she had met when he was still a member of the Oracion Seis, a man filled with anger and hatred. It was supposed to be a simple and stupid mission, so why was he reacting like this?

She needed to help him before he was about to blow up their cover and make them fail their first mission together. She took a deep breath and then slapped him, the noise echoing in all the café, and a big silence fell in the room.

Nice, Lucy. Perfect for not drawing attention.

“Are you listening to me?! I said that I wanted to go home!” she almost shouted, grabbing his hand strongly.

She wanted to disappear right now, because she did not like to draw attention, especially when she had to act like a needy girlfriend.

Their eyes met and she gently pulled his hand to help him get up from the chair. He was still completely out of it, but he did not resist, and he followed her out of the café.

Once they were home, Cobra sat on the couch, his head down, he was still shaking with fury.

“What was that? You almost blew up our cover! The man was starting to get suspicious; he was eyeing you weirdly!” she said, pacing in front of him.

“Forget it.”

She almost laughed at that.

“You can keep your secrets for all I care, but you will have to tell me what you heard. I need to write a report for the Council.”

He gritted his teeth.

“What did you hear, Cobra?”

“The only thing that you need to know is that he deals in human trafficking and slavery, happy now?” he answered, not meeting her eyes, he was still seethed with anger.

Oh. Oh.

All the anger that she had felt at Cobra vanished, she was shocked, and suddenly the thought of the Tower of Heaven flashed in her mind. She had been there only one day, but she had met a boy that had been tortured, she had seen people suffer there, she had seen the result of what her father had built, how he had destroyed people’s lives for money. She was scared and angry, and she was feeling the same hatred for that man that she felt for her father. And Cobra had every right to be mad right now, because he had grown up in the tower.

“Are you alright? I know…”

“You know nothing about me! Don’t suddenly act like you care!” he shouted.

And he was right, she knew nothing about him, and she had absolutely no right to ask him that.

So, she left him alone in the living room and went to her room.

Chapter Text

Lucy hadn’t dared leaving her room since her last discussion with Cobra. She knew that if she had to see him now, it would only be weird and well it was already weird enough, she didn’t need more of that. Instead, she had decided to write the report for the Council, well she didn’t really know what to add, because Cobra hadn’t told her a lot of information, but she guessed that what he had said was enough, and he probably had been too angry to really listen to the thoughts of the man anyway.

She then lied on her bed, looking at the ceiling. She didn’t know what to do or what to say to Cobra. He was right, she had no right to ask him if he was alright, she didn’t know him nor his past. He was just a criminal and the man that would help her find her brother, but at the same time, she had seen how affected he had been by it, and she didn’t like watching him suffer like this. But she knew that he would never talk to her, he would never tell her all of his secrets, and why would he? They were just using each other, nothing more, but she really hated seeing people suffer. She would love to be able to help him, but she would not force him to accept her help. A thousand thoughts spiraled into her mind and she didn’t even notice when she fell asleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night because she heard weird noises coming from the living room. Her first thoughts were that maybe Erza had failed in stopping Natsu from coming in her apartment, but she quickly remembered that her friends were on a mission so it couldn’t be Natsu. She grabbed her keys, just in case, and slowly opened the door. It was pitch black in the living room, but she could still hear the weird noises, now that she was closer, she could identify them as grunting.

Her eyes landed on the couch, and even in the darkness she could see Cobra trembling.

He was the one who made the noise, he was the one grunting in his sleep.

Lucy decided to switch on the light to have a better view, but even when the light flooded the room Cobra did not wake up. She slowly approached him; she could see he was gritting his teeth and sweating. He was probably having a nightmare; this was the only thing Lucy could think of. Seeing his state, she knew she had to wake him up.

“Cobra?” she tried.

He didn’t wake up.

“Cobra?” she tried again.

Still no reaction.

It was quite surprising for a man that could hear everything not to wake up when someone called his name.

“Cobra, wake up!” she tried louder this time.

She could see his eyelids move, but he was still stuck in his nightmare. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“Cobra, wake up!”

This time, he sat up quickly and breathed heavily, his eyes filled with panic.

“You’re alright, you’re alright,” she repeated, relieved to see that he was finally awake.

It took him a few moments to understand where he was and to calm himself, she saw him trying to calm his breathing.

“Why?” he asked, still a bit groggy.

“You were having a nightmare.”

He looked down.

“Sorry, I will try to be quieter.”

She looked at him, confused.

What was he saying?

“What? Quieter? What do you mean?”

He still avoided looking at her, he only kept his head down.

“I didn’t want to wake you up, I’m sorry.”

Well, he seemed to also avoid answering her questions.

“Cobra, I don’t care about you waking me up, are you alright?”

For the first time after being woken up, he looked at her, and once again, she was confronted with the little boy she had seen in him. The Cobra that had teased her today was gone; his mask was totally down.

He took a moment before answering.

“Yeah, I think...” he said softly.

She smiled a little, his answer seemed honest. She noticed now that she was still holding him, and quickly let go of him.

An awkward silence filled the room.

“Do you maybe want to talk about it?” she asked, trying to make the awkwardness disappear.

He looked at her, a bit confused. He was probably thinking that she didn’t care about it.

“Only if you think it will make you feel better,” she added.

“It’s just the usual, memories from the tower. Nothing new. I just think that hearing this man’s thoughts, well that sort of amplified my usual nightmares.”

His usual nightmares? What was he talking about?

“Wait… Do you have nightmares often?”

He shyly nodded, looking away, like he was ashamed of it. That was why he was always awake before her, if his sleep was plagued by nightmares, she could understand that he didn’t sleep a lot. And just thinking about how he suffered in his sleep made her heart ache, it was as if he would never be free of the tower.

“But I promise I will be quieter; I won’t wake you up, you can go back to sleep.”

He was probably still too shaken up to think coherently.

“Cobra, listen to me. I don’t care about you being quieter, I need to know if you’re alright.”

He let out a small laugh.

“I don’t think I ever will be, Blondie. But that’s alright. Don’t worry about me, go back to sleep.”

It pained her to hear something like this. She didn’t know him at all, and tonight he was speaking frankly, he was the man without the mask.

He got up and went to the kitchen, before coming back a few moments later with his face completely wet. He looked more awake now.

“Lucy?”

She looked at him, it was the first time he had called her by her name.

“Yes?”

“I need to make sure that this man pays.”

What? Does he want to kill him? She had never expected him to say something like this.

“I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“If the Council doesn’t ask us to spy on him again, I need to make sure that he is stopped. I can’t let him continue what he is doing.”

That was weird coming from a criminal. She had never expected that a criminal would want to stop another one.

“The Council will probably arrest him after my report, don’t worry about it.”

He rolled his eyes; he probably had a hard time trusting the Council.

“Still, I need to be sure that this bastard ends up in jail.”

It was surprising to see him so determined. She had always thought that he was only driven by freedom, but now she realized that it was not the case. It was the first time that he asked for something, normally he just followed, not asking for anything, but he really wanted this. She didn’t know the reason why he wanted this man in jail that much, but it was really important for him, and she could see that.

Cobra could see that Lucy didn’t understand why it mattered that much to him for this man to be arrested. Well, she would never be able to understand what him and all the members of the Oracion Seis went through. And he knew she was too innocent, too pure for him to understand what living in the tower was really like. She had been there one day, and he was convinced that she didn’t remember that day at all, and honestly it was for the best. And he was determined not to make her suffer, so he would not tell her about his past. Why would she care about him anyway? He was a criminal; he was just her way to her brother. They were not friends; they were not that close for him to start talking about his past or his nightmares. He had learned to live with them, he didn’t need to tell Lucy about this.

When he had said to Lucy that he wanted this man to pay, her first thoughts were that Cobra was going to kill him. It actually didn’t surprise him that it was her first thoughts, of course, that’s what she imagined about him that Cobra was a murderer. And well, she would be right. He had murdered some people, and he would never forgive himself for it, he had blindly followed Brain’s orders to protect himself and the others. He had always been like this, sacrificing himself to protect the others, and so he had been the one to kill when Brain wanted them to kill. He had never let his friends kill, because he wanted his friends to be alright, he didn’t want them to leave with the haunting memories of having killed. Brain had asked him to kill first, and when Cobra had understood how horrible it was, how it stayed with you forever, he had sworn that he would protect all of them from this, that was the least he could do. He loved his friends, and he would do everything to protect them even if that meant he was the one to suffer, he felt like it was better like this anyway, it had always been like this, when he could protect them, he would.

He still remembered his first kill, an innocent woman that had done nothing to deserve this, he would never forget how sick he had felt after that or the blood on his hands, sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night and he could see the blood on his fingers. He could spend hours washing his hands, but it never disappeared, sometimes he saw the face of the woman in his dreams, the fear in her eyes that slowly turned into anger, and that just made him want to apologize again and again.

Lucy didn’t need to know about all of this, she was persuaded that he was cruel and evil, and it was better if that stayed that way.

She was looking at him with worry in her eyes.

“You know… I know that I know nothing about you… But I can tell that you’re not alright. Having nightmares every night, that’s not normal, Cobra.”

I know. I know that I’m not alright.

“But if you think talking about it can make you feel better, I can listen to what you are willing to share with me.”

Why? Why was she willing to listen to him when she thought that he was a monster. He didn’t deserve her kindness.

“Blondie, I don’t think you can handle it,” he answered with a sad smile, “Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. Just go back to sleep.”

“Why do you always avoid the subject? What do you fear will happen if you tell me or anyone else? You told me not to act like I care, but what if I started to care?”

You may start thinking that I’m not a monster, you may start seeing good in me when there isn’t, and it would only bring you suffering. I’m just tired of making people suffer, I don’t want you to suffer.

“You shouldn’t, it’s not a good idea.”

She sighed and got up.

“If you change your mind, just know, that you can always talk to me.”

She gave him a small smile and disappeared in her room. He sighed and lied back on the bed, looking at the ceiling, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to sleep, even if he was so tired. He was just lost, and he didn’t know what to do.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since that famous night where Lucy had discovered Cobra having a nightmare. They had never talked about what had happened that night. The next morning, the man acted exactly as usual, as if he had completely forgotten the last day. Lucy was a bit perturbed at first, thinking that she would have to deal with an angry Cobra, or just a bad atmosphere in general, but not at all, which actually made it a bit worse. She didn’t how he could act like nothing had happened, how he could just pretend that everything was alright. He probably had something in mind, but he would never tell her.

She had sent her report to the Council the next day and had still gotten no answers about the next thing they would have to do.

When she walked in the kitchen this morning, a letter was on the table, and Cobra was drinking his coffee, looking lost in thoughts.

“You didn’t set my kitchen on fire this morning, that’s good.”

“Oh, come on, Blondie. It was once and it was barely a spark,” he said, looking at his coffee.

A small, satisfied smile appeared on her lips, it was not always that she could tease him, and she found herself actually enjoying it a lot.

“I found this letter this morning, it had the Council seal on it.”

“Probably the response to my report, but you know you could have opened it, it’s for both of us.”

He simply shrugged, looked a bit uninterested by that. She opened the letter and started reading.

“Well? From the look on your face, it doesn’t look like a response to your report.”

“It’s our next mission.”

She saw hope flash in his eyes, he probably thought that they would have to spy on the man again.

“They want us to go in a cave. According to the Council, bandits have kidnapped one of the sons of a member of the Council.”

She looked at him, and she could see just how uninterested he was. He was probably only thinking about the man at the café.

“Hey, don’t obsess over this man. I’m sure the Council hasn’t read my report yet, we will have news soon.”

“It’s just that the more we wait the more…” he shook his head, “Forget it.”

She could easily guess what he wanted to say, she knew in what the man dealt. Human trafficking and slavery, and Cobra was right, the more they waited the more innocents would suffer, but she couldn’t disobey the Council, and maybe a guild would intervene instead of just the two of them.

She looked at him, she tried to show that she cared about what he was thinking, and he gave her a small nod that could be interpreted as a small thank you. Then, they prepared themselves for their mission.

They were close to the cave now; they had been walking all morning to get to that place. Lucy had started asking random questions so that they would not have to walk in silence.

“What’s your favorite color?” she had asked, and the look on Cobra’s face had been priceless when he had been surprised by the question.

So, he isn’t always listening to my thoughts, she thought with a little smile, or he wouldn’t have been that surprised.

“Purple, I think.”

“Why am I not even surprised?”

“Hey!”

And she laughed, she had started liking teasing him.

“And me? What is my favorite color? Try to guess and no cheating.”

He looked at her intensively, and she knew he was not cheating, because it seemed like he was struggling.

“Oh, come on, I’m sure it can’t be that hard to guess.”

“I’m thinking.”

“Way too much.”

He glared at her, and she gave him a proud smile that made him look away.

“Alright, I will give you three chances. I’m sure you can do it.”

“Pink?”

“No.”

“Yellow?”

“Nope. Last chance.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, probably thinking about his answer.

“Blue,” he replied, pretty convinced of his answer.

“Correct!” she smiled, and he gave her a little smile.

And they continued walking like this, Lucy always asking silly questions, so that their mission could at least be a little bit fun.

They finally arrived in front of the entrance of the cave. Honestly, the place looked terrifying, it looked like an endless tunnel of darkness. And the only sound she could hear was the wind whistling around stone, it almost sounded like a ghost.

“Can you hear anything?”

“There is probably an underground river or something, I can hear water flowing and if there are people in it, I can’t hear them, the sound of the water is too loud. Either it’s empty or the bandits are very smart.”

She stared at the entrance, really not wanting to go inside.

“I will go first, stay behind me,” he said, “and if you’re scared, you can always hold my hand.”

“In your dreams.”

He grinned and stepped into the cave. She shook her head and followed him closely. She was not scared; she just didn’t like places like this.

Lucy immediately missed the warmth and the light of the sun, it was dark and wet inside, and they could barely see where they were walking.

“Can you see in the dark?” she asked because it seemed like he was really unbothered by the darkness, the only thing she could really see was the white of his coat. She heard him burst out with laughter.

“I’m not a superhuman, Blondie.”

Says the man with super hearing.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You wound me. But maybe I can see a bit better than average people? It’s not like I can see everything, but I can see the path until the end of the tunnel. Probably because of my Dragon Slayer abilities, I don’t know.”

He turned to look at her, and for one moment she thought that she saw his purple eyes glowing. That was weird, how his Dragon Slayer abilities could work if his magic was sealed; plus he was a second generation one, so, the power of his lacrima was entirely sealed. He was just really special it seemed.

“I was right then; you can see in the dark.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

And then she heard a weird sound like a “click” and the next thing she knew they were both falling. Their fall was short, and they ended up in water.

“Are you alright?” she heard him ask as he swam in her direction.

“Yes,” she answered, watching him.

“Still convinced that I can see in the dark?” he asked, with a little smile on his lips.

Cobra had probably activated a trap while he walked.

Alright, he could not fully see in the dark.

“Alright, you win,” she admitted, and she saw him grin.

She noticed that she could see better now, there was a blue light illuminating the walls around them and she didn’t know where it came from. She looked around and noticed that they were in a small lake, there was no edge, and the walls were smooth and slippery. They had no way out of the water.

“What do we do now? We’re stuck,” she asked him.

He looked around and shrugged, not knowing what to do.

“I can dive and look around if you want.”

“No, it’s alright, I have an idea.”

Lucy did have an idea, but she wasn’t really looking forward to it.

“But I need you to shut up for the next minutes, or we are probably going to die.”

He looked at her, confused, but he nodded. She took Aquarius’s key and summoned the spirit.

“What do you want? I was on a date.”

Lucy sighed, and she saw the spirit eye Cobra distastefully.

“I never thought you would be having a midnight swim with a man.”

“I’m not. We are trapped, can you see if there is a way out under the water?”

The mermaid sighed and disappeared under the water.

“Can I talk now?”

“Yes, until she comes back.”

He smiled almost wickedly.

“I changed my mind, just stay quiet. I don’t want to know what you’re thinking.”

And then he started laughing.

“Did I just watch you being scolded by a whale?”

She swam close to him, thinking for a moment about drowning him, but she put her hand on his mouth.

“Shut up! If she hears you, she will never help us.”

He looked at her, surprised, but she could still see that he was smiling. She really wanted to drown him right now.

“Too late for that,” Lucy heard from behind her, and she shivered, she could already imagine Aquarius’s face.

The spirit grabbed one of her shoulders and squeezed it hard.

“I heard what your slow worm said about me, I-”

“Why don’t you immediately say it to my face, ugly whale? Leave her alone.”

Does he have a death wish? She is going to kill him.

Aquarius turned to him, the spirit’s face was almost against Cobra’s.

“What did you call me, slow worm?”

“Ugly whale.”

Yeah, he really does have a death wish.

Surprisingly, Aquarius didn’t drown him, they just started a competition of whom would insult the other more.

“Enough the both of you!” Lucy shouted.

They both turned to look at her, a bit surprised by what she had just done.

“Aquarius, did you find anything?”

“Yes. There is a path under the water, but I can’t help you right now, I have to go back to my date,” Aquarius answered, pointing in the direction of the path and she vanished.

Lucy swam in Cobra’s direction and put his head under the water.

“Why did you have to upset her?!”

He quickly freed himself and rose back to the surface.

“I was just being honest!”

“I told you to shut up!”

“And I did!”

“You didn’t! I’m going to drown you!”

“If you drown me right now, you will never leave this place.”

She hated that he was right. She clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and looked at him.

Cobra disappeared under the water and rose back a few moments later.

“I found the path.”

“Perfect.”

He smiled and she swam in his direction.

“Take my hand and take a deep breath,” he said, holding out his hand.

She looked at him in the eye before looking at his hand hesitantly.

“I know you hate me, Blondie. But I do this for your safety, I need you to hold my hand while we swim and squeeze it if you think you won’t have enough air. I need you to trust me,” he added, looking at her in the eye.

“I don’t hate you,” she admitted, realizing that she was telling the truth.

Sure, he could be insufferable sometimes, but she didn’t hate him, she just didn’t know him well. Though, she could easily tell that he hated himself, and that was probably why he thought she hated him as well.

She saw Cobra’s eyes widen in surprise for a few seconds before he looked away, and she wondered if he had ever been told these words.

“Let’s go,” she sighed as she grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

She took a deep breath and they both plunged under the water.

They had been swimming for a while in this tunnel now. And they still couldn’t see the end of it. The more they swam, the more Lucy thought that they would just drown here. There was no way they would have enough air to make it to the end. She just hoped that they would reach the end soon. Her lungs burned and she knew she would not make it; she squeezed Cobra’s hand who turned to look at her. He pulled her closer and looked at her with an undecipherable look.

Is he going to let me drown here? It wouldn’t be surprising, she thought, but he asked me to trust him.

And maybe it had been a dumb idea, she shouldn’t have trusted him. She was going to die, here. But he simply looked at her, with almost an apologetic look on his face. Suddenly, he had one hand on the back of her head, and he kissed her.

Cobra was a real idiot. He had wanted to help Lucy, because he had known that she would not be able to make it but kissing her probably wasn’t the most helpful thing even though it was the only way to share his air. He would understand it if she was angry once they got out of the water, but she would have died if he hadn’t kissed her. He needed to share his air with her, her life mattered more than his and he had had no other solution. He had made a silent promise of protecting her, she had accepted to help him get his freedom, and he would not let her die in a mission that she was forced to do.

She was quite taken aback for a few seconds before she turned completely red, and he saw shock flash in her brown eyes, probably understanding what he had just done. He had no time to waste now, and he was not going to have an argument with Lucy under the water when their air was running out. He only squeezed her hand and swam as fast as he could.

They finally reached the end of the tunnel and they both emerged to the surface, coughing. His lungs burned but he was glad to be able to breathe again, he helped Lucy on the edge without daring to look at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and he was.

He had heard her thoughts; he had stolen her first kiss.

Well, he didn’t understand how a beautiful girl like her had never been kissed before today, but she probably had her reason, and he was not about to investigate them. He felt bad for what he had just done, he should never have done that.

“I’m really sorry, Lucy, but it was the only way,” he added, not liking her silence.

“You know you can look at me, I’m not going to kill you. I’m not stupid, I know why you did that, it surprised me that’s all, but it was the only way.”

He had avoided her gaze, he felt guilty, and he could not look at her. And even if she had told him he could look at her, he didn’t. He was convinced he had made Lucy suffer, and he hated himself for it. He hated himself for many reasons, that was just one more.

She put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her.

“Come on now, it surprised me, yes. But that was just a kiss, and you didn’t do it because you wanted to, I saw it in your eyes.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that what is done is done,” he answered, looking down.

“That’s true. But you can’t avoid me forever, you know, not when you just saved my life.”

What she had just said had surprised him and he looked at her in the eyes. She had a small smile on her lips when their gaze met. He could see she was not upset, just a bit shocked, but she wasn’t angry. He was not used to that much kindness.

“Now, get up, we have a child to save, and I really want to get out of here as fast as I can, I miss the sun,” she said, getting up and holding out her hand to him.

He smiled a little and took her hand, slowly getting up. They were completely drenched, and it was cold in here, they had to move fast, or they would be freezing soon. She could already see her shaking. If his coat wasn’t soaked, he would probably have offered it to her, but it would be useless right now.

He looked around to see where they were, there was only a wall in front of them. No path, no tunnel, they were stuck again.

Did we almost die for nothing?

He listened, hoping to hear something interesting, and he did. One of the walls was fake, or not thick, because he could hear droplets fall really loudly.

He turned to look at Lucy and he saw a golden light surrounding her for a brief instant.

“Thank you, Horologium,” he heard her say before seeing a clock in front of her.

He had always been fascinated by this kind of magic, his friend, Angel, had the same kind of magic, and some spirits were fun to talk to, even if her friend saw them like weapons and not like friends. It was different with Lucy, he could see just how much her spirits loved her, and he knew she cared about them a lot. Especially the mermaid she had summoned earlier, the spirit cared a lot about Lucy but was not going to tell her that.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Getting some dry clothes, I got some for you, too,” she said, handing him a golden and purple tunic.

That’s ugly.

“I can see what you’re thinking on your face, if you want to freeze your tail off, be my guest.”

It was ugly, yes, but he was not stupid enough to let himself freeze because the outfit was terrible; plus he hated the sensation of wet clothes on him anyway. He would accept the ugly outfit.

“And for our clothes?” he asked, a bit scared that he would have to say goodbye to his coat, it was his favorite, and also the first thing he had bought when he had left the Tower.

“Horologium will take them, and I will summon him at my apartment to get them back.”

“Alright.”

They were now back-to-back, as far as possible from each other, stripping down of their wet clothes to put on the dry ones. The warmth of the clothes made him feel instantly better, but his ego was still in pain when he caught his reflection in the water. He looked ridiculous in these clothes.

“I’m done,” he heard Lucy say while he was putting on the top, he heard her trail off and he turned, his top still half stuck above his head.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, as he finally succeeded in putting on this horror.

“Yeah…”

He couldn’t see really well, but he was pretty sure he could see some redness on her cheeks.

“I know you’re lying, and I could listen to your thoughts.”

“Don’t you dare.”

He laughed a little.

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

Honestly, he had an idea of what she had seen to stop like this, and he couldn’t be mad at her for it. She had probably seen a glimpse of the scars on his back, and he didn’t want to know what her thoughts about them were. Maybe she thought he deserved them, maybe she thought they were ugly. He didn’t know and he didn’t want to know. He just hated these scars, and he hoped that he was just imagining things and that she hadn’t seen them. And he wasn’t going to listen to her thoughts to know, because he was the one who didn’t want to know.

“This wall is thin, maybe one of your spirits can break it,” he said, pointing at the wall, immediately changing the subject.

“Perfect.”

She summoned a cow with an axe, and he watched the spirit hit the wall every time the cow hit the stone, the whole cave shook.

Well, goodbye discretion.

As the cow broke the wall, Cobra saw a part of the ceiling break and fall right on Lucy. He rushed to her, pushed her out of the way and fell above her. In the fall, he luckily grabbed her head to keep it from slamming against the cold hard floor, his fingers cupping around the base of her skull and taking the impact for her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, a bit surprised by how he had thrown himself to protect her. He had moved without thinking.

“Yes,” she answered, barely more than a whisper.

They were both staring at each other, breathing heavily, probably surprised by what had just happened. And then, he saw Lucy slowly turn red and look away.

“But I will be even better when you’re not on top of me, you idiot.”

It was his turn to become red, he had not realized their position, he hovered above her, her head cupped in one of his hands.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said as he got up, helping her up next.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome, Blondie, but be more careful next time. I won’t always be there to save you,” he said, looking at his knuckles. They had hit the floor quite hard, and they were now bleeding. It was not like it was a big deal, he was used to pain anyway.

“I don’t need anyone to save me.”

“I know,” he answered with a little smile.

And that was true. Lucy was strong enough by herself, she didn’t need anyone to protect her, but sometimes accidents happened, and he was glad to have been there to save her from such an awful death.

She sent the spirit back, and they watched the opening in the wall.

“You were right, there is a path, let’s go.”

They started to walk on the new path, they both stayed silent, not wanting to talk about what had just happened. Too much had happened and none of them were ready to talk about it. They finally arrived at the end of the tunnel when they found themselves in front of a wooden door.

“Tell me I’m dreaming,” she said, “how can there be a door here, in the middle of nowhere?”

“You’re not, I see it, too.”

“I’m really starting to hate this place.”

“Me too.”

He approached the door and opened it. He looked inside, and there was absolutely nothing.

“You’re crazy! It could be a trap!”

“It’s empty,” he stated, stepping inside.

“Wait!” she shouted as she ran to him.

He heard the door close behind them and when he turned, the door had vanished. The next thing he heard was a panicked scream that startled him. He quickly understood that it had come from Lucy who was now breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face.

“Cobra, you lied to me! It’s not empty! I… I… I need to get out of here, right now,” she turned and when she noticed that the door had vanished, her breathing became quicker.

“I didn’t lie, there is nothing here.”

She screamed again and was trying to kick invisible things.

“The room is full of spiders! They’re everywhere!” she was now curled into a ball, her head against her knees, trying to breathe, but she couldn’t. She was sobbing and her breathing was ragged.

Illusions. There was no other way. She was hallucinating, there must have been a spell on the room or something.

He put himself in front of her and crouched to be at her height, hoping to shield her from the spiders she was seeing.

“Lucy, do you trust me?”

She didn’t answer, the fear had gotten the better of her. He had never seen her like this, and he hated seeing her like this.

“Listen, I will get you out of this room, I promise. But for that, I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me? I’m not going to kiss you again, I promise.”

She only nodded in answer.

“Alright, I’m in front of you right now, you can keep your eyes closed. I will slowly take you by the arms and help you up.”

Again, she nodded, and he did what he said he would do. She could barely stand on her feet; she was shaking so much, and it really pained him to see her like this.

“You can take my hand or my arm, and we will slowly start walking.”

He took her hand, but once she knew where he was, she gripped his arm strongly and buried her face in it.

“Please, get me out of here, now.”

“I will.”

They started to walk, one foot after the other, Lucy following every step, it was a bit hard to walk, but they were slowly making their way through this room. Cobra telling her the distance left between them and the next door, and her only answering with a nod, not willing to let go of his arm.

“Can you talk? I don’t want to hear them.”

He didn’t know what to talk about, he had never been good a small talk. He wanted to talk about happy things, but well, his life had never been made of happy things.

“Your brother is the nicest person I know,” he started, “he helped me a lot.”

She nodded, urging him to keep going.

“He always talked about you, how much he missed you, and just how much he wished he could be with you. He hoped that you would not be alone, that you would make friends, that your parents would love you. He was always the one that gave us hope. He always hoped until he learned about your mother’s death, I think that broke him. At that moment, we sort of switched roles, I started to be the one who tried to give him hope, I don’t think I was really good at that, but I tried.”

They were now getting closer to the door; he would soon be able to stop rambling.

“Your brother is one of my best friends, but he will never be the person you knew. He has been changed forever. But he loves you, and he misses you.”

She nodded, gripping his arm tightly. Honestly, he wasn’t sure she was really listening, he was just trying to block out the sound of the spiders that he couldn’t see or hear.

“We’re in front of the door, I will open it, and you will have to open your eyes, because I might still not see anything.”

She nodded, he put his hand on the handle and opened the door.

Lucy was really surprised by how he had handled her during her panic attack, he had been so nice and understanding, that had surprised her. She had never thought that he could be so kind. She had trusted him, and he had not betrayed her. At first, she had thought he had lied when she had seen the room full of spiders, but he hadn’t doubted her words when she had that she could see spiders. He had immediately believed her. He really was special, he could be insufferable and the next minute, he was the kindest person in the world. She didn’t know how he did it. How a criminal could be so kind, she had trouble understanding it, when she had been repeated countless times how horrible and cruel he was. She had listened to him rambling about her brother, it had helped soothe her a bit. It also made her want to find her brother even more now, she wanted to give him the love he couldn’t receive since they had been separated. She knew her brother had grown without love, and it pained her, she wanted to hug her brother and give him the love he was supposed to receive.

“We are in the next room, you can open your eyes,” he said.

And she trusted him, she slowly opened her eyes, and there was nothing in front of her. She let go of him to close the door behind her, not wanting any spiders to join them. The door vanished just like the other one.

“Thank you, Cobra. I’m sorry you had to help me go through that,” she said as she turned to look at him, but he had disappeared.

Well, not disappeared. He was crouching, both hands on his ears, eyes closed, almost rocking back and forth.

“Cobra?” she asked, but he didn’t even look at her.

She quickly understood that something was wrong, and this time, she was the one crouching in front of him. His whole body was shaking, he was exactly in the same state that when they were on the Nirvana, when she had taken out her whip. And that’s when it clicked, this time, the illusion was for him. She didn’t know if it was something he saw or heard, but knowing his ability, he was probably hearing things that terrified him.

She slowly slid her hands under his so that she was now blocking the sound for him, which made him open his eyes and look at her. She was again hit with the vision of this young, traumatized boy that she had seen, eyes full of tears and fear.

She looked at him in the eye and gave him a little smile. It was her turn to help him. She signaled him to get up with her eyes, and he obeyed. She kept her hands on his ears, doing her best to block the sound, but sometimes she could see him jump and close his eyes, and she tried to tell him with her gaze that she was here, that he was alright, that he was safe. She walked backwards slowly; she knew he would tell her when they would reach the door.

They continued walking, and the more she looked at him, the more she was under the impression that he looked familiar. With how young he looked right now, she was persuaded to have seen a little boy exactly like him, he almost looked like the boy she had met at the Tower that day, but this boy was probably dead. And what were the odds, that Cobra was the boy she had helped at the Tower.

“What are the odds…” she whispered to herself, feeling almost more and more convinced that Cobra was that boy, “It can’t be.”

Once they passed the door, she let go of him, and the young boy had once again disappeared, not letting her enough time to gather her strength to ask him or to even be sure that it was him. But the similarity had been almost scary, he did look like the boy she had seen at the Tower.

He sat against the wall, taking deep breaths, and she sat in front of him, doing the same thing. They both needed to calm themselves before continuing.

She closed her eyes and was hit with the vision of how young he had looked, and her heart ached at that. She didn’t know what he had endured to be like this, but she knew he was not alright. She knew he was always hiding behind a mask because he didn’t want to show just how broken he was.

But today, she had seen a part of what he had lived, when they were changing clothes earlier, she had seen a glimpse of three big marks that scarred his back. She had wanted to know more, she had wanted to know what had done that, who had done that, she had almost wanted to touch them, caress them, to try and understand the pain he had gone through. But she had seen his reaction, how he had wanted to avoid the subject, that was something that he always did. He fled. He fled his pain, never wanting to talk about it. And she wondered if it was because it was her, or if he would never open up to anyone. She wondered if he tried to heal, or if he was determined to keep living with his pain.

But there was now one question that filled her mind, was Cobra the boy she had met at the Tower? She was persuaded he had died, but what if he had survived? She could not fathom how much pain he had had to endure to still be alive right now. But it would make sense if that was Cobra, he was a survivor, a man that had to sacrifice a lot to still be there today.

“Thank you,” he said, interrupting her train of thoughts.

“May I ask, what did you hear? What are you scared of?”

He looked at her, and it was as if he knew she would not let him flee this time. She was determined to know.

“It’s stupid really. I’m afraid of loud noises, and noises that came from the Tower like whips or screams.”

Oh. Oh.

So, his panic on the Nirvana was linked to that. She had taken her whip and had hit the ground with it, immediately reminding him of the Tower. That was why he had panicked so much, and now that she thought about it, it was totally understandable. His good hearing was not only a good asset, it could also be an inconvenience.

“It’s not stupid. Don’t be ashamed of your fear.”

He nodded with a little sad smile, and it broke Lucy’s heart, because she knew he didn’t believe her.

“Let’s go,” he said, “I can hear the child, we’re close,” he said, holding out his hand to her.

She noticed that his knuckles were bleeding. She hadn’t noticed it before; it was probably when he had protected her head from hitting the ground.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said when he caught her staring at his hand, “It’s nothing.”

She wanted to argue with him, but it was not the right time. She nodded, taking his hand to get up, and then they started walking.

She followed him, they would soon be out, this hell would soon be over. But today, she had learned so much about Cobra, and she almost wanted to know more. She was getting more and more curious about him, and she didn’t know if it was a good thing.

They walked for a while before finally arriving in front another door.

Cobra was under the impression that something was wrong, it was too easy. He could only hear two guards on the other side of the door and the child, which was surprising.

“The child is in here, there are two guards,” he whispered, “But it’s probably a trap, it’s too easy.”

Lucy nodded.

“Can you fight?” she then asked, pointing at the bracelets on his wrists.

“Of course,” he answered, giving her a little smile.

It had been a while since the last time he had fought without his magic powers, but he was still strong. They looked at each other before nodding and opening the door. The two guards were sitting around a fire and a little boy was in a cage not too far away from them. Cobra threw himself on the first man he saw, not letting him the time to react, before pinning him on the ground. He knocked him out quickly and looked in Lucy’s direction, she had also knocked down the guard.

Something was definitely wrong. It couldn’t be that easy. But he didn’t hear anything suspicious, still he stayed focused, he was convinced the fight was not over.

He immediately went to the cage and opened it after Lucy gave him the key she had stolen from the guard. The little boy threw himself on Cobra’s leg and hugged it tightly, not able to contain his tears anymore. He patted the boy’s head and gave him a reassuring smile.

“You’re alright, you’re safe with us. We will take you home.”

And he was speaking the truth, he would bring back this child home, he wasn’t going to let any children live the same thing he had endured, especially when their parents were still alive. He hated seeing a child separated from his family.

The boy blew his nose on Cobra’s pants, and he could hear Lucy laugh a little behind him.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Elios.”

“Nice to meet you, Elios. My name is Cobra, and her name is Lucy, we have been sent to save you from the bad guys.”

Lucy waved at the boy with a big comforting smile, and Elios stopped crying.

“You are very brave, we will take you home,” he said, looking at a ladder that he had seen earlier when he had stepped into the room.

“Let’s go, Elios,” Lucy said, holding out her hand to him.

Elios nodded, taking her hand.

Cobra was about to follow them when he heard clapping behind him, he hadn’t heard the man that had appeared in the room.

“I never would have thought that Cobra from the Oracion Seis would be reduced to that. You’re a slave for the Council, you’re pathetic,” the man said, observing him.

He immediately clenched his fists at the mention of slave. He would never be a slave again.

“I am not a slave.”

“That’s what you’re telling yourself, but deep down, you know you will never be free.”

Anger was slowly rising in his chest, the bastard knew a bit too much about him and he didn’t like this, it couldn’t be good.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly and when he turned, he was met with sad brown eyes.

Don’t listen to him, he is lying, you’re not a slave, she shouted in her thoughts so that he was the only one who could hear it.

And for one moment, he was confused. Lucy was here by his side, trying to reassure him, and he almost wanted to cry because it felt good to have someone that was here for him, to help him stay calm and not lose his temper.

“You’re Lucy Heartfilia, right? I heard about you, a rich kid that fled the comfort of her home.”

He saw her grit her teeth and look at the floor.

“You don’t know me,” she said, “There was no comfort there,” she added, barely more than a whisper.

The man started laughing, he was just trying to piss them off, and it was working.

“Enough playing around,” the stranger said, nodding in their direction, “I won’t let you take Elios.”

Suddenly, he saw Lucy get pinned on the ground by one of the guards they had knocked out earlier. The other one was holding Elios and had a hand on his mouth.

“Lucy! Elios!” he shouted, showing that he cared about them.

It was a stupid mistake; he just had shown a weakness to his enemy.

The guard pinning her stole her keys and threw them to the man. He couldn’t hear any thoughts coming from the guards, and that’s when he realized they were puppets, that was why the fight had been easy. He should have been more careful; it wasn’t like him to be that inattentive. Lucy was struggling against their grip, and Cobra was about to rush to her side to help her, but the mage teleported just in front of him blocking his way. He was starting to be really pissed with the man, for an unknown reason he couldn’t hear the thoughts of the man either.

“I can’t believe it! You care about her!” the man laughed, and this time Cobra had had enough, he punched him in the face.

The mage stopped the blow with one hand and smiled sadistically.

“I never thought I would have the honor of taking down the dragon of the Oracion Seis myself.”

A moment later, he felt an electric shock course through his body, and he was paralyzed for a few seconds, leaving enough time to the man to send him flying against the wall. He hit the wall violently and fell on all four. He coughed and did his best to get up, but the stranger grabbed him by the hair.

“Try to resist, and I’ll kill the girl and then the boy,” he murmured in his ear.

Lucy was struggling against the puppet’s grip. She needed to do something, or they were all going to die. She watched the man electrocute Cobra, and when he had grabbed him by the hair and murmured something she couldn’t hear, it was as if he had lost his will to fight. The man was just beating him up and electrocuting him. She hated seeing this, she hated to be useless like this. She was the one with magic, she was the one who should be protecting him, not the opposite.

She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t want to keep watching this massacre. At one moment, she heard Cobra scream, she saw the man had plunged a dagger in his arm, and it was the worst sound she had ever heard. The mage grabbed him by the neck and electrocuted him again, she couldn’t see very well but she was pretty sure he was unconscious now. Their enemy let go of him, disinterested, and started walking in her direction.

She didn’t care about the man, she only watched Cobra, and she noticed he had something golden clutched in his bloodied hands. Their enemy hadn’t noticed what the dragon slayer had just done, he had stolen back her keys. He had let himself be beaten up only to get back her keys, but it was useless. She couldn’t free herself from the grip of the puppet, and Cobra was too weak to move right now. Their enemy was getting closer to her, and she couldn’t move. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Cobra slowly getting back up without making a sound.

He really is resistant.

He was breathing heavily, and it really seemed like every movement made him suffer, but he was not going to give up. He looked at her, and she could see a question in his eyes: Do you trust me?

It was something she had done a lot today, trusting him, and without him, she would have died several times already.

Yes, she answered in her mind, knowing he was the only one who could hear it.

Then his eyes went to his bracelets, and she understood what he asked.

He wanted his magic back. She wasn’t sure she trusted him enough for that, with his magic, he could get rid of her.

She stared at him, and his eyes were now pleading her to trust him, he was convinced it was their only way to survive this. He had her keys, but he couldn’t give them to her if she couldn’t move, it was just useless.

The man finally arrived near her and grabbed her by the neck.

“Do you want to die like him? Or I can make it quick if you want.”

She struggled against his grip, planting her nails in his skin. She had no other choice now, had she?

“Cobra is allowed to use his magic!” she shouted.

She heard the bracelets fall on the ground, and the man turned in confusion to see what she had just done. She took advantage of his inattention to kick him in the ribs and he let her go. She immediately rushed to Elios’s side, freeing him from the puppet and hugging him to protect him, they stayed silent as they watched Cobra getting back up.

She saw his skin crack as he transformed his arms into dragon paws.

The scars on his hands. They came from his own magic.

“Sorry, what did you say again? Taking down the dragon of the Oracion Seis? You need way more than electric shocks and a few blows to take me down,” he said with a wicked smile.

He was full of arrogance, it was as if the member of the Oracion Seis was back, and she didn’t know if she liked that.

She could see the man starting to panic, he was sweating and searching for a way out, but he stopped when his eyes landed on her and Elios. He teleported himself behind her and grabbed her by the ponytail, before putting a knife on her throat.

“Move and I kill her.”

Cobra eyed the man cautiously.

“Do you really think I care about her? I was just waiting for her to free my magic. I don’t need her anymore, you can kill her.”

She stared at him, not believing what she had just heard. She had thought he could be good; she had wanted to see kindness in him, but he was only a criminal, the worst kind. Of course, he had only waited for her to free his magic. Why would he need her now that he was free? She had made a mistake, and she was going to pay it with her life.

“You… How could you…” she started, a sob in her throat stopped her from continuing.

She could feel the shame on her face, she had been an idiot for trusting him, and she could not stop the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. She was angry and ashamed. She had been swayed by the beautiful words of a criminal and was going to die because of it.

She stared at him, showing her anger, but when their eyes met, she realized it was not the look of someone who had betrayed her. It was the same apologetic look he had given her before he had kissed her. He was about to do something that he already regretted.

She saw him inhale, and she knew what he was about to do. When the man understood it, too, he dropped the knife, but it was already too late. Lucy had just the time to put herself in front of Elios and use her body to shield him from the attack before the three of them got hit by his poison dragon’s roar.

Lucy felt her skin burn as the poison hit her, the air was unbreathable for a few seconds, and she coughed. The enemy fell on his back, unable to move, he had received the biggest part of the attack, and he wouldn’t get back up before a long time.

Cobra rushed to her and Elios.

“Are you alright? I’m terribly sorry.”

The boy nodded, Lucy had successfully protected him, and he had not been injured by Cobra’s attack.

“Are you alright, Lucy? My poison hit you pretty strongly.”

She noticed that she was clenching her fists and shaking, and she gently hit him on the chest, her head down, trying not to burst into tears.

“Don’t ever scare me like that, I really thought you were going to betray me and let me die!”

“I would never, I’m sorry I played with that, but I had to make it look convincing. I’m sorry.”

She looked at him, and nodded to make him understand that she accepted his apology.

“For you,” he said, giving her back her keys, his dragon paws slowly turning back into human hands. She could see the cracks on his skin left by his magic and couldn’t stop herself from grabbing his hand to look at them more closely.

“Does it hurt?” she said, as she slowly caressed the broken skin.

“I’m used to the pain,” he answered, looking away.

She watched him, and noticed that he was breathing heavily, his body throbbing with pain.

“Are you alright?”

He nodded.

A lie.

He was shaking, bleeding and could pass out at any minutes now, but he tried to hide it in front of the child. He crouched in front of the kid and patted his head.

“You were very brave,” he said, giving him a reassuring smile.

The little boy hugged him tightly and started crying, he had probably been terrified, and it broke Lucy to see that scene. A broken man hugged by a little boy that would probably have endured the same thing as him if they hadn’t intervened.

She wished there would have been someone to help Cobra, and all the children of the Tower. And it was only now that she wondered if Cobra had someone to return to, if he had a family, if he had people that loved him. Where would he go once this year was over? Would he be alone? Would he have someone by his side to help him get better? There were a thousand questions in her mind, and she couldn’t answer any of them.

Cobra looked around the room, they had sat Elios on a rock while they tied the criminal. She saw him take the bracelets in his hands, before putting them again around his wrists, sealing his magic once again.

“What are you doing?” she asked, as she watched the scene.

He looked at her a bit confused by her questions.

“I can’t use my magic without your consent, it was part of the deal made with the Council, I don’t think we need my magic anymore.”

She blinked several times, not believing what he had just said. She had thought that he would resist, not wanting to have his magic sealed once again, but he had done it himself.

“If I want to really be free, I have no choice but to follow the rules, I want to be a better man” he said, almost absently.

That’s when she truly realized that he would do anything to be free. She knew he was never going to betray her, because he was driven by freedom and wanting to make up for all the bad things he did. He wanted to change, he wanted to leave his life as a criminal behind.

“I’m sorry I doubted you.”

He turned to look at her, surprised.

“I can’t resent you for that, it’s totally understandable.”

She gave him a small smile.

“I didn’t stop thinking that you were going to betray me, and you never did.”

“And I never will, you gave me a chance to atone for my sins, I owe you everything.”

“Don’t be stupid, you don’t owe me anything.”

Freeing Cobra had been a selfish wish, if not for her brother she would never have helped him, he didn’t owe her anything. She watched him and she knew he didn’t believe her, he was grateful for what she had done, whatever her reason.

“We should get out of here,” he said, and she nodded.

They had decided to leave the mage there, and they would tell the Council about him so that they would come and get him.

Elios insisted on being carried by Cobra, so he took him on his back when he started to climb the ladder to the outside world. Once they were outside, he put the kid on his shoulder and they waited for her to get out.

The outside world was so bright right now, the sun was setting, and the horizon was a bright orange. It was beautiful.

“Cobra?” Lucy asked when they had started walking.

“Yeah?”

“You’re badly hurt, let met help you.”

“Not right now, we should get him back to his family. And it’s just scratches, don’t worry.”

Just scratches. He could lie but his body was betraying him. He had a deep cut on his brow, another one on his arm, his hands were bloodied, and several bruises had started to form on his face. He would not escape her care for long, but for right now, he won, she didn’t want to waste more time here, but once they were in the apartment, she was going to take care of his injuries, even if he tried to escape it.

“Where do you live?” he asked the boy.

“Magnolia!”

She smiled, they were going to be home soon, then. No need to do a detour to another city. They walked in Magnolia’s direction, the kid telling stories about the stars that had started appearing in the sky. She was surprised to see Cobra listen and ask questions, as if he was really interested in what Elios was saying. She could see a light in his eyes that was not usually there, he was curious, he really wanted to learn more it seemed.

Finally, the light of the town shone not far away from them. And when they arrived near the boy’s house, Cobra put him on the ground, earning a confused look from Lucy and Elios.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m not going any further, his parents probably don’t want to see their child with someone like me.”

She looked at him, he had his head down, looking at his feet. She could understand, a member of the Council wouldn’t be really happy to see his son in the arms of a criminal.

“Alright, I will come back soon. Let’s go,” she said to the little boy.

“But you can’t stay here alone!” the boy said, starting to cry again.

Cobra patted the kid’s head once more and smiled.

“You’re safe now, I’m glad that you are alright, you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met, but now you need to go back home, your parents are worried about you. Don’t worry about me too much, I’m just happy you’re okay.”

The boy hugged him once more and followed Lucy.

She knocked at the door, and a woman opened the door and immediately hugged her son.

“You saved him! Thank you so much!” the woman said, crying with her son in her arms.

Lucy watched Cobra at the end of the street, she shouldn’t be receiving all the acknowledgments, without Cobra, the boy would still be in the cave. They would not have saved him today without him.

“I’m glad he is safe; you need to give this to your husband, that’s the map to the cave where the kidnapper is. We left him there so that the Council can arrest him,” she said, handing the map.

The woman nodded.

“I have to go.”

“Wait, don’t leave like this, join us for dinner, that’s the least I could do to thank you.”

“Don’t worry, it’s my job, your smile is a recompense enough,” she said, she waved at the woman and without another word she joined Cobra.

“You could have stayed for dinner,” he said.

“And letting you here alone in the cold, I’m not that cruel. Especially when you’re the one who did all the work.”

“I didn’t do all the work.”

“Just shut up and accept what I’m saying.”

He said nothing and they started walking in the direction of her apartment. On their way, she saw Cobra lose his balance and lean on a wall. His wounds were finally having the better of him.

“And I have to take care of your injuries anyway.”

He smiled a little.

“Alright, alright.”

And with that, she helped him to walk back to their apartment after this really exhausting day.

Chapter Text

They had just gotten back to the apartment after having brought back the kid to his family. Lucy had supported Cobra during the trip back because she didn’t want him to pass out in the middle of the street. He didn’t stop insisting that he was fine, but she was not stupid, he wasn’t. Once they had climbed up the stairs and opened the door to her apartment, she saw him lean on a wall, breathing heavily.

She immediately went to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I will tend to your wounds, just sit on the couch,” she said.

He looked at her, his breathing was almost ragged, and he seemed completely out of it.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing,” he answered, trying to hide his pain.

She sighed. She wondered why he insisted on lying that much, she was not stupid, she could see he was in pain.

“Stop it… You don’t have to act tough right now…” she said, taking his hand and guiding him to the couch.

She didn’t miss the surprise on his face, and how he stared at her hand. She wondered why it surprised him that much.

He obeyed and sat, almost letting himself fall on the sofa.

“Are you alright? I didn’t want to hurt you earlier… But you’re still a bit red where my poison hit you.”

Lucy didn’t miss the fact that again he prioritized her instead of himself. He was the one who was hurt and in pain, but he was worried about her.

“It burned for a little while, but now I don’t feel anything… Don’t worry about me, it was nothing,” she answered, giving him a small smile, trying to cheer him up.

He looked away, his head down.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already apologized.”

“I know, but still, I should have found another way.”

“Honestly, Cobra, I don’t think there was another way… And it was pretty smart, even if it was risky,” she said, and she was being honest.

Cobra knew how to think in a fight, he was really smart, using his poison like he had done today, it was really a smart move even if he had hit her in the process, but he had made sure that his attack would be weak and wouldn’t hurt her. And for one brief moment, she thought about this, how a little sacrifice could be a path to the victory, and where he had learned this. He had probably learnt this with the Oracion Seis, they probably were all ready to injure one another if it meant victory, and she was not sure if she liked that way of thinking.

He looked at her a bit surprised when he understood that she was telling the truth, but she could still see that he was feeling guilty about it.

“I will go fetch the first aid kit,” she said, giving him a little smile before going into the bathroom.

She grabbed the kit from the cupboard and immediately went back to the living room. He seemed pensive, sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking, he always seemed lost in a world of a thousand thoughts. She almost wished she could hear them, maybe she would be able to help him then.

“Are you ready? It won’t be fun.”

“It’s not like I have any other choice.”

“Right… Uh… Could you take off your shirt?” she asked, looking away, feeling her cheeks heat.

She had never thought that she would ask that. He did not let indifferent, and she felt a bit embarrassed to ask him to undress himself like that, plus she didn’t really know what to expect when he would take off his shirt.

He looked at her and nodded with a tiny smile, he had easily guessed what she was thinking.

“I just need to be sure that I take care of every injury,” she said, trying to justify herself, when she absolutely didn’t need to.

“Or you could just tell me that you want to see me shirtless,” he grinned as he took off his top.

She blushed and hit him in the ribs. It reassured her to see that he could still joke like this even after this awful day.

“Don’t be stupid!” she shouted, looking away.

She saw him grab his side and wince in pain before he started laughing.

“Stop it!” she ordered, putting disinfectant on one of his wounds.

He winced in pain again and gritted his teeth.

“Ouch!”

“You don’t look so tough right now,” she said with a little smile before looking at him.

Really looking at him.

She observed his torso, and she instantly lost her smile. There were so many scars, she had never expected that she would one day see the full extent of what he had endured. The marks he would keep forever, and that would always remind him of his past. She had seen a glimpse of three big scars on his back in the cave, but now she was seeing everything, and when she would take care of his back, she would see them.

And he noticed how she stared at his torso, unable to say something or to start taking care of him, but he said nothing, he let her look. She was watching the scars, almost wanting to touch them, she wanted to feel them. She noticed the bruises that had started to form, and she wondered how he was still conscious when his body must be in excruciating pain right now.

Lucy took a deep breath and started working, she started disinfecting all the little cuts that were on his torso, and it was hard to stay focused. They were so close, she could feel his breath on her, how hot his body was, how his body tensed every time she touched his skin with the disinfectant.

Stay focused, Lucy… You’re shaking…

But it was hard, they had never been this close before, there was a sort of intimacy between them in this instant. It was just surprising and very special, and it made her heart beat faster and she couldn’t focus.

He is so resistant… Staying conscious after all of that… I can’t imagine what his body must have endured…

She could not fathom what he had endured, it was totally impossible. It just hurt to see him like this, and she wondered how he was still able to smile after all of that, if she had been in his place, she was not sure she would be able to smile ever again.

She noticed the deep cut on his arm where the man had plunged the dagger, the wound was still bleeding. She would need to stitch up the cut, she had rarely done that, but she had no choice right now. She took the thread and the needle and looked at him in the eye. He answered with a little nod, he knew it was going to hurt.

“How did you take care of your wounds?” she asked, the question totally escaping her thoughts as she started stitching up the cut.

“Either I did it myself or it was Angel, but she clearly wasn’t as soft as you, she didn’t really know how to do it,” he answered through gritted teeth.

“I see, I’m no expert, it’s my mom who showed me how to do it.”

“You’re doing this amazingly.”

She smiled a little even though she could hear the pain in his voice.

“Thank you, I had an amazing teacher.”

She bandaged it when she was done and signaled him to turn so that she could start working on his back. And when he turned, she saw the three big scars that crossed his back, and she had to stop herself from touching them, biting her lips. She wanted to touch them, but she and Cobra were not that close, and she knew that he was showing a lot of him right now.

“You can touch them if you want, it’s not like it’s a big deal.”

That bastard was listening to her thoughts. And somehow, she could feel he was lying, she felt like she was breaching his intimacy, and that it was in fact a big deal.

“Don’t listen to my thoughts.”

“It helps me not to think about the pain.”

She sighed, defeated. She did not have it in her to argue with him right now, not when he was showing one of the biggest parts of himself and hiding the fact that it was a lot for him.

She gripped tenderly one of his shoulders and squeezed it lightly.

“You don’t have to lie like this, it is a big deal for you, you can’t hide it.”

He sighed, and she felt his body relax a bit. As if he felt better now that the truth had been spoken.

“Do they disgust you? I’m sorry if they scare you,” he asked, almost shyly.

“Why would you think this?” she answered, slowly wrapping bandages around his torso, covering most of his scars with the fabric.

“Forget it… I think exhaustion is making me say nonsense.”

She started disinfecting the cut on his brow, he winced in pain and clenched his fists, stopping himself from shouting.

“I don’t think you’re saying nonsense… But you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

She observed the wound and was reassured when she knew that she wouldn’t have to sew it, she put a plaster on it.

“It’s just that I don’t know what to say,” he admitted, looking away.

She gently grabbed one his hands and started disinfecting his fingers, he almost flinched when she touched him, as if it was a very sensitive part. There were a lot of scars on his hands, and she couldn’t believe that most of them came from his own magic. It was as if his body had never fully accepted the lacrima.

“Tell me when you know then…”

“I’m not sure I will ever know; you might end up disappointed.”

She looked at him in the eye.

“The day you tell me more about yourself I will be everything but disappointed, on the contrary, I would be really touched if you did.”

How could she be disappointed, when this man was full of mysteries, she wanted to unravel all of them.

Their eyes met.

“I’m not that interesting,” he answered with a sad smile.

She looked away and continued to work on his fingers, slowly bandaging them. She bit her lips not sure if it was a good idea to say that, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“You’re more interesting than you think.”

Lucy saw his eyes widen in surprise.

“You know… You can ask me questions; I just don’t know where to start…”

She looked at him and saw that he was ready to answer her questions, if she asked, he would answer.

“No… I’m going to go too far,” she said, getting up and putting the first aid kit on a shelf behind her.

“Too far? If I don’t want to talk about something, I won’t,” he started, gently grabbing her wrist, “I know you have questions, I can see them on your face and I’m really curious to hear them.”

“Yes, I have questions, a thousand of them, you’re full of mysteries Cobra,” she said, looking at his hand holding her wrist, “but I can’t ask them,” she added, freeing her wrist from his grip.

She noticed how sad he looked for a brief moment before looking down. His hair hiding his eyes.

“Why…?” he let out, it was barely more than a whisper.

“Because… I… The answers you’re going to give me will make me realize who you are… and it will be even harder for me.”

If she asked questions, she knew she would feel touched by his answers and by him, and she knew she would start to see him differently than just a criminal, her feelings about him were already messy, she didn’t need more of that. That’s why she refused to ask questions, but she could never admit that.

He looked up once again, confusion filling his eyes.

“Harder?”

She looked at him and bit her lips.

“Yes, but I can’t tell you more than that. Put your shirt back on, you will get cold.”

“Can I have my coat back? I refuse to wear this horror again,” he said, pointing at the clothes from the celestial world.

“You’re lucky Horologium isn’t here to hear you,” she smiled.

“It was the ugliest thing I’ve ever worn.”

“Come on, you looked good,” she laughed a little, before handing him his coat.

He immediately grabbed it and put it on. His chest was still exposed since he hadn’t bothered to put a top before his coat and Lucy couldn’t help but stare at his bandaged chest. She saw him relax a bit when he put it on, as if the coat gave him a bit of comfort.

“I can’t believe you’re lying straight to my face.”

“Me? I would never,” she smiled, and she saw the hint of a smile on his face too, a little amusing light shining in his purple eyes.

“Oh yeah? I don’t trust you on that,” he said, humor filling his voice, before lying on the couch with a hand on his eyes.

Even if she had taken care of him, he still must be in excruciating pain. He seemed to hide it very well, but he was exhausted, and she could see that.

“Yes, get some rest… Do you want something to eat or to drink?”

“Water would be perfect.”

“Alright,” she said with a little smile, going into the kitchen.

Cobra was in pain right now. It felt like his body was on fire and every movement was just pure torture. He was lying on the couch, and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He was just tired of suffering, and today had been a lot. He was just overwhelmed by all of what had happened, his façade was down right now, he had not the strength to put up a front like he usually did, he had not the strength to be someone else. He had chosen the moment where Lucy had disappeared in the kitchen to let himself break, to be honest with himself and let the tears flow. It had really been a lot, he had never shown his body like this to anyone, he had never felt so vulnerable in that moment where Lucy had taken care of him. He hated his body, well more like he was complexed by it because he was convinced that the scars made him ugly, and honestly, he felt like his body was the only good thing he had. He was not smart, he could barely read two sentences, he didn’t know anything about the world expect fight strategies. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to learn more about everything, he had been intrigued when Elios had started talking about stars.

What scared him about himself was that if he was ugly and stupid, would there be anyone to love him? He knew he didn’t deserve love after everything he had done, but he was still hoping that one day he might find someone that would love him. He was selfish to wish for something like that when deep down he knew he didn’t deserve it.

He heard her coming back from the kitchen and he quickly wiped the tears away with the back of his hand.

“Are you alright?” she asked, putting the glass on the coffee table.

He looked away and nodded, he was not fine, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about it, he wasn’t sure Lucy would listen anyway. Why would she? She still saw him as a criminal, she was not going to listen to him talk about his pain, they were not friends. It was just better to lie, then.

“I’m going to let you rest… If you need me, I will be in my room.”

His heart ached when he heard that, because right now, he didn’t want to be alone. He was selfish, but he needed her to stay, for whatever reason, he felt safe around her, he felt good, and he needed that right now.

“Was he right?” he started, “Am I just a slave who keeps changing masters?”

Actually, he really needed an answer to that question, because their enemy had really troubled him when he had said that Cobra was a slave for the Council now. He didn’t want to be a slave anymore, he wanted to be free. Not that he would know what to do with his freedom, but for once in his life, he just wanted to be able to make a choice on his own. That was why he really needed an answer.

“Of course not, you’re not a slave Cobra,” she said, sitting on the floor to be in front of him, “You’re not my slave, I really hope you don’t think that.”

He looked at her, he was really trying to put on his façade again, to act tough, but he was just so tired right now that he couldn’t. He was vulnerable right now; he was showing a part of himself that he didn’t like at all.

“It’s just so complicated… It feels like I will never be free… I am so tired.”

And that was the truth. He was tired of being used by everyone, yes he had accepted to help Lucy to get his freedom, but for now he was still being used, and he was wondering if he would really end after the year with Lucy.

He saw her grit her teeth, it felt like she was kind of suffering with him right now.

“You’re close to getting your freedom, if our year together is a success, you will be free.”

Would he really? And even if that was the truth, what would he do once he was free? He had never thought it would happen, it was not like he had dreams or anything. He just wanted his freedom, but he didn’t know what to do with it.

“And even if I succeed, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I am alone, Lucy. I have nothing, no one…”

“You… You’ll figure it out; don’t think too much at once... And your family? Do you have any family?”

He shook his head.

“They are dead…”

He would not mention to her how they had died in front of him when he had barely been four years old. Neither how now he couldn’t remember their faces, how he was slowly forgetting them as if he had never had parents at all. The closest thing he had to a parental figure was Brain, and he was not going to go back to him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, staring at the floor.

He gritted his teeth, once again he had pained her, and he hated when it happened. He wanted to make her smile, not make her sad, but somehow, he never managed to make her happy.

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of that, it’s not like you care about it anyway,” he started, and he started crying again but he quickly brushed off the tears, he was really tired of being in a state where he couldn’t control his emotion at all, “I’m sorry, you should go to bed, you must be tired.”

She looked at him and clenched her fists.

“Cobra, that’s not true… I care.”

His brain froze when he heard that, he had never expected for one second that she would care. It warmed his heart, because for once in his life, someone cared about him, and it felt good.

“Why?” he whispered, still in a state of shock.

“Uh… Because you’re not the one I thought you were.”

It was slowly getting dangerous, because if she continued like this, he was not sure he would be able to put his mask on again.

“And I don’t like seeing you sad.”

He needed the conversation to stop before it was too late.

“You’re a good person, but you shouldn’t care about me, I don’t deserve it,” he said, giving her a sad smile.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“I’m a monster, Lucy. I hurt so many people… Someone like you shouldn’t waste your time caring about someone like me.”

She looked at him in the eye, and he could see her grit her teeth.

“Is that what you think of you?”

“Of course, that’s what I think of me, because that’s what I am.”

“Why do you think this?”

They were both failing at what they wanted to do originally. Lucy had told him that she didn’t want to ask him questions, but she was doing the opposite, and Cobra had tried to stop the conversation but had found himself continuing to answer every single one of them.

“Because that’s the truth… I’m not a good person, I did so many bad things.”

“You know, a bad person wouldn’t have prioritized my safety before theirs, they would never have done what you did today. It’s proof that you are not completely bad like you think you are. But I need to know, why did you do those bad things?”

“Because I didn’t have a choice… I didn’t want Brain to send me back to the Tower or torture me because I didn’t want to obey… I’m just a coward, I should have fought, I should have been the one suffering not innocent people.”

She clenched her fists, he didn’t understand why she reacted like this, like it was a big deal to her.

“Why are you saying this? You were innocent, too. You didn’t deserve to suffer like you did.”

It felt like his heart was slowly breaking, it ached. He didn’t know if it was because Lucy seemed so sure of what she was saying right now, he felt like for the first time in years, he was hearing the truth, but his head refused to wrap around that. He was convinced Lucy was just trying to be nice.

“I’m telling myself that it happened because I deserved it.”

“That’s what they wanted you to believe.”

Stop.

He wasn’t sure how much he could take before the truth broke him completely, he wanted to believe her words, but at the same time he couldn’t.

“If you’re telling the truth, then they won,” he admitted.

She gritted her teeth; her eyes were filled with sadness and compassion.

“From what I know about your story, I can tell you that you were just a little boy that people traumatized so that they could use him easily… You grew up like that and you had no way of defending yourself against orders like that… And now you consider yourself as awful as the man who did this to you…”

Cobra felt like he couldn’t breathe right now, his heart ached so much, he wasn’t sure it properly functioned anymore. He refused to believe the truth, it was as if his mind refused to listen to her and accept that maybe she was right.

“Because I should have fought. I’m no better than those who used me. I should have done something.”

“They broke you.”

He gritted his teeth, and he rubbed his eyes, he hadn’t realized that the tears had been flowing for a while now.

“Honestly, I think that you suffered greatly… And… I… I don’t believe that you’re really responsible for all of that.”

“You’re probably the only one who thinks this.”

“Because you accepted to show me a bit of yourself.”

He clenched his fists. He had failed totally, he had tried so hard not to show this part of himself, and he had just failed.

“Not voluntarily. I wanted you to continue hating me and seeing me as a monster. And I failed miserably and now you’re seeing a part of me that I hate.”

She looked at him a bit confused, probably surprised by his honesty.

“It’s a part of me that I don’t want to show to anyone, because this part of me is pathetic. The person in front of you right now, I’m not sure who he is, I’m not sure he is allowed to exist,” he continued, tears starting to roll down his cheeks, “After everything I’ve done, I’m not sure I’m allowed to be happy or to simply hope that my life can be mine one day. I’m not sure I have the right to be free.”

He was watching her intensively, probably noticing how her heart broke at each of his sentences. Again, he was making her suffer, he was really a bastard.

“The criminal I am is not allowed to be vulnerable, not after everything I’ve done. That’s why I should never have shown you this part of me, but I couldn’t stop myself because for the first time in my life, I feel good.”

There was a silence for a moment, himself realizing what he had just said. He felt good, he had never felt so good in his life, but he didn’t know why. Was it because he had a chance to be free one day? Or was it because of Lucy? Was Lucy the reason he felt so good and safe? Was she the reason he wasn’t able to keep his mask on?

That was obvious.

Of course, it was her. She was the reason for all the good things that had happened to him since the day she had freed him. He had discovered so many things in the outside world because of her, and even if she was not sure how to feel about him, she had supported him more than once. But he clearly remembered how she had supported him in the cave, clearly reminding him how he was not a slave, and she had said it again today. And these were words that he really needed to hear.

“For the first time in my life, I’m not living in the fear that something bad is going to happen if I disobey, yes I still have this deal with the Council, but for the first time in my life, I’m not living in the fear of suffering, and this is because of you,” he admitted, looking away, not able to look at her in the eyes when he said those words. He had probably made a huge mistake, he should have kept quiet, but he couldn’t think clearly because of the exhaustion.

He quickly shook his head, already regretting his words, and he sighed.

“I’m sorry, I’m speaking nonsense, you can go to bed, you look tired.”

She looked at him for a moment, taking in all he had just said.

“Why do you hate that part of yourself? That’s who you really are, you need to let him exist.”

It seemed that she was not going to talk about what he had just admitted, and it was probably for the best. He was not sure for how long he could keep this conversation going before spouting nonsense on each sentence.

“Because it’s weak, I’m not allowed to be weak.”

Being weak only led to suffering, and he didn’t want to suffer anymore.

“Of course, you are allowed to be.”

He simply shook his head, disapproving with her.

“That’s the truth.”

“It’s because I was weak that I suffered. I can’t be weak, Lucy. I don’t want to suffer anymore.”

And that was the truth, he was tired of living in pain and fear, he just wanted to be happy, but even that he didn’t have the right to wish for.

She put a hand on his hand and slowly caressed his fingers, giving him a little smile. She was trying to reassure him.

“You should go to bed, Blondie. I will be fine,” he said, looking away.

She got up from the floor where she was sitting, and simply looked at him. He heard her thoughts: I think I’ve tried too hard; he is avoiding everything now.

He sighed. He was not going to let her go to sleep with these kinds of thoughts, he needed to at least reassure her.

“Don’t worry too much about me, Blondie.”

“That’s a hard task.”

And this time, he laughed a little, because that’s not something she would have said a few days ago.

“That’s not what you were thinking a few days ago.”

She sighed, letting go of his hand.

“You’re an idiot, the situation is completely different.”

“I wonder how you could change your mind so quickly.”

“I wonder that too. I guess you know how to be convincing.”

He smiled; a bit proud of himself.

“You should sleep, if you need anything you know where to find me,” she said as she disappeared in the bathroom to put away the first aid kit.

He would not sleep tonight, not after everything that had happened today. The sounds of the Tower still echoed in his ears, and he knew that if he tried to sleep, he would find himself back at the Tower. But he knew he needed rest, he was just scared of falling asleep, and he hoped that it would be a dreamless night, it didn’t happen a lot, but maybe with the exhaustion it would happen tonight, allowing him to finally rest.

“Goodnight, Blondie,” he said, lying as comfortably as possible on the couch with his injuries.

“Goodnight Cobra,” she said, disappearing into her room.

And he didn’t know why, but when he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, he couldn’t stop thinking about how gentle she had wished him goodnight. And he wondered how it would have felt to hear his real name, and not his codename at that moment, how it would have felt to allow the part of himself that he was trying so hard to suppress to finally exist, how it would have felt to let Erik exist and not hide behind the mask that was Cobra. She was slowly destroying all the fences he had built to protect himself, and he didn’t know if it was for the best.

Chapter Text

It had been almost two weeks since the events in the cave and the night where she had taken care of him. It would soon be a month since they lived together, too. Lucy had started to understand that Cobra always seemed to act like their intimate moments didn’t happen, and she didn’t know why. Since Cobra was injured, they couldn’t go on any missions or anything. The first days had been a bit rough since Cobra had had a fever and had kept insisting that he was fine when he clearly wasn’t. But after a few days, he felt better and the Council had ordered him to rest until the end of the month, and well he was too scared to refuse an order from them. Lucy wasn’t about to complain about a few days off, she had written her book and tried to think about what she wanted to say to her brother when she would meet him again. She had also gone to the guild, especially the day where a member of the Council had almost kicked her out of her own apartment when he had wanted Cobra to give information about the Balam Alliance. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to be there, especially when Cobra was instantly on the defensive when there was a Council member and she somehow felt that her presence would have helped him get through that. He had been in a sour mood the rest of the day after that, complaining about how stupid it was not to let here be there when he could share them all with Lucy when he wanted. She had stopped trying to understand what the Council wanted at that point, she just wanted to do the missions not to upset them and find her brother, that was it.

When Lucy left her room this morning, she found Cobra looking at the window with a cup of coffee in his hands.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m alright, nothing hurts anymore.”

She smiled and went to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, before joining him.

“You got another letter from the Council this morning,” he said as he handed her the letter.

She noticed that he looked deep in thoughts, and actually it had been the case since the cave, she wondered what he could be thinking about so deeply.

“I’ve already told you that you could open them.”

“And if I remember correctly, I answered that I didn’t care about them,” he answered with a little arrogant smile.

The Cobra she knew was back, and even if she wanted to know more about his vulnerable side, she was glad to know that he felt better enough to be able to put on his stupid mask again.

“So, what do they want this time?”

“I thought you didn’t care?”

“Touché.”

She smiled, proud of herself, and read the letter. Finally, the Council wanted them to spy on the man of the café, Grigory Lotaziars, again.

“So?”

“I think you’re going to like it.”

“I’m listening.”

He sat on the edge of the window, looking at her expectantly.

“We need to spy on the man again.”

He looked pensive for a moment; she couldn’t quite decipher the expression on his face. She didn’t know if he was happy or upset, or maybe both.

“Finally,” he sighed of relief, “I remember just how much you loved being my girlfriend,” he then added with a smirk, just to annoy her a bit.

She sighed but a small smile escaped her, in the end it wasn’t so bad to play-act this with Cobra. She had hated it the first time, but she couldn’t deny that she had had fun.

She stepped on his foot, and he gritted his teeth. He looked at her and pouted.

“It was an accident, my love,” she said with a honeyed voice, reprising their act.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he almost choked on his coffee. She looked at him a bit confused, she hadn’t thought that it would surprise him that much.

He put down his cup and he got up from the edge of the window, then he approached her. He simply stared at her, scanning her face.

“I didn’t know you could be so bold, Blondie,” he said with a devilish grin on his face before disappearing in the kitchen.

Oh yes, he was most definitely healed now, he was one hundred percent back to his usual old self.

But they had been so close for a brief moment, too close. And his eyes, his deep purple eyes had seemed to see right through her soul. Her heart was racing in her chest, and she was struggling to catch her breath. He could sometimes be hypnotizing. It was crazy how he could switch between confident and vulnerable depending on what he wanted people to see.

“You’d better not listen to my thoughts!” she shouted, still shocked by what had just happened.

She heard him laugh in the kitchen.

He could really drive her crazy sometimes.

They were on their way to the café once they had finished readying themselves. Lucy had the great idea (that she immediately regretted) to wear matching outfits (without telling Cobra), thinking that it would be more convincing for their couple act. In the end, she just had wanted to try Cobra’s style but had justified it as matching outfits. So, she had decided to wear a burgundy top with a white jacket over it and black trousers. When she had gotten out of her room, the confused look he had given her had been priceless. She could tell he had never expected her to wear this, and neither did she actually. But when she had looked at herself in the mirror, she had liked it, it was a bit basic, but the colors matched well.

“Matching outfits? Really?” he had asked, but he couldn’t contain his smile when he had looked her dressed like this.

“To be more convincing,” she had answered.

“Is it really something couples do?”

And his question had seemed genuine like he didn’t know if it was a thing. And, in reality, Lucy didn’t know. She never had a boyfriend, but she had seen couples wearing matching outfits and she had always wanted to try it.

“Yes, I think.”

He had raised an eyebrow, not convinced by her answer.

“It suits you very well,” he had simply answered, and she had known he was being honest.

They were now walking hand in hand to the café. It was as if everything had become easier now before she would have straight up refused to hold his hand. But maybe now that she knew him a bit better, she didn’t mind it as much, after all it was just an act. No weird thoughts behind. His hand was warm, and somewhat reassuring. He slowly caressed her fingers, probably to tell her that everything was going to be alright.

“Are you going to be alright?” she couldn’t help but ask.

He seemed lost in thoughts. The first time she hadn’t known how strongly this mission could affect him, but she still remembered how his face had crumpled when he had listened to the man’s thoughts. Now she knew that this mission was really hard for him. Cobra had to hear the horrible plan of this man without being able to stop him, they just needed to listen and warn the Council. But she knew just how much he wanted to act, just how much wanted to stop that man.

“Yes, as long as you hold my hand, I will be alright.”

“Don’t be stupid, I’m asking this seriously.”

“And I’m answering it, seriously. Don’t let me go, Blondie... I don’t know if I will be able to endure it otherwise.”

She looked at him, surprised by his words. She squeezed his hand to give him some comfort.

“I’m sorry that you have to do this. The Council really doesn’t care about your well-being, they don’t try to understand just how hard it is for you, they…”

“They don’t see me as a human being, I know, I’m simply a useful tool.”

She looked at him in the eye, shocked by what he had just said, but he didn’t meet her gaze. That reminded her of how he had asked her if he was only a slave that kept changing masters.

“Don’t talk about yourself like this, you’re not a tool, you’re not a slave, Cobra. And all of this is my fault, I’m the one who put you in this position, I’m sorry.”

This time, he looked at her.

“You did not put me in this position. I could have refused the Council’s proposal. I could have refused to help you. I accepted the proposal fully knowing that I would only be seen as a tool.”

She hated that he was a bit right on that point. At first, she hadn’t really cared about him, she just had wanted to find her brother, she had planned to use Cobra.

“I am terribly sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“But…”

“Lucy, you didn’t use me. We made a deal; you could say that we are both using each other if it can make you feel better. But you are the first person except for my friends to see me as a human, to ask if I am alright, to try to really help me. I know that you care about me, and it makes me feel good to know that at least one person cares about how I’m feeling.”

She squeezed his hand harder, and he gave her a small smile.

They finally arrived at the café after their deep conversation. She was going to do exactly what he had asked her, then. She would not let him go. This mission was hard for him, he was about to hear awful things, and she would be there to support him. It was the least she could do. They were in the queue, waiting to order their drinks.

“What are you going to drink?” she asked, unconsciously stroking his fingers.

“Not the horror you bought last time.”

She giggled, remembering how she had chosen probably the worst item on the menu fully knowing that he would hate it.

“I still remember your face when you saw it, it was incredibly funny.”

A smile appeared on his lips.

“You’re proud of it, huh?”

She smiled back at him.

Lucy’s smile told him everything. She had the prettiest smile he had ever seen, and he loved how her eyes shone with a thousand little stars when she was happy. Of course, she was proud of the little joke she had pulled on him the last time they had been here. Seeing her like that warmed his heart, especially after the little conversation they had had before arriving in the café.

He didn’t really care what the Council thought of him, he was used to being seen as a tool. And now he was glad that they could finally spy on the man again. He just hoped that it meant that Grigory would soon be arrested. The wait. That was the worst part. Because the more the Council waited, the more that bastard could hurt people. And Cobra knew just how bad it was, that was what was constantly on his mind, torturing him.

Lucy ordered two drinks; this time she didn’t choose something awfully sweet for him. Then, they sat at a table, waiting for Grigory to enter.

He stared at her, looking at her outfit, he couldn’t believe that she had decided to try his style. He wasn’t sure that matching outfits were a thing, but he liked her initiative. And he was convinced that a white coat like his would suit her perfectly.

Cobra brought the cup to his lips, waiting for the man to arrive; in the meantime, he simply observed the other persons in the café, sometimes listening to their thoughts. He still held Lucy’s hand, and right now, it was a sort of anchor, because he knew that in a few minutes he would only feel rage and anger. He hated when he was overcome by his emotions, it seemed to happen lately was it sadness, anger or even some joy sometimes. He was not used to this kind of thing, and it scared him. Her hand was his only support, his only link to reality when he would be drowning in horror soon. His eyes landed on her, and he noticed that she seemed worried.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, not really understanding why she seemed worried.

“I have one question.”

“Yes?”

“What do you need to overcome this? How can I make myself useful when you’re not alright?”

He blinked and stared at her. It was actually the first time someone asked something like this, and he didn’t really know what to answer. He had known that she cared about him, but he had never thought that it was that much.

“Oh… Uh… That’s a good question. I don’t really know what to answer.”

“I’m not surprised… Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could establish a sort of code.”

“A code? What for?”

“For when you know that you’re about to fall apart when you know that you need to leave. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t finished listening to this man’s thoughts. The code is to tell me that you want to leave right now.”

He stared at her. Her gaze was determined, and he could really tell that she would not let him get through this alone, she wanted to help him. Right now, he was not alone, they were a duo, a team. And they would help each other.

“You know… I’m not the kind to leave in the middle of a mission no matter how hard it is, especially when it is the Council’s orders.”

“You should prioritize your well-being instead of orders.”

He wanted to laugh at that. He had spent most of his life prioritizing orders, it was not that simple to change this. If his freedom wasn’t on the line, he might have dared leaving when he felt like everything was about to explode, but it was too risky. What if the Magic Council learned about his incompetency and decided to send him back in jail? He didn’t want that. But he couldn’t explain his reasons to Lucy, he wasn’t sure she would understand.

“What do you propose then?” he asked, not listening to himself.

And in the end, maybe he wanted the opportunity to have a code, to know that he could leave at any moments no matter the situation. He didn’t know if he would use it, but at least, he would know it was here in case he really needed it.

“Maybe a gentle kick in the leg? Just something discreet to make me understand that you’re not okay.”

“Alright.”

She gave him a sad smile and then the bell rang, signaling the arrival of new customers.

Grigory stepped into the café, and Cobra started talking about the weather as if the man hadn’t appeared, they looked discreetly at him before focusing back on their conversation. Luckily, he could talk and listen at the same time. When Grigory sat, he felt Lucy squeeze his hands and he started listening. A woman with dark brown hair was sitting with the man, and their conversation was not louder than whispers.

Maria, my dear sister, did you talk with the scientist?

Yes, she will come at my place in a week, and when I have the money, I will bring the children to her lab.

Good, I’m glad she accepted to deal with us.

Yeah, a genius like her will probably do wonder with the merchandise.

And then they both laughed.

Cobra wanted to throw up, these two people were crazy. They wanted to sell children to a scientist so that she could experiment on them.

He felt like he was back at the Tower when he was the guinea pig. When scientists strapped him to a table and injected products in his body that made him sick for days, lying and saying that all of this was for his well-being, when one day he was deemed him resistant enough to survive to a lacrima implantation that would turn him into a Dragon Slayer.

These two people wanted children to endure what he had endured. And he knew that half of them would not make it out alive, half of them would be killed by the products or the side effects. Even him didn’t know if he would live a long life due to the side effects of all the drugs, they had tried on him. He wanted to live a long life, but he wasn’t sure that it would be the case. His body was in a poor state, and he knew it. 

“Cobra, it hurts…” he heard Lucy say which brought him back to reality.

He looked at their joined hands, he was squeezing her hand strongly. He hadn’t even noticed that he had started shaking with fury.

“Sorry,” he said, immediately letting go of her hand.

“It’s alright. I think we should go home.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

And without waiting another second nor glancing at Maria and Grigory, they went home.

Cobra immediately sat on the couch and looked down. He needed to think, he needed to stop these bastards. He couldn’t let children endure what he had lived.

He felt a hand on his back, and he raised his head, Lucy was sitting next to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“They are awful, Lucy. We can’t let them do this, we just can’t,” he said, and his voice almost broke.

“What did you hear? Please, tell me everything this time.”

He didn’t have it in him to be evasive this time, what would be the point, anyway.

“In a week, his sister, Maria, is going to sell children to a scientist so that she could experiment on them.”

He looked at her, and he could see horror on her face. She probably had never thought that the world could be so messed up. After all, she had grown up in a big mansion far away from everything, of course, she didn’t know how awful the world could be. She had only been one day at the Tower, and he was pretty sure that it was the only time she had seen the horror of the world, and she had been so young, she probably hadn’t even understood what was happening.

“I will write my report as soon as I can, we may be able to stop the transaction, if we are fast enough.”

He was surprised by how determined she sounded. And for once, he could almost let himself hope that they would succeed in stopping the transaction, that they would save the children.

“Thank you, Lucy.”

“That’s totally normal, we can’t let this happen.”

The look Cobra gave her when she said that they couldn’t let this happen almost made her cry. She didn’t know what she saw in his eyes. Was it hope? Was it despair? She couldn’t tell, the only thing she could tell was that Cobra was not okay, it seemed like what he had heard had impacted him greatly. She had already seen how bad it was when they were on their way back home, too. He hadn’t let go of her hand, he kept squeezing it, probably his only source of comfort. He had walked fast, staring into space. She had tried more than once to catch his eyes, but he had never looked at her.

She couldn’t help but wonder why it impacted him that much. She knew that he had spent years in the Tower, that he had been a slave for most of his life. She had seen the scars on his body, the proof of his suffering, but what exactly had he endured?

“Cobra?” she asked, still caressing his back.

He only made a small sound that told her that she could go on and ask her question.

“Why does it impact you that much?”

He blinked, and she didn’t know if it was anger that she saw flash in his eyes, but he didn’t look happy at all, he was almost scaring her. She wasn’t trying to anger him, it was a genuine question, because she had noticed just how bad it was for him every time these kinds of things were mentioned.

“No, no. You’ve got it all wrong, I’m not asking this because I find your reactions stupid, they are not, they are totally valid. I’m asking this because it impacts you so strongly and I’m wondering why. It also impacts me, but my reactions always seem weaker than yours.”

He sighed. He was probably exhausted; she should leave him alone and not ask things like this.

“What exactly do you know about me?” he asked softly, exhaustion in his voice.

“I know that you are a child of the Tower of Heaven, and that you had to obey Brain when he released you from the Tower. I… I saw the scars on your body… And I can imagine things, but I don’t know really know more than that. I also know that you have nightmares almost every night because of your past. But I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”

“And you still want to know more than that? I thought it was enough.”

“And it is, but I don’t know… I’m worried about you, and I want to help you if I can.”

It was the same thing every time when she told him that she cared about him, he always looked so surprised, like he could not fathom that someone cared about him. And it always broke her heart.

“I don’t want to go into heavy details because I’m tired and I don’t think you can endure it, but let’s just say that if it impacts me that much it is because I know children are about to endure what I endured, and I’m not allowed to act. I simply have to watch these bastards destroy children’s lives and do nothing. I know what it feels like to suffer, to hope that one day someone will come and get you out of this hell, but it never happens. I was in these children’s place, no one ever helped me, no one ever came for me. And I don’t want that to happen to other persons, because it’s sad and lonely, and it is hard to carry it all the time.”

Maybe he had been right, maybe she couldn’t endure it, because he had barely told her more than she already knew, and she wanted to burst into tears. She didn’t care if she couldn’t endure it or not, and Cobra was still trying to protect her. She didn’t really know from what, probably from the cruel reality of the world.

He had looked at the floor the whole time he had explained his reasons, and it was as if he was ashamed of admitting it. His mask was still on, he didn’t want to break again it seemed. Lucy was probably about to make a huge mistake, but right now she wanted only one thing, to comfort him. So, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. At first, his body straightened, probably unused to the contact of another body, but he rapidly relaxed and put his head against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry…”

“Stop apologizing, Blondie. It’s not your fault.”

“But…”

“Not your fault.”

He raised his head and looked at her. He looked more at peace.

“Thank you for not letting go of my hand today. It really helped.”

She gave him a small smile.

“I’m glad to have been of help.”

She could see in his eyes that he wanted to say more but he didn’t; instead he got up freeing himself from her embrace.

“I’m going to take a shower and then take a nap, I’m exhausted.”

“Alright, I’m going to write the report so that I can send it as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Lucy.”

She watched him disappear in the bathroom and then she went into her room. She couldn’t stop the few tears that rolled down her cheeks while she was writing the report, thinking over and over again about what he had said.

Chapter Text

The first day after their little mission, the mood had been a bit heavy, but Cobra’s mood had slowly improved when he had learned that she had sent her report, and he had started being the insufferable man that always teased her. He knew it would do no good to be down in the dumps, and Lucy understood now that always preferred acting like nothing had happened. His mask always on, not authorizing himself to show his vulnerable side to her, she wasn’t sure she liked his way of ignoring his traumas most of the time. Lucy had sent her report to the Council as soon as she could, hoping that they would ask them to stop the transaction. And luckily, they got the letter for this mission right the day before the transaction would take place. She just hadn’t expected one thing when she had read the letter, and it was the participation of Gajeel and Levy.

Cobra was sitting in front of her, waiting for her to read the letter.

“So?”

“I think you won’t like it.”

“I feel like you always say that but I’m listening, Blondie.”

He looked at her expectantly.

“They want us to arrest Maria Lotaziars, but they want us to do it with the help of Gajeel and Levy.”

He let out a sigh of relief and then looked pensive for a moment.

“What’s the bad part?” he asked.

“Gajeel and Levy? I mean Levy is my best friend and she is very sweet, but I’m a bit scared of you meeting Gajeel.”

“Why?”

“Because you have the worst personalities, the both of you.”

“Ouch.”

She wasn’t sure if Cobra and Gajeel could work together, she was pretty sure a fight between them was bound to happen, and she didn’t want Cobra to end up in the hospital. Because that’s probably what would happen if they fought, he was without magic, so Gajeel would win it was obvious.

“You really think I’m that weak without my magic?” he asked, drinking his coffee.

He had listened, again.

“Can you not listen to my thoughts?”

“I can’t stop myself when you refuse to tell me what I need to know.”

“You didn’t need to know that.”

“Yes, I did. I don’t like you doubting me, Blondie.”

“You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“Oh yeah? But I’m pretty sure that’s when you like me the most,” he said, giving her one of his most amazing smiles that made her weak in the knees.

She felt her cheeks heat and she choked on her coffee which made his smile grew wider.

She had started enjoying his comebacks and his teasing, more than she should probably have, but sometimes he caught her off guard like today. And she just couldn’t hide her surprise.

“When do we go?” he asked, changing the subject.

She could see that he was happy and relieved. For once, they were going to act and not simply spy or do nothing.

“Soon, we need to meet them at the station in one hour.”

She saw him swallow, and she already knew why. He didn’t want to go on the train.

“How long is the trip?”

“Two hours.”

She saw the grip on his mug tighten, it was going to be tough.

“Will you be alright?”

“Stupid question, Blondie.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

She drank her coffee and went to her room to choose her clothes. When she was fully dressed, she stepped out of the room and saw him sitting on the couch his head thrown back with his eyes closed.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, let’s go,” he said getting up from the couch.

They arrived at the station quickly, Gajeel and Levy were already there. Levy spotted them first and waved at them. It had not been long since the events of Phantom Lord, Levy and Lucy had quickly forgiven Gajeel, but they were pretty sure that Dragon Slayer still felt guilty about that. Her friend called her and Cobra over, and Lucy noticed that Gajeel refused to meet her eyes.

“Did he do something to you?” Cobra asked as they were getting closer to them.

He was really observant when he wanted, a bit too much sometimes.

“Yeah, I guess we can say that,” she said, as she remembered how the ex-member of Phantom Lord had kicked her several times and almost tortured her to see if she was still alive.

She had forgiven him, but the memories still took some time to heal.

“But I forbid you to listen to my thoughts or his, and I have forgiven him anyway,” she added.

Too late.

Lucy put herself in front of him when she noticed that he was looking at Gajeel with anger in his eyes, she put a hand on his chest and looked at him in the eye.

“Cobra, don’t. I want you to be friends with him, or at least to get along with him. Don’t do something stupid, I swear I’m okay.”

“Are you?” he asked, looking at her in the eye.

“Yes, it’s in the past, I have forgiven him like I have forgiven you for when we fought on the Nirvana.”

The anger in Cobra’s eyes dissipated and now he looked at her, confused.

“You’ve forgiven me?” he whispered, almost innocently.

“For what you did to me, yes.”

He was almost in a state of shock, his hands were shaking, and his eyes were wet. She didn’t think that it would have that much impact on him. She grabbed one of his hands, and gently caressed his fingers, trying to bring him back to reality.

“Is that so surprising?”

“I think it’s the first time I’ve heard those words.”

She smiled a bit sadly. Of course, it had to be, she hadn’t thought about that.

“Well, in any cases, don’t pick a fight with Gajeel, please.”

He sighed.

“Alright.”

She smiled and let go of his hand before joining the two other mages.

“What took you so long?” the blue-haired girl asked when they arrived in front of them.

“Nothing, just needed to be sure that Cobra was alright with the train ride.”

“No way, he would be alright with that. I’m not alright with the train ride either,” Gajeel complained, earning a nudge in the ribs by Levy who glared at him.

“Stop complaining, I already told you that you could sleep on my lap for the length of the trip.”

Gajeel grinned at her.

“Are you two a thing?” Cobra asked, joining the conversation.

Why is that your first question?! Lucy screamed in her thoughts, before elbowing him in the ribs.

And she knew he had heard her because he only answered with a grin that clearly said: Don’t lie you wanted to know it, too.

Well, if he was not going to pick a fight that was good, but he still knew how to be insufferable.

Levy turned completely pink, and Gajeel looked away, coughing. They both immediately denied Cobra’s question.

Lucy glared at him, but she had a little smile on her face when she saw their reaction, she had asked that question the day where she had met them before going to the Council and they had also denied it, but it seemed that she had been right, there was more than friendship between the two of them. She also noticed another thing between them, they both wore an orange headband with the exact same pattern. Lucy looked at Cobra who also noticed it.

They are wearing  matching headbands! I told you that was something couple did! She exclaimed in her thoughts, knowing that the Poison Dragon Slayer heard her.

He sighed and a little smile appeared on his lips, probably due to her excitement for something so ridiculous.

“Let’s go or we are going to miss our train,” Levy said when she finally calmed herself.

Lucy rushed to her side and smiled.

“So, Gajeel, huh?” she asked as they stepped into the train.

She noticed how her friend blushed again, but didn’t deny it, she just looked away sheepishly.

“They won’t kill each other?” she said, turning to look at Cobra and Gajeel who were following them.

“It should be alright,” she answered a bit unsure.

Cobra had really looked angry when he had discovered what Gajeel had done to her, but she seemed to have calmed him. But well, they still had strong personalities, so a fight could happen anytime.

Lucy sat and her best friend sat in front of her. The train started to move before the two Dragon Slayer were sitting, they almost fell on the ground instantly. She helped Cobra sit down and her best friend did the same thing with Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer immediately lied on Levy’s lap, and she played with his hair almost absently.

They are cute together.

She was excited for her friend, she really looked happy with the Dragon Slayer by her side. And Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if one day she would find someone that would make her happy like this, she had never met the right person, but she hoped that one day she would meet someone that would love her deeply. She then turned to look at Cobra, the man was sitting straight, his eyes closed, and his arms crossed. She felt the intense gaze of Levy on her, and looked at her, confused. Her friend signaled her to do the same thing she was doing but with Cobra. She wanted Lucy to let the Poison Dragon Slayer lie on her lap.

Oh, Levy was a devious woman when she wanted.

After a silent debate, with a lot of gesticulation, it was the blue-haired girl who won the argument. But letting Cobra lie on her lap was maybe a bit too much, she had another idea in mind, though.

The celestial mage sighed and turned to him.

“Cobra?” she tried, shyly.

She could already feel her cheeks heat. He opened an eye and look at her.

“Uh… You can lean on my shoulder if you think it can make you feel better.”

She saw a slight blush appear on his face.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s alright, I wouldn’t be asking otherwise.”

He looked at her for a brief moment and she nodded, allowing him to lean on her shoulder. And he did, he put his head on her shoulder and tried to sleep. She felt his hair brush her neck when he tried to find a good position.

Unexpectedly soft, she thought. She had kind of always wanted to touch his hair, but she had never yielded to the temptation. They had always seemed so soft, and for the little moment where she had been in contact with them, she had had the confirmation that they were soft.

She felt his body relax a little, leaning on her shoulder was helping, but now she was stuck, and she didn’t dare to move fearing to perturb him. She looked at him, and noticed that his hands were clenched into fists, and without thinking, she grabbed one of his hands and started playing with his fingers, slowly massaging them. She could feel him relax more and more the longer she kept playing with them. A delicate smell started surrounding her. A sweet smell of pine, violets with a tinge of vanilla. It was soothing her, helping her to stay calm when he was so close. She had almost a hard time believing that he could smell this good, he smelt like calm and peace, things that he had almost never known.

The girls woke the Dragon Slayers when the train stopped, and they went immediately to the address the Council had given them. Lucy and Levy discussed together about Hedgar Hizoku’s new book while leaving the Dragon Slayers walk in front of them. They kept an eye on them, because they knew they could start fighting at any given moment. But the boys stayed silent, both walking and sometimes glaring at each other. They finally arrived in front of a little house on top of a hill.

“She is alone,” Cobra stated, he was still listening to the sounds and had not finished informing them when he saw the Iron Dragon Slayer already going straight for the door.

“Well, it’s going to be easy then!” Gajeel grinned.

“You’re as stupid as Natsu, it’s not a good idea to go in without a plan, it’s weird that she is alone,” the other man sighed, exasperated.

Cobra tried to put himself between Gajeel and the door, but he was not fast enough, and the Iron Dragon Slayer kicked the door open. The door had barely opened that they were both thrown on the floor.

“Gajeel!” Levy shouted first.

“Cobra!” Lucy shouted, too.

“We’re fine!” They answered at the same time, both slowly getting up.

These Dragon Slayers could be real idiots sometimes. They were next to them in an instant, checking for injuries.

Cobra wanted to punch Gajeel for his stupidity. He didn’t even have the time to say what he had heard in that house before the dark-haired man had kicked the door activating one of the traps.

Lucy and Levy rushed to them immediately, probably to stop them from fighting if they wanted to, and well, Cobra really wanted to right now. It would not have happened if the other man had not been stupid.

“You couldn’t have just waited for me to finish listening, huh?”

“It’s an easy mission, we shouldn’t have to make a plan to stop one person.”

He sighed, before he felt the ground shaking.

A woman with dark brown hair appeared on the doorstep, she looked scared and terrified, as if she had not expected to see wizards at her place. It was Maria, he recognized her from the café.

“Leave,” the woman ordered.

No one moved and the ground only shook harder. His first reflex was to put himself in front of Lucy, ready to take an attack if he had to, he preferred to take the blow instead of her. He knew it was a mistake to do that, because putting himself in front of her showed that he cared about her, and it could be used against him.

The ground split open and the four of them fell, the woman was relieved when she saw them fall.

When Cobra opened his eyes, the only thing he could see was blue hair, he immediately rushed to Levy’s side and shook her. The girl opened her eyes and jumped when he touched her.

“It’s me, Cobra.”

She looked at him confused for a moment, before sighing of relief. He helped her up and they looked around, there was absolutely nothing, they were in an empty room with absolutely no source of light, and they could barely see in front of them. Well, Cobra could see a bit in the dark, so he didn’t mind, but Levy was probably completely blind in the darkness.

“Can you hear Lucy or Gajeel?” she asked.

“Yes, but we are too far to communicate.”

She gripped the fabric of his coat, probably to make sure that they wouldn’t go on separate ways.

“Let’s try to get out of here, they will probably do the same anyway,” he started.

“You’re right.”

And they started walking.

Well, the atmosphere was weird. They didn’t know each other at all, and he preferred to stay silent and think about anything else rather than listen to her thoughts. He walked with absolutely no idea where he was going, but they couldn’t stay put and do nothing.

“Why did you accept to help Lucy?” Levy said, breaking the awkward silence.

He could feel that he was about to undergo an interrogation.

“We made a deal, I thought she already explained it to the guild.”

“She did say that she had accepted to participate in a project for the Council but what do you have to win?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Lucy seems to trust you, and I need to be sure that you won’t hurt her.”

He sighed; she was not going to let that go.

“I do this because my freedom is on the line and I may be a criminal, but I would never hurt her, I have no reason to.”

“So, what you are saying is that if you had a reason, you would do it?”

“No. I’m tired of hurting people, I just want to be free.”

She squinted her eyes, trying to see if he was lying or not.

“You’re a murderer.”

Ouch. She really wasn’t mincing her words. Even if it was true, it still hurt.

“I know that.”

“Why did you kill then?”

“Because I had no other choice. I would never have done it if I knew I had another option.”

She nodded, pensive.

“So, what do you think about her?”

Oh, she was going to ask a lot of questions, wasn’t she? She probably was trying to get revenge for earlier. But he was glad she changed the subject, he didn’t want to explain his life to her, they were not friends or even colleagues. And it clearly reminded him that he should also not open to Lucy, they were colleagues probably less than that, and he had already told way too much.

“She is really kind.”

She stared at him, waiting for him to say more.

“I don’t really know her, but she is a good person.”

“Doesn’t it bother you to stay with her for a year and do these kinds of missions?”

“Not at all. I would do anything to get my freedom, and seriously, I think I’m very lucky that Lucy decided to make that deal with me. I don’t think it would have been the same if it had been with someone else.”

“Do you know the real reason why she accepted your deal? She refused to tell us.”

So, the members of Fairy Tail didn’t know that she was looking for her brother.

“I just know it’s something personal.”

Levy looked at him, trying to decipher the expression on his face, but he was not going to betray Lucy’s trust by exposing her secret and the darkness was probably on his side since the blue-haired girl could barely see anything right now. Lucy probably had her reason not to tell the guild about her brother. And honestly, it was better that way, he was not sure that they would be very happy to know who her brother was.

She sighed, with a little defeated smile.

“I tried, but I guess she has her reason to keep that a secret. You’re too loyal.”

He had never expected that those words would make him that happy. Yes, he was loyal, and especially to Lucy, because she deserved it. She had saved him, more than once actually and one of the only things he could do was to be loyal to her.

“Sorry,” he said.

“You don’t have to apologize; I’m relieved to know that you’re not a complete monster. I should be the one apologizing, I judged you too soon,” she admitted, looking away.

“Don’t apologize, you had every right to. And honestly, you can still see me as a monster, I am one.”

She sighed and put herself in front of him to stop him. He stared at her, confused.

“You really are like Gajeel.”

He was not sure he liked the comparison.

“What is it supposed to mean?”

“You’re a man who thinks that because you did bad things you can’t have access to happiness. And let me tell you that you are wrong. Yes, you did bad things, and I believe you when you said you had no choice, Lucy told me about you and the Tower. And she also told me how you simply refuse to forgive yourself no matter what people tell you. Gajeel is the same, he can’t forgive himself for what he did to me or to the other people he hurt, even if I already have told him several times that I had forgiven him.”

She was a little woman with strong words.

“I don’t think that’s the same level of hurt we are talking here.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Gajeel was awful before he joined the guild, and now he is trying to make amends. And that’s what you’re doing too. You’re not a monster. A monster would never try so hard to be forgiven, and I’m sure Lucy already told you that,” she smiled a little.

He didn’t know what to say so he simply nodded before they decided to move again. She grabbed his coat once again and they walked in silence for a moment before she started talking again.

“What does it feel to have your hearing? Is it the reason why you have pointy ears?”

He blinked several times. No one had ever asked him that.

“That’s a good question. I think it’s a yes for the pointy ears, and for the other question… Well, it’s more exhausting than it looks like. I know people think it is a cool ability, and I won’t deny that it is very useful sometimes. But if you don’t know how to manage it, well it can be really hard on your body. It’s like never knowing a sense of full peace in a way, I am always hearing something, even if I don’t want to.”

“It seems awful.”

“You get used to it.”

He saw her turn her head in his direction, but she didn’t say anything. They just continued walking and she didn’t ask another question this time. They arrived in front of a door.

Why are there doors in the most random places? A cave and now underground, he thought.

“Levy, stay back, I will open the door. I don’t hear any sounds on the other side but just to be sure I prefer to be the one to open it.”

“You have no magic; you might get hurt.”

“Yeah, but that’s okay. If I let you get injured, I think Gajeel might actually kill me.”

She gave him a small smile, probably understanding how the Iron Dragon Slayer, who was probably her boyfriend would react if Cobra had let her get hurt when he could have protected her.

“Alright,” she said as she slowly moved backwards.

Cobra put his hand on the handle and opened the door, to his relief nothing attacked him, it was just a room with a few candles lit and papers scattered everywhere. He stepped in and looked around before he invited Levy to join him. She immediately went to the desk at the center of the room and started reading the first paper that caught her eyes.

“It’s a riddle, I think if we solve it, we might be able to get back to the surface. Gajeel and Lucy probably have one, too.”

He tried to listen to their voices that were still far away. He could hear the Dragon Slayer sigh of despair while Lucy seemed focused on the papers she was reading.

“I think you’re right.”

Well, it was clearly not his lucky day, riddles were not his forte, and it seemed to imply reading a lot of stuff, so right now he was basically useless.

“You can try to read the papers over there, they might contain a clue,” Levy said, focused on another document she was reading.

He grabbed the papers and sat against the wall, he stared at them, unable to read them, he didn’t know all the letters of the alphabet, how was he supposed to read this stuff, he didn’t know. He hated that he never got an education. Brain had tried to teach him, but he had deemed him too stupid to learn and had given up on him, deciding not to waste his time with a failure like him. For Brain, Cobra was only good to fight and didn’t need an education.

He stared at the papers in his hands, ashamed of himself for not being able to read even one word, he couldn’t recognize the letters.

“Did you find anything?” she asked from where she was sitting.

“No, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t know if it was his voice or the shame on his face that betrayed him, but she immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. She approached him, worry on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I’m completely useless right now. I can’t read.”

It was the first time he admitted it, and he just felt shame course through his body, he had always found a way to fake that he knew how to read. He usually did the same thing, he let the person read the stuff first, or he listened to their thoughts when they were reading. But right now, he had no other choice but to be honest, or they would be stuck here for a very long time.

Levy stared at him, he was ready to be judged, to be made fun of.

“Alright, could you gather all the papers scattered in the room then? I will read everything.”

He looked at her, surprised. He was ready for her to comment on it, but she didn’t, she simply gave him a task that she knew he could do.

“You aren’t going to make fun of me? Or say that I’m stupid?” he asked.

“Why would I?” she answered, returning to the desk.

For one moment, he didn’t know what to say.

“Because I am stupid.”

“I don’t know you very well, but not being able to read doesn’t make you stupid. And don’t listen to those who make fun of you for it, it’s them that are stupid.”

He stared at her, shocked and unable to say anything. He had never heard words that kind, he didn’t know how to react.

“Thank you,” he said, thinking that it was the best thing to say right now.

He got up and started gathering the papers like she had asked him to, he would be useful on his own way.

“Does she know?” Levy asked, nose deep in the tons of papers.

He knew who she was talking about. She was talking about Lucy.

“No.”

“I’m pretty sure that if you told her, she would help you, she is not the kind to make fun of people, you know.”

He knew she was speaking the truth; Lucy was not the kind of person to laugh at him for that.

“It’s just that it is not easy for me to talk about it.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

“Because I want to get out of here as fast as possible, and I would just have been a burden.”

She gave him a sad smile.

“Do you want me to tell her?”

“No, I will try to tell her myself, I can’t hide it forever anyway. But thank you, Levy.”

She smiled at him when he put the papers on the desk.

Lucy was not having fun right now; she was stuck with Gajeel in this tiny room and there was just a weird silence. She was reading papers calmly, while she could see the Dragon Slayer slowly losing patience when he read. She hoped that Cobra and Levy were alright, they probably were together. And Lucy could feel that Gajeel was not reassured to know that the Fairy Tail mage who was probably his girlfriend was stuck with a criminal.

“He won’t hurt her,” she said, looking over a paper to stare at him.

“Are you sure about that? He could be waiting for the right moment before killing her.”

“Cobra is not like this.”

She was almost surprised by how true the words sounded.

“He would sacrifice his life to keep her safe.”

“I doubt that.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

The atmosphere was heavy between them, she could see that Gajeel had a hard time trusting Cobra, and it was understandable. But at the same time, she didn’t like how he doubted her words, and she also hoped that Cobra would not betray her trust. But after everything that had happened, she was convinced that he would always prioritize other people’s safety before himself, that was just how he was.

Time passed, they probably had been stuck in this room for four hours now, and she had still no clue for the riddle. She sighed, she wanted to get out of here.

The ground started shaking again.

It can’t be good.

Gajeel and her looked at each other, confused.

“Do you think they solved the riddle?” he asked.

“I hope it was that.”

She focused again on the riddle, and any potential clue, but there was just nothing. Normally, she was good with riddles, but she couldn’t concentrate, she couldn’t stop thinking about Levy and Cobra, and she really hoped that they were both alright.

She started hearing noise coming from above her, the ceiling split open, letting the rays of sunlight fill the room. She hid her eyes with her hand before looking above, Cobra was here with an amazing smile on his face, and he was holding out his hand to her. Seeing his smile warmed her heart, he looked relieved and almost genuinely happy. She wondered what had happened with Levy for him to be in such a good mood. Lucy was about to grab his hand when Gajeel put himself between them.

“What did you do to Levy?”

“She is fine, she is waiting for me to get you out of here.”

“How can I know it is not a lie?”

“It’s not a lie, you idiot! I’m just not strong enough to get you out of here,” Levy said from behind Cobra.

Lucy could see relief on Gajeel’s face, and she grabbed Cobra’s hand.

“I told you that he would not hurt her.”

She felt stupid for having doubted Cobra for a moment, of course, he would never hurt Levy. He pulled her out of the hole, and then helped Gajeel.

“Did you solve the riddle?” Lucy asked Levy.

“Yeah, it was hard, but we did it.”

“What was the answer?”

Levy smiled almost devilishly.

“I’m keeping it a secret for now.”

Lucy pouted which made her friend laugh.

“We still need to arrest the woman,” Gajeel said, interrupting them.

“She has barely any magic, she isn’t much of threat now that we got out of her trap, Cobra said.

They all entered the house, letting the Poison Dragon Slayer go first so that he could detect any trap and guide them immediately where their target was. The woman was sitting on the couch in the living room, and the first thing she did when she saw them was to burst out with laughter. Lucy noticed how Cobra had started shaking, probably with fury, since this woman was linked with human trafficking, too. She slowly brushed his hand with her fingers, and he turned to look at her. He instantly looked calmer now, as if the touch of her fingers had really soothed him.

Gajeel was the one to get to the woman, she didn’t resist, she let him handcuff her which was weird. After all she had done to keep them away from her, to give up so easily was unexpected, to say the least.

“You’re too late,” the woman laughed, and her body started shaking.

Cobra crossed the room and found a little vial of a purple liquid, and he drank the rest.

“You’re crazy!” Gajeel shouted when he saw him drink the liquid.

“It’s poison,” the other Dragon Slayer stated, completely unbothered.

“Yeah, no shit.”

“I’m immune to it, you idiot.”

Lucy watched the woman shiver and cough blood, even through the pain she had a satisfied smile on her face knowing that she was going to die and not end up in prison. Well, the woman probably didn’t know who Cobra was then.

They would not let her die; death was too easy. This woman had to pay for her crimes, they couldn’t let her die, they wouldn’t let her escape her judgement. She would be arrested and judged by the Magic Council.

Lucy could easily guess that Cobra was probably not happy to save this woman’s life, but she was pretty sure that he didn’t like the idea of this criminal dying without having paid for her crimes. She was pretty sure he wanted justice. And justice started with Maria Lotaziars surviving and being judged by the Council.

“You’re a coward. You chose the easiest option, but no. I can’t let that happen,” Cobra said to the woman who was still agonizing.

She could see that he was deep in thoughts, probably thinking about how he was going to save his enemy's life. But it was clear that he wanted that woman to pay, and in death she would not pay for her crimes.

Lucy met his eyes, and he nodded. He would not let this woman die, not when she did all of that just to escape prison.

“Cobra is allowed to use his magic,” Lucy said, watching his bracelets fall on the ground.

Gajeel immediately put himself in front of Levy in case the Dragon Slayer decided to change his mind and kill them. But Cobra simply went to the woman and put his hand on her shoulder, Lucy watched how he absorbed the poison from her body, before their enemy passed out.

“It knocked her out, but she will live,” he stated, before putting back the bracelets.

“Thank you, Cobra.”

“I will keep an eye on her, go check if you find something interesting,” Gajeel said.

She saw Cobra look at him confused, expecting him to tell him to stay with him, but the black-haired man simply nodded. It was a proof that he was trying to trust a criminal, he was trying to trust him. And Lucy couldn’t help but smile at that.

Levy, Lucy and Cobra went upstairs, and started to check the woman’s office. Lucy checked the documents and found some about human trafficking; she would give them to the Council.

“Wasn’t she supposed to meet a scientist?” Levy asked, “Did we arrive too late?”

“No, she was still waiting for the scientist when we arrived.”

“Did it happen when we were underground?”

“I don’t think so, Gajeel and I would have smelled another odour, and it isn’t the case, no one was here, except for Maria. She probably told the scientist not to come.”

Her best friend stopped in front of a book that seemed really old and she was about to touch it. The next thing Lucy knew, both her and her friend were thrown on the ground, Cobra on top of them shielding them as best as he could from an explosion.

Lucy didn’t know what had just happened, something had exploded, and it seemed like Cobra had felt it, because he had tried to protect them. Her ears were ringing, and for a brief moment she couldn’t hear anything. She saw Gajeel appear on the doorstep and ran to Levy.

“Levy, are you alright?!” Lucy heard when her ears started functioning again.

“Yes, thanks to Cobra…” she coughed.

Gajeel made his way through the dust and helped his girlfriend up. Lucy immediately looked around and she saw that Cobra was lying on the ground, his whole body shaking.

His ears.

The sound of the bomb had been deafening, it was already awful for her, but it must have been way worse for him.

She put her hands on his face, and he opened his eyes, looking at her, slowly getting over his panic.

“You’re alright…”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth, his ears probably still sensitive.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief, before Gajeel was in front of them.

“You saved her,” he said, talking about Levy.

“It was the least I could do.”

The Iron Dragon Slayer extended his hand to him, it was a sort of approval, he was finally accepting to trust Cobra. The Poison Dragon Slayer took it and got up before he helped her up.

“What happened? Gajeel asked, holding Levy tightly.

“The book, it was a trap, I didn’t notice it fast enough,” Cobra answered.

“You couldn’t have known,” she intervened, trying to make him understand that he was not responsible for it.

Before their conversation could continue, Lucy felt an enormous magical power appear, and the next thing she knew, a woman was behind Cobra and had a sword in his stomach.

“I arrive one hour late, and wizards are already here, I swear it’s impossible to buy merchandise these days,” a woman with purple hair exclaimed looking at them, then her only red eye went on Cobra, “Oh, I missed. It wasn’t you that I wanted to stab, my dear,” she added with a sadistic smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Cobra had felt that something was wrong in the air. Defeating the woman had been too easy which only worried him more. He had guessed too late that the book was a bomb, but he had still successfully protected Levy and Lucy, pushing them on the floor and shielding them with his body. The bomb hadn’t been strong, but the explosion had been deafening, and his ears were still ringing. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking, loud noises only brought back bad memories. He was still disoriented, but he remembered Lucy putting her hands on his face and whispering kind words. Every sound was painful to him right now, but he couldn’t afford to be affected by that. They needed to move, there was no time for a break, so he acted like his ears were fine when he only felt like they were about to explode.

Gajeel helped him up after thanking him for saving Levy’s life. Cobra had thrown himself on Levy and Lucy to protect them without thinking, it had seemed like the right way to act in this situation.

When the Iron Dragon Slayer asked what had happened, Cobra immediately apologized for not having been fast enough to notice the trap, and it was the blue-haired girl who defended him and insisted that it was not his fault. He really liked Levy, she had been really kind to him, and he could easily guess why Gajeel loved her, she truly seemed like a wonderful woman. They had had a fun time in the room where they had spent hours trying to solve a riddle, well, where she had tried to solve it while Cobra had been a bit useless. He had been surprised when she had finally found the solution, she had found it surprisingly fast.

He was about to get closer to Lucy to talk to her when he felt an enormous magical power appear behind him and the next thing he knew a sword was piercing his stomach. He hadn’t heard their new enemy, probably because his ears were still recovering from the explosion.

“Oh, I missed. It wasn’t you that I wanted to stab, my dear,” a feminine voice, dripping of cruelty said from behind him. 

The voice sent shivers down his spine. He had recognized it immediately, there was no way he could ever forget that voice nor the surname “my dear” that she always used for him. After all, he had heard it every single day for years. His instinct told him to move, to get free of the sword in his stomach and ran far away from the woman behind him. But it seemed like she felt his fear, because she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it strongly.

“You’re not going anywhere, my dear,” she murmured in his ear.

Fanny Elvedera. The chief scientist of the Tower of Heaven.

He was paralyzed. He needed to move, to get out of here. But he just couldn’t. Years at the Tower came crashing down on him, and he felt the panic rise in his body. He couldn’t breathe, he felt like he was back in his past, back where a hopeful future was unimaginable. It was as if he could only let himself be dragged right back in hell by the ghosts of his past.

The worst was that he knew he had killed her. He remembered the day he had killed her, when he couldn't endure more of her torture and had snapped. He had seen an opportunity to be free of this woman, and he had seized it. He would never forget it, especially the relief he had felt when he knew that she would never be able to hurt him ever again. So, his mind couldn’t comprehend how she could be there. She was supposed to be dead.

“Don’t even think of moving, I could kill all of them right now,” she whispered to him with a little laugh.

He felt like his legs could give out at any moment. He looked in front of him, watching Lucy, Levy and Gajeel. They were all shocked by the scene and probably too surprised by the magic power to even dare to move.

“Oh, are you scared?” she taunted, probably noticing how Cobra’s body had started shaking.

“You’re dead. I killed you.”

The woman laughed and grabbed his face to force him to look at her. He could see three deep marks scarring her face, and one of her red eyes was closed, probably unusable due to her injuries.

That was his work. He had been the one leaving this scar on her face.

“You need way more than that to kill me, my dear.”

He could feel her twist the sword in his stomach, and she also started to burn his shoulder where she was holding him tightly. He gritted his teeth, stopping himself from screaming. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of making him suffer. Black spots started filling his vision. It was just too much right now, the shock of the explosion, the sword piercing him, and the presence of one of the cruelest people he had ever met. Cobra could endure many things, but he was not sure that he could endure all of this at the same time.

He saw the woman eye Lucy carefully before a little sadistic smile appeared on her face.

“Hi, Lucy! Long time no see!” Fanny shouted.

Cobra stared at Lucy, it seemed like she also knew the woman, but the look on his friend’s face was just pure horror.

“Oh, you’re probably wondering why I am here. Well, I was supposed to buy my merchandise, but I found Maria’s body downstairs, so I guessed that our deal was broken. Also, a while ago, your father told me that I could take what was mine. He said that you had something that belonged to me, and I guess he knew that you would be there with my thing,” she said, letting go of Cobra’s shoulder to caress his hair.

He had always known that Jude Heartfilia had contributed to the Tower of Heaven, so he hadn’t been surprised by her words. But her words had definitely surprised Gajeel and Levy.

I came here for you, Erik. You’re mine, I hope you haven’t forgotten that, he heard Fanny think.

Of course, she had come back for him. He had always known that the demons of his past would get back to him. He just never had expected it to be so soon. He should have known that he would never really be free of the Tower. As long as the guards and Jude Heartfilia lived, he would never be totally free. And now he knew he would die by the hand of this evil woman, she would make sure of it, because she would never forgive him for having tried to kill her. She would get her revenge and torture him to death.

“What is the thing in my possession that supposedly belongs to you?” Lucy said, weakly, probably still processing everything. She had clearly seen the gesture of Fanny, signaling that she was here for Cobra, but it seemed she wanted to be certain of it.

He looked at her, he saw how she was fighting against her own memories of this woman. He could see Lucy shaking from fear and shock, but her gaze was determined.

“Oh, Lucy, that’s a stupid question. I’m here for this pretty boy that you call Cobra. He is mine. He is my dear slave and also my favorite guinea pig, and it has been like this for years. I let Brain have him for a while, but I’m his only master.”

Cobra noticed how Fanny refused to use his real name when she talked about him, as if she wanted to keep it only for her. He knew she would use it when they would be alone, though. The scientist was convinced that he "belonged" to her, of course, she was the only allowed to use his name.

The surprise on the Fairy Tail wizards’s faces was unavoidable. Levy and Gajeel didn't know how terrible his past was, and for Lucy it seemed like she realized that she didn’t know him as much as she thought. She had vaguely heard about what was done in the Tower of Heaven, but she would never grasp the full scope of it. And Cobra had wanted to tell her about his past, he had wanted her to know just how awful his life had been and how she had been the one to change his life for the best. But he had been scared that Lucy would not be able to endure it, so he had kept it for himself. And now, he would never have the occasion to tell her, because no matter how it would end today, he knew he was a dead man.

He looked at Lucy in the eye, he could see a bit of confidence in her brown eyes mixed with the fear. She had not yet given up, she wanted to help him, to save him. And seeing that gave him a little hope, he had to fight too, he shouldn’t give up when there was still a chance that they could stop Fanny.

He took a deep breath and freed himself from the woman’s grip and the blade in his body. He threw himself forward and almost fell on Lucy who immediately caught him. He was absolutely not fine right now. He was losing a lot of blood, and the panic was still stopping him from thinking coherently. Gajeel immediately started fighting her once Cobra had freed himself.

“I don’t know what history you have with this woman you two, but all of that seems pretty fucked to me,” Gajeel said, attacking the woman.

Right now, Cobra was grateful for Gajeel’s presence, allowing him a few minutes to compose himself after the panic and the fear that had overtaken his body.

“It’s going to be okay… You’re okay…” Lucy said, trying to reassure him.

“It’s no use lying, Blondie…” he answered with a little smile.

She didn’t smile back, instead there were tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry… I’m not dead, yet…” he tried to reassure her, but he started coughing blood.

He put one hand on the floor and immediately noticed that something was wrong. His hand was way smaller than usual, and when he looked at his reflect on Lucy’s eyes, he knew what Fanny had done. She had turned him back into a child. His white coat was sprawled near their enemy’s feet and his shirt was way too large right now. He had been too shocked to notice it, and now another wave of panic hit him. He felt way weaker now that he was back in a child’s body, he was completely powerless, and he really felt like he was back at the Tower. He tried to stop the tears from falling, but he just couldn’t.

Lucy noticed it and instantly hugged him, trying to comfort him as best as she could.

“Lucy… Let me use my magic… I can’t let Gajeel fight alone…” he pleaded.

That was a stupid thing to ask. He was too terrified to move, he could not even fathom going against Fanny, but he couldn’t let Gajeel get injured because of him.

“No. You’re in no state to do so.”

“Lucy, I…”

“I said no! You’re bleeding out, and you’re terrified… Your own body is telling you no, that’s not your fight.”

“Of course, this is my fight… You shouldn’t even be involved in all of this! I can’t let Gajeel get killed because of it.”

“You can’t win, Cobra…”

And it was just painfully true.

“Still, if I have to die today, I want to die fighting...”

She hugged him tighter, refusing to let go of him, and he was too weak to fight back.

“I don’t want you to die. Not right now. Not when you haven’t tasted real freedom, yet.”

“You don’t want me to die?”

She shook her head to say no, tears rolling down her cheeks and she kept hugging him.

“I want you to live.”

Lucy saw Cobra’s eyes widen at that sentence before he buried his head in her shoulder. She could feel him slipping away, he was dying. He was getting weaker by the second, and his mental state was disastrous, and the worst was that he didn’t seem to realize the awful state he was in. He was bleeding out, slowly getting weaker, and she wasn’t sure if he had realized that he had rejuvenated. She hated this situation, and she didn’t know what to do, she tried to comfort him as best as she could, so she held him tightly, refusing to let him go. And seeing him like this, seeing him so young, well, that was a confirmation that Cobra was indeed the boy she had met at the Tower years ago. And she was not going to let him go. She had failed in helping once, so this time, she would protect him.

But they were in front of Fanny Elvedera, that woman had served the Heartfilia family for years, and Lucy had never expected one second that this person that had taken care of her was in fact completely crazy. Lucy had not immediately recognized her, the scars had changed her face completely, but when Fanny had greeted her and mentioned her father, she knew her suspicions had been true. She couldn’t believe that she had spent the first years of her life with a total psycho. And one thing hit her particularly violently, Fanny had been there the night where her brother had disappeared, she was probably the person who had taken him to the Tower under Jude’s orders.

Lucy wanted to throw up, that woman had hurt her brother, and had hurt Cobra, and it seemed that she was eager to continue. When she had looked in the red eye of the woman, she had seen a need to make people suffer, to wreak havoc in people’s lives. Fanny was here under Jude’s orders to take the Poison Dragon Slayer with her, and that’s when Lucy realized that her father knew about the deal made with the Council. Jude knew that she was looking for her brother, and she could somewhat feel that what was happening right now was not a coincidence. Her father had learned about what she was doing, and he was trying to stop her, he didn’t want to let her find her brother.

Lucy felt Cobra struggle against her embrace, but she kept holding him, it was easier like this when he was in a child form, if he was in his adult form, she probably wouldn’t have been able to stop him from joining the fight. The Dragon Slayer really couldn’t catch a break, but he really needed it. And now this idiot was ready to kill himself to protect Gajeel, Levy and her, but she refused to let him use his magic, she refused to give him a chance to fight when he would just end up dead.

She looked at Gajeel who was still fighting against Fanny, Levy was here to support him, offering him iron when he needed it. But the Iron Dragon Slayer was out of breath and she could see blood dripping from his forehead while Fanny was unscathed.

We can’t win this fight, she said to herself, despair slowly enveloping her.

They were going to all end up dead if they kept fighting. The only one who wasn’t going to die was Cobra, but his fate would be way worse.

Fanny sent Gajeel and Levy flying into a wall, and she approached them with a wicked smile on her face, she grabbed the blue-haired girl by the hair and put a blade against her neck.

“Try to move, and I kill her,” she said to Gajeel who could only watch helplessly how this psycho was about to kill the love of his life right in front of him.

But then Fanny turned, looking at Lucy and Cobra, still pressing the blade against Levy’s neck.

“Cobra. You have one last chance. Either you come with me willingly and I spare them, or I kill them all and I take you with me anyway. I’m doing you a favor right now.”

Lucy didn’t know what the woman did, but suddenly Levy started screaming. The scream tore the air, and Cobra immediately came back to his senses.

“Don’t,” Lucy whispered in his ear, “We will find another way.”

He smiled sadly at her.

“You know there is no other way, Blondie. I can’t let people get hurt because of me.”

“She will kill you.”

“Maybe. But if that’s the case, I will die happy,” he started, looking at her in the eye, “You offered me a life that I could never have dreamed of, you offered me a glimpse of what freedom looked like, and for that, I will forever be grateful. Thank you, Lucy, from the bottom of my heart,” he continued, freeing himself from her embrace.

He put a hand on his stomach and started walking in Fanny’s direction, staring determinedly at her.

“I will come with you! Let her go!” he shouted.

“Cobra, please, don’t do this,” Lucy pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks and without thinking she grabbed his hand.

Fanny clapped her hands and smiled sadistically.

“Yes! That’s what I wanted to see, your stupid resolve and determination that always led you nowhere except a torture room! Oh, I missed how stupid you could be, I know we’re going to have so much fun together!”

Lucy could feel Cobra’s hand starting to shake violently. He was terrified.

“Lucy, let go of him. It would be stupid to let his sacrifice go to waste just because you don't want him to go, don’t you think?” Fanny said, looking at their joined hands.

“I’m going to be alright, Lucy, I promise,” he said, letting go of her hand and joining Fanny.

“You’re lying…” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

And then Cobra vanished with Fanny.

Lucy couldn’t tell just how much time had passed since their disappearance. It seemed like the world had come to a stop. She could see Gajeel and Levy talking to her, trying to get her up, but everything was slowed down, and she just couldn’t hear them. She was still trying to process all that had happened, how she had lost Cobra, how she had been useless, how she had failed to help him for a second time.

She didn’t know how they got her into the train, Levy was with her while Gajeel had probably decided to bring the woman they were originally supposed to arrest to the Council. Levy kept speaking to her, but Lucy only kept staring at Cobra’s coat in her hands. She stared at the red mark that stained the white fabric. The moment where he got stabbed kept replaying in her head.

Cobra is gone.

He is going to die in agony, tortured, beaten.

She had told him that all of this was over, that all these years of suffering were behind him. But she had lied, she was a liar.

“Lucy… Lucy!” she heard as she felt a sharp pain in her cheek.

Levy was in front of her, trying to get her to have a reaction.

“Finally, you’re coming back to your senses. You acted like a zombie for the whole trip.”

Lucy looked around, and she noticed that she was back in her apartment, sitting on the couch the Poison Dragon Slayer usually slept on.

Why everything only reminded her of him? Why did she care so much when she barely knew him? Why did she care so much about a criminal? Just, why? Why did losing him hurt so much?

“Cobra…”

Her best friend looked down and shook her head.

“They disappeared too far for Gajeel to track them down with his flair. I’m sorry, Lucy, if she hadn’t caught me, all of this wouldn’t have happened.”

“It’s not your fault. We didn’t have a chance against her anyway.”

“What Cobra did was really brave; we all saw just how scared he was, and we will forever be grateful. He shouldn’t have had to sacrifice his life for us.”

She talked like he was already dead.

“That’s just typical Cobra, he will always sacrifice himself if he knows it can protect everyone.”

Levy nodded; she had kind of understood that part of him too.

A silence filled the room, and her best friend decided to stay with her until Gajeel came back. There wasn’t much talking, her friend had started cooking something probably guessing that Lucy wouldn’t have the strength to do it later. And while Levy was busy, Lucy decided to fix the hole in Cobra’s coat and to wash the blood away. She didn’t know why she did that, probably because the coat was the only thing that had always comforted Cobra, and maybe he would feel the comfort from where he was if his coat was back to normal. That was just a stupid thought really, but Lucy needed to do something, and it felt like the right thing to do right now.

When Gajeel knocked and opened the door, he was accompanied by Belno. It couldn’t mean anything good.

“Levy and Gajeel, I will ask you to leave, I need to talk with Lucy. In private.”

Belno shooed them away and sat in front of Lucy.

“We received a signal that Cobra left the perimeter we gave him. Meaning that he has broken our deal.”

The celestial mage had completely forgotten about the rules the Dragon Slayer had to respect in order to get his freedom.

“He didn’t do it willingly. He got kidnapped by a member of the Tower of Heaven.”

“Who?”

“Fanny Elvedera.”

Belno’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s some heavy accusations. Fanny is one of the greatest scientists in all of Fiore, she is recognized by the King, you can’t just accuse her like this.”

Lucy wanted to laugh, of course, that psycho was protected. It was exactly like Jude Heartfilia. Her father was so rich that no one could ever think of arresting him, he would always pay his way out anyway. The Council was just as rotten as him.

The member of the Council seemed not to believe her which only annoyed her. Of course, the Council wouldn’t believe that a criminal could be kidnapped by a renowned scientist.

But hope suddenly started filling her chest, if the Council thought that Cobra had fled, maybe they would look for him, maybe they could find him with the bracelets. The only problem was that if they found him alive, he would go back to jail, never to see the light of the sun ever again.

“I’m telling the truth,” she said, clenching Cobra’s coat in her hands, “I need you to believe me. If you find him, you will see that I was not lying, that he didn’t leave because he wanted to. He was forced to go, he sacrificed himself to protect us.”

Belno listened to her, nodded, and sighed.

“I will let the doubt persist for now if we find him, and I see that you told the truth, we will offer him a second chance.”

“Let me help, I want to look for him.”

Lucy couldn’t stay here and do nothing. She wouldn’t be able to rest knowing that Cobra was suffering, she needed to help.

“No, I can’t let you do that. We will tell you when we find him. Oh, and if you tried to defend him, we will throw him back into a cell and you will be punished too for having conspired with a criminal.”

“Fine. I know I’m telling the truth.”

The woman got up and went to the door.

“Remember that he is a criminal, not your friend,” Belno said, “maybe it wasn’t a good idea to let such a young person participate in this project, she got too attached,” she heard her grumble before she left.

Had Lucy become too attached to Cobra? That would explain why his disappearance hurt so much. She just wanted him to be happy, to be able to enjoy his life freely. But it pained her to know that by now he was probably back in a cell, tortured by her ex-servant. She needed to help him. The Council didn’t want her help, fine, she would look for him herself. They couldn’t stop her from doing that. She would look for him because she didn’t trust the Council, they doubted her, they refused to believe her, and that was not what Cobra needed right now. Cobra needed her help, and she would not give up on him, especially not when her father was in part responsible for all of that.

After Belno left, Lucy was alone. She was sitting on the couch, holding Cobra’s coat close to her chest and she started crying. She cried about what had happened but also because she imagined how much he must be suffering right now; she just couldn’t accept that. She closed her eyes and lied on the couch, still holding the coat. She tried to grasp the rest of Cobra’s presence, and she didn’t understand why her heart ached so much at the thought of him being so far away right now. At first, he had just been a mean to an end, he was just here to help her find her brother, but now… he had become more than that, he was a friend, an insufferable one, but she really liked him. Her past came crashing down on her as she slowly drifted to sleep. Her first encounter with Cobra at the Tower replayed again and again in her brain. How could she had not noticed that he was the boy she had met years ago? It was so obvious now that she thought about it. Exhaustion finally got the better of her, and she fell asleep on the couch holding the only thing that had belonged to Cobra, his delicate scent comforted her as she vowed to find him.

Chapter Text

It took Lucy a week to finally get a lead on where Cobra could be. The Council may have refused to let her participate in his search, but she didn’t care, she would search for him, too. She had started going to the library’s archives to find something about the Tower or Fanny. She just needed a clue, but she had gotten nothing after four hard days of work. It’s only on the morning of the fifth day that she discovered a strange package in front of her door. She had recognized the Council’s emblem and had immediately opened it. There was no letter, no words, only a little gadget that showed a precise point on a map. The point showed the forest to the south of Shirotsume Town. Normally, she wouldn’t have acted so rashly, she would have tried to know who had sent it, but she was pretty sure it was linked to Cobra, it was probably the location of his bracelets since the Council kept an eye on him. She was convinced that someone at the Council was on her side, maybe the old Yajima, but it couldn’t be anyone. And if she could save Cobra, she would forever be thankful to the person who had helped her.

After getting the gadget, she had rushed to Shirotsume Town. The trip had taken her two whole days, but she was finally getting closer.

She was walking in the forest, slowly getting closer to the point on the map. She felt hope rising in her chest, she was going to find Cobra and help him. She pushed aside a branch blocking her path and the sight in front of her made her blood run cold. She could see a pool of dried blood and the bracelets lying in the middle of it, broken. All the hope she had felt earlier was gone. She refused to imagine what Fanny had done to Cobra to free him from the bracelets, only to probably seal his magic differently. She got closer to the massacre and noticed that the blood had been here for a long time already.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

She could only hope that Cobra was still alive. But it had been a week, would Fanny keep him alive that long? She wasn’t sure.

Lucy wasn’t going to give up until she found him dead or alive. If he was dead, she would offer him peace, she would make sure to offer him a proper burial, and if he was alive, well, she would save him. He had already saved her life more than once and they had only been colleagues for a month, she needed to pay him back, even though she knew he didn’t care about that at all.

“Hang on a little bit longer, Cobra… Please…”

When she was about to leave this area, she was pushed on the ground by a magic force.

“Oh shit, my bad, I didn’t expect that someone would be there,” a voice said.

She looked up and immediately recognized the person. The black and white hair and the scary red eyes that had paralyzed her on the Nirvana were easily recognisable.

Midnight.

What was he doing here? What was Midnight doing her?

She grabbed Leo’s key, ready to fight.

“What are you doing here?” she asked on the defensive.

“I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to save Cobra.”

She stared at him in disbelief.

“You don’t have to trust me, I don’t care. Cobra’s life is on the line, and that’s all that matters to me right now,” he sighed, seeing the shock on her face.

He carefully observed the pool of blood and gritted his teeth.

“It was just a bait and I fell right into her trap. I hate that woman,” he exclaimed, taking one of the bracelets in his hands, examining it carefully.

“Wait… You know her?”

“Fanny Elvedera? Of course, I know her. She probably tortured every child of the Tower at least once.”

Lucy couldn’t really see his face, but she could tell that there was more going on in his head, but he didn’t say anything. She stared at him, but he was totally focused on the bracelets.

“And you? What are you doing here? You’re the last person I thought I would see here,” he asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m… I’m also looking for Cobra… The Council told me they would find him, but I can’t stay at home knowing that he is suffering.”

She could see the hint of a little smile appear on his face.

“Yeah, I’m not surprised about the Council. He is dead to them, that’s why they aren’t looking for him anymore.”

She blinked several times; not sure she had heard right.

“They aren’t looking for him?”

“Nope, they stopped two days ago. Probably when they found the bracelets and simply called it a day. Why would they bother using resources and money to find a worthless criminal that is probably dead? They prefer putting their resources and money to arrest a worthless criminal like me that they are sure is alive. Honestly, I think they tried to muddy the waters since the king likes her work, they couldn’t allow the world to find out about her other “hobbies” so they just gave up the search. No one cares about Cobra so no one is going to look for him that’s probably what they thought.”

She didn’t know if she could believe his words. He had said it himself, he was a criminal, of course, it was logic that he would depict the Council as the bad guys. But what he said also coincided with the moment she had gotten the gadget. Maybe someone at the Council knew that they had stopped looking for him, so a person had offered a chance to Lucy to find him. Was he right? Would anyone look for the Oracion seis members if they all got captured by someone considered honest? Would anyone try to expose this “honest person's” crimes even if it was to save criminals?

“Well, you did commit crimes,” was the only thing she answered.

“Yeah, I did.”

She could easily guess that Midnight would not open himself as easily as Cobra did. She couldn’t even tell if the man in front of her regretted his actions or not. It seemed like he had built walls around him that were not going to break at all.

“Well, I’m off, I have to find him,” he said, letting go of the bracelets before waving at her.

“Wait!” she shouted, surprising him and herself.

He turned to look at her and he raised an eyebrow.

“Can you find him?”

“I’m convinced I can, I will not rest until then anyway.”

She didn’t know if it was a good idea to accompany him, or if he would accept her, but she had no other lead, and he seemed pretty sure that he could find Cobra.

“Let me come with you.”

He blinked, confused. And she could swear that his red eyes turned brown for a split second.

“What?”

“You want to help Cobra, right? When we free him, I will take him back with me. I made a deal with the Council, and it still stands if he is considered a victim. He still can have a chance to get his freedom. If he is found with you… He might end up in jail forever,” she said.

Midnight seemed to think about it for a moment. Lucy realized that he probably didn’t know about the deal.

“Fine, I hadn’t planned to bring him back with me anyway. I probably would have left him at your place or at the Council,” he answered with a shrug.

She had been wrong; he definitely knew about the deal. She wondered how, but she knew that if she asked, he would not answer.

“Why?” she asked instead, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was curious about why Midnight wouldn’t have taken Cobra back with him.

“Because he deserves his freedom, and I don’t want to take that away from him.”

She was surprised by how loyal the members of the Oracion Seis were to each other and she was glad to know that she wasn't the only one to have Cobra's back.

“Let’s make a truce until we find Cobra,” he said, holding out his hand.

She wasn’t sure that it was a good idea. Midnight was the most terrifying member of the Oracion Seis; he could betray her at any moment.

She looked at his hand.

“We both want the same thing, I’m not going to attack you, I don’t have any reason to.”

“I have no way of trusting you.”

A sad smile appeared on his face.

“Yeah, I guess so. But you’re not my enemy, Lucy. Right now, you’re the only one who has helped my best friend and is still trying to help him. I would be a real idiot if I tried to kill you. I’m thankful for what you’ve done. Also, I’m pretty sure Cobra would never forgive me if I hurt you.”

Midnight was thankful for what she had done. She was really surprised by how deep the bond between the Oracion Seis member was.

“Still not convinced? Fine, I will turn myself in when I have accomplished my mission, do you trust me now?”

She blinked; she wasn’t sure she had heard right. He would turn himself in after a mission. But why?

“The last part is hard to believe.”

“I know, but I’m tired of being a fugitive. I just really need to accomplish something, and Cobra’s situation kind of stopped me in the middle of it.”

She watched him carefully and she could see that he was exhausted, really exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days which was absolutely not like him. Well, she only remembered their meeting at the Nirvana, but he had slept most of the time, so it was a bit weird to see him awake.

She wanted to believe Midnight, she wanted to give him a chance. It was a gamble; she could die trusting this criminal. But she had given a chance to Cobra, and she had been right, maybe it would be the same with Midnight.

Lucy took a deep breath, and she shook his hand.

They had been walking for hours in this forest now, and Lucy was getting tired of this uncomfortable atmosphere between them.

“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked, breaking the heavy silence.

“One of her hideouts is not far away from here, and I’m pretty sure Cobra is there.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I know her. She would never torture him in her “official lab”, but this hideout is her second laboratory. And let me warn you, she does some pretty fucked up things in there. I’m not sure you would endure going there.”

“I don’t care what you think I can endure or not. Cobra needs my help.”

He turned to look at her, and he simply nodded.

After another moment filled with silence, Midnight sat against a tree.

“What are you doing?” Lucy asked.

She wanted to get to the hideout as soon as possible, they didn’t have time for a break.

“Resting?”

“We don’t have time for that.”

“It’s dark, and we need to rest. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

Well, it was true. With the days in the archives, and the nightmares that had started filling her dreams because she couldn’t stop imagining what Cobra was enduring, she hadn’t slept a lot.

“You should see yourself before talking,” she answered, sitting in front of him, arms crossed.

Midnight laughed. He probably knew just how awful he looked.

“We will reach her hideout tomorrow morning. We’re not far.”

“Good, I really hope he is alive…” she said, sleepily.

“Yeah, me too…” he said before making a book appear from nowhere.

She looked at him confused; she had never expected him to be a reader. She squinted her eyes trying to read the title, but she couldn’t see very well in the darkness.

“What are you reading?” she asked, trying to make small talk.

“I’m not reading, I’m taking notes.”

Lucy sighed. She wouldn’t dare taking the book from his hands, they had agreed on a truce, but she was not that crazy.

“Oh, before I forget, Angel wanted me to give you these,” he said, putting the book aside and holding out three gold keys.

He sounded as if he and Angel had known he would meet her. And why would Angel give up her keys?

“I can’t take them, celestial mages need to make a contract with spirits, they are linked to Angel.”

“She is not linked to them anymore, some things happened after you defeated her and well, she may be a cruel witch when she wants, but she realized that you would be better with them than her.”

Lucy remembered how that woman had treated the spirits, and she was glad to know that they were not in Angel’s possession anymore. She accepted the keys and added them to her collection, she would make the contracts when she was home and safe.

“Why would she give up her magic and give it to me? I’m her enemy.”

Midnight sighed.

“I think she wanted you to be stronger so that you could protect Cobra.”

The more she got to know the members of the Oracion Seis, the more they seemed like her friends at Fairy Tail. A little family of sorts. They were ready to do everything for their friend, exactly like her. 

“How did she know you would be able to give me the keys?”

“She told me to give them to you if I met you while I searched for Cobra. She sorts of tested you and tried to see if you were worthy of having her keys.”

It was a beautiful bond that they had, even if it had probably been forged through pain and tears. The more she thought about it the more she understood that the Oracion Seis were just children that had had bad luck, that they had to do awful things to survive. They were broken children that craved the only thing they could never have. Freedom.

“When you see her again, tell her that I say thank you and that I will take care of the spirits.”

“I will,” he said, taking the book again.

Lucy finally deciphered the title of the book. He was reading the Silver Angel, or as he said taking notes. She had never expected Midnight to be a fan of Hedgar Hizoku, and she couldn’t help but have a little smile on her face knowing that fact about him. She watched him for a while, scribbling things in the book and turning the pages, and sometimes she could swear his eyes glowed brown instead of red. It had happened earlier today, too. She wondered what was causing this, it was probably linked to his magic. After a while, exhaustion got the better of her and she fell asleep.

She woke up with back pain. Sleeping against a tree was not comfortable at all. Midnight looked almost as bad as her. They didn’t waste time and started walking again. After a while she started seeing smoke in the horizon.

“We’re close,” he said, pointing to the building where the smoke was coming from.

“Finally, I really hope he is here.”

She felt hopeful once again, and it was dangerous, because she didn’t know what would happen if her hopes were once again crushed. She wasn’t sure she would survive it; she was tired of being hopeful only for it to end in sadness.

“Listen to me, Lucy,” Midnight whispered, stopping in front of her.

She looked at him.

“I will fight Fanny, you don’t need to care about me, getting Cobra out of here is the priority.”

“Are you sure you will be alright?”

“I can’t guarantee it, but I’ll do my best. Once you have Cobra, use this to teleport yourselves to your apartment or the hospital,” he said, giving her a little blue stone, “You just need to think where you want to be and then break it. You have to be in contact with Cobra to teleport him with you.”

“Alright… But I could help you once I’ve secured him,” she answered, putting the stone in one of her pockets.

“No, you would only be a burden.”

She gritted her teeth.

“Do you think I’m that weak?”

“No. I think that you can’t imagine just how much what you’re going to see will affect you, but I can easily guess. You will be paralyzed by shock and fear, and knowing your kind personality, you would prefer helping Cobra instead of fighting. So that’s what I’m asking you to do. Fanny is mine.”

“Can you win?”

“I have no other choice if I want to make sure that she never touches any of us again.”

Something in his voice told her that he was not happy about the confrontation that was about to happen. She didn’t like this plan at all. Fanny had won against Gajeel and Levy, she was not sure Midnight could take her down by himself.

“If we’re lucky, she might not even be there,” he said, “I don’t feel her magic power.”

They arrived closer to the building, and they found an open window, when they were about to enter, Lucy put her hands on Midnight’s shoulder. He turned to look at her, confused.

“Midnight, thank you for everything.”

He simply nodded, before entering the building.

Chapter Text

Lucy and Midnight had entered the building through the little window. They were in a room that looked like a kitchen, but she noticed that the walls were covered in blood, and she really hoped it was not human blood. A putrid odor found her way to her nose, and she had to stop herself from vomiting.

“I told you it would be awful,” Midnight whispered, looking at her.

She clenched her fists and composed herself. She was here for Cobra, she was finally getting closer to him, she couldn’t give up now.

Midnight opened a door, and they arrived in an empty white room except for a human figure at the other end. They noticed at the same time the person with his hands chained to the ceiling. The first thing Lucy saw was the crimson hair.

Cobra.

It was Cobra.

Then, she noticed the pool of blood at his feet. She wanted to rush to him, free him from the shackles on his wrists, but Midnight put a hand in front of her to stop her. He had been right to do so because they had barely made a few steps in his direction that Fanny appeared beside Cobra, a devious smile on her scarred face.

“Oh, look. Your friends are here to save you,” the woman laughed, taking Cobra’s face in her hands forcing him to look at them.

His face was covered in blood, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He looked in their direction, and their eyes met. He mouthed something when Fanny wasn’t looking.

Leave.

Even after enduring a week of torture, he was still trying to protect them. Lucy was not an idiot, Cobra hadn’t said this because he wanted to be left with this woman until he died, he was scared for them, and he wanted them to be safe.

I’m not leaving you with her, she thought. She kept looking at his eyes, making sure that he had heard her thoughts. A sliver of hope shone into his eyes, and that was enough for Lucy. Cobra wanted to be saved, and with Midnight’s help, they would save him.

She looked in Midnight’s direction, the mage was watching the scene his hands clenched into fists.

“Lucy, remember what I told you, prioritize his safety, please.”

“I know. I will…”

She wasn’t happy to leave Midnight with this woman, but they were here for Cobra and at least one of them needed to save him.

“No matter what your little schemes are, it won’t work,” Fanny said, a proud smile on her face.

Midnight teleported himself in front of the scientist and they instantly disappeared from the room. Lucy ran as soon as they had disappeared, she felt relieved knowing that she would be able to save him, but as she got closer her relief turned into horror.

She summoned Taurus. The spirit broke the chains with his axe and Cobra fell on the ground. Lucy arrived just in time to catch him as best as she could, stopping his head from hitting the cold hard floor.

“You’re alright, it’s over…” she said, trying to reassure him.

She took a few seconds to examine him. First, he was back in his adult’s body which was good, but the more she looked at his body, the more she wanted to burst into tears. He had no shirt, only a torn pants. Some parts of his body were covered in purple scales and other parts were covered in bruises and deep cuts. She also noticed slashes on his wrists, probably the result of Fanny breaking the bracelets. One of his eyes was completely swollen. The hole where he had been stabbed a week ago was gone, though. Fanny had probably tried to keep him alive for as long as possible, so she had probably healed the deadly injuries. Lucy couldn’t imagine how awful it could be if every time someone injured you, they healed you only to make you suffer again. She tried sitting him and noticed blood on her hands. She looked at his back, it was covered in lashes. He looked exhausted, and so weak. He was probably dehydrated and malnourished.

“Why are you here, Blondie…?” he asked, his voice ragged as if it had been torn by screams. It was probably the case.

Lucy fought not to burst into tears on the spot, she hadn’t realized how much she had missed this stupid surname, how much she had missed his voice, how much she had missed his presence.

“Idiot, I’m getting you out of here,” she said, staring into his only opened eye.

“It’s impossible… She will kill you…”

“Midnight is occupying her, don’t worry…”

He didn’t really look convinced, but he didn’t insist. His desire to leave this place was probably stronger than having an argument with Lucy about her reasons to be here.

She put her hand on her pocket, looking for the blue stone. She seized between her fingers when she started hearing applause behind her. She turned and froze when she saw who was standing there.

Jude Heartfilia.

Her father was here.

“Father…?” she said, surprised.

“You’re such a disappointment, Lucy. Why are you helping a criminal?”

She noticed how her father’s voice made Cobra panic. She could see how fast his chest rose, unable to catch his breath, and just how his whole body shook with terror.

“You’re safe…” she said, ignoring her father’s words. She put a hand on Cobra’s back avoiding his injuries, and she tried to reassure him. The contact startled him, and he didn’t look at her, he was too focused on Jude.

Her father sighed, clearly disappointed. Fanny reappeared beside Jude, holding Midnight by the hair. The illusionist was unconscious and bleeding from the head.

“You really thought you stood a chance against me?” the woman taunted; her sadistic smile brighter than usual.

Her father said something to the scientist that Lucy couldn’t hear, but the woman snapped her fingers and Cobra disappeared from Lucy’s arms only to wound up right in front of Jude.

No.

No, no, no.

She didn’t want to see Cobra in her father’s hands.

“Leave him alone!” she shouted, but Jude didn’t even look at her, he was too busy laughing at the Dragon Slayer’s state.

Fanny let go of Midnight’s hair and kicked him in the stomach sending him flying right against Lucy. They fell a few meters away, and the illusionist’s body was stopping her from getting up.

“I can’t believe you came here with a criminal to save a criminal. This is not how I raised you, Lucy.”

“You’re the real criminal here.”

Her father started laughing. She shook Midnight’s body to wake him up, repeating his name over and over again. He finally started to stir.

“Are you alright?” she asked him.

“I told you to get him out and not care about me…”

“I know… I’m sorry.”

She helped him sit up, and she looked at the injury on his head.

“It’s fine,” he said, getting back up.

“My… My father is here…” she said, helplessly.

Midnight seemed to focus on what was happening once again, and they both looked in the direction of Fanny, Jude and Cobra.

“You’re finally looking! You see, Cobra is one of the best guinea pigs I’ve ever had,” the woman said taking out a syringe, “I’m a bit sad because I didn’t have the time to really perfect it but let me show you the last thing he contributed to,” she continued as she plunged the needle in his neck.

Lucy watched how the Dragon Slayer’s eyes filled with terror as the liquid got injected into his body. The effects were almost instantaneous, half of Cobra’s body got covered in purple scale, and he was shaking violently. His nails sunk down in the floor, slowly turning into long claws, it was as if he tried to resist against what was happening in his body but couldn’t stop it. He started screaming when something came out of his back, a veined and leathery form that didn’t belong to a human being.

A dragon wing, Lucy understood as she watched her friend undergo this painful transformation.

The transformation stopped when the right part of his body was fully dragon like, and Fanny pouted when she noticed that her experiment had only half worked.

Lucy and Midnight stared in shock at what had just happened to their friend. The Dragon Slayer seemed completely lost and unable to think coherently. Fanny snapped her fingers, and it seemed like all of Cobra’s consciousness disappeared. There was no light in his eyes, he was just a soulless being right now. Their friend now half-human and half-dragon stood up as if he was not injured at all.

“What did you do to him?” Lucy whispered still in shock.

“She put him in an illusion,” Midnight stated.

“Congratulations, Midnight. And as you can see, the liquid allows him to have a full access to his dragon powers, well at least half of it.”

The criminal gritted his teeth, upset.

“Kill her,” Fanny ordered to Cobra, pointing in Lucy’s direction.

The Dragon Slayer rushed in her direction, ready to kill. Leo appeared without being summoned and stopped Cobra.

“Loki!”

“I won’t be able to stay long without being summoned, but you need to fight him, he is not your friend right now.”

“I just need to touch his forehead to break the illusion,” Midnight said.

But Fanny teleported herself in front of them and disappeared with the illusionist. Lucy watched her father; he was observing the scene with a satisfied smile on his lips. He had wanted her to go home only a few weeks ago and now he was ready to let her die.

“Lucy! You need to do something!” Leo ordered, struggling to contain Cobra.

The spirit disappeared and she summoned Taurus.

“Do your best not to hurt him too much, please.”

The spirit nodded and swung his axe near Cobra’s head, the Dragon Slayer dodged it easily, and his eyes landed on her. It was as if he didn’t care about Taurus, the only thing he wanted was to kill her. He ignored the spirit and ran towards her.

“Cobra…”

She saw Taurus pursuing him, but the Dragon Slayer was faster. Lucy had barely time to move before she felt one of his claws pierce her forearm. He looked at her, breathing heavily, and without even looking, he hit Taurus with the back of his hand and sent him flying. The man was holding her forearm, blood dripping on his hands and on the floor.

Lucy was going to die.

She watched him, and she saw on his face that he didn’t want to do it. He was fighting against the illusion somehow; he was still there.

“You see Lucy, this is why you shouldn’t be friends with criminals. They turn back on you when they can,” she heard her father say.

“You’re the one responsible for all of it. You’re the one who destroyed a lot of children’s lives. You’re the criminal. Cobra may have committed crimes, but he is trying to fix everything. You, you’re just a monster.”

She was struggling against her friend’s grip. He didn’t move to kill her, but he refused to let go of her forearm either. She looked at Cobra and put a hand against the scales on his cheek.

“I promise I will take you home…” she said, “Don’t listen to what’s in your head, listen to my voice, Cobra...”

She couldn’t see any reaction on his face, but she felt the grip around her forearm loosen.

“Kill her. She is your enemy.”

She saw the Dragon Slayer grit his teeth as his other arm was about to hit her face. She closed her eyes.

Nothing.

She rapidly opened her eyes to see what had happened. Midnight was between them, breathing heavily.

“Midnight?”

It seemed like he had trouble catching his breath, one of his eyes was closed and he was still bleeding from the head. He fell on her, and she noticed four big marks crossing his back. He had shielded her; he had protected her from an attack that would have been fatal if she had been hit by it. Midnight was over her, exhausted, but his gaze told her that he was still ready to fight.

“I will break the illusion, and then you go.”

“You’re going to die if I do that. You’re injured.”

She heard footsteps getting closer to them. Jude was approaching.

“You’ve always been the one I hated the most,” her father said to Midnight.

“As if I cared what you thought about me.”

Lucy was searching the room for Fanny; it was weird that she hadn’t come back yet. She saw her further in the room, completely motionless, looking at the ceiling. She probably was in one of Midnight’s illusions.

“I will kill the two of you right here. You’ve wasted enough of my time. I will keep Cobra, though; he is a good weapon.”

Lucy gritted her teeth. She hated how her father talked about Cobra. He was not a weapon. He was not a thing to use, he was a human, he was her friend.

“Cobra, kill them.”

But the Dragon Slayer didn’t move.

“I said kill them,” Jude ordered, grabbing him by the hair.

There was no reaction from Cobra.

Lucy let a little smile appear on her lips, her friend was fighting back. He was not going to let himself be used and manipulated.

Her father threw him on the ground and kicked him in the stomach. She could see the Dragon Slayer cough blood.

“Enough is enough. I’m getting bored of that game,” he said, snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, both Cobra and Midnight started to scream and writhe in pain.

“What did you do to them?!”

“Oh, you probably never heard of it. It’s the slave mark. It allows me to make them suffer until they agree to obey.”

The two men were holding their neck, probably where the mark was. She had never heard about that slave mark, but knowing her father, it wasn’t very surprising if he didn’t have a backup plan for when he felt cornered.

She gently pushed away Midnight, and got up, but her legs gave out immediately.

“What…?”

She felt weak and exhausted. Maybe it was due to the blood loss, she looked at her forearm, the red liquid was mixed with a purple one. Cobra had poisoned her probably by inadvertence.

Shit.

She didn’t know what to do. If it continued that way, they were all going to die today. She looked in Cobra’s direction, and discreetly grabbed the blue stone, if she could make a run for it, she could save him. But she would need him to be freed of the illusion first. She saw Midnight crawl to Cobra, each of his movement seemed painful. At that moment Lucy knew what she needed to do, she needed to distract Jude just for a few seconds.

“Taurus!” she shouted.

The spirit came back running and swung down his axe in front of her father. The old man dodged, but it left enough time for Midnight to reach Cobra. Her spirit disappeared almost instantly after that, due to her being so weak right now. Lucy saw the illusionist put his hand on the Dragon Slayer’s forehead and break the illusion. Then, he murmured something to Cobra who instantly passed out. Midnight started slowly getting up, the slave mark was still affecting him, but he tried to act like it didn’t.

“You’re finished, Jude. The Council is about to arrive.”

Her father laughed.

“You really think I’m going to believe you? If they arrest me, they will arrest you too.”

“I don’t care. I’m tired of fleeing. Can’t you hear their footsteps? They are getting closer,” he taunted with a sadistic smile.

Lucy could hear footsteps approaching, and she felt relieved. She didn’t know who had warned the Council, but they were going to get help. She saw her father panic, and he threw himself on her, stealing the blue stone from her hand. He broke it and vanished. She noticed that the sound of the footsteps vanished immediately after his disappearance.

It had simply been an illusion.

Midnight fell on his knees and started coughing blood. She got up with the last of her strength and walked towards him.

“Don’t… I’m fine… I will teleport you to Magnolia’s hospital. Once I’m better, I will bring Fanny to the Council and make sure that she confesses everything.”

She looked at him, he looked exhausted, and on the verge of passing out.

“I guess that means the Council is not coming, right?”

“Sorry, I didn’t have a better idea.”

“You’re bleeding out. And you’re probably poisoned,” she said, noticing how his body was trembling.

He grabbed two little vials from one of his pockets and handed her one.

“The antidote,” he said, “drink it.”

“Do you always carry the antidote with you?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity even though it was not the right time for this kind of question.

A little smile appeared on his lips as if he was reminiscing something.

“Yeah, and I was right to do so, because it is going to save our lives.”

She looked at the orange liquid, only when he drank it first, she deemed it safe enough for her to drink it. The effects were immediate, the exhaustion wore off almost instantly.

“I will be alright, Lucy.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I will make sure that Fanny never touches him again.”

She walked to Cobra who was still unconscious.

“Are you going to let yourself get arrested?” she asked Midnight, while observing Cobra’s body. Some of the scales had already started fading away, but some of his body parts were still covered in it and the wing hadn’t disappeared.

“No, not yet. I told you; I have one last mission to accomplish before that.”

“I was just wondering how you were going to bring her to the Council without getting arrested,” she said, slowly caressing Cobra’s cheek. He still looked exhausted and hurt, but he seemed at peace.

“I just need to take another appearance.”

Lucy nodded and continued to caress Cobra’s face. She didn’t notice when Midnight arrived beside her.

“I will teleport you to Magnolia’s hospital now.”

“Why didn’t you do it before? It would have saved us a lot of trouble,” she asked, curious about why he gave her a teleportation stone instead of simply teleporting them.

“Teleporting takes a lot of magic, I can easily teleport myself but when it’s other people it’s way harder, especially if it’s more than one. And I couldn’t allow myself to be out of magic to fight Fanny, I would have lost, and she would have found him again.”

Just that thought sent shivers down her spine, imagining Cobra falling into this woman’s hand once again terrified her.

“Thank you for everything, Midnight.”

He nodded and gave her a small smile.

She grabbed Cobra’s hand and looked at the illusionist.

“One last thing, take care of him, please,” he said softly.

“I will, thank you again for helping me.”

And then she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was on a hospital bed, someone was stitching the wound on her forearm. She sat up immediately, but the doctor pushed her back into the cushions.

“Don’t move, I’m almost finished with your stitches.”

She looked around but there was no sign of Cobra. Had Midnight’s teleportation failed? Had Cobra been arrested by the Council immediately?

“Where is the man that was with me?” she asked, panic slowly filling her chest.

“Your boyfriend was badly hurt. The best doctors are taking care of him.”

Boyfriend? How could the doctor imagine this?

“He is not my boyfriend.”

“I thought he was since you were found passed out in each other’s arms. And we had a hard time separating you. You refused to let go, and he kept protecting you with his wing.”

She felt herself blush at the thought of being found in Cobra’s arms and her not wanting to let go of him.

“And don’t worry, he looked strong, he will probably be alright,” he said to reassure her. “And I’m done,” the doctor added, slowly bandaging her forearm.

“Am I free to go?” she asked.

“Not really, Belno from the Council is here and wants to talk to you.”

Lucy sighed desperately.

Of course, she couldn’t catch a break. She just wanted to see Cobra right now, to make sure that he was alright.

“You can let her in.”

Belno sat in front of her, looking utterly pissed.

“I thought I ordered you to stay in your apartment.”

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stay at home and do nothing.”

She sighed.

“I will let it pass this time, because your actions allowed us to learn the truth about Fanny Elvedera. I never thought that one of the biggest scientists of this country could do such horrible things.”

Midnight had succeeded in making Fanny confess it seemed. Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

“I will need you to come to the Council with me.”

“And for Cobra?”

“That’s what we need to discuss at the Council.”

“Will he go back to jail?”

Belno rolled her eyes.

“We will have this discussion at the Council.”

Lucy clenched her fists. She was scared for him, she just wanted to be with him right now, to give him some comfort, she didn’t want to be at the Council where she had to discuss his case and maybe learn that he would go back to jail forever.

“Let’s go,” Belno said, and with that she teleported her and Lucy at the Council.

Chapter Text

Why am I back here?

This had been Cobra’s thoughts for the past few days. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he had been captured by Fanny. But he remembered seeing Lucy in his dreams, especially the last one. He remembered her being here with Midnight, which was completely impossible since she would probably never cooperate with his friends. And why would she even try to get him out of here? She had no reason to put herself in danger for him.

But his dream had seemed so real, he really had felt Lucy’s arms wrapping around him, holding him. All of it had probably been one of Fanny’s illusions. That wicked woman loved playing with him, torturing him mentally as well as physically.

He didn’t know where he was right now, but the smell was different compared to where he had been before. The smell was strong and awful, it almost burned his nose. Fanny had probably moved him into one of her lab rooms to experiment new products on him. He could hear beeping sounds around him which was unpleasant. He just wanted to sleep and never wake up, he was tired of suffering, but it seemed like his body refused to let him die. It had been like this for years, his will to live had always been too strong.

He opened his eyes when he felt someone touch him, he immediately removed his arms and glared at the young woman in front of him. He had never seen her before.

“Oh, you’re finally awake, I’m just here to do a little check-up,” she said.

Cobra looked around; he didn’t recognize the place at all. But it had similar vibes to the lab, which meant he was still there. He noticed bandages around his arms, and he was wearing an ugly hospital gown. What was Fanny about to do to him?

The woman gently grabbed his wrists, but he pushed her away and he decided to make a run for it. He tore out the perfusion and ran. He would not stay here any longer. He was not tied up, he had a chance to flee; plus he couldn’t feel Fanny’s magic power.

It was his chance.

“Wait!” The girl shouted a bit shocked.

His legs ached, but he didn’t care, he didn’t have the time to care, he wanted to get out. So, he ran, exactly like he had done at the Tower. He didn’t care that he was tired or hurt, he just needed to get out of the lab.

He could hear people looking for him, saying that he had escaped and shouting at him to stop. He ran, looking for a way out, but suddenly, his body was thrown on the ground and someone was blocking him. He fought back as much as he could, trying to get free, but it was impossible. He was too weak.

No, not again. Let me go.

He fought again, and again, but exhaustion caught up to him, and black spots started filling his vision.

Please, let me go. I can’t go back there. Please…

He was ready to plead, to do everything to never go back there. He wanted to be free, but he would not allow himself to cry, he would not give that satisfaction to Fanny, but right now, when his last chance at freedom was being taken away from him, it was the only thing he wanted to do.

“I’m sorry, you leave me no choice,” he heard the man on top of him say, before darkness enveloped him.

Lucy was finally back at the hospital. She had spent hours at the Council, discussing Cobra’s case with the higher-ups. They had accepted to give him a second chance, after learning what Fanny had done. Lucy had seen shame on some of the Council member’s faces, they were probably ashamed to have given the order to stop looking for Cobra. Others looked pissed; they probably had known about that woman’s experiments. Lucy had not mentioned Midnight once, it was probably better like this, they didn’t need to know that a member of the Oracion Seis had helped.

“We will give you new bracelets and his rules are the same as before,” Belno had finally said after putting an end to this endless meeting.

She was glad to know that Cobra would not end up in jail, he didn’t need this right now, especially after living in captivity for the last seven days. She wasn’t sure he would have endured it.

The only thing that kind of bothered her was the fact that even though Fanny had made Cobra’s life a living hell, he would not get justice. Since he was a criminal, he wouldn’t have the chance to explain himself, the Council would never believe his words and she hated that. He deserved to be listened to, to have a chance to tell what he had endured, why he had acted like this, why he had become a criminal in the first place. He should have the chance to talk, but no, to them he was just a criminal with a useful hearing.

Lucy walked into the hospital, wondering if he had finally woken up. She hadn’t liked the fact that she had to leave him alone after everything he had endured. She noticed that all the hospital staff seemed on edge. She walked to the receptionist who jumped when she saw her, which was weird.

“Hi, I would like to see Cobra.”

The receptionist looked confused, she looked in the register and shook her head.

“He is supposed to be here, he is a man with crimson hair, we arrived here at the same time,” she continued.

The woman started shaking when she mentioned the crimson hair. Lucy didn’t understand why.

“Oh, you’re back,” she heard someone say.

She turned, the doctor that had taken care of her arm was in front of her.

“Yes, I wanted to see him, is he awake?”

“Yes, he woke up, but we had to put him to sleep, he frightened the whole hospital when he started running in the corridors, ripping out some of his sutures and refusing to listen to the staff.”

Cobra had done what? He had woken up and immediately started running to get out of here. She wasn’t sure she liked knowing that. But somehow, she could understand, if Cobra still thought that he was in the lab, his reaction was logic. The lab kind of looked like the hospital. That was why Lucy had wanted to be by his side when he would wake up, because she had guessed that he would overreact.

“Can I see him?”

“Normally, visits are over. But his doctor doesn’t want to drug him too much either. Waking up next to a familiar face might help him, so we decided to allow it.”

“Thank you…”

The man gave her Cobra’s room number, and she ran to his room. The sight of his injured body still made her heart ache. She noticed that his hands were tied up to the sides of the bed, the doctor probably didn’t want him leaving again. She approached slowly, and she noticed that some of the scales had started to fade, she could swear the dragon wing had also shrunk. He looked more human and less dragon.

“I’m here,” she said, gently taking his hand and stroking his fingers, “You’re safe.”

He didn’t move, the effects of the drug were probably still strong.

All of this was her father’s fault, he was the reason Cobra had to endure years of suffering. She needed to find a way to expose her father’s crimes to the world, so that never again, children like Cobra had to suffer.

She sat in the chair and held his hand, waiting for him to wake up. Hours passed, and she grew more and more tired, and when she couldn’t fight the exhaustion anymore, she fell asleep.

She heard something break and she immediately jumped from the chair. Cobra was sitting on the bed, trying to rip the strips that tied him to the bed, his whole body shaking.

“Cobra…” she whispered, all the exhaustion leaving her body.

It seemed like he didn’t hear her.

“Cobra,” she said, louder.

He tore off the strips and pressed his hands against his ears trying to block all the sounds. He was shaking violently; the fear was overtaking him.

She got up from the chair, climbed slowly on the bed and put her hands over his. And for the first time after getting him out of his hell, he saw her, their eyes met. She offered him a comforting smile.

“You’re safe… You’re at the hospital…”

“Lucy? She got you too?” he said, looking around the room.

He was probably hearing too many new sounds at the same time. And he seemed persuaded that Fanny could step into the room at any moments.

“Cobra, look at me.”

He obeyed.

“You’re safe… That woman will never touch you ever again.”

“You can’t be here… You’re not real, you’re one of her illusions… She is still trying to get into my head.”

He gritted his teeth and kept his hands on his ears. Why would Fanny use Lucy in her illusions to get into his head? And why would that impact him that much? It would probably have been easier to use Angel or Midnight rather than her.

Well, it wasn’t what mattered right now.

Lucy gently grabbed one of his wrists and guided it right to her heart.

“You can feel my heart. I’m alive. I’m real. You’re safe…”

It seemed to soothe him a bit. He shook less violently now.

“Lucy…?” he said, blinking several times as if he was finally waking up from his nightmare.

She could feel that he was slowly getting back to reality.

“Hey…” she said, putting a hand against his cheek, slowly caressing it with her thumb.

He fell back into the cushion, exhausted. He kept looking at her, probably trying to convince himself that she was real.

“Is it really over? Is all of it not a dream?”

She took his hand and squeezed it gently.

“It’s over… Fanny is in jail; she will never touch you again.”

That seemed to calm him.

“You came to save me… Why?”

She could see that he was thinking about what had happened, trying to see what was true and what was wrong.

“You sacrificed yourself for us, you idiot. You really thought I wouldn’t come and get you? I care about you deeply, I couldn’t let you with her. Not when I know what she did to you.”

His eyes widened at that, he probably hadn’t expected anyone to help him, especially her. But she had been right to search for him, because even if he refused to admit it, he wanted to be saved, she had seen it in his eyes.

A silence filled the room for a few seconds, Cobra seemed deep in thoughts, not knowing what to answer. Then he sat up in panic, almost hitting her right in the face with his wing and startling her in the process.

“What’s wrong?!” she asked, grabbing one of his arms with one hand and putting the other on her chest trying to calm her racing heart.

“The Council. Will I go back to jail? Do they know what happened? What is going to happen to me? I don’t want to be locked up again,” he said frantically.

She let out a sigh of relief, realizing that she had not told him what the Council had decided.

“Don’t scare me like that again,” she started, “You’re not going back to jail, they gave you a second chance.”

He looked at her, confused, as if he couldn’t believe her words.

“What…?”

“When you were still unconscious, I talked with the Council. They learned what Fanny did to you and they decided to give you a second chance since you didn’t decide to leave your perimeter voluntarily.”

She could see him listening intently, focusing on every word.

“They gave me new bracelets, too, but I don’t want to put them on you when your wrists are badly injured. So, you’d better behave, or we will both be in trouble,” she said with a little smile.

She could swear he was debating whether unwrapping his wrists or not.

Don’t even think about it, she said in her head, probably a bit more harshly than she had intended.

The man froze for a few seconds and looked at her.

“Was it that bad?”

“Yes… There was so much blood when I found you…” she trailed off, shaking her head to forget the bad memories.

He looked away, probably feeling guilty to have put her through this.

“Anyway, I will put them on you once your injuries have healed,” she added, changing the subject.

Cobra nodded, still avoiding her eyes, but he seemed pensive.

“Wait… If I remember it correctly, Midnight was here, too,” he said in an interrogative tone.

“Yes, he was here. He was also looking for you and we met on the way.”

He looked at her in the eye as if he had trouble believing this.

“You agreed to work with him? he asked, and Lucy could hear the disbelief in his voice.

“Yes, is that so surprising?”

“Well, kind of. When we started working together, you had such a hard time trusting me, and it seemed like a torture for you to simply be in my presence. And now you tell me that you easily decided to work with Midnight? You wound me, Blondie.”

She could see a little smile on his face, he was teasing her.

“Desperate situations call for desperate measures,” she simply answered, unable to stop the little smile that crept up her face, “But honestly, I don’t think I would have accepted to work with him, if I hadn’t experimented what it is to work with you in the first place. It was easier for me to trust him, because I learned how to trust you first, and yes, it took me some time to trust you. But I realized that you were a good person, and since you and Midnight have a similar background, I allowed myself to trust your friend.”

And well, that was the truth, she had been desperate to find Cobra and she had reluctantly accepted to work with another member of the Oracion Seis. Maybe it had worked this time, but she wasn’t sure that she would trust the illusionist again if Cobra’s life wasn’t on the line. On the other hand, she was convinced that she could entirely trust the Dragon Slayer because she knew him.

Cobra let out a little laugh, still having trouble believing that she had agreed to team up with Midnight. Lucy was really happy that he was back, and that he was alive.

But this little moment of joy was short-lived, because horror crept up his face and he started shaking. She was confused by this sudden change of mood, so she put her hand on top of his, trying to reassure him.

“Cobra, what’s wrong?”

“I hurt him… And I hurt you…” he whispered, looking at her bandaged wrist.

“Don’t be stupid. It wasn’t you; Fanny and my father were manipulating you,”

She put her hands on his face, forcing him to look at her, but he avoided her eyes.

“You could have died by my hand…” he said, looking down, his body shaking slightly.

He was probably reminiscing how he had almost hit her with his claws. She sighed. She had started to get to know him pretty well, and she knew he would not forgive himself for that.

“I forgive you,” she said, fully knowing that Cobra didn’t need her forgiveness for something that he wasn’t even responsible for, but she was persuaded that was what he needed to hear.

He looked at her in the eye and she nodded with a little smile. She could see tears in his eyes, he was about to cry, but a noise caught his attention and his mood shifted completely.

“You’re awake,” someone said, stepping into the room.

Lucy immediately saw how Cobra’s body went on the defensive. His hands were clenched into fists, and his body was tense.

“It’s just the doctor, she is the one who healed you, it’s alright,” she said, trying to reassure him.

Cobra hated himself even more after the event of today. His friends had come to save him, and he had hurt them. He still couldn’t believe that Lucy and Midnight had worked together only to save him. He knew he didn’t have the right to feel this happy, he wasn’t sure he had the right to have such wonderful friends in the first place, especially when he had almost killed them, today. He simply didn’t deserve it. And yes, he may have been manipulated by Fanny and Jude like Lucy had said, but he had been manipulated his whole life, and in the end, he always felt like he was the only one responsible for his actions. After all, he could still feel himself plunging his claw in Lucy’s forearm or in Midnight’s back. He was a monster, and he didn’t deserve Lucy’s forgiveness.

The only thing he wanted right now was to get out of here. Even if the place was a hospital and he was supposedly safe. He did not feel safe here. The place kept overwhelming him, there were too many sounds, too many smells, and it just felt like he couldn’t rest properly. There was something always bothering him. He was tired, but he knew he would never be able to sleep peacefully in this room that reminded him too much of the lab.

Lucy was holding his hand while the doctor examined him, she had seen his discomfort and was doing her best to help him. She had noticed how his body reacted every time the doctor touched him. He was not used to this kind of treatment, and right now he didn’t want to be touched by strangers. He kept squeezing Lucy’s hands at every contact the doctor made with his skin.

“We found traces of reptilian cells in your system, it’s probably what’s causing the scales on your body and also… the wing. They will fully disappear when your body as eliminated all of it. There were also other kinds of drugs,” the doctor stated.

Cobra looked on his right, he hadn’t completely forgotten about the dragon wing. His memory was still a bit hazy, and he couldn’t remember everything that had happened between Lucy’s arrival and him ending up in the hospital. He listened to the doctor, but honestly, he just wanted to get out of the room right now. He didn’t need to know what drugs had been in his body. He needed to feel the wind on his face, to make sure that everything was not a dream.

“Can I go out?” he blurted out, the exhaustion had gotten the better of him and he was saying things that he wanted to keep for himself.

The doctor looked at him almost horrified.

“Not right now, you’re too weak,” the woman said, looking at some papers, and he could see her frown in confusion, “You should be dead, it’s a miracle, you’re still alive.”

“I… I can’t stay here…”

He needed to leave this place. All the beeping sounds coming from all the different rooms completely overwhelmed him and he felt like his head was about to burst. With the exhaustion, he couldn’t control his hearing as much as he wanted to. He gritted his teeth, doing his best to endure all of this. It was too much right now, he wanted to rest, but he just couldn’t.

Lucy let go of his hand and put her hands on his ears, trying to cover the sounds as much as possible.

“Could you try finding earmuffs? Or anything that could block the sound,” he heard her ask the doctor.

The woman looked confused but left the room without asking any questions.

“I thought earmuffs might help, but it’s probably just stupid,” she said, “It would probably be simpler than my hands.”

“But I like your hands…” he responded.

Cobra was saying nonsense. He was exhausted, and he couldn’t think coherently, and it resulted in this. Him saying that he liked her hands. It wasn’t a lie when she put her hands on his ears, it was always comforting. He always felt safe. Her hands were always warm and reassuring. But Lucy didn’t need to know that.

She turned a beautiful shade of pink, and it made him feel better, way better than everything that had happened today. It was as if he was finally sure that everything was over.

The doctor came back a few minutes later, saving him from the embarrassment he put himself in. She handed him the earmuffs and he didn’t hesitate to put them on. The world became quieter, he could still hear everything, but it was less overwhelming.

“Thank you…”

The doctor was still here, looking at him, really confused.

“Can I ask a question?” she said.

Cobra nodded, he just wanted to be left alone right now except for Lucy’s comforting presence, but the doctor would probably not leave with her questions unanswered.

“Are you human?”

He blinked several times, and he noticed how Lucy was also surprised by the question.

“Yes? What do you think I am?”

“No, it’s just that… You seem to have kind of a super hearing and when I look at your vitals, they totally differ from a normal human.”

He was confused about what she was saying. He had never been in a hospital before so he couldn’t tell if she was lying or not.

“Also, I’m still surprised by how well your body reacted to the reptilian cells.”

“Could it be because he is a Dragon Slayer?” Lucy answered for him, more invested in the conversation than him.

“Maybe… I suppose that’s what allowed him to grow a wing,” she started, not convinced by the answer, “I’m sorry, my curiosity got the better of me. I shouldn’t be talking about this when you seem to have lived some traumatic events. I will let you rest; I will come back tomorrow morning.”

The doctor left, and Cobra felt like he could finally relax a bit. He took a deep breath and let himself sink into the pillows. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get some peace.

A few minutes passed, they both stayed silent.

“You should go home, Lucy… I will be alright,” he said, after a few minutes of silence.

That was a lie. He would not be alright, not in this place. And he didn’t want her to leave him alone, right now, her presence was the only thing that stopped him from having a panic attack.

“You’re lying,” she said, her voice almost breaking.

He looked at her, confused as to why her voice was like this. Her eyes were shining with tears, but she rubbed her eyes before the tears could fall. It was as if she refused to cry in front of him. He sighed and looked away.

“You can cry, you know,” he said, observing the ceiling.

“No, I’m not allowed to,” she answered, and he could still see her rub her eyes from the corner of his eyes.

Allowed to? Did people need permission to cry?

“Why not?”

“Because I shouldn’t be the one crying.”

He looked at her, and she stared at him with her gorgeous brown eyes. He felt a pang in his heart hearing this.

Oh. He probably should be the one crying, but he was kind of desensitized by all of this. What he had endured had been his routine for years, he didn’t want to cry right now, he just wanted to sleep and forget everything.

“I assure you that if you are stopping yourself from crying because of my well-being, you’re completely mistaken. It will only make me suffer more if I have to watch you contain your tears. You can cry, Lucy. You don’t have to keep everything inside you, you can let it all out.”

And the tears started flowing.

“I’m just so relieved to know that you’re alive… This week has been awful, I couldn’t stop thinking about you… About how you sacrificed yourself for us…” she said through sobs, “And please don’t even try saying that you’re worthless or that your life isn’t important, because that’s not true.”

He didn’t know what to say. He had always thought that he should be the one dying if that meant that good people would survive.

“I… Uh…” he started, not knowing how to continue his sentence.

What could he say to comfort her?

“You’re so strong, Cobra…” she said, putting her head against the bed, “I don’t know how you do it… I think I never fully understood what you endured until today when I saw it for real… You endured years of torture at the Tower, years of suffering with Brain, and when you could finally experiment freedom, someone took that away from you and made you suffer again… And yet, you’re still here, you continue to fight for what you want…”

He didn’t want to cry, to fully show himself in front of her, but it seemed that Lucy had other plans for him. It wasn’t the first time that he cried in front of her, she always knew how to break his defenses. He would have preferred staying desensitized and simply add this event to his collection of bad memories. He didn’t want to think about this ever again. He simply wanted to brush it off like it was nothing, but he failed.

“I’m not strong…” he started, and he could already feel his voice waver and his eyes burn,” I think I’m just an idiot who doesn’t know when to quit…”

She looked at him and took his hand.

“I’m so tired of all of this… But I think I’m desperate for my life to change, so I hold on… I just don’t know why… And that’s why it is stupid, because my life might never know joy, I might never know what happiness feels like… But I still want it… I’m a selfish idiot…”

She squeezed his hand before mounting on the bed which surprised him. She put her hands on his cheeks and looked at him in the eye.

“You’re not selfish. You’re not worthless,” she started crying again, and this time she grabbed his hospital gown tightly, “I hate that you think you deserve all this pain, because you don’t. You’re one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met, and I’m so glad that I got to know you better. I don’t want you to keep thinking all those horrible thoughts about yourself, because that’s a lie.”

He looked at her, unable to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks.

“I want you to experience real joy, I want you to be happy.”

He felt like his heart was being torn from all sides and he didn’t know why it hurt so bad.

“Thank you…” he whispered.

She raised her head to look at him. He hated that he was the reason she was crying. He loved seeing her happy, how her brown eyes were full of stars when she laughed or smiled. That was what he wanted to see again; he almost craved it. He felt less lonely when she looked at him with so much compassion as if she understood what he had endured, how she seemed to endure his pain with him. Was it the reason he had fought this time? Was she the reason he had wanted to survive? She had been the only thing on his mind for the past few days, it was the only happy thing that had allowed him to stay sane. When Fanny had used her in her illusions, seeing Lucy in them had brought him comfort.

Lucy was the one who had allowed him to endure all of it. She was the one who had turned his life upside down, but for the best. She had offered him a new opportunity at life, and she wanted him to be happy.

He decided to do something that he might regret later, but he hugged her tightly.

“Thank you for saving my life… And changing it completely…” he whispered in her shoulder, hiding his tears.

She gently hugged him back, and for the first time in years, he felt good, almost alive.

They stayed like this for a moment before he sat back into the pillows.

“Blondie, you should go home… You’re exhausted…” he said, noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

“Will you be able to sleep?”

“Probably not, the earmuffs help but that won’t be enough…”

She nodded, maybe she was relieved to know that he wasn’t lying.

“I could stay, you know?”

And he wanted her to stay, but she needed to go home and sleep.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you can barely stay awake.”

She pouted and crossed her arms.

“I am fine.”

He eyed her and he raised an eyebrow, not convinced at all.

“Go to sleep, Blondie.”

“No.”

He blinked a bit surprised.

“No?”

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

He looked at her, and he could see that she was determined to stay here tonight.

“Alright, but you don’t have the right to complain tomorrow if you didn’t sleep well.”

She gave him a little smile and sat back into the chair next to the bed.

“If that what it takes for you to accept that I sleep here then I won’t complain.”

He smiled back, and he felt relieved. Even if he had tried to tell her to go, he was glad that she had decided to stay. He wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep well tonight, but if Lucy was here with him, maybe he would be able to sleep a little.

There was another moment of silence, he couldn’t fall asleep and neither did Lucy. He could hear her shift in the chair.

“Cobra…?” she whispered softly, probably checking if he was asleep or not.

“Yes…?”

“I know it is going to sound really weird and I totally understand if you refuse it,” she started.

He opened his eyes to look at her.

“You’re scaring me, Blondie.”

“Idiot…” she sighed, “Actually, I was wondering if you would let me touch your wing.”

He had not expected that at all.

“Oh… Uh, yeah. No problem,” he said, sitting up straighter.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay, I was just curious.”

“No, I don’t mind, it just surprised me.”

She got closer to him and gently put her hand on the talon at the end of the wing, she let her fingers slid on the bones before delicately stroking the membrane.

And Cobra had never been so glad that the room was mostly dark because he was pretty sure that his face was completely red. She was so gentle with her touch, he was unused to such things; plus he hadn’t expected the wing membrane to be that sensitive. Every stroke tickled him, and he had had to restrain himself from flapping his wing in surprise the first time or he would have hit Lucy right in the head.

“It’s so soft… I thought it would be rough,” she said almost absently.

She let go of his wing and sat back in the chair. A bit of disappointment filled his chest, he would have loved it if she had continued a bit more, but he couldn’t ask her to continue.

“Thank you for letting me touch it.”

“You’re welcome, Blondie,” he answered with a little smile.

Surprisingly, after this little intimate moment between them, he felt more at ease, and he was fairly sure that he could be able to sleep for a couple of hours.

Lucy fell asleep first, and he watched for a while how her chest rose regularly. He observed her as the exhaustion wrapped around him and he slowly drifted to sleep.

And for the first time after his week in hell, he slept without any nightmares.

Chapter Text

After spending five days at the hospital, Lucy was relieved to know that Cobra would be able to go home today. She had only slept one night at the hospital because he had insisted that she went home after the first night. And honestly, she was glad that he had forced her to sleep at her apartment because the chair had been awful.

“Did you sleep well?” she had asked the morning after the night at the hospital, waking up first.

“As good as someone in my state can, and you? Was the chair comfortable?”

She had glared at him but hadn’t been able to hide a little amused smile.

“Yes, I had the best night of my life,” she had lied.

A small grin had appeared on his face.

“How do you feel?” she had asked, her voice betraying her, showing how worried she was about him.

He had looked at her, observing her face attentively.

“I’m alright. Everything hurts, but it’s bearable.”

“Translation: You’re not alright.”

“I’ve seen worse, Blondie.”

She had felt a pinch in her heart at that, of course, he had seen worse. She had reached for his hand and had squeezed it tightly, hoping to give him some comfort.

“Don’t worry too much about me, seriously, I’m okay. I can’t wait to get out of here, though. I hate this place,” he had said.

“Yeah, I get it. I’m not too fond of hospitals either. But you’re going to be stuck here for a while.”

He had sunk back into the cushions, sighing desperately. She had stroked absently his fingers with hers. She had trouble to believe that even after all he had endured his fingers were still extremely soft. He had strong hands, but at the same time, they were really soft. She had started closing the distance between them, she had started liking having some physical contact with him, like holding his hands or letting him sleep on her shoulder. And Cobra hadn’t seemed to mind these gestures between them.

“You should go home, Blondie,” he had said after a little moment of silence.

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

A little smile had appeared on his face.

“You leave me no choice, then.”

She had blinked, confused by what he had just said.

“I refuse to talk to you until you go home and sleep in a proper bed,” he stated, crossing his arms to show his determination.

She had smiled.

“As if you could bear not talking to me for that long,” she had teased.

He had looked at her, and she had known that he was too proud to back down on his words. So, he had kept his mouth shut, but Lucy had seen him struggling with this stupid promise. She had given up on resisting and had gone home after listening to the morning check-up from his doctor.

She was thankful that Cobra had forced her to go home, though, because she really had needed some time to rest after all that had happened. Now she was fully rested and on her way to the hospital, she was finally going to take the Dragon Slayer home.

In reality, doctors would have refused to let him leave in that state, he was still weak and injured. The scales and the wing had fully disappeared, his bruises had turned into a yellowish color, and he had still half his body covered in bandages. The only reason he was allowed to get out today was because his doctor had determined that staying in the hospital stopped him from fully healing. All the noises kept overwhelming him and he had been plagued with a perpetual headache since the first day at the hospital. Half of the drugs they had tried to give him to ease the pain hadn’t worked on him because of his Poison Dragon Slayer abilities. His doctor had had no choice but to allow him to leave when she had understood that they were hurting him more than helping him. Of course, the doctor had given Lucy some directives to follow, and she had decided to visit Cobra at Lucy’s apartment instead of letting him suffer in the hospital.

Lucy stepped into the room, the Dragon Slayer was sitting in the chair, his eyes closed, and an arm thrown over them to hide the light. He was not wearing the ugly hospital gown, but a black jogger with a grey t-shirt, she also noticed that he still had the earmuffs on. She smiled a little at the view, it was rare to see him in such relaxed clothes since he usually wore fancy clothes like a tight black pants, a burgundy turtleneck and his white coat.

“Are you sure that you’ll be able to endure the walk to my apartment?” she asked him, softly.

“I can endure anything if that means I can be free from this awful headache.”

She approached him slowly and grabbed one of his hands.

“Did the doctor already came by?”

“Yes, she really insisted on what I was forbidden to do, which is mostly everything,” he complained.

Lucy let out a little laugh.

“And you’re laughing?” he asked in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you’re complaining when you can go out of the hospital earlier than you should.”

“It’s not my fault if it is the worst place on earth.”

She rolled her eyes, amused by what he was saying. She helped him up and squeezed his hand lightly.

“I think you’re exaggerating,” she said, smiling.

He looked at her and a smile appeared on his face.

“Me? Never.”

Lucy looked at him in the eye, even if he acted like his usual self, she was certain that he was hiding a lot of pain behind the mask that he usually wore not to scare her. She would not talk about this right now; it would be better to confront him at her apartment where he would be more relaxed and in less pain.

They left the hospital quickly after that, all the paperwork was in order so Cobra was allowed to leave. They walked slowly, she noticed how weakened he was, he spent most of the trip leaning on her. She didn’t say anything, she knew he still had a long time to go before gaining back all his strength.

“It feels good,” he said, absently.

She looked at him, to see what he was talking about. He had stopped for a few seconds and was letting the wind caress his face and ruffle his hair. She smiled a little, happy for him but at the same time pained by what he was saying. She didn’t know what to answer, so she let him enjoy this moment before he started walking again.

They finally arrived at her apartment, Cobra was exhausted, he was trying to hide it, but the stairs had been too much. He was leaning on the wall, breathing heavily. Once he felt strong enough, he made his way to the couch, but Lucy was faster and put her hands on his chest stopping him from lying on it.

“What are you doing?” he asked, confused.

“You’re not sleeping here.”

“What?” he said, confusion filling his voice and his eyes. She was pretty sure that she could see panic too.

She gently pushed him away from the couch and guided him to her room.

“You’re sleeping here,” she exclaimed, pointing her bed.

“What? No way, that’s yours.”

“In your state, you can’t sleep on the couch.”

“Of course, I can. I can’t sleep in your bed,” he stated, trying to get past her and go back to the living room.

Luckily for her, he was weak and not fast enough. She put herself in front of him and she pushed him gently on the bed. But he grabbed her wrists and dragged her into his fall.  

A brief silence filled the room. Both of them not fully realizing what had just happened.

Lucy had her head right on his torso, and the first thing she noticed was that he smelt really good. She quickly shook her head to make all her thoughts disappear before the Dragon Slayer could hear them. She could easily guess that her cheeks were completely red, she tried to ignore that fact and decided to slowly get up, but she met his gaze and stayed paralyzed for a few more seconds. Lucy was pretty sure that Cobra was blushing almost as hard as her, but he sat rapidly, and she couldn’t examine his face as much as she wanted to.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he said, looking away.

“Don’t worry about it,” she answered, then she added, “I won, by the way.”

He looked confused for an instant, and she took these few seconds to fully get up and observe the man sitting on her bed.

She pointed to the bed with a victorious smile, and he sighed with a little defeated smile.

“Fine, you won.”

That made her smile even more. She watched him finally get comfortable in her bed, and only when she knew that he was alright, she left the room to make dinner.

Cobra had been stuck in Lucy’s bed for three days now, his doctor had visited him once, making sure that he was healing correctly. The woman had been surprised by how fast his wounds were closing, almost every of his injuries was now half healed. He still had some time before recovering fully, but he was on the right track.

He spent his days bored in the bed; Lucy had strictly forbidden him to move until the doctor said he was allowed to. So, most of the time, he looked through the window next to the bed, or he tried to sleep. With all that had happened, he hadn’t really have the time to process the week he had spent at Fanny’s mercy. And now that he was alone, because Lucy didn’t want to bother him too much, he could think about it.

He knew Fanny had always loved his Dragon Slayer’s abilities. After all, she had been the one to deem him resistant enough to survive a lacrima implantation. And now, when she had been all giddy to finally have him back in her lab, she had been excited to test reptilian cells on him.

“I’ve been researching on reptilian cells, all these years, just for you. I knew you would be mine again,” she had said with a wicked smile on her face as she strapped him on a table exactly like she had done at the Tower years ago. What she had said had terrified him to his very core, she had always wanted him, not another child to torture. No. Cobra was her creation, her monster. He had been the only child at the Tower of Heaven to survive the lacrima implantation, and she had wanted to test the limit of his body.

The only thing he remembered doing when he couldn’t move was to swear to himself that he would not give her the satisfaction to see him cry or scream or shake. He would not give her any reaction; he would not give her any pleasure in torturing him. When he had been young, he had had a hard time hiding all of his reactions, but as the years at the Tower went on, he had started to resist, show less pain and fear. And most of the time, his abusers had been bored and had stopped playing with him. So that’s what he had decided to do, to let her torture him and hope that she would get bored quickly. He had thought that she would kill him for scarring her face, but when he had heard about the reptilian cells, he had known that his fate would be way worse.

When she had plunged the needle in his neck, his first thoughts had been about Lucy. Usually, when he had to suffer, he thought of his friends, the members of the Oracion Seis, it was his way of enduring everything, they gave him courage. But this time, it had been Lucy. At first, he had felt guilty, because he had realized that he would not be able to keep his promise to help her find her brother. Cobra’s life had taken a positive turn because of her, and he would never be able to help her. He had never wanted to help her in the first place, finding her brother could be dangerous for her; plus he didn’t want to break the promise he had made to her brother but at the same time depriving Lucy of her only family left when he was the only one who could help her find it had been one of the decisive factors for him to accept this stupid deal. If he had been in her place, if someone had confirmed him that he still had some family out there and that only one person could help him find it, he would have been ready to do anything just to get the help from this person.

In the end, Lucy had been the one to give him the strength to get through this no matter how long it would take. She had even cried for him, refusing to let him go with Fanny, he wasn’t even sure that someone had ever cried for him. He still had trouble believing that Lucy had saved him, she had looked for him for a week, only to save him. He had never been saved before. And he felt all weird because of it, he couldn’t put a name on this awkward feeling.

Cobra shivered in the bed. Thinking about everything that had happened only made things worse, he had only tried to remember the first day and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to remember the others. He wanted to forget the pain and the suffering not torture himself mentally with all of this.

He heard Lucy’s footsteps getting closer to the room, she was about to knock when he said, “I’m awake, you can come in.”

“I swear you’re the worst, I thought I told you not to listen to my thoughts,” she answered, opening the door.

“I wasn’t listening to your thoughts, it’s not my fault if you are as loud as an elephant.”

She glared at him, and he couldn’t help but give her a little proud smile in response, just to tease her even more.

He was glad that she had decided to come in the room, it allowed him to think about more positive things.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted,” she said, putting a bowl of sliced apples on the nightstand.

He felt guilty to see her do all these kinds of things for him, he hadn’t asked her to take care of him like she did. But it was like she did all those things unconsciously, all these gestures that made him so happy but at the same time completely uncomfortable, he felt like he was using her, and he hated this. He looked at the apples, refusing to touch them.

“You know that you don’t have to do this, right?” he asked instead, dodging her question.

“It’s to make you regain your strength faster.”

“Please, tell me you’re thinking about other things than my recovery.”

She looked away, and Cobra knew that he had been the only thing on her mind for the past few days. He sighed and he was about to say something, but she was faster.

“I don’t mind…” she whispered shyly.

“What?”

She still refused to meet his eyes.

“I mean, I don’t mind taking care of you… This time, and all the other times I had to help you, it never bothered me…”

He could feel his cheeks heat and he could see that Lucy’s ears were red.

“Oh…” he said, a bit surprised.

“So, if you need or want anything, just let me know. I guarantee you that it is not a problem, on the contrary, I really enjoy taking care of you.”

This time he was completely at a loss for words. No one had ever told him such a thing, and he was really confused, and shocked and just completely lost.

She dared to look at him, he could see that beautiful shade of a pink covering most of her face. Probably mirroring his because he was fairly sure that he was as pink as her right now.

“But don’t be ridiculous and ask things that I can’t do like letting you leave this bed.”

He sighed, but he couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face.

“Great, just what I wanted,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too.

“Actually, I didn’t come here just for that I wanted to show you something,” she said, completely changing the subject.

He looked at her and nodded.

“I thought you might want to read the article about Fanny’s arrestation,” she mumbled, handing him a newspaper.

He could see how unsure she was, how she feared that simply mentioning the name of this woman could hurt him. He couldn’t deny that he liked just how much she cared about his well-being, it felt good to know that he mattered to someone to that extent. He took the newspaper in his hands, and looked at the endless quantity of words that he couldn’t decipher.

By accepting it, Cobra had put himself in a dead end now, hadn’t he?

If he had refused to look at the paper, Lucy would probably have understood his reaction, but now he had it in his hands showing his interest for it. He could fake it, but maybe Lucy would want to talk to him about the article, and if he hadn’t read it, she would easily guess that he was lying. And in reality, he was tired of hiding this, tired of always struggling to find a way out of not reading things. He had discussed this with Levy when they had been stuck together, and he had told her that he wanted to tell Lucy.

It was his chance.

He was scared, terrified. Maybe she would make fun of him, say that he was stupid, but it was just his head playing tricks on him, because he was now certain that Lucy would not do such things. He didn’t know her very well, but she wasn’t the kind to make fun of people at all.

He stared at the paper, not wanting to see her face when he would tell the truth. He could feel the shame course through his body.

Why was it so hard to tell her? It had been easy when he had told Levy, probably because he had wanted to leave the underground quickly. But now, it was just so hard to tell Lucy. He took a deep breath.

“I can’t read…” he admitted.

Finally, he had said it. He refused to meet her eyes and he continued to fix the paper. He felt like the silence that followed lasted an eternity.

“That explains a lot…” she said thoughtfully.

“What?” he said, turning his head to look at her.

“I mean, every time we got letters from the Council, you never opened them. You always waited for me to read them… At the café, too. You let me choose your drink…”

So, she had noticed. He looked away, still totally ashamed.

“I’m pathetic I know…”

She put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her.

“Not being able to read doesn’t make you pathetic nor stupid, and I can clearly see in your eyes that you think that… So, let me tell you again, you’re not stupid, Cobra,” she said, trying to comfort him.

“But…”

“Don’t even try to contradict me, because I know I’m right and you know that, too.”

She looked at him, and he could see that her eyes filled with compassion.

All his life, he had considered himself stupid for not being able to read, and the two times he had admitted it, the persons had told him the opposite of what he thought he would hear.

“Thank you, Lucy, really… It means a lot to hear this…”

She beamed, glad to have reassured him.

“So, do you want me to read the article for you?” she asked, looking at the newspaper in his hands.

“No, I don’t think I can stomach hearing you read all the horrors that woman committed.”

She nodded, understanding his decision.

A silence filled the room, they were both taking the time to understand what had just happened. Lucy needed a few minutes to take in what he had just told her, and Cobra needed time to calm his racing heart. Admitting this had been way more stressful than he had thought.

“You know… If you want, I can teach you how to read, we have a lot of free time since you still have to fully recover.”

“I’m not a good student, that’s why Brain decided not to teach me, he said that I was just wasting his time.”

“Well, I don’t know if you have noticed but I’m not Brain, and I’m more patient than that asshole. I’m convinced we can make this work if you want to…”

He couldn’t help but laugh a little at how she had insulted his former guild master. And honestly, it felt good.

“Alright, we can try… But not today, I’m exhausted.”

She nodded.

“Be prepared for tomorrow, then.”

He gave her a little smile.

“Oh, I will be, don’t worry.”

Then, she reminded him to eat the apples and try to sleep. She left the room after a few minutes.

After eating the apples that she had taken the time to prepare just for him, he decided to take a nap so that he could be in shape for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

It took Cobra two months to be fully healed, at least physically, Lucy knew that mentally that was another story. He had put his mask back on, only letting her see parts of who he really was.

She had taken these two months to teach him how to read. She remembered how hard it had been for him to admit it, and how blind she had been. All the clues had been right in front of her eyes, and never once she had thought that he couldn’t read. She felt a bit bad to have always repeated him that he could open the Council’s letters when he had a reason not to. He was a skilled liar; she couldn’t deny that. Cobra had made a lot of progress during this month, he still stumbled on some words when he read, and she still noticed some errors when he wrote, but he had improved a lot and quickly.

The doctor had come yesterday and had told them that Cobra was now fully healed and that he could get back to work. And the first thing he had done was to give Lucy back her bed. She hadn’t minded lending him her bed, the couch had been comfortable enough. She wished that he hadn’t had to go back on the couch, though, he deserved better than that. But living with Cobra was just temporary, she couldn’t buy a bed for him to leave in a couple of months.

The fourth month of them working together was starting. In eight months, Cobra would be freed if he respected the Council’s orders. She was glad that the higher-ups had decided to let this month count in the year they had to spend together, it was probably their way to apologize to Cobra. 

They still hadn’t gotten a new letter from the Council which meant that they were free to do whatever they wanted. They were both sitting in the kitchen, eating their breakfast. Lucy had an idea in mind, but she wasn’t sure that Cobra would like it. Now that the Dragon Slayer was healed, she wanted to go look for her brother, it was the perfect moment to do that since the Council was not bothering them with their ridiculous missions. She wanted to go back to her old mansion, she knew that her father was on a trip right now which allowed them to slip inside and maybe learn information about her brother and what Fanny had done with him since she had probably been the one to take him to the Tower.

“What are you scheming, Blondie?” he asked, observing her face with eyes filled with curiosity.

“I’m not scheming anything.”

He raised an eyebrow, not convinced by her answer.

“Fine, I want to go back to my old mansion and see if I can find any clues on my brother.”

He looked at her, dumbfounded, before uttering only one single word.

“No.”

“Wait, let me explain…”

“I’m not going there, Lucy. I’m not going right to my enemy’s house! You may be his daughter, but he tried to kill you, too. That’s a stupid idea,” he said, and she could hear anger rising in his voice, or was it fear?

He was about to get up when she grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers lightly.

“He won’t be there, I promise. I know that he went on a trip, he won’t come back until the end of the week.”

She could feel him shaking, he was scared. He was terrified of her father, she could easily tell, Cobra could not hide it.

“Lucy… I… Uh… I’m not sure it’s a good idea, what if it’s a trap? What about the servants in the mansion? Did you think about all these variables?”

“I did, the mansion is empty, no one is there, and someone confirmed that he got on the boat he was supposed to.”

He looked at her, but she had decided to only show her unwavering resolve on her face, she was going there with or without him. But most of her plans revolved about him being there, in case, there was indeed a trap.

“I don’t like this, it seems dangerous.”

“I won’t let you fall into his hands ever again,” she said softly, trying to reassure him.

“Don’t make promise that you can’t keep...”

She could easily guess that he was upset. It was to be expected, she was asking him something awful right now. 

“So, are you coming with me or not?” she asked, unsure how he would respond.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I? That’s why you accepted that deal in the first place. If it’s for your brother, I feel like I don’t have a choice but to follow you.”

She had never seen him so angry; it was as if he was a completely different person now. She shouldn’t have asked him that, his week in captivity was still too recent. She felt like she was losing the relation they had built during these three months.

“That’s not true. You can choose, I would never force you to do something that you don’t want to do, I’m not like this.”

“What are you going to do if I refuse?”

“I will probably go and check if Natsu can come with me instead of you. I don’t want to hurt you, Cobra. Believe me...”

He looked at her, and she could see the fear in his eyes, he wanted to help her, but it was his fear who was holding him back.

“I’ll go with you…”

“Are you sure? You really have the choice, I promise,” she said, wanting to make sure that he didn’t feel forced to go.

He nodded and he disappeared in the bathroom.

What have I done? she asked herself, realizing just what she had asked him to do.

Cobra reappeared almost an hour later, he had showered and dressed, ready to go with her. Lucy had been waiting on the couch, she had chosen to wear one of her blue skirts with a white top. The Dragon Slayer was wearing black pants and a burgundy top as usual. She was observing him and realized that he missed the white coat that he wore with all his outfits.

“We can go now,” he said, his hair still down and wet.

He really wasn’t fine; he usually took care of his hair before leaving.

“Wait!”

She rushed to her room, opened one of the drawers and grabbed his white coat that she had kept after he had disappeared. She went back to the living room and handed him his coat.

“I… Uh… When you disappeared, it was the only thing left of you…” she laughed awkwardly, not knowing what to say, “I know it means a lot to you, so I kept it, I washed it and fixed the hole… I completely forgot to-”

She would have continued rambling if not for Cobra. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you…” he whispered, “Really, thank you…”

She could hear the emotions in his voice, she couldn’t see if he was crying, but he was touched, really touched by what she had done.  

He let go of her and gently took the coat, and he didn’t wait another second before putting it on. Lucy couldn’t help but smile, for a brief moment Cobra looked really happy.

She had forgotten just how much that white coat suited him perfectly.

They were on their way to the station now, Cobra stayed silent. He was still upset about her plan, and honestly Lucy could understand his anger. She had asked him something awful, but she had given him the choice to stay at home. He had accepted to come, she couldn’t help but wonder if in the end, he still had felt forced to accompany her. Plus, now he had the bracelets back which meant that he couldn’t use his magic as freely as he wanted to. That probably did nothing to ease his mind.

Once they were on the train, they couldn’t find any seats next to each other which meant that Cobra couldn’t lean on her shoulder to endure the train ride. They sat face to face, still in this awkward silence that had followed them since this morning.

“Cobra, I know you’re upset, I’m sorry…” she said, trying to start a conversation.

She watched him shift uncomfortably in his seat, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed. The train had started to move, and the motion sickness was already hitting him strongly.

“I’m not upset,” he answered through gritted teeth. Not because he was angry, just because he was sick.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation right now, I’m going to let you rest…”

He nodded, and she could see how every of his movements demanded him a lot of strength.

“But thank you for accompanying me, I’m putting you through all of this when you didn’t even want to come in the first place,” she quickly added.

He didn’t answer, he was too focused on not vomiting in the train. She grabbed one of his hands and started to trace the infinity of little scars that covered it as a way to comfort him.

Once the train ride was over, Cobra still felt sick and Lucy decided to take him to a little café nearby, just so that he could rest for a bit and drink a glass of water. He was sitting on a chair, his head thrown back and his eyes closed. Lucy was wondering if his motion sickness hadn’t gotten worse, normally he was able to recover rather quickly after a train ride, but this time it seemed longer. Maybe it was because he was still not at the top of his shape. She didn’t know. The waitress brought one glass of water, a strawberry milkshake, and a chocolate fondant, if she was going to be stuck in this café, she was at least going to enjoy herself. Cobra opened his eyes and stared distastefully at the chocolate fondant in front of her.

“I’m not giving it to you,” she said fully knowing that he didn’t want it.

A small smile appeared on his lips before he drank the water.

“I can see that you really love sugary things,” he said. He seemed a bit better, but he was still pale.

“Of course I love them, chocolate is the best, really!”

Another quick smile crossed his face.

“Oh, trust me, I know that. Do you think I don’t hear when you tiptoe in the middle of the night, just to eat chocolate?”

She felt her cheeks heat and she gave him a light kick in the leg. He glared at her as he stroked his leg where she had hit him, but she simply drank her milkshake looking away innocently.

“You weren’t supposed to know that,” she said, sipping her drink.

She observed him, it wasn’t like their usual teasing, it was different. With the mood Cobra was in, it was complicated, she was scared to anger him even more. He had said that he was not upset, but Lucy had trouble believing him.

“I saw that there was a market outside, I really want to see it, is it alright if we do this before going to the mansion?” she said, changing the subject after noticing that he wasn’t going to tease her like he usually did.

She was scared to have ruined their relation, he was so cold towards her now, she really didn’t like it.

“As you wish, I don’t really care.”

Lucy felt a pang in her heart hearing this, he was acting like the first day she had freed him, only following her desires.

She really had made a mistake.

They left the café a few minutes later, when Cobra was not as pale as a sheet and had assured her that he was fine. There was no talking like they usually did, there was not this little spark between them that always brought her joy. There was just a terrible coldness that terrified her.

She saw a book stall a bit further, maybe she needed some time alone; plus Cobra looked intrigued by something on another stall, it was her chance.

“Cobra, I will be at the book stall, meet me there when you are finished here,” she said, observing him. He simply nodded too focused on what was at the stall.

She smiled, seeing him interested by something when he had said that he didn’t care, reassured her. She started observing the books, reading their titles, skimming through them.

“My Lulu! I never thought that I would meet you here!” a voice said from behind her. A voice that she immediately recognized and that sent shivers down her spine.

She turned and met the man that she hadn’t wanted to see ever again.

Dan Straight.

They had met when they were younger before Dan moved to another town to start training at the Zentopia Church. The problem was that since their first meeting, he had always had a big crush on Lucy and had asked several times to go out with her to no avail.

She had been glad to learn that he had moved out of this small town, so why was he here right now? He was wearing an armor which could only mean that he was now a knight for the church, he was probably here to guarantee the security of the market.

“I’m so happy to see you, you’re even prettier than before!” he continued, hugging her tightly.

Please, someone get me out of here, she said to herself as she rolled her eyes, exasperated.

“Dan, nice to see you again…” she lied, doing her best to contain her unease.

The man was holding her hands, and Lucy was looking for a way out now, she tried to look over his shoulder and see where Cobra was, he was not where he had been mere moments ago.

“I think it’s fate that our paths cross again in this little town, I think we should get married, this is the sign of our undying love.”

Oh, she wanted to punch him, even after all these years he hadn’t changed one bit. She would probably have kicked him, but she didn’t want to cause a scene. Especially in this town where anybody could recognize her and tell her father that she had come here.

Cobra had been right from the start; it had been a stupid idea to come here. She had not thought about every variable. Jude would learn about their little visit to the mansion, and it would end badly. The Dragon Slayer might end up in jail forever if her father learned that they had broken into the Heartifilia mansion.

“Yeah, and I think you’re completely delusional, because I’m not marrying you. Not in this life, not in any another,” she answered dryly.

“Oh, my Lulu, you’ve always been like this, but you can’t say that our meeting today isn’t fate! It’s love! We are meant to be!” he laughed happily.

I’m going to punch him.

She smiled awkwardly, trying to free herself and disappear in the crowd but he refused to let go of her hands.

“Dan, it was nice meeting you again, but I really have to go,” she said, trying to get rid of him as nicely as possible.

“Don’t say that my Lulu. I’ll buy you a drink, I know a nice café not too far from here.”

“Maybe another time? I’m really busy right now, my friend is waiting for me, I have to go.”

Leave me alone!

“Come on, it will only be for a few minutes!”

She was about to punch him and cause a scene, she really wanted him to leave her alone. The next thing she knew, a hand was on her hip and her body was pressed against another. The first thing she noticed was the white coat, and when she raised her eyes, she recognized the crimson hair.

“She told you several times that she didn’t want to go with you, leave her alone,” Cobra said, and she could hear anger in his voice.

“Who are you?” Dan asked, visibly upset by the presence of the other man.

“Why does it matter? You were bothering my girlfriend, and even if she was not, when a girl say no, it means no.”

Girlfriend? What was Cobra saying right now? Did he get hit on the head on his way here?

She could feel her cheeks heat and she hid his face in Cobra’s coat.  

“Girlfriend? Why would a girl as perfect as my Lulu accept to go out with you?”

“Because she loves me, and I love her tremendously.”

Lucy felt like her heart was going to burst. What nonsense was Cobra spewing right now?

“I don’t believe you, why weren’t you with her when I met her then?”

“Why does it matter? She doesn’t want you; you can leave us,” he sighed, clearly pissed.

“Cobra, we should go… I don’t want to cause a scene and it’s exactly what we are doing,” she whispered to him.

The Dragon Slayer gently grabbed her arm and started walking away from Dan, but a javelin blocked their way.

“Not so fast,” he said, looking at Cobra with fury.

Cobra had easily guessed that today would be a shitty day from start to finish. Lucy’s stupid plan, the train ride and now a love quarrel or whatever that was. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

He had heard Lucy call for help in her mind and he had immediately left the stall he was observing. He had been fascinated by little figurines of snakes and had spent his time watching every single one of them. He had needed this time alone; he had had trouble controlling his emotions since this morning and he could see just how much he was hurting Lucy in the process. He had not wanted to come here, she had given him the choice, and, in the end, he had decided to accompany her, he didn’t have the right to complain. He just wasn’t sure that breaking into Jude Heartfilia’s mansion was the brightest plan of the year. And yes, he was also scared, scared to fall back into that monster’s hands. But Lucy had assured him that her father wasn’t here, he had to trust her. He had also realized that he wanted to talk to Lucy about what had happened this morning, that was before he heard her call for help. So, he had run in her direction, but when he had seen her struggling to free herself from the man’s grip, something in him had snapped, he was angry, really angry.

How dare he continue to touch her when she has told him several times to leave her alone?

There was a sort of rage in his heart that he didn’t comprehend, he hated seeing Lucy being harassed like this. And he knew she could defend herself, so why wasn’t she doing anything? He had listened to her thoughts and had heard that she didn’t want to cause a scene. Which had only made helping her a bit more complicated when the only thing he wanted was to punch this idiot. Well, even if he really wanted to, he would go back to jail for punching a knight in the face, so it was a no-go.

He had let out a deep sigh and the only that had come to his mind was to resume his act as her boyfriend they had used during their missions for the Council.

And that’s what he had done, only for it to create more problems.

Cobra’s path was now blocked by a spear in front of him. Dan studied him warily; his mood had completely changed.

“Cobra, you said?” the knight asked to Lucy, then he added, “Get behind me, my Lulu, he is a criminal and I will protect you.”

The Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth. He didn’t know how to get out of this situation without him not ending up in prison again.

Lucy stepped in front of the spear, holding Cobra’s hand. It was a way of telling him that they would get through this ridiculous situation together.

“Leave us, Dan. I don’t need you to protect me and especially not from him,” she said, determined.

“He is a member of the Oracion Seis! He is definitely manipulating you; I know you would never say such things!”

“You don’t even know me!” she retorted, clearly annoyed.

I want to punch him so hard, Cobra heard her thought, and he had to stop himself from bursting with laughter.

This situation was just ridiculous. They were cornered by a knight just because of an unrequited love.

“That would be quite the solution, Blondie,” he said, ready to watch if she decided to let her thoughts win.

“It would, yeah. But it would only mean more problems.”

Dan looked at them, confused by their little discussion or more likely by the surname that Cobra had just used.

Luckily, chance seemed to be on their side because someone called for help a bit further away from them and this devoted knight couldn’t resist helping someone.

“Don’t move you two! I’ll be back quickly, and we will resume this discussion!” Dan said as he ran in the direction of the voice.

Lucy and Cobra sighed, relieved to be freed from this man’s presence.

“We should go,” and before he could say something, she was holding his hands and walking in the direction of the mansion. Only when they were far away from the market, she stopped and sighed heavily.

“Thank you for helping me back there, I thought you wouldn’t come since you were upset,” she said, looking at her feet.

It was his turn to sigh.

“I told you in the train, I am not upset.”

“Well, that’s hard to believe when you keep acting like this.”

It was true, he had been harsh on her when he shouldn’t have been.

“I’m sorry…” was the best thing he could say.

She raised an eyebrow, confused by his apology.

“It’s just that it terrifies me, going into this house knowing that it could very well be a trap… I was not upset, I was scared. Terrified, even. But I’m here to help you find your brother, so if you think that’s the best idea to find him, I’ll help.”

She looked down, visibly upset by his answer.

“So, in the end, you felt forced to come here... That’s how I hear it.”

“I didn’t, Lucy… I came here with you willingly, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not scared about what could happen. I’ve lived traumatizing shit with your father, and I don’t want it to happen again. But I also want to help you… So, I decided to put my fear aside and help you.”

“That doesn’t help me in making me feel less guilty about putting you through this…”

He gently put a hand on her cheek and forced her to look at him. Sometimes, she looked at him with such sad eyes and it broke his heart, exactly like right now. She really had been thinking that she had forced him to come with her. He was a big idiot. They should have had this discussion sooner.

“You have nothing to feel guilty about… It’s my fault, I acted like an ass this whole time, but I’ve never been upset with you for one second. Okay, maybe I was upset when you told me your plan, but I can understand why you want to do this. And you gave me a choice and I decided to help you. I don’t have the right to be upset when it’s my own decision that led me here. So, you have nothing to feel guilty about…”

It would have been way easier to simply tell her who her brother was. Cobra could do it if he wanted to. But he had made a promise to Lucy’s brother, and he would respect it. So, he felt like he at least had to participate in her investigation, and after what he had endured with Fanny, he really wanted to help Lucy find her family, he would never forgive himself if he died before accomplishing the only thing that had allowed to get him out of prison in the first place.

Her body was slightly shaking, and she looked at him in the eye, he wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or not. He really had been cruel with her today, hadn’t he?

“So, you didn’t feel forced to come with me?” she asked, weakly.

“Absolutely not. I know that you care about me not like the Council, that’s why you gave me the choice in the first place, it’s because you don’t want to force me to do something that I don’t want to do. I didn’t feel obligated to follow you, I swear.”

She put her head against his torso and gripped the extremities of his coat tightly. She whispered something that really sounded like: You’re a real idiot.

He smiled a little and patted her back trying to comfort her. He felt bad to have put her through this.

He really was an idiot.

Once they had settled their little argument, they decided that it was time to break into the mansion. They were outside the metallic fence of the garden, and Cobra was on his guards, listening to every sound coming from this place. It seemed that Lucy had been right, it was empty. Plus, no particular smell emanated from this place which meant that it was totally devoid of any human presence.

She looked at him with worry in her eyes, but he shook his head to tell her that no one was there. Then, she summoned one of her spirits, a woman with pink hair wearing a maid outfit, that dug a hole in the ground to allow them to penetrate in the garden without being noticed by the villagers. Honestly, Cobra was glad that Lucy had thought of this, because otherwise they would have needed to climb the fence and they would have been easily spotted by the villagers.

They climbed out of the hole and arrived directly in front of the main door. Lucy took out a small key and opened the door.

“I didn’t think that he would have left you a key.”

“A few months ago, he was desperate for me to come back home. He had engaged Phantom Lord to capture me and bring me back here… But with the help of my friends, we defeated this guild and I decided to go see my father on my own. To tell him that I would never live with him ever again and that I was not his puppet. It didn’t stop me from stealing a key, just in case,” she explained, with a little proud smile when she said the last sentence.

Cobra blinked, surprised by what she had just said. He realized that she rarely talked about herself, he didn’t know anything about her past, what it had been like to live under the same roof as the monster that was her father. That was also why Gajeel had made Lucy suffer and why he still felt guilty even now. Cobra had heard about Phantom Lord when he was still at the Oracion Seis, Brain had told him that if they ever came across this. guild, Cobra would be the one to fight the Iron Dragon Slayer.

“Cobra, are you coming?” she asked from inside the mansion.

He had been too focused on what she had just said and had completely forgotten the main reason they were here in the first place. He shook his head to focus again on his real objective and joined her. He followed her, she knew the mansion by heart, so it was best if he let her go where she knew they would find useful information.

On their way, Cobra couldn’t help but think about how she had never told him anything about her past when he had told her plenty about his, well he had stayed evasive on most parts of his past. Not because he didn’t want to tell her, just because he knew she probably wouldn’t be able to stomach it, he preferred sparing her all the pain he had endured. He could imagine that she hadn’t had the most amazing childhood with a father like Jude, but what exactly had she endured all these years? He didn’t know why but he was interested to know more. He wanted to know more about her.

They arrived in front of two big wooden doors that Lucy pushed open, revealing a bleak office. He saw her shiver when she stepped inside the room.

“Are you alright?” he asked, looking at her. She looked extremely sad, and he hated seeing her like this.

“I’m fine… It’s just that this place doesn’t hold good memories. I never thought that I would step in his office ever again…” she answered with a sad smile.

“Let’s not waste our time here, then. Maybe, after we are finished here, we could go back to the market if it is still open.”

She turned to look at him.

“I would love that…”

He offered a comforting smile that she replicated. He hadn’t noticed this similarity they shared until today, how they had been broken, differently, by the same man. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly before they finally decided to investigate the different files.

Cobra was glad that he had learned how to read, he felt like he could be a bit useful right now, he was still a slow reader and had trouble deciphering every word, but he could help. He had a book about finance in his hands and he did not want to read its content. Lucy was sitting in her father’s chair reading through another book that didn’t seem interesting at all. He sighed and put his book back on the shelf before observing the other shelves. He tried to remember if he had seen Jude with a book when he was still at the Tower. He searched for something familiar, anything that could help. And that’s when he saw it.

A red folder at the top of a shelf.

That was a folder that Jude always kept with him, where he had gathered information on every child of the Tower of Heaven.

Cobra swallowed. That folder contained information about him as well as Lucy’s brother. He grabbed it and opened it reluctantly. He skimmed through the pages, noticing that it contained different images of the children. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to see the information about him, but he knew that he didn’t want Lucy to see them. It was too personal. He could open himself up a bit, but he could not let her go through this.

He knew he would be at the beginning of the folder since his real name started with an “E”, so he turned the pages until he reached the wanted letter.

He could feel his heart rate speed up, what was he going to discover about himself in this folder? What horror was he about to relive that he had completely forgotten? And at the same time, he felt a sliver of hope, a hope that maybe he would learn something about his natal town, his birthday or his family name. All things he had completely forgotten. While skimming through the pages, he had sometimes seen pictures of the children’s parents, he had recognized some town names, had even seen some birthdays. Maybe… Maybe he would learn something positive about himself for once. Then, he reached the page with his name on it, and he simply forgot how to breathe. There was no information about his birthday nor his family name, but there was the name of place.

Ibisco Village.

He finally had the first piece of information to help him find more about his origin. He looked around in the office if he could see a map and maybe know where this village was located, but there was none. He would keep the name in mind and check a map once they were back to Lucy’s apartment. He could feel his heart racing with excitement, he would soon learn more about himself.

His little moment of joy was short-lived, because he focused once again on the folder, he didn’t want to spend too much time in his enemy’s house, he didn’t feel serene at all in this place. 

He had been too focused on finding new information about himself to notice that he had completely ignored his first name at the top of the page. Next to his first name was a picture of him, his clothes were covered in blood, and he was crying. He didn’t remember this picture being taken, but he knew that it was on his first day at the Tower, because he had never worn these clothes ever again since then. The little boy on the picture looked terrified and confused. He had been so young. He decided to read through some of the text that was written under his name, and it was just too much. He leaned against the shelf and let himself sink into the floor. Jude had recorded everything, the number of punishments Cobra had gotten, how he had been punished, every experiment that had been done on him, and sometimes it was accompanied by pictures.

He felt sick, he didn’t know how his body had been able to endure all of it, how he could still be alive right now.

“Cobra, are you alright?” he heard Lucy ask from the other side of the room where she was sitting.

He nodded, he probably looked everything but fine, curled up on the floor like he was.

“Are you sure?”

And he could feel her gaze on him, scanning him to know what was wrong.

“I have a headache, reading through all of these books is so boring,” he answered, hoping that his voice wouldn’t betray him.

“Yeah, I get it, my eyes are tired.”

He was relieved to know that his voice hadn’t betrayed him. A silence except for the turning of the pages filled the room. Cobra decided to take out the information about himself from this folder and he hid the documents in his coat, then he gave the folder to Lucy.

She looked up from the book she was reading, surprised by his action.

“I think you might find some interesting things in here, but let me tell you, it’s not easy to read. So don’t force yourself, your father is really a twisted man,” he said, already regretting giving her the opportunity to read such horrible things.

Lucy had not expected Cobra to give him a big folder that seemed full of new documents that she was not so eager to read. She had noticed how he had sat against the shelf earlier, how his strength had seemed to completely leave his body when he had read what was in the folder. But he had wanted to hide his unease, and she hadn’t wanted to push him. She was asking him a lot, after all he was in the house of his worst enemy, she could understand that he felt unsafe right now. He sat back against the shelf, taking another book in his hands.

Lucy opened the folder and immediately understood what it was.

A record of the children of the Tower of Heaven.

She gasped, shocked by how many pages there were, how many children had gotten their lives ruined by her father.

She started to get through the pages, avoiding the pictures as much as she could.

Cobra had read that?

She looked in his direction, but he was too focused on what he was reading to notice her. While skimming through the folder, she realized that she could find Cobra’s page by accident. She knew what he looked like when he was younger since they had met at the Tower, it made her realize that she had never talked to him about that now that she had confirmed that he was the boy she had met years ago. He probably didn’t remember her anyway; she didn’t know if she should talk about this with him.

She shook these thoughts away for the moment and she focused on finding her brother’s page. It would probably be in the middle of the folder since his name was in the middle of the alphabet. When she finally reached the letter she wanted, her brother’s name was at the top of the pile. She read his name, a name that she hadn’t read in years, and her body started shaking. A picture was next to the name, she could see a small boy with brown eyes and blond hair exactly like hers. The child looked weak and exhausted. She recognized the clothes he was wearing; it was the clothes he had worn the day he had disappeared, the day he had protected her. She wanted to cry but she did her best to keep her composure and continue reading.

Lucy started reading the record of what Jude had done to her brother. The punishments he had gotten, what experiment had been done on him. She couldn’t believe that her father had done that to his own son. Would he have done the same thing to her if she had been captured that day, too?

She read and read, but the worst part was the pictures, the first picture showed her brother strapped to a table with a syringe about to plunge in his neck.

Today, we tried a new drug on the subject, and he started crying and calling for his parents, for me! It was laughable. I’m not sure he is going to survive for a long time. I can’t believe that my own son is not strong enough to endure this, he is pathetic.

It was what Lucy could read next to the first picture, then she turned the page. There was a picture of her brother lying on the ground, his body covered in blood and bruises, but this time he had black hair and not blond hair.

Seriously, my stupid son didn’t stop calling for me even when I told him that I was not his father anymore. I asked Fanny to take care of him for a while, maybe after some of her experiments he will finally stop calling me dad. She came back a few hours later with him and he had black hair, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. But he still considered me as his father, so I decided to teach him a lesson, I decided that I would not stop beating him up until he called me master. I think the punishment worked perfectly.

Her vision was blurry, she hadn’t realized that she was crying.

This useless child has finally understood that I’m not his father anymore. When he is not working nor in Fanny’s hands, he sits in his cells, his hands on his ears rocking back and forth. I can’t believe that I had such a weak child, he is starting to lose his mind. Well, he is not my problem anymore. He is just a child of the Tower of Heaven, like every child here.

Suddenly a hand appeared on the folder, preventing her from reading the rest. She raised her head, Cobra was in front of her, looking at her with sad eyes.

“Enough, you’ve read enough,” he said, breathing heavily as if he had gone through the same emotions as her right now.

“He… My father… My… My brother…” was the only thing she could utter.

He nodded, his eyes were filled with pain and sadness.

“I didn’t want you to read it, but I felt like I couldn’t hide this from you…”

Cobra shouldn’t have let her read her brother’s file. He had listened to her thoughts while she was reading, but he knew she couldn’t endure it all, so he had decided to intervene.

“I want to continue reading,” she said, pushing his hand away.

“There’s no clue in here, Lucy. It stops when your father leaves the Tower, he doesn’t know what your brother has become. Don’t hurt yourself like this…”

She looked disappointed, and he could see how shaky she was, how unfocused she was.

“I remember you saying that he was fine physically, but not mentally… Is it because of what my father did to him?”

He nodded. Cobra had seen how Jude had broken Lucy’s brother again and again.

“Yes,” he answered. He thought that being honest was the best thing to do right now.

“Is that why my brother doesn’t want me to look for him?”

“Sort of. He is scared of hurting you. He loves you, Lucy. He loves you so much… But he is not the same, he will never be the same… I think, your brother wants to approach you himself, when he is ready… I don’t know if this day might come, though…”

She burst into tears, and he didn’t hesitate, he took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. She let herself slid of the chair, and they slowly ended up on the floor, their back against the desk. She huddled against him, her head buried in his chest, and she couldn’t stop crying. Cobra held her tightly, and he stroked her back, giving her as much comfort as he could. He was not an expert in this at all, he felt that his actions were a bit awkward, but he didn’t know what else he could do.

After a couple of minutes, her crying turned into silent sobs. He continued to hold her tightly. He was relieved to know that he was able to comfort her, he was unused to this kind of thing so he always felt like his actions were a bit clumsy, but it seemed that he was able to take care of her, that holding her in his arms was enough to comfort her and to make her feel a bit better.

She raised her head quickly and looked at him in the eye.

“This means… He also wrote a whole thing about you…” she said, softly, “That’s what you were reading earlier…” she then added, as if suddenly everything that had happened in this room started to make sense.

She wriggled herself out of his embrace to grab the folder and started to turn the pages in the direction of the first letters of the alphabet. She stopped when she reached “C” and started searching for his name. She frowned when she reached “D” and hadn’t seen his profile. She looked at him, confused.

“Why don’t you have a page in it?” she asked, looking at the pages starting with “C” again.

“I have one,” he answered, even though he knew he had taken out the pages so that she wouldn’t find his profile. Plus, how would she have found it when she didn’t even know his name?

Her frown deepened; she checked the pages again. She probably would have thought more rationally if she hadn’t been completely shocked by what she had just read.

“I can’t find it,” she said, upset.

“Wait, you think that Cobra is my real name?”

“It’s not?”

He looked at her, she was clearly exhausted and not thinking coherently. He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the thing.

“Of course it’s not!” he said almost laughing.

She leant against his shoulder, still observing the different profiles in the folder.

“Then what is your name…?” she asked, looking at him and he could see a tiny bit of curiosity in her eyes.

He felt his heart racing, he had never told his real name to anyone except the members of the Oracion Seis. His name was one of the only things he knew of his past, it was precious to him, and he didn’t want to say it to anybody. Lucy was not anybody, though, but he didn’t know if he was ready to tell her that.

“I will tell you my name, only if you promise me that you won’t try to look for my profile in the folder…” he said. He didn’t want her to search for it. He knew that his profile was gone anyway, but if she discovered that, she would only ask more questions.

He grabbed the folder, and she didn’t resist, she let go of it easily, silently accepting this little deal. She kept her gaze on him during the whole action, barely daring to blink. She really wanted to know his name. Once the folder was not in her hands anymore, he met her eyes.

“My real name is Erik,” he whispered.

“Erik…” she echoed.

He felt like his heart was about to burst, he had just told her one of his biggest secrets, after years, he had finally used his name. It was already weird for him to say it, so hearing another person say it was even weirder. She seemed to contemplate it for a moment and then she said, “It’s a beautiful name…”

He could feel his cheeks heat, he was exposing himself completely and he had never expected that revealing his name would go like this.

“I can’t believe that I finally know your name. The first time we met, you didn’t even tell me your name…” she stated, mumbling the last part of her sentence.

He blinked; at first, he was confused because when they were on the Nirvana, she had never asked for his name.

“I mean, the first time we met we were enemies, of course, I wasn’t going to tell you my name that easily,” he answered, still a bit perturbed.

“I wasn’t talking about our fight on the Nirvana… I was talking about our previous encounter, at the Tower of Heaven, many years ago…”

He had never thought that she would mention this encounter, he had thought that she had completely forgotten it and honestly it probably would have been for the best. The Tower of Heaven was not a synonym of good memories, and it was valid for anyone.  But she remembered him, and it warmed his heart to know that.

“It was to protect you,” he said, looking away.

“Protect me from what? I didn’t need to be protected… It was you who needed to be protected.”

“I didn’t want to tell you that day because I was convinced that I would die in the Tower. I remember telling you that we would never see each other again, that was because I was convinced that I wouldn’t make it. I preferred to stay an anonymous boy that you would have simply forgotten with the time. I thought that if you knew my name, it would have been harder to forget me.”

“I never forgot that day, nor the boy that I met. I always wondered what he had become. I was too young to know what death was so I was convinced that we would meet again. It’s only years later that I realized just how stupid my words must have sounded.”

“A little, yeah… But I think meeting you was the light I needed to get out of the dark, your words filled me with hope, and I think that is one of the reasons I fought every day to get out of this hell. I think you’re one of the reasons why I am still here, why I never gave up…”

He could feel her start shaking, she was probably going to cry again, he moved his hand from her back to her shoulder and stroked it lightly, Then he pushed her slightly against him so that she could be even closer to him.

“What you’re saying… It’s beautiful… I was just a naive girl, I never thought that my words could help that much… I wanted to help you that day, I really thought that I would be able to help you…”

“You did, Lucy… You probably didn’t help me the way you wanted to, but you helped me…”

He started playing with her hair, watching her. She nodded, accepting what he was saying. She looked a bit better, but she was still completely exhausted.

“I can’t believe that even when you were the one suffering, you still tried to protect me…” she said, almost absently then she turned to look at him, she seemed to search for something in his eyes, “thank you for always watching over me…” she added before closing her eyes.

“I should be the one to thank you for that. You saved my life, more than once…”

She nodded, sleepily. She probably wasn’t really listening to the conversation anymore. He waited a few more seconds and she fell asleep against him, he noticed how her breathing became even and how calmer she was.

He continued to play with her hair, keeping her close and he let her sleep.

The sun was almost setting when she started to stir. He hadn’t moved at all during what had probably been two hours, and his back was stiff and sore.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked when he noticed that she was awake.

“Yes, thank you…”

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. He decided to get up and he extended his hand to her.

“So, what do we do now?”

“We should tidy up the room before leaving, I don’t want my father to know that we were here. And then we should head home,” she answered, taking his hand.

“I like that plan.”

He gave her a small smile and she did the same. They started putting all the books in their original places. The only thing that wouldn’t be here when Jude came home would be Cobra’s file. So, nothing too obvious.

“What are you going to do about your brother?” he asked when they were about to go into the tunnel that her spirit had carved earlier.

“I miss him so much… And I still want to find him… But maybe I should try to wait for him to be ready, I don’t want to force him if he is mentally unwell.”

Cobra could understand just how much she missed her brother. He missed his family, too. It was not like he had really known his parents; he hadn’t gotten the time to since a cult decided to attack their village and kill every adult before kidnapping the children. He hadn’t gotten the chance to know them, but he missed them. He missed them so much. It was a void that would never be filled. He didn’t know what it was like to have a loving family, loving parents, but he missed what his life could have been if their family hadn’t been abruptly destroyed like it had been.

“You know that this day might never come?” he said, softly.

“Yes, but I would only hurt him if I forced him to be in my presence when he doesn’t feel ready…”

“When I get the opportunity, I’ll try to tell him and see what he wants to do.”

“You would do this?” she asked, surprised and she could barely contain the excitement in her voice.

“Yes, but since I’m very limited with the Council and the perimeter, I can’t do it right now.”

She lowered her head, pensive.

“I hate this…” she whispered.

“What?”

“Your situation. It’s just so frustrating. You basically grew up in hell, then you were forced to join Brain, then you ended up in prison, then you are on a trial period to get your freedom and then you get tortured barely a few weeks after our deal. And no one wants to listen to your situation, no one wants to listen to what you have to say, to what you have endured. I hate that you are here with me, just because the Council thinks you’re a good tool to use.”

He had not expected her to rant about his situation. They already had had this discussion about him being a tool, but he hadn’t thought that his situation pissed her off this much. He still had trouble realizing just how much her idea of him had changed in the span of a few months only.

“I deserve it, not the part about the Tower nor Brain, no one deserves that. But being in prison, this trial period. I choose the wrong path, look at Erza, she didn’t become a criminal when she left the Tower. I deserve to be punished for all my crimes.”

Lucy sighed and put herself in front of him.

“You’re the worst…” she said, her voice shaking.

He blinked, not understanding what he had said that was so upsetting.

“I hate when you think like this because it’s evident that you didn’t have a choice. But you refuse to see it. You refuse to believe that there is good in you. But let me tell you, Cobra, I see the good in you. There is good in you, and once this year is over, I really hope that you get to live your life your way, making your own choices this time,” she added with a little sad smile.

“Thank you, I really hope so, too.”

She grabbed his hand, and they started walking towards the market where they had met Dan at the start of the day. It felt like they had been in this town for an eternity, he couldn’t believe that only a few hours had gone by between this arrival in the town and the mansion.

They walked in silence for a while. Lucy was stroking his fingers unconsciously, that was a thing that she had started to do often, and he didn’t mind. He found her presence comforting.

“So, should we be worried about meeting your future husband again?” he asked, when they arrived near the first houses of the town.

She nudged him in the ribs, and he laughed.

“I think it’s my boyfriend that should be worried about him, not me,” she answered with a proud smile.

He had missed this Lucy; he didn’t like seeing her sad and angry like she had been today. He loved seeing her fierce and happy, like this.

Luckily for them, Dan was nowhere to be seen. A few of the stalls were still opened even at this late hour. Cobra noticed that the one with the snake figurines was still opened and he couldn’t stop himself from looking at the figurines again. He loved snakes, and it made him miss Cubellios even more. He didn’t know where his friend had gone when he had been arrested, but he hoped that it was free now.

“Erik? Could you maybe wait for me on that bench? I want to check something here.”

His heart stopped for one second at the use of his name, he had never expected Lucy to use his name this casually. Then he focused on her question again and he frowned, confused about her sudden request.

“Uh… Alright,” he said, disappointed not being able to observe the snakes again.

“Sorry, I should have asked you before using your name, are you alright with me calling you Erik from now on?”

She probably thought that his answer was linked to the use of his name, even though he had been surprised, he didn’t mind it. On the contrary, every time she said his name, it sent little sparks of joy in his body.

“I’m alright with that, I might just be surprised the first times since it’s been a while since I used it.”

She gave him a bright smile before he left her. He found the bench and sat down. He hadn’t noticed just how exhausted he had been. His injuries might be fully healed but that didn’t mean that he was back to his full strength. His body had reached its limits, and he was doing his best not to fall asleep right now.

Lucy came back a few minutes later, her hands hidden behind her back. He could see that her cheeks were slightly pink.

“Were you able to do what you wanted to do?” he asked, getting up from the bench. If he stayed on that bench for a few more minutes, he was not sure that he would be able to get up.

“Yes,” she said, smiling.

“Let’s go, then. I don’t want to miss our train,” he said as he started walking but she grabbed his hand and put something in it.

He looked at her confused, before contemplating what she had put down in his hands.

A figurine of a purple snake.

She averted his gaze, as if she was embarrassed by her own action.

“I don’t understand…” he whispered, shocked.

“There’s nothing to understand, it’s just a gift…”

“But why?”

“I don’t really have a reason,” she said, then she added, “But let’s say that it is my way of thanking you for coming with me today.”

He looked at her, not convinced by what she was saying. Her cheeks were pinker than before.

“Thank you…” he answered at a loss for words.

She smiled brightly seeing that he had accepted it, but he was still lost, he was not sure that he deserved such a pretty gift.

Then she took his hand, stopping him from overthinking her action even more.

They were sitting on a bench at the station, Lucy had her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed. They had missed their train only by a few minutes and they had to wait for the next one. It would be here in a couple of minutes, luckily.

“Why this one specifically?” he asked, admiring the figurine in his hands.

She blushed and looked down.

“Because it matches your eyes…” she mumbled.

It seemed that she didn’t want to admit her reason.

“What? I’m not sure I heard correctly…” he said, just to tease her.

She glared at him, but his only answer was a little wicked smile.

“You heard me the first time.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Because your favorite color is purple…” she said a bit louder, as if it was easier to admit than her first answer.

“Hey, don’t change the reason.”

“I knew that you had heard the first time!” she almost shouted, proud to have trapped him like this.

He sighed. She had won this time; she had trapped him. But he was so lost, that’s why he had easily fallen in her trap. He didn’t know how to feel when he knew that she had bought this little gift for him because it had reminded her of his eyes. He didn’t know what it meant. The only thing he knew was that he felt really good right now.

This time, there were seats next to each other in the train which meant that Cobra would be able to sleep on her shoulder for the length of the trip. They were completely exhausted, both had trouble staying awake.

“Is it okay if I sleep against your shoulder?” he asked.

“You don’t have to ask,” she answered, sleepily.

He leant against her, his head on her shoulder and he closed his eyes. She moved a little to be in a more comfortable position and they waited for the train to move. Cobra was glad that this day was finally coming to an end. This time he didn’t resist when he felt like he was going to fall asleep. It took him only a few seconds before he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Lucy was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Today had been a lot, everything that she had learned about how her father had tortured her brother had simply destroyed her. She was exhausted but she couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw images of the Tower of Heaven and imagined what her brother must have gone through. She tossed and turned in her bed, desperately trying to sleep. She decided to think about positive things like her friends at Fairy Tail, maybe it would help her feel better, but her mind wandered elsewhere and now the only thing she could think of was Cobra, or rather Erik, and how he had been there for her today, how even when he had been upset, he had been there to protect her, to reassure her, to help her. His presence always soothed her, when she was with him, she felt like she could endure everything, he gave her strength and courage. And when they touched, even if it was as simple as little caresses on her fingers, she felt safe. She felt like nothing bad could ever happen to her if she kept holding his hand.

She would have crumbled today if he hadn’t been there with her. When he had taken her in his arms, she had never felt safer. She had never felt the need to hide her emotions when she was with him, she knew that he was never going to judge her, he would only find a way to help her as best as he could. Erik was kind, even if he refused to see this part of himself. He had one of the kindest souls she had ever met, he was selfless and helpful, always here for the people he cared about.

She kept thinking about Erik for a few more minutes before she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in her room, but immediately recognized the place, she was at the Tower of Heaven. She had never forgotten this place; she had never forgotten the day she had been there. She looked around trying to find the exit, she didn’t want to stay here.

“Lucy, where do you think you’re going?” a man’s voice asked.

She turned and saw her father standing in front of her.

“You will never leave this place and from now on, you’re not my daughter anymore.”

“I don’t care, you’re a monster,” she told him, ready to take one of her keys and fight him. But she rapidly noticed that her keys were not here and that her hands looked way smaller than usual. She was probably at the age of her first time at the Tower.

Jude grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look at her in the eye.

“This is not how you talk to your master.”

She gritted her teeth.

“You’re not my master,” she spit in his face.

He was going to punch her; she saw his face flushed with anger, and she knew that he didn’t care that she was her daughter, he was going to hurt her.

“Let her go!” a small boy with black hair shouted, throwing himself at Jude and biting him in the leg.

He let go of her and punched the kid instead.

“I can’t believe that my two children are completely useless,” he snarled as he kept punching the child.

Lucy fell on her knees when she realized who the person was.

Her brother.

He was again rebelling against her father, and she knew what awaited him, only torture and suffering.

“You need to wake up, Lucy!” her brother yelled at her.

She clenched her fists. Even if all of it was a dream or more like a nightmare, she didn’t want to leave her brother here with her father.

“I don’t want to leave you here…”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry…” he answered, trying to reassure her.

“You’re lying!”

She saw surprise on his face, then he smiled sadly at her and snapped his fingers. Her vision started to get blurry and after blinking several times, the Tower was gone. She recognized the ceiling of her room and knew that her nightmare had ended.

It took her a few minutes to calm herself, her heart had been racing with panic after this nightmare. It had seemed so vivid, almost real, too real. Even in her dreams, her brother kept protecting her. And he had seemed so real as if he had really been here for a moment, like she had not just imagined him. She was under the impression that she had really talked to him, not to a memory or a creation of her mind, she felt like she had talked to the real person like she had really been in contact with her brother for a brief instant.

She decided to get up and get a glass of water to calm herself, she discreetly left her bed and tiptoed to the kitchen doing her best not to wake up Erik, even though, she knew that he heard her when she went to the kitchen in the middle of the night.

She glanced at him when she arrived near the couch. He seemed to sleep peacefully which was strange, usually he had awful nightmares and normally when they talked about the Tower or his past, his nightmares only worsened. She was relieved to see him sleep serenely, especially after today.

When she got to the kitchen, she decided not to turn the light on, the moonlight was bright enough to light the room. She grabbed a glass, but she hadn’t noticed how shaky she was because it slipped from her hands and shattered into a thousand pieces.

“Shit,” she whispered.

She avoided the shards and reached for the cupboard where she stored the dustpan and the brush. She started gathering the broken glass and she really hoped that she hadn’t woken up Erik.

Well, with that noise, she was pretty sure that he had at least been awoken, she just hoped that he had gone back to sleep.

“Hey…” he said, leaning on the doorframe, “How are you holding up?”

Of course, he didn’t go back to sleep, she thought.

“Erik, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to wake you, you can go back to sleep,” she answered, gathering the shards quicker.

Instead of going back to sleep like he should have, he came closer to her and gently grabbed her wrists before looking at her in the eye.

“Breathe, Lucy…”

She looked at him, and tried to breathe, there was a lump in her throat that blocked her from doing so. She wanted to burst into tears, she wanted to cry, to scream. She was angry and sad at the same time, she was desperate, she felt like she was drowning in negative emotions, and she didn’t know if she would be able to get back to the surface.

“Again, breathe…”

They stayed like this for a while, him continuing to repeat her to breathe until she could finally breathe normally again. Then he helped her sit on the chair and gave her a glass of water before taking the brush and the dustpan from her hands and gathering the rest of the shards.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, sitting in front of her once he had disposed of the broken glass.

“I had a nightmare… I dreamt that I was at the Tower of Heaven and my father was about to torture me like he did with my brother… But my brother saved me again, he sacrificed himself to protect me even in my dream…” she said, trying her best not to burst into tears.

He gently grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it lightly. A simple gesture that meant: I’m here for you. She looked at him and he offered her a little smile before he started stroking her fingers with his.

At that moment, Lucy couldn’t stop herself from bursting into tears. All she had learned today about what her father had done was crushing her, and she had thought that she could endure it, but she just couldn’t. She was overwhelmed by her sadness and frustration.

“I think… I never realized just how much of a monster my father was… But I’m starting to see it, now… It’s so frustrating to see him still free and privileged when he destroyed countless lives and is still doing so today.”

Erik nodded, he was probably thinking the same thing as her, well, he probably hated Jude way more than she did. After today, Lucy knew that she needed to do everything to stop her father. She had already been determined to do so when she had seen Cobra asleep in a hospital bed after a week of torture but now it was even clearer.

“I will find a way to expose my father’s crimes,” she declared, squeezing his hand tighter.

She saw his eyes widen in surprise at that comment.

“We will find a way to stop him…” he said, looking at her in the eyes.

His answer warmed her heart but broke it at the same time. She couldn’t ask him to help her, he had suffered enough because of her father.

“No…”

“No?” he asked, visibly confused.

“You’ve suffered enough… You shouldn’t waste your time helping me with something like this, I know that it hurts you and I don’t want that.”

“Lucy, you know… Even if I was freed tomorrow, I think I would find a way to stop your father because I know that I won’t be able to live my life peacefully if I know that he is free. We need to stop him… I know that we can do it together, I think we make a pretty good team or at least, I enjoy working with you.”

She felt her cheeks heat a little, what he was saying was adorable and she thought the same thing, they worked well together.

“We do make a pretty good team…” she said, wiping away her tears, a little smile creeping over her face.

“We will find a way to stop him, I promise…”

She nodded, then drank her glass of water. She felt like she was finally calming herself, and she felt exhausted. Erik let go of her hand and got up from the chair, ready to go back on the couch.

“Sleep well, Blondie…”

She didn’t want to be alone tonight, she would not be able to sleep, she would be too scared to have another nightmare and she didn’t want to go through that again.

“Erik, wait!” she shouted, rushing behind him before grabbing him by the back of his shirt.

He stopped and she put her forehead against his back.

“Could you maybe sleep with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone…” she asked shyly.

Her cheeks were burning, and she was grateful that it was dark and that she had her head buried in his shirt. His smell allowed her to relax a little because her heart was thundering in her chest.

“Are you sure about this?”

She nodded frantically.

“Please…” she said, then she realized what she was asking him to do and let go of him, “I’m sorry… It’s a selfish wish, you don’t have to accept… I shouldn’t have asked that.”

He sighed before taking her hand and leading her to her bedroom. He left and came back a few seconds later with his blanket and his pillow.

“We can make a wall of pillows if you’re too uncomfortable with me sleeping too close,” he said, already arranging the pillows.

He is cute, she thought.

She put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

“No need for that, I feel safe with you.”

His eyes widened in surprise and then he gave her a small nod.

She lied on her bed first, she chose to sleep near the wall while Erik was near the nightstand.

A silence filled the room, they were both looking the opposite way, shifting in the bed, keeping their distance as much as possible, but she couldn’t deny that the situation was a bit awkward.

They turned at the same time and ended up face to face. She felt her cheeks heat as she saw shock cross his face and even in the darkness, she was pretty sure that he was also blushing.

“So, am I going to end my night on the floor?” he asked, observing her face.

She frowned, then she realized that he was grinning, he was probably trying to cheer her up.

“Maybe? If you take too much place, I won’t have any other choice than push you off the bed.”

He laughed softly. It was rare to hear him laugh like this, right now, they were both at their most vulnerable and she knew that his laugh was honest, he was not trying to hide himself behind his mask.

“Goodnight, Blondie…” he whispered before turning again.

She felt almost disappointed not being able to look at his face anymore, in the darkness she could see his purple eyes shine with amusement and his gorgeous smile. She found herself always wanting to look at him and not only that, but she also wanted to stay close to him all the time. He was intriguing, there was always something new to learn about him, new things to notice and Lucy wanted to know everything.

He offered her as much as privacy as he could since they were sharing her bed right now. Lucy observed his back and even if he was wearing a shirt right now, she could picture the three big scars that marked his back. Her fingers move on her own towards his back and caressed the fabric exactly where his scars were. She felt his body tense and she immediately withdrew her hands before apologizing.

“It’s alright…” he said, turning once again to face her.

“I shouldn’t have touched you like this without asking for your permission.”

He took one of her hands and gave her a small smile.

“I don’t mind it if it’s you…” he whispered, looking at her in the eye.

She felt her cheeks burn and even in the darkness she was pretty sure that Erik could see that she was totally red. She felt like her heart was about to burst, especially when he looked at her like that, with eyes filled with fondness or something that she couldn’t name, that was what made her heart go crazy.

Cobra couldn’t believe what was happening right now, he had never thought that something like this would happen. He could understand that Lucy didn’t want to be alone right now, he never wanted to be alone after a nightmare. He was glad to be her source of comfort, he was happy to help her if he could, so he hadn’t refused her wish, maybe he should have, he didn’t know. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, he was way too stressed. He was scared to make a misstep like taking her in his arms in the middle of the night without her consent and being accused of taking advantage of her. They had had physical contact several times, like hugging or holding hands.

But this.

Being in her bed.

He felt like he was breaching her privacy, he felt like he shouldn’t be here.

I’m just here to comfort her, everything will be fine… he kept saying to himself.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to sleep tonight. It was the best way to avoid any misstep.

He had wanted to keep his back to her to give her as much privacy as she needed but he had felt her hands on his back and even through his shirt, it had sent shivers down his spine. He knew what was on his back, what she had wanted to touch. His heart had started to race because no one had ever touched him as gently as Lucy did. She had probably thought that he was already asleep when she had done this because her face when she had turned had been filled with surprise. There was also something else in her eyes, something like fondness. Erik loved her eyes, she had a way of looking at him that made him feel like he wasn’t alone in this world like someone actually cared about him. And he knew that she cared about him, she wouldn’t have tried to save him otherwise. He didn’t know how to feel about this, about being loved like this. He felt like there was something more, his friends cared about him too, but he had never seen them look at him the way Lucy did. Maybe it was simply because she saw the world with a different eye than him, she saw brightness where he saw darkness, she saw positivity where he saw negativity. She saw the good in him when he was persuaded that there was none.

Lucy was bright red right now after he had caught her on the act, he could see a bit better in the dark than average people but even without that, he would have been able to see just how much she was blushing right now. Well, she wasn’t the only one because his cheeks were burning, too. He had just admitted that he didn’t mind if she touched him and that was the truth. Her touch made him feel things that he had never thought he could feel like comfort and softness. He had never been touched like this before, it was as if she put every single one of her emotions in her touch. She conveyed so many feelings with the simple touch of her fingers and he always wanted more of that. It made him feel safe, loved, it made him forget just how much other people had been rough with him, how they had broken him beyond repair. Or that’s what he had thought for years until Lucy came into his life.

He took a deep breath, still admiring her face.

“Lucy, is it alright if I hug you tonight? I mean if in the middle of the night while I’m asleep I take you in my arms by accident,” he asked.

He really needed the answer to this question, if she answered that she wasn’t alright with it, he would do his best not to move during the night, he would keep his back to her, but if she said yes… Well, he might be able to sleep just fine.

She let out a small laugh and he didn’t understand why.

“I didn’t know that you could be so shy…” she said, smiling lightly.

“I’m not shy… I’m just scared to make a mistake; I just don’t want you to think that I’m taking advantage of you in the middle of the night.”

“You know… It never crossed my mind for one second…”

“It didn’t?”

“Yeah, I mean… I feel safe with you, and I know that you’re not like that.”

He let out a sigh of relief, he was glad that she didn’t think him capable of such things because he definitely wasn’t. Lucy trusted him and that was what mattered to him, he would do anything to preserve this trust.

“And me, is it alright if I hug you, then?” she asked, looking away.

He nodded. He didn’t mind Lucy hugging him at all. It brought him so much comfort to be in her arms that he almost dreamed for them to hug more often.

She smiled and before he could once again turn his back to her, she hugged him tightly and settled into a more comfortable position. She put her head against his torso and closed her eyes.

“Goodnight, Erik…”

He was surprised by her action, well more than surprised, he was shocked. He didn’t dare hugging her in return; he didn’t know where to put his hands and he just kept looking at her. She was already asleep, she seemed peaceful, and he could see a little smile on her face. Once the shock had passed, he allowed himself to hug her back and decided that it was also time for him to fall asleep.

“Goodnight, Lucy…” he whispered.

It took a while before his heart stopped racing, he stayed a few minutes like this, keeping her close to him and after a while exhaustion caught up to him and he fell asleep.

He was woken up by a knock on the door. He had had a marvelous night of sleep, and he didn’t want to move. Lucy’s bed was way more comfortable than the couch and he still wanted to enjoy it for a bit longer. He decided to ignore the people at the door and simply get back to sleep. The knocking was getting louder, and it was starting to annoy him, he just wanted to be at peace for one morning, especially after one of the best nights of sleep in his life. Lucy didn’t stir, she was sleeping like a log. Erik decided to continue ignoring the noise and drifted into a pleasant sleep. He ignored everything around him and just slept. He probably shouldn’t have because the next thing he knew, he was pushed off the bed and fell loudly onto the floor.

“I knew it would end like this one way or the other…” he grunted, still half asleep on the floor.

“I’m so sorry, Erik!”

He turned lazily on his back and opened his eyes; she was watching him from the bed, guilt all over her face.

“Lucy, is everything alright? We heard a loud noise,” a woman’s voice asked from behind the door.

They are still here, he complained in his head.

Cobra rolled his eyes, grabbed a pillow from the bed and put it on his face hoping to be able to fall asleep again. Lucy took the pillow from him and she earned a glare from a very grumpy Dragon Slayer.

“Can you go since you’re already out of the bed? Please…” she asked and he was sure he could hear a tinge of amusement in her voice.

He couldn’t believe it. She dared to ask him that after she had pushed him off the bed, she had no pity for the poor man on the floor.

“Whose fault is that? And who said I was out of the bed?” he responded, grabbing his blanket and wrapping himself in it.

“Erik, please…” she begged.

He sighed; he didn’t want to get up, he just wanted to get back in the bed. But when the knocking intensified once more, he finally decided to get up from the floor. He threw his blanket on Lucy whose only response was to laugh.

Once she got rid of the blanket, she looked at him.

“You owe me one, Blondie,” he said.

“Thank you, you’re the best,” she answered with a bright smile. 

Cobra left her room to open the front door. He blinked several times when he saw the two persons standing in front of him. He hadn’t expected Gajeel and Levy to be here, and it seemed that they hadn’t expected Cobra to be here too since they stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.

“You’re alive…” Levy whispered, her voice full of surprise.

He didn’t know what to say, he thought that they were aware that Lucy had saved him and that he had been healing for the past two months but it seemed like they had never learned about it.

“I thought you knew,” was his only answer.

“We didn’t… The Council asked us to keep an eye on Grigory Lotaziars for a while, we’ve barely had time to go to Fairy Tail and we didn’t see Lucy for the past two months. It’s only today that we’ve received a letter that mentioned that we didn’t need to keep monitoring him. We thought that it was weird, so we decided to check on Lucy since she is supposed to be the one working on this case,” Levy explained.

With all that had happened, Cobra had almost forgotten about their initial mission for the Council. He had had so much on his plate lately that he had almost forgotten about that human trafficker.

“I guess it’s because I’m finally able to work again that they gave us back the mission, thank you for spying on this man for us,” Erik said, grateful for Levy and Gajeel’s work.

“We thought it was a good idea to inform Lucy, well, inform the both of you about what we learned. But we can come back later if we are disturbing you...” she said, noticing that Cobra was still in pajamas.

“You’re not disturbing, I’ll tell Lucy, you’re here. You can go in the living room; she will join us in a few minutes.”

Levy smiled and stepped inside, Gajeel followed her but stopped in front of Cobra and put one of his hands on his shoulder.

“Good to see you back,” the Iron Dragon Slayer said before disappearing in the living room.

Erik blinked several times, not sure about what had just happened between him and Gajeel. He guessed that it was his way of thanking him for his sacrifice.

He returned to Lucy’s room, still destabilized by everything that had happened this morning.

When he stepped inside, he found Lucy sleeping like a starfish.

You’ve got to be joking… he thought with a little smile.

“Wake up, Blondie. We have guests,” he said, shaking her.

She grumbled lazily, still asleep.

“Don’t force me to push you off the bed.”

He saw that she didn’t move so he decided to take her blanket first.

“I said wake up, Blondie,” he tried again, continuing to shake her gently.

“You’re mean…” she groaned, looking for her blanket, her eyes still closed.

He sighed loudly, but he was smiling. They were bickering like an old couple, simply to get her out of the bed, and honestly, he enjoyed that.

“Yeah, I’m the meanest. But Gajeel and Levy are here, and they want to talk to us.”

The mention of her friends was what finally got Lucy to leave the bed. He left the room to give Lucy time to get dressed and he joined the two members of Fairy Tail in the living room. He rapidly offered them two glasses of water before sitting on a chair.

“Cobra… What happened to you after you saved us?” Levy asked, “Only if you’re alright with telling us.”

The blue-haired girl could be nosy when she wanted, he remembered how she had questioned him when they had been stuck together.

“The scientist mostly tested her drugs on me, other things happened but yeah that’s mostly it,” he said with a little shrug.

The two members of Fairy Tail looked at him with horror, he probably shouldn’t have announced it that casually. Cobra didn’t want to go into heavy details about this, he wanted to forget, to make this event belong to the past. It was still a fresh wound, and it was still healing, so he decided to be brief about it.

“I’m sorry… If I hadn’t been that weak, this wouldn’t have happened,” Levy said, looking down.

Erik could easily tell that she had been plagued with guilt, she thought that she was the main reason he had been captured by Fanny. Gajeel also looked down, probably also feeling guilty about that day.

“It’s not your fault. No matter how, she would have captured me that day. With or without you there. So, you don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

“Still, I’m sure we could have done something…” Levy intervened and he could hear her voice shaking.

“She would have killed all of you if you had tried something, she did me a favor in sparing your lives. So, please, don’t feel guilty about what happened, I never once thought that it was your fault.”

The woman sighed heavily, and Cobra’s only response was to give her a reassuring smile. He was not upset; he was relieved to see that his sacrifice had not gone to waste, that Levy and Gajeel had survived because he had decided to go with his enemy.

“Your disappearance… It broke Lucy, you know?”

This time, it was Erik’s turn to look down. The only thing he remembered of that day was Lucy crying, begging him to stay and assuring him that they would find a solution. He didn’t know just how much it had affected her but seeing how she had desperately kept looking for him, he could tell that his disappearance had impacted her greatly. He nodded, realizing that Levy was right, sacrificing himself like he did probably broke Lucy because she cared deeply about him. Cobra was probably going to think twice the next time he had to sacrifice himself if he found himself in a similar situation, he never wanted to make the celestial mage sad again.

Lucy finally got out of her room, and the mood shifted, it became lighter. Cobra felt better once they stopped talking about what happened to him and what he had done. He showed Lucy the chair he had brought for her, and she sat next to him.

“I’m upset that you didn’t tell us you had found him. You should have told us you were looking for him, Gajeel and I would have helped.”

“I didn’t go to the guild at all before and after I found him… I’ve been too busy taking care of him,” Lucy explained.

Levy’s only answer was a little smile.

“So, what did you learn about Grigory Lotaziars?” Cobra asked, changing the subject of the conversation even if it was not for a better one.

“That bastard has found a new buyer for his merchandise,” Gajeel started.

Erik clenched his fists, immediately his hatred for this human trafficker came back.

“But instead of staying in Fiore, he decided to trade with another kingdom, the Bosco Kingdom. In three months, there will be a ball at the king’s castle and that’s where he will meet the buyer,” Levy continued.

That was worse than what Cobra had thought, would the Council still want to stop the man if he left for another kingdom, would they still be able to act? He knew that the Bosco Kingdom was reputed for dealing in human trafficking, so he wasn’t sure that they would be able to do something.

“We need to stop him before he leaves for Bosco,” Lucy intervened surprising Cobra by how invested she looked.

“I don’t know what the Council is going to do, you will probably get your new orders soon about this case,” the blue-haired girl said.

Lucy thanked them, the mood was already heavy, so Gajeel and Levy decided not to stay for too long. Once they were about to leave, the Iron Dragon Slayer turned to Cobra.

“Once you’re free, I want to fight you,” he said.

Erik grinned.

“You know that I’m going to kick your ass, right?”

Gajeel laughed.

“You can always try, you’re the one who is going to have his ass kicked.”

Cobra couldn’t help but laugh too.

“You two are real idiots,” Levy sighed, rolling her eyes.

Lucy laughed at her friend’s reaction.

The two Fairy Tail members left and Erik sat on the couch, taking in all this new information. Lucy was by his side, a hand on his leg.

“We will stop him, no matter what…” she said, trying to cheer him up a bit.

“If only the Council would let us act… We could save the children already; I don’t understand why they let them suffer so much…”

“I don’t know… They probably have a reason…”

“I hope it is a good one.”

He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling for a while. He was almost angry at himself for having almost forgotten about that man. He thought about the children, probably locked up in cages, separated from their family. He wanted to save them, not wait three months to finally act. But disobeying the Council’s orders would only worsen everything. How would he be able to stop human trafficking if he was sent back to jail because he refused to listen to the Council?

He really hated his situation.

Lucy left for a couple of minutes, and she came back with a letter in her hands.

“Let me guess, it’s not good news,” he said, seeing her reading the letter.

“They want us to go to Era, tomorrow. They say they want to talk to us in person.”

Cobra sighed, he didn’t want to go to the Magic Council but at the same time, it probably meant that they had finally decided on how to stop Grigory. Lucy sighed, too. He looked at her and she leaned on him.

“I don’t like seeing you like this…” she whispered.

“I’m sorry…”

She shook her head and told him not to apologize for something like this. She understood just how much he cared about the situation and how frustrating it was for him. She knew that his reactions were normal.

They stayed quiet for a while before finally deciding to cook some food and spend the rest of the day calmly before they had to leave for Era the next morning.

Lucy authorized Cobra to sleep with her again that night and he really hoped that this time he would not end his night on the floor.

Chapter Text

Lucy woke up first that morning, she knew they had a train to take, and they couldn’t miss it if they didn’t want to be late to the meeting with the Magic Council. Erik was still asleep; she had allowed him to sleep again in her bed since she had felt a bit bad to have made him end the previous night on the floor.

He was sleeping peacefully, holding her in his arms. She had her head against his torso, and she could hear his heartbeat. It was relaxing, being in his arms, surrounded by his sweet smell with only sound the steady rhythm of his heart. She felt safe in his arms, protected. She felt like no one could harm her so long as she was in his embrace. She decided to observe him for a little while, it was rare to see him so relaxed. She realized that she didn’t mind having him in her bed, she had spent two wonderful nights of sleep with him, and she wasn’t eager to tell him to go back on the couch. If Erik was alright with it, from now, maybe they could both sleep in the same bed.

He is adorable when he sleeps like this, she thought with a little smile on her face.

And that was the exact moment he decided to open his eyes. Lucy felt her cheeks heat and looked away, acting like she wasn’t staring at him a few seconds ago.

“I know you were staring…” he whispered in her ear.

She shivered and continued to look away, refusing to show him just how red she was.

“I was not.”

“I felt your eyes on me, Blondie.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she feigned ignorance.

Erik let out a little laugh before letting go of her to sit and stretch. She immediately missed the warmth of their two bodies together, she almost wanted him to lie down again and hug her.

“We should hurry, we don’t have a lot of time before our train,” he said, getting up without looking at her and Lucy could tell that there was something wrong with him, he sounded extremely serious.

She knew that he didn’t want to go to the Magic Council, and he had every right to. After all, he had been locked down there for a while, she could understand that he didn’t want to go back to the place that didn’t hold any good memories; plus he was probably hated by everyone there.

“Erik…” she started, she didn’t miss his surprised expression that he had every time she used his real name, “I’ll be there the whole time, you will not go through this alone.”

He turned to look at her, and she could see a soft smile on his face.

“I know, thank you…” he said before disappearing in the living room.

Lucy sighed, she had no idea how to comfort him, he tried to act like he was fine, but she knew that he wasn’t. He seemed horrified at the idea of going there, he was probably thinking that if he made one single mistake he would go back to jail, and well, she couldn’t be upset at him for that. He had every right to be scared and stressed.

She decided to get out of the bed and prepare herself before joining him in the living room.

They walked hand in hand to the station, Erik stayed silent during most of the trip, he looked deep in thoughts. Lucy was trying her best to find comforting things to say, but she didn’t get much of a reaction from him, so she decided to squeeze his hand and caress his fingers instead. She thought that it was the most comforting thing she could do right now since words didn’t seem to help him.

They got into the train and sat next to each other, Cobra immediately leaned on her and closed his eyes, preparing himself to endure the train ride to Era.

“Erik, wait,” she said, immediately after he leaned on her.

He straightened himself up and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“I think you will be more comfortable if you lie on my lap instead of leaning against my shoulder.”

He blinked, surprised by her offer.

“Are you sure about this? If it makes you uncomfortable-” he started, and she immediately cut him before he could say more.

“I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t sure about this, idiot,” she told him with a bright smile.

She was fairly sure that she could see a light blush appear on his cheeks before he lied on her lap.

“Do you think it will help with your motion sickness?”

“I don’t know… We will see once the train starts to move.”

He had barely said the words that the train started moving. He paled instantly and tried to do some breathing exercise.

Without thinking, she ran a hand through his hair and started slowly massaging his head, trying to comfort him as much as she could even though she couldn’t do anything against motion sickness. She already knew that his hair was soft, but it was the first time that she touched it like this and it was as soft as silk.

His hair is so soft, she said to herself.

She could hear Cobra huff a laugh through his motion sickness, the man was listening to her thoughts.

“Sleep instead of listening to my thoughts,” she ordered.

“Alright, alright…” he answered with a little smile.

She continued running a hand through his hair during the whole length of the trip and that seemed to soothe him.

They arrived at Era near midday. Erik still looked a bit pale, but he was in a better state than when they had done a train ride sitting in front of each other. Lucy realized that leaning on her seemed to really help him endure the train ride. She would probably have taken him out to a little restaurant if their meeting with the Magic Council wasn’t in a few minutes.

“I really hate this place,” he announced once the Magic Council came into view.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, reminding him that she was here for him.

“We probably shouldn’t hold hands once we are inside, the members of the Council won’t like that.”

What he said reminded her of when Belno had said that Lucy’s participation in this project wasn’t a good idea since she apparently had gotten too attached to a criminal. In a way, it was true. Lucy was really attached to Erik, she cared about him deeply and didn’t want him to suffer.

“You’re right…” she said, letting go of his hand.

She didn’t want to compromise the project, in reality, she didn’t care about the project at all. She didn’t want to compromise Erik’s freedom, that was the only reason that forced her to let go of his hand right now. They couldn’t show that they were close since the Council still considered Cobra like one of the biggest criminals in all of Fiore. They would probably put an end to the project if they noticed that his guardian was all sweet and kind with him.

He offered her a sad smile, he was probably in the same case as her, doing his best to stop himself from having physical contact with her.

When they stepped into the Magic Council, Lahar was there to meet them. He asked them to follow him, and he guided them to the meeting room where all the higher members of the Council were waiting for them. Lahar left once Lucy and Cobra had stepped into the room.

Four people were sitting around the table. Lucy immediately understood that the man at the end of the table was Gran Doma, the Chairman of the Magic Council, she had never seen him during all the meetings she had had with the other higher members of the Council, which meant that the matter to discuss was extremely serious. At his left, she recognized Belno, Michello was next to her, and Org was sitting at the right of the Chairman.

“You can sit,” the Chairman said, pointing two empty chairs.

Lucy and Cobra immediately obeyed, not wanting to upset the man at the end of the table.

“It was quite recently that I heard about this project of redemption or whatever that is. I never approved of it,” the Chairman said, looking at Cobra with a distasteful look on his face.

She gritted her teeth. It couldn’t be good if the head of the Magic Council didn’t know about that. She turned her head to look at Erik who was only looking down with a horrified look on his face. She couldn’t let him go back to jail, she needed to do something to stop that.

“Wait-” she started but the Chairman raised a hand to silence her.

“I’m not done talking. This project helped us discover some traitors in our rank that hid Fanny Elvedera’s crimes and for that, I will approve of it. You will continue working for us for the next nine months and then we will determine if Cobra can be freed,” Gran Doma said, staring disdainfully at the Dragon Slayer.

Lucy wished she could hear thoughts right now, because she was convinced that this man was saying awful things to Erik.

“Now, let’s talk about your next mission,” Belno intervened once the chairman was done talking, “I suppose Gajeel and Levy already told you about what they learned.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Lucy answered, she kept gazing at Erik from the corner of her eyes, he was pale and almost seemed sick. She wanted to hold his hand and comfort him, but she had to refrain herself from doing so, she decided to focus on what Belno was saying instead.

“After failing to sell his merchandise to Fanny Elvedera, Grigory Lotaziars decided to trade with the Bosco Kingdom and has found a new buyer there, a noble more precisely. We want you two to go to the ball that will take place in three months and stop the transaction. We want you to bring back Grigory Lotaziars to the Fiore Kingdom so that we can officially arrest him, and we also want you to save the children.”

Lucy had trouble understanding why they wanted to wait three months when poor children were already suffering. She didn’t understand what stopped them from intervening right now.

“Excuse me, but why should we wait? Children are suffering as we speak, we could arrest him right now, so why wait?” Lucy asked.

“Because stopping one seller isn’t going to stop human trafficking. Lotaziars thinks that he can act freely, that no one is monitoring him, and he is getting quite cocky about it. His dumb confidence is making him careless; he doesn’t protect his clients as well as he did before, we can take down several people at once if we wait,” the Chairman answered.

“But the children…”

“It is a price to pay if we want to stop human trafficking,” he interrupted her.

Lucy noticed how Erik clenched his fists angrily at that. The children being a price to pay for arresting more than one person was simply an awful way of thinking. These children even if they were saved would be traumatized forever and the Council didn’t care.

“Let’s talk about this ball now,” Gran Doma started, “Lucy Heartfilia, I suppose that you know your way around the noble etiquette?”

She gritted her teeth; she didn’t like to be reminded of that. It was true that her father had paid several tutors for her to learn the noble etiquette, but she had hated every second of it.

She simply nodded, as if it was easier to answer like this than use words.

“The Heartfilia family is well known, it will be easy to get you an invitation for this ball,” Org said, finally joining the conversation, “I guess Cobra could easily pass as your servant,” he added with a proud smile.

That old man was proud of insulting Cobra when he knew that the Dragon Slayer couldn’t intervene or there would be heavy repercussions. Erik stayed silent, he had still not looked up during the whole meeting and had his hands clenched into fists.

Lucy was about to intervene and say that she refused to do this if Cobra was not treated better than this, but Belno spoke first.

“This is not what we decided, Org. For this mission, Cobra will be playing the role of Lucy’s husband, it will allow him to move more freely in the castle.”

Lucy blinked a bit surprised by the turn of events, the Council had already planned everything. Erik was a good actor, she knew he would be able to fulfill the role as her husband easily, but she was certain that he knew nothing about noble etiquette so acting like a noble was going to be tough for him.

“We know that you know nothing about noble etiquette, it is not surprising coming from a low life like you, so you will be staying at the Council for two months. You will stay here and learn how to dance and how to behave like a noble,” Org said.

Lucy was really starting to hate that man, she hated how he spoke about Erik. She didn’t miss how Belno glared at the man, not happy with how he was talking about him either. Lucy glanced at the Dragon Slayer who seemed terrified about the idea of staying at the Council for two months.

“Miss Heartfilia, since you don’t need as much training as him, you will have a month of peace, but we ask you to come at the start of the second month,” Michello said.

She would rather train with Erik for two full months than spend a month alone at her apartment.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Cobra intervened for the first time in this meeting, “Shouldn’t I immediately learn how to dance with Lucy? If we want our act to seem true, we should look like we’ve been dancing together for years, we should be coordinated. I need to learn her movements and rhythm and I’m not sure one month will be enough.”

Lucy knew what Erik was trying to do, he didn’t want to stay alone for a month here, so he was trying to convince the Council to make her stay for the two months.

“And how are you going to do that when you don’t even know the dance basics?” Org asked dryly, “Do you know dance movements? Do you know how to follow a rhythm?”

Cobra gritted his teeth and looked down.

“That’s what I thought,” the man smiled proudly at how he had just humiliated the Dragon Slayer.

“Maybe I could go with someone else who already knows etiquette, I don’t think the royalty of Bosco will believe us, we are not good actors,” Lucy tried, she was a bit harsh with her words, but she wanted to save Erik from spending two months in what was hell for him. And she didn’t want to spend a month without him, she liked having him around, she would be lonely without him.

“No. We have reasons to suspect that there is more than just human trafficking happening the night of the ball, there are rumors about poisoning, someone might try to poison the guests or even the king of Bosco, it would be good to also stop that. Cobra is essential for the success of this mission.”

“I’m not going to be of much help with my magic sealed there, you know?” Erik said, his voice dripping of arrogance.

What are you doing? she asked in her mind, shocked by what he had just done.

Cobra had a little smug smile on his face and stared at the Chairman, and Lucy had trouble understanding his change of behavior, why was he getting cocky all the sudden? He had stayed submissive during the whole meeting and now it was like he was a completely different person. Maybe he was tired of how the Council members treated him and he had snapped, not able to contain his frustration anymore, and since he had just been told that he was essential for this mission, he hadn’t been scared about repercussions.

“Careful, Cobra. And this is just one more reason to keep you at the Council for a month, if you behave well, we might alleviate some of your conditions, but we will see to that matter in due time. This meeting is over,” the Chairman said, getting up from his chair and leaving the room.

Belno approached them and handed a paper to Cobra.

“Your schedule for this month, don’t be late and don’t miss a class.”

Lucy looked at the paper from over his shoulder and noticed that he had barely any free time.

“You can spend the rest of the day together. Cobra, you need to be back at the Council before sunset. Lahar has been the one assigned to monitor you for the whole month, so he will be waiting for you,” she explained before leaving the room, rapidly followed by Org and Michello.

Once Cobra and Lucy were alone in the room, she gently put a hand on top of his to comfort him.

“Tell me this is all a dream,” he said desperately.

Cobra and Lucy had gone to a little café not far from the Council to debrief what had just happened. He didn’t know what to think, he was angry and frustrated, he hated how some members of the Magic Council had treated him today. He was used to being a tool, but that did not mean that he liked it. And right now, being able to hear what people thoughts did absolutely nothing to improve his mood, he had heard what the Chairman and Org thought about him, and he had done his best not to let anything show on his face.

I only approved this project because you are useful, don’t think you would be out there if it wasn’t for your ears, the Chairman had said to him through his thoughts.

I can’t believe this operation rest on a vermin like him, we can’t trust him, Org had kept thinking during the whole meeting.

Honestly, Erik was just fed up with the Magic Council. He wanted to arrest Grigory Lotaziars and save the children, not attend dance class for two months, that was just completely stupid. The members of the Council were letting children suffer for their plan and he hated this, they should be prioritizing the children, not the human traffickers.

“The Magic Council is really playing with us, why is it mandatory that I learn how to dance? It’s ridiculous. Do I look like a dancer to you?” he complained, his head against the table.

Lucy let out a little laugh at his last question.

“Honestly? You look like you have two left feet, I’m glad they are forcing you to take dance classes, or I think I could have said goodbye to my feet.”

“Hey!”

She laughed again before putting a hand on top of his.

“I don’t like the idea of you being stuck at the Council for two months…” she said on a more serious tone.

“It’s not like I have another option, but at least I’ll be alone only for one month.”

She offered him a sad smile and he smiled back at her, trying to cheer her up.

He couldn’t imagine spending a whole month without Lucy and he didn’t understand why. He had spent most of his life without her and now that he had met her, well, he didn’t want to be separated from her ever again. She was the light that brightened his day, she was the one who could always put a real smile on his face, she was the reason he finally started to enjoy his life. He wanted to be around her all the time.

The waiter brought the drinks they had ordered earlier, Lucy had chosen a strawberry milkshake while he had decided that a glass of water would be enough. He took a sip and then sighed heavily.

The meeting had drained him mentally. He had been scared to be sent back to jail if he had dared to intervene, so he had kept quiet and he had decided to play nice. Until he couldn’t. The more they had started laying out their plan, the more ridiculous it had seemed to get. He had tried to get Lucy to stay for the two months instead of one, but the Council had simply refused to listen to him and had told him to shut up in a humiliating way, it had been really frustrating. And when he had been told that he was the only one who could carry out this mission, he hadn’t cared about repercussions anymore. He had decided to show them that he could still be Cobra of the Oracion Seis, the person they thought him to be, a criminal with no heart, a pure monster. He had done that to scare them a bit, and they probably would have gotten suspicious if he had stayed submissive the whole time anyway.

“What are you going to do during this month?” he asked, trying to think about more positive things.

“I don’t know yet… I’m probably going to go to Fairy Tail a couple of days, I might do one or two missions with my friends.”

“It seems like a good plan, way better than dance classes.”

“Oh yes, definitely,” she laughed.

He loved her laugh, it was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard, that was probably one of the things he would miss the most during this month without her.

She started talking about the guild and how excited she was to see some of her friends that she hadn’t seen in a while due to their mission for the Council. Erik listened to her, nodding and sometimes asking questions, but in reality, he observed her face and how happy she seemed to talk about Fairy Tail, he decided to memorize her happy face before being separated.

It was already getting late, and Cobra needed to get back to the Council soon or he would be in trouble, and he really didn’t want that. Lucy had decided to go back with him to the Magic Council before she would have to leave for the station, they stopped far from the main entrance to be able to hold hands without getting in trouble, and they just stared at each other in silence. They stayed quiet for a while, the breeze ruffling their hair.

“You should go home, Blondie… Lahar is already waiting for me,” he told her reluctantly.

He didn’t want her to leave, but the more she stayed, the harder it would be for him to let her go. And it seemed to also be her case, she kept one of his hands in hers, refusing to let go of him.

“I don’t want to…” she whispered, looking down.

“Hey, it’s only for one month… It won’t be long,” he said, lying to himself.

She looked at him this time, she was trying to see what he was thinking, and he tried not to let anything show, especially just how letting her go was ripping his heart apart.

“You’d better learn etiquette fast, I’m excited to dance with you, “she started, trying to lift the mood, “I will be waiting for you, Erik…” she added.

He felt his cheeks heat at the last part of her sentence, and he didn’t know why, maybe because he felt that he wasn’t alone, maybe because someone would miss him. Lucy knew how to find the words that always made him feel safe, feel loved in a way.

“Enjoy being free of my charming person for a month,” he said, trying to make her smile.

“You’re a real idiot, you know that?” she answered with a little smile.

“Isn’t that why you love me so much?”

“Who said that I loved you? I tolerate you at best.”

He let out a little laugh and she did, too. Then, she hugged him tightly.

“I'm going to miss you, Erik…” she said, her head buried into his chest.

“I'm going to miss you too, Blondie…” he answered, keeping her in his arms.

They separated reluctantly and she left, looking at him one last time before disappearing from his field of view.

Cobra sighed before joining his new guardian for the month. 

“Cobra from the Oracion Seis, I will show you to your room,” Lahar said once he had joined him.

He can’t be serious, the Dragon Slayed thought, rolling his eyes at the same time.

Lahar would not be fun at all, Erik didn’t even want to try bothering him because he knew that it would be useless, the man was only focused on his duty as a member of the Council.

So boring.

The Dragon Slayer followed the man through the maze that was the Council, and he was relieved to see that he was not being taken directly to a cell. He was a bit surprised by how he was treated right now, he had expected the Magic Council to find creative ways to humiliate him, but he was glad that it was not the case.

“You have access to the cafeteria, the gardens, the library and your room,” Lahar explained on the way to Cobra’s room, “I will be monitoring your actions during your free time, and I will also accompany you to your classes just to be sure that you don’t miss them.”

“Seems like you will have a fun time,” he said trying to annoy him.

The man didn’t take the bait and ignored him for the rest of the trip to his room. This month without Lucy was going to be extremely boring, especially if that guy was her replacement.

They arrived in his room and Lahar told him that he would bring him his supper later. Cobra nodded and without another word, the member of the Council left, locking him up inside the room.

Erik sat on the bed and sighed, he observed the room, it was pretty basic with no decoration, there was just a bed, a wardrobe and a desk. There was also a door that led to a private bathroom but other than that it was bland.

He lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, he was pretty sure that he would not be able to sleep tonight. He was too stressed to miss his first dance class tomorrow and he really didn’t want to mess this up. He was absolutely not looking forward to these etiquette courses. And he wished that he had found a way for Lucy to be here, he knew that he probably would have enjoyed these courses a bit more if Lucy had been there with him.

He closed his eyes and he knew that this month was going to be a nightmare.

Chapter Text

Cobra’s first dance class would be starting in a few minutes. He had barely slept; he had been awoken by a nightmare and had decided to stay awake in order not to be late for his first dance class. He took his time to get out of the bed, then he took a shower and waited for Lahar. He heard the footsteps of the man approach and he waited for him to unlock the door.

“You’re ready, let’s go,” the member of the Council said without even glancing at him.

This guy is no fun, Erik thought while he followed him through the different corridors that led to the room for his dance class.

They arrived in front of a wooden door and Lahar signaled to him to go inside.

“Your dance teacher is waiting for you in there; I will come back once you’re done. Be nice with her and don’t try to escape; otherwise you know what awaits you.”

“I know, I know,” Erik answered casually before stepping inside.

He heard Lahar lock the door behind him.

Escaping, my eye.

Cobra looked around, at the other end of the room stood an old woman with short grey hair. She wore a green dress that seemed extremely expensive, and he refused to imagine what would happen if he damaged it.

He swallowed, he didn’t know what to do or what to say, so he stood awkwardly in front of the door.

“Come over here, boy,” the woman said, and Cobra noticed that she looked upset.

Not wanting to upset her even more than she already was, he obeyed and came closer. Without any other word, the woman hit his right arm with a fan.

“Ouch! What was that for?!” he asked through gritted teeth.

“You have no manners. No salutation? That’s the least you could have done once you stepped into this room.”

He was at a loss for words, he had never expected that his teacher would be that severe, he was definitely not going to have a fun time here. Well, it was true that he could at least have said hello, but he hadn’t known what to expect when he had stepped into this room.

“I’m Rebecca and I’m here to teach you manners and etiquette, but I see that I will have to work harder than I thought. What’s your name, boy?”

“Cobra.”

She rolled her eyes, she seemed exasperated with him when he had barely done anything to upset her. She circled him, observing him with a thoughtful expression on her face before she nodded.

“Let’s start, then.”

They moved to the center of the room, and she snapped her fingers, music started playing from nowhere.

So, he was really going to do this; he was really going to learn how to dance. Never in his life he had expected this.

“Start by putting your right hand in the middle of my back,” Rebecca ordered.

He sighed internally and obeyed; he really didn’t want to do this. If it had been with Lucy, he felt like he would have been a thousand times more comfortable. He knew she would have been gentle with him; he could picture her smiling or laughing while he made a mistake but with Rebecca, he knew he couldn’t do anything wrong.

She grabbed his left hand and guided him to the rhythm of the music. He was clumsy in his movements, but he did his best to follow her. He stepped on her foot by accident and immediately knew what would be coming, she hit him on the thigh this time and spoke under her breath, complaining about how hard it was going to be to teach him how to dance in only two months.

If he remembered correctly, this dance class lasted two hours.

This is a nightmare.

His body ached once his dance class was over, Rebecca had hit him several times and he had also not expected dance to be this tiring, it was probably because he had not built back his stamina yet. Spending two months in a bed had really affected his body but he was convinced that dancing was probably a good exercise to get back into shape, so he was not going to complain about that. Dancing was alright, he just wished that he had a kinder teacher.

He got out of the room as fast as he could, not wanting to spend one more minute with the demon that was Rebecca.

Lahar was waiting for him outside of the room.

“What do you want to do now?” the member of the Council asked.

Cobra knew that he had a small break of thirty minutes before having another etiquette class, he decided to go to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. He was not eager to go there, because he knew that all the employees would stare at him and think awful things about him. And even if he didn’t care about what they thought, he didn’t particularly enjoy hearing only negative things about him.

At the cafeteria, he rapidly grabbed a meal and sat as far as he could from the other employees, the only one who stayed close to him was Lahar, the man sat in front of him and ate his meal like Cobra wasn’t even here.

I can’t believe a criminal is eating in the same room as us, he heard someone thought.

He should be in a cell; I don’t understand the Chairman’s decision.

I heard he destroyed an entire village by himself, he is a real monster.

Someone told me that he killed his entire family.

Erik sighed, he wished he could block all the sounds right now. He wondered if the Chairman had decided to put him through all of this as a way of punishing him. He could hear a bunch of lies being told about him and that was clearly the worst part. Nobody knew what he had endured, nobody knew the hell he had gone through, but the one thing he knew was that these people didn’t care about his past. They just wanted to demonize him, to antagonize him as much as they could. It had only been half a day since he was here and he already wanted to go back to Lucy’s place, to his temporary home.

He barely touched his plate and left the cafeteria still followed by Lahar. The member of the Council then led him to his class and left Cobra in the hands of Rebecca once again.

Erik finished his etiquette class near sunset, the woman had decided to teach him the noble table and what utensils to use and when. She had sighed of disappointment when she had noticed that he hadn’t memorized everything right off the bat. He didn’t need to do more classes to know that he already hated etiquette. He thought of Lucy and how she had grown up learning all of this, her childhood must really have been hard if she had to respect all the rules of etiquette all the time. Without the shadow of a doubt, being a wizard was freer than being a noble and he could understand her decision to leave her household.

Cobra waited for Lahar to get him out of his hell. When the man arrived, he asked Erik if he wanted to go back to his room or do something else.

The Dragon Slayer didn’t have the strength to go back to the cafeteria for his supper, the day had exhausted him. He shook his head and Lahar was about to guide him to his room when Rebecca rushed to them.

“I want you to read this for the end of the week,” she said, putting a huge book in Cobra’s hands before leaving the room.

Erik stared at the book disgustingly, he had thought that he would at least have free time in the evening, but it seemed like his teacher had other plans for him. Right now, he had never been so glad that Lucy taught him how to read or he didn’t know what Rebecca would have done if she had known that he didn’t know how to read. He sighed heavily and Lahar guided him to his room.

Once he was in his room, he put the book on the desk and decided that he was too tired to start reading it right now, instead he lied in the bed and stared at the ceiling.

He looked forward to the end of the month when Lucy would join his classes and they would be able to train together for another month.

But for now, he knew that it was going to be a long month.

A week had passed since he had started his month at the Council, his dancing classes were going better, he had improved quickly, probably because he built up more strength and more stamina at every dance class, he still sucked at following the rhythm though and he kept stepping on Rebecca’s feet sometimes. When it came to the other etiquette classes, he was terrible, he had never been a good student, that was the primary reason why Brain had decided not to teach him how to read. Unlike Brain, though, Rebecca didn’t give up on him, it didn’t stop her from thinking that he was hopeless, but she would not give up, she was resolute to teach him etiquette. Cobra admired her determination, and he didn’t want to let it go to waste, so he tried his best. And Erik tried, he really tried to remember and focus on those classes, but it was just so boring that he always found himself more interested in listening to the thoughts of the first comer or letting his mind wander; generally, it led him to think about what Lucy could be doing while he was stuck here. He guessed that she had probably gone back to Fairy Tail and he liked to imagine her laughing with her friends, that was the thought that comforted him the most.

Once he had finished reading the huge book that his teacher had given him, she had decided to wait before giving him another book that meant that he now had some free time in the evening.

He had remembered that he had been authorized access to the library. With all that had happened in the past couple of days, he hadn’t had the time to really process what he had learned about himself when they had been at Jude’s place. He wanted to learn more about his village, that was one of the main things that kept him awake at night besides his usual nightmares or Lucy’s absence. As the days went by, he realized that he missed the celestial wizard more and more and that her absence weighed on him. Sometimes when he walked in the corridors, he saw blond hair and he found himself mistaking the person for Lucy. Cobra felt like he was going crazy, he didn’t understand why he was so affected by her absence. He really felt like he had a gaping hole in his chest and that Lucy’s presence was the only that would be able to fill it and make him whole again.

I am definitely going crazy, he said to himself more often than he probably should.

When he had realized that he finally had some free time, he had decided that going to the library was a good place to learn more about Ibisco Village. It was also one of the only places in the Council where he would not be overwhelmed by everyone’s thoughts since the people there would be focused on reading their books and not on gossiping about him.

He hadn’t missed the surprise on Lahar’s face when he had said that he wanted to go to the library after one of his classes.

Cobra had found a little table in a corner where he could be alone, his monitor had sat further in the room, keeping an eye on him but also leaving him some space. It was the first time since his arrival here that he felt a bit free like he could finally do something that mattered to him. He had grabbed one of Fiore’s maps and had studied it for a couple of hours, trying to pinpoint the village to no avail. He had absolutely no idea where the village could be located and Fiore was not small, it was like looking for a needle in the haystack.

And it sorts of became his daily routine for the whole month. Cobra attended his dance classes in the morning, another etiquette class in the afternoon, then spent his few free evenings studying Fiore’s geography.

The month had finally passed, and Lucy was now on her way to Era. She had spent most of this month at Fairy Tail and it did her good. She hadn’t realized just how much she had missed the guild and the atmosphere there; she had been too busy with the Council and Erik to realize that she missed her family. She had been surrounded by so much negativity with all that had happened recently to Cobra or with what her father had done to her brother that going to Fairy Tail had been a real remedy. The atmosphere, the people, the love there had healed a part of her; instantly the negativity had turned into positivity. Being surrounded by joyous people that knew how to make her feel good had allowed her to recharge her batteries.

She had spent a few days discussing the new gossips in town with Mirajane, she had also spent moments discussing books with Levy and had even found the time to go on small missions with Juvia and Lisanna. She had not escaped the crazy number of questions that her friends had in store for her about how it was going with Cobra. And Lucy had done her best to answer them, even if she had stayed pretty evasive for most because she didn’t want everyone to learn that her father was a monster, well with what had happened with Phantom Lord maybe they already knew that he was a bit a crazy and when she had explained her situation to the guild, she had never told them the real reason why she had accepted to work with Cobra, she had never told them that it was to find her brother and for now, she wanted it to stay that way. It was something she needed to do for herself, and she didn’t want to involve the guild in her problems. But even if she stayed evasive, she always talked positively about Erik, she told them about how he had protected her several times, how kind and selfless he was. She never told them his real name, though. He had shared it with her because they trusted each other and she had seen just how precious it was to him, she was not going to tell it to everyone without his consent.

Her only disappointment about this month was that she had not been able to see Natsu, Happy, Wendy, Gray and Erza. Her closest friends had gone on a long mission and had still not come back.

Lucy had also taken the time to make contracts with Aries, Scorpio and Gemini, with the recent events, it had slipped her mind. She still had trouble believing that Angel had decided to give up her magic and let her spirits in her care, well, with how the wizard of the Oracion Seis had treated them, Lucy was convinced that they were in better hands now.

Even if she had been busy the whole month, she felt the absence of Erik. She missed him, not simply missed him, she had realized that she felt empty without him around, it was a void that even Fairy Tail couldn’t fill. It was when she got home at night that loneliness hit her the hardest. Her apartment was devoid of anything that could remind her of the Dragon Slayer, it was as if he hadn’t been living with her for the past four months. At night, she lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and wished that she could just turn and that he would be there, sleeping next to her. She missed his voice, his stupid beautiful face, his teasing, his kindness, his way of always calling her Blondie instead of Lucy, she just missed him entirely.

When Lucy arrived at Era, it was already late and Belno was waiting for her outside of the Magic Council. They exchanged a few words before Belno led her to the room that she was going to occupy for a month.

“Rebecca will see you tomorrow morning, she wants to see what you know of etiquette.”

Lucy nodded, she wasn’t excited to study etiquette again, she had always hated this but for this mission she had no other choice. The only positive thing in being stuck studying etiquette again was that this time, Erik would be with her. She was excited to see him again, even if she didn’t like the fact that she wouldn’t be able to be as close as they usually were when they were at her place since the Council was watching them closely. Lucy refused to take any chances in compromising Cobra’s freedom, and she was convinced that he knew it, too.

Belno showed her the room and left quickly after. Lucy sighed once the woman was gone, she always felt stressed when she was around the Council member, always scared to make a mistake and be the reason why the project that could give the Dragon Slayer his freedom might end, all the more given that Belno already suspected her of being too attached to Cobra.

Lucy lied on the bed, staring at the ceiling, she would have loved to look for Erik right now, but she was exhausted, she had come back from a mission with Lisanna only a few days ago and had not yet completely recovered. Instead, she settled for sleeping early and be ready for her first dance class tomorrow. And that’s what she did, she got ready for bed and fell asleep soon after.

Lucy was running frantically in the corridors, she had somehow overslept and was already late for her class. Usually, it never happened but she had probably been extremely tired yesterday. She grumbled under her breath about how Belno had completely forgotten to mention where the classroom was, in the end she had to ask a Council member to show her the way, only to make her later than she already was.

She sighed of relief when she saw Lahar sitting on a chair next to a door.

“You’re late,” the man said, getting up from the chair and unlocking the door without glancing at her.

“I know, I’m terribly sorry, I-” she started but Lahar raised his hand to silence her.

“Keep your excuses for Rebecca, it’s not my problem if you’re late, I’m only here to monitor Cobra.”

Lahar opened the door and gestured for her to get inside. Lucy stepped inside and really hoped that Rebecca was a nice person and would not hold her lateness against her.

Well, Lucy’s hope crumbled instantly because the first thing that she heard when she stepped in the room was not kind words.

“I was beginning to wonder if you'd honor us with your presence,” the teacher said harshly.

Lucy’s eyes landed on Cobra first, he had one hand on Rebecca’s back and the other was holding her hand. She saw his face lit up when she walked into the room, his eyes were full of joy and a little smile appeared on his face. She knew he was containing his excitement, and she was doing the same thing, here at the Council, they didn’t really have any other option.

“Cobra, you can take a break,” Rebecca said, letting go of him before walking towards Lucy.

“Good luck,” he mouthed before sitting on a chair.

Lucy winced; it couldn’t mean anything good if that was the first thing he had to say to her after a month without seeing each other. She was too busy looking at him to notice that Rebecca had closed the distance between them and was now right in front of her. It was a sudden pain on her arm that brought Lucy back to reality. Instead of continuing to look at Erik, she now looked at Rebecca who was armed with a fan, ready to hit her again if needed.

“I see that you’re back on earth, I asked what your reason was for being late this morning.”

“I’m sorry, I overslept, and I didn’t know where the classroom was,” Lucy answered, looking down.

“At least you are honest,” the old woman sighed, “let’s get to work, I want to see what you can do. Cobra, come back here.”

He got up from the chair and joined them. Rebecca ordered them to dance so that she could observe them and correct them if needed. Erik moved first and took one of her hands in his and put the other on her back. Lucy felt her cheeks heat, it had been a while since they had been this close, and she had forgotten just how much she liked having this kind of gentle physical contact with him.

“Ready?” he asked, looking at her in the eye.

She nodded and put her free hand on his shoulder.

“You can start,” their teacher said before starting to dictate the tempo.

To Lucy’s greatest surprise, Cobra led the dance and she tried to follow his steps, she was a bit rusty and noticed that her movements were a bit clumsy, but she did her best to keep up with the pace. With a bit more practice, she would be able to dance perfectly. She looked at Erik while they danced and noticed that he often looked at his feet, he probably still had trouble with the dance pattern.

Once they were done, Rebecca sighed.

“I think everything is not lost,” was the only thing the woman said before leaving the room.

Lucy did her best to contain her excitement, even if they were alone in a room, she didn’t know if the Council was watching them through lacrima, so she still had to stop herself from jumping in Erik’s arms and hugging him tightly. It was hard since it was the only thing that she wanted to do right now.

Cobra was sitting on a chair, taking off his dance shoes to wear his usual ones. She wanted to get closer to him, but she kept a certain distance, scared that Lahar might enter unannounced and surprise them being too close.

“Let’s go,” Erik said, startling her in the process, she had been too focused on keeping her distance that she had not noticed him getting closer.

She blinked and then looked at him, confused.

“Go where?”

“The cafeteria. I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”

Now that he said it, Lucy realized that she was indeed hungry, with her hectic morning, she had completely forgotten to eat her breakfast.

“Yes, I’m starving,” she answered.

“I bet. You had quite the morning, it seemed,” he teased, looking at her.

“Shut up, idiot,” she pouted, her lateness had embarrassed her enough, she didn’t need to be reminded of that.

Erik laughed softly. Lucy felt like her heart was about to explode, she had forgotten his laugh, one of the prettiest sounds she had ever heard. His laugh resonated in her body, and she felt like she was melting. She couldn’t believe that she felt weak in the knees because of a simple laugh.

They left the room and Erik led the way to the cafeteria, Lahar walking silently behind them. The presence of the Council Member made it too awkward for them to talk casually.

Lucy was fighting against her desire to hold Cobra’s hand. They were walking side by side, keeping a certain distance but at the same time being close enough for her to grab Erik’s hand.

If only Lahar was not here, she grumbled in her thoughts.

She saw Cobra’s head turn and he raised an eyebrow, he had heard her, obviously. She shook her head to tell him that nothing was wrong, but he only looked at her more intensively, curiosity shining in his purple eyes.

She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know how to explain that she felt frustrated for not being able to hold his hand or hug him as freely as she wanted.

But it seemed that she didn’t need to explain it because Erik had understood that her problem was linked to that.

She felt his little finger gently caress hers, a simple gesture that sent sparks all over her body. Her eyes widened, shocked by what he had just done, it was as if he had broken their mental agreement not to touch while being at the Council. She discreetly looked back to see if Lahar had noticed anything, but his face was as impassible as ever, then she looked at Erik who simply winked at her with a soft smile on his face.

Sooner or later, his amazing smile would be the death of her.

“She is a monster,” Erik said once they were at the cafeteria, both eating their lunch.

Lucy laughed softly at that. They were sitting alone at a table; Lahar had had the kindness not to sit at the same table as them for their lunch break.

“Come on, she can’t be that bad.”

“You are rapidly going to change your mind,” he told her with a grin.

She smiled, she was happy to finally be able to spend time with him again, they didn’t really have the opportunity to talk during the dance class since Rebecca wanted them to focus. And it seemed that Cobra was scared to anger the teacher.

“I was covered in bruises the first times,” he complained but she knew he was just joking to make her smile. She could feel just how happy he was to see her again.

“Oh, so you are that bad of a dancer,” she answered with a wicked smile.

He glared at her, but they were both smiling.

“I think I managed pretty well since I didn’t step on your feet once,” he pointed out, proudly.

She giggled and he smiled warmly at her as if he finally felt safe enough to be himself once again. He had probably been hiding himself behind his mask for the whole month, he probably didn’t trust anyone here.

“How did your month here go?” she asked on a more serious tone.

“Apart from the fact that Rebecca is a nightmare, etiquette is boring and Council members can’t stop gossiping about how I killed my family or how I eat children for breakfast, it was alright I guess.”

Lucy stared at him, horrified by what he had just said. She knew that their teacher was not the kindest and that etiquette was boring, but the last part of his sentence had shocked her. Of course, he had heard everyone’s thoughts about him and, of course, he had just had to hear it and let it go, he wasn’t allowed to cause a scene or there would be repercussions.

“I’m so sorry, Erik…” she said, looking down.

“Hey, don’t apologize for this, it’s not your fault. It was to be expected, and honestly, I was actually surprised by their imagination.”

“That is just awful.”

He nodded and offered her a sad smile.

You are amazing, don’t listen to those idiots, she said in her mind, it felt somewhat easier to think it than say it aloud.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“I missed you, Blondie,” he smiled and this time, it was a genuine smile on his face.

She felt her cheeks heat and looked away, not able to stare at his pretty face when he said these kind of things that made her heart race like this.

She wanted to say that she had missed him, too but she felt like her heart would burst if she did. He changed the subject before she could say it and she felt a bit guilty not to tell him that she had missed him when he had occupied her thoughts for most of the month.

“And you? How did your month go?”

“It was nice, it felt good to go back to Fairy Tail and see some of my friends. I think I really needed this, to be able to think about other things than what my father did to you and my brother.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” he smiled softly.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t say this when you suffered during the whole month.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Don’t apologize for that, my month was not fun, but I don’t really care, I knew that it was going to be that way and I don’t want to keep complaining about it. Now, though, I’m interested in what you did this month, tell me more about what you did at the guild, I want to hear it.”

“Are you sure? I thought you wouldn’t be interested in all of that since you don’t like Natsu. Well, I say that, but he wasn’t even here.”

He looked at her confused and he raised an eyebrow.

“When did I say that I don’t like the guy?”

“I thought it was the case since he beat you. And I thought that maybe you hated official guilds, too, since we are the reason, you ended up in jail.”

“First, Natsu is just an idiot and no, I don’t hate official guilds. Seriously, Lucy, you are imagining things, I’m actually really interested in learning more about Fairy Tail and official guilds in general. So, feel free to talk to me about this when you want, I will always listen to what you have to say.”

It was true that she might have slightly overthought everything concerning Fairy Tail and official guilds. She had thought that Cobra would dislike hearing about this since they were the reason the Oracion Seis’ plan had failed. She had also thought that he wouldn’t want to know how happy she had been this month while he was suffering, but him being interested and willing to listen to her warmed her heart.

It didn’t take her another second before she started rambling about what she had done during the month.

Lucy was now in her room; she had said good night to Cobra a few minutes ago and then she had taken a shower. Once she had changed into her pajamas, she lied on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was smiling stupidly and kicking her feet, she couldn’t believe that this was her reaction to seeing Cobra after one month. Erik could make her heart race with a trifle, a laugh, a smile or simply looking at her with his gorgeous eyes. He was definitely driving her crazy.

She hugged one of her pillows and almost wished that it was Cobra. All day, she had been wanting to jump into his arms and hug him, and all day she had needed to stop herself from doing so. This month at the Council was going to be a pure torture if she had to control herself like this. Spending a month without him was hard, but spending a month with him but not being able to touch him was way worse.

She sighed into the pillow when she realized that she would have to wait a whole month before hugging him. She would have to settle for discreet little contacts like the one that had happened on their way to the cafeteria. At least she knew that she wasn’t alone on that, Erik was in the same boat as her, she had understood that when their fingers had touched briefly.

It was going to be a long month, but Lucy was convinced that it was worth waiting for.

Lucy and Erik had been training for almost a month now, they were starting to be synchronized while they danced and sometimes, they even earned little smiles from Rebecca which said a lot about their improvement. Even if their training was going well, Lucy still felt deeply frustrated by her lack of physical contact with Cobra and the lack of little moments together where they could just be themselves. They never had a moment where they could be alone, there was always someone watching. And even if she danced with him every day, there was not the same sparks as when they touched discreetly. Since they were forced to dance together and were heavily monitored by Rebecca, Lucy even found herself not enjoying dancing with Cobra because she found the supervision suffocating. But being at the Council had not stopped them from trying to have small physical contacts. During this month, Erik and Lucy had always found small moments to briefly touch each other, mostly on their way to the cafeteria where they simply brushed their fingers right in front of Lahar. Every time, the fear of being caught filled her, sending sparks over all her body and making her heart race, but that never stopped her from continuing and it never stopped Erik.

Today, they had been summoned by the higher members of the Council to discuss their future departure to the Bosco Kingdom. They stepped into the room and sat in front of the same members of the Council that were here two months ago.

“I heard that your training has been quite successful,” Belno said once everyone was sat.

“Rebecca reported us great things about you two,” Michello continued, “And Lahar said that you had an exemplary behavior during these two months here,” he added, looking at Cobra.

Lucy looked at Erik who looked completely surprised by what the man had just said, and inside she was overjoyed by the compliment they had given him, it could only mean that he was on the right path to getting his freedom. She noticed that Org, the member that had always belittled the Dragon Slayer during the previous meeting looked extremely upset by their success.

“Enough praises, we are here to talk about how you will get to the ball,” Grand Doma intervened, “Tomorrow, you will take a coach to the Bosco Kingdom, we prepared clothes especially for the occasion and you will find them in the coach.”

Lucy noticed immediately how Erik paled at the mention of coach. And if she knew her geography, the Bosco Kingdom was far from Era that meant that they had not simply a few hours of travel but days.

“Concerning your identities, you will use the name Heartfilia-”

“And Cobra should probably use another name because it is not the name of a noble,” Org said, interrupting the Chairman.

The man earned a death glare from Lucy, Belno and the Chairman.

“As I was saying, you will use the Heartfilia name. The ball is in eight days, but the King of Bosco is happy to welcome you in the castle in advance,” Gran Doma explained.

Lucy was glad to know that they had some time before the ball, they would be able to explore the castle and maybe find where Grigory Lotaziars was hiding.

“Doranbolt will be your coach driver, once you have freed the children and arrested Lotaziars, you will take them to him and he will teleport them back to Fiore,” the Chairman continued.

“And for us?” Lucy asked, “What happens once we are done saving the children?”

“You need to go back to the ball and act like nothing happened, Doranbolt will come and get you a couple of days later once everything is calmer. If you get arrested by the Bosco Kingdom, we might not be able to get you out of here, you will need to be extremely discreet.”

Lucy was starting to hate that plan, so many things could go wrong and so little was done to get them out of here in case of trouble.

“Now, Cobra,” Belno intervened, “We need to talk about your case.”

All eyes on the room landed on the Dragon Slayer who stared almost defiantly at the Chairman.

“We are taking the chance to trust you completely on this. Meaning that you won’t have a perimeter to respect and that your magic will not be sealed.”

Lucy saw Erik’s eyes widen, he was shocked by what the Chairman had just said, and she was too. It was a gamble from the Magic Council, they had nothing to gain from that, Cobra could disappear in the Bosco Kingdom, and he would simply be free forever.

“It is a test and if you want to flee to the Bosco Kingdom, you can try. We will send people after you and we will eventually get you back to Fiore, and when we do, you will never see the sunlight ever again.”

So, it wasn’t really a test. It was more like a threat. If the Magic Council wanted this mission to be a success, they needed Cobra to be able to go wherever he wanted and to be able to use his magic without depending on Lucy for it. They didn’t trust him at all, he was still a criminal, and they knew he might have jumped on the opportunity to flee since the authority of the Magic Council didn’t extend to the Bosco Kingdom. That meant that the Council was ready to use illegal methods to get him back if he fled.

“I don’t think you have people skilled enough to catch me, but don’t worry I didn’t plan on getting away even if it is really tempting,” Erik said with a proud smile.

One day, he was really going to get himself in trouble by speaking like this to the Council.

“We will see if you are honest, then,” Belno intervened.

Even if Belno was not the kindest person, she was the person here who probably believed in Cobra the most except for Lucy who completely trusted him and knew that he would be able to get his freedom.

“The meeting is over, we are counting on you,” Gran Doma said.

The Magic Council members left the meeting room and Lucy and Cobra were left alone.

“Tomorrow, huh…” Erik sighed, and she could hear that he was a bit stressed but also relieved that the things were finally moving.

“We will succeed, Erik. We will arrest Grigory Lotaziars and the Council will understand that they can trust you. You might even get your freedom earlier, who knows?” she said, trying to cheer him up a bit, but it was a bit complicated when she was also stressed. There were so many things that could go wrong in the Bosco Kingdom, and she was scared to know what would happen if they failed.

After these two months of training, well, only one for Lucy, tomorrow was the day they would finally depart to the Bosco Kingdom and start their mission to arrest Grigory Lotaziars.

Chapter Text

Lucy, Erik and Doranbolt arrived at the first inn where they were going to spend the night. They had departed for the Bosco Kingdom early in the morning, Doranbolt had greeted them and informed them that they had a five-day journey ahead, and that in three days they would cross the frontier and that from this moment, Lucy and Cobra would have to wear the noble clothes that the Council had prepared for them.

On the coach, Erik had spent most of his time lying on her lap, trying to sleep and not puke everywhere. Lucy wished she could help him more than simply be his pillow for the length of the trip, she tried to help him by playing with his hair or saying comforting things. She really hoped that the trip would go well or at least as well as it can go when one has horrible motion sickness.

Lucy was in one of the three rooms they had rented for the night, she had just gotten out of the shower and put on her pajamas. Now, she wanted to take a moment to continue reading the book she had taken with her before going to sleep. She was about to lie on her bed and take the book in her hands when she heard someone knocking on her door. She opened the door and blinked when she saw the person standing in front of her.

Erik.

When they had stepped into the inn near the end of the afternoon, Cobra had looked pale as a ghost and had disappeared in his room without saying anything. That was why she hadn’t expected to see him, she had thought that he had immediately gone to sleep.

Lucy looked from right to left, checking if Doranbolt was nearby when she was sure that the member of the Council was nowhere to be seen, she grabbed Cobra’s wrists and drew him toward her before pulling him into a hug.

They were alone at last, after spending one month with barely any physical contacts or moments to be themselves, they could finally act freely, they didn’t need to hide anymore. Well, Doranbolt was still there but Lucy doubted that he would be a problem. And if by accident he saw them, they would just say that it was a part of their act as husband and wife for the mission.

Lucy hugged Erik tightly, burying her head into his chest and breathing his relaxing scent of pine, violets with a tinge of vanilla. He hugged her back and he gently put his chin on the top of her head.

“I’ve missed this…” she whispered in his chest, her voice wavering and tears welling up.

She had never thought that she would be impacted this much by a simple hug, but it wasn’t just a simple hug, it was a hug filled with two months of waiting, two months of frustration, two months of wanting to comfort the other without being able to.

“Me too…” he answered, patting her back.

They stayed like this for a moment, just enjoying the contact of the other. She had missed being in his arms, and she could tell that it was the same case for him with the way he was holding her tightly like she might vanish in his arms.

Lucy reluctantly broke their embrace, Erik had probably not come here to simply hug her and once she could see his face again, she knew that he had come here because something was definitely bothering him.

“Is everything alright?” she asked softly, looking at his face, his eyes were filled with uncertainty.

“I want to discuss something with you…” he answered, and he sounded extremely serious.

Lucy felt her heart race, she didn’t like seeing him serious like this and she had no idea what he might want to talk about. She let him inside her room and they both sat on the bed. There was a brief silence for a moment, and she really hoped that she had not done something to upset him. She was starting to overthink it, maybe he was upset at her because she had done something that had displeased him in the coach, maybe he had realized that he didn’t want to talk to her ever again but at the same time it sounded ridiculous because their hug didn’t feel like he was upset at her or maybe it had been a goodbye hug. Her heart was beating so fast, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe, she really hoped that what he wanted to discuss had nothing to do with her, she was scared to lose him.

 “Lucy are you alright?” he asked, and she could feel his eyes on her.

Him calling her Lucy did nothing to calm her racing heart and mind, he only used her name when the matter was serious. She refused to meet his eyes; she kept looking at the wall in front of her.

“Yes…” she lied, hoping to convince him that she was alright so that he could finally talk about what was on his mind.

“Don’t lie to me…”

Lying to the man who can hear everything might not be the smartest move, she said to herself.

“Don’t listen to my thoughts,” she responded a bit more harshly than she intended.

“I’m not. Your heart is betraying you…”

This time, she looked at him, his eyes were filled with worry and fear like he had done something wrong, like he had hurt her.

“I’m so sorry, Erik. I didn’t want to sound mean, I think I’m just stressed because of the mission and you coming here to discuss something didn’t help to calm my nerves, I guess.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m the one who is sorry, I should have been clearer with my words, it’s something about the mission that I wanted to discuss with you. I’m sorry I worried you...”

Lucy felt like she could breathe again, she was reassured to know that it was something about the mission that was bothering him and not her presence.

“Idiot… You scared me…”

He gently took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to address the topic without sounding extremely ridiculous.”

She tilted her head on the side, confused by what he was saying. She didn’t know if a ridiculous question existed when it came to their mission, she even felt like they were underprepared for it so him wanting to discuss things about it was actually great.

“I’m listening Erik, tell me what’s on your mind and I’m sure that whatever that is, it won’t sound ridiculous…” she said softly, caressing his fingers.

He took a deep breath and then looked away, refusing to meet her eyes as if he was ashamed by what he was going to tell her.

“It’s about the name I’m supposed to use there, I can’t use Cobra because that definitely would sound suspicious, and the Council didn’t give us any instructions on that except that Cobra was a no go.”

Lucy realized that he was right to discuss this, they would have been in a delicate situation if they arrived at the Bosco Kingdom without knowing how to call him. She probably would have simply called him Erik because that’s what she called him since their visit to the Heartfilia mansion a couple of months ago, but at the same time she knew that he didn’t let anyone use his real name. When they had been at the Council, she had done her best to call him Cobra because she knew that he didn’t want them to know his real name, she had hated every second of it because Erik was a beautiful name and she loved saying it. Especially because it lit up his face every time, she used it. Right now, his name was still a secret that only the two of them shared, she needed to be careful about that. But at the same time, maybe they could use the name Erik for this mission, it was not like they would go back to Bosco once this mission was over, people would rapidly forget about them. She was scared not to be able to keep up the act if he used another name than Cobra or Erik, she knew that she would probably make a mistake at one point and still call him Erik which would only raise suspicions.

“Why don’t we use your real name?” she asked.

He turned to look at her and she could see that he was unsure about that.

“It’s not like we will go back to Bosco after this mission, they won’t remember us. And honestly, we can just tell Doranbolt that Erik is a fake name we came up with,” she explained, “But if you are uncomfortable with it, we can always invent another one, what do you think of the name Munto?” she added, trying to lighten the mood.

He sighed heavily but she could see a little smile on his face.

“Munto? Seriously? You couldn’t choose something simpler?”

He had said it like he was deeply offended, and she knew that he was joking, her explanation seemed to have eased his mind.

“But you look like a Munto!”

He shook his head, desperate by what she was saying.

“I’m not against the idea of using Erik but I’m not sure about lying to Doranbolt, the Magic Council is the last person I want to know about my name,” he responded with a soft smile.

“I’m convinced that if we tell him it’s a name we came up with, he won’t be asking any questions.”

She put a hand on his cheek and looked at him in the eye, she saw his eyes widen in surprise.

“You know what? We don’t have to tell Doranbolt right now, I’ll keep using Cobra as long as we are in Fiore, it’s only when we will reach the frontier that we might need to use your name, but I’m certain that Doranbolt won’t care about it so long as we accomplish our mission.”

He nodded, still looking at her in the eye and Lucy knew she had convinced him, he looked completely reassured.

“You still look sick, you probably should go to sleep, Erik,” she said, making sure to emphasize on his name.

She wanted to ask him to stay, to sleep in her bed like they had done twice before those two months at the Council, but she couldn’t. She was too scared that Doranbolt might knock on her door tomorrow morning and discover that they had slept in the same room, she really didn’t want to explain why Cobra and her had slept in the same bed.

Erik got up reluctantly and he whispered a little “goodnight, Blondie” before going back to his room.

It was their last morning in Fiore; today they would cross the frontier and arrive in the Bosco Kingdom. It meant that from now on they weren’t Lucy of Fairy Tail and Cobra of the Oracion Seis but Lucy and Erik Heartfilia, a young married couple that had been invited by the King of Bosco for the birthday ball of the Queen. The only thing that Lucy was dreading was that now they needed to wear the noble clothes the Council had prepared for them. She was absolutely not looking forward to wearing these uncomfortable dresses that didn’t allow her to move freely. It would only remind her of her childhood with the boring teachers and their stupid etiquette classes.

Lucy was struggling to put on an ugly pink dress and tie it, it was impossible to do that alone, so she summoned Virgo to help her. The spirit helped her put the dress on and tied it for her. Now, Lucy was admiring herself in the mirror; at least she looked like a real princess, but she already missed her skirts and tops that made her feel way more comfortable than this ugly dress. She sighed heavily before putting on light pink gloves to hide her Fairy Tail mark, she hated to do this because she was a proud member of Fairy Tail and she didn’t want to hide that fact. But she couldn’t take the chance that someone in Bosco might recognize her guild mark and think that wizards from official guilds had infiltrated the castle, even if Fairy Tail had absolutely no impact in another kingdom.

Slave trade was prominent in Bosco, and Lucy was fairly convinced that some of the nobles that would be at the ball were slave owners or had a part to play in slave trading. Her theory made even more sense since Grigory Lotaziars had decided to go there to sell the children. It was definitely better for her to hide that she was a wizard from Fairy Tail. Another thing scared her about her identity, it was the Heartfilia name itself, if Bosco was prominent in slave trading, it was mostly certain that some of the nobles knew her father since he was one of the biggest slave traders in Fiore. She still had trouble believing that the Magic Council didn’t know about her father’s illegal activities, well, they probably knew but her father was probably just paying them a good amount to simply be left alone. She wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, some of the members were definitely rotten. She really hoped that the Council hadn’t made the mistake of telling Jude about the ball, if he was here or if he had warned some nobles, their mission would be a failure. She should have mentioned her father during the two meetings with the Chairman, she should have told them that he was a monster and a criminal, but she would not have been able to prove it. But she was certain that Jude had at least one ally in the Magic Council, and if the Council really wanted to arrest Grigory Lotaziars, she was certain that even her father’s ally wouldn’t have warned him because he would have known that the mission was going to fail if Jude Heartfilia intervened.

She felt sick, there were too many things that could go wrong with this mission. She sighed again before sitting on the bed, she needed to breathe and calm herself or she might throw up. She heard someone knock on the door and the first thing she saw when she opened it was a vision of pure beauty. Erik was standing in front of her, he was wearing a long black coat with golden embroidery, she could see a white shirt underneath the coat and around his neck was a pink neckcloth, matching with the color of her dress. He looked amazing but totally uncomfortable, she could tell he was definitely not used to wearing such clothes. She was grateful for his presence right now, him standing there had made her stomachache disappear for a moment.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, staring at her completely shocked.

She felt herself blush and she looked away, not able to meet his eyes right now.

“You’re not bad either,” she responded, trying to look cool and composed when the only thing she could do was screaming in her head that he was way more than beautiful. She really hoped that he would not listen to her thoughts.

She saw him grin and she knew that he had listened.

“Doranbolt is waiting for us, we should go,” he said on a more serious tone.

“Oh, right…” she answered, focusing on their mission again instead of the man in front of her and how she wanted to kick him in the leg for having listened to her thoughts again.

He extended his hand to her, and she took it, squeezing it lightly.

“And for your information, Blondie, I didn’t listen to your thoughts. I don’t need to when your face tells me everything already.”

She felt her cheeks heat even more and she really had to refrain herself from kicking him in the leg especially when he had a satisfied smile on his lips after saying this.

Erik definitely knew what he was doing.

Once Doranbolt started driving the coach, Cobra immediately lied on Lucy’s lap to endure the ride. She immediately passed her hand through his hair, she liked the softness of it, it was really pleasant. If she had not been extremely stressed, she might have started reading the book she had taken with her, but she needed to talk to Erik about the probability of Jude Heartfilia being here and she really hoped that he would be able to listen through his motion sickness.

“Erik?” she started, softly.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. He looked sick and tired, and maybe she should have waited to be at the next inn to talk about this, but she needed to get this out of her chest now or she felt like she wouldn’t be able to go on with her day.

“I need to say something that might upset you… I don’t think it will be the case, but there is a slight chance that my father will be there,” she said, looking down.

She saw how his body immediately tensed and how sicker he looked by the simple mention of her father. She hated seeing him like this.

“If that is the case, this mission is a failure,” he answered through gritted teeth.

“I was thinking the same thing. But… Did you maybe hear someone mention my father when we had our meetings with the Council?”

“Org definitely knows about your father’s activities, and I think he wanted to find a way to keep Jude out of our mission. But I don’t know if he succeeded.”

Lucy had thought that maybe Org was working with her father since he had kept humiliating Cobra during the meetings, she had never expected that he would be the one to take measures against her father. Well, not measures, but had done something to not involve him at least.

“There is no guarantee, but I want to think that your father won’t be there. I don’t need one more thing to worry about, this mission is complicated enough,” he told her, trying to reassure her.

She nodded. She felt a bit reassured because her father being there was only a small possibility, and if one member of the Council had tried to do something to stop Jude from knowing about this mission, he would probably not be there. But that did not mean that everything would go smoothly, there were so many ways this mission could go wrong.

They passed the frontier easily; guards simply stopped them and asked them to show their invitation from the King of Bosco. Luckily, Doranbolt took care of everything, and Lucy and Erik didn’t have to get out of the coach. The guards had looked completely uninterested and when the Heartfilia name had been mentioned, they had let them cross without even asking for their names. Lucy wasn’t sure that it was extremely reassuring, but if the security was that low, she could understand why Grigory Lotaziars had chosen this country, probably because crossing the frontier was an easy thing. After that, they spent their last night in an inn before leaving in the early morning for the King’s castle.

Once they approached the castle, Lucy was surprised by how fast the nature changed. The local flora was completely different from Fiore’s, there was a multitude of flowers each more colorful than the last. The trees there were enormous, and the leaves were either pink, orange or green. She felt like she had stepped right into a book like she had entered an enchanted forest. She was captivated by the view; she had never seen a forest that beautiful. It became even better once the castle appeared in her field of view, moss, vines and ivy covered the stone of the castle, a fence of trunks and branches surrounded the castle. Normally, Lucy would have thought this castle to be unoccupied it looked old and almost haunted and yet, the King of Bosco lived there and was hosting a ball.

Even if they were here for a mission, she couldn’t deny that she was a bit excited to go to the ball, she had been wanting to dance with Erik since she had known that he needed to learn how to dance. And dancing with him but being corrected every five seconds by Rebecca was not what Lucy called dancing, she wanted to dance with him without being interrupted.

She took a deep breath, she needed to put her priorities straight, the children came first, and her silly desires didn’t matter. She knew that Erik would be solely focused on the mission anyway, their dance would only be an act. But she hoped that maybe one day, she would be able to dance with him without all of this being an act.

Doranbolt stopped the coach in front of the castle to let Cobra and Lucy get off. Erik got off first and opened the door on Lucy’s side before extending his hand to her and helping her get off the coach. Even after helping her, he didn’t let go of her hand, they walked near the front door where a butler was waiting for them.

“You must be the Heartfilias, welcome to Bosco,” the butler said, giving a bow, “My name is François, I will be taking care of you during your stay. You must be tired; I will show you to your room.”

Lucy looked at Erik, the trip had exhausted him greatly and she knew that simply standing up was a torture for him. He was pale as a ghost and probably still nauseous but tried not to look like it.

“Thank you,” Lucy answered.

François showed them to their room. Their room was enormous, it was two times bigger than Lucy’s apartment. The bed in the middle of the room was almost the size of her living room.

“If you need anything, you just have to ring the bell and I will come as fast as I can. Also, the supper will soon be served, I will come and get you once it is ready.”

Lucy thanked him again and the butler gave them a bow again before leaving.

“I guess there is no turning back now,” she said, sitting on the bed.

Cobra sat next to her.

“Yeah… I guess this is it,” he answered, taking her hand, and squeezing it lightly.

Both of them were extremely stressed and it showed. They weren’t allowed to fail this mission; children’s lives were at stake.

“If it can reassure you, I don’t smell your father, I guess that’s a good thing,” he informed her.

That was good to know, they still had three days before the ball so her father was not completely out of the equation just yet and he might just have warned the nobles without even coming here. But she would take this as a win for now, and she still felt relieved hearing that.

“Thank you…” she responded, then she looked at his face, he tried to look strong, but the five-day trip had drained him, “Erik, you should try to sleep, I will wake you up once François comes back.”

He nodded before lying on the bed and immediately falling asleep. She also wanted to lie down for a moment but with this dress she knew she wasn’t going to get back up without creasing it. She sighed and decided to sit on the armchair next to the bed, she took her book and started reading, waiting for the butler’s return.

Erik was lying in their enormous bed, and he felt like the world was spinning. He had spent five days enduring motion sickness and he never wanted to be in a coach ever again. He already dreaded their return to Fiore, even if it was the least of his worries right now. He needed to focus on the mission, he needed to listen to as many people’s thoughts as he could to find the one who would be dealing with Grigory Lotaziars the night of the ball. It was a hard task when the only thing he wanted was for everything to stop spinning. Since he was exhausted, it didn’t take him a long time for him to fall asleep.

“Erik. Erik,” he heard Lucy whisper in his hear, shaking him gently at the same time.

He grumbled lazily, he still wanted to sleep.

“If you refuse to wake up, you know how it’s going to end. I will have to push you off the bed, again.”

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

“I’m awake,” he said, not wanting to end up on the floor.

He sat on the bed and noticed that it was dark outside, he had probably slept for the rest of the afternoon.

“François will probably come back soon; I think it’s better if you’re awake before he comes back.”

And just after Lucy finished her sentence, they heard someone knocking on the door.

“It’s François. Supper is ready, I’m here to take you to the dining room,” the butler said from the other side of the door.

“Nice timing, Blondie,” Erik whispered with a little smile before getting up from the bed.

Her only answer was a proud smile.

Cobra went to open the door; the world was still spinning but he would be able to endure the supper before going back to sleep again.

François led them to the dining room, Cobra decided to memorize the trip, he took mental notes of every corridor and guard that he could see on the way, it could always come in handy. Once they arrived in the dining room, Erik almost felt dizzy by the size of the room and the size of the table with two empty plates. He had thought that they would eat with other nobles, or that they would at least meet the King and Queen of Bosco but no, Lucy and Erik were about to eat together in a room way too big for simply two people. He turned to look at Lucy who also seemed surprised by the size of the room and the gigantic table prepared just for them. The butler invited them to sit, and they obeyed. A few minutes later, François brought them their meal, and Cobra had never seen something that looked so appetizing, he had never seen such complex food nor tasted it. The meat in sauce, the vegetables, the mashed potatoes, everything looked incredibly tasty.

“Enjoy your meal,” François said before disappearing in the kitchen.

Erik looked at Lucy a bit dumbfounded, he felt lost, he didn’t understand why they were eating alone. He also felt like he was so far from Lucy right now, they were sitting face to face but the table was so long that he felt like they were in two different rooms.

They started eating and Cobra had been right, the food was incredibly good and tasty. He had never eaten something that amazing. He enjoyed his meal greatly especially after not eating much during the trip because he had felt that eating would make him sicker than he already was. Lucy and Erik simply talked about the food during the supper not wanting to give something away that might ruin their mission, Cobra didn’t hear anyone suspicious but that did not mean that someone wasn’t listening to them. François came back once they were done with their supper.

“Would you be interested in a dessert?” the butler asked.

Erik looked at Lucy with an eyebrow raised, he knew she would never say no to a dessert. He saw her blush slightly and he couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Yes,” she answered, her face lighting up at the thought of eating something sugary.

She is adorable, he thought.

His own thoughts almost surprised him, what was he thinking? He had realized that Lucy had started to occupy his head more and more and he didn’t understand why. He was used to being focused on his missions, never allowing himself to think about something else, so thinking more and more about Lucy scared him in a way.

“François? Do you think we could eat the dessert in our room? I think we would be more comfortable there,” he heard Lucy ask.

The butler nodded, he went to get the dessert and came back before guiding them once again in their room.

On their way back to their room, Erik noticed a sweet smell emanating from one of the corridors. He had probably been too exhausted to notice it the first time, but the smell was strong, and he was disappointed in himself for not having noticed it sooner when it was that strong. He knew that it was because of his Dragon Slayer’s abilities that he could pick up the smell, but he also knew that any other Dragon Slayer would have thought this smell to be basic, just the nice perfume of a flower. But as a Poison Dragon Slayer, Erik knew better, it wasn’t just the perfume of an ordinary flower, no. It was the smell of a poison. The Council had been right to worry about poisoning then. Cobra would have to investigate that smell but as long as François was with them, he couldn’t do anything.

They arrived in their room a few moments later, the butler put the dessert on the table and left. Lucy and Erik were finally alone, and they could discuss freely without worrying about someone listening to them. Cobra let himself fall into an armchair while Lucy grabbed her dessert and sat in front of him.

“I have one question,” he started.

Lucy raised her eyes from her chocolate pudding to look at him, she gave him an interrogative look.

“Is it normal not to meet the King or the Queen? I thought they would want us to greet them at least,” he continued.

“I find it weird, too. We didn’t even see another noble, I don’t understand why we ate alone in the dining room.”

He was relieved to know that what was bothering him was also bothering her. They should have at least met the owners of this castle; they should have met someone other than the butler or the guards.

“Maybe they wanted us to get some rest before meeting them,” she tried, but Cobra could tell that she was unsure about that.

“Yeah… Maybe you’re right. It’s not two months of etiquette that will make me understand how nobility works, anyway.”

“Maybe it’s Bosco’s customs, I don’t know,” she said.

She had a point, maybe it was the customs not to meet the King and the Queen before the ball. For now, he would accept this explanation. He needed to stop worrying about everything, his only focus was on saving the children and for now he couldn’t hear them, meaning that Grigory Lotaziars hadn’t arrived yet.

Erik looked at her and he saw that she had devoured her chocolate pudding, he couldn’t help but smile at that, he noticed that she was strongly eyeing his pudding.

“You can have mine if you want,” he said, smiling at how cute she looked right now. She tried to look like she was uninterested by his dessert when it was clear that she wanted it.

“Are you sure?” she asked a bit guiltily.

He nodded and smiled brightly. He wanted to make her happy and right now, it was the thing that would do it. Her face lit up instantly, she seemed overjoyed at the thought of being able to eat more chocolate. 

Once Lucy was done with her second pudding, it was time for them to sleep. They both were exhausted, and they really needed to get some sleep, they didn’t know what would happen tomorrow if maybe they would finally meet other nobles. But what was sure was that they needed to be rested if they wanted their act as a young married couple to seem true. Erik went to the bathroom to put on his pajamas, and he had not realized just how uncomfortable his outfit had been, when he got out, Lucy was sitting on the bed, looking down, she was still wearing that pink dress. She looked beautiful in that dress; well, he was convinced that Lucy looked beautiful in everything, but this dress made her look like a real princess.

“What’s wrong?” he said, seeing her with her head down.

“I can’t untie it myself; I need help.”

Oh. Oh.

He immediately felt himself blush; he didn’t understand why she didn’t summon one of her spirits like she had done when they had crossed the frontier.

“And you want me to do it?” he asked. It was a dumb question, really, there wasn’t anyone else in the room.

She turned a beautiful shade of pink.

“I don’t want to call my spirits right now, if there is a wizard here and that he feels a surge of magical power in the middle of the night, he might get suspicious,” she explained, well she had a point but at the same time it also felt a bit like an excuse.

He sighed, trying to catch his breath and he came closer.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” he said, and their eyes met.

They were both blushing, and none of them moved for a moment. They just stared at each other, not knowing what to say, not knowing what was about to happen. But Lucy got up and turned, exposing her back to him, she started taking off the first layer of the dress and Cobra didn’t understand what he needed to do. Once the first layer was off, she held the dress so that she wasn’t completely naked in front of him. He looked straight at the back of her head, not wanting to make Lucy uncomfortable. Erik noticed that she was still wearing something on the upper part of her body, a thing with a lot of strings intertwined and he knew that it was probably the thing that Lucy needed help with. The thing looked awfully tight, he started untying the strings and he heard Lucy sigh of relief.

“You were able to breathe in that thing? It looks awfully tight,” he said, still untying the strings.

“Barely, I hate corset.”

It was easy to understand why she hated them, it almost looked like an instrument of torture.

“I can’t believe the Council is forcing you to wear that,” he said.

“Yeah, I have to admit that they didn’t choose the best dresses because usually I don’t have to wear a corset.”

It was one more reason for him to hate the Council.

“I’m done,” he said as he finished untying all the strings.

“Thank you,” she breathed before disappearing in the bathroom to get changed.

She came back a few moments later, wearing her pajamas and he saw her throw the dress on the armchair. She let herself fall on the bed and he could easily tell that she felt freer than ever. He lied beside her, and they looked at each other for a moment before Lucy nuzzled up against him, hugging him like the two nights at her apartment when they had slept in the same bed. He hugged her back and he closed his eyes.

“Goodnight, Blondie,” he whispered already half asleep.

“Goodnight, Erik,” she echoed.

Cobra woke up in the middle of the night, not because of a nightmare like he usually did. No, this time he woke up because of a whiff in the air. The same odor he had smelt earlier and he needed to know more, knowing that poison was around was bothering him. He could still smell it and he was worried about Lucy; he knew that this poison could be deadly depending on the dose and if he could smell it in their room, it was not a good sign at all.

He opened his eyes and noticed that Lucy was still sleeping against him, but she was not hugging him tightly like when they had fallen asleep. He gently moved, trying not to wake her up and he decided to investigate the smell of the poison. He knew that he couldn’t leave the room by the main door without raising suspicions, so instead, he opened the window and grabbed one of the many climbing plants that grew against the wall of the castle. He made sure that the plant was not going to break before starting his ascension. If his nose was not misleading him, the smell came from a tower not too far from their room. He looked around and he was convinced that he could make his way to the tower with only the climbing plants.

So, Erik took a deep breath before starting to move in the direction of the tower. And on his way there, he thought that maybe he should have told Lucy about his nocturnal adventure before leaving her alone in the room.

Chapter Text

Cobra reached the top of the tower and climbed on the windowsill to have a better view of the room. He had thought that the window would be closed but it was not the case, he could easily go into the room if he wanted to. He decided to observe from the windowsill and from what he could see the room was not what he expected. He had expected to find a laboratory or a snake farm, but no, it was just an enormous bedroom.

The smell was even stronger than before and he was now certain that the smell of the poison came from here even if he didn’t really understand how since there was nothing that indicated that there could be someone preparing poisons here. He listened to the sounds and the only thing he could hear was a faint breathing sound meaning that the room was not empty. He decided not to adventure himself any further, thinking that maybe the person in the room had just been in contact with the poison and it was why he had smelt it. Cobra couldn’t take the chance to be spotted by the person in the room.

He was about to go back to his room when he saw a dagger flew past his face.

Shit.

He had thought that he had been discreet, but someone must have spotted him during his ascension. What bothered him was that he hadn’t heard the person at all, he looked up and he saw a figure perched on a tower nearby, ready to throw another dagger at him. Cobra couldn’t jump from the windowsill because the fall would definitely be fatal, the only thing he could do was to hide in the room and hope to be able to escape by the corridors without being spotted by the guards.

He went into the room, and he closed the window as fast as he could without making any sound to stop his enemy from throwing any more daggers at him. Cobra observed the person in the bed and luckily for him, the person was still asleep. He approached the person slowly, and since he could see a bit better in the dark than an average human, he could see that in front of him was a middle-aged man, probably in his fifties. The man looked sick and weak, with a thin face and sunken cheeks.

Now that Erik was closer to this person, he knew that the smell of poison came from him, this man was poisoned.

He was about to leave the room when he felt a sharp pain on his head, and everything became black.

When he opened his eyes, his head was still painful, and he couldn’t see anything nor move his arms and legs.

Lucy was going to kill him, well if the person who had tied him didn’t do it first. He should have told her why he had left in the middle of the night; he should have told her about the poison. But no, instead he had decided to act solo, like he usually did and now he might have put Lucy in danger, too.

Luckily for him, his magic was not sealed, his arms and feet were bound to a chair with what was probably ropes. He started dissolving the ropes with his poison before he heard footsteps approaching.

“I’m sorry, your Majesty. I should have been better and not even let him get close to your room,” a feminine voice said.

Majesty?

Cobra really hoped that the room he had been in was not the King’s room.

“It’s alright, Sophie. You stopped him before he could do anything,” a man answered, “I want to talk to him before getting rid of him, let’s see what he wants.”

The woman sighed, and without any other word, one of the two took off the fabric that covered Cobra’s face. Erik blinked, in front of him stood the middle-aged man that he had seen sleeping in the bed and a woman dressed in black, Sophie probably.

“Haru…?” the man said, surprise filling his voice.

The two persons stared at him with their faces full of shock as if they had just seen a ghost.

Haru?

Cobra had never heard this name before, and he didn’t know if looking like this man was positive or not. The sick man came closer and took Erik’s face in his hands, forcing it under the moonlight so that he could see it better.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, trying to bite the hand of the man, but Sophie moved quickly. She grabbed Erik’s hair and threw his head back before pressing a blade on his neck.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” she warned.

Cobra gritted his teeth, he really had put himself in a complex situation, simply because his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Not it wasn’t really true. Yes, he had been curious about the poison, but one of his main reasons for investigating was to make sure that Lucy would be safe.

“You’re so young…” the man said, “but the resemblance is uncanny.”

He wished that he could see what this Haru looked like, he wanted to know if these two persons were going crazy or if it was true and he really did look like this man. He decided to listen to their thoughts to maybe learn a bit more about the man they kept mentioning.

Haru had a son if I remember correctly… Maybe this boy is his son. No, that’s stupid, I remember him saying that his son died, the man thought.

This boy looks exactly like Haru in his teens, this is terrifying, the woman thought.

Cobra saw the man shake his head, trying to focus again on what was happening and not on the memories of Haru.

“Boy, what’s the name of your father?” the sick man asked.

Erik blinked; he knew he would be interrogated right now but he had never expected that as a first question.

“Why?” Cobra was not going to play it easy even though he probably should if he wanted a chance to go back to Lucy. And even if he had decided to be honest with them, he would never have been able to answer that question, because he didn’t remember the name of his parents.

“You trespassed on the King’s bedroom, you should be executed for that, but his Majesty is willing to be kind and let you live. We will tell your parents and make sure that you are punished accordingly,” Sophie responded.

He rolled his eyes, not believing how ridiculous it sounded. He knew that these two persons were trying to see if he had a connection with this Haru, they were really thinking that he could be his son.

“Do you think I’m twelve? You’re simply going to tell my parents that I committed a crime, please. Be a bit more serious if you are a king,” he spat.

Cobra wasn’t sure that upsetting the King of Bosco was the best idea to be freed without any problems, but at the same time, he didn’t like to be treated like a kid.

“You’re right,” the King said before snapping his fingers.

Sophie punched Cobra in the stomach before putting the blade on his throat again. He coughed before gritting his teeth; now it looked more like a real questioning.

“Where were we?” the man asked on a dry tone, “Oh yes. What is your reason for coming here?”

Erik hesitated for a moment. He could tell the truth, say that he came here because he smelt poison but he was convinced that they would not believe him, or he could simply lie and say that he wanted to rob the King which was actually more believable but also more problematic for him because there was no way of getting out of here alive if he said that. But in the end, he didn’t need to say anything because the sick man started coughing blood and Sophie immediately went to his side, completely forgetting that she was supposed to keep the blade on Cobra’s throat.

“Your Majesty, you should sit…” she said, worry in her voice.

“I’m fine, Sophie… Don’t worry…” the King answered, gently sitting on the bed.

“It’s the poison, it is slowly killing you,” Erik intervened, earning two confused glances from the persons in the room.

“How do you know that his Majesty is poisoned?” Sophie asked, immediately on the defensive.

“It’s why I came here in the first place because I smelt the poison. I thought I would find someone making it, not someone deeply poisoned.”

They blinked several times, confused by his answer.

“You smelt the poison?” she asked again as if she really wanted to be sure of what he was saying.

“Yes.”

Sophie and the King looked at each other, completely lost.

“Listen, I didn’t come here to hurt the King or to steal something, I didn’t even know this was the King’s chamber. I just came here because I was worried for the person who is with me, I don’t want her to get poisoned.”

They stared at him in disbelief, they were probably thinking that he was crazy. Cobra sighed before an idea crossed his mind, he may have found a solution to get back to Lucy without being thrown in jail or killed.

“I can help you if you want,” he offered.

Sophie rolled her eyes, but the King raised an eyebrow; at least he had gotten the attention of one of the two persons in the room.

“There is no antidote,” the King stated.

“Actually, there is one,” Cobra simply answered. In reality, there was none, it was impossible to concoct an antidote for this poison. But there was no need for an antidote when one could simply eat the poison.

“Don’t listen to this boy, your Majesty,” Sophie intervened, “He is not the first one wanting to take advantage of your health.”

Cobra could see her clenching a dagger in her hand, she was ready to kill him once she had heard enough which would be soon probably.

Totally not overprotective, he said to himself.

“Even so, I’m intrigued. He seems to know a lot about poison,” the man said, staring at him.

Way more than you can think, Erik said in his mind, and it was true, after all being a Poison Dragon Slayer meant that he could easily differentiate them, that he knew which one use for different purposes.

“So, what is the antidote you were talking about?” the King asked, and Cobra could hear the faint hope in his voice, this man had probably thought that he was doomed, that he would die soon, and Erik had just offered him an opportunity to live.

“I’ll tell you and even give it to you if you can assure me that you will forget my little visit and let me go back to my room without any trouble.”

The King pondered his proposition for a moment before nodding.

“Deal. We will let you go if what you said is true and if your antidote works.”

The Dragon Slayer looked at Sophie warily, he knew that she would launch herself at him at his next words, she had absolutely no patience with him, and she was already done listening to him, she didn’t believe what he was saying. He dissolved the ropes bounding him to the chair faster, weakening them enough so that he could break them easily and move freely the moment Sophie would attack him.

“I can eat the poison-”

Cobra had been right to be wary of Sophie because she jumped on him before he could finish his sentence, ready to stab him in the chest. He put his arms in front of him, scales appearing on his skin and stopping the blade from piercing him. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the scales on his arms.

“What are you…?” she asked, her voice trembling of fear before leaping backwards and putting herself in front of the King, ready to protect him.

“Well, if you had waited a few more seconds, I would have explained myself without having to resort to this,” Erik sighed.

The sick man looked almost fascinated by the scales on his arms, but on Sophie’s face, Cobra could only see fear and disgust.

“As I was saying, I can eat the poison because I’m a Poison Dragon Slayer.”

The King was suddenly overtaken by an uncontrollable giggling, and Erik blinked a bit confused. That was definitely not the reaction he had expected after saying that.

“I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you,” the man said close to tears, “I just can’t believe my luck right now. I thought I was doomed, and suddenly there is Dragon Slayer in my castle, a Poison Dragon Slayer at that. That seems almost too good to be true.”

Erik stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

“We will see fast enough if what you are saying is true. Our deal still stands if you can eat the poison and save my life, everything that happened here will be forgiven and forgotten and you will be free to go.”

He nodded that was exactly what he wanted. After that the King ordered Sophie to stay put before he allowed Cobra to eat the poison. The Dragon Slayer took a deep breath and started absorbing the poison in the man’s body, eating it like it was nothing. The King lied on the bed like all his strength left had just disappeared.

“You might be weak for a couple of days; the poison was strong, and your body needs to rest. You might want to reschedule the ball because I don’t think you will be able to stand up before a few days.”

The King and Sophie both looked at him, surprised, as if it was their first-time hearing about the ball.

“What ball?” she asked.

This time, it was Cobra’s turn to be confused.

“The birthday ball of the Queen? The one my wife and I got an invitation for,” Erik explained, mentioning his act with Lucy.

The King frowned, looking even more lost now but it was Sophie who said something first.

“That bitch.”

Who was the bitch they were talking about?

“I can’t believe that I’ve been so blind! Of course, she is the one who poisoned you so that she could be able to do what she wants. Since you were incapacitated, she decided that she could rule in your stead.”

Cobra saw the King shake his head refusing to believe what Sophie had just said but deep down he knew that this possibility could be true.

This devious woman. She exiled me in this tower, thinking that she could rule while I was dying. I can’t believe I’ve let that going on for years. What has she done to my kingdom? He heard the King thought.

It seemed like they were talking about the Queen. From what Cobra could gather, the Queen had been the one to poison the King so that she could rule the kingdom alone. And this theory might be correct because the poison in the King’s body was deadly only with a strong dose, but weak doses slowly destroyed the body, offering a long and painful death. Weak doses given regularly could lead to the state the King had been in, weak and dying, and from what he had understood that man had been in that state of sickness for years.

The man turned to look at Cobra.

“Thank you… You saved my life, but you might very well have saved my kingdom,” he said.

Saving the kingdom was maybe an overstatement. He had done all of this just to protect Lucy, not to save a king or a kingdom.

“Once his Majesty is rested, we will stop the Queen. You are free to go, but keep in mind that whatever invitation you’ve gotten, we didn’t know about that. Everything was orchestrated by the Queen herself; she is a wicked woman. Act like nothing happened tonight, enjoy the ball with your wife like you are supposed to, we will take care of everything, and I will come and find you if there is an urgent matter,” Sophie said, almost apologetically, like she was finally understanding that she had been wrong about Cobra being a danger.

Erik nodded. He was not going to mention that he had a mission to accomplish the night of the ball, he was not going to say the real reason why he was here. But at least he had learned that the Queen was a danger, and he knew that he should be wary of her, he would be extremely careful during the ball.

Cobra went back to his room like he came, he used the climbing plants like a ladder and slowly made his way back to his room. While he was walking on the roof of one of the many buildings, he noticed that the sun was starting to rise. He couldn’t believe that he had spent the majority of his night trapped in this tower with the King of Bosco and his personal guard. He realized that he was exhausted, really exhausted and that he could barely keep his eyes open. Right now, he only wished to lie down in the bed and sleep for the rest of the day.

He finally climbed through the window of their room, he was almost inside when he saw a figure standing right in front of him, arms crossed and eyes glaring at him with a burning anger.

“Where were you?” he heard Lucy say on a cold tone that sent shivers down his spine.

Lucy had woken up in the middle of the night, missing the warmth of Cobra’s body against hers. She had tried to look for him in the bed with her eyes closed but she had immediately opened her eyes when she had realized that he was not here.

“Erik?” she had called, thinking that maybe he was still here but simply not in the bed.

She had got no response. So she had started searching the room, she had even tried to look in the corridor but had seen absolutely nothing.

She had had no other choice than to wait for his return. So that's what she had done, she had waited, waited for this dumb idiot to come back and explain himself. Anger had started bubbling up in her throat, and the more she had waited the angrier she had got. It was absolutely not the time to act alone. They were stuck in a kingdom they knew nothing about, they were here to do an impossible mission and Erik had had no better idea than to disappear on their first night in the castle. He was driving her crazy right now and she really hoped that he had a good explanation, or she was not going to talk to him until the night of the ball.

Hours had passed, she could see the sun rise in the distance, and after a while, she had finally started hearing the leaves crackling and a breathing sound coming from outside. She had decided to put herself right in front the window to welcome this enormous idiot, she had seen Erik appear in front of her, climbing on the window not knowing the anger she was about to unleash upon him.

“So, where were you?” she asked again, seeing his surprised face after her first question. She could easily tell that he hadn’t expected her to be awake and that he didn’t know how to answer.

“I went to check something,” he said, and Lucy was not convinced by his answer, she would need more than that.

“You will need to tell me more than that. You’ve been gone for hours, Erik!”

He winced; she couldn’t believe that he had thought that his answer would be enough when this idiot had been gone for several hours.

“Explain yourself,” she ordered, taping her foot.

He seemed lost, like he didn’t know where to begin with his story.

“I was worried about you… I smelt poison earlier today and I went to investigate, I was worried about your safety, so I acted on my own, I’m sorry. I didn’t think that it would take me that long to come back.”

He had been worried about her. It made her happy to know that even if it wasn’t a reason for him to act alone. She was still angry about him leaving in the middle of the night without telling her, she thought that they were a team, especially right now when they were stuck in another kingdom without any other guidelines than each other.

“We are in this together, Erik. We are both stuck here until the end of our mission, we have to trust each other, I trust you... But it looks like you don’t trust me if you insist on acting alone,” she said, “Do you think that the idea of you leaving me here alone without coming back didn’t cross my mind?”

And it had crossed her mind, during the few hours she had waited for his return. She had thought that maybe he had decided to give up the mission, to leave her here and disappear forever even if the Council was going to send men after him if he did. She knew that it was a stupid thought and that he would probably never do this, but it had still not stopped her from thinking that even for a brief moment.

He looked hurt by her words, like he couldn’t believe that she had actually thought that he was capable of something like this.

“I would never-“ he started.

“And how can I know that? You left me here alone! How could I have known that you simply left for investigating when you didn’t tell me anything? I don’t know how your missions were before… But we won’t go far if we don’t trust each other.”

She didn’t have the strength to confront him anymore, she was exhausted, and she had said what she wanted to say. She turned her back to him before going back to the bed.

“Lucy, wait,” he said, grabbing her hand, “I’m sorry.”

She turned to look at him, and she could see that he didn’t dare looking at her in the eye. She hoped that he regretted what he did because he had scared her greatly. She freed her hand from his and crossed her arms again, waiting for his next words.

He took a deep breath.

“I trust you and I’m sorry I acted on my own. I just… I just didn’t want to put you in danger. I didn’t think that I would be gone for hours. But I promise you, I trust you. I trust you with my life. And I learned my lesson, I won’t act on my own again, I promise.”

She sighed, sometimes it was really hard to stay mad at him. She could already feel her anger vanishing when she still wanted to be angry at him. But they had bigger fish to fry than this.

“So, the rumors about poisoning are true?” she asked, changing the subject.  

“Yeah, they are true. I thought I would find a lab or a snake farming, something that produces poison, but I didn’t, and I fucked up a bit after that.”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why did she already know that he had done something stupid?

“What did you do?”

“I may have met the King of Bosco and saved his life.”

“You did what?” she blinked; she had clearly not expected him to say something like this.

“It’s a long story… The only thing you have to know is that we should be wary of the Queen, it seems that she is the one who poisoned the King to rule Bosco in his stead.”

Lucy didn’t know what to say, she really hadn’t expected Cobra to come back with so much information. She couldn’t believe that this idiot had met the King and had also saved his life apparently.

“I’m still upset, but at least your little nocturnal excursion was useful,” she finally said before lying back in the bed and turning her back to him.

She felt him lying next to her, he didn’t try to talk to her or touch her, he knew he had messed up and he knew that she didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep for a few hours before they would have to start their day and their act.

Lucy was woken up by a knock on the door, and she realized that it was probably François that wanted to check if they were awake. She turned her head to look at Erik, he was still sleeping, he was probably still extremely exhausted. Well, it was his fault for preferring leaving in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. She sighed and decided to let him sleep, she needed him to be at the top of his strength anyway. She got up from the bed and opened the door, she had been right, François was standing in front of her, a tray with their breakfast in his hands.

“I hope you had a wonderful night; I’m bringing you your breakfast.”

“Yes, it was fantastic,” she lied, “Thank you for the breakfast,” she added, taking the tray from his hands.

He looked a bit surprised at that, probably because he should have been the one to put it on the table and not Lucy, but she didn’t want him to come in the room and see that Erik was still sleeping like a log. She rapidly put the tray on the table before coming back near François.

“Do you know if we have something planned for today?” she asked the butler.

“I can show you and your husband around the castle. The gardens are the pride of our kingdom.”

She blinked at the mention of "husband" and then quickly remembered that it was part of their act. She was a bit confused as to why they didn’t really have anything planned, she found it weird that they still hadn’t met the Queen and the King or any other nobles. Well, except for Cobra who had met the King.

They could do whatever they wanted today, and she had to fight against her desire of staying all day in the bed because she had barely slept due to her “husband”.

“I would love to visit the gardens,” she said, trying to sound enthusiastic when the only thing in her mind right now was just to go back to sleep. It seemed like François didn’t see that she was lying, and he simply said that he would come back in a few hours after they had eaten their breakfast.

Lucy closed the door, before moving to stand in front of the bed, she watched Erik sleeping and she thought of a way to wake him up. She lied next to him in the bed and decided that to wake him up, a flick on the nose would do the trick and she had been right. He immediately opened his eyes to glare at her and her only answer was a satisfied smile, proud of what she had done.

“You have to wake up, my dear,” she crooned, “We have plans for today.”

He looked confused for a brief instant because he had probably been convinced that they had nothing planned. Well, it had been the case until François had offered her to visit the gardens.

“Don’t even think about going back to sleep. François offered to show us the gardens and I said yes,” she warned, observing his half-asleep face.

He grumbled something that she didn't understand but she was fairly sure that he was not happy with their activity planned for today.

“We can’t stay hidden in the room for a day, that’s not how nobles act. And remember that we are supposed to be newlyweds, I found it pretty romantic to visit the gardens, it will only make our act seem truer.”

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

“I hate that you are right.”

“Come on now, François brought us our breakfast, we should eat before he comes back.”

Lucy and Erik were now walking hand in hand in the gardens, François showed them the way and sometimes stopped to explain the history of the flowers or the statues. Lucy was awestruck by the gardens; the butler had been right when he said that it was the pride of the kingdom. She had never seen a place that pretty, there were flowers everywhere from all sorts and all colors. She had already been surprised when the castle came into view yesterday, but it was nothing compared to that. The gardens were on a whole another level of beauty but what stood out the most was the rainbow cherry blossoms at the center of the gardens. She knew that there was the same phenomenon happening in Magnolia at a certain time of the year, but she was surprised to see them here when it was clearly not the season of the cherry blossoms.

“There is a gazebo behind this hedge, you can go there, I will bring you some tea,” François said before leaving them in the gardens.

Lucy looked at Erik who seemed completely uninterested by the flowers, she had trouble understanding how he could not be mesmerized by it. But knowing him, he was probably focusing on something else, like the voices in the castle. He was probably trying to see if Grigory Lotaziars had finally arrived or if he could maybe hear the Queen.

She gently squeezed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the gazebo. They walked slowly and he looked at her, like he finally came back to reality instead of focusing on their mission. Before arriving to the gazebo, they passed near a flowerbed of red flowers that Lucy didn’t know, and she noticed that these red flowers caught Erik’s attention. He stopped briefly to look at them and smell them. She was intrigued by his action and also approached these flowers; she was about to smell them when he put his hand on her mouth and nose.

“Idiot,” he whispered angrily, “These flowers are poisonous. You could get hallucinations if you smell them or even worse.”

She blinked a bit taken aback by what had just happened. She clearly had not been smart on this one, of course, she should have been careful. But she had never thought that there would be poisonous flowers in these gardens. He gently let go of her and he sniffed the flowers even more.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I may have overreacted…”

“Don’t apologize, I should have been more careful. I should have known that they were poisonous.”

He shook his head.

“I should have warned you; it is my role after all, I am the only one who can tell what’s poisonous or not.”

She squeezed his hand even harder to tell him that it was alright, that he was not at fault.

“I’m sure of this, these flowers were used to poison the King, it’s the same smell.”

“François said that it was the Queen who tended to the gardens the most,” she said, remembering one of the many things the butler had said.

“Then the King’s theory about the Queen poisoning him must be true.”

She didn’t really know what to think of that, but it didn’t reassure her.

They arrived at the gazebo and sat there, waiting for their tea. Her heart was still racing because of the surprise when he had put his hand on her mouth and nose. She really had been careless; she would have died stupidly if he hadn’t been there. She knew that he would have eaten the poison if he had failed to protect her, but it was better to simply avoid getting poisoned in the first place.

François came back with tea and sweets before leaving them again to enjoy the quietness of the gardens. Even if she had been reluctant at first to go to the gardens because she would have preferred to stay in bed all day, she didn’t regret being here and visiting this place.

“Thank you,” she said, sipping her tea.

He raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she was thanking him.

“I would never have gone to such a beautiful place if not for you,” she explained, “I probably would never have set foot in Bosco if we have never made this deal.”

A soft smile appeared on his lips.

“It is the same for me and I’m sorry I can’t enjoy it as much as you, though… I’m too focused on hearing anything that might be important.”

She put her hand on top of his and nodded.

“You can take a break, Erik… This mission will be a success, we will do everything for it to be the case… So, just relax even if it’s only for a few minutes...”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. She was glad to see him take a break, to see him relax only for a few moments.

They stayed in silence only for a few seconds because Cobra’s hand started shaking. He opened his eyes and breathed heavily like he had just woken up from a nightmare.

“Erik, what’s wrong?!” she asked almost panicked by his state, she didn’t know what might have happened to put him in such a state.

He put his hands on his ears, trying to block all the sounds. She could see him try to catch his breath without any success. She looked at him worryingly not knowing how to help him.

“Lotaziars is here,” he said weakly once he could breathe better.

Lucy and Erik went back to their room soon after learning that Grigory Lotaziars had arrived there thanks to Cobra’s hearing. They had lied to François and said that Erik felt sick and that was why they preferred to spend the rest of the day in their room. The butler had immediately led them back to their chambers and had said that he would come back with something to help Erik get better.

Cobra had immediately lied on the bed once they had gotten back to their room, he covered his eyes with one of his arms and she could still see his chest rise unevenly. He had still not fully calmed himself.

“I’m fine…” he lied.

He had probably listened to her thoughts and heard just how much she was worried about him. She let him know that she was not happy with him listening to her thoughts and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Erik… Can I ask… What did you hear? You never reacted like this in his presence before…”

He moved his arm to look at her in the eye.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

She clenched her fists and nodded, ready to hear what had shocked him.

“It’s not Lotaziars that I heard first. It was the children, I heard their pain, their sadness, their fear. I heard everything and for one second it brought me back to the Tower of Heaven.”

She gritted her teeth and crossed the room before lying on the bed and hugging him from behind. His body tensed at first but gently relaxed when he realized that it was just her trying to comfort him. They stayed in silence like this for a while, to let time to Cobra to calm himself and think more clearly.

“You should sleep…” she said, breaking the silence.

“I will… But before, could you check what’s that thing on the table?” he asked, pointing a paper on the table, “It's not from François nor the King, I don’t know this smell.”

She reluctantly let go of him to get the paper, she immediately missed the warmth of his body against hers, and she wanted only one thing and it was to hug him again.

She found a letter on the table, and it was addressed to the Heartfilias. Lucy opened it and read it.

“What does it say?” Cobra asked, sitting up in the bed.

She stared at him, not believing what she had just read. They were supposed to go to the ball in two days, but it seemed like the Queen also hosted a ball tomorrow and had invited them. It was a smaller ball with only a few guests and Lucy did not find it reassuring to be invited when they hadn’t even met her once.

“The Queen invites us to her private ball tomorrow,” she finally said.

Chapter Text

Lucy couldn’t believe what she had just read. She couldn’t believe that the Queen had invited them to a private ball when they still hadn't met once. And if what Erik had said about the Queen poisoning the King was true, this ball didn’t look good at all.

“A private ball? What is that?” Cobra asked a bit confused.

“It’s just a ball but with selected guests.”

“Isn’t that just a normal ball?”

Well, he had a point; generally an invitation was needed to attend a ball.

“I guess there will be fewer guests at her ball tomorrow than the one the day after tomorrow. She probably only invited her close friends.”

“I still don’t understand why invite us then, we are not her friends, we have not even seen her yet,” he complained, and she could see that he was thinking about the Queen's reason to invite them.

Lucy shook her head, she didn’t know what to tell him, she was as lost as him right now. But a thought was stuck in her mind about the reason why the Queen would invite them to her private ball, she couldn’t help but think that maybe Jude had warned her about them coming here.

“Do you think it could be my father’s fault…?” she asked softly, as if she didn’t want to speak this possibility into existence.

She saw Erik’s body tense at the mention of her father, but he tried to act like it didn’t affect him.

“It could be that… Or it could also be my fault, maybe she learned that I met the King and is unhappy about that. Either way, this ball is definitely a trap.”

She nodded, she found it really weird to be invited by the Queen when they hadn’t even met her, it was sure that this woman wanted something from them, but Lucy just didn’t know what exactly.

She heard Cobra sigh.

“My question now is, are we forced to go?” he asked, staring at the ceiling.

A little smile appeared on her lips; she knew that he already knew the answer, but it comforted her to see him so calm about all of this. She felt relieved not to be stuck in this situation alone, she was relieved to have Erik with her.

She put the letter on the table not wanting to stare at the paper, and she joined him in the bed, lying next to him.

“Oh wow, I can see just how much you want to dance with me,” she teased, looking at him in the eye. He rolled his eyes, but she could see the hint of a grin on his face, “But sadly yes, we don’t have any other choice. If we don’t go, we will look rude and that is not what we want,” she added.

“Nobility is so boring and complicated.”

She smiled sadly.

“Yes, I know.”

His eyes landed on her, and he gently grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.

“Everything will be alright, Blondie…” he said, stroking her fingers.

She really hoped that he was right.

They spent the rest of the day in their room, François had come back with tea and had also offered them the possibility to eat their supper in their chambers instead of the dining room since Erik was supposedly sick. Cobra had spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping, finally taking the time to recover from five days of motion sickness and a sleepless night. Lucy had also slept for a major part of the afternoon; she wanted to be well rested for the ball tomorrow.

Tomorrow came faster than they wanted. Lucy would have enjoyed another day of rest, and she was convinced that Erik too seeing that he still had his half-asleep face. Their morning went by quickly, François brought them their breakfast and let them eat alone in their room. Lucy had to admit that food disgusted her right now, she didn’t want to eat, she was too stressed for that, and she feared that if she ate, she might throw up. Erik ate a bit, but she could also see that the stress was weighing on him.

“We are in this together, Erik,” she said softly, reaching for his hand like she always did when she wanted to comfort him or also herself, he was a sort of anchor, he always stopped her from drowning in her own thoughts. She gently squeezed his hand, and he looked at her and nodded.

“We will get through this ball and this stupid mission together, and then we will go home.”

Home. She couldn’t wait to be home, to go back to Fiore, to go back to Fairy Tail, to the place where she felt safe and loved. She wondered what Cobra considered as his home, was it Fiore? Was it his friends that he was not even allowed to see because they were criminals? Was it maybe Magnolia because that was where her apartment was? What was his home? She was about to ask him when she heard a knock on the door and sighed.

Sometimes François could really come at the wrong time. She went to open the door and she saw the butler standing in front of her.

“I’m here to inform you that the ball will start in a couple of hours, and that you should get ready, I can call a servant to help you get dressed if you want to.”

Lucy didn’t want someone to help her get dressed, she didn’t even want to wear one of those suffocating dresses, but it would be suspicious to refuse François’s offer. Yesterday, she had summoned Virgo to help her, when she had felt several magic powers around, she had known that her power would go unnoticed and had allowed herself to call her spirit. She had only asked for Erik’s help on the first day because she had been worried about someone noticing a magic power in the middle of the night, but during the daytime she didn’t really care. She remembered just how gently Cobra had been when he had untied her corset, how he had done everything as softly as he could, fearing that he might make her uncomfortable. She quickly shook these thoughts away before the concerned man heard them and she reluctantly accepted François’s offer.

A few hours later, Lucy was ready for the ball. A servant had come to her room and had helped her get dressed, had styled her hair and had put make-up on her face. Honestly, the servant had done an amazing job, Lucy kept watching herself in the mirror, not believing just how pretty she looked even though she had almost trouble recognizing herself. Today, she was wearing a sky-blue dress with white gloves, she clearly preferred that dress compared to the pink one she had worn when they had arrived in Bosco.

The servant had left a while ago and Lucy was alone in the room, François had taken Erik away to help him get dressed and both still hadn’t come back yet. It was hard to focus on something positive right now, there were so many things that could go wrong to the private ball, and she just couldn’t relax.

She heard a knock on the door and immediately went to open it. Erik stood in front of her, wearing a black suit with a blue neckcloth that matched the color of her dress. It seemed that when the Council had prepared their outfits they really had wanted to match as much as they could. Her eyes lingered on him; he was gorgeous even if he looked totally uncomfortable in these clothes. She could tell that he missed his white coat that he usually wore, and Lucy definitely missed it too, seeing him in his white coat clearly did something to her.

“You’re beautiful,” he said softly, looking at her from head to toe.

She felt herself blush, and she saw on his face that maybe the compliment had escaped his lips without him wanting to say it aloud, because she could see him blushing.

“You too...” she complimented softly, still completely mesmerized by his beauty. 

She wasn’t sure that she had ever seen a prettier man than him, but she couldn’t tell him that, he would be insufferable for days, he still had an oversized ego after all.

He held out his hand to her, meaning that it was time to go to this ball. She took a deep breath before taking his hand and following him to the ballroom.

The ballroom was huge. The room was bright and surprisingly crowded for a private ball, she noticed two open wooden gates that lead to the gardens they had visited yesterday. Lucy looked around, she could see musicians already playing some songs and some nobles were already dancing. She could also see tables covered in food and drinks. She realized that she hadn’t missed this at all, it had been her everyday life when she still lived at the Heartfilia mansion, and right now she had never been so glad that she had left her home to go to Fairy Tail.

She felt Erik squeeze her hand softly and she looked at him, he seemed lost, but she could understand his reaction since it was his first time at a ball. He may have learned etiquette for two months, but being in a real situation was not the same.

“What are we supposed to do?” he whispered, his eyes scanning the room, probably searching for the Queen.

“We can dance, we can try the food and drinks, or we can do small talk with the nobles,” she said.

Her last proposition seemed to horrify him, like there was nothing less unpleasant than doing small talk with strangers, and honestly, she agreed. She smiled softly, it was cute to see him like this, but at the same time, Lucy could really tell that was not where he belonged. Erik was a bit like her, both didn’t belong to nobility, it was not their world. They were wizards, and their place was in a guild, where a real family loved them for who they were, here among the nobles, they would have to wear fake smiles and fake being interested in what was being said.

“I think the dance option is the better one,” he said, “Lucy Heartfilia, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?” he added, moving in front of her before holding out his hand to her, his gesture accompanied with a bow.

She had not expected him to take the lead like this, the bow was probably the reason why her heart was beating so loudly in her chest right now. Even if he didn’t belong to the world of nobility, Cobra had mastered his etiquette classes and was acting like a real noble right now. But Lucy couldn’t believe that Erik looked utterly charming while doing so, she had never felt like this before, her heart was beating frantically in her chest, and she really thought that she wouldn’t be able to keep up the act. She could almost have fallen to her knees with the way he had said her name.

“It would be my pleasure,” she answered, not knowing where she had found the strength to say something when her mind was still spinning by Erik’s gesture. Her body moved on its own accord, allowing her to keep up their act as husband and wife.

And without any other word, they started dancing. Their dance felt completely different from the ones at the Council when they were monitored by Rebecca.

This.

This was a real dance.

Their movements were completely synchronized; they were in a perfect symbiosis like they had been made to dance with each other.

Lucy had never danced like this before; it was as if she had waited all her life to find the perfect dance partner that would show her what a real dance was and now, she had finally found it. 

She blinked several times, shaking all her thoughts about this dance away, she couldn’t let herself be overtaken by the sensation of this dance. They were on a mission, dancing with Cobra was a part of it, she couldn’t take any pleasure in it right now, she needed to get to work.

He was the one leading the dance and she could see that he looked extremely focused on not making any mistakes, and knowing him, he also was probably trying to hear some useful information. So, instead of looking at his face and enjoying their dance, Lucy started observing the women, she was trying to find the Queen.

“Do you hear her?” she asked softly, she had looked at every woman and she had no idea who could be the Queen.

“No, I think she has not arrived yet,” he answered, breaking his focus for a brief instant, causing him to step on her foot, “Sorry…”

“Don’t worry, you’re doing amazing…” she reassured him, offering him a soft smile.

They danced until the end of the song, the Queen was still absent, and they decided to grab something to drink before dancing again.

Lucy grabbed two glasses of champagne and offered one to Cobra who accepted it. He made a discreet gesture as a way to tell her to wait before drinking, he sniffed the champagne looking for poison.

“You are being overly protective,” she said, looking at her glass.

“Believe me, you do not want to be poisoned, it is not fun. And even if I can eat the poison, it won’t be pleasant for you.”

She sighed, he was right in a way, but she didn’t like seeing him worried about her safety more than anything else. She wanted him to think about himself too.

“So? What’s your verdict?” she asked.

“It’s safe.”

She smiled and took a sip. The champagne was succulent, it had been a while since she had drunk something that good.

“It’s delicious,” she couldn’t help but say.

Erik nodded; he was about to say something when his head turned rapidly in the direction of the main door. The musicians started playing drums, signaling the entrance of someone important. One of the many butler in the room stepped up and cleared his throat.

“Please welcome Queen Aliénor of Bosco,” the man said.

Finally, Lucy said in her thoughts, they were finally going to see the Queen.

A woman with black hair and orange eyes, wearing an emerald green dress stepped into the room and Lucy was sure that the temperature had dropped. It was as if all the warmth that had been there when the Queen had been absent had vanished, the atmosphere had become cold and almost scary. All the nobles curtsied when she came in, Lucy and Cobra did the same not wanting to be impolite. A satisfied smile appeared on the Queen’s lips before she took a glass of champagne in her hand.

“Please, no need for such manners, enjoy the ball,” she said, taking a sip of her drink before joining a group of nobles to chat with them.

Lucy glanced at Erik, he looked as unwell as her, he had probably felt the same shift in atmosphere. They stayed quiet for a moment, not really knowing how to react to the presence of Aliénor.

“She is terrifying,” he whispered after a moment, refusing to look at the Queen but Lucy knew that he was focused on listening to the woman’s thoughts.

She nodded, and now Lucy really hoped that the Queen had simply invited them because she wanted to be nice and not because she knew about their mission. Erik invited Lucy to dance again, so that they would not look suspicious simply standing there. But this time, their dance was less perfect, Cobra was perturbed by something and Lucy could tell because this time, she was the one leading the dance since her partner had his mind elsewhere.

Someone caught her eye when she looked at the Queen from over Cobra’s shoulder, she was glad that he was so tall, it allowed her to stare without being noticed. It was a man who caught her attention, not any man, it was a man that she had seen several times already.

Grigory Lotaziars.

The man they were here for was discussing with the Queen. A thought crossed her mind when she saw them talking and she really hoped that she was wrong, but could the Queen be Lotaziars’ client? Could she be the one who wanted to buy the children? Lucy really hoped that it was not the case.

“The Queen is talking with Grigory,” she whispered to Erik, but when she looked at his face, it was clear that he already knew.

She couldn’t discern if it was anger, fear, or something else on Cobra’s face, but no matter what he was feeling right now, she could never have expected his next words.

“I need you to kiss me or find another way to distract me without drawing too much attention right now, or this mission will be a total failure.”

Erik didn’t miss the surprise on Lucy’s face when he had asked her to kiss him. He knew that he had said that completely out of the blue and that she didn’t understand why he was asking this, but he needed to be distracted or their mission would fail.

Since the moment Queen Aliénor had stepped into the room, he had kept his hearing focused on her. After curtsying to welcome the Queen, Cobra had kept his back to the woman, he had decided to look at Lucy and listen to Aliénor without raising any suspicions. But he had known the exact moment when the Queen’s eyes landed on him, he had heard her confusion and he had felt how her thoughts quieted for a brief instant.

Haru? No, it’s impossible, he can’t be here, were the Queen’s first thought when she had seen Cobra.

At that point, Erik was really starting to think that he looked like this stranger because both the King and the Queen had had the same reaction when they had seen him for the first time. It couldn’t be a coincidence if Bosco’s royalty mistook him for this man, maybe he really looked like this Haru.

The Queen had immediately called one of her servants, and Cobra hadn't been able to tell if it had been panic in the woman’s voice.

“What is the name of these two nobles? The man with the crimson hair and the blond girl?” Aliénor had asked her servant.

“This is Erik and Lucy Heartfilia, they are nobles from Fiore,” the servant had answered.

“Fiore, huh? Interesting. Go fetch Grigory Lotaziars, I need to talk to him.”

And without another word the servant had left to find the man. Erik had wanted to talk to Lucy, to tell her what was happening, but he hadn’t got the time because Lotaziars had joined the Queen almost instantly and they had started talking. Cobra could briefly remember Lucy stating that their enemy was here, but before he could answer her, he had lost himself in the conversation of Grigory and Aliénor.

“Do you know this couple? They are from Fiore, I thought you might know them,” the Queen had asked, and without even looking, Cobra had known that she was pointing in their direction.

Shit.

Everything was about to go to shit. There was a possibility that Grigory had noticed them in the café and that he remembered them. And if that was the case, their mission was fucked.

“I don’t know everyone in Fiore, you know? But I remember seeing them once or twice in a café, I didn’t know she was a noble,” Lotaziars had answered nonchalantly, and Cobra had been surprised to see him talk like that to the Queen.

“Wait, so the girl is a noble but not the man?”

“Definitely not, if this guy is who I think he is, he is a criminal.”

Oh, they were fucked. They could say goodbye to their mission, the Queen would not let a criminal roam freely in her castle, Erik was sure of it.

“Very interesting. Do you know more about him? Maybe where does he come from or his family?” Aliénor had asked.

Grigory had sighed and Cobra had easily been able to picture him rolling his eyes. Erik didn’t like how many questions she asked about him, she didn’t seem to care that he was a criminal, she wanted to know something else about him, but he didn’t know what exactly.

“I don’t know everyone in Fiore, I told you already. But you’re lucky, I may have some information on him, it’s just that it is not free.”

“Name your price,” the Queen had said coldly. She was really determined to get some information on him.

“Safety in your kingdom, I’m not welcome in Fiore anymore. You guarantee me that I’m safe here, I’ll tell you everything I know about this guy.”

She had sighed grumpily.

“Deal. Now tell me what you know.”

There was a sort of haste in the Queen’s voice, like she couldn’t wait for the information Lotaziars would give her. Cobra realized that what she wanted to know was probably related to Haru. He had started to think that maybe he was related to this Haru because two people mistaking him for him couldn’t be a coincidence. Erik had eliminated the possibility of Haru being his father because it didn’t make any sense for Bosco’s royalty to know a man from Ibisco Village, a small place in Fiore. Maybe Haru was a cousin or an uncle, but how could he know? He never had the chance to get to know his family. His parents were dead, he had seen them die in front of his eyes, and he didn’t know if he had uncles or aunts or cousins. He didn’t fucking know because cultists had decided to steal his childhood and send him to hell instead.

“In Fiore, he is known as Cobra from the Oracion Seis. But I guess you don’t care about that, what you really want to know is if he was a slave, right? That’s the kind of things you like after all.”

“If you know me so well, why are you keeping me waiting?”

Lotaziars had laughed, seeing just how interested the Queen had seemed at the mention of slaves.

“Let me show you.”

And Cobra had known what would be coming next. Grigory Lotaziars would use the slave mark; he would inflict him an unbearable pain just to amuse the Queen.

Erik had panicked and the only thing he had been able to do was to ask Lucy to kiss him or to distract him enough so that he could endure the pain and not reveal his identity in front of every noble at the ball.

Cobra squeezed Lucy’s hand, urging her to do something, but she only stared at him, speechless. She blinked several times, sure that she had misheard him. Erik heard Lotaziars snap his fingers and the next thing he knew, an unbearable pain coursed through his neck and his whole body. He gritted his teeth, stopping himself from screaming. Normally his reflex was to put his hand on his neck, trying to find a way to get rid of the pain, but this time, he never got the occasion to even move his hand because Lucy threw herself on him, putting a hand on his neck as a way to comfort him and then their lips met.

The pain was still extreme, and he didn’t know how long his body could endure it, but being kissed helped, it was a good distraction from the pain. It was not a real kiss, it was not a kiss of love, it was more like a necessary kiss, exactly like the one they had shared in the underwater tunnel in the cave when he had shared his air with her. Erik focused on the softness of her lips, on the kindness of this unwanted kiss.

It didn’t take long before the pain receded, and Cobra could breathe again.

“I guess I got it wrong, that isn’t Cobra, probably just a man who looks like him, the slave mark is extremely painful, you can’t stay up once the pain hits,” he heard Grigory explain casually.

The only thing Erik wanted to do right now was to glare at the man or maybe punch him, but he had to stop himself from doing so. Their mission was still up, their identity hadn’t been revealed, Lotaziars didn’t know why they were here, they would be able to save the children.

“If you say so, you can go” Aliénor answered, totally unconvinced by Grigory’s reasoning.

Cobra stopped listening to them, he had done enough, he had learned enough and right now he was exhausted. He looked down and he saw that Lucy’s face was flushed and that her gorgeous brown eyes were full of worry.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. I… I-” he started.

She gently put a hand on his cheek, and he leaned on it, needing the comfort of her touch.

“Erik… Are you alright?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He nodded, but in reality, he was not. He wanted to leave the ball, to go back to their room and explain everything to Lucy before falling asleep.

“Can we leave?” he asked, and it sounded like a plea. He hated being like this.

“Yes, we can leave.”

Lucy took his hand in hers and they were about to start walking in the direction of the exit when he heard footsteps coming from behind him and the poisonous smell of the flowers from the gardens filled up his nose. He didn’t need to turn to know who was behind him, and seeing Lucy’s shocked face, he knew that he was right. He took a deep breath, using the rest of his strength to turn and face the Queen.

Aliénor of Bosco was standing in front of them with a satisfied smile on her lips.

“You are the Heartfilias, right? It is a pleasure to welcome you in Bosco, I hope you are enjoying your stay,” the Queen said.

“It is an honor for us to be invited to such an amazing event, we will definitely remember it,” Lucy intervened, and Cobra had never been more grateful for her presence than right now. He couldn’t really keep up the act with the state of exhaustion he was in, and some pain still lingered in his body, right now he just wanted to let himself fall on the bed and sleep.

Erik didn’t miss how Aliénor didn’t care about Lucy at all, she only eyed him with a big interest.

“As you can see, my husband is not here, and I was wondering if you would accept to dance with me instead?” the Queen asked, staring intently at him.

Maybe he is not here because you poisoned him, Erik thought.

Lucy looked at him, uncertain. She probably also thought that it was better for them to go back to their room and forget what had happened tonight but refusing an invitation from the Queen herself could also be problematic.

Cobra took a deep breath and reluctantly let go of Lucy’s hand, it was the last thing he needed to do tonight, he needed to dance with the Queen and then he would go back to their room and sleep.

“It would be an honor,” he said, putting on the best smile he could before taking Aliénor’s hand.

All the nobles stopped dancing to watch them, and Erik could hear some men and women being jealous, saying that he didn’t deserve to dance with the Queen.

Honestly, right now, Cobra just wanted to disappear.

His body was stiff, every movement more painful than the last, he didn’t know how he was able to lead the dance, but he did. He listened to her thoughts, she had decided to dance with him for a reason and he wanted to know which one.

So, what is a criminal doing in my castle? she asked in her head, knowing that he would hear her.

Cobra blinked, surprised by her question.

You’re a naughty boy. Did you think I didn’t feel you listening to my conversation with Grigory Lotaziars? Aliénor said in her thoughts, a wicked smile appearing on her lips.

How did she know? People didn’t notice when he listened normally, it was new for him, and he tried not to show the surprise on his face.

He heard a cold and cruel laugh in his mind.

Don’t worry, I don’t really care. I’m used to people spying on me all the time, but I only give them what I want them to have.

He gritted his teeth; he had fallen right into her trap; he had clearly underestimated her.

Now, now. I won’t throw you and your wife in jail right away because it would be boring. Just know that I’m not done playing with you, Erik, she said before the song ended and letting him go.

Lucy and Cobra were back in their room, they had changed into their pajamas, and they were lying in the bed.

“What happened there, Erik?” she asked, worried.

“You probably don’t know about that… It’s something called the slave mark, some people have control over it, and they can inflict pain to the bearer of the mark. Lotaziars has control over it and he used it to show to the Queen that I was indeed a slave.”

He saw her grit her teeth.

“I know what the slave mark is, my father used it against you and Midnight when we were trying to rescue you,” she started, gently caressing his arm, “And what happened with the Queen and Grigory? Tell me everything.”

And that’s what he did, he told her everything. He told her about Grigory knowing about his real identity, about the Queen being interested in slavery, he also told her how she had threatened him directly in his mind. The only thing he omitted was the mention of Haru, he had already forgotten to mention it when he had come back from the King’s room, and honestly Cobra didn’t think that this information was significant, he just looked like a man that the royalty knew and that was it. Nothing to really worry about.

“Long story short, we are in a deep shit, am I right?” she asked once he had explained everything.

He nodded.

“But we still have a chance to save the children, Lotaziars don’t know why we are here, same thing for the Queen,” she said, and she almost sounded hopeful.

“You’re right, it is our priority. Nothing else matters.”

And this time, it was her who nodded.

There was a brief silence for a moment.

“So, what’s our plan for tomorrow?” she asked a bit uneasy.

Well, right now, their plan for tomorrow was no plan. And Erik wasn’t really reassured by that fact, and he could easily tell that it was also bothering Lucy. They should have planned something beforehand during their journey to Bosco, but without the necessary information like where the children would be kept or who was Lotaziars’ client, it hadn’t been easy to plan anything. 

“Luck?”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright, let’s review what we know right now. Maybe we can start preparing a plan.”

Cobra agreed with her, they had clearly been too careless and had not taken this mission very seriously, he felt guilty for not having a definite plan to save the children right now. The only thing he knew was that whatever happened tomorrow, he would save the children at all costs and if he lost his life in the process then that’s what he deserved. The children were his priority.

“Do we know where the children are?” she asked, starting to put their information together.

“They are in the dungeons; I can only faintly hear their voices because they are deep underground.”

“Alright. Do we know how to get there?”

He shook his head. “But we just need to ask François to give us a tour of the castle tomorrow morning and we will know. He probably won’t take us down there, but I just need to listen to his thoughts or the guards’ and we will know.”

He observed her, how focused she looked, how every bit of information was like the piece of a puzzle that she was trying to solve. She was piecing the information together, slowly building a plan that would allow their mission to be a success.

“What should we do about our clothes?”

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head on the side, not really sure what she meant about their clothes.

“You will have to be more precise, Blondie.”

“I can’t imagine our mission going smoothly, we will probably have to fight or at least we will get dirty, we can’t do that in our outfit for the ball. We will be suspected immediately, especially if the Queen is the buyer, she is smart.”

He nodded, her reasoning made sense and she was right to think about that, it was one less variable when they had already a thousand to take care of.

“What if you ask your spirits to lend us some clothes from the Celestial Spirit World after we leave the ball? Not that I would enjoy wearing the horror you made me wear the last time, but I can’t think of another solution right now.

She nodded, pondering his words.

“That’s actually a good idea, I will need to find a dress not too complicated to wear.”

“I can always help you with that, and if we have a disheveled appearance, they might think we just left the ball to make out and since we are husband and wife, it will only work better.”

Lucy’s face turned red at the mention of making out and he had to refrain himself from listening to her thoughts even if it was really tempting. Her thoughts were always interesting when she got flustered, but he didn’t want to invade her mind too much, he already slipped often so he was not going to do it now.

“Not that I miss him, but we will also need to meet Doranbolt, we need to tell him where we will bring the children,” Cobra said, changing the subject and trying to put her more at ease.

She focused again on their plan, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart that he could definitely hear. He may not have listened to her thoughts, but her heart told him everything he needed to know.

“We will tell François that we want to meet with our coach driver, and he will probably show us the way.”

“Good. But now, we have one last problem.”

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“How do we leave a ball early without looking extremely suspicious?”

She blushed again, then she looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Exactly like you said before, by acting like we are making out. I noticed tonight that we have access to the gardens, that’s the best place to hide and make out. And that’s what we will do.”

He nodded, she was really observant, and he was thankful for that. He had been so stressed tonight that he hadn’t even noticed that they could go get some air in the gardens.

Now they had a somewhat of a plan, there were still so many things that could go wrong, but at least they were not relying simply on luck anymore. Their plan was now merely relying on how good their making out act will look to the eyes of the nobles, and especially to the eyes of the Queen.

Silence fell into the room, both thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow. They had covered the most important point and now they needed to rest.

Erik closed his eyes, but the vision of Lucy kissing him immediately flashed in his mind. And he was convinced that if he didn’t apologize right now, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. With all the stress they already had for tomorrow, their kiss was probably the last of her worries, but he still felt like it was important to apologize.  

“I’m sorry for asking you to kiss me, I shouldn’t have asked that, I just didn’t know what to do,” he said, and she saw her turn a beautiful shade of pink.

“Don’t apologize, it was our best option,” she answered, clearly embarrassed.

“But now we are even,” he said, trying to brighten the mood.

She cocked her head on the side and raised an eyebrow.

“I kissed you when we were in the cave and now you kissed me here, both kisses were necessary, we both saved each other’s life.”

She became even pinker than she already was, and she hid her head in her pillow.

“You’re an idiot,” she grumbled.

A soft smile appeared on his lips. He didn’t think that he could smile after this awful night, but being around Lucy always made him happy, she had a sort of effect on him that made his bad memories disappear for an instant.

He gently grabbed one of her hands before softly kissing her forehead.

“Thank you for today, Blondie. Goodnight,” he whispered before closing his eyes.

“Goodnight, Erik…” she murmured sleepily.

Chapter Text

Lucy had barely slept due to the stress. Today was the day. It was the day where she and Erik would save the children from being sold to a noble of the Bosco Kingdom, and they weren’t allowed to fail. If they failed, it only meant their death but also a never-ending suffering for the children that were going to be sold.

She wasn’t ready to start the day, but also, they didn’t have any time to waste. They had started drafting a plan last night and they needed to move, but before getting up and starting the day, she nuzzled herself against Erik’s chest, taking in as much as comfort as she could before the chaos of today.

“Are you awake?” she asked softly.

“Unfortunately, so,” he answered.

She opened her eyes to observe him, he still had his eyes closed, and he looked peaceful, even if the stress was probably torturing him as much as it was torturing her.

“Do you think we have a chance to succeed?”

He opened his eyes at this question and looked at her in the eye.

“I’ll do everything in my power for this mission to be a success, and if I have to lose my life in the process so be it. I can’t let children go through what I went through.”

She gritted her teeth; she didn’t like the way he talked about his life like it was nothing. She took one of his hands in hers and started stroking his fingers.

“Let’s succeed without one of us dying, alright?”

He nodded, she knew that he would sacrifice his life as a last resort, but she really wasn’t alright with his way of thinking. She had lost him once, and she found herself realizing that she couldn’t lose him again.

“And you know… Your life is as important as any other, I know you don’t think that way. But I’m telling you the truth. So, don’t die, Erik…”

She almost wanted to add I can’t lose you again, but refrained herself from doing so, and she really hoped that he wasn’t listening to her thoughts.

A knock stopped them from continuing their conversation. She looked at him in the eye and his only answer was a little nod that meant you know who it is. She rolled her eyes and freed herself from the comfort of Cobra’s arms to go open the door. She couldn’t wait to be back to her apartment and stay in bed as much as she wanted without being disturbed by a butler. She liked François, he was nice, but sometimes he could really come at the wrong time.

As usual, François was here to bring them their breakfast, Lucy had taken this opportunity to ask him if he would be alright with giving them a tour of the castle since he had only shown them the gardens for now. He had simply accepted and said that he would come back once they were done with their breakfast.

Now, Lucy and Erik were following François in the castle, he showed them the many unoccupied rooms, the long hallways full of paintings and statues, he showed them everything except a few rooms. He avoided mentioning the dungeons but that wasn’t really surprising, Lucy hoped that Cobra had heard something about them, or their mission was already getting off to a bad start. He avoided showing them a room behind a white door, he briefly mentioned that it belonged to the King and that no one could come here.

“Thank you for the tour, do you think it would be possible to talk with our coach driver? I need to ask him something,” Lucy said, once they were done visiting the castle.

The butler nodded and guided them where Doranbolt was staying. On their way there, they felt a shift in the atmosphere exactly like when the Queen had joined the ball last night. Aliénor was walking in their direction, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face when her eyes landed on Erik.

Lucy had already seen last night that the Queen had taken an interest in Cobra after Grigory had told her who he really was. Erik had told her last night that Lotaziars had thought he had mistaken him for someone else since he had not reacted to the slave mark, but he had also told her how Aliénor hadn’t believed the man’s reasoning. In the end, this was all a game to the Queen, that’s what she had told Erik, she didn’t know what they were up to, but she knew that they weren’t here for the ball.

“Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to see you,” François said, giving a bow.

Erik and Lucy also curtsied to greet the Queen, and they didn’t dare raise their head before she said so.

“Raise your head, these manners are unnecessary,” Aliénor commanded.

But when Lucy raised her head, she saw the Queen’s orange eyes gleam with satisfaction in front of this submissive gesture. This woman liked these kinds of things, she liked being dominant.

“I have to go, but we will see each other tonight. I really hope that you will allow me another dance,” she said, putting a hand on Cobra’s cheek, “It was the best dance I had in a while,” she added with a little laugh.

Lucy observed the scene, she stared in disbelief at the Queen’s gesture. She knew that Aliénor and Cobra were probably having a conversation in their mind, or at least she was talking to him.

Erik pushed away the Queen’s hand in the politest way he could, before putting one hand on Lucy’s hip and pressing her body against his.

“Sadly, I will have to decline, you see I’m a married man, and my wife is the only person I want to dance with,” he said, and Lucy was surprised by how honest it sounded.

Aliénor didn’t take his refusal well, though. She immediately stared at Lucy like it was the first time she saw her, as if she had been invisible the whole time and had suddenly appeared, and now her orange eyes burned with hatred for her.

“I see, what a shame. But if you ever feel bored, know that my door will always be open for you,” she answered with a little smile before putting back on an expressionless mask and leaving them.

It was only when François left Lucy and Erik alone with Doranbolt, that they both sighed of relief, only earning a confused glance from the member of the Council.

The ball would be starting soon, Lucy and Erik were dressed for the event and were waiting for François to take them to the ballroom.

“Did she say something to you?” Lucy asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“She threatened me again. Honestly, now I don’t think there is a possibility of tonight ending well, she doesn’t trust us, she doesn’t know why we are here, but she knows it’s not to enjoy the ball,” he answered, looking down, “Also, she hates you.”

“I had already guessed that part, she seems to have taken interest in you and she doesn’t like me being around you.”

She saw him shiver.

“I just hope that whatever she wants from me won’t complicate our mission tonight, one problem is enough.”

Lucy nodded, there was something weird about Erik, she felt like she was missing a part of the story and that he wasn’t telling her everything. She was about to ask him what he didn’t tell her when, of course, François knocked on the door, stopping her from doing so.

The butler invited them to follow him to the ballroom and that’s what they did. Lucy took Cobra’s hand, and she felt him squeeze it. They both were stressed, their plan was messy, almost ridiculous, and she hated being this underprepared. But she had hope, hope that no matter what happened tonight, they would at least save the children and arrest Grigory Lotaziars. She was more scared for what would come next.

They arrived in the ballroom and exactly like yesterday, the Queen was missing, it seemed like this woman enjoyed arriving last, she probably loved having all eyes on her.

Lucy noticed that the door to the gardens was wide open which was good; otherwise, their plan would already be fucked. She looked at Erik who seemed to scan the room, probably looking for Aliénor or Lotaziars, and he shook his head, meaning that both were absent. It reinforced Lucy’s theory that perhaps the Queen was Grigory’s client, she really hoped not.

“Do we wait for the Queen before leaving or do we go now?” Lucy whispered to Cobra.

“In any cases, she will notice our absence, we should go now.”

“Maybe you should stay here, I could summon Gemini to take my appearance and the Queen won’t see any difference.”

He looked at her, confused. It was an idea that had crossed her mind after their meeting with Aliénor this morning. The Queen didn’t care about Lucy so she was convinced that she could leave the ball without any trouble, but Erik it was another story, Aliénor wanted something from him and she kept an eye on him, Lucy was convinced of that.

“This is not our plan,” he whispered angrily, not approving of this sudden change and probably the idea of her going alone in the dungeons.

“I know, but if you are here, she won’t suspect us.”

“Then, call Gemini but ask your spirit to take my appearance. I am going with you, no matter what.”

It could work, it would not be as good as the other way around, but since the Queen didn’t care about Lucy, this woman would probably be overjoyed to see Erik alone at the ball.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

They left the ballroom as discreetly as possible. The nobles barely glanced their way, they were too busy chatting and drinking expensive champagne, it allowed Lucy and Erik to go unnoticed.

Lucy summoned Gemini and asked the spirit to take Erik’s appearance, the spirit obeyed and immediately turned into the Dragon Slayer. Then she explained to Gemini that if they got noticed by the Queen, they needed to run in the gardens and try to avoid her as best as they could, in case Lucy couldn’t keep their gate open. Lucy didn’t know how many spirits she could summon at the same time, but she was pretty sure that she would have to fight in the dungeons and that would mean summoning at least another spirit, two gates open at the same time would consume her magic really fast. Gemini accepted their mission and disappeared into the ballroom.

“I really hope this will work…” she sighed.

“We just have to be fast,” Erik answered, but he looked as uncomfortable as her right now.

Lucy summoned Horologium to bring them clothes from the Celestial Spirit World and immediately sent him back, not wanting to use too much of her magic already. Erik and her rapidly changed in the gardens before entering the castle by the servant’s entrance.

For now, everything was going fine. All the servants were busy with the ball so Cobra and Lucy could go to the dungeons unnoticed. Erik had heard where the dungeons were, and he guided her through the maze that was the castle. They arrived at the top of a spiral staircase and Lucy knew that the dungeons were down there. They were about to go downstairs when they saw a shadow go up the stairs.

We are going to get caught, Lucy said to herself.

Cobra made a gesture to ask her to be quiet, then he grabbed her hand and started to go up the stairs. They went up the stairs as silently as they could and stayed hidden in the shadows, waiting for the person downstairs to leave.

“François, kill Lotaziars when you have a moment,” a woman’s voice said, and Lucy immediately recognized it as Aliénor’s, “The children are mine now, and I don’t need this idiot anymore. Also tell the guards that we will move the children tomorrow morning, but for now, I need to go to the ball.”

Lucy’s theory was now confirmed, Aliénor was indeed Grigory Lotaziars’ client. She looked at Erik who seemed as unsurprised as her, they had both thought that the Queen might be the buyer, they probably just hadn’t wanted to believe this possibility to be true.

“Yes, your Majesty,” the butler answered, and Lucy could very well imagine him curtsying.

Lucy couldn’t believe that François was an assassin, though. That had been the biggest surprise of tonight, the butler had been so kind and thoughtful with them, she couldn’t believe that he killed on the Queen’s order.

They heard footsteps getting further away and once the path was open, they discreetly made their way to the dungeons.

It was dark and cold down there, like the world had been stripped of all its lights and warmth, and Lucy wondered if the Council’s prison looked like this, and if Cobra had had to stay in a place like this for weeks before she had decided to make a deal with him. But it was a stupid thought, because Cobra had spent most of his life trapped in a place like this. She couldn’t imagine being stuck here for years; she would probably not survive this, being separated from her friends, from the joy of life, from her freedom.

And she couldn’t help but look at him, a bit worried, but his face was a mask with no expression, he was probably only focused on his mission, and he tried not to let his traumas overcome him. She didn’t like the fact that right now, he looked once again like the member of the Oracion Seis, like the criminal he had once been, driven by his mission and not by his feelings.

They reached the end of the stairs and Lucy started hearing cries, they were close, the children were not far.

“Oh, stop crying!” A man’s voice shouted before hitting the bars to shut up the children, “You just have been bought by the Queen of Bosco herself, you should be overjoyed to be her slaves!”

Lucy gritted her teeth and clenched her fists; she knew that it was Grigory Lotaziars teasing and torturing the children right now. She turned her head to look at Cobra, but he was gone.

This idiot had rushed in the direction of the voices and the next thing she heard was something, or rather someone hitting a wall. She joined him immediately and she saw Lotaziars on the floor with his head bleeding. She arrived next to Cobra, he was breathing heavily and shaking with fury as if he could finally let his anger flow instead of repressing it. And he had repressed his anger for so long, they had spied on this man for months after all.

She wanted to touch Erik, to comfort him, to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that they would save the children and stop this man, but she hated to admit that right now, she was scared, scared that he might be controlled by his fury and not even recognize her.

A laugh escaped Lotaziars’ lips and he looked at them. “So that was the reason for your presence here. You came here to save the children. I can’t believe I’ve been so blind! Of course, it was the reason. Why would a Fairy Tail mage work with a criminal otherwise?”

Lucy knew what the man was doing, he was trying to anger Cobra even more.

“I’m going to kill you,” Erik said coldly, and it sent shivers down her spine. She didn’t want Cobra to kill again, she didn’t want him to carry the burden of another death on his hands; plus their mission was arresting this man, not killing him.

“As if you could beat me. You landed a hit on me by surprise, but now you've lost,” Lotaziars said before snapping his fingers, and Erik fell on one knee, containing his scream.

The slave mark. Again. They should have thought about that, of course, Cobra had an enormous disadvantage in this fight.

Lucy summoned Loki and ordered him to attack Grigory. She just really hoped that the fight wouldn’t last long, or she would have to send back Gemini. Her spirit tried to punch the man who simply avoided all of his attacks.

“I wonder how Aliénor is going to torture you when I bring you to her, I’m excited to see this. But I also want to have some fun. Stone golem!”

A giant golem made of stones appeared from the floor and punched Cobra. Loki put himself in front of the Dragon Slayer to protect him and Lucy also rushed to his side.

“Are you alright, Erik?”

His body was shaking with pain, and she wasn’t sure if he would be able to get up. Cobra looked at Lotaziars and then at the golem.

“I can’t fight Lotaziars directly, I will take care of the golem…” he replied weakly, trying to get up.

“You can’t even stand up,” she said, worried.

He took a deep breath.

“You need to take care of Lotaziars for me, please. I will destroy the golem, no matter what.”

She gritted her teeth, he was in no shape to do so, and they both knew it. He grabbed her hand and looked at her in the eye.

“Trust me, Blondie,” was the last thing he said before getting up slowly, ignoring the pain coursing through his body.

His breathing was ragged, and he could barely stay conscious, but Lucy saw him transform his arms into dragon paws and then he hit the golem’s hand.

“Loki let’s defeat this man, and fast,” she said to her spirit.

Leo nodded then tried to land punches of Lotaziars while Lucy was trying to whip him with her Fleuve d’étoiles. She sometimes glanced at Erik, hoping that the sound of the whip cracking didn’t perturb him like it had done on the Nirvana, but he seemed too focused on his fight with the golem to notice it luckily.

Lucy and Leo still hadn’t been able to land a hit on Grigory, but she knew that the man was getting tired, she could see on his face that he was upset.

“Enough playing around, I’m tired of this game,” their enemy said before looking in the direction of the golem.

Lucy followed his gaze and she saw that Cobra was on the floor, trying to get up but without any success. The golem walked in his direction ready to step on him with his foot, the creature raised his foot above Erik and a spike of stone appeared under it, ready to stab the Dragon Slayer and kill him.

“Kill him!” Lotaziars ordered with a sadistic smile, and then the golem stepped on Cobra.

“Erik!” Lucy shouted.

Cobra was exhausted, his body refused to obey, and every movement was just pure torture. He didn’t know how he could have lasted so long against the golem, but he knew that right now he was about to die pathetically. He would die without having saved the children, he would die and leave Lucy alone in an unknown kingdom where she would probably be arrested and killed for trying to steal the Queen’s new slaves.

And as he was about to die, he realized one thing. He didn’t want to die.

He still wanted to do an infinity of things before dying, he wanted to see his friends again, he wanted to be officially free, he wanted to make Lucy smile over and over again. He didn’t want to die. He felt like he was just beginning his life, his real life, but now he was going to lose everything because he was weak.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Lucy’s face when he would die. He clenched his fists, ready to be crushed by the golem and endure the last pain of his life. But pain never came neither did death. The only thing he remembered hearing before everything went dark was Lucy screaming his name.

He felt his body fall for a very long time, and he wondered if there would be an end to this or if he was going to fall forever. His body landed heavily on the floor and a terrible pain in his right shoulder forced him to open his eyes.

He was alive. The pain seemed all too real to be heaven or hell or whatever came after death.

Cobra let out a grunt of pain before forcing his body in a sitting position. He blinked when he saw a person with pink hair, dressed as a maid right in front of him. It was not just a random person, he knew her, it was one of Lucy’s spirits.

And now he understood what had happened, instead of being crushed by the golem, Lucy had saved his life, she had summoned a third spirit, she had summoned Virgo who had been fast enough to dig a hole to save him.

“Thank you…” he said, realizing that Virgo had saved his life, then another thought crossed his mind, “Lucy!” he shouted, if she had kept the three gates open, she would run out of magic and pass out soon.

He wanted to get up and join her as quickly as possible, especially because Lotaziars had stopped using the slave mark. Cobra’s body was stiff, but he could take this man by surprise once again and knock him out with his poison. Rage had blinded him earlier, and he had wanted to punch him with only his hand and no magic, it had been stupid coming from him, he should have known that Grigory would use the slave mark.

Virgo helped him up, her face was full of worry and he could tell that it was not really for him, she was worried about Lucy. The spirit knew that opening three gates at once would drain her magic, maybe Lucy had sent back Leo but that meant that she was now defenseless against Lotaziars.

“You need to save our princess,” she said before vanishing.

Erik didn’t like that. Virgo had disappeared, and he focused his hearing on Lucy, but he couldn’t hear her.

He looked at the top of the hole, the foot of the golem was still blocking his exit. Cobra took a deep breath, he would need to be fast or again, he would be unable to fight due to the slave mark. He would need to punch the golem’s foot and then, use his Poison Dragon's Roar on Lotaziars.

He could do it, he just needed to ignore the pain. And to save Lucy, it was an easy thing to do. She had saved his life so many times now, and he needed to return the favor.

And without another thought, he jumped towards the golem’s foot.

The golem’s foot exploded in tiny rocks, and even with his dragon skin, Cobra’s hand hurt but he didn’t care. He spotted Grigory immediately, the bastard was kicking Lucy’s unconscious body and laughing like the sadist he was. The man gave one last kick in Lucy’s stomach, and she flew a few meters away, Erik took this occasion to land his Poison Dragon's Roar without hurting Lucy.

Lotaziars fell immediately, he hadn’t seen the attack coming. And now Cobra watched him not being able to gather his strength to get up or to move.

“You haven’t won. I can’t still hurt you with the slave mark, you lowly slave.”

Erik didn’t waste a second, he climbed on top of Grigory and took both of his hands with his, rotting the skin of the man with his poison.

“Stop this! It hurts!” Lotaziars screamed. He struggled against his grip, but Cobra refused to let go.

“I think I’m rather nice with you,” Erik responded coldly, smiling at this man’s pain. It was deserved after everything he had done, and still it was a kind punishment he thought.

Grigory started whimpering and Cobra didn’t want to hear him anymore, he knocked him out and let go of him before rushing to Lucy’s side.

He took her body in his arms and immediately listened to her heart. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard her heart beating, she was still breathing, she was still alive. He observed her body, she was bleeding from her head and from one arm. He tore a part of his tunic and wrapped her head and her arm with the fabric. While doing so, she started to stir and slowly she opened her eyes.

“Erik…” she whispered, and her voice was flooded with relief.

“Hey, Blondie… Thank you for saving my life,” he said, finishing wrapping the fabric around her head.

A soft smile appeared on her lips.

“Did we win?” she asked weakly.

“Yeah, I knocked him out, but sadly we need to move. We need to bring the children and Lotaziars to Doranbolt and go back to the ball.”

They would never be able to look disheveled like they had planned to, they were covered in blood with visible injuries, there was no way they would be able to pass this as a making-out session. And he could see that Lucy was thinking the same thing, but it would be a thought for later. For now, bringing this man and the children to Doranbolt was their priority.

Cobra helped Lucy up and once he was sure that she was not going to pass out again, he approached the children’s cells, and he rotted the lock with his poison, then he pried the door open, and the children started crying with relief before thanking them.

Erik couldn’t help but smile and he almost wanted to cry, he was reassured, he was relieved, the children were going to be safe, they would not go through what he had gone through, he and Lucy had saved them from a horrible future.

“Listen to me, we will take you to a man who will take you back to Fiore, you will be able to go home.”

At first, the children didn’t look reassured, they probably didn’t want to be put in the hand of another man.

“Don’t worry, this man is our friend,” Lucy intervened, and it seemed to calm the children, “But first we need to be discreet, so try to be as quiet as possible, alright?” she added with a reassuring smile and the children nodded frantically.

“I’ll carry Lotaziars,” Erik said, already taking the body of the man on his back and a searing pain in his right shoulder almost made him drop him. He had forgotten that he had a shoulder in a sorry state.

“Erik, is everything alright?” Lucy asked, seeing him almost drop Grigory.

He nodded, “I’m alright, let’s not waste any more time here.”

They went up the stairs, and luckily it seemed that no one had noticed the fight thanks to the ball. Without any trouble, they were able to guide the children to their meeting point with Doranbolt.

“You’re here,” he said, almost surprised. He had probably thought that they would fail, and well they could have failed in so many instances, but somehow, they had done it.

“We don’t have time to waste, we need to go back to the ball,” Lucy said, “Please, bring these children home and this bastard in jail.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Erik and Lucy watched as Doranbolt helped the children get inside the coach and tied Lotaziars, before leaving the two of them here in Bosco with no hope of getting back to Fiore for now, it was what the Council had asked them to do, but that didn’t mean it was reassuring at all. Erik and Lucy were now stuck in Bosco for an indefinite period of time because Doranbolt would only come back to get them once the things were calmer, which clearly didn’t give them any idea of when he might come back. They would have to survive here for as long as they could.

Cobra and Lucy went back to the gardens to change into their ball outfits, and they washed the blood away in one of the fountains.

“Do you believe me if I say that I don’t want to go back there?” Lucy said, looking at him.

“You think that I want to go back there? The only thing I want right now is to sleep.”

She let out a little laugh and then she hugged him.

“We did it, Erik… They are safe…”

He hugged her back tightly and then he stroked her back, he still had trouble believing that they had won, that their mission was a success.

“Yes, I’m relieved… But now the question is, are we safe?” he whispered.

“I hope so…”

But it was obvious that they weren’t. The Queen would know her new slaves were missing, and it was clear that she would suspect them.

She let go of him and twirled in front of him.

“Do I look alright?”

Her hair hid the cut on her brow and her gloves covered the wounds on her arm, she looked alright despite the exhaustion on her face.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, and she turned pink.

“Idiot, I was not asking about this,” she mumbled.

“You look more than alright, don’t worry. And me, how do I look?”

“Gorgeous as usual,” she said, and he felt his cheeks heat, “or you hoped that I would say that, no but honestly, I think you look alright, we don’t see your injuries.”

He poked her in the arm, and she laughed. He couldn’t believe that they were back to teasing each other when mere moments ago they had almost both lost their lives.

Lucy took his hand, and gently made her way out of the gardens and back to the ballroom. They walked slowly, both enjoying their last moment before they would have to confront the nobles and the Queen.

Cobra barely stepped into the room that two guards seized him by the arms and forced him on his knees. He had to stop himself from screaming when the guard grabbed his right arm, and a searing pain coursed through his shoulder.

“Erik Heartfilia, you are under arrest for attempting to poison the Queen of Bosco,” one of the guards holding him stated.

What?

He saw Aliénor fake crying on a noble’s shoulder, but Erik saw that her orange eyes were filled with victory and satisfaction. Cobra glanced at Lucy; she was as lost as him.

“How is that possible? He was with me the whole time,” Lucy intervened.

“We found poison in the Queen’s cup, it is one of her butler who drank it, and he fell, coughing blood,” the same guard said.

“And? That has nothing to do with me! We were outside the whole time!”

“You are a Poison Dragon Slayer. You are the only one able to do this.”

Erik blinked; he had not expected them to know about his magic. He had only told this to the King and Sophie the other night in the tower, but they were Aliénor’s enemies, they wouldn’t have betrayed him. He didn’t think it could have been them who had shared the information with the Queen, but who? The culprit showed himself really fast because François stepped into the room, his mouth still covered in blood.

They had been so careless; they had never doubted François for one second. Cobra was sure that the butler had heard them when he had stopped Lucy from smelling the flowers in the gardens, when he had mentioned that he knew a lot about poison. He didn’t know how François had learned that he was a Dragon Slayer, though.

Erik tried to break free from the guard’s grip without any success.

“Let him go, he is innocent!” Lucy said, trying to push the guards away from him, “He has no reason to poison the Queen.”

A noblewoman gently grabbed Lucy’s hands and pulled her away from him. “Come on, little lady. I know it’s hard to learn that your husband is a monster, but you will be alright, I promise.”

Lucy tried to get free from the noblewoman grip, but the woman refused to let her go.

“Actually, he did have a reason,” Aliénor intervened, approaching him, and putting a hand on his cheek, he could see on her face just how proud she looked that her plan had worked.

“Nonsense,” Cobra spat, still trying to free himself.

The Queen turned to everyone in the room.

“This boy is not just any other boy. I know it was a long time ago, but some of you might remember it, the time where two boys fought for the throne of Bosco and where one had crimson hair exactly like this man right here,” Aliénor started and gasps could be heard from several nobles in the room, some had already guessed who he was, “This boy is none other than the son of Haru Akatsuki. And tonight, he tried to kill me to avenge his father. I’m sure he is also the one responsible for the King’s actual state.”

What the fuck is she saying right now?

He was too busy trying to get out of this situation to really think about what she had just said, about him having a father. He didn’t have the time to think about that right now, he needed to free himself from the guards.

“That’s a lie! She is lying to you!” Erik tried to defend himself, even though it was useless, why would they believe him? He was a stranger to them, and right now, he was supposedly the monster who had tried to poison the Queen.

Aliénor took his face in her hands.

“Look at his face! He is the spitting image of Haru!”

Erik heard the nobles whisper about Haru, the Queen, the King, and he knew that there was no way he would be able to get out of this situation. They saw him as a monster, as a traitor to the Kingdom of Bosco.

“Take him to the dungeons, I will take care of him myself,” the Queen ordered, and the two guards lifted him on his feet and walked in the direction of the door.

He was fucked, he had no way out of this situation, he would end up in the dungeons and he didn’t know what would come next, but he was sure that death was not what would be coming any time soon.

Cobra glanced one last time in Lucy’s direction, her eyes were widened in shock, not believing what the Queen had just said.

I’ll find a way to get you out of there, she thought when their eyes met.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed before looking down and following the guards.

Chapter Text

Cobra slowly opened his eyes before looking around and realizing that he was in a cell. He remembered being arrested by the royal guards at the ball, but he didn’t remember losing consciousness, the guards had probably knocked him out on the way to the dungeons.

He tried to move, but his hands and legs were chained to a chair. His right shoulder was screaming with pain as he fought against his restraints, but he ignored it. He tried to get free but without any success, the Queen was not as careless as Sophie and the King, she had immediately bound him with chains that sealed his magic. There was no way of getting out of here without help or the Queen’s approval.

Erik noticed another thing that terrified him to his very core, right now, he couldn’t hear thoughts. His hearing ability was not magic, he had known this for years now, he didn’t know why he could hear thoughts, but he had accepted this gift. And after years of developing it, he felt the most reassured when he could hear voices, and right now, in this cold and dirty cell, there was no sound at all and it terrified him. He didn’t know how the Queen learned about his gift or how she had been able to block it, but he hated this.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed since his arrestation, but the only thing he knew for sure was that everything that had happened after he and Lucy had gone back to the ballroom had been completely absurd. The most absurd thing of all was still what Aliénor had said about him being the son of Haru. Erik had refused to focus on this information when he had been held by the guards, but now that he was alone and without any voices to hear, he allowed himself to think about what the Queen had said.

If what the Queen had said was true, if this awful woman was not a liar, Haru Akatsuki was his father. And that meant that Erik could finally put a name on one of his parents since he had forgotten everything about them from their names to their faces. Hope started blooming in his chest, he had completely given up on the possibility of finding his parents. For Erik, they had been killed the day Ibisco Village had been attacked, and that was it. He had blocked out the memory of his parents, and when he tried to remember them, his parents had no faces, no voices, they were no one. Only screams of despair and blood haunted his mind when he tried to remember.

But now, he hoped, he hoped that Aliénor was telling the truth about him, and he knew that it was stupid because this woman was a skilled liar. So, why? Why did Erik want to believe her words so badly? Probably because in a corner of his head, he had always hoped that his parents were still alive, that his parents had survived. Brain had taught him not to hope because hope was dangerous, and Cobra had obeyed and refused to let himself hope.

Now Erik's perspective had changed, and one of the reasons for it might be Lucy, in so many ways she had made him believe in hope again. Slowly, she was destroying what Brain had put into his head, she was freeing him and changing him, she was helping him be the person he had always wanted to be.

So right now, he allowed himself to hope, he wanted to believe in the possibility of being Haru’s son because Aliénor had not been the only one to mistake him for Haru. The King and Sophie had also been surprised by the resemblance and even the nobles had agreed with the Queen when she had explained who he was.

The door opened slowly, and the Queen stepped inside. A wicked smile appeared on her lips when she noticed that he was awake.

“You’re finally awake,” she said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.

Cobra looked at her, she was wiping blood off her hands, and he didn’t find this very reassuring. He really hoped that it was not Lucy’s blood, but if he remembered correctly, she was safe, a noblewoman had stopped her from getting arrested.

He took a deep breath, he knew he wasn’t going to have a fun time here, he knew that the Queen would torture him right now whether for the fun of it or for information he didn’t have. Though, it was probably going to be both.

“You fell right into my trap,” Aliénor laughed, “Seriously, I thought you were smarter than that, you never doubted my butler, not even once, I can’t believe that! Did you like my staging? It was full of revelations, wasn’t it?”

Erik gritted his teeth, ashamed of how stupidly he had fallen into her trap, he should have doubted François a thousand times. He clenched his hands into fists, refusing to ask more about the revelation, he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of winning even if the only thing he wanted right now was to ask about Haru.

An amused smile appeared on her face, and her eyes glinted with pleasure.

“Oh, you’re cute. You want to play hard to get, uh? But your body is betraying you, you want to know more about Haru, I can feel it.”

He looked away, he felt sick, he hated how he couldn’t control his reactions. Usually, he was better than this, he was supposed to be a skilled liar, he was supposed to only show what he wanted people to see, he didn’t understand why he couldn’t do that right now.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything in due time. But we have another matter to discuss right now,” she said, approaching him before punching him in the face, “You see, I’m pretty sure you are guilty of helping my merchandise escape.”

He gritted his teeth, and he could taste blood in his mouth.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he lied.

“You can lie as much as you want, your wife already told me everything.”

He repressed a shiver at the mention of Lucy, but his reaction didn’t go unnoticed by the Queen, she felt his worry and laughed. Erik had thought that Lucy was safe, that he would be the only one to suffer, but if the Queen was telling the truth, then this woman had tortured the Celestial mage. Again, he really hoped that the blood she had wiped earlier was not Lucy’s blood.

“I’m not an idiot. I know you didn’t act alone, and I saw just how worried she was about you. She confessed so fast, I barely had the time to touch her.”

He clenched his hands into fists, and his breathing became irregular, anger and fear started coursing through his body.

“She has nothing to do with that. I acted alone.”

Aliénor laughed sadistically.

“You really love her, huh? You’re still trying to protect her when she already told me everything.”

And he didn’t know what to answer. He cared about Lucy this was a fact, but did he love her? He didn’t know. She was one of the most important people to him, but was it love? He didn’t even know what love was, he had never been loved, and he wasn’t sure that he was able to love someone or that he had the right to.

“What? You didn’t realize your own feelings for her? It’s so obvious, though,” she said, before snapping her fingers.

Lucy’s body appeared in front of him, her hands and feet were bound with ropes and her keys were missing. Cobra could see bruises and deep cuts on her body, her eyes were closed, and her hands were clenched his hands into fists because of the pain. He could also see tears rolling down her cheeks.

He was horrified at this sight, he could endure the worst horrors, but he didn’t want other people to live them, especially not Lucy. His heart broke seeing her in pain, he never wanted to see her suffer.

“You deprived me from so much fun you two, I would have enjoyed breaking these children, but I guess I’ll have to settle for you instead,” the Queen said, kicking Lucy’s head before laughing.

Lucy opened her eyes slightly and looked at him, she was weak and tired. How long had she been tortured? How long had Aliénor toyed with her? He wanted to know but at the same time he didn’t, he wasn’t sure he could bear knowing this information.

“Sorry,” she mouthed before coughing blood.

Cobra shook his head to tell her that she was absolutely not at fault.

“I told you, I acted alone!” he shouted at Aliénor, shaking with fury this time.

The sight of Lucy’s injured body was driving him mad; he wanted the Queen to pay for what she had done. He was losing his temper; it was absolutely not like him. Normally, he could stay focused on his enemy and his mission, but now he just couldn’t. Lucy was hurt and that scared him, and he was almost panicking.

Aliénor sighed.

“I know that you are only saying this to protect her, I swear, you are completely head over heels for her and you are desperate to save her. But sadly, it won’t work with me. Love makes me sick.”

Again, with this story of him being in love with Lucy. He had trouble believing that he had fallen in love with her, but that would explain why she always occupied his mind, why he always wanted to be in her company and make her smile. Was it his love for her that stopped him from thinking coherently? He couldn't think of a way of getting out of this situation because right now, Lucy was in pain in front of him and he didn’t know that to do.

Shit.

It hurt to admit, but the Queen might have been into something about his feelings for Lucy. Maybe he had simply refused to acknowledge them all this time because he was convinced that he didn’t deserve to be loved and that Lucy was way out of his league. A mage like her would never love a criminal like him, that was what he had unconsciously been repeating to himself all this time, and he had buried his feelings for her deep into his heart. But he guessed that he had been bad at really hiding his feelings if the Queen could see right through him.

“Now, let’s have some fun, shall we? I thought it would be great to have your wife with us for the story I’m about to tell you,” Aliénor said, her voice full of joy.

Cobra didn’t care about this story, he wanted Lucy to be safe and sound, he didn’t want her to be suffering at his feet. He pulled on his restraints, he tried to break the chains, but without any success. The Queen laughed at his desperate attempt.

“Oh, come on now, don’t you want to know more about your father?”

Erik gritted his teeth. Of course, he wanted to know more, but he didn’t want to hear it from this woman. He saw Lucy’s eyes widen at the mention of his father, it was true that he had never mentioned Haru to her nor his suspicions of this man being a member of his family, he should have told her about that.

He felt something crawl under his skin and pain started coursing through his body, it was as if he was being electrocuted. The sudden pain made him scream.

“Erik...” Lucy said weakly, worry in her voice.

“I’m fine…” he answered through gritted teeth. The pain was bearable, the only problem was that he could feel the things crawling under his skin grow and spread all over his body.

“Do you like the taste of my magic? These are roots that eat your magic and then, they start eating your life force once you ran out of magic,” Aliénor explained, a wicked smile on her face and her eyes glinting with sadism.

Cobra ignored the Queen because he saw Lucy cough blood and grit her teeth, and all his attention went to her immediately. He pulled harder on his restraints, trying to free himself from the chains again, he couldn’t let Lucy suffer, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break them. He thought of another option to at least free Lucy, he needed her to be okay, he didn’t care what would happen to him as long as Lucy was safe.

“Let her go. I don’t care what happens to me. Just let her go,” he pleaded, and he hated how desperate he sounded right now.

The Queen laughed.

“You’re pathetic. Does that mean that you are willing to give me your life and freedom? That you are willing to be my slave for the rest of your miserable life?” Aliénor teased, satisfied by his despair.

“Erik, no,” Lucy said, looking at him with her gorgeous brown eyes filled with fear and worry.

Honestly, Cobra didn’t want to be a slave again, he would rather die. But he was ready to do anything for Lucy’s safety. His life was not worth Lucy’s, he needed to save her no matter what the cost was.

He lowered his head. “Let her go and my life is yours.”

“No…” he heard Lucy whisper, and again, he could see tears rolling down her cheeks.

“You’re exactly like your father, always putting the ones you love first not caring what happens to you next. And you know what? That’s exactly what killed him!” the Queen said, bursting out with laughter.

Something in Cobra’s chest broke, probably his heart that had been filled with hope mere moments ago about the idea of having a member of his family alive. He had known that it was stupid to hope for his father to be alive, but he had wanted to hope anyway and now, his heart ached.

Aliénor saw his pain, and there was only satisfaction on her face, she was succeeding in breaking him piece by piece, she was slowly ripping him apart and enjoying every second of it. A sword appeared in her hand.

“But fine, I will let her go,” the Queen said, slicing the ropes that bound Lucy’s hands and feet, “You’re free to go.”

Erik looked at Lucy, nodding at her, signaling her that it was okay for her to leave him here, but she only looked down, making no move to get out of the cell.

“Go, Lucy. I will be alright…” he said softly, his body shaking because the pain caused by the roots was worsening.

“I can’t…” she whispered, almost out of breath.

He was an idiot. He had made a huge mistake. He had not looked at her correctly, she was pale and sweaty, her pupils dilated, and her breathing was loud and uneven.

One more reason why he shouldn’t be in love with her, he hadn’t noticed that she was hurting, that she had more than cuts and bruises.

The Queen let out an amused laugh.

“I have to say that for a Poison Dragon Slayer, you’re pathetic. I’m surprised you couldn’t tell that she was poisoned, she is slowly dying!”

Cobra clenched his hands into fists, and he looked down, ashamed of himself. He had been worrying about poison non-stop and the only time where it was important to detect it, he hadn’t noticed it, it was probably because the roots under his skin were perturbing his body and also because his magic was sealed but still, he should have been able to smell it.

“Let me help her!”

Despair filled his voice, and he hated that Aliénor noticed it. 

The Queen shook her head.

“You should have asked that before giving me your life,” she said, plunging the sword in his right leg.

Erik screamed and he heard Lucy shout his name weakly.

“As long as Lucy is not healed, I won’t give my life to you,” he said through gritted teeth, and he could feel his eyes burning with tears, all of his body ached right now, and he didn’t know how long he would be able to endure it.

The Queen took his face into her hands.

“Know your place, lowly slave. And know that I don’t care about this woman’s life. I’m keeping her alive because I’m having fun, but the moment I get bored, she dies.”

Lucy could only watch as this woman started torturing Cobra. She could see roots under his skin, and she could see that his body was tensed, that he was doing his best not to scream.

“Enough chitchat, I have a story to tell now, a story about how love killed your father,” Aliénor said before plunging her sword in Erik’s left shoulder.

She saw him grit his teeth, containing his scream.

“You see, Haru was destined to do great things. He was supposed to become the King of Bosco! The old king had two potential successors, one was his own son, Lionel who is the actual king and there was Haru, a commoner and a thief. The old king saw how your father always tried to help everyone even when he didn’t have the means, and so he offered Haru the opportunity of becoming King of Bosco. And your father immediately jumped on the occasion of being able to help everyone, he was around your age when he received this offer. And so, a series of tests between Haru and Lionel started,” Aliénor explained.

Lucy looked at Erik, she didn’t want him to learn about his parents that way, he shouldn’t be learning all of this from this wicked woman.

“The old king would have chosen Haru. Your father would have become King, you were supposed to be a prince! But no, instead he fell in love with Kaoru or Kaede, I don’t want to remember the name of this pathetic woman, she was a miserable peasant from Fiore, a farm girl who came to Bosco only to sell her vegetables, but Haru chose her instead of me, your father made the wrong choice and look at you know, you are a slave.”

So, in the end, it was a story of jealousy. Lucy had started to understand that the Queen was an extremely jealous person, that was probably why she hated her that much, because she saw Haru in Erik and maybe Kaede or Kaoru in Lucy. Maybe that was the reason why Aliénor had taken a wicked pleasure in torturing her, making sure that she suffered a lot during the interrogation. Lucy had never felt such pain before, she had never been tortured like this, and she had thought several times that she would die. But the Queen knew where to cut, and where to punch, she knew how to keep someone alive during torture. And now, Lucy didn’t feel any pain because her body was going numb with the poison, she could almost feel herself dying, it was only a matter of time now before the poison ended her life.

“Let me continue, Haru declined the position of King after being told that he couldn’t marry this peasant. And so, they left for Fiore, he forgot about royalty, and he lived his life as a peasant, he married her. They got you a couple of years later, they sent us a letter to tell us the good news. But honestly? I was disgusted. Your father was the greatest man I had ever known but I still can’t believe his decision of having a child with this woman, you are an abomination,” the Queen continued, putting away her sword to grab a dagger instead, she plunged the blade in Cobra's hands several times.

Erik screamed, and Lucy wanted it to stop. His scream was the worst thing she had ever heard. She didn’t want him to be in pain, she didn’t want that woman to touch him.

Cobra glared at the woman defiantly, he would never fall, he would never break, he would resist until the end. And Lucy cried silently because of their awful situation but also because of Erik’s pain, he was fighting against his tears, he didn’t want to show any weakness.

She took a deep breath. “Stop,” Lucy whispered, her voice weak and shaky.

His eyes landed on her; he was suffering but the only thing she could see in his purple eyes was his worry for her safety. He still prioritized her over himself, and it broke her heart.

“Shut up, girl!” Aliénor ordered, kicking her in the stomach, “I haven’t finished my story.”

Lucy flew a few meters away, she couldn’t move, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She was dying.

“Don’t touch her!” Erik shouted, tugging at his restraints.

The Queen laughed and plunged the dagger in his stomach.

“You don’t give me orders, you monster.”

Lucy wanted all of this to stop. She watched blood seep through Erik’s white shirt, and she knew that the Queen had avoided the vital points, this woman left the dagger in his stomach to stop him from dying of blood loss, she would not kill him that easily.

“Erik…” she whispered, crying.

“Oh, shut up! Let me finish my story and then you can whine as much as you want about how sad it is that I’m torturing him right in front of you!”

Lucy noticed that Cobra only stared at her, he ignored the Queen in front of him, he just watched her making sure that she was still breathing.

“Hey! Eyes on me!” Aliénor ordered, snapping her fingers, but Erik ignored her, “If you refuse to look at me, I’m going to kill her and then I will finish my story.”

This time, he did obey, and he looked at her reluctantly.

“Good. So where was I? Oh yes, Lionel invited your parents to the castle so that we could meet you. I didn’t care about you at all, you were ugly and whiny, and I hated you from the moment I saw you. Then, your parents went back to Fiore and a few years later, a cult destroyed your village, killing the adults and taking the children.”

“I already know that part…” Erik said, through gritted teeth.

“Do you? When Lionel heard about the attack, we immediately came to the village, but it was already too late. Dead bodies surrounded us, but a miracle happened. Haru was still alive, well barely, he had been stabbed several times from all the sides, but he was still breathing. I looked for your mother, wanting to finish her off but that bitch was nowhere to be seen. Your coward of a mother ran away while all of the villagers got killed," she spat, "We brought Haru back to the castle to heal him. And now the best part is coming!” The Queen sounded overjoyed and applauded herself, “That night, I went to the infirmary to see him, he had still not regained consciousness, and I said what I was thinking about his choices and then I stabbed him right through the heart with the dagger in your stomach."

Lucy looked at Erik, his breathing had become ragged, and he seemed lost. He was in front of his father’s assassin, he was being tortured with the weapon that had killed one of his parents.

“Why?” he whispered in a state of shock.

“Because I’ve always been in love with Haru, of course. I wanted him for myself, but he preferred to run away with your mother. He chose her instead of me! So, I killed him since he was not pure anymore, since he had shared his life with a pathetic woman. At least, his death was fast, I spared him a lot of pain, too. Healing would have taken him so much time, I preferred to help him be at peace. My last gift as the woman who really loved him. Now you understand why I say that it is love who killed him? If he hadn’t fallen in love with your mother, he wouldn’t be dead.”

Lucy could see Erik’s eyes shining with tears. The Queen was destroying him mentally, he had probably always hoped that his parents were still alive even if he thought them dead, but now, he was realizing that he would never meet his father because the monster in front of him had killed him.

Aliénor wiped away a tear that fell from his eyes, and then she smiled sadistically.

“It’s crazy just how much you look like your father except for one tiny detail, your eyes. You have the eyes of your mother, but if I get rid of them, I will be able to keep you alive as Haru’s replacement, after all you gave me your life, remember?”

“I didn’t give you shit. As long as Lucy is not healed, my life is still mine.”

“Let me tell you something, I don’t care what you want. I’ll keep you locked up here for the rest of your life. But first, I need to get rid of these two horrible eyes of yours.

Lucy tried to move, she tried to fight against the poison in her body, Erik was going to lose his eyes if she didn’t find a way to help him.

“Let’s start with the right one,” Aliénor said, holding his face with one hand and taking another dagger with her other hand. She slowly approached the blade close to his right eye, ready to strike and blind him.

Lucy saw Erik look at her, and she swore that through the terror and the pain, she could see a smile on his face.

“Everything is going to be alright…” he mouthed before closing his eyes.

You are lying, you idiot… she said through her mind.

She closed her eyes; she could not watch the Queen butcher him right in front of her. Lucy didn’t know what happened next, but screams erupted from all the sides of the room.

Chapter Text

Lucy could only hear screams; the sounds were loud and confusing, and she couldn’t tell who was screaming.

She was exhausted, she was in pain, and she could feel the rest of her strength slowly leave her body. She had closed her eyes to avoid seeing the massacre, but the screams told her that it was all over now, that it was too late. She was scared to know what had happened, she almost wanted to keep her eyes closed forever and never see what Aliénor had done, but the little voice in her head told her to open them and see.

She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy, they felt like they had been sealed shut. Lucy gathered the last of her strength, and forced herself to open her eyes and see what had happened here in this dark cell. 

The Queen was on the floor, screaming and whimpering, and a man was talking to her but Lucy couldn’t hear what was being said. It took her a few seconds to realize that this man was here to help them, and then, her mind focused on what was really mattering to her.

Erik.

She needed to know what had happened to Erik.

A woman dressed in black was freeing him from the chains, she could see her mouth moving and she seemed to repeat the same thing over and over again, probably apologies.

Lucy felt relieved but now she didn’t have the strength to keep her eyes open anymore, she couldn’t feel her body, she couldn’t feel anything.

Erik was alive and she would be dead in the span of a few minutes maybe even seconds. She let herself think of happy things before her death. She thought of Fairy Tail, of Natsu, of Gray, of Erza, of Happy, of Levy, of everyone there and how much she would miss all of them. She didn’t want to die. She hadn’t even found her brother yet, she had not stopped her father, she hadn’t experienced love, she had still so much to do, so much to discover, but her life would be coming to an end soon.

But she forced herself to keep her eyes open even if it was just for a little longer, she wanted to make sure that Erik was alright before leaving him. She saw the woman in black help Cobra up.

And Lucy realized that she would definitely miss Erik, especially his teasing, his kindness, his selflessness. He was the boy that she had met years ago and that she had found again, she didn’t want to leave him now that she had found him again.

She blinked, her vision was getting blurrier and blurrier. Through the mist, she saw Erik run in her direction, he stumbled forwards because of his injuries, but he immediately caught himself and when he reached her, he knelt beside her.

“Erik…” Lucy whispered weakly.

He looked frantic and exhausted. Blood covered the right part of his face, and his right eye was closed, she couldn't tell if Aliénor had taken his eye or not.

“Hey, Blondie…” he replied, and she could hear relief in his voice.

He took her in his arms and started caressing her face.

“I’m sorry, Erik…”

“You’re not dying today, Lucy…” he said, and his words sounded extremely reassuring to her ears.

He put his forehead against hers, and tears fell on her face, she hadn’t noticed that he was crying.

Lucy felt her body getting lighter, the darkness receded, and she was able to breathe better. Once her mind felt clearer, she understood what he was doing.

He is eating the poison.

Cobra held her tight in his arms as if he refused to let her go, as if even once he was done eating the poison, she would still die. It was impressive just how good she felt right now. She could almost feel the energy course through her body, the poison was completely gone.

She had her head against his chest, and she could hear his heart beating frantically, she almost wondered if it was not going to explode by how fast it was beating right now. She put one hand on his cheek, trying to soothe him, it was her way of telling him that it was over, that he could relax now.

“I am the one who is sorry, Lucy…” he said, and the strong arms that had held her a few seconds ago let go of her, and Cobra fell on the side, unconscious.

“Erik?” she called, staring at his motionless body, “Erik, wake up!” she ordered, shaking him, but she got absolutely no response.

Lucy needed him to wake up, she needed to be sure that he was safe, but he was unconscious and lying in a pool of his own blood.

A hand gently gripped her shoulder and the man that she had seen talking to the Queen was beside her, looking at Cobra with worried eyes.

“He passed out, the roots ate his magic, and he used the rest of his energy to save your life.”

She looked at Cobra, she could see his chest rise and fall, he was alive, at least for now. Relief, fear, pain came crashing down on her and she started crying. They had learned dreadful things today, especially Erik, they had been tortured, and they had almost died. Lucy felt like she couldn’t breathe, so much had happened, and it had definitely not let her unscathed whether it was mentally or physically.

The man patted her back, trying to get her to relax and to breathe better. Once she could breathe again, the stranger took Cobra in his arms. She hated how dead Erik looked right now.

“Sophie, help the girl to the infirmary, she needs help.”

But Lucy gripped the sleeve of the man, refusing to let Erik disappear with a stranger, she wasn’t sure that she could endure him leaving her sight.

“Where are you taking him?” she asked, and her voice was filled with fear.

“To the infirmary, he needs help. He is seriously wounded,” the man started, then he offered her a soft smile, “Don’t worry, I’m not taking him away from you.”

Lucy let go of the man’s sleeve and Sophie helped her up. The woman guided her to the infirmary, and Lucy surveyed every move of the man, to the moment he lied Erik on the bed to when he called for doctors. 

Lucy stared at the white curtain that stopped her from seeing Cobra. A doctor had taken care of her injuries a while ago, and now she was just lying on a bed, looking like a mummy, and waiting for the doctors to finish treating Erik. She wanted him to be alright, she wanted him to wake up and assure her that he was fine. But would he be fine once he woke up? When the memories of what Aliénor had said about his father would come back to him and haunt him. Lucy hated how powerless she felt right now, she wanted Cobra to be happy, but how would he be able to smile again after learning how his father - that he never had the chance to know - had been killed by a jealous woman?

She stared and stared at the white curtain, hoping that time would go by faster so that Erik would wake up sooner.

“You really love him,” the man that had saved them stated, sitting next to her bed.

She jumped and looked at the stranger, she hadn’t seen him coming, she had been too focused on the curtain. Then, she realized what he had said, and she felt her cheeks heat.

“No, it’s not like that… I’m just really worried about him; he didn’t deserve this,” she said, stifling a sob.

Just thinking about Erik made her want to burst into tears right now, none of this should have happened, and she hated knowing that right now, he was unconscious in a bed after being tortured mentally and physically by a cruel Queen. And Lucy couldn’t shake the small possibility that Cobra wouldn’t want to wake up from that, that he had had enough of his life filled with pain and sadness, and that now he preferred to let himself die. And she really hoped that he wouldn’t choose this option because she couldn’t lose him, she was being selfish, but he had become an important part of her life, and she couldn’t imagine him not being around anymore.

“I’m sorry about my wife, and I’m sorry for arriving so late…” the stranger responded, looking down.

Wife?

Lucy blinked, slowly becoming aware of who was sitting next to her bed. She had never met the King of Bosco, but thinking back about what had happened in the dungeons, it made sense that it was the King who had confronted Aliénor. So, this man was Lionel, the King of Bosco, and she realized that she had been rude with him, she had not greeted him, she had not bowed, and she had talked to him casually. She was embarrassed by her rudeness and she looked down before trying to bow, her body aching at the movement, but the King saw her panic and he gently pushed her back into the cushions.

“No need for manners, you’re injured. And you two are my heroes, so you don’t need to bother with manners, never.”

Heroes? What is the King saying?

“Heroes?” she asked, confused.

“I told your husband the night he came into my room that he had saved my life, and probably my kingdom at the same time. Aliénor poisoned me years ago, she made sure to keep me alive so that the kingdom wouldn’t need another King, and she ruled in my stead for all these years. I haven’t seen the extent of damage she has done to my kingdom yet, but I think it will take me years to help Bosco heal. If you hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have been able to stop her, I would still be agonizing in my bed,” Lionel explained.

“I didn’t do anything; it was all thanks to Erik… He is the one who saved you, and your kingdom,” she said, her voice wavering. As long as Cobra was still unconscious, she wasn’t sure that she could mention him without having to stop herself from bursting into tears. “Also, I should probably tell you that he is not my husband, it was all an act,” she added with a little desperate laugh.

The King’s eyes widened at the revelation, but he offered her a soft smile in return.

“You did as much as him because without you, he would never have come into my room that night. His reason for coming was that he was worried about you, wife or not, he didn’t want you to get poisoned. He would never have come otherwise; I think you don’t realize just how much you matter to him.”

Lucy shook her head, and tears started rolling down her cheeks, she had to bite her lips to stop herself from sobbing. That night, Erik had told her that he had acted solo because he had been worried about her, and it had made her happy, but she had also been blinded by her fear and anger at that moment that she had kind of forgotten the main reason for his action. This idiot was ready to do anything if it guaranteed her safety, she still couldn’t believe that he had been willing to trade his freedom with Aliénor if it meant that Lucy would make it out alive. Freedom was the thing that he wanted the most in the world, and he would have accepted to become a slave again just for her safety. Her heart broke at that thought because she had believed that it had just been another act of selflessness coming from him, always prioritizing others instead of himself, but she wasn’t sure that he would give up his freedom for anyone, though. The King was right, she had never understood until right now just how much she mattered to Erik, how he was ready to do certain things for her, and only her. She was an idiot; she had never grasped just how much he cared about her.

She hid her face with her hands and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Once Lucy had stopped crying, there was an awkward silence in the room. The King was still here, he had not said anything, and he had let her cry. She rubbed her eyes and sighed; she was exhausted.

“I will leave you alone, you need to rest now. I just wanted to thank you for saving my kingdom,” Lionel said, getting up from the chair before leaving the room.

Lucy refused to sleep until the doctors were done with Erik. So, she waited, fighting against her exhaustion, but after what seemed an eternity, the doctors finally opened the curtains and left the infirmary. She looked at him, his body was covered in bandages, especially the right part of his face, the Queen had probably taken his right eye. And Lucy was heartbroken at that thought, but she tried to focus on the fact that he was still alive, that he was still here, that was all that mattered right now. She watched his chest rise and fall for a while before exhaustion caught up to her and she couldn’t stay awake anymore.

Cobra felt like he was drowning in the darkness, sinking down into an endless abyss. He couldn’t feel his body, there was no pain, no joy, just an endless emptiness. Maybe he was dead now, he didn’t know. Maybe his body had finally reached its limits and he had died. He hoped that it was not the case, even if his whole life had been filled with suffering, he didn’t want to die. He wanted to hope that one day his life would change for the better, that one day he would be allowed to know joy. And in reality, it was already the case, his life had changed completely after meeting Lucy. When he was with her, he felt free, free from the pain, free from his past, it was as if the horrors he endured didn’t exist.

In this endless abyss, he could only think about how his heart had been broken into a thousand pieces by the Queen of Bosco who had taken a wicked pleasure in describing how she had killed his father while torturing him with the murder weapon.

He was mad at himself for allowing himself to hope that his parents were still alive. Hope was what had destroyed his heart. He had been stupid to think that something positive could ever happen to him, he didn’t deserve happy things, he was a monster and a criminal, pain was the only thing he deserved. And yet, he was still here, hoping that his mother was still alive. Aliénor had made it seem that his mother might have successfully fled the village since she wasn’t able to find her to finish her off. Maybe… Just maybe his mother was still here.

Stop hoping, you will only end up suffering, he said to himself, he needed to close his heart, he refused to feel this kind of pain again. He never wanted to hope again if pain was the only thing that awaited him every time he did.

He needed to stop thinking about his parents, he should try to forget them for good this time. He had spent most of his life as an orphan, and it was probably never going to change. He should forget the idea of meeting his mother one day, she was probably also dead, and right now, the unknown was better than a confirmation. He should think about something else, and his mind immediately went to the ray of sunshine that had appeared in his life a few months ago.

Lucy.

Had he saved her? Had he successfully eaten all the poison?

He hoped that it was the case, he wouldn’t be able to endure another loss. If he woke up and she was gone, he was not sure that his heart would survive it. He had lost so much already; he couldn’t lose his light. Lucy was his light in the dark, she was warmth and sunshine while he was cold and sadness, they were opposite, but she was what he had always looked for in his life, warmth and sunshine that he had been deprived of for most of his life.

Cobra remembered the words of Aliénor, how she had said that he was in love with Lucy, had she been right about that? Was he in love with Lucy? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what love was anyway.

He was just so tired, he didn't have the strength to fight and he couldn’t stop himself from sinking deeper into the abyss. 

Erik didn’t know how much time had passed since he had surrendered himself to the darkness of the abyss, but right now, he could hear some faint noises around him. Even through his exhaustion, he could discern the sounds as voices. He forced himself to focus on these voices, that was what reassured him all the time, hearing voices was his source of comfort.

The darkness was still surrounding him, ready to drown him again, but he didn’t want to drown again, there was no sound in the abyss and he hated that. So, this time he gathered some strength and he fought back, refusing to lose the opportunity of hearing voices.

“You should really go to sleep, you are not fully healed yet,” he heard a man say, when he could finally discern the sounds.

“I don’t care, I refuse to leave him alone, that’s the last thing he needs. Plus, he hates places like this,” a familiar voice responded.

And he immediately knew whose voice it was.

Lucy.

It was Lucy’s voice.

Cobra could recognize her easily, her voice was the prettiest melody he had ever heard, and when the sounds overwhelmed him, it was the only one who didn’t. He could listen to Lucy’s voice without ever being tired of it.

She is alive! He shouted to himself, filled with relief.

He had successfully saved her.

“I’m sure he will wake up soon… It’s been three days,” Lucy said, and he could picture her looking at him with sad brown eyes.

“The roots ate all his magic, and he is badly injured. It takes time to recover. A part of his magic is already back but that’s probably not enough for him to wake up, he could sleep for the rest of the week, who knows?”

Cobra felt something warm touch him, and he was convinced that Lucy had grabbed his hand.

“Erik is strong, I know that he will wake up soon.”

The man sighed. “Fine. You can stay here but try to sleep, if you want to recover, you need to rest.”

There was a bit of agitation next, probably the man leaving the room.

“You’d better wake up soon, Erik…” Lucy said, her voice shaky. It didn’t take him a long time to realize that she was sobbing, “I miss you...”

Erik tried to gather all his strength, he needed to wake up, he couldn’t let Lucy cry like that because of him. But he was not strong enough against the darkness, and once again he fell into the abyss.

The darkness receded again, Cobra didn’t know how long it had been since he had heard Lucy telling him to wake up, but now instead of feeling absolutely nothing, his body was heavy and painful. He was in an absolute silence, he couldn’t hear anything, no voices, no thoughts, nothing. And he hated this absence of noises, he hated how lonely he felt in this silent abyss, so he forced his eyes open, his eyelids were heavy and for a moment he thought that they had been sealed shut. His right eye was extremely painful, and he gritted his teeth, stopping himself from screaming. He successfully opened his left eye since this one didn’t hurt. Light blinded him and he had to blink several times for his eye to adapt. Once the world was not a mess of colors anymore, he saw a figure sitting next to him. Erik had thought at first that maybe it was Lucy since she had been there the last time he was “awake”, but once his vision adjusted, he realized that it was a man, a man that he had seen a few days ago. Sitting next to him was Lionel, the King of Bosco.

“I see that you are finally waking up,” the man said with a soft smile.

Cobra’s first reflex was to look for Lucy, she had been there the last time he had been conscious or had he dreamt it? Was she alright?

“She is alright, she is sleeping,” The King said, pointing a bed where Lucy was sleeping peacefully, the man had probably sensed his panic. “She’s been watching over you nonstop for the last five days, I told her that she also needed rest, but she said that she couldn’t as long as you were unconscious.”

So, he had slept for two more days after he had heard the conversation between Lucy and the King. Erik couldn’t believe that Lucy had been watching over him nonstop when she needed to rest. It felt good to know that she cared so much but at the same time, he didn’t want her ruining her health for him.

“How do you feel?” Lionel asked.

Cobra’s throat was parched, and he wasn’t sure that he would be able to talk but he still decided to try.

“I’ve seen worse…” he answered weakly, and he wasn’t lying, he had definitely seen worse.

The King looked at him with worry in his eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Erik huffed a laugh that immediately turned into a coughing fit. Lionel offered him a glass of water and Cobra downed it instantly.

“I’m fine…” he said as a way to dismiss the King’s offer, he was not going to dissect the horrors of his life with a total stranger.

“Are you always like this? Putting up a front and refusing to acknowledge who you really are and what you went through?” Lionel asked, and it almost sounded like he was scolding him.

Ouch.

The King had figured him out pretty quickly, it seemed.

“Your father was the same, always refusing to talk about what bothered him, he preferred to keep everything to himself. He was always hiding his pain for the joy of others, and you are doing the same. It’s terrifying just how much I can see Haru in you.”

Cobra had barely time to register what was being said right now, he was exhausted, he was in pain, and he had only just woken up and the King was already talking about his father.

“What the Queen said was true, then…”

He didn’t want to talk about his family right now, he wasn’t sure that he could endure it, but at the same time he needed to know everything, so he let his curiosity loose, ready to learn more.

“Sadly, yes.”

The King seemed sure about Erik being Haru’s son, but Cobra couldn’t help but doubt it, or maybe he just refused to acknowledge that his father was dead.

“Do we have a way to confirm it? How can you be so sure that he is my father?”

“I asked the doctor that healed you to use his magic to confirm it. I know I should have asked for your permission first, but you were unconscious with a possibility of never waking up, and I needed to know if you were the son of my best friend or not. I needed to know if I would be the one to announce your death to your mother.”

Cobra was not really alright with the King not asking for his consent for something that important, but right now he didn’t care because Lionel had just mentioned his mother. Erik blinked at the mention of his mother, he had thought that she was dead like his father, but it seemed that the King knew her and judging by his words, she was still alive. He had a thousand questions in his mind right now, about his father, about his mom, about their lives and he didn’t know where to start.

“She is alive?” was the only thing he could say, his voice shaking with shock.

Lionel offered him a comforting smile that clearly meant yes. “She will be relieved to know that you are alive, she has been looking for you relentlessly all these years.”

Erik would have fallen on his knees if he hadn’t been lying on the bed, he could feel his body go numb with shock. His mother had never given up on him, she had been looking for him all these years, and it felt good to know this. He could feel pieces of his broken heart being mended.

“I will leave you alone, you need to rest, and I think you learned enough for today,” Lionel said getting up from the chair, already making his way out of the room.

“Wait…” Erik said, and the King turned in his direction, “What is her name? The Queen didn’t remember it.”

“Kaede,” he said with a little smile before leaving the room.

Kaede.

It was a name he had forgotten long ago, or maybe a name he had never known, but now he knew the name of his mother and he also knew the name of his father. He was not alone.

And he didn’t know if it was because of the exhaustion or the pain or the joy, but he couldn’t contain his tears and he just started crying. He hid his face with his hands, and he cried.

Erik didn’t know for how long he had cried, but now his only open eye burned, and he stared at the ceiling, contemplating the ways of how his life could change once he was finally free. He didn’t want to meet his mother as long as he was still a criminal, it was his punishment for all the crimes he had committed in his life.

He heard some noises from the bed in front of him where Lucy was sleeping, he looked in the direction of the bed, she was beginning to stir. A soft smile crossed his lips, he was happy to see that she was alright and that she had been able to rest for a while. She opened her eyes and they immediately landed on him, she blinked, once, twice, then she rubbed her eyes, probably shocked to see him awake.

“Hey, Blondie…” he said softly with a little smile.

Lucy immediately jumped off her bed and ran to him before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. He winced because of the pain, but he didn’t care, he loved Lucy’s hugs, and he didn’t want to push her away right now.

“You’re awake…” she whispered with a trembling voice, burying her head in his chest.

He gently patted her head, playing with her hair at the same time, he had missed her, he had missed their little contacts. He had maybe slept for five days but it had felt like an eternity, and he couldn’t remember the last time they had been in each other’s arms without death looming over their head.

They were alive. They were safe.

He could hear her sob against his chest, and he took her face in his hands, wiping away her tears.

“We made it, Blondie…”

She was still crying but she nodded. They stayed like this for a while, him playing with her hair while she cried as much as she needed to. Erik could understand just how much she had been scared and her reaction was totally normal.

“How do you feel?” she asked once she had calmed herself, freeing herself from his hands playing with her hair to look at him from head to toe.

“Amazing,” he lied, more to tease her than to hide his pain.

She rolled her eyes with a little smile on her lips, probably glad to see that he was still able to joke in this situation.

“And the honest answer is?”

“I feel like shit, everything hurts.”

Her eyes filled with worry and he almost regretted being honest right now, he hated seeing her like this. She didn’t say anything; instead she grabbed his hand, and she started stroking his fingers, trying to comfort him as much as she could. And he took this little moment to observe her, he noticed that she was covered in bandages, and that there were dark circles under her eyes. His heart broke at this sight.

“Lucy… I’m sorry for what happened,” he started, “I didn’t think that she would capture and torture you… And I couldn’t even smell the poison, you almost died because of my incompetence…”

She frowned. “You have nothing to apologize for, idiot. You saved me.”

“You could have died!” he shouted weakly, his voice was still hoarse, and he was overtaken by another coughing fit.

He saw panic in her eyes, and she immediately offered him a glass of water. He drank it and he looked at her, he was sure he could see a tinge of anger on her face now.

“I think you haven’t seen yourself. You’re the one who almost died. I thought I had lost you for good this time,” she said, and it definitely sounded like a reprimand.

He gritted his teeth, perhaps she was right, perhaps he hadn’t really understood the state he was in.

“You scared the shit out of me, Erik. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”

He kept repeating her last sentence in his head, he wasn’t sure what she meant by that. He didn’t really know what they were, actually. They were partners he was sure of that, he wasn’t sure that they could be qualified friends because they seemed to be more than that, but he didn’t know what their relation could be called. Maybe there was a sort of love, maybe he indeed loved her and maybe she did, too. It was all so complicated, and he was too tired to think about that right now, he needed time to organize his thoughts and he would do that once his body was not screaming with pain and exhaustion.

“Erik, I’m sorry about your father…” she said, looking down.

He immediately squeezed her hand, needing some comfort if they were about to address this topic.

“It’s alright… I kind of always knew it would be like this. I should never have allowed myself to hope. It would have been too good to be true.”

She squeezed his hand back.

“You know that you are allowed to have happy things happen in your life? I swear, sometimes you are killing me. I hate when you are like this, when you think that you don’t deserve happy things because you are a criminal.”

He looked away, not really knowing what to say.

“Erik, look at me.”

And he obeyed. She gently grabbed his face with her hands, and she looked at him in the eye.

“You deserve happiness, and if life refuses to give it to you, then I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy. I will make sure that one day, you understand that you deserve as much happy things as anyone else.”

“Thank you, Lucy…” he said, his voice a bit shaky and he was probably going to cry again.

She nodded, a bit of pride on her face, seeing that he had not dismissed her and her crazy ideas. Honestly, he wanted to be happy, and life had definitely refused to give it to him, so he was ready to let Lucy try, he wanted Lucy to succeed in making him discover what real happiness was.

Cobra could feel that he was about to fall asleep soon, he had been awake for a while now and his body already screamed for rest, he would need a while before being back to his full strength. Lucy saw it, and she was about to say something, but he was faster.

“Can you sleep with me? I don’t want to be alone.”

She smiled softly and joined him on the bed, it was like she had been waiting for him to ask that.

“Me too, I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered, nuzzling up against his chest before closing her eyes.

He hugged her tightly, and then he closed his left eye. He wanted to say a million things to her, about what he had learned about his mother, about what had happened in the dungeons, but it would have to wait, because his mind was a mess, and sleep was the only thing that would do him good right now.

So, he didn’t resist when darkness enveloped him once more.

Chapter Text

Lucy woke up first the next morning, she felt safe and rested. She had waited five days for Erik to wake up, and she had only allowed herself to relax once she was sure that he was awake and that he would not die in her arms.

She was still in his arms, surrounded by his comforting scent of pine, violets and vanilla, and she had her head against his chest where she could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The sound reassured her, it told them that they were safe, that they were alive, and that it was all over.

Since she was the only one awake right now, she took her chance and decided to observe his face for a while. It pained her to see that the right side of his face was covered in bandages, the fate of his eye still a mystery.

She thought about their discussion last night, when he had been honest about his state, he was suffering, and he had chosen to share it with her instead of keeping it to himself. Maybe it had been exhaustion that had spoken for him, but she had liked his honesty, she was relieved to know that he trusted her enough not to hide behind his mask anymore. And she had needed to reprimand him for the scare he had given her, she had needed to tell him that his life was as important as any other even if this idiot still refused to accept that.

She remembered what she had said to him last night, she had admitted that she couldn’t lose him, and it was the truth. Erik had become an important part of her life whether he wanted it or not. He was the boy that had marked her childhood, a memory of her past that she had never forgotten, he was not really a friend because calling him that would not do him justice for everything he had done, he was a sort of in between friends and more than a friend.

You really love him.

For nearly a week now, Lionel’s words had been echoing in her head. And she couldn't help but wonder if the King was right about this? Was it love that she felt for Erik? She didn’t know what love was or how it felt. She knew that he mattered a lot to her, and she seemed to matter a lot to him. And if it was indeed love, if she had fallen for this Dragon Slayer, how was she supposed to act? Did he love her back? Was he simply being kind with her until he got his freedom? The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to make Cobra happy, she wanted him to experience all the things he had been deprived of during his childhood. And far in the back of her mind, she hoped that she would be the one to give him all of that because she wanted to be a part of his life. She knew that she was being selfish, after all she was the daughter of Jude Heartfilia, the man who had tortured him, who had destroyed his life, and if Erik decided to cut ties with her once they were done with his trial period, she would let him go.

Would someone in love let go of the person they loved? It would rip her apart to let him go, but if that’s what he wanted, she would accept it.

She sighed against his chest, love or whatever their relationship was seemed extremely complicated.

She heard the door of the infirmary open, and she turned her head to see who it was. Lionel stood in front of the door, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw them sleeping in the same bed, hugging each other tightly. An amused smile appeared on the lips of the King, and Lucy immediately felt the need to tell him that it was not what he was thinking. Lionel shook his head as a way of telling her not to bother with excuses, the amused smile still on his face.

He sat on the chair next to the bed, and his smile immediately vanished when his eyes landed on Erik.

“He woke up last night,” she said softly, not wanting to wake up Cobra.

Lionel nodded, “I know, I chatted with him before you woke up.”

The King’s voice was calm and relaxed, but his face betrayed him, there were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked extremely worried. And Lucy could easily tell that he cared a lot about Erik.

“I came here to ask about the reason for your presence in Bosco, since you two being husband and wife was all an act, I can already guess that you were on some kind of mission.”

And Lucy could have lied, but what would have been the point? Their mission was a success and their enemy had been Aliénor and Grigory Lotaziars, not Lionel. Plus, they were stuck in Bosco until Doranbolt decided to come back and get them, maybe telling everything to the King would help them go back to Fiore faster.

“The Magic Council of Fiore sent us. They wanted us to stop Grigory Lotaziars from selling children to a noble of Bosco, we didn’t know that the noble in question was the Queen, though.”

He looked pensive for a moment, “So, you and Erik work for the Magic Council of Fiore?”

And Lucy almost wished it was that simple, how good it would feel to see Cobra free.

She shook her head. “Not really, I'm a member of a guild called Fairy Tail and Erik... Well, it's complicated..."

The lack of surprise on the King’s face told her that he had already guessed that Cobra’s life had not been filled with happiness, but maybe he had wanted to believe otherwise.

“He could stay here, you know? He would be free right now,” Lionel said, not taking his eyes off Cobra.

Lucy’s eyes widened in shock at this proposition, it was almost too good to be true. But the Council had warned Cobra about what would happen if he tried to run away.

“He can’t. The Council threatened him, if he tries to disappear in the Bosco Kingdom, they will send men after him, and they will drag him back to Fiore only to lock him up forever.”

She felt Cobra shift against her, and she knew that he was awake and that he was listening, he was waiting to see how the conversation would go before joining it.

“I am a king. My words have more power than the Magic Council of Fiore,” Lionel said, and she could hear a sort of anger or frustration in his voice.

“And I’m not interested…” Cobra grumbled lazily, letting go of Lucy to sit and stare at the King.

Lucy immediately missed the warmth and the comfort of his embrace, she turned to look at Erik and their eyes met for a moment before he stared back at Lionel.

“I need to atone for my sins, I don’t deserve to get my freedom easily. Getting my freedom with the help of a King would be cheating, and it won’t feel like I truly earned it.”

She sometimes had trouble understanding where all his righteousness came from, the Council had treated him like shit, and his freedom wasn’t guaranteed after their year together, but still Erik believed that it was what he needed to do.

Lionel sighed, defeated. He had rapidly understood that he would not be able to change Cobra’s mind. Maybe Haru had been the same and the King had learnt when to give up.

“Alright, I will write to the Council, then. I will let them know that I want you two to stay here for a month. It will give you time to heal, and I also want to throw a ball in your honor as a way of thanking you for saving my kingdom.”

Lucy and Cobra looked at each other a bit surprised by the words of the King, they weren’t sure that they deserved a ball in their honor, but they weren’t against staying here for a month. They needed to heal, they needed to rest, and maybe they would be able to do that well without the Magic Council on their backs. She was not eager to see Erik wearing those bracelets again, she hated his situation.

A month in Bosco would be a sort of holidays, a break from the awful reality that awaited them once they would go back to Fiore.

“Thank you,” Lucy said, looking at Lionel with gratitude in her eyes.

The King offered them a soft smile before changing the subject completely.

“Erik, what do you want me to do about your mother?”

Lucy sat in the bed almost instantly at the mention of Cobra’s mother, she had secretly wanted to know more about her, but she didn’t have the right to ask questions, so learning that she was still alive was quite a shock.

She looked at Erik who didn’t seem really surprised by this question, and she didn’t understand why because he should be the first to be shocked by this information. Maybe he was still too tired to understand what Lionel had just said.

“I don’t know… Maybe you can let her know that I’m alright and that I’m alive? And that she doesn’t need to come here. I don’t want her to come here just for that.”

Judging by Erik’s answer, he had learned more about his mother, and he had not told her. Lucy felt a bit upset that he had kept this secret when it was an important matter, she would scold him later for that.

“Just for that? Who do you think you are? You’re her son. Kaede would be more than happy to come here if it’s to see you,” Lionel reprimanded him.

“I don’t doubt that for one second, and I know it’s cruel… But I don’t think I am ready to meet her, yet. I want to, I really want to,” Cobra said, and Lucy could hear his voice shaking, she took one of his hands and started stroking his fingers lightly, “Please, just let her know that I’m alright and that I will come and see her once I’m ready.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want. But she might still come even if I tell her that you are fine.”

And if Lucy had been in Kaede’s situation - in a way she was since she was looking for her brother - she would have come running to see him. Lucy could understand that Erik was not ready to meet his mom, but she could also understand – a bit too well – just how much Kaede wanted to see her son and how hard it would be to respect his will. Every day it pained Lucy to respect her brother’s will, and she knew that it would pain Kaede the same way if she obeyed Erik’s demand, but Lucy somehow felt that Kaede’s desperation would overtake her and drive her here anyway.

The King nodded, then he offered them a soft smile before leaving the room.

“Erik, are you sure about this?” Lucy asked softly once they were alone. She looked at him with worried eyes, she had trouble understanding why he didn’t want to see his mom right now, and if his reason was to punish himself like he had the tendency to do, she might really punch him.

He looked at her, and she could feel him shaking slightly against her.

“It’s better like this…” he answered, and she hated that she was right about him punishing himself, she was starting to know this part of him too well.

“If you’re about to tell me that you don’t deserve to see your mother because of your crimes, I will punch you so hard that I will change your mind about yourself,” she said.

“It’s not like that…” he started, and she could hear how shaky his voice was, how at any moment it could break and turn into sobs, “I don’t want her to see what I have become… I don’t want her to know that I’m a criminal… She has suffered enough, maybe it will be enough for her to know that her son is alive and well.”

She could have facepalmed for his stupidity, this idiot didn’t realize how painful it could be to know that the person was well but not see it for yourself.

“Erik, she doesn’t care about all of that. And let me tell you that knowing that you are alive and well will clearly not be enough for her. She is your mother, she hasn’t seen you in years, she probably didn’t even believe that you were still alive, the King’s letter will turn her world upside down. She will want to see you, no matter what you did or who you are,” Lucy said, squeezing his hand.

He refused to meet her eyes, and she could feel that he was still shaking. It was in this kind of moment that she realized that Erik was still a child in some ways, it was disturbing just how mature he could usually be, but when he let go of his mask, she stood in front of a lost child, of a young man that didn’t know what he was allowed to feel or not.

She hugged him tightly, and she could feel him cry silently in her arms. She stayed silent, letting him cry as much as he needed to, and drawing circles in his back to make sure that he knew that she was here for him, that he was not alone.

Once he was calmer, he looked at her, his only eye red and swollen by the tears.

“Are you sure about this?” Lucy asked softly, the same question she had asked earlier, hoping to maybe hear a different answer this time.

And if he gave her a different answer, she would get up from this bed and run to Lionel immediately.

“Yes, I’m sure… But it’s because I am not ready… I never thought that I would see a member of my family again, I need to think about what to say to her, I need some time to prepare myself.”

Lucy offered him a little smile, she could get behind this reason, she was also stuck in this situation of not knowing what to say to a long-lost family member.

“Thank you, Lucy…” he whispered before falling asleep.

She didn’t really know what he was thanking her for, but it warmed her heart. She pressed a small kiss on his forehead before burying her head in the crook of his neck and staying here for a little while, surrounded by his scent of pine and violets.

A week went by, and Lucy and Cobra were on the right path of healing, the Council had agreed with Lionel’s demand and had allowed them to stay in Bosco for a month.

Lucy was surprised that during this time Kaede had not come to see Erik, she had thought that his mother would have come running to see him, but it seemed that it was not the case. When she had asked Cobra about it, he had simply said that he had asked the King to wait before sending the letter. Lionel had promised to send the letter once Erik and Lucy would be on their way to Fiore. Erik really didn't want his mother to come here, it seemed, and it saddened Lucy. She knew that he was punishing himself even if always said otherwise. And she didn't know what to do to change his mind. 

She still looked like a mummy with her body covered in bandages, but she already felt better and stronger. Erik was also way better now, he healed at an extremely rapid pace which surprised all the doctors in Bosco, it had already been like this when they were at the hospital in Fiore and Lucy wondered if it was his Dragon Slayer magic that made him heal so quickly.

They had been allowed to leave the infirmary a few days ago and they had gone back to the room they had been sleeping in since they had arrived in Bosco. They slept way better here than in the infirmary, and maybe it also helped them heal faster.

Erik was in the infirmary, contemplating how he would make the doctor pay for ruining his morning. Cobra had woken up before Lucy and he had decided to go grab some chocolate in the kitchen to surprise her, but he had been intercepted by a doctor who had wanted to examine his eye. He went back to his room to write her a little note – he was not going to be reprimanded again for leaving without telling her where he was going - before he joined the doctor in the infirmary.

“Your right eye is lost,” the doctor said, examining his eye over his bandages with his magic.

Cobra shrugged; he had known for a while that there was little chance for him to keep his eye.

“You seem to accept the fact pretty easily,” the doctor continued, surprised by his lack of reaction.

“You just stated the obvious, I knew for a while now that my eye was gone,” he answered lazily.

The doctor winced at his answer, and his mind became a tangle of questions of how Cobra could react so easily to losing an eye.

Honestly, Erik only told himself that it could have been worse. He could live with losing an eye, it would take him a while to adjust, but he would be alright. What he could not live without was his hearing, if Aliénor had taken one of his ears or both, he would not have been able to survive it. Sounds, noises, thoughts that was what he needed, that was what reassured him, that was the only thing he couldn’t lose. But he wasn’t going to explain that to the doctor.

“Could you take off the bandages?” Erik asked.

The doctor nodded and Cobra focused on their thoughts while the doctor was unwrapping the bandages around his head.

The door of the infirmary opened in a loud bang that made Cobra wince in pain, his sensitive ears sometimes an inconvenience. Lucy was on the other side of the door, panting as if she had run to come here. She stepped inside the infirmary right on time for the doctor to take off the last of the bandages wrapped around his head and his eye before leaving them alone in the room.

Shit.

Erik had not heard her come, he had been too focused on the doctor’s mind and had not noticed any other sounds. He had not expected Lucy to come here right now, he didn’t know what his face looked like, he still hadn’t seen his scar, and he didn’t want to scare her.

She stopped in her steps when her eyes landed on him, and he was fairly sure that he heard her heart stop for a brief instant.

Cobra wondered what his scar looked like, because it seemed awful to look at judging by Lucy’s reaction as she entered the room.

Erik looked away, making sure that Lucy didn’t have to stare at the scar if it disgusted her.

He heard her coming closer, and he closed his eye, fearing her reaction, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to look at her in the eyes if what he saw on her face from now on was disgust.

He felt a warm hand against his right cheek.

“Does it hurt?” she asked, and he could feel her scan his face, especially the right part where the scar was.

He shook his head.

I wish I could have helped him, if I hadn’t been so weak, maybe I could have stopped Aliénor from taking his eye, he heard her think.

He opened his eye, surprised by her thoughts. He hadn’t meant to listen, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. He took Lucy’s hand in his, and then he looked at her.

“It’s alright, Lucy… Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

She glared at him; she knew he had listened.

“I just can’t stop thinking about what I could have done, I’m sure I could have found a way to save your eye.”

He knew she had been reminiscing this night over and over again, that she had nightmares of it. He could feel her wake in the middle of the night, crying and shaking, and he was always here for her, hugging her tightly in his arms, and whispering reassuring words in her ears.

He squeezed her hand lightly and offered her a soft smile. “Lucy, stop. What has happened has happened. My eye is gone but it’s alright, I swear.”

She was on the verge of tears and shaking.

“How can you say this… You could have ended up blind…” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“And I would still have been alright… Do you know why?”

She shook her head, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

“Because I still would have had my hearing.”

He wasn’t sure that was the words that she wanted to hear, but he had told her the truth. She looked at him, her beautiful brown eyes filled with pain and sadness. He had definitely failed in reassuring her.

Erik gently took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him in the eye.

“But to tell you the truth, if she had taken both of my eyes, I would have been sad about one thing.”

“What thing?” she asked softly, sniffling.

He took a deep breath, he could already feel his cheeks heat, “I would have been sad about not seeing your beautiful face anymore. I would never have recovered from losing the way you look at me with your gorgeous brown eyes. To be honest, I’m feeling pretty lucky that I can still see you.”

She stared at him, shocked by his words, and once she had assimilated what he had just said, she turned a beautiful shade of pink.

“That’s what I like to see,” he said, a little grin on his face that only made her blush harder.

“Idiot…” she whispered, hiding her face in her hands.

A little laugh escaped his lips, and she hit him lightly in the shoulder as a way to tell him to stop laughing.

After a while, silence returned to the infirmary. Lucy had stopped crying which reassured Erik, and they stayed quiet, both thinking about what just happened. Cobra may have gone overboard with his words, he had told the truth, but maybe he should have kept what he thought about Lucy’s eyes to himself.

“Erik?” she started softly, and his heart jumped in his chest by how soft his name was on her lips. He really loved when she used his name.

“Yes?”

“I want you to tell me more about the way I look at you,” she said shyly, her cheeks slowly becoming pink as she spoke the words.

Shit.

He should have kept that to himself, he should have known that she would be curious, and now he had no choice but to explain what he felt when she looked at him.

“And what will you do if I refuse, Blondie?” he said, just to tease her a bit.

She looked offended by his refusal, and then she crossed her arms and pouted, “I could stop talking to you for the rest of our stay in Bosco,” she answered, a little wicked smile on her lips.

He let out a little laugh, he knew it was an empty threat because there was no way she would be able to stop talking to him for two weeks.

“Oh, really? I would love to see you try.”

She frowned at his answer and remained speechless for a few seconds before a proud smile appeared on her face, “I think you would suffer more than me if I did that.”

Ouch. Touché.

She was right, he would not enjoy being given the silent treatment for two weeks. He sighed and held up his hands in defeat. He had planned to answer her question anyway, he just had wanted to play with her for a bit, he loved teasing her and he really loved her comebacks.

“Alright, you win.”

The bright smile that appeared on her face blinded him, and he did not regret conceding the victory if it made Lucy that happy.

And now he didn’t know where to start, he scratched the back of his head suddenly feeling extremely shy and awkward.

“When you look at me, I can see pain, understanding and love in your eyes. You look at me like you are going through what I went through. I never see judgement in your eyes, you don’t see the criminal or the monster that I am, you just see me. Your eyes pierce through the façade I built, and it feels like you see Erik and not Cobra,” he started, and he didn’t really know where he was going with that, but he continued, “And I think you have always seen Erik, no matter how much I tried to hide behind the façade of Cobra, it’s like it never worked on you. And sometimes, when you look at me, I can’t help but I wonder if you saw the real me before I even did.”

He refused to meet her eyes, he didn’t know if his rambling made sense, he had not really thought about what to say, but it was the best answer he could give her.

There was a silence, a great silence. And Cobra dared to look at her, she was staring at him, tears rolling down her cheeks and her body shaking slightly.

“This is beautiful…” she said, wiping away her tears before offering him a soft smile.

He felt better, lighter, maybe it had been a good idea to tell her what he was thinking. He took one of her hands in his and he pulled her close to his chest to hug her.

“Erik, I’m so glad I made that deal with the Council…” she whispered in his chest before hugging him back.

It was a simple confession, but Cobra grasped the entirety of her words. It was her way of saying that he had changed her life, that he was now a big part of her life exactly like she was for him.

“Me, too, Blondie…”

And he had decided to give her the simplest answer that echoed all her thoughts.

They finally decided to leave the infirmary to go back to their room, they wanted to spend the rest of the day calmly, probably reading a book or sleeping. On their way there, they met Lionel and Sophie who were talking to other nobles.

“Erik! Lucy! Come here for a moment, I need to talk to you,” Lionel said when he spotted them.

Cobra rolled his eyes; he didn’t want to deal with the King right now. Lionel was a kind man, and it was clear that he cared about him since Erik was the son of Haru, but sometimes his worry could be exhausting. It didn’t escape him how immediately the eyes of the King landed on his scar and how his expression shifted from joy to worry.

Sophie left with the other nobles to give them privacy. Cobra thanked her silently; the nobles of Bosco could be extremely nosy and bothering when they wanted. Now that they knew that Haru’s son was alive and back to Bosco, they thought they had a potential new king. Some considered his presence as a good omen; they talked about Bosco’s rebirth. Erik thought they were just all mad, but it had gone too far when they had stopped him in the corridors and had started asking some really indiscreet questions. Lionel after hearing that had done everything in his power to assure that Erik and Lucy got their privacy.

“How is your wound?” the King asked, staring at his scar.

“It’s alright, it doesn’t hurt.”

Lionel smiled softly. “Good. I’m glad to know that.”

His answer warmed Cobra’s heart. Yes, sometimes the King’s worry could be crushing, but sometimes it also felt good. It was because Erik was not used to people caring about him and he still had to get used to it. He usually felt like Lionel’s reactions were disproportionate when they were totally justified, Cobra realized that he just didn't know how to react when someone expressed their concern about him, except when it came to Lucy. 

“If you have a moment, I would like to show you something,” Lionel said.

Chapter Text

Lucy and Cobra followed Lionel in the many decorated halls of the castle before finally arriving in front of a white door. Lucy remembered François avoiding this door when he had given them a tour of the castle, and now that the King had led them here, she found herself curious about what could be behind it.

The King pushed the door open, revealing a room full of paintings, some covered by a white sheet while others were displayed on the walls. Most of the paintings represented what it seemed to be couples, it was probably portraits of the previous Kings and Queens of Bosco. Lionel crossed the room and opened a wardrobe; he took out a painting covered by a white sheet. And Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if this painting had been put there to be forgotten. He removed the sheet to reveal a portrait of three people, a man with crimson hair and piercing green eyes, a woman with long brown hair and soft purple eyes and a baby with crimson hair asleep in their hands.

And Lucy immediately understood what it was, and she was convinced that it was the same for Cobra. She looked at him, he stared at the painting in shock, and she wondered if he was still breathing. She gently grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers, and it was as if this contact allowed him to breathe again.

“The resemblance is crazy, isn’t it?” Lionel said, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

Lucy and Cobra nodded, too stunned to utter a word.

“I’ll leave you alone for a moment,” he said softly, “Erik, the painting is yours,” he added before disappearing in the corridors.

She saw Erik turn his head in shock, probably to tell him that he didn’t deserve such a gift, but the King was already gone.

Lucy moved first, she slowly walked up to the painting, never letting go of Erik’s hand. She knew he needed this contact; it was probably what stopped him to crumble right here and now.

“Your mother is beautiful,” she whispered, observing the woman on the painting.

And she was telling the truth, Kaede was a beautiful woman, a woman seemingly soft and strong at the same time, and it made Lucy want to meet her even more.

Erik nodded. “I didn’t know what they looked like until today…”

She felt a pang in her heart at these words. Of course, Erik didn’t remember them. He had been so young; and with the horrors he had endured he had forgotten the few moments of love he had received in his childhood.

Lucy was about to apologize and say comforting words, but he went on.

“Every time I tried to imagine them, I couldn’t picture their faces, they were just people with no face.”

She decided to rub circles on his back, she didn’t know how to comfort him.

“You were young when it happened, and it was traumatizing, your brain probably forced you to forget as a way to protect you.”

He nodded again; he seemed lost in thoughts.

“Take your time, Erik…”

Maybe she had found the right words he wanted to hear, because he let himself slide against the wall and he sat in front of the painting. She sat next to him, and she started to play with his fingers.

And they stayed like this for a while, just silence, a painting and them.

Cobra kept observing the painting while Lucy kept playing with his fingers.

“Do you think that when we go back to Fiore, we could make a stop at Ibisco Village?” he asked absently, his eye glued on his mother.

Lucy frowned, a bit surprised, she had never heard this name before.

“Ibisco Village?” she repeated, confused.

“It’s the place where I was born, I learnt about it when we were at your father’s place.”

She felt another pang in her heart at that. She was a bit hurt by the fact that he had never mentioned this important information to her, it felt like their little heist in her father’s house was ages ago, and he had kept this a secret until now.

“You really are a master in keeping secrets, aren’t you?” she whispered bitterly.

She didn’t want to have an argument with him right now, and she immediately regretted how harsh her words sounded. It was not the time to make him feel worse than he already was. And by the way he looked down when he heard her words, she knew she had messed up. She hadn’t been able to hide her disappointment because she thought that he trusted her enough to share this kind of information, but when she thought about it, he had never told her about Haru before it was too late, and it was the same thing right now. Erik always kept everything to himself, and she hated that. Lucy was convinced that he was scared to share information about him, it was probably due to his past as a criminal where any information could be used against him and destroy his life.

“I’m sorry…” was the only thing he said.

And her heart ached at these words.

“You kept this from me, you also never mentioned Haru because I’m sure that you knew about him before Aliénor cornered us… You didn’t tell me that your mom was alive… I don’t know what to do, Erik… I’m here for you, I’m trying to help you. But if you don’t tell me anything, I can’t do anything,” she said with a shaky voice.

She regretted every word that came out of her mouth because it was not the time to talk about it, but it seemed like her brain and her heart wanted two different things right now. Her heart was speaking, and her brain allowed it.

“I’m sorry… I don’t know why I hid all of that… Well, for Haru, I thought it wasn’t important, so I didn’t mention it, but the rest, I don’t know…”

She wasn’t sure that she could bear hearing him apologize one more time. Yes, Cobra was complicated, but he had nothing to apologize for. He had the right to keep his secrets, and Lucy didn’t have the right to be angry at him for that, and yet, she was. They weren’t friends, they weren’t lovers. They were partners, colleagues, and if he wanted to keep everything to himself, he had every right to. But it made her heart ache to know that he didn’t trust her enough to share his secrets with her.

She took a deep breath before putting a hand on his cheek. He turned to look at her, his eyes full of guilt and shame, and she was now convinced that her heart had exploded into a thousand tiny pieces.

“I know you think you are alone, but I’m here… I don’t exactly know what we are because calling you a friend doesn’t exactly feel right, but I care about you so much Erik…” she started, “I want you to know that you can tell me things, I want you to tell me things.”

And she almost added please, she was ready to beg for him to share his secrets with her.

He took a deep breath. “I can’t promise anything, but I will try my best to change this bad habit.”

She nodded before letting her head fall on his torso, as if the frustration was finally leaving her. She was ashamed of what she had done, she felt nosy, too nosy, and she hated herself for making Erik suffer and how it had made her feel a bit better because she couldn’t endure all these secrets between them.

They left the room in silence, Lucy didn’t know if Erik was mad at her, but if that was the case, he had every right to. He didn’t seem mad, though, he was not like the time she had told him that she wanted to go to her old mansion. She couldn’t decipher him right now, and she didn’t like that.

They were on their way back to their room when he turned and looked at her.

“I need to go talk to the King about the ball,” he simply said.

Maybe he is mad, and he wants to cancel the ball, she thought.

She saw a little smile cross his lips. “Your thoughts are always extreme, why would I be mad?”

She glared at him, not happy about him listening to her thoughts.

“Because I had no right to say what I said to you before, it wasn’t my business. If you don’t want to share your secrets with me, it’s fine.”

And now she was contradicting herself. She wanted him to talk to her, to share his thoughts with her and she was absolutely doing the opposite.

“Firstly, I’m not mad. I’m just exhausted, it’s not easy to learn about your family like this and I just don’t know what to do or what to think, I’m just a bit lost.”

She nodded; she could understand that.

“Secondly, I like it when you are honest with me, even if it hurts. I won’t be mad at you for being honest with me. Alright?”

He looked at her, scanning her face and making sure that she had understood. The softness on his face at that moment almost made her fall on her knees, that was this kind of gentle expression that made her heart go crazy.

“Alright,” she answered softly.

He grabbed one of her hands and pressed a small kiss on the top of it.

“And for your information, I don’t want to cancel the ball. I want to dance with you, Blondie. I need to put this dance classes to good use.”

She felt her cheeks heat. This idiot knew how to use his charm well, and she contemplated kicking him in the leg to punish him.

“Idiot,” she said, fully knowing that her face was completely red.

He let out a small and adorable laugh that probably destroyed the rest of her sanity.

“The King asked me to choose a theme for the ball, remember? I wanted to talk about that with him.”

She vaguely remembered Cobra and Lionel having this discussion, but she hadn’t really listened since she hadn’t deemed it really important. She didn’t mind the ball; she just didn’t like the fact that they were the guests of honor.

“Did you find something interesting? Knowing you, I’m surprised you didn’t just say snakes and purple.”

“Hey!”

She laughed at his reaction, and he glared at her before smiling.

“I still think that purple is a good idea,” he said grumpily.

She smiled. “Then go with purple. I’m sure the King will find a way to make it work.”

Cobra had not expected the King to agree with his theme for the ball, but Lionel had seemed overjoyed to organize a ball purple-themed. Clearly, Erik was not the right person to ask these kinds of things, and he never wanted to choose a theme for a ball ever again.

Now that they had a theme, Lionel was starting to make all the arrangements. And one of the most important parts of this ball was the clothes. The King wanted to gift Lucy and Cobra their outfits for the ball even if Erik had told him that it was not necessary and that they had still plenty of clothes to wear.

But the King had insisted and now Erik, Lucy, Lionel and Sophie were in a coach in the direction of the city. Cobra had told Lionel that he could go on foot, but the man had refused.

So, now, Cobra was lying on Lucy’s lap, trying his best to endure the trip while motion sickness tortured him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that your motion sickness was that bad,” Lionel said, staring at him guiltily.

Erik waved him off, it was too late now anyway, and he would endure. He just hoped that the city wasn’t very far, though.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he could feel Lucy play with his hair and even if it didn’t help with the motion sickness at all, he felt a bit better. It was pleasant when she played with his hair like this.

They arrived in the city a few minutes later. Lionel had ordered them to dress normally and Erik was grateful for that, and he was convinced that it was the same thing for Lucy. He was tired of wearing suits, and he was pretty sure that Lucy was at least going to burn one of her dresses at the end of their stay here. They couldn’t wait to be back home and wear their usual clothes.

They got out of the coach and the hustle and bustle of the city surprised him and immediately made his ears ring. Being locked up in the castle for weeks, he had forgotten just how loud the world could be.

“Erik, are you alright?” Lucy asked, gently grabbing one of his arms.

He nodded and then he looked at her. She was wearing a blue skirt with a white top, and he blinked to compose himself. He had been so used to see her in these fancy dresses that he had forgotten just how beautiful she was in the simplest clothes.

She put a hand on his cheek and looked at him in the eye. “You’re still pale, are you sure everything is alright? We can take a break if you want, I’m sure we could find a café or something.”

He gently grabbed the hand that was on his cheek, and he squeezed it lightly. If he had not been in public and in the presence of Sophie and Lionel, he might just have kissed her hand or her brow.

“I’m fine, Blondie. Don’t worry too much about me.”

A soft blush appeared on her cheeks, maybe she had guessed what he would have done if they hadn’t been observed like this.

Erik didn’t let go of her hand, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Lionel.

They are adorable, Cobra heard the King thought.

He glared at Lionel, but the man was already looking in another direction.

It was going to be a long day if Lionel kept having these thoughts about them.

Lionel took them to the fanciest tailor in all of Bosco. They had barely stepped inside that a woman grabbed Lucy and took her into another room, Sophie following them, and a man did the same thing with Cobra, the King joining them.

“It’s a pleasure to receive you, my king,” the man said.

Lionel sat on a chair and offered the tailor a small smile.

“I need a suit for this young man,” he simply said, and the tailor left the room to get his tools.

Erik took this opportunity of them being alone to speak honestly to the King.

“You know that you don’t need to do all of this,” he sighed, exhausted.

“I know. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“I think that you’re doing all of this because I’m the son of Haru.”

The King shook his head, sadness flashing in his eyes at the mention of his best friend.

“Maybe there is a part of that too. But if you think that I’m mistaking you for Haru, you’re wrong. I’m not stupid enough to believe that you could replace my best friend.”

Erik nodded; he had been thinking that quite often. He found it weird that Lionel was ready to do anything for him or give him whatever he wanted.

“It’s true that I see a lot of him in you, but you’re not Haru. And…” the King started, thinking for a bit about his next words, “I just want to tell you that I’m here for you. I know that I will never replace your father, but if you ever need anything, you can always come to me. I think… I think that’s what Haru would have wanted.”

Cobra looked at Lionel, it was easy to tell that the old man was heartbroken, that he felt bad for having failed in protecting the son of his best friend, and that he was trying to do better. That was probably where Lionel’s over-crushing worry came from.

“Thank you,” was the only thing Erik said.

He didn’t know if he needed someone like this in his life, but he would accept it. Lionel might not be his father, but he was probably going to be the closest thing to one. That didn’t stop him from feeling a bit unsure about this, though, because the other paternal figure he knew – Brain – could not really be qualified as a worrying and loving father.

The tailor came back with his tools and pulled out a tape measure.

"I need you to undress yourself to take your measurements.”

And at that moment, Erik’s heart stopped.

He didn’t want to do this. He couldn’t do this.

His body was covered with scars, and he wasn’t sure that he wanted strangers to see it. It had already been a lot to show it to Lucy months ago when she had taken care of him after the fight in the cave.

Cobra felt his heart thundering in his chest, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe properly. It was not like him to panic for something that stupid, but right now he felt trapped with absolutely no escape.

"I can help you if you want," the tailor said, putting one hand on his shirt, ready to help him.

And at that moment Erik snapped, he hadn’t meant to, but he couldn’t be touched right now.

“Don’t touch me!” he shouted, pushing a bit too violently the tailor who fell against the wall.

And without looking back at what he had done, he ran.

“Erik!” he heard the King call his name, but he was already outside.

Cobra felt like he was back at the Tower. He needed to run as far as he could, he couldn’t let anyone catch him.

He bumped into people in the streets, every contact made him recoil, he needed to find a quieter place or he might do something completely stupid.

He found a dark and empty alley, and he let himself slid against a wall, clutching his chest and trying to breathe, but he just couldn’t.

He felt pathetic. He had been raised as a monster, as a man with no emotion and yet there he was, having a panic attack because a man asked him to undress himself. It was ridiculous and he almost wanted to laugh at himself, he couldn’t believe just how pathetic he had become. Where had his confidence gone?

His vision started to get blurry, and he was pretty sure that his heart was going to burst. He felt like he was going to die.

He didn’t know for how long he stayed there; he was focused on calming his breathing. He didn’t know how long he could endure this. But through the mist of his vision, he could see a figure with blond hair running in his direction. The sounds around him were loud and confusing, he couldn’t hear anything except his loud heartbeat.

He tried to focus on what was in front of him, he recognized the brown eyes and the blond hair. He knew that Lucy was in front of him, trying to talk to him, but he just couldn’t hear her. He kept looking at her, hoping that his heart would calm down and that he would finally hear her voice.

“Help me…” he whispered, and he could feel tears rolling down his cheeks.

He hated just how weak he had gotten; it was not like him to beg for help. He had always been alone, so why was he asking someone to help him right now?

Lucy put her hands on his ears and then she put her forehead against his. He could feel his heart slow down, breathing became easier, and he could hear sounds again.

And that’s when it clicked.

Lucy was his anchor, the only thing that stopped him from drowning in the endless depths of his broken past.

“It’s okay, Erik... You’re alright… I am here…” he heard her say.

Her hands slid from his ears to his cheeks, and she forced him to look at her. She was calming him, he didn’t know how she did that, but she was helping him, she was saving him.

“You’re safe…”

“I-” he started.

“Don’t talk,” she whispered.

He put his head on one of her shoulders and hugged her tightly, and only then when she was sure that he could be touched, she dared to hug him back.

They stayed like this for a while, they didn’t care if people in the streets were looking at them, they would take as much time as they needed to make sure that everything was alright.

“What happened?” she asked softly.

“I- The scars…”

And her only answer was a nod, he didn’t need to tell her more than that for her to understand what had just happened.

“No one here will force you to do something you don’t want to do, alright? You don’t have to undress; they’ll figure something out.”

He nodded, he was slowly coming back to his senses, and he started realizing what had just happened.

She helped him up and he had to lean on her, all his strength had left him.

“We should go back,” he said, “I think I made quite a mess…”

“Take your time, they can wait…”

He nodded, then he took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Thank you…” he whispered.

They started walking back to the tailor shop, when they stepped inside Lionel and the tailor looked at him, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

“I am sorry,” he said to the tailor and Lionel.

The King looked mortified, and the tailor seemed scared of him. Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed him, but it had been a reflex, not something he had done voluntarily.

“Could you find another way?" He asked timidly, guilt still lingering in his voice, "I’m not really comfortable with undressing in front of strangers.”

The two men in the room nodded dumbly.

Are you sure that you’re alright? She asked in her head.

He nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Lucy.”

She looked a bit unsure, but he gave her a small smile to reassure her. He knew it wasn’t enough, but it was the only thing he could give her right now.

“Thank you for saving me,” he whispered.

“Anytime…”

He took a deep breath; he was finally calmer, and he was ready to let the tailor take his measurements.

Chapter Text

Lucy and Cobra never talked about what had happened in the tailor shop, she suspected that he didn’t want to talk about it. After that day, though, it seemed as if Erik had regained all his confidence, he had put his mask back on, and only when he was with Lucy, he let it fall.

The day of the ball was getting closer, and all the castle was working to make sure it was a success. Lionel often called Erik in his office to ask for his opinions on things, and Lucy decided to roam the castle alone since she didn’t have better things to do.

During one of her walks, she had spotted Cobra talking to a woman, and she had seen how he talked to her, and she had realized that maybe she wasn’t that special to him. She had seen how he flashed the same smiles, how his eyes were twinkling of amusement at her jokes, how shy and kind he looked talking to this stranger, and Lucy could see that he had not put his mask on with this woman. And maybe, just maybe, it had broken a part of her heart to see him that comfortable with another woman that he didn’t know at all, when on the other hand, they had spent months getting to know each other.

Was it jealousy that had filled her heart at this moment? She really hoped not, she felt like she didn’t have the right to.

They weren’t friends, they weren’t lovers, their relationship was complicated, and she had no right to feel jealous since Erik was not her boyfriend, or even close to be that. She wasn’t allowed to stop him from meeting new people or making new friends because if he wanted to, once their year together was over, he could start a new life here in Bosco and forget everything about Lucy. She didn’t understand why it affected her so much, Erik mattered to her, but he was still free to do whatever he wanted, if he wanted to go with another woman, he could. She only wanted him to be happy, and selfishly, she wished to be a part of his happiness, but she couldn’t force herself into his life.

You really love him; Lionel’s words had echoed in her head.

And her myriads of thoughts had stopped abruptly.

Love.

Her heart had skipped a beat as the realization dawned on her. A month ago, when Lionel had said these words, she had not been convinced that she had fallen in love with the Dragon Slayer. She had briefly thought about it, but when she had realized that she was alright with letting him go if that was what he wanted, she had deemed her feelings as something other than love. But now after this month in Bosco, it was the only thing that made sense. They had grown a lot closer now, she had seen him at his weakest, she had always been there to help him. And he had done the same thing, Erik was always here for her, always trying to find a way to reassure her and make her happy.

She had been haunted by nightmares of the night where Aliénor had almost killed them, and every time, she had woken up in tears, her body trembling with fear, he had been there for her. Hugging her if she wanted to, leaving her space if she needed some, he even went to the kitchen to steal some chocolate sometimes. But more importantly, he had always been there to listen to her if she needed to talk.

I love Erik, she had said in her head, and the world had felt so true on her tongue that she couldn’t believe it had almost taken her a month to understand her feelings for him.

Now that she knew what she felt for him, she didn’t know how to tell him. With the preparation of the ball, they barely saw each other, and if she had to confess her love, she wanted this moment to be unique, so she waited.

The day of the ball finally came. Tonight, Lucy and Cobra would be dancing, and tomorrow morning they would be on their way back to Fiore. And Lucy couldn’t wait to go home, she liked Bosco, the castle was nice, but she was excited to go back home and enjoy the comfort of her own things. She couldn’t wait to get rid of all these uncomfortable dresses, she was truly getting tired of being stuck in a useless quantity of fabric for hours. But tonight, she would gladly wear the dress Lionel had gifted her.

Sophie came into their room in the morning, and she kicked Erik out of the room and told him to join Lionel so that he could help him get ready for the ball.

“I will be taking care of you,” Sophie said, putting a box on the bed.

Lucy immediately knew what was in the box, and she was excited to open it. Sophie nodded, a simple sign that told Lucy that she could open the box. She didn’t waste another second, and she opened it, only to reveal the prettiest dress she had ever seen.

The dress was purple to fit the theme Erik had chosen, and Lucy had specifically requested the color of the fabric to be as close as Cobra’s eyes. She had never expected the tailor to accept her request, but Lionel had insisted on the fact that they could ask for whatever they wanted for their outfits for the ball, so the tailor had done his best to find the perfect fabric and Lucy was surprised by how close the color was to Erik’s eyes. That day, she had also made another request, but she had told the tailor that if he couldn’t do it, it wouldn’t be a problem, she had asked him if it was possible to embroider two little golden dragons on her shoulders.

And when she had opened the box, she had immediately spotted the golden dragons on the shoulders. She had thought that the tailor would never accept her silly request, but he had, and she was grateful for it. She had sort of wanted to incorporate Erik in her dress, and since purple was already taken, she had settled for dragons.

“The dress is gorgeous,” she said to Sophie, “I will have to thank the King again.”

The woman nodded. “You will be magnificent tonight. And I’m sure Erik will be completely mesmerized.”

Lucy let out a little awkward laugh. She wasn’t sure that she could mesmerize Cobra. Sure, he had a particular way of looking at her, but after seeing how he talked to other women, she was convinced that he looked at every woman the same way. Lucy wasn’t unique, she wasn’t special, she was just Lucy, and Erik probably wanted more than just Lucy.

“I’m not so sure about that,” she whispered.

Disappointment filled her every word. The jealousy that she had felt a few days ago came back to haunt her, and she shook her head to tell herself that she didn’t have the right to feel like this.

Sophie frowned at her words. “You know that he only has eyes for you, right?”

“I think you and the King are completely mistaken; he has the same eyes for every woman.”

The woman shook her head, not believing her.

“I’m only his guardian, I’m sure I only bring back bad memories. I’m just his reminder that he isn’t free yet.”

Sophie seemed more and more lost as Lucy went on, and actually Lucy didn’t understand what she was saying either because she didn’t believe her own words at all. Maybe she refused to accept that Cobra loved her too, and that love was that simple.

“I wouldn’t call comforting him bringing back bad memories, you were the only one able to calm him when he ran away.”

Lucy looked at Sophie, a bit of surprise on her face, she knew that she was referencing the day Cobra had panicked because of his scars, but she wasn’t sure that what she had done had really helped him.

Sophie offered her a bright smile. “I haven’t known you for long, but I can see just how much he lights up around you.”

The words warmed her heart. She didn’t know if they were true, but she hoped that it was the case.

She took a deep breath. She really wanted to see Erik right now, to talk to him, to make their relationship clear and maybe confess her feelings.

Sophie put a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

“I don’t know what happened for you to think that. But I can assure you that Erik only sees you.”

Lucy nodded; she felt a bit better now. And she couldn’t wait to be at the ball and talk to him.

And so, she let Sophie pamper her for the rest of the day.

Lucy was twirling in front of the mirror; Sophie had done a marvelous job with her. She had never felt this pretty before, and she couldn’t wait for Erik to see her. Maybe Sophie had been right, maybe she would mesmerize him tonight.

“Thank you, Sophie,” she said, still looking at herself in the mirror.

“It was my pleasure,” she answered, “You can already go to the ballroom, I will join you once I get changed.”

Sophie left the room.

Lucy sighed once she was alone, now that she knew how she felt about Cobra, everything seemed terrifying. She was scared that their relationship would change, what if he didn’t love her back? What if after confessing her feelings, he changed and put back his mask on even when he was with her? Losing the relationship they had taken months to build, terrified her to her very core. But she couldn’t keep that to herself, she needed to tell him, or she would have extreme thoughts again and overthink every single one of his actions.

She stepped inside the ballroom, purple flowers covered the walls, a purplish light flooded the room, and Lucy’s first thoughts were that the theme definitely fitted Cobra. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for the Dragon Slayer. She spotted him at the other end of the room, talking to the same girl he had been talking to a few days ago. She felt a pang in her heart seeing him with her, she had hoped that tonight would be their night.

You know that he only has eyes for you, right? The words of Sophie echoed in her head, and Lucy chose to believe them. She took a deep breath and walked towards them.

As she walked closer to them, she realized that Cobra had had the same idea as her with his outfit. He was wearing a long purple coat, a white pant, a black shirt and a golden neckcloth, but the embroidery was where their mind had been alike. Erik’s coat was embroidered with a hundred of little golden stars, as if he had wanted to incorporate Lucy in his outfit. She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face when she realized what he had done.

“Hey, Erik,” Lucy said, smiling brightly.

He was beautiful, his usual messy crimson hair had been combed, which gave him another kind of charm. And now that it was clear that she was in love with him, his allure didn’t leave her indifferent. Her heart started racing, and she really hoped that the music stopped Erik from hearing the thundering in her chest.

“Hey-” he started as he turned to look at her, but when his eye landed on her, he immediately fell silent.

Oh, wow, was the only words in Cobra’s brain right now.

Lucy was standing in front of him, wearing the most gorgeous dress he had ever seen. Lucy was always beautiful, but in this dress, she was magnificent. He felt like he was in front of a goddess, and he was ready to kneel and worship her.

“Cat got your tongue?” she said, putting one hand on her hip, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips.

She knew what she was doing, every single one of her movements or expressions, made his heart race to the point where he thought it might explode.

He blinked, he needed to focus on what to say to her but standing in front of a literal goddess didn’t help.

“You’re magnificent,” he said, awestruck. And his words were an understatement because there was no way magnificent was enough to describe her right now.

A soft blush appeared on her cheeks, and she looked away.

“You’re not bad either…” she whispered shyly.

And he took this opportunity to shake out his astonishment to tease her, it was the perfect moment to play with her because he felt that there would be a sort of awkwardness if he only answered thank you or if he didn’t answer at all. Plus, he wasn’t satisfied with her compliment, he was all poshed up, he expected a better compliment from Lucy than not bad.

“Not bad? That’s it? I expected stunning, dazzling or at least, handsome,” he feigned outrage.

She glared at him, and he could see that her cheeks were completely red. He let out a little laugh at her reaction.

I’m going to step on his feet when I get the chance, he heard her think, and he had to stop himself from laughing harder.

“Already resorting to violence, I see,” he smiled, and she gave him a death stare.

A little laugh escaped the woman next to him at their bickering, and Lucy’s eyes immediately went on this woman, and he was pretty sure that he could see a tinge of sadness in her gorgeous brown eyes.

“Oh, Lucy, this is Ella, the King’s florist, she is the one who covered the ballroom in flowers,” he explained, realizing that he should have introduced them earlier, “Ella, this is Lucy, my-”

He didn’t have the time to finish his sentence because Ella extended her hand towards Lucy and said. “It’s nice to finally meet you! I was wondering if I would have the chance to meet the woman Erik is constantly talking about.”

Lucy shook her hand, and then she looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“He is constantly talking about me?” she asked Ella, the start of a devious smile crossing her lips.

“Yes, he didn’t stop mentioning how kind you were, how funny you were, how lonely he is without you around, how-”

Cobra felt his cheeks heat, he hadn’t planned the florist to expose his secrets like this.

“Thank you, Ella, you’re free to go,” he intervened before she kept going about how much he loved the celestial mage.

A little amused smile appeared on the florist’s face. “Before I go, I have a little something for you.”

She took out a basket filled with a variety of flowers.

“Here in Bosco, it is tradition to choose a flower for your partner.”

“It’s not like that,” Lucy said awkwardly, her cheeks pink.

“It works even for dancing partners,” she answered, amused, “Come on, you can choose a flower.”

Erik stared at the flowers in the basket, he didn’t know which one to pick, maybe he could go with a blue one since it was Lucy’s favorite color, or he could choose one that he hoped she would love. He didn’t know a lot about flowers, and in the end, he would probably just pick the one that felt right.

Lucy chose first, she took a purple flower and gently tied it to his coat.

“An iris, good choice,” Ella said with a smile.

Cobra spotted a red flower that faded to pink and purple to its extremities. The flower was beautiful, and he thought it would look well in Lucy’s hair. His body acted before he could even think about choosing another flower, he took it from the basket and delicately put it in her hair.

“A carnation, very good choice,” she said this time, nodding as if she had understood something, “My job here is done, enjoy your night.”

Lucy and Cobra tried to retain her, they wanted to know more about her reactions to the flowers they had picked, but Ella had already disappeared in the crowd.

Flowers don’t lie, Erik heard before she vanished.

Lucy and Erik stood in the ballroom awkwardly, they were still a bit surprised by what had just happened with the florist. Cobra took this little moment to observe the dragons embroidered on Lucy’s shoulders. He wondered if she had had the same idea as him, if she had tried to find a way to incorporate him in her outfit like he had tried to do with the stars on his coat.

“So, why the dragons?” he asked, gently caressing one of them, not realizing that he was indirectly caressing Lucy’s shoulder.

She turned a beautiful shade of pink.

“I could ask you the same. Why the stars?”

The silence that fell between them was enough to confirm what they had both been thinking when they had chosen their outfits. The awkward silence made them burst out with laughter. He had missed this; he had been so busy the past few days that he had barely the time to talk to her, tease her, laugh with her or just spend time with her.

Once he was done laughing, he extended his hand to her.

“Blondie, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?” he asked.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly.

“It would be my pleasure.”

They went on the dance floor, and they joined the other nobles dancing. Cobra would not say that he loved dancing, but being able to dance with Lucy without having to worry about their mission or Aliénor was freeing.

A perfect symbiosis, a perfect understanding of the other that was what their dance was. And he had never felt like this before in his life, it felt like he had found his other half, the missing part of his heart.

They danced and danced, none of them wanting to stop. They reluctantly broke apart when the King stepped into the ballroom and asked for silence so that he could give a speech. A light illuminated Cobra and Lucy and Lionel raised a glass in their direction.

“Tonight, we are celebrating Lucy Heartfilia and Erik Akatsuki, these two mages that saved my life but also the future of our kingdom.”

The nobles applauded, and Erik and Lucy offered them an awkward smile not enjoying being in the spotlight.

“Thank you for saving my life and my kingdom. And I hope that you will enjoy this ball in your honor,” he said, winking at them.

Everyone went back to dancing or discussing, but Lucy and Cobra only looked at each other still a bit uncomfortable with what the King had just done.

“Didn’t we ask him not to be in the spotlight?” Lucy whispered, and he couldn’t tell if she was mad at Lionel or not.

“I’m pretty sure we did, but I don’t remember the last time he listened to us.”

She sighed. Erik could understand why it bothered her; now all the nobles kept glancing at them from time to time, and it was just really unpleasant.

“Let’s go outside,” he suggested.

He wanted to get some air, it was extremely warm in the ballroom, and it was probably the best way to get some peace.

“I like this idea,” she answered with a little nod, already walking towards the door.

“Wait,” he said, rushing towards a table to grab two glasses of champagne.

She smiled, and they left the ballroom

They sat on the rim of the fountain, their glasses of champagne in hand.

“It was a good idea, it was starting to be a bit oppressing inside,” she said softly, looking at her drink.

“Yeah, it’s also quieter here, it’s pleasant.”

She looked at him now, a tinge of worry in her eyes.

“Hey, I can endure some music and noises. I’m just saying it feels good to have a break.”

She nodded before letting her head rest against his shoulder. He looked at the sky, his eye observing the thousand stars above their heads.

“Are you excited to go back to Fiore?” he asked, lost in thoughts.

“Yes, it feels like we’ve been stuck here for years now.”

He understood what she was trying to say, they may have stayed here for only a month, but it felt longer as if the time had slowed down.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? I think you could have a better life in Bosco.”

Good job, Lucy. Telling him to stay here when that’s the last thing that you want. Why is it so hard to say it?

He turned his head to look at her, and he frowned, a bit surprised by her words and her thoughts. She seemed to have an internal debate, and he would not bother her with that, he shouldn’t even be listening to her thoughts right now. But he was definitely curious about what she thought was so hard to say.

“Maybe, but I don’t want it,” he started, “Sure, I’m not thrilled about seeing the members of the Council or wear these stupid bracelets again, but I can live with it.”

“I’m not excited to see them either.” And he could feel her anger towards them as she said the words.

A soft smile crossed his lips.

“And you know, all my life is in Fiore, my friends, my mother, you.”

Maybe he was going a bit too far with what he was saying, because Lucy straightened and looked at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

What did he just say?

Sure, he had been wanting to confess his feelings for her for a while now, especially after what had happened in the tailor shop, it had really helped him realize that it was indeed love that he felt for her, but he had never found the right time and the fear of destroying their relationship had stopped him more than once.

“Me?”

“Forget it, I think the alcohol got to my head,” he said, trying to avoid the subject. He had a thousand things to say about Lucy and another thousand that he wanted to say to her, but he couldn’t. They had this weird relationship, and he was scared to go too far with his words, if he confessed his feelings and she didn’t love him back, he might lose her. And he refused to lose what they had built, he preferred dying with his secret.

She stared at his glass which was still untouched, and she closed the distance between them, her head being close to his, enough for their lips to touch if they wanted to.

“Liar. Tell me more.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” he said, his voice almost apologetic.

“You can’t just say that and then avoid the subject.”

Well, Erik was a coward, and he would definitely avoid the subject if he could, so he put a part of his mask back on, and he decided to play with her, fully knowing that he risked angering her.

“Oh, really?” he grinned, “Well, if you want your answers, you will have to catch me,” he added before running away.

“You… Erik!” she shouted, running after him.

They started running around the fountain, Cobra was just teasing her, sometimes sticking out his tongue at her just to annoy her even more or even throwing water at her. At one point, he successfully grabbed his drink and downed it before Lucy got close to him and he ran away again.

He climbed on the rim of the fountain, and Lucy did too, except that she lost one of her shoes in the process and lost her balance at the same time. Erik was fast enough to catch her, but he slipped, and he fell backwards in the water, dragging Lucy with him.

They were silent for a moment, the only sound around them was the splashes of the water as they moved, trying to get back up. When their wide and confused eyes met, they burst out with laughter at the absurdity of what had just happened.

Once they were done laughing, he tried to sit.

“Are you alright?” he asked, gently putting back a strand of her that had fallen from her tight bun behind her ear. 

She put one hand on his torso, and pushed him back into the water before staring at him, proudly.

“I finally caught you,” she stated, out of breath.

And Erik burst out with laughter, he had not expected this to be her first words.

“Yeah, you caught me,” he said once he was calmer, wiping a tear of joy from his eye.

Another silence fell between them. They stared at each other, Cobra lying on the water, Lucy on top of him. Their faces were close, both flushed by the proximity and their little run around the fountain.

He is driving me crazy, he heard her think, and he didn’t know if it was annoyance or something else that accompanied her thoughts.

“Lucy?” he whispered.

He was about to ask something stupid, he knew it, but right now, it felt like the right time to ask her. They were close, maybe too close, and his eye kept alternating between her eyes and her lips. Right now, the only thing Erik wanted was to kiss her.

“Can I ask something stupid?”

She raised an eyebrow before nodding.

“Can I kiss you?”

He saw her turn completely pink, he could hear her heart race, and her mind became a tangle of thoughts that he didn’t want to listen to. No voiced answer came, because the next thing he knew, Lucy’s hands were on his face and her lips were on his.

The kiss was soft, different from the two others they had shared. This time, it was a kiss expressing their feelings, not a kiss to save each other’s life. They didn’t need words to decipher what this kiss meant; it was all their hidden feelings for the other finally freed.

He was lying in a fountain, drenched, but he didn’t care because right now, for the first time in his life, Erik felt loved.

“Wow…” he said dazedly once they broke apart.

He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had kissed Lucy Heartfilia, really kissed her, and he could still feel her passion coursing through his body. Her kiss had been a message, a confession of sorts, but he would still wait for her to say the words before making any assumptions about their relationship. 

He stared at her. Her face was red, and she was breathing heavily, the passion of their kiss still coursing through her body as well.

Cobra wanted to ask what they were, maybe their relationship had changed, but he doubted that one single kiss would upgrade his status from friend or whatever they were to her boyfriend. It was too soon to ask that, right now, they were both filled with a sort of awkwardness that accompanied their kiss. He felt like it was normal, but he really hoped that it would soon disappear because he didn’t like being awkward with Lucy.

He was about to caress one of her cheeks when she sneezed, and he jumped at the sudden noise. They both looked at each other with wide eyes before starting to laugh again. And with that, the awkwardness of their real first kiss disappeared.

“We should get out of here before you catch a cold,” he said.

She nodded, and she tried to get up, but she failed.

“My dress is too heavy; I can’t get up.”

He had to repress a laugh; this situation was extremely ridiculous.

“Hey! Don’t laugh! It’s your fault if I’m stuck here,” she pouted, crossing her arms.

“Alright, princess. Your dear prince will carry you back to your room,” he said before sweeping her in his arms in a bridal-style.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head against his chest.

“Idiot, you could just have helped me get up,” she whispered.

“But where would be the fun in that?” he countered with a grin.

He saw her cheeks redden before she hid her face in his chest. Erik let out a little laugh before leaving the garden with Lucy in her arms.

They didn’t go back to the ball, they refused to imagine Lionel and Sophie’s faces if they came back drenched in their new outfits. Instead, they used the servant entrance and discreetly went back to their room to shower and get changed.

Now, they were in their pajamas, both lying in the bed. They stared at the ceiling, a comfortable silence surrounding them.

“Tonight was amazing,” Lucy said, breaking the silence.

He acquiesced with a nod.

“Goodnight, Erik,” she whispered, turning to look at him.

He did the same so that they were now face to face.

“Goodnight, Blondie,” he echoed, grabbing one of her hands before pressing a little kiss on her forehead, “Thank you for tonight”.

She squeezed his hand before nestling comfortably against him. He wrapped her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

Before he fell asleep, he hoped that the kiss they had shared in the fountain would not be their last, and he also hoped that maybe he would find the courage to confess his love for her soon.

Chapter Text

Lucy and Cobra were putting the last of their things in the coach. They were finally going back to Fiore, and Lucy was buzzing with excitement at the idea of being back in her apartment soon. She couldn’t wait to be back home. But for now, the other reason for her excitement was the fact that she was going to travel alone with Erik for five days, sure there was always the coach driver, but Lionel had ordered him not to bother them unless it was really necessary.

Lucy had to admit that the prospect of being alone in the coach with Erik sounded amazing, but she couldn’t help but be a bit stressed about it at the same time, she was scared that the situation could be a bit awkward since they had kissed last night. It had been her first real kiss; it had been so different from the two others they had shared, and she didn’t know what to do or what to say about it. To be honest, she only remembered the softness of his lips on hers, how gently he had caressed her face and how his eye had told her everything about his feelings for her.

None of that was helping with the mess that was her feelings for him.

I want to kiss him again, she found herself thinking too many times after what had happened last night. And every time, she felt her cheeks heat and she had to quickly shook the thoughts away before Erik heard them. She couldn’t help but wonder if Erik thought the same thing, if he wanted to kiss her as badly as she wanted to kiss him. He had not mentioned anything related to the kiss and she was beginning to question her kissing skills, maybe she was a bad kisser and Erik never wanted to kiss her again.

“Is everything alright, Blondie?” Erik asked, putting the last trunk in the coach.

Lucy nodded rapidly, hoping that he hadn’t heard her. She scanned his face, and luckily, he seemed to be too busy with the trunk to listen to her thoughts.

“I see that you are ready to depart,” Lionel stated, joining them outside.

“Yes, thank you again for your hospitality. Our stay in Bosco was amazing,” Lucy said.

The King offered her a kind smile. “You will always be welcome here,” he started, “And I’ll make sure to fix all the things my wife has destroyed before you come back here, I want you to see how great Bosco was before she took control over it.”

Lucy nodded and smiled at the King.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this, but what are you going to do with Aliénor?” Erik intervened, and Lucy didn’t miss the tinge of pain in his voice.

Cobra was still marked by what the Queen had said to him, but also by what she had done to him, so Lucy gently grabbed his hand and started stroking his fingers to give him strength and comfort.

Lionel sighed. “For now, I plan on keeping her in the dungeons. I wanted to banish her from this kingdom, but I fear she might start looking for you or for your mother if I do this.”

Lucy felt Cobra squeeze her hand at the King’s words, and she had to admit that she was scared at the possibility of Aliénor roaming free.

“So, I prefer keeping her here, at least I know she won’t be able to hurt you this way. And once I’ve discussed a bit more about everything she has done with my advisers, we will decide about her fate. It might end up with her being executed.”

Erik simply nodded, he was probably reassured to know that Aliénor would never put her hands on him again. And for Lucy, it was enough to know that she would never have to see this woman again, yet, even if the Queen was a monster, she felt like death was too extreme as a punishment.

Lionel grabbed Erik by the shoulders before pulling him into a hug, and Lucy couldn’t help but laugh a little at how awkward Cobra was in the arms of the King. She could see Erik struggling to break free from the man’s grip to no avail.

“Take care of yourself, both of you,” Lionel said before letting go of Cobra.

Erik thanked the King again before disappearing into the coach, probably not wanting another unexpected hug from Lionel.

“Take care of him,” The King whispered before offering her a small smile.

“I will,” she vowed.

Lucy joined Erik in the coach, and then, they departed for Fiore, she watched Lionel wave them goodbye before he disappeared from her view.

And with these brief goodbyes, they were now officially leaving the Bosco Kingdom, and finally on their way home.

One detail that she might have forgotten for this travel was Erik’s motion sickness, it had completely gotten out of her head for a moment that Dragon Slayers were sick in transport. She had hoped that their trip would be peaceful and pleasant, and it might be the case for her, but it was not the case for Erik who fought not to puke in the coach. He spent most of the day lying on her lap, eyes closed, and teeth gritted. Lucy hated seeing him like this, she was doing her best to help him, but she couldn’t suppress his motion sickness. So, she tried to divert his attention so that he could think about other things than his state, or sometimes she played with his hair or with his fingers, hoping that in a way it helped.

When they stopped in the inn, Erik immediately collapsed on the bed, pale as a sheet and sweaty. Lucy decided to wash his face with a cold facecloth, and she could easily tell by the way he relaxed that what she had just done had helped.

And she did the same thing for the second day.

The third day of their trip came, and it meant that they would cross the border and finally be back in the Fiore Kingdom. Lucy was overjoyed to know that they would soon be home, even if she was conscious that they still had two days of travel before finally arriving in Magnolia. But her joy was short-lived because the coach driver announced early in the morning that a member of the Magic Council would be waiting for them at the border to give Cobra his new bracelets.

“Why are you mad? It is not surprising coming from them,” Erik said, scanning her face.

He was lying on her lap, doing breathing exercise to endure the motion sickness.

“Don’t talk, and don’t listen to my thoughts,” she answered, passing a hand through his hair, slowly massaging his head.

“I’m not listening to your thoughts; you are fuming with anger, and I can feel it.”

She glared at him. Sometimes she hated just how easily he could read her, especially when she was trying her best not to show anything.

“The Magic Council doesn’t make any sense, they literally let you roam free in another kingdom, but when it’s the Fiore Kingdom they don’t even want to let you try.”

Erik rolled his eye. “Honestly? I stopped trying to understand what they want; I’m just following their orders. I hate them and they hate me, and I know they want to make my life a living hell if they can.”

“And you are alright with that?”

“It’s not like I have another option.”

Lucy sighed, defeated. Of course he had no other option, if he refused to obey, he would just be sent back to jail and be freed in probably years, or there was also the option where the Magic Council might never free him at all. And the thought of seeing Cobra behind bars again made her stomach churn, she refused to let that happen, she would help him get his freedom no matter the cost.

They arrived at the border in the middle afternoon. Lucy looked through the window and saw that the member of the Council that was waiting for them was Lahar. At least it was someone tolerable.

Lucy and Cobra got out of the coach, and they joined the man waiting for them. The Rune Knight invited them to a small restaurant to discuss some things before letting them continue their trip.

They were now all sitting around a table, an awkward silence filling the room. Lahar sighed before putting the bracelets in front of Cobra, and Lucy had to restrain herself from glaring at the Rune Knight.

“The higher members of the Council were quite surprised to see that you didn’t try to escape once you were in the Bosco Kingdom.”

Erik shrugged, but Lucy could see the hint of a grin on his face, he was probably stopping himself from being rude to Lahar right now since he didn’t know what repercussions it could have, and he probably didn’t want to find out. 

“To salute your honesty, they decided to suppress the perimeter you had to respect but they still want you to have your magic sealed.”

There is at least one positive thing coming out of this discussion, Lucy thought.

“And one last thing, the Chairman wants to meet with you two in one week,” Lahar said getting up from the chair before glancing at Cobra and nodding in his direction, a signal for the Dragon Slayer to put his bracelets on.

Erik sighed and put the bracelets on before showing his wrists to the Rune Knight.

“Happy now?” Cobra asked defiantly.

Lahar rolled his eyes and left without another word.

Lucy and Erik both sighed. Talking with Lahar was exhausting, but at least he had been straight to the point, and he had not bothered with hidden insults directed towards Cobra or these kinds of things.

Erik stretched on his chair after Lahar left, he was glad to be in a restaurant right now and not in this nightmare of a coach. This trip was a torture for him, he spent his days feeling sick and too tired to chat or tease Lucy. The discussion he had had with her about her anger towards the Council had drained all of his energy, and he had felt like a zombie during their meeting with Lahar.

There was only one positive thing about this trip, and it was Lucy taking care of him. She was massaging his head or his fingers while they were on the coach, and when they were at the inn, she washed his face gently while he was sleeping. These gestures still surprised him, but it felt good.

“We should get back to the coach if we want to reach our inn in time,” Lucy said, putting her hand on top of his before stroking his fingers.

“I don’t want to,” he sighed loudly.

She offered him a soft smile. “Stop complaining, the sooner we get there, the sooner this trip will be over.”

He sighed and got up from the chair. She squeezed his hand and then they went back to the coach.

Erik felt sicker on the fourth day of their trip, but he had a good reason to. Today was the day where they would make a stop at Ibisco Village. He was finally going to step in his native village, he was excited and at the same time terrified to discover this place absent from all the maps.

When he felt the coach stop, his heart started racing and he took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself a bit.

“Erik, are you alright?” Lucy asked, her gorgeous brown eyes filled with worry.

“Yes,” he lied, and she immediately noticed the deception.

She started rubbing circles on his back as a way to comfort him.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t feel ready, we could always come back another day,” she said.

He nodded. That was true. They could always come back another day, but he felt that if they left now, he might never find the strength to come back.

“Thank you, Lucy.”

They stayed like this for a moment before he took another deep breath, and he got out of the coach. She joined him and immediately took his hand. He squeezed her hand, he was glad to have someone with him for this moment, he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to do this if he had been alone.

They started walking towards the village, the only sound that he could hear right now was his heart racing and he was fairly sure that he could hear Lucy’s heart too. She seemed as stressed as him. He offered her a small smile to comfort her, but when his eye landed on the entrance of the village, his smile vanished.

Ibisco Village was a wasteland, bricks and stones covered the grass. Roots and plants had started to grow over the ruins of the houses. The grass was so tall that they couldn’t see what lied in the dirt, and as they walked, they could sometimes hear things crack and both really hoped that it was branches and not bones under their feet.

Erik had kind of expected to find a ghost town, after all it had been destroyed years ago, and since the village didn’t appear even on the oldest maps, he had guessed that the Magic Council never heard of the attack.

“Does it feel familiar?” she whispered, letting go of his hand to wrap her arms around one of his arms.

He shook his head. He had thought that perhaps visiting Ibisco Village would bring back some memories, but nothing yet.

Cobra was looking for his house, he observed the ruins of the houses and near some of them he could read names on the rest of the letterboxes. He just hoped that his house still had a letterbox, or he would never know which house was his.

“We need to look for a letterbox with Akatsuki on it,” he said, and Lucy nodded.

They walked around for a bit more, both observing the letterboxes, and it didn’t take long before Lucy let go of his arm to point at something.

“There!” she shouted; her fingers pointed towards the rest of a blue house.

She ran towards the house, and she pushed away the plants to be sure that the name she had just read was correct.

“It’s here, that’s your house,” she said, once she had confirmed the name.

Erik stared at the ruins in front of him. A blue house with no roof, broken walls and only half a wooden door, that was what was left of his home. He closed his eye and the only thing he saw was a blazing fire engulfing the blue house and the surrounding houses, screams erupted in his ears and in one instant, he was drowning in this maze of flames with for sole sound the cries of people dying.

Cobra felt like he had just been stabbed, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he thought that maybe it would give out and he would die right here. When he opened his eye, he was crouching on the floor, his hands on his ears, and he saw Lucy rush towards him, her face contorted by fear.

“Erik, are you alright?!” she asked, panic filling her voice.

He nodded before taking a deep breath. “Just a memory,” he said, “It’s a fire that ravaged this village. I remember cultists running around with torches, setting fire to everything they could.”

He shook his head, wanting to shake this memory away.

“Yeah, I think that was how they proceeded… That’s what they did to Erza’s village.”

He gritted his teeth, then he got up and he started walking towards the door.

“Wait, Erik!” Lucy shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him back, “Are you sure that you want to do this? If the sight of your house already made you remember something that awful, going inside might bring worse memories.”

“I’m aware of that,” he started, “but I need to know…” he added, his voice breaking.

Tears now filled Lucy’s eyes, but she nodded, taking his hand and squeezing it strongly.

“I’m not letting you go through that alone,” she said, determinedly.

He gently leant on her, needing a bit more physical contact than just holding hands and he whispered a small “thank you” before making his way inside the blue house.

The inside of the house was as much broken as the outside, the furniture was all smashed or burnt. Glass and porcelain covered the kitchen floor, the curtains were torn in the two bedrooms, and signs of a struggle could be seen on the walls of the living room. In the living room, tubes of paint were scattered on the floor, a broken canvas next to them, and from what was left of it, Cobra could discern the head of a dragon.

“One of your parents was a painter…” Lucy said, admiring the purple dragon head on the canvas.

His mind started reeling, this house and all these rooms were so familiar and at the same time, they weren’t. His own breathing became too loud, his vision started to get blurry, and it was probable that his heart had just stopped.

“Erik?” he heard Lucy say before the world went dark.

“Erik! Come back here, you little demon!” a feminine voice shouted.

The boy laughed wholeheartedly before running away from the woman. He had stolen tubes of paint, and he was now running around the room to avoid being caught by his mother.

“How do you want me to finish your painting if you are stealing my paint?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

He stopped for a brief second, contemplating giving her back the paint or continuing running around. He found that the latter was better, so he ran.

“You leave me no choice, I’m going to catch you, little demon,” she said with a wicked smile before running after her son.

The boy laughed and laughed, even when his mother caught him and started tickling him.

“What are you two doing?” a man asked, half-laughing when he noticed his wife and his son on the floor laughing together.

“Erik is being a little demon again,” she said, hugging her son.

“I’m not a demon, I’m a dragon!” the boy countered, struggling against his mother’s grip.

“You’re the cutest dragon of Ibisco Village,” his father said, patting the boy’s head.

“I’m not cute! I’m scary!” he said before growling like a dragon.

Erik’s parents burst out with laughter at the shenanigans of their son, but the laughs came to a stop when a stone flew through the window and glass shattered on the floor.

“Kill the adults and get all the children!” a man outside shouted. Other voices shouted their approval in unison.

Raging flames rapidly surrounded the house, and the boy could hear someone kicking the door violently. He closed his eyes, his body shaking as terror seized him.

When he opened his eyes again, he was hiding in a wardrobe behind a pile of clothes.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispered to his mother as she was closing the doors of the wardrobe.

“I will never leave you, Erik. I love you…” she said, “Please, my little dragon, will you stay hidden for me?” 

He nodded reluctantly and did his best to disappear behind the pile of clothes. His mother closed the doors of the wardrobe, and she was out of sight in an instant. His heart thundered in his chest; his throat was constricted, and he couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks and his body from shaking.

The door opened in a loud bang that made the whole room shake before two armed men stepped inside. And things went too fast after that.

The men found his mother and they wanted to kill her after she had spat in their faces. And at this moment, Erik stopped thinking and he acted. He broke the promise he had made to his mother, but he needed to try and protect her.

He jumped out of the wardrobe before throwing himself on the man who was about to deal the fatal blow to his mother. He sank his teeth into the man’s forearm, biting him deep enough to draw blood.

“Erik!” he heard his mother shout, panic filling her voice.

The boy refused to let go of the man’s arm, Erik knew that he would not win against these monsters, he was weak and terrified, but he would still fight them with everything he got.

Rage shone in the man’s eyes, and violence fueled him. He punched the boy in the head once, twice, again and again until Erik decided to let go of his arm. Erik took the blows one by one, his body ached, his strength started to leave him, he had never known such pain before, but he held on.

The other man bounded his mother’s hands and legs before deciding to help his colleague.

“Hey, kid. I would let go of that arm if you don’t want me to slit your mother’s throat right in front of you,” the man said, putting a knife on the woman’s neck.

Erik’s eyes immediately landed on his mother, then on the knife on her neck menacing to end her life. His grip on the man’s arm weakened, and the stranger took this occasion to kick him in the ribs and send him flying against a wall. Erik crashed headfirst into the wall, his head making contact with the cold hard stone. The first thing he saw was stars, his head was spinning madly and any strength he had left vanished, leaving him with only a raging heart that couldn’t do anything.

“Tough kid,” was the last thing he heard, mixed with the desperate screams of her mother.

And then, the world went dark again.

Cobra woke up in panic, breathing heavily, sweat covering his body. He felt sick, his head was spinning, and he could still see black spots in his vision. It had been a while since he had had a nightmare.

“You are finally waking up…” he heard a feminine voice sigh of relief.

He gritted his teeth, the voice being too loud for his sensitive ears. He felt a warm pressure on his forehead, and he looked up to see what it was. The first thing he saw was huge brown eyes with tears threatening to fall, and he had to blink several times to be sure of what he was seeing, his vision still being a mess of color.

Lucy.

It took him a few seconds to come back to reality. They were at Ibisco Village, in the ruins of his house because he had wanted to learn more about his past.

“You scared the hell out of me, Erik,” she continued, “You collapsed, and I thought you had died, there was no way of waking you up.”

“I’m sorry…” he said, groggily.

He sat slowly, but she gently put a hand on his torso and pushed him back on her lap. He didn’t resist, he had not enough strength to.

“You should rest, you look awful,” she said, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

“Alright…” he simply answered, knowing that she was probably right about him looking awful.

They stayed like this for a moment, him looking at her while she played with his hair. Her thoughts were a terrifying mess of emotions. She didn’t know if she wanted to scream at him, or just scream, or cry, or ask him questions about what had just happened. But she stayed silent, her thoughts spinning uncontrollably.

He took this little moment of silence to reflect on what he had just seen. He had seen the day where his life had become a living hell, he had seen the day he had been separated from his parents. Maybe his brain had imagined all of this, but somehow, he knew that what he had seen had been real.

“Lucy, can we go now? I’m not sure that I want to stay here…” he asked once he felt a bit better.

Her only answer was a nod before she helped him up and they got out of the blue house. Cobra glanced one last time at the blue house, he didn’t know if he would ever come back here, but he was glad to know what his home looked like, and that he had known happy days there before everything was destroyed.

They were now back into the coach, Erik again lying on Lucy’s lap, a silence filling the air. She played with his hair, and she seemed lost in thoughts.

“Do you want to talk about what happened there?” she asked softly, half-absently.

“No, not right now… But I promise I will tell you one day, once I’ve sort of digested all of this.”

She nodded. He could tell that she wanted to know now, but he didn’t have the strength to tell her, and he needed to think about all of this when he didn’t feel horribly sick.

“Erik?” she asked, her eyes meeting his.

“Yes, Blondie?”

“I was wondering, this place… Did it feel like home?”

Home. He still had trouble grasping the concept of home, he felt like he never really had a place that he could call home, a place where he would always be welcome to return to, a place that would bring him happiness. The blue house in Ibisco Village had been his home when he had been a small boy who you knew nothing of the cruelty of the world. The Tower of Heaven was definitely not home, neither was Brain. And Bosco could have been if he had wanted to, but deep down he knew he belonged in Fiore, not in another kingdom. He had no place to return to, no place that he could consider safe enough to be the real Erik. Maybe the thing he could call home was not a place but the people he loved, his friends, Sorano, Macbeth, Sawyer and Richard, the members of the Oracion Seis, the children he had grown up with and who would always welcome him with open arms. But he had been separated from them, and he was not allowed to see them, and now more than ever he felt alone in the world.

“Not really… It feels like I don’t have a home...” he admitted.

“You know… It may not be much, but you will always be welcome at my place,” she said, looking away, her cheeks pinking slightly.

It warmed his heart to hear that, and he offered a small smile.

“Thank you, Lucy… It means the world to know that…”

He closed his eye, and exhaustion got the better of him, even the motion sickness couldn’t keep him awake this time, this day had completely drained him.

They arrived in Magnolia two days later in the early morning; they had taken too much time at Ibisco Village and had ended up extending their trip for a day. He was still a bit confused by what had happened there, but his mood had improved a bit, and he had found that Lucy and him teasing each other was definitely a thing that could always put a smile on his face.

“I never thought I would say that, but I’m happy to be back,” Erik said once he started recognizing some of the roads in the town. A smile started slowly creeping up Lucy’s face, as they got closer to her apartment, and it was easy to tell that she was overjoyed to be back. They rode past Fairy Tail, and he heard Lucy’s thoughts at that moment.

Oh! Erza and Wendy are there!

He briefly looked out the window and he saw Titania and the sky priestess on their way to the guild hall, then he looked at Lucy, and he could see sadness on her face, she was suffering, and it was all because of him. She had been separated from her friends because of him, he was the reason she was lonely right now, he was the one who was making her suffer.

I wonder what Natsu is up to these days… she said to herself, and Cobra heard how it was a desperate attempt to think about something positive and not the loneliness in her heart.

“You know, if you want to go there one day, you don’t have to stop yourself. I can stay alone for a while.”

She stopped looking out the window to look at him.

“I know… I’ll probably go and say hi one of these days,” she said, “I miss them.”

I miss my friends, too, he said in his head.

Lucy offered him a sad smile, and he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, hoping to comfort her.

A few minutes later, they were in front of Lucy’s apartment, unloading their trunks from the coach. They thanked the coach driver who left immediately after helping them carry their things in the apartment.

They started unpacking their things in the middle of the living room, Lucy beaming with joy, humming little songs at everything. He was relieved to see her like this, he didn’t remember the last time he had seen her that happy, but it felt good to see her smile so freely. Maybe Lucy was able to relax because she was finally home, she was back to the place she felt safe and relaxed, but Erik didn’t have any of that.

Even if Lucy’s happiness was amazing to see, Cobra couldn’t say that he felt the same way. His brain was still full of the memories he had seen at Ibisco Village, he wasn’t able to relax properly. He could feel exhaustion weighing on him, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, his thoughts would keep him awake, but another thing would keep him awake, too. Since the moment they had arrived at Magnolia, a smell had been bothering him, there was a strong smell of iron in the whole town, but as they got closer to Lucy’s apartment, the smell intensified. And by the way the smell lingered here, whoever it was knew that there was a Dragon Slayer at her place, the person knew that because they made sure that Cobra would pick it up. All of this smelled like a trap, Erik just didn’t know if they would fall right into it or be able to avoid it. But none of this helped to ease his mind. He sat on the couch and let his mind wander while always keeping an eye, but also his ears focused on what was happening outside.

Chapter Text

After a couple of minutes of tidying up her things, Lucy let herself fall on her bed, enjoying the comfort of her own bed. She had trouble realizing that she was finally back home. After two months in another kingdom, she was finally back to her apartment, and she had never felt better. It felt good to be back in the comfort of her own things.

She was exhausted, the trip had been long and uncomfortable, and she couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed. She raised her head slightly, just enough so that she could spy on Erik who was sitting on the couch in the living room, his head thrown back. He was still pale, and since their stop at Ibisco Village, he seemed even more tired. Lucy wondered what he had seen that day after he had passed out and scared the hell out of her. She had to admit that she was curious about it, but he had refused to tell her anything, not because he didn’t trust her, but more because he seemed not to have processed what he had seen. She wanted to help him, but she didn’t know how. She couldn’t do anything if he stayed silent.

She sighed, everything seemed so complicated when it came to Cobra. He kept an infinite number of secrets, even if he had promised to tell her more, she knew he hid quite a lot, too. They had kissed before leaving Bosco, and they had never talked about it ever again which honestly was starting to drive her crazy because she didn’t know if he had liked it or not. She had liked it, and she often considered the possibility of kissing him again, but she always restrained herself, fearing his reaction.

Exhaustion caught up to her, and she closed her eyes.

She woke up when she heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen, something like a pot hitting the floor. Immediately, she went to see what had happened. Erik was in the kitchen, grumbling something while putting the pot away.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, gently putting a hand on Cobra’s shoulder.

He turned to look at her, he seemed disturbed, but he had been like this since they had gotten back to her apartment.

“Yes, I wanted to cook something for us, but there is just nothing in the cupboards,” he said.

She couldn’t help but think that it was extremely cute coming from him. Her heart had skipped a beat when he had said that he had wanted to cook for them. Cobra usually didn’t take care of the cooking in the apartment, he usually did the rest of the chores, but cooking was definitely not his forte. He had almost set fire to her apartment once when he had tried to cook meat, and since then, Lucy hadn’t really let him approach the stove anymore.

She offered him a soft smile. “Let’s go eat outside then, I’ll get groceries tomorrow.”

Since she had known they would be gone for a while with their mission in Bosco, she had taken the time to get rid of everything to make sure that she wouldn’t return and discover spoiled food in her house. And now that she thought it, she was starving, and going to the restaurant didn’t seem like a bad idea at all.

They took a few minutes to take a shower and get changed, and once they were ready to leave, she took his hand, and they left the apartment. Lucy took Cobra to her favorite restaurant; she hadn’t had the occasion to take him there yet and she felt like it was the best place to eat something simple and good at the same time.

“I’ve been wanting to take you there for a while, but we were always too busy,” she explained, and she felt herself blush immediately. She almost regretted saying it out loud because she knew that there was a chance Erik decided to tease her with it.

“Oh, really?” he said, looking intrigued, but Lucy heard amusement in his voice, too.

She nudged him in the ribs before he could start teasing her with it, he winced, and she smiled proudly at him.

“What did I do to deserve that? I didn’t do anything!”

“Yet,” she answered before dragging him inside.

She heard him laugh softly. And her heart started racing, his laugh being the softest and most comforting sound she had ever heard.

A waiter showed them to their table before giving them the menu, then he left them alone. Lucy didn’t need to read the menu because she already knew what she wanted, so she decided to spy on Cobra discreetly. Even if a few seconds ago, he had seemed like the Erik she knew; now he was looking disturbed again. He skipped through the pages rapidly, not really taking the time to read, and he seemed focused on something. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but he spoke first.

“I think I will let you choose for me,” he said, offering her an amused smile.

She blinked; she had thought that his mind was elsewhere, but seeing him like this, maybe she had been imagining things and he had just not fully recovered from Ibisco Village.

“Do you remember what happened the last time you asked me to choose for you?” she asked, deciding to play his game.

He smiled softly again, like he was reminiscing of the time she had chosen the worst milkshake on the menu just to piss him off. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Lucy could hear nostalgia in his voice, she couldn’t believe that they had been working together for nearly eight months now, and in that just four months, Cobra would be freed. In the span of a few months, their relationship had evolved so much. They had started as enemies and now they were friends, and maybe more if they could put a name on what was more than friends but not lovers.

 “And you still trust me with your order?” she said, amusement and surprise in her voice.

“It’s more interesting that way,” he grinned.

She felt her heart skip a beat and then she hid her face in the menu, trying to find something that would suit Erik’s taste.

“You don’t have the right to complain if you’re not satisfied.”

He let out a little laugh. “Should I say, please don’t poison me, Blondie?”

“First, you’re literally the last person on earth who has to worry about being poisoned; secondly, my tastes aren’t that bad.”

He raised an eyebrow, and she could still see the hint of a smile on his face. “Are you sure about that?”

Lucy kicked him in the leg before focusing on the menu.

You deserved it, she said in her mind.

He laughed again, and she had to try really hard to focus on the menu and not on his laugh.

She didn’t want to order him something that he would hate, she wanted to get him something that he would like. She was racking her brains to find what would be perfect for him, everything looked amazing. The only thing that she knew was that she needed to avoid something too sugary for him. Reflecting on this made her realize that she didn’t know his taste at all. She looked over the menu and stared at his face, she was trying to read him, but now he just seemed to be lost in thought.

She sighed, at this moment, she would have loved to be able to hear his thoughts. She really wanted to please him, and she didn’t know what the perfect meal for him would be.

“You’re overthinking, Blondie. I can hear it.”

“I’m just realizing that I don’t know what you like.”

“I will only say that I’m not too fond of sugary things but otherwise I’m not picky.”

“You are not helping; I already knew that.”

He shrugged; he had a little satisfied smile on his face. He was not going to help her. She decided to focus again on the menu, and she saw something with rice and meat and decided that this would be perfect for him.

The waiter came back a few moments later to get their order, and now they just had to wait.

She looked at him and noticed that he was again different from usual, he seemed absent, and even if she had tried to ignore that earlier, she was convinced that something was bothering him.

“Erik, is everything alright? Since the moment we arrived in my apartment, I noticed that you kept behaving differently as if there was something bothering you. You know that you can talk to me, right?”

He looked at her and he seemed to focus on the conversation this time.

“Sorry…” he said, looking down.

“Talk to me, please… I don’t like seeing you like this…”

“I think I’ve got us into trouble…”

She stared at him, confused. She didn’t understand what he could have done to get them into trouble.

“Why do you think that?”

“Your smell…”

She could feel herself blush.

What is he saying?

“What’s wrong about it?”

“Well, it’s not really yours, but the smell in your apartment. It’s not the same as usual.”

“You think that someone broke into my apartment?”

“I don’t think someone did, I’m sure of it because they stole something.”

She frowned, confused by his words. She hadn’t noticed anything different in her apartment, everything was where she had left it, nothing was missing, but she didn’t dare doubt his Dragon Slayer’s nose.

“Okay… And why do you say it’s your fault?”

He sighed, and she could see an apologetic look on his face.

“Do you remember when we went to your mansion? That day, I stole my profile from your father’s folder, and I hid it in your apartment, and well I think he learned about it…”

She blinked, surprised. This day at the Heartfilia mansion felt like ages ago, it was the day she had learned what Jude had done to her brother, but it was also the day she had learned Cobra’s real name, it had been a sort of life-changing day in a good and a bad way at the same time. And in the end, she could understand why he had done this; she had wanted to take her brother’s profile, but she had restrained herself from doing so. Erik hadn’t wanted to let his information in her father’s hands, and she couldn’t be upset at him for that. But maybe he should have told her this sooner, he should not have kept this a secret for months. And now, according to him, they were in trouble. Lucy didn’t like knowing that her father had learned about their little visit and that he had seemingly discovered it by noticing the absence of only one profile. Either Jude was really obsessed with Cobra, or he just liked rereading what he had done to these poor children.

“It means that my father is looking for us right now?” she asked, a bit scared.

She saw surprise flash on his face briefly, he was probably shocked that she wasn’t blaming it for what he had done.

It’s not your fault, Erik, I would have done the same if I was in your place, she tried to reassure him in her thoughts, I just wish you had told me about this sooner.

He nodded apologetically, and she took his hand, squeezing it lightly. It was her way to tell him that they were in this together.

“No, not your father,” he started when he felt reassured enough, “I wouldn’t be like this if it was your father that was looking for us. He hired someone far worse to do the job.”

Her father wasn’t really a danger, he was sly and clever, but he was in no way a fighter. Jude always relied on others when it came to fighting or spying on people, of course, he had assigned this job to someone else. Someone that Erik seemed to know and that worried him enough to be on his guards.

She was about to ask more when the waiter brought their meal, interrupting their conversation. The waiter’s eyes landed on her hand, and she could see his eyes lit up with excitation when he saw her mark.

“Oh, you are Lucy Heartfilia! You’re my favorite member of Fairy Tail! You were amazing during the Fantasia Parade! I’m really lucky today I even saw Natsu, Erza, Gray and Wendy earlier!” he started, “Sorry, I’m getting carried away… Enjoy your meal!” the waiter continued before leaving them.

She felt her cheeks heat of embarrassment and she stared dumbfounded at where the waiter had been just a few seconds ago. She heard Erik laugh softly and turned to look at him. She glared at him, and he only laughed harder. Well, at least, his mood had slightly improved.

“Stop laughing, idiot.”

“Your face was just so funny. I didn’t know you were so popular.”

“Of course, Fairy Tail is popular. I’m just not used to people telling me these kinds of things.”

“I think he was right.”

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“You didn’t see the Fantasia Parade, how do you know if I was really amazing?”

“Because you’re always amazing.”

Her cheeks became even redder than they already were, she hadn’t expected him to compliment her.

“You should eat instead of saying nonsense,” she told him quickly before starting to eat.

He grinned and started eating his food. She observed him, he seemed to enjoy what she had chosen for him which reassured her. They ate in silence for a while.

“Should we continue our discussion about the person hired by my father?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I don’t know much about the person, unfortunately. I just know that they smell like iron, but in a different way than Gajeel does. If my nose is correct, what I’m smelling is blood.”

She shivered at the idea of a person smelling like blood, it couldn’t mean anything good at all.

“That’s not reassuring at all…”

“Yeah... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been selfish, I shouldn’t have taken my profile from the folder.”

“Stop apologizing, Erik. I understand why you did that, it’s not your fault if my father is crazy.”

“Still… I am responsible for this; you might get hurt because of me.”

“No one is going to get hurt,” she said, trying to reassure him but her words didn’t even sound convincing to her own ears.

And she could see that he didn’t seem to believe her either.

Cobra and Lucy left the restaurant once they were done eating their food. He hadn’t been able to really enjoy their little moment together because of the problem that was looming over them. He had put her in danger, he was responsible for this and if something happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. He had been too tired earlier to put a name on the smell, but after resting for a bit, he had realized that what he kept smelling in Lucy’s apartment was blood, and he had had a hard time hiding this from her. He kept his hearing focused on every potential threat and that was why Lucy thought that he acted weirdly.

They walked towards her apartment, he stayed behind her, still ashamed of what he had done.

I don’t know how to help him feel better, he heard her think.

He felt bad for putting her through this, she always tried to make him happy, and he felt like he was always doing the opposite with her, he was under the impression that he only knew how to worry her.

They stepped in an empty alley, and he heard footsteps approach. He turned and immediately blocked a punch with his hand. A woman with short, black hair in a twin tail style and red eyes, wearing a torn grey sailor uniform smiled at him sadistically.

“Erik!” Lucy shouted, noticing the person that had just tried to hit him.

“Damon was right. He knew that you had smelt us,” the stranger said, half laughing.

He blinked, he had been too focused on the smell to realize that they were two people and not just only one after them.

“Oh, you look surprised. You didn’t expect that two people could have the same exact odor?” she laughed.

Cobra gritted his teeth, usually even if people were close, he could always discern two odors, even if it was a minuscule difference, but the smell of this woman and the Damon she had mentioned were exactly the same.

“Let’s have some fun,” the woman said, her voice dripping of cruelty and her eyes lit with amusement.

“Lucy, get out of here!” he shouted.

“I’m not-”

“Go!” he ordered. This woman was strong, way stronger than him and Lucy together, and that with his magic or no magic. He continued to hold her hand after the punch, and he could feel her strength.

Lucy looked at him worriedly and he could see that she didn’t want to leave him alone.

“Oh, you are scared for her? Is she your girlfriend by any chance?” The stranger laughed.

I wish I could torture her in front of him… Nothing is better than torturing a couple, I can already hear him scream of despair. Well, the opposite might be fun too, I’m sure I would have fun torturing him, that’s a beautiful body to destroy, he heard the woman think.

The black-haired woman looked at him in the eye and licked her lips, already imagining how much she would torture him.

He really had made a gigantic mistake; he should never have taken that profile from the folder.

He didn’t want to look away from this crazy woman, but he dared to look at Lucy who was still observing them.

“Cobra is allowed to-” she started saying the sentence to free his magic but suddenly a hand on her mouth stopped her from saying the end of it.

A man with a shaved head and red eyes, wearing a grey coat with red spikes on the shoulders was holding Lucy in the air by the mouth.

“Lucy!” Erik shouted, letting go of the woman to attack the man.

He was too focused on saving Lucy that he wasn’t fast enough to block the black-haired woman’s kick. The kick sent him flying through a wall and he fell violently on the floor.

Shit.

Cobra sat rapidly; his body ached, and he had probably a few broken ribs but he didn’t have the time to worry about that. He needed to help Lucy.

“Easy, Rowena. We are only here to play, not kill them,” Damon said, smiling creepily at Lucy.

He saw Lucy’s eyes widen in fear at the man’s smile and she struggled harder against the grip on her mouth, but the man held her tightly.

“I know, I know. You can be so boring sometimes,” the dark-haired woman answered, shrugging lazily.

The Dragon Slayer was trying to get back up without being noticed and it seemed to work since Rowena was too busy complaining to Damon to see him move. He needed to free Lucy. He observed the two people who were still fighting, and Erik took advantage of the situation. He threw himself on the man so that he could let go of Lucy. Damon lost his balance and loosened his grip on Lucy’s mouth, and she successfully freed herself from the man. Cobra immediately put himself in front of her, ready to take the next blow.

“You’re pathetic,” the man said before punching him in the ribs.

Cobra blocked it with his arms.

“Damon! We said that he was mine!” Rowena complained.

“Lucy, run…” Erik whispered while the woman was throwing another tantrum.

“I’m not leaving you here… You don’t stand a chance…”

He fully knew that, but he was the one responsible for putting them in this situation, and he would protect her with his life.

Rowena and Damon both attacked Cobra who was doing everything to protect Lucy. The Celestial Mage had tried to free his magic or summon her spirits several times, but every time Damon had interrupted her.

“It’s getting boring,” Damon sighed, “Let’s end this.”

“Already? But I barely had the time to touch him!” Rowena shouted, visibly upset.

Cobra took a step backwards, he was breathing heavily, and his body ached, he could already feel the bruises appearing everywhere and he could taste blood in his mouth.

“Erik…” Lucy whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it lightly, she was on the verge of tears.

“I’m alright…” he lied, spitting blood.

He heard Damon snap his fingers, and suddenly the bracelets around Cobra’s wrists were wrapped in blood and then they started burning his skin. Erik clenched his hands into fists, and he gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming.

“Erik!” Lucy shouted worriedly, seeing his face contort in pain, “Leave him alone!”

Rowena and Damon laughed at Lucy’s pathetic attempt at giving orders. Cobra endured the pain, and at one point, he felt his magic come back to him. That bastard had broken the bracelets which meant that the Dragon Slayer would get in trouble with the Magic Council very soon. But right now, he didn’t care, he had his magic back and he could try to defend himself and protect Lucy.

“Jude Heartfilia asked us to send the Dragon Slayer back to jail,” Damon stated, staring at Lucy with a sadistic smile.

Her eyes widened when she understood what the man was doing to Cobra, but what both hadn’t noticed was that the bracelets were already broken. Fear or anger filled Lucy, and she successfully summoned Taurus. The spirit immediately rushed towards Damon, but Rowena sent it flying before it could even reach the man.

Erik took a deep breath before jumping on Damon and he transformed his arms into dragon paws at the last second to scratch the man violently. But the man disappeared, his body melting into a puddle of blood on the floor before reappearing behind Lucy.

Shit.

Cobra turned quickly to attack Damon again but in front of him stood Rowena, a sadistic smile on her face. She put one of her hands on his neck and then pinned him against a wall before sinking her fingers in his neck.

“Stay calm,” she whispered in his ear, wiping the blood that streamed down his neck with her other hand before licking it, “Your blood is succulent.”

He struggled against her grip, but she was way stronger than him and he couldn’t even make her move.

“I promise we will have some fun, just the two of us, but sadly not today,” she pouted at the last bit of her sentence, “It’s useless to struggle, you know. Now, get on your knees.”

She let go of his neck, and then he felt his heart being squeezed strongly, and he fell on all four unable to breathe.

“Erik!” Lucy screamed, seeing him writhing on the floor.

Cobra looked up, his vision filled with black spots, but he still forced his mind to focus on the situation. He could see Damon holding one of Lucy’s wrists, and then he saw the man wrapping blood around his own arm and shaping it into a bloody dragon paw. 

“Jude’s orders were to send the Dragon Slayer back to jail no matter what, and I don’t remember any orders concerning you which mean I can get rid of you,” the man said to Lucy, “Oh, and he also told me to tell you that he has found your brother and that he will take care of him. Such a shame that you will never have the chance to meet him because you are going to die.”

Erik saw Lucy’s eyes widen in shock, and then he saw Damon’s claws pierce Lucy’s left shoulder and scratch her body to her right hip. She fell on the floor, coughing blood.

“Lucy!” Cobra shouted, despair breaking his voice.

Rowena burst out laughing, and a wicked smile was on Damon’s face, both were looking down at Cobra and observing him struggle pathetically.

“Enjoy your stay in prison,” the man said, kicking Erik in the face before leaving.

“We will see each other soon and have so much fun together,” Rowena added, hopping to Damon.

Once these two monsters left the alley, the pressure on Erik’s heart disappeared and he rushed towards Lucy. She was still conscious; her wounds were deep, and she kept coughing blood. Her brown eyes usually gorgeous were unfocused, hazy, and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“Everything will be alright, I’ll take you to the hospital,” he said, gently taking her in his arms.

The hospital was on the other side of the town, and even if he ran at full speed, he knew Lucy would not last that much time. She was going to die, and it would be his fault. His selfishness was going to cost Lucy’s life.

Breathing became hard again. He could not lose Lucy, he needed to find something, someone that wasn’t too far. His mind started reeling, he searched for anything, every single possibility, he didn’t care what it would cost him as long as Lucy survived.

Then the storm in his mind calmed, and he knew where he needed to go. His feet started moving on their own, and he was rushing towards the only place that would be able to save the person who had changed his life.

With only Lucy’s survival in mind, he darted towards Fairy Tail.

Erik rushed towards the guild because he knew that Wendy Marvell, the Sky Priestess, was here. He had seen here get there earlier this morning with Titania, and he just had to hope that she was still there. It was Lucy’s only hope, he knew she would not make it to the hospital, but she might have a chance if he got to Fairy Tail in time. He had no time to waste, so he ran and ran, every step sent spark of pain coursing through his body, but he didn’t care. He would break his body a thousand times if it meant that Lucy survived. His heart was racing madly while he could hear Lucy’s heartbeat getting weaker. She had her eyes closed and right now, she just looked like a dead body in his arms.

“I need you to stay with me for a little while longer, Blondie,” he said. It was a desperate attempt to make sure that she still hadn’t given up on life.

She mumbled something that he couldn’t comprehend, but it still reassured him because it meant that she was still alive.

His mind was a mess, and he was rambling, he needed to keep her awake for a few more seconds. “I can’t imagine my life without you, Lucy. I love you. So, I need you to stay with me right now. Don’t die, please...” his voice broke at the last part of his sentence, and he could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. He had never felt that desperate in his whole life, he felt like he was dying with her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him before putting a weak hand on his cheek to wipe away his tears.

“Erik…” she whispered, “I love you, too…”

These words kept resonating in him. It was the strength he needed to reach Fairy Tail, to save Lucy’s life, but it also felt like he had just been stabbed right through the heart. He should have told her all of this sooner, it was extremely stupid to confess his feelings when she was dying.

“I’m sorry for everything, Lucy.”

She shook her head. “I’m just mad at you for not kissing me again…” she answered, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He let out a little desperate laugh. “I’m mad at myself, too.”

She closed her eyes again, and the hand that was on his cheek fell limply on her stomach. She was still breathing, but he knew her strength was leaving her.

Finally, he arrived in front of Fairy Tail, he pressed a small kiss on Lucy’s forehead, and he took a deep breath. He didn’t know what would happen once he stepped into the guild hall, but nothing positive assuredly, seeing their bloodied state, all the members would think that Erik was the one who had tried to kill her. But he didn’t care about what was going to happen to him as long as the person he loved lived. So, he stepped inside.

“Lucy needs help!” he shouted once he was in the guild hall.

He hated to be in that state of panic, he didn’t even know if anyone was going to listen to him. But he didn’t have the time to let these thoughts consume him because he had only just walked in that he felt the blade of a sword right against his neck. He could feel his feet freeze on the spot and there were burning flames in the corner of his vision. Natsu, Gray and Erza had moved first but all the guild members were on the defensive, ready to eliminate him.

“Gray, take her to Wendy,” Erza ordered.

The Ice Mage shot him a death glare before taking Lucy from his arms and disappearing with her in another room.

“What have you done?” Titania demanded.

“Nothing…”

Now that he was sure that Lucy was in good hands, all the exhaustion started to hit him, and the pain that he felt in all his body was just pure torture. He had no energy left and he couldn’t focus, black spots started filling his vision again.

“It’s hard to believe when you’re covered in her blood!” Natsu intervened, rage burning in his eyes.

“If I had wanted to kill her, I wouldn’t have taken her here! Ask her what happened when she wakes up if you refuse to believe me!”

He didn’t know where he found the strength to shout back at them, but maybe in a way he wanted them to believe that he was innocent because he was.

“In her state, we don’t even know if she will wake up,” Erza said.

Titania’s blade cut his neck slightly, but Erik kept looking at her in the eye, showing his determination. He wanted to show her that he wasn’t lying.

“Enough!” a voice echoed in the hall.

An old man moved through the crowd; Cobra could easily tell that it was the master simply by his magic power.

“Erza will take you to a cell. If you are innocent, I guess you don’t have a problem with that?” the Master asked, anger and hatred towards him fully visible.

“I don’t care what happens to me. Just save her...” was the only thing he could answer before the rest of his strength left him and he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Chapter Text

When Erik woke up, his body heavy and his mind hazy, the first thing he did was scanning his surroundings. It was a reflex he had developed in his childhood. His only eye landed on the bars in front of him, and he knew that he was back in a cell. But not back at the Magic Council.

Yet.

Cobra had spent days observing the stone of the Magic Council’s walls when he had been locked up there and he could tell that this cell was different. It took a few minutes for his brain to start working correctly and remember what had happened before he passed out.

Fairy Tail.

He was at Fairy Tail. He remembered running like a mad man to the only place he knew that could potentially save Lucy’s life.

Lucy.

Was she alive? Had Wendy been able to save her life?

He didn’t know and he felt his heart quicken, the panic of her unknown state overwhelming him. Breathing became harder, his thoughts were a chaotic mess and before being entirely consumed by what he was feeling, he forced himself to focus his hearing on Lucy or Wendy, or on anyone that could give him information on the celestial mage’s state.

But when he did, his ears hit a magic wall that stopped him from reaching the thoughts of the people upstairs. The Council had never been able to block his hearing or had never bothered to, but Fairy Tail had found a way, and that did nothing to calm the panic that was overtaking him. They probably wanted him to suffer since they thought he was responsible for Lucy’s state, he couldn’t see any other reasons.

Panic seized him, and his body started trembling. His ears had always been his anchor, the only thing that allowed him to stay sane in this awful world, and he realized that Lucy had become one of his anchors, too. She had made him see a whole new world, a whole new light, and in this awful world, she had been the first person to give him hope. And now, he had no anchor left to cling to, and he felt like he was drowning. He tried to reach the part of himself that was cruel and sadistic, he wanted to hide these unwanted and uncontrollable feelings behind the monster that he was, but he couldn’t. The monster in him didn’t answer, and he couldn’t put his mask on.

“You’re awake,” a feminine voice said. The voice sounded almost relieved.

He looked in front of him, and his eye landed on a blue-haired girl wearing an orange dress, next to her was a black-haired man with red eyes.

Levy and Gajeel.

“How is she?” Cobra immediately asked, not caring that his heart felt like it was about to burst. He had the chance to know how Lucy was, and he would seize it.

Levy and Gajeel looked at each other, unsure, before the woman nodded.

“She is stable, her life is not in danger anymore, but she hasn’t woken up yet.”

Relief flooded Erik’s chest, his panic receded as if the waves engulfing him and drowning him subsided, leaving him only with a sentiment of peace.

She is alive! His brain kept shouting.

Gajeel glared at him. “Why did you do that?”

Levy elbowed the man in the ribs before glaring at him.

“Don’t be stupid, Gajeel. It’s obvious that he didn’t do anything,” she scolded him, and then she went on more seriously, “What happened, Cobra?”

He blinked, he hadn’t expected people from Fairy Tail to believe him. He couldn’t even resent Gajeel for his reaction, it was totally legitimate. But it felt good to know that at least one person believed that he was innocent, maybe Levy trusted him just a bit more than Gajeel after the talk they had had months ago when they had been stuck and had needed to solve a riddle together.

“We were attacked. Lucy’s father sent two monsters after us. I tried to protect her, but I failed…”

He would be forever mad at himself for that. He should have been stronger; he should have been able to protect her.

“Her father? But I thought she had fixed the problem after the events with Phantom Lord…” Levy pondered out loud.

Gajeel looked at the floor, probably still feeling guilty about what he had done to Lucy.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the reason she got injured,” Erik added, guilt slowly ripping him apart.

“Why do you say that?” the blue-haired girl asked.

“I took something from her father, and he sent people after us to get it back and punish me for it. Lucy got caught in this mess by my fault, if I hadn’t been selfish, she would not have gotten hurt.”

Levy frowned at his words. “It feels like we are missing part of the context here. Why would her father hurt her? Why would he want to punish you?”

“It’s complicated… I don’t know what I am allowed to tell you. I don’t know what you already know about this situation. But I think it’s Lucy’s story to tell, not mine. And believe me, I know, I’m not helping my case by saying this, but I think you would want to hear this story from a friend rather than from a criminal.”

Gajeel and Levy probably knew snippets of information concerning Jude Heartfilia, they had been here when Fanny had taken Cobra away, saying that he was her slave and that it was Jude that had given his approbation for her to take back what was hers, but other than that, they didn’t really know just how bad Lucy’s father was.

She nodded, pensive and a little scared by his words.

“Alright, thank you for your cooperation.”

Cobra nodded, maybe he had just wanted to avoid the subject of Jude Heartfilia, but at the same time, he felt like it was Lucy who needed to tell her friends about her father. Why would they believe him anyway? He would probably just sound like a criminal making up a story to be pitied, and he didn’t want that.

Levy and Gajeel turned to leave.

“The Council is on its way, right?” Erik asked, trying to sound calm, but he hated how the fear in his voice betrayed him.

“Lahar and a couple of guards are already here,” Levy started, and Cobra felt like he has just been punched in the stomach, he would have loved to have time to mentally prepare himself before going back to jail. “Our guild master is keeping them busy as we speak, he is the one who asked me to come here with Gajeel and talk to you since we have worked together once. I refused to believe that you had willingly hurt Lucy and I’m glad to know I wasn’t wrong,” Levy added, a soft smile on her lips at the last part of her sentence.

Erik couldn’t believe just how much she trusted him, he would never have expected that from her, they had only worked together once, and he would have understood if she didn’t believe him, but it felt good to know that at least one person thought he was innocent.

“Yeah, you’re not the kind of guy to hurt people without a reason,” Gajeel added.

“Thank you,” was the only thing he could answer.

They stayed in front of the bars for a moment, mentally debating what to do; at least they were giving him a few extra seconds of peace before he would go back to jail to never see the sunlight ever again. Erik could say goodbye to his freedom, goodbye to the opportunity of seeing his mother one day, but the most painful thing to say goodbye to was spending his time with Lucy and see her smile. And he knew he would be lost without her by his side.

An idea crossed his mind exactly when the two Fairy Tail members started moving towards the exit.

“Wait!”

Gajeel and Levy turned and looked at him, confusion written all over their faces at his sudden burst of energy.

Cobra wanted to leave something for Lucy. He would be long gone before her awakening anyway, and he wanted her to have something belonging to him, so that in a way, he could always be with her if she wanted to. He removed his white coat – he would not need it where he was headed anyway – and he thought that maybe Lucy could wear it or just keep it if she wanted to remember him.

“Could you give this to Lucy when she wakes up? I don’t know what will happen to me or if I’ll be allowed to see her again, but I want her to have this.”

Levy nodded and then took his coat in her hands.

“I’ll make sure to give it to her, I promise.”

“Thank you, Levy. And could you also tell her that I am sorry? I didn’t want this to end this way.”

The blue-haired girl nodded.

“We didn’t want this to end this way either. I can’t believe I’ll never have the chance to fight you now,” Gajeel said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Erik answered, smiling awkwardly.

The two Fairy Tail members offered him a sad smile before disappearing upstairs, leaving him alone with only the dread that soon he would be back in a cell and that he would also never see the woman he loved again.

A few moments later, Levy and Gajeel came back accompanied by Fairy Tail’s guild master, Lahar and three Rune Knights.

“I guess I don’t have to bother with explanations, you know why we are here,” Lahar said.

Maybe Levy and Gajeel’s visit had helped him because now he felt a bit braver, he felt like he could put his mask on and face the Magic Council.

“I can’t wait to be back in my cell,” Erik answered ironically.

Lahar rolled his eyes and signaled him to get closer to the bars. Cobra obeyed, he didn’t really have any other option anyway, and when he did the three Rune Knights pointed their magic staffs towards him and shot bolts of electricity at him. He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream in front of so many people that he knew watching him get beaten pitifully.

“Is this really necessary?” the Master asked Lahar, worry all over his old face, “I think he would have followed you just fine if you simply had asked him to.”

Erik fell on the floor, his body wracked with spasms. He couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, and he would soon lose consciousness. He looked one last time at Gajeel and Levy, the blue-haired girl stood there, shaking slightly, her face full of shock, and the Iron Dragon Slayer was clenching his hands into fists, stopping himself from punching the Rune Knights and getting into trouble.

It didn't take long before darkness enveloped him.

When Erik regained consciousness, he knew he was back into his same old cell. He sat slowly against the wall, his body heavy and painful, and he sighed.

He really had lost everything, hadn’t he?

Lucy, his chance of getting his freedom, his chance of meeting his mother.

He could forget about all these things because he was never going to leave that place. He didn’t remember how long his sentence was for the crimes he had committed, but he knew he would be accused of trying to kill Lucy and that would only add years to his stay down there. Maybe he should have stayed in the Bosco Kingdom.

He put his head against the wall, and he fought back the tears menacing to roll down his cheeks.

Despair.

That was what he was feeling right now. He had seen a whole new world where he would have been welcomed, and now, it was gone. He would only know darkness and sadness for the rest of his days, and he had to force his mind to accept it quickly.

He heard footsteps approaching his cell and he immediately put his mask on, refusing to let any emotions threatening of overwhelming show. The old woman that he had seen plenty of time stopped in front of the bars, and observed him, it was easy to read disappointment on her face.

“You offered me an opportunity and I wasted it. I’m sorry for betraying your trust,” Cobra started, and he couldn’t even believe the words coming out of his mouth, and it seemed to be the same thing for Belno because he could see surprise on her face.

“You’ve changed. Maybe this project wasn’t a complete failure after all.”

Oh, he had definitely changed, that was a fact. Lucy had changed him, he wanted to believe that she had made him a better person, he wanted to believe that he was a better person now, but maybe he wasn’t.

“Can you tell me for how long I will stay down there?”

She pondered his question for a moment.

“We still want to discuss things with Lucy, but she has yet to wake up for that. But for now, probably 30 years.”

He felt like he had just been stabbed right through the heart.

30 years.

His life was ruined, but that was exactly what Jude Heartfilia had wanted. The man had destroyed his life through and through. And now, there was just a burning anger in Cobra’s chest, an anger that would never know peace because Jude Heartfilia was still roaming free and destroying people’s lives while he was being locked down there. Erik knew he wasn’t entirely innocent, he had ruined people’s lives, and he needed to pay for it, too, but the injustice made him sick.

Belno left without saying another word.

“Don’t let yourself be consumed by your anger, Erik,” he heard someone say.

Cobra knew that voice too well, and for a brief moment, his anger vanished. He knew it would come back stronger and torture him for probably 30 years and more. But right now, hearing the voice of one of his friends filled him with relief, and maybe that is what he had needed after this awful day.

“I didn’t think you would ever be the voice of reason, Sawyer.”

The man in the other cell laughed, and Cobra couldn’t help but smile, too.

“So, now that you are back, what do you think about telling me what you did outside? I need a good story, or I might go crazy.”

Erik’s heart felt lighter. He had spent months only with Lucy – not that he minded – and always missing his friends, feeling bad for leaving them in jail while he was outside, experiencing what freedom looked like. And maybe telling Racer what had happened during these eight months would help him feel a bit better before being constantly tortured by the freedom he had lost.

“I hope you have time to spare because it’s not a short story.”

Sawyer laughed again, and Erik started telling his story.

Lucy didn’t know where she was. The world had grown cold and dark, and silent. She didn’t feel any pain, which was surprising because that’s the last thing she remembered. Lucy and Erik had been attacked, and she had been badly injured. Maybe she was dead, and it was what death looked like, a never-ending darkness filled with cold and silence.

“Erik…” she whispered into the void.

She didn’t know what had happened to him, she could still picture his worried face and the tears rolling down his cheeks as he carried her injured body somewhere. And she was definitely never going to forget the words he had said.

I love you.

That was the words she had been dreaming of hearing for a while now, and it still seemed surreal that he had actually said it. And she had used the last of her strength to tell him the same thing. Lucy loved Erik, she had come to terms with that while ago, and finally saying the words had been the most freeing experience of her life. She wanted to see him and hug him, and maybe kiss him again. That would be one of her biggest regrets in her life if she had died not being able to kiss the man she loved one last time. The softness of his lips, the way he looked at her, and the slight blush on his cheeks were driving her crazy. She could feel herself blush just imagining all of that, and it was definitely not the time for that, but it had at least given her motivation.

Lucy took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks to focus on what she needed to do. She needed to get out of the darkness, she needed to wake up and see what had happened. And so, she started walking with no idea where she was going, the obscurity looked the same in every direction. But she kept going. And going. And going.

She felt like she had walked for hours, maybe even days, but she couldn’t see any change on the path ahead. She was stuck. Stuck in a place where time and space didn’t exist, stuck between life and death.

She kept going, though. She was determined to get out of here, even if it was to discover that she had died. She just really hoped that it was not the case, but this place between time and space seemed too real to be death, that was what she kept telling herself.

Lucy didn’t know when the tears started rolling down her cheeks but being stuck here with no idea if she would ever leave this place was terrifying, and it was slowly tearing her apart. She thought of Erik, of her brother, of her friends, of her spirits, she thought of all the people that brought light in her life. It was what kept her going, she knew she was not alone, but at the same time, the darkness crushed her, desperately trying to break her will.

She started calling for help, for anyone that could hear her. Her voice broken and weak. And when no one answered, she fell on her knees, sobbing and clenching her chest. Her heart ached. She wanted to see her loved ones again; she wanted to be back in the light and feel joy again.

“You need to keep going, Lucy,” a voice said from behind her.

She immediately turned her head to see where it came from. A small boy with black hair and brown eyes stood in front of her, eyes tired but a little smile on his face.

Her brother.

The one who had answered her desperate calls was her brother, the only person that she had never been able to help but who had always helped her.

She started sobbing uncontrollably and she threw herself on him, hugging him tightly as if she refused to let him go. And even if this place wasn’t reality but an in-between, the hug felt real.

“You need to keep going, Lucy. I won’t be able to stay here long.”

She looked at him, confused.

“Why?”

And then her eyes met his, and the exhaustion in them told her everything that she needed to know, and it also brought back Damon’s words.

Oh, and he also told me to tell you that he has found your brother and that he will take care of him.

The small boy in front of her looked away, and she could see him shake slightly.

“I am the one who needs your help, Lucy.”

She gritted her teeth, and she had to stop herself from bursting into tears again. It was words she had never expected to hear, especially when Cobra had told her that her brother didn’t want to see her, but if her brother had come here to ask for help, it meant that he was desperate. Jude was probably torturing him again.

“I will get you out of here, I promise,” she said determinedly before hugging him again.

“Don’t act rashly. I can wait. You-”

“No, you can’t wait! He is hurting you again! I can’t let him do that!”

Her brother smiled softly. “You will have a lot to deal with as soon as you wake up, you won’t be able to come help me directly, and I don’t want you to do that. If you act rashly and you fall into his trap, I will never forgive myself.”

She knew that he was right, she couldn’t simply burst into the Heartfilia mansion and force her father to let her brother go, he would never do that. And she was certain that Damon and Rowena would be there to since they had been hired by Jude.

“I’ll come with Erik; we will get you out of here.”

The small boy nodded. “Just be careful.”

“I will.”

And once she had said those words, light broke the darkness surrounding her, and she could see a door not too far away from her.

“I guess you got the motivation you needed to wake up.”

She hugged her brother one last time. “Thank you for helping me once again, and I promise I will save you.”

“I will be waiting.”

She looked at him, the little boy in front of her vanishing into the darkness. It was painful to see her brother disappear again, but she would soon be reunited with him and that was all that mattered.

Lucy took a deep breath and rushed towards the door. She didn’t want to be stuck in the darkness for one more second, she had things to do in the real world, people were waiting for her.

She turned the handle and pushed the door open before closing her eyes.

Chapter Text

Once Lucy had gone through the door, the cold and silence receded, and the darkness vanished. Different sounds found their way to her ears, it was warmer now, and she knew that if she gathered her strength, she would be able to open her eyes. And that’s what she did, she gathered her strength and forced herself to open her eyes. The world was bright for a moment, too bright. She blinked several times, letting her eyes adjust to the light, and once she wasn’t blinded by the brightness anymore, she found herself staring at a ceiling. It was familiar and at the same time it wasn’t. She knew it was not the ceiling of her room, and it didn’t look like the ceiling of the hospital either.

“You’re awake!” someone shouted, relief flooding their voice.

She turned her head slowly in the direction of the voice, and the first thing she saw was pink hair.

It wasn’t just someone who had shouted.

It was Natsu.

If Natsu was here that meant that she was probably at Fairy Tail.

The Dragon Slayer rushed towards her but was rapidly stopped by Erza who grabbed him by the scarf to stop him from hugging her.

“She is still injured, you can’t hug her right now,” Erza scolded him.

Seeing her red-haired friend in the room confirmed her theory that she was indeed at the guild. A few moments later, Gray, Wendy, Porlyusica and the Master were in the room all drawn here by Natsu’s scream.

She blinked, trying to focus her mind on what was happening right now. Why was she at Fairy Tail? What had happened after she got injured and passed out? Where was Erik?

She scanned the room again, but there was no trace of the crimson-haired man that had been by her side for the past eight months.

“How are you feeling?” Makarov asked, getting closer to the bed.

“I’m alright,” she answered weakly.

Lucy tried to sit, but her body was heavy and sore, and her chest was painful.

“Easy, my child. You were badly hurt, without Wendy and Porlyusica’s help, we would have lost you.”

She had almost died. If Erik hadn’t been there, she would have died. He had saved her life, and now he was nowhere to be seen, and she didn’t like that.

“Where is Er…” she started before remembering that no one here except her knew the Poison Dragon Slayer’s real name, “Where is Cobra?” she asked, his unknown situation torturing her.

The Master looked away and stayed silent, and for a moment Lucy’s heart started racing, she wasn’t sure that she could stomach hearing that Cobra was dead. But Natsu broke the heavy silence in the room.

“Don’t worry, Lucy. That bastard isn’t going to hurt you anymore.”

She felt a pang in the heart at that; she didn’t like that answer.

“He didn’t hurt me,” she said, “He would never hurt me.”

Gray and Natsu exchanged unconvinced looks.

“Then, what happened?” the Ice Mage asked.

“Your injuries look like the work of his Dragon Force,” Natsu added.

“We were attacked,” Lucy started, “And the man who hurt me copied his magic so that Cobra would be the one accused of hurting me.”

Natsu and Gray stayed silent, she could see on their faces that they had trouble believing that it was true, and that Cobra was innocent.

“Where is he? If you ask him directly, he will tell you the same thing.”

There was a big silence for a moment, they all exchanged looks before Erza nodded, deciding to be the one to be the bearer of what was probably going to be bad news to Lucy’s ears.

“He is back at the Council.”

Lucy’s heart stopped, and maybe the whole world did too, when the realization of what had happened to Cobra crashed upon her.

Damon had broken the bracelets, immediately signaling that Cobra had broken a part of the deal made with the Council. Erik could have chosen to flee, to run away and disappear in the nature, but instead, he had chosen to head towards his enemy’s place hoping that they would be able to save Lucy’s life. He had come here fully knowing that he might be accused of hurting her and that there was a chance that someone would warn the Council and that he would end up in jail never to see the sunlight ever again.

“You warned the Council?” she asked, her voice shaky and full of shock, she couldn’t believe that Erik was back in jail.

“No, we didn’t,” the Master reassured her, gently taking one of her hands in his, caressing her fingers to calm her, “The Council arrived a couple hours after he barged in the guildhall. They already knew he was here.”

Lucy couldn’t stop her body from shaking, she refused to believe that it was true. Erik couldn’t be back in jail, not when he was so close to getting his freedom, not when he had confessed his feelings for her, and she had done the same. It couldn’t end like this.

“I need to go to the Council,” she said, trying to get up but Makarov gently pushed her back.

“Once you are fully healed.”

She gritted her teeth; she knew that the Master was right but the idea of Erik being in jail made her sick. She wanted him to be here, she was convinced that she would heal faster if he was here to comfort her.

“I’m sorry, Lucy. I wanted to heal you completely, but I was not strong enough,” Wendy apologized, looking down.

Erza patted the little Dragon Slayer head to comfort her.

“Don’t apologize, Wendy. You saved my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The girl offered her a little reassured smile.

“You need to rest if you want to heal, we will let you sleep.”

“Thank you, Master.”

She looked one last time at her friends, they all offered her bright smiles before leaving the room except for Natsu who stayed behind, worry written all over his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked, “You’ve been asleep for three days.”

She blinked, a bit surprised by his words. No one had told her that she had been unconscious for that long, she thought that it was the following day of the attack, not three days after. And the only thing in her mind was how worried Erik must be. He probably didn’t know that she was alive thanks to him and his quick thinking. And now every time she thought about the fact that he was back in a cell, her heart broke. She needed to get him out of here as soon as possible.

She offered Natsu a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, just a bit tired.”

He didn’t look convinced by her words, but he didn’t say anything, he smiled back at her before leaving the infirmary.

Once she was alone, Lucy couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Erik was gone. Her brother was suffering. She had not mentioned the dream of her brother she had had while she was unconscious, but she had not forgotten that her brother was being tortured by her father right now. And Lucy was stuck here for an unknown time, with only the knowledge that the man she loved and that the only family member that mattered to her were both suffering.

Lucy couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the fates of her brother and Erik haunted her. It was pure torture to be stuck in this bed when the two people she loved most were suffering.

She stared at the ceiling when she heard the door of the infirmary open, she turned her head to see who had just come inside.

“Hey, Lucy. How are you feeling?” Levy asked, walking directly towards the bed.

“Better now that you are here,” she answered, and she was telling the truth, having some company helped her not focus only on the negative things that plagued her mind.

The blue-haired girl smiled briefly at her, her smile rapidly turning into a serious thin line. “I’m sorry about Cobra.”

Lucy gritted her teeth. “I will find a way to free him once I can leave this bed.”

Levy laughed, “I’m not even surprised to hear you say that.”

“It’s unfair,” she sighed desperately, “He saved my life, he shouldn’t be back in jail.”

Her best friend nodded. “I know… Even the Master didn’t agree with the Council’s way when I told him that Cobra was innocent.”

She looked at Levy with surprise on her face. “You told the Master that he was innocent?”

“Of course. I knew he would never hurt you; plus Cobra told me what happened.”

Lucy didn’t understand why she wanted to cry at these words, maybe it was the relief that someone other than her knew that Erik was not the monster he pretended to be.

“You spoke to him?”

“Yes, and he told me to tell you that he was sorry, and that he didn’t want things to end like this.”

She felt like she had just been slapped, and she clenched her hands into fists to stop herself from bursting into tears. She could easily picture him saying these words, his voice broken and his face contorted by sadness.

“And he wanted you to have this,” Levy said, handing her Erik’s white coat.

Lucy was pretty sure that her heart broke into a thousand pieces when she saw the coat, and she couldn’t fight against her tears anymore. She hugged the coat tightly and started sobbing. The fabric still faintly smelled like him; it was comforting but at the same time it felt like being stabbed by a knife. It was a reminder of what she had lost, but it was also a good motivation to fight for Erik’s freedom.

“Thank you Levy,” she said, once she was a bit calmer.

Her best friend offered her a kind smile before leaving the infirmary. It didn’t take long before Lucy collapsed of exhaustion. She hugged Erik’s coat tightly, breathing his scent before falling asleep.

Erik had forgotten just how long the days were when they were spent in a cell. He had been here for three days now, and he didn’t know how he would endure thirty years. What made it worse was that he didn’t know anything about Lucy’s state, and that was eating him whole. He didn’t know if she had woken up – he really hoped so – or if she was still lying unconscious in a bed at Fairy Tail. And he wasn’t sure for how long he could be kept in the unknown before going crazy.

He sat on the bed and put his head against the cold hard stone, trying to find a way to stop his mind from torturing him with things that he would never know. He could forget about Lucy’s state, he could forget about everything outside of this cell and he needed his mind to accept that quickly. It was just extremely hard.

Cobra was about to lose himself in sad thoughts like he had done for the past two days when he heard a laugh in his cell that sent shivers down his spine. He knew that voice, he may not have heard it a lot, but he had heard it way too recently.

Rowena.

He jumped off his bed, looking around to see where the woman was. He may not have any magic, but he was ready to fight even if he knew that she was way stronger than him. Cobra saw a red puddle beneath his feet, and he tried to move backwards.

Too late.

Rowena materialized in front of him, and fear paralyzed him for a brief instant when he saw her eyes full of excitation and a sadistic smile on her face.

“Hi, beautiful body to destroy,” she said, her voice dripping of cruelty before kicking him in the legs, forcing him to kneel in front of her.

Erik tried to get up, all of his senses telling him that he was in danger if he stayed in front of this woman. He was about to move when he felt an electric shock course through his body, and he fell on the floor, his body wracked by spasms. When he looked behind him, he saw a Rune Knight with a magic staff in his hands and next to him was a high member of the Council, Org.

Cobra gritted his teeth; he should have expected that. He had known that Org was in contact with Jude Heartfilia and that he agreed with his crazy ideas. That’s what Lucy’s father had wanted, for Erik to be back in jail so that he could reach him indirectly and make him suffer. He difficultly clenched his hands into fists, he needed to move; to fight, he needed to do anything that wouldn’t leave him at the mercy of Jude’s allies.

“I love seeing such resolve in my toy’s eyes, it means that they haven’t given up just yet and that they will be more fun to break,” Rowena whispered in his ears, “We are going to have so much fun together.”

“Bastards…” he struggled to say. It was a pathetic attempt to show that he was still fighting. Erik would never break that was a silent promise he had made to himself at the Tower of Heaven. He refused to give the satisfaction of breaking him to Jude, that was what would push him to keep fighting. Cobra could go through hell again, he would resist for as long as his body allowed him to, and if it ended with him dying, so be it. He would die fighting, never conceding defeat.

He heard Rowena laugh again before another shock coursed through his body and darkness embraced him.

When he regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was that his hands were bound together and that they were in the air, they were probably tied up to the ceiling. He dreaded the moment he would open his only eye and see where he was. He may have been determined to fight until his death that did not mean that he wasn’t scared, he hated pain, and he didn’t want to go through hell again. Before opening his eye and alerting his enemies that he was awake, he took a moment to focus on the sounds and the voices around him, hoping to hear something that might give him a chance to escape the torture he was about to go through.

I wonder by what I will start, he heard Rowena hum in her head happily.

He tried to ignore the fear that was slowly creeping inside of him. He needed to hear something more hopeful; he needed to hear that he had a potential chance of survival, but there was nothing else. He was stuck alone with this crazy woman.

“I know that you are awake, I can sense your fear,” she said.

He gritted his teeth, and he slowly opened his eye. He checked his surroundings quickly; he noticed that he was still in a cell but a different one from the one he had been in before. His old cell had bars; this one had a metal door with a little window.

They had moved him, he didn’t know where, though. But that seemed logical since he wasn’t sure that the rest of the Magic Council was alright with torturing criminals.

His eye landed on Rowena next, she stood in front of him, her red eyes gleaming with a sadistic pleasure.

“Hello, did you sleep well?” she asked, smiling widely.

Cobra knew that his legs weren’t bound, and his first reflex was to kick her in the ribs. She caught his leg effortlessly, and there was pure amusement on her face.

“I like when my toy resists, but I need you to be calm right now.”

As she said the words, spikes of blood pierced his leg from all sides, and he couldn’t stop himself from screaming. Rowena let go of his leg, the spikes disappearing at the same time, leaving it with several holes in it.

“Easy, Rowena. I want him to be focused for the deal I’m about to offer him,” Org said as he stepped inside the cell.

The woman rolled her eyes and pouted, looking extremely unhappy about the man wanting to discuss with Cobra.

“Excuse her, she may be a bit violent sometimes,” the man apologized with a little smile.

“What do you want?” Erik asked through gritted teeth.

“I’ve come to offer you a deal. A chance to escape pain.”

That seemed too good to be true, there was no way someone working with Jude would offer him an opportunity to escape torture and suffering.

“I’m listening,” he said reluctantly, he didn’t want to make a deal, he just wanted to be left alone.

“Give me your ears, and you won’t suffer.”

Cobra blinked, confused by Org’s offer. The man wanted him to sacrifice his hearing in exchange of being left alone. Erik wasn’t sure that he could live without his hearing, but if that was the price to pay to escape hell, he was ready to do it. But Org’s next words made his blood ran cold.

“I’ll be a bit more precise. I don’t want your hearing for myself, I don’t know how I could take it away from you. So, what I’m asking of you is to stay here for the rest of your life, we would use magic to amplify your hearing so that you could hear what is happening in the whole kingdom. And once you warn us about a danger, we could easily send some Rune Knights to take care of it. A scum like you would help the kingdom; you would be its secret savior.”

Erik had to repress a laugh at the absurdity of this deal. He wasn’t winning anything if he accepted this deal, the only thing he would get was a life of being treated like an object. He would avoid pain, but there was still no freedom in sight. The Magic Council had always treated him as less than a human, but this proposition felt even worse. Cobra was not against using his hearing to help others, he just wished that he would be treated correctly in exchange of his help, which was not the case right now.

“In your dreams,” was his answer.

He had to make a choice between a life as an object or suffering until his body gave out. If that was what his future looked like, he would choose pain because he had a chance to die faster than being dehumanized for the rest of his life.

Rowena’s eyes lit up at the refusal.

Org shrugged. “That’s your decision, but if you change your mind, the deal still stands,” he said, looking briefly at the woman, “I think you will change your mind pretty quickly.”

Org left, leaving Erik alone with Rowena who jumped excitedly at the fact that she could do whatever she wanted to him.

“Honestly, I think you made the right decision. Being treated like an object is not fun at all, but rest assured, I will take good care of you,” she said, putting her hands on his shirt before ripping it apart.

She observed his body for a while, and a creepy smile appeared on her face when she noticed the bruise on his stomach where she had kicked him the other day.

“That must hurt,” Rowena said, sticking her fingers into the bruise.

Pain shot through Erik’s body, and he gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming. This woman was a monster, a cold-hearted beast that lived for the pain she inflicted to others.

“No scream, huh?” she whispered, sounding a bit disappointed, “Well, it’s only a matter of time before I make you scream, don’t worry,” she added, caressing one of his cheeks.

He tried to bite her finger, it was a desperate action, but he would fight back as long as his body allowed him to.

She laughed. “I like you already! Breaking the toughest ones is the best! I’m just disappointed that the blond girl isn’t here to watch, I’m sure she would have enjoyed the show. Did she survive by the way? Damon and I were curious.”

Cobra’s heart stopped at the mention of Lucy, he was glad that she was safe back at Fairy Tail, he was convinced that these two monsters couldn’t touch her if she was there, they would have to go through the whole guild to hurt her, and even if they were strong, Fairy Tail was stronger, he was sure of it.

Rowena squinted her eyes, scanning his face. “Oh, so she survived.”

He blinked, a bit confused about how she had understood that Lucy was alive.

“You’re a boy in love, you can’t hide your feelings when it’s about her,” she said, then she sighed, “I wish she was there, I would torture her in front of you, it would be so much fun. I bet you would be begging and imploring me to stop. I can easily picture the despair on your face! Oh, it would have been so good! Alas, it’s just the two of us.”

And it was better this way. The idea of Lucy being tortured made him sick but imagining her in the hands of this woman felt worse.

Rowena approached a table where tools of different kinds were aligned, she chose a syringe with a purple liquid, and somehow it seemed familiar.

“It’s a gift from Fanny. She may also be locked up here, but she found a way to finish her concoction. I think you know what that is because she made it specifically for you.”

Terror overtook him at the mention of the woman who had resurfaced his life a few months ago only to experiment on him. And at that moment, he was ready to accept the stupid deal Org had offered him, he felt pathetic by how quick his will and resolve had broken, but he could not go through experiments and torture again. Erik was not strong, he was a coward, and he was pathetically weak. He was about to call back Org, to tell him that he accepted the deal, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Rowena put her hand on his mouth and plunged the needle in his neck.

“No. Remember, you choose to stay with me instead of going with the old man. You’re mine, now, and I won’t let you change your mind.”

He felt the liquid being injected into his veins, instantly making his skin burn and itch. He could see purple scales grow everywhere on his body, his nails turning into claws, and then he felt like his back was being torn apart when wings and a tail appeared.

Rowena stared in awe at his sudden transformation, and then a wicked smile crossed her face.

“You look gorgeous. I’m pretty sure that plucking all of your scales will be very amusing, I think I’m going to make myself a dress with them.”

Making a dress with his scales? She was mad, and he needed to find a way to free himself and get out of here.

The transformation had made him stronger; he pulled on the chains that bounded his hands, and he could hear them crack, and for one brief moment he had hope, he saw a chance of getting out of here. But it rapidly vanished when she noticed his actions and whispered the most terrifying words he had ever heard.

“Try to run away and I will kill Blondie in front of you. I’ll start by gouging out her eyes, then I will burn her skin, and I can go on and on about how I will make sure that she suffers every second before I kill her.”

And with this threat, Erik lost his will to fight. He stopped pulling on the chains, and he looked down, a sign that he gave up. He couldn’t be the one responsible for unleashing this demon on the woman he loved, he couldn’t kill Lucy.

Erik loved Lucy, and he would go through every pain and every torture if that meant that she would be safe, he would protect her by sacrificing himself.

“Good boy,” Rowena laughed, patting his head as if he was her little dog, “Now, one last thing before we start.”

She took a headset and put it on his ears, making sure that it was well settled and that he could not take it off before pressing a button.

And then, the world drowned into screams.

Chapter Text

Apparently, Lucy had to stay two weeks in bed before being allowed to leave the guild and go back to her apartment, or that was what Porlyusica had said. What Lucy had gathered and understood was that the Master wanted to keep an eye on her until she was completely healed, or he knew that she would rush to the Council at the smallest opportunity. And maybe he was right to do so because her injuries were severe, and she needed the wound to close correctly if she didn’t want any after-effects. She understood the logic behind the Master’s thoughts, but that did not mean that she liked it. Her body was healing, but her mind was breaking. Knowing that Erik was back in jail and that her brother was in her father’s hand was a torture, especially when she was stuck here not being able to do anything to help them.

Actually, she was trying to help, the problem was that it felt like it was not enough. She couldn’t really help her brother; she had no idea how she could get him out of the Heartfilia Mansion without barging directly inside the house. The only thing she could do was ask Levy to bring her records where she could potentially find a trace of her father’s crime and show it to the Council once she would be allowed to leave Fairy Tail. At least doing that kept her mind busy with something other than awful thoughts about how two of the people she loved were suffering.

Lucy was also trying to help Cobra, the first thing she had done was writing a letter to the King of Bosco and ask him to intervene if she failed in freeing Erik. It had really felt like a desperate move to immediately ask Lionel for his help, it had felt like Lucy had known that this time there would be no miracle and that the Council wouldn’t give Cobra a third chance. And if it came to that, if Erik was denied a third chance, then Lucy would at least be sure that Lionel would do everything in his power to free Cobra and take him back to Bosco where he would be free. She knew that Lionel would do anything to help Erik, and that fact reassured her.

It was only after a week that she got an answer from the King of Bosco, and she had never expected that his answer would come with a surprise.

She had been spending her afternoon with Natsu and Happy, they had wanted to tell her about the last mission they had done, and honestly, Lucy was glad to have some distraction, so she had listened intently to her friends.

But she never had the chance to hear the end of Natsu’s story because a woman stepped inside the infirmary, looking lost and confused. Lucy’s mind and heart both stopped working properly when she recognized the woman that had just joined them.

Long brown hair and soft purple eyes.

But more shockingly the spitting image of the woman she had seen on the painting Lionel had gifted to Erik when they had still been in Bosco, except that the woman in front of her was a bit older.

Lucy was speechless as Kaede Akatsuki, Erik’s mother, stood right in front of her.

“Excuse me, are you Lucy Heartfilia? The kind barmaid said I would find her here,” Kaede asked, never taking her eyes off her.

Natsu and Happy were confused by this sudden interruption, and they observed Kaede warily, probably because she was staring intently at Lucy.

“She smells like Cobra,” Natsu whispered, and she could see that his body was tensed, ready to fight this stranger if he needed to.

The mention of Erik was like a stab in the heart.

Lucy had not needed a confirmation to know that it was Erik’s mother standing in front of her but hearing Natsu confirm that her scent matched Cobra’s made her realize that everything was real and that she was not just hallucinating what was happening. But Lucy was also hurt by the Dragon Slayer’s reaction, she had told him several times that Cobra was innocent and that he would never hurt her. However, Natsu still seemed to have trouble believing her words.

Kaede noticed Natsu’s animosity towards her, and she put her hands in the air to show that she didn’t want to hurt Lucy.

“I need to talk to her, I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Natsu, Happy, I will hear the rest of your story later, alright?” Lucy said softly. She also wanted to speak with Kaede, she had wanted to meet her since the moment she had known that she was still alive.

“Are you sure about this, Lucy? She has been glaring at you non-stop since the moment she came here, and her smell is like Cobra’s. If she is here to hurt you…”

“Natsu,” she started, grabbing his arm and squeezing it lightly to reassure him, “She is not here to hurt me, I promise.”

He looked at her in the eye, trying to decipher if she was lying or not. Lucy simply offered him a little nod, and she hoped that he understood that she was being honest right now.

“I will scream if I need help,” she added to reassure him.

Natsu and Happy left, she saw on their faces that they were still unsure about leaving her with a total stranger when she was still injured, and Lucy knew that they would be waiting right outside the door in case Kaede revealed herself as a monster.

“I apologize for my friend’s behavior; he is just worried about me.”

Kaede looked at her, noticing the bandages wrapped around her chest, and her face softened, a tinge of worry found its way to her purple eyes.

There was a heavy silence for a moment, and it was easy to tell that Kaede was uncomfortable. And it was completely normal, what was she supposed to say to the friend of her son that she had lost years ago?

And it was true that Lucy had really wanted to meet her, she had wanted to know more about Erik’s mother, but not in these conditions. Cobra was absent. Lucy had no guarantee of helping him, and now she was stuck with his mother and the only thing she had to offer was bad news about her son.

“Lionel told me to give you this,” Kaede said, taking out a letter from one of her pockets and handing it to her.

Lucy took it, and immediately read it. She was relieved to know that the King of Bosco was ready to help Cobra the moment she would ask him to do it, and he was also apologizing for not being able to stop Kaede from coming here. Apparently, she had been visiting the King of Bosco to hear more about Lucy and Erik’s adventures in the Bosco Kingdom, but when she had seen Erik’s name on Lucy’s letter, she had forced Lionel to tell him where her son was, or where she could find the girl that had come to Bosco with Erik.

She observed the woman in front of her. Kaede was shaking and fiddling with one of her rings, and she kept eyeing the door or the window as if her son might suddenly appear in the room.

“Erik,” Lucy said softly, and immediately Kaede’s head snapped in her direction, her attention focused solely on her, “He is not here. I am sorry.”

Kaede slumped into a chair, her head in her hands and her eyes fixated on the ground as if what Lucy had said was the equivalent of a stab in the heart. She started shaking more uncontrollably, and Lucy knew that the woman in front of her was crying.

“I am the one who is sorry. You have no idea who I am, and I rushed here with no plan because I wanted to see you. I heard that you were close to my son,” she started, restraining her sobs as best as she could, but the emotion overcame her, “And I know that he doesn’t want to see me, and I’m not looking for him, but Lionel told me that he was in trouble, and I just wanted to make sure that he was okay, that he was safe. I… I-”

Lucy wrapped her arms around Kaede and hugged her tightly, and as she did, she realized that she was also shaking uncontrollably herself. It had already been a challenge to stop herself from crying when she had seen the despair on Kaede’s face, and the only thing she wanted to do was cry with her. Lucy was missing Erik madly, and his mother was probably missing him even more.

“I wish I had good news,” Lucy whispered, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

Kaede was calmer now, and she gently cupped Lucy’s face in her hands, her purple eyes brimming with tears.

“Where is he?” she asked softly, and Lucy could tell by the resolve on her face that she was ready to hear anything about her son’s situation.

She took a deep breath, “A lot of things happened, but right now, Erik is in jail.”

And Lucy was pretty sure that she had broken the woman’s heart with her words. Kaede was immobile, there was only shock in her eyes and on her face, and it was easy to see that her mind was going at full speed.

“I need to help him,” she said, getting up from the chair, making her way towards the door, “I- I will find a way to get him out of here.”

“You can’t,” Lucy replied, ready to leap off her bed to stop the woman from leaving the infirmary. She immediately regretted her words; it was as if she had just told Erik’s mother that she was incapable of helping her own son.

Kaede turned to stare at her, a rising anger burned in her purple eyes. “And why do you say that?”

“Erik doesn’t want to see you,” she started, gritting her teeth at how awful it sounded. Hurt flashed in Kaede’s eyes, and Lucy felt bad for not having phrased it differently. “Sorry… What I meant is that you can’t just barge into the Magic Council and ask them to free your son. They might not believe that you are Erik’s mother and if you have no way to prove it, there is a high chance that they won’t listen to a word you say. And even if I hate to say it, Erik is a criminal, and the Council has the right to lock him up.”

She looked down, “Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t let my son rot in jail,” she sighed desperately, anger still tinting her voice.

“Erik and I made a deal with the Council. They will listen to me, and if I’m convincing enough, there is a chance that they will let him go.”

A slim chance, her brain whispered to torment her. She shook her head, refusing to let the negative thoughts win. She would free Cobra no matter the cost.

“I will get him out of here, I promise,” Lucy said determinedly, and it seemed to soothe Kaede. “But only in a week, I’m not allowed to leave this bed right now.”

Again, Erik’s mother stared at the bandages wrapped around her chest, and she nodded, defeated and exhausted.

“Thank you, Lucy. I’ll be going now, I don’t want to bother you too much, and I think I clearly overstepped,” she replied as she started walking towards the door again, “If it’s not too much to ask... Once you have helped him, could you write me a letter? I just want to make sure that he is alright,” she added, her voice wavering before pointing at a paper that she had left on the nightstand.

Kaede was about to open the door and leave, but Lucy refused to let this poor woman leave like this when she had only learned negative things about the state of her son.

“Or you could stay… I don’t know what Lionel told you already, but I have a few happy memories with Erik, and I could share them with you, if you want. It’s not much because I haven’t known him for long, but your son is wonderful, and I would love to tell you more about him.”

Lucy felt like talking about Erik to his mother would maybe help her forget that he was in jail for a moment, she would bathe herself in the happy memories she had before falling into the terrible reality once more.

Hope shone in Kaede’s purple eyes.

“You would do that?” she asked, and there was shock in her voice as if she couldn’t believe that Lucy had made such a kind offer.

“Absolutely.”

Erik’s mother took back her place in the chair beside Lucy’s bed, ready to listen intently to everything she had to say.

The second week of being stuck in her bed was finally over, and now, Lucy was fully healed. There was still faint scars of the wound that had nearly killed her, but it would disappear with time that was what her "doctors". Wendy and Porlyusica had taken care of her during all this time, and she was thankful for their marvelous job.

She had spent most of the week chatting with Kaede. Erik’s mother had come to visit her several times to check on her, but also to hear more stories about her son. And sure, Lucy didn’t really have a chance to get to know Kaede because she was convinced that she wasn’t allowed to ask questions about what had happened to her, it was not her place to do so. But sometimes the woman briefly mentioned Haru, and what Lucy had gathered was that in terms of behavior Erik had really taken after his father.

Once Makarov had told Lucy that she was free to go, she hadn’t wasted any time. She had put Erik’s coat on to give herself some courage, then she had rushed outside and had bought a train ticket to Era. She was ready to battle with the Council until they gave Cobra a third chance. There was an intense fire burning inside her chest that would only go out once she had successfully helped her friend.

She didn’t care that Belno or the Chairman of the Council weren’t ready to receive her, she was going to talk to one or both of them today, and she would make another deal if she had to. Today was the day where she was going to free Cobra, no matter what. And if the Council refused to listen to her, she would tell Lionel, and he would get him out quickly. She was ready to do anything to get Erik out of jail, and even if using the power of a king didn’t seem fair, she didn’t care because she remembered how the Council had treated the Dragon Slayer, and she realized that she felt no remorse in heaping embarrassment on the Council.

Lucy arrived at the Magic Council, and immediately asked to talk to Belno. After all she was the woman who had been managing this deal since day one and she was the person most suited to endure her wrath. Luckily, stars seemed to have aligned for Lucy because after she had asked the receptionist to call Belno, she only had to wait for five minutes before the old lady arrived.

“Let’s discuss in my office,” Belno said once she saw her, she knew that their discussion wasn’t going to be fun, and she didn’t want to waste any time.

She nodded and followed the member of the Council.

“I need to know what happened that day,” Belno said, looking at her in the eyes.

Lucy knew what day the old woman was referring to, and slowly anger bloomed in her chest. Two weeks had gone by, and the Council didn’t know what had happened? They hadn’t asked Erik what had happened that day? They had arrested him simply because Damon had broken his bracelets? If the Council had bothered to ask Cobra what had happened that day, they would have known that there was no need to lock him up. If they had asked Erik to wear these stupid bracelets again after he had had a chance to explain himself, he would have accepted.

“Did Cobra have a chance to explain himself or did you lock him up without even asking him? It’s strange that you don’t know what happened that day. It’s been two weeks.”

Belno looked away and pinched the bridge of her nose. She sighed of exasperation, and it told Lucy everything that she needed to know.

Erik never had a chance to explain himself, they never gave him the opportunity to defend himself. They simply locked him up because he was a criminal and to the Council’s eyes, he would always be one. 

“This is not how it works, girl,” Belno countered, “I think you forgot that he was a criminal, he is not your friend.”

Cobra was definitely Lucy’s friend, and yes, he had committed crimes, but she had also seen how he had changed, how he strived to do better at every single opportunity he got. Now she could say confidently that Erik would never commit a crime ever again.

“A criminal that saved the King of Bosco’s life. A criminal that you let roam free in another kingdom and who didn’t run away when he had every chance to. Doesn’t it mean anything to you? Doesn’t it prove that he has changed?” Lucy started, and she could go on and on about how the Council was blind about Cobra and how they refused to see who he really was, “I will tell you what happened that day, and you will see that you made a huge mistake, and that Cobra has no reason to be back in jail.”

Belno was livid, she had probably not expected Lucy to go on a rant about Erik. But this fire in her had been consuming her for two whole weeks, and she couldn’t stand the injustice and the unfair treatment the Dragon Slayer received.

And so, Lucy explained everything. She explained how they had been attacked by Rowena and Damon, how Erik had tried to protect her without his magic, how Damon had broken the bracelets so that Cobra would be arrested, and how Damon had tried to kill her by copying Erik’s magic only to incriminate him even more. This attack had all been a trap set by Jude Heartfilia, and this time, Lucy didn’t forget to mention it.

“Wait, you are saying that your own father is behind all of this?”

“He is behind a lot of shady things, way more than simply deciding that Cobra should go back to jail because he stole something that belonged to him,” Lucy said, putting her hands on the desk before getting up from her chair, “My father thinks that every child of the Tower of Heaven belongs to him, and that includes Cobra. Oh, but that’s also probably news to you, I don’t remember the Council knowing about the Tower of Heaven except for firing Etherion at it." 

Lucy was slowly losing control of herself, she had never meant to vent to Belno, but it felt good. Erik had never been treated right by the Council, and it felt good to defend him, or at least try to.

“You need to calm down,” Belno ordered, she was even paler than before and she looked lost, and at the same time Lucy could see guilt in her eyes, “We stopped the construction of seven of these towers, we thought we got them all until Fairy Tail proved us wrong.”

The woman shook her head, the realization of what Lucy had just explained downing on her.

“Cobra is a child of the Tower of Heaven?” Belno asked weakly as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

“Yes. Except for Brain, the rest of the Oracion Seis are also children of the Tower of Heaven.”

Lucy could see guilt slowly creeping on Belno’s face because deep down she knew that Erik and the other members of the Oracion Seis were children that the Council had not been able to protect. The Magic Council had failed them.

“They are still criminals.”

“Maybe, but they did what they had to do to survive. But you would have known all that if you had asked them, I shouldn’t be the one explaining this to you. You should have given them a chance to explain, I’m not saying that you should have freed them on the spot, but you could have at least heard their story.”

“And Jude Heartfilia is responsible for all of this?”

“He controlled the Tower of Heaven, yes. My mother took me there once, I was too young to understand what was happening here, but it was terrifying,” Lucy started, and she gave herself a few seconds to think about her first meeting with Erik. A boy who was convinced he would die and had preferred protecting her by refusing to tell her his name. She would forever be grateful to have found him again, and she would not let him disappear from her life again.

“I think that my mother was trying to get my brother out of here, but my father refused to let her see him. My father was also here when I saved Cobra from Fanny’s grip. And I know I have no proof of what I’m saying with me right now, but before we went to Bosco, Cobra and I found a file compiling the data of all the children of the Tower of Heaven in the Heartfilia mansion.”

Shock covered the old woman’s face, she was probably thinking that Lucy had gone completely crazy, but she was still listening.

“This is absurd…”

“It’s not. Org knows about my father’s activities. He is the one who makes sure that you don’t discover Jude’s crimes,” Lucy took a deep breath, “Let Cobra go, and we will come back with the evidence you need to arrest my father. I want to stop Jude Heartfilia, I can’t let him keep ruining lives.”

Belno stayed silent for a moment, and Lucy really hoped that she had convinced her to let Erik go and give him a third and final chance. She hadn’t wanted to play the pity card, but she was simply mad about how Erik had been treated by the Council and she couldn’t stay silent about it.

The old woman sighed. “Alright, I want to hear Cobra’s version of the story.”

Lucy and Belno made their way to the cells. Lucy had never been there before, and she immediately hated it. The darkness and the loneliness poured from the walls, and she couldn’t imagine being locked up here for one day. As they walked in the corridors, Lucy could hear laments and she could see piercing eyes looking at her distastefully. She shivered, she didn’t want to stay here too long. But a feeble excitation found her way to her heart because she couldn’t believe that she was going to see Erik again, she couldn’t wait to hug him.

“Cobra’s cell is…” Belno’s voice trailed off when she stopped in front of the cell.

There was a problem.

A huge problem.

Erik’s cell was empty.

“I- I don’t understand…” the member of the Council said, visibly confused, “I visited him two weeks ago and he was here. I didn’t hear anything about an attempted escape.”

She shook her head in disbelief, and Lucy didn’t like that. It wasn’t normal. Erik would never attempt to escape because Lucy was sure that he was thinking that he deserved to be in here, even if it wasn’t the case.

“How is it possible that no one noticed his disappearance? A guard would have seen it by now,” Lucy said, frustration perceptible in her voice. She knew it wasn’t Belno’s fault, but she couldn’t understand how the Council could lose a prisoner who didn't even try to flee. 

“Or not if they were instructed otherwise,” a masculine voice coming from one of the cells nearby intervened.

Lucy immediately followed the voice. At least someone here seemed to know what had happened to Erik. She approached the cell where the voice had come from, and she recognized the prisoner easily. It was strange to see him without his sunglasses, though, but there was no mistaking it, the occupant of this cell was none other than Racer from the Oracion Seis.

“What do you mean by that?” Belno asked after following Lucy, her tone severe.

Racer glared at the member of the Council, but then he looked at Lucy and his gaze softened a bit. She didn’t know what she had done to earn a bit of Racer’s kindness, but in answer, she offered him a grateful smile which probably was the reason he started talking about what had happened to his friend.

“I mean that he was taken away.”

“Who? Where? When?” Lucy asked, she needed to know everything.

“I think it happened approximately two weeks ago, it’s hard to keep track of time down here... Org was here, and he asked a guard to electrocute Cobra. And then I remember seeing a woman with black hair, and red eyes filled with bloodlust leaving the cell with the body of my friend on her back,” Racer explained, and he almost spat the last part of his sentence to Belno’s face, “Org told her to bring him to an isolation cell, that’s all I know.”

Lucy’s heart was going crazy in her chest, and her mind was spinning. Absolute terror seized her, she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Everything was going too fast and too slow at the same time, and she felt like she was about to burst. She had heard the word electrocute and she had thought that her heart would give out. She couldn't believe that the Council allowed such horrible practices. 

But the worst part in all of that was that Erik was in Rowena’s hands right now, and he had been so for the past two weeks. Lucy couldn’t imagine the horror he had probably endured. This woman was mad, and she had said multiple times that she wanted to play with Cobra. Lucy feared the state she would find him in.

Two weeks.

Erik had been tortured for two weeks. She had already been shocked by what Fanny had done to him in only one week when he had been captured months ago, but Rowena seemed even worse than Fanny.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and her chest ached. She needed to get him out of here immediately. She clenched her hands into fists and took some deep breaths. She needed to clear her mind, the only thing that needed to stay was her resolve and her determination to save the Dragon Slayer.

“Where are the isolation cells?” she asked Belno determinedly, if the woman refused to respond, Lucy was ready to search the whole Council if she had to. She was getting Erik out of here, today.

“At the end of the hall, downstairs,” the member of the Council answered shakily, she was definitely confused by everything Racer had said, but she wasn’t going to question Lucy right now, she felt like only the truth had been said.

“Call some guards, please. The woman with black hair is really strong and we need to stop her no matter the cost,” Lucy ordered before glancing one last time at the member of the Oracion Seis in front of her, “Thank you, Racer.”

Racer nodded then he offered her smile, and she was pretty sure that she could discern some pride in it, or maybe thankfulness.

Belno rushed upstairs to get some guards, and Lucy didn’t wait. She darted to the end of the hall and went downstairs, running to the isolation cells. 

Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be alive, her mind repeated endlessly as she looked through the small windows of the isolation cells.

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, terror and panic dancing in her body. She was going as fast as possible, checking all the cells to find him.

Erik! She shouted in her head several times, hoping that he would make himself known, but her calls went unanswered which only made everything worse.

She continued searching the cells with no success until she reached the last one. There was a strong and awful smell emanating from it that made her stomach churn, and she had to stop herself from puking.

Please be in here. Please be in here. Please be in here, she pleaded silently.

She looked through the window and the world went absolutely still; she only heard a ringing in her ears that was stronger than the loud beating of her heart. Her breathing became uneven, she tried to speak, to call his name, but no sound came out.

Erik was here, his wrists chained to the ceiling. His bare torso was covered in cuts and scars, but also by purple scales that she had seen before. Droplets of blood snaked on his body before landing in a pool of blood at his feet. Dragon wings and a tail protruded from his back. But what shocked her the most at this moment was the headset on his ears, the tweezer on his nose and the mask on his eyes that deprived him from three of his senses.

Lucy didn’t notice when she summoned Taurus, it was as if she had just blinked and suddenly the spirit was here. Blinded by rage and terror, she couldn’t think straight, the only thing that mattered was Erik.

Taurus broke the door and Lucy immediately rushed towards Cobra. Once she was closer to him, she realized how worse his state was than what she had seen when she had still been outside of the cell.

Erik was wearing torn pants that looked more like a bloodied rag. He was missing patch of scales and skin, as if it had been both ripped out. One of his legs had deep holes in it. Bruises covered most of his body, some had faded to a yellowish color, but some were also deep blue. The wing web was torn, and there were deep slashes on his tail. The nails on his feet and hands were now long claws, and it looked more dragonlike than humanlike, she could even see a small claw protruding from his heels. There were also lashes that masked the three huge scars that marked his back.

Lucy shook her head; she needed to focus on helping him rather than observing every single injury. She hastily removed the tweezer on his nose, then the mask on his eyes and when she removed the headset, she was surprised by the screams that continuously erupted from it.

Her rage became even more intense when she realized that Rowena had not deprived him from his hearing but had done worse, she had forced him to use it constantly for who knows how long.

Erik’s only eye was closed, he looked exhausted, and right now, he seemed more dead than alive. She put her head against his chest and sighed of relief when she heard his heart beating. Slowly, she cupped his face with her shaky hands, and she started gently caressing his skin and the scales that covered his cheeks.

“I’m sorry for taking so long, Erik…” she whispered, not able to contain her tears in front of such horror.

His eye shot open at her words, the slit pupil scanning her from head to toe instead of a round one surprised her. Lucy saw relief in his eye, but it immediately turned into terror.

“Leave!” he shouted weakly before coughing blood and gritting his teeth, “If… If she gets her hands on you, she is going to kill you…”

Lucy caressed his cheeks, hoping to soothe him. Even in his poor state he was still worrying about her more than himself.

“Easy, Erik… She is not here; she won’t hurt me.”

She told Taurus to break the chains holding him to the ceiling and Cobra fell limply in her arms, unable to move.

“You’re in danger…!” he said, looking around the room frantically, “Please, Lucy, leave…!”.

She hugged him tightly. “You’re safe, Erik…” she whispered in his ear, tears rolling down her cheeks.

They stayed like this for a moment, she was convinced that Cobra was struggling against her grip because he wanted her to leave, but she was not letting him go, not when she had found him again.

“How cute,” a sadistic voice laughed before a bullet of blood grazed both Lucy and Erik’s flanks.

Lucy gritted her teeth at the sudden pain, but it was bearable. Merely a scratch. She looked around, trying to spot Rowena in the room, but she couldn’t see her.

Erik broke their embrace and gently pushed Lucy away, keeping his hands on her shoulders and squeezing them lightly.

“Please, go away, Lucy…” he said shakily, tears welling up in his eye, “She will torture you to death… You need to leave right now…! I- I can fight back for a few seconds probably, just enough to leave you the time to run away,” he added before falling on his knees, coughing blood.

She accompanied his body to lighten the fall, and they were both on their knees now. She kept her hands on his face, refusing to let go of him.

Rowena’s laugh echoed in the cell. “I’m glad you joined us, Blondie. I described to Erik just how much I was going to play with you and force him to watch. I can't wait to start.”

Lucy hated that this woman used the surname that Cobra always gave her, Blondie only sounded right when it came from his mouth.

“Lucy, please,” he begged one last time.

She caressed his cheek and offered him a little smile.

I’m not leaving you, Erik, she said in her mind only for him to hear.

“Maybe you should start by showing yourself, if you want to play with me,” Lucy challenged, putting as much confidence as she could in her voice, but in reality, she was terrified and she wasn’t sure that she could win. She was ready to die trying, though.

“As you wish,” Rowena answered before materializing from the puddle of blood on the floor that had been under Cobra a few moments ago.

Lucy blinked and it took everything in her not to vomit. The woman wasn’t wearing her gray sailor uniform, instead, she was wearing a dress of purple scales with two wings tied to her back. Lucy dared a little glance at Erik, she noticed the missing patches of skin and scales, and she understood what had happened to him.

Rowena smiled broadly, her eyes twinkling with cruelty and amusement at Lucy’s reaction to her dress. “Do you like it? Plucking all the scales one by one was a nightmare,” she sighed, rolling her eyes, “But hearing him scream was a good price in exchange for hours of work, though. He has a beautiful voice, perfect for expressing his pain, don’t you think?”

Lucy’s eyes darted between Rowena’s dress and Erik’s body. She clenched her chest as her breathing quickened. Her head was spinning with a thousand thoughts, and she felt like she was about to burst into a torrent of emotions. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she realized what Erik had gone through, just how much he had suffered in two weeks. She didn’t even realize when she grabbed one of her keys and summoned Loki. Golden light shone in the dark cell, and her friend appeared in front of her, he glanced at her and without asking any question, he jumped on Rowena.

“I was scared that the scales on his body wouldn’t be enough for a dress, but thanks to Fanny who supplied me with an infinite amount of her dragon concoction, I didn’t have to worry about that,” the woman started half laughing while dodging easily the spirit’s punches. “The scales grow back instantly when you inject it, same thing for the wings. And I have to admit cutting his wings was definitely the best part, I’m glad I could do it over and over again.”

"Shut up!" she screamed, blocking her ears with her hands. 

Lucy couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She stared at the floor, her thoughts whirling madly. She knew Rowena was taunting her, trying to break her, and it was working because the woman was laughing at her state. It was obvious that Rowena was taking a wicked pleasure in playing with her.

The only thing in Lucy's mind right now was the pain Erik had gone through, how he had endured two weeks in the hands of one of the vilest women she had ever met because of her father's cruelty and the Council’s disregard for their prisoners.

She heard a loud crash coming from the other side of the room even with her ears blocked. Loki’s body had collided with the wall, and he was sitting on the floor, breathing heavily. Golden particles floated around his body, and Lucy knew that he was about to disappear. Rowena grabbed the spirit by the neck and turned in Cobra and Lucy’s direction, slowly walking towards them while choking the spirit.

“Do you want a dress, too? I think it would be pretty romantic to have a dress with the scales of the man you love. I have enough scales left to at least make you a top, and I have a few wings that I could give you if you want them.”

She shivered at these words. Lucy didn’t want any of that, she didn’t want to see any of the things Rowena had done to Erik. And she also did not want to see how this monster was about to torture Leo, so she hurried to send him back to the Celestial Spirit World. Rowena merely shrugged at the disappearance of the spirit and continued advancing towards them.

Lucy turned to Cobra; his breathing was ragged, and, on his face, she could see fear. Fear that he was about to go through an indescribable pain again. His only eye was begging her to leave this place, to give up on him and run away to safety.

She would not do that. She would not leave the man that had turned her life upside down and had filled her heart with joy. She would not abandon the man she loved to a cruel fate.

She cupped his head in her hands and caressed one of his cheeks with her thumb before pressing her forehead against his.

I will save you, Erik, she vowed in her mind before getting up, letting go of Cobra to face Rowena.

It took a few seconds before Lucy was able to calm herself, the shock and the terror of what Rowena had done still present to fuel the burning anger in her chest, but not strong enough to paralyze her and make her lose all her means. She emptied her mind, keeping only Erik’s pain, Rowena’s monstrousness, her father’s cruelty and the Council’s incompetence in her heart. A perfect calmness overcame her, her hatred for Rowena bubbling up strongly inside of her. She was going to save Erik and for that, she would need to take down this sadistic woman right now.

“Oh, I like the look in your eyes,” the black-haired woman said with a wicked smile. “I will enjoy breaking you in front of your lover.”

Lucy ignored her words; she was tired of Rowena tormenting her. She summoned Gemini and asked the spirit to take her own appearance. It was this burning rage in her heart that kept her going, she wanted Rowena to pay for what she had done, and Lucy couldn’t control her emotions or herself right now.

“Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens… All the stars, far and wide… Show me thy appearance… With such shine,” Lucy started reciting with Gemini, “Oh Tetrabiblos… I am the ruler of the stars… Aspect become complete… Open thy malevolent gate. Oh 88 Stars of the heaven… Shine! Urano Metria!”

She unleashed the entirety of her magical power, but also her anger, her frustration that had built up today and over the past two weeks. She directed her magic on Rowena who tried to dodge the attack but was not fast enough. Her scream tore the air, and she fell a few meters away from them, still conscious but unable to move.

Lucy fell backwards, weakened by the sudden lack of magic. She felt two arms catch her to break her fall.

“You did it…” Erik said, relieved.

She smiled at him proudly, and he answered with a little exhausted smile. It was clear that he was fighting to stay awake right now, his body was shaking, and he seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

“You should rest… Belno will be there soon.”

He nodded, but then his body straightened against his will, and he clutched his chest with one hand.

Cobra was sure that he would die in this cell whether it was from torture or age or anything else really. His body was a mess, and he was in an extreme pain. But the real problem was that his heart had stopped beating, and it rapidly became hard to breathe. He could hear Lucy call his name, and he could see tears and worry on her face before his vision filled with dark spots. He also heard Rowena laugh; he knew she was the one playing with his organ since she had a total control over his body after drinking his blood.

As death wrapped her arms around him, he was glad to be in the presence of his angel, of the woman who had brightened his life. Dying next to Lucy helped him not think about his regrets. He had so many, and yet, at this moment, he was at peace.

Erik looked at Lucy one last time before he closed his eye, accepting that his time had come.

Chapter Text

Death was not cold and dark like Erik had always expected it to be, instead it was bright and warm, and almost comforting. When he had opened his eye, he had found himself lying in a golden grassland under an azure sky. He could feel the wind caressing his face and ruffling his hair, the warmth of the sun kissing his skin, and it felt amazingly great after spending days tortured in a cell. He stayed like this for a while, lying on the ground and enjoying the nature surrounding him. He was free now, he didn’t have to worry about going back to jail or please the Magic Council ever again, he could simply take his time. 

Cobra had kind of always known that he would die young and that he would never have the chance to see any of his dreams fulfilled. He had been forced to accept that fact early in his life when he had still been at the Tower of Heaven simply because he had never thought that he would leave this awful place alive and have the chance to become an adult. He knew dying came with regrets, and he had so many. He was only twenty-four years old, and he had spent his whole life either a slave or as a pawn, but never as a free man, and he hated that the only time he would taste freedom was in his own death.

He took a deep breath and decided to get up and wander these endless golden fields. His mind was filled with the thoughts of the people he was leaving behind, and probably the only few who would mourn him. The first person that came to his mind was one that he didn’t remember much.

His mother.

Never meeting her was probably the biggest regret of his life, especially when he had had the confirmation that she was alive and that he could have been reunited with her at any moment if he had wanted to. He was mad at himself for refusing to meet her when he had the opportunity to, he had been too scared to meet her and now he had missed his only chance.

Erik kept walking, his heart heavy and broken.

How did we get here? Lucy kept thinking, the vision of Erik’s dead body and Rowena’s sadistic laugh haunting her.

Everything that had happened after Cobra had collapsed—clenching his chest—had been a blur. She vaguely remembered checking his pulse before panic seized her when she realized that he had none. She didn’t know if she had tried to restart his heart herself while waiting for the guards to arrive or if they had arrived right on time and had immediately started taking care of the Dragon Slayer. What she clearly remembered, though, was the man she loved dying in her arms and her hugging him with all her strength as if she refused to let him go, as if this hug could keep him here with her.

Lucy sat in a waiting room at the Council—clenching tightly the fabric of Erik’s coat in her hands—while staring into the void with for sole company the thoughts about how it had all gone to shit and how she wished that it had gone differently, all of this accompanied by the sound of her leg bouncing non-stop on the floor. The only thing that gave her a bit of hope and relief was the fact that Erik was not dead yet. Guards and doctors had arrived right on time, and had immediately started taking care of him, and she knew that they had successfully restarted his heart, but that did not mean that he was out of the woods. They had taken him to the infirmary where he would receive the best care, and Belno had told Lucy to wait in this stupid room and that someone would come and get her once they would be done with Cobra.  

“It will probably be over soon,” the old woman said, entering the waiting room with two cups of coffee.

She couldn’t help but glare at Belno. If this high member of the Council hadn’t been that disinterested about Cobra and also awfully bent on thinking that he was a heartless monster, Erik wouldn’t be lying in a bed between life and death after enduring two weeks of torture. Lucy knew that Belno was not entirely responsible for what had happened to her friend, and that was why she restrained herself from screaming at her that it was her fault and that if she had shown even a tinge of kindness none of this would have happened. She took a deep breath, keeping her anger at bay, and immediately changed the subject.

“Did you find her?” Lucy asked in an indifferent tone. She wanted to know what had happened to Rowena because she didn't remember what the woman had been up to after killing Erik. Lucy couldn’t bear the idea of this monster laying her hands on her friend again, she would feel better knowing that she was behind bars.

The old woman shook her head. “The guards are still looking for her.”

Lucy shook her head, if the guards were still looking for her right now, it could only mean that she was gone and that she had successfully fled the Council. She clenched her hands into fists, it was one more thing to worry about.

Belno put the cup of coffee on the table next to Lucy’s chair. It was easy to see that she felt guilty for what had happened to Cobra and that she was trying to do better, and Lucy wished that she had realized that earlier, not when the worst had already happened.

Silence fell into the room, there was only Lucy and Belno, both waiting for news on Cobra’s state.

When the door of the waiting room opened, Lucy almost jumped from her chair, ready to hear what the doctor had to say. But what she really wanted was to see Erik, to see that he was alright with her own eyes. She was ready to comfort him, hug him, hold his hands, whatever could help him heal faster.

“How is he?” she asked impatiently, staring at the doctor.

“We took care of his injuries, and he should be fine,” he started, and Lucy immediately knew that she wasn’t going to like his next words by the face he made, “But we can’t say for sure when he will wake up. His body was in a terrible state, and the cardiac arrest did nothing to help. There is also a slight possibility that he might never wake up.”

Lucy felt like she had just been shot, she felt her knees buckle under her at the mention of Erik potentially never waking up and she could feel her breathing grew quicker. Her whole body started shaking and tears rolled down her cheeks.

How did we get here? She thought again, she couldn’t comprehend how a few months ago everything had been fine and now, she could lose Erik forever.

“Can I see him?” she asked shakily, her voice weak and broken by sobs.

The doctor nodded.

Erik was still walking in these endless golden fields while thinking of the people he was leaving behind. He allowed himself a long time to think about his mother and his regret of never meeting her. He should have accepted Lionel’s offer, he should have let the man invite his mother to the castle, but he had been too scared to meet her and for her to see what he had become. If only he hadn’t been paralyzed by fear and self-hatred, maybe he wouldn’t be drowning in a depthless sea of regrets right now.

His thoughts and regrets shifted to another person when he couldn’t bear thinking of his mother anymore. He thought of the person who had turned his life upside down and had given him a taste of freedom.

Lucy.

Erik would miss her terribly; she was as bright as the sun itself, a real ray of sunshine, and the only person who had been able to bring light in his stony heart. She was the person who had torn down his façade and had uncovered the real Erik. He had spent years hiding the real Erik behind Cobra, the poisonous monster that destroyed people’s lives. Cobra was an arrogant bastard, a monster, a cruel man underserving of love for all the atrocities he had committed. And this façade had been his protection, he had built walls around himself, letting only anger, rage and loneliness consume him because he thought that if he was a lonely monster, he would not suffer from the cruelty of the world. And it had worked until Lucy had landed in his life and had seen right through him, refusing to acknowledge Cobra as the person he was.

And well, Erik had tried to prove her the contrary, to make her understand that Cobra was who he was, but she had never once believed him. Lucy was stubborn, and he had not been able to win this war against her, the more he spent time with her, the more he got charmed by her words, allowing himself to get rid of his protection, and gently letting Erik exist instead of the monster within him.

Lucy was also the one who had always come for him and had never given up on him. Everything she had done for him had changed him, and it had made him fall in love with her. He loved her so much that his heart was always filled with emotions he couldn’t comprehend, and now he would never have the chance to tell her any of that. He may have said it once but confessing his feelings when the woman he loved was bleeding out in his arms was not how he wanted to do it.

He sighed desperately, being dead was awful. He wanted to hug Lucy, to tell her that he loved her, gods, he simply wished he was still alive. He shook his head, he felt lonely, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to endure an eternity of that. And this golden grassland did nothing to help, why was he in what was supposed to be a happy place when he had done nothing good in his life? He should be in hell, not in heaven, he didn’t deserve gold fields and a bright sun, he deserved to rot in a dark cave.

“I hate this place,” he grumbled to himself, kicking the dirt in front of him.

He simply hated being dead. Frustration and pain were fighting in his brain, and he had to resist the urge to let himself fall on his knees and cry for what he would never live. He forced himself to continue walking, he was pretty sure that if he stopped, he would be hit by all the emotions that threatened to consume him, and he would collapse and not be able to move again.

Days, weeks, months, years. He didn’t know for how long he walked before he finally spotted a change in the scenery. In the distance, he could see a little hut with smoke coming out from the chimney. And he didn’t care if it was a trap that death had laid for him, or a benediction of this place, he ran towards it at full speed, happy to see a piece of civilization in these endless fields.

A week had passed, and Erik had not woken up yet. Lucy had stayed by his side the whole time, hoping to see him open his eyes soon. It was painful to see him like this, most of his body covered in bandages, his dragon’s attributes still here except that their purple colors had turned into a crimson color, but the worst was to see him in this deep slumber with no idea if he would ever wake up.

Guilt was ripping her apart, the fact that she had failed in protecting Cobra was eating her alive, but what tortured her most was that right now she was at his side when she should be helping her brother. She should go to the Heartfilia mansion and free her brother, but she felt sick at the idea of leaving Erik here alone with no one to watch over him or take care of him. And maybe there was a small part of her that wished for him to come with her at the Heartfilia mansion, after all, getting her brother back was the reason why she had sought his help in the first place, and it felt like it was their job to finish this mission together.

She took one of his hands and squeezed it lightly.

“You need to wake up soon, Erik. I miss you…” she whispered in his ear before pressing a small kiss on his temple.

She heard the door of the room open, and she turned to look at the person who had just entered. Belno stood there, she briefly glanced at Cobra’s body before looking away, a tinge of guilt covering her face.

“Some of your friends are here,” the old woman stated.

Lucy answered by a little tired nod, she had no idea who it could be, maybe Erza and Wendy had come to visit her, or perhaps it was Natsu and Happy that had come to cheer her up.

“I’ll be back soon, Erik…” she said softly, offering him a little sad smile even if she knew he couldn’t see it. It almost made her burst into tears again, she hated this.

She took a deep breath and slowly got up from her chair, the exhaustion making her body heavy and hard to move.

“When was the last time you slept?” Belno asked, concern written all over her face when she saw how Lucy moved, how she could collapse of exhaustion at any moment.

Lucy shook her head, she couldn't remember when she had been able to sleep properly for the last time, her nights had been filled with nightmares of Erik dying over and over again, and she preferred to stay awake and watch over him rather than drowning in bad dreams.

If Belno added something to her silent answer, Lucy didn’t hear it, she was already in the hallway on the way to meet her friends.

Lucy arrived in the main hall, and she immediately spotted Gajeel and Levy chatting together. But her heart dropped when she saw the other person who was with them, looking around anxiously as if they didn’t know if they should be there or not.

Oh no, she said to herself when she locked eyes with Kaede.

She had not written to Kaede after finding Cobra like she was supposed to do. She couldn’t find the words. How was she supposed to tell Erik’s mother that she had failed in saving her son and that there was a possibility that she would never be able to meet him?

She took a deep breath and joined them, dreading the moment she would have to explain everything that had happened.

“Hey, Lucy. Are you alright?” Levy asked, scanning her face worriedly.

“I’m alright,” she lied, and by the looks she got, she knew they didn’t believe her, “What are you doing here?” she tried, putting a bit more life in her voice not to sound extremely depressed.

“Kaede kept asking about you, and it’s been a week since you haven’t come back to the guild. We were worried about you. We wanted to check if you were okay.”

I’m not okay.

“Again, I told you there was no need to take me there, you could just have told me that she was alright,” Kaede explained, glaring at Gajeel and Levy, “I’m sorry, Lucy. I know I shouldn’t be here.”

Lucy shook her head. “It’s alright, I understand,” she started, and then she looked at the three of them, “I know you are not here just for me; you can’t fool me.”

Levy, Gajeel and Kaede were the only people who cared about Erik. Lucy was a bit surprised to see the two members of Fairy Tail, but they had worked with Cobra, and she was pretty sure that they had grown to like him or at least trust him.

They want to know about Erik.

“You can’t fool us either, Lucy. Something bad happened, it’s written all over your face,” Levy countered, offering her a reassuring smile.

She sighed, defeated. Of course, they knew something bad had happened, not seeing Lucy reappear at the guild or in her apartment was enough to tell Gajeel and Levy that there had been a problem in her mission of helping Cobra.

“I…” she started, and she didn’t know what to say, “I think it’s best if I show you directly, follow me.”

She left the main hall and made her way back to Cobra’s room accompanied by her two friends and Erik’s mother.

Lucy didn’t know what the worst was between Kaede’s choked sob, Gajeel’s swearing or Levy’s terrified face when they all spotted Cobra at the other end of the room.

She saw how Erik’s mother leant against a wall, and she hurried herself to bring her a chair because she thought there was a high chance that she might collapse. Kaede whispered her a small “thank you”, her purple eyes wet with tears.

“What the hell happened?” the Iron Dragon Slayer asked, his eyes riveted on the wings and the tail protruding from Cobra’s back. There was anger in his voice, a rage that Lucy could understand because she was also mad at what had been done to her friend.

“It’s a long story, I’m not sure you would want to hear it…” Lucy said, hoping that she would not have to traumatize her friends even more than she had already done by allowing them to see Erik’s state.

The look Gajeel gave her was enough to tell her that she would have to explain everything. She already hated this.

“We already know that your father is involved, Cobra told us so when he was still at Fairy Tail,” Levy stated, looking deep in thoughts.

“Brace yourself,” was the only thing she said before she started telling the whole story of how they ended up in this situation.

Lucy told them everything. Everything that she had been hiding from her friends, and everything that had happened. She began with her father and the Tower of Heaven, then she reminded them of Fanny and what had happened after Erik got captured. She talked about how the Magic Council didn’t care about their prisoners, how they had always seen Cobra as an object and not a human being. She briefly mentioned traitors, people working with her father and wanting to make Erik suffer. Then she told them about Damon and Rowena, how it was them who had almost killed her a couple of weeks ago and how it was this cruel woman who had tortured Erik and was the reason he was in this state. 

She knew that every single of her words had been a stab in the heart, especially for Kaede who was already as pale as a sheet after seeing the state of her son, and Lucy thought there was a high possibility that she might throw up. Lucy allowed herself to slump in her chair near Erik’s bed once she was done with her explanations, her heart felt lighter, it felt good to finally tell someone about all of this. The secret had been a heavy burden and sharing it had freed her from it.

“Do you want us to help you find your brother?” Levy asked, and it was easy to see that her mind was still reeling from what she had just learned.

“I know where my brother is already…” she began, “It's just... The doctors said Erik might take weeks or even months before waking up, and I just haven’t found the strength to leave him here alone,” she admitted, turning her head to look at the unconscious Dragon Slayer and taking one of his hands in hers.

Guilt hit her right in the chest again, she was choosing Cobra over her brother, and she hated herself for that.

Kaede approached the bed and put a gentle hand on Lucy's shoulder before looking at her in the eye.

“I will take care of Erik for as long as it takes for him to wake up. Go help your brother,” she said determinedly.

Lucy felt a pang in the heart at that, she didn’t know what to say. It shouldn’t be how Kaede met her son after years of looking for him, she should meet him alive and well, not unconscious and awfully wounded.

“I’m thankful for everything you’ve done, Lucy…” she started, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tightly, “I will take care of my son, so you don’t need to worry about him. Go save your brother,” she added before caressing her head softly.

The hug was warm and comforting, and it felt like it was what she had needed for a while now. It was so pleasant that Lucy burst into tears in Kaede’s chest, feeling safe enough to break down and let her emotions roam free. Erik’s mother patted her head gently, letting her cry as much as she needed to.

Lucy took some time to calm herself, once she felt better, she joined Gajeel and Levy, thanked Kaede for staying here and looked one last time at Erik before she and her friends left for the Heartfilia mansion.

Cobra reached the hut he had seen earlier, he still couldn’t believe that there was a piece of civilization in the afterlife, but he was glad to see something different from the golden fields.

He was about to open the door when it swung open, revealing a tall man wearing a brown pants and a purple tunic, and for a moment Erik was thunderstruck by the stranger’s presence. He took a step back, surprised to see someone else in this world, but especially because he felt like he was staring into a mirror. For a second, he thought he was looking at his future self and seeing what he would never become until he realized that the man in front of him had two piercing green eyes and not only one purple eye. He blinked and shook his head, trying to recover from the shock he had just gone through.

“Erik…?” The stranger asked tentatively, furrowing his brow as if he couldn’t quite believe who was standing in front of him.

If Cobra’s heart could stop again, it would have done so right now. The sudden mention of his real name by a random man living in the afterlife did not reassure him at all. Except that this man, was not a random stranger. He knew who this man was, he had seen him on a painting in the Bosco Kingdom. Erik didn’t know a lot of dead people that he could qualify as people mattering to him, and he was pretty sure that the afterlife was a place to meet with those who were already gone. And he understood now why Lionel, Sophie and Aliénor had mistaken him for Haru when he had been in the Bosco Kingdom. Erik did look like his father, even more than on the painting. A lot, too much probably, and it was almost scary.

Lucy, Gajeel and Levy reached the Heartfilia mansion later that day after leaving the Council. Maybe she should have rested for a bit before immediately going there, she felt exhausted after spending so many sleepless nights at Erik’s side, and confronting her father was not going to be relaxing.

“I’m sorry for not explaining all of this sooner,” she said, looking at Gajeel and Levy while they were walking towards the mansion.

“You don’t have to apologize, you have the right to have secrets,” Levy started, “I just hope that you didn’t feel like you couldn’t talk to us, Fairy Tail is your family and we will always be there for you.”

Lucy nodded. She couldn’t really put into words why she had preferred to keep quiet about her father’s actions, but she was certain that a part of her had done so as a way not to put the guild into trouble again. The events of Phantom Lord were still recent, and her being a member of Fairy Tail had caused pain and injuries to the people she cherished. She knew that the guild considered her as a part of the family and that they would defend her to the end of time, but she didn’t want her friends to be injured again because of her and her father. Jude Heartfilia had caused enough suffering, and it was her role to put an end to all of this, not Fairy Tail’s. And yet, there she was, accompanied by two of her friends, on her way to stop her father and free her brother.

They arrived at the mansion, and this time Lucy didn’t bother summoning Virgo and digging a hole that led to the door like that one time she had gone with Erik. No, this time, she was going straight to the front door. She pushed the metal gate open and strode towards the main door, crossing the gardens at full speed. She hoped that her father wouldn’t be there, that she would be able to search the place without having to worry about facing this cruel man, but she knew he would be there, waiting for her. If not, why would Damon have told her that Jude had her brother? It was an obvious trap, and she was walking right in. She was tired of the games and manipulation, she just wanted her brother back right now, and oh well if it was a trap.

“Gajeel, can you smell something in particular?” Levy asked softly.

Lucy blinked; she had been too caught up by her thoughts that she had almost forgotten that there was a Dragon Slayer with her. She turned to look at the black-haired man, waiting to see what he could smell.

“There are two distinct odors, one similar to you, probably your father. But the rest of your house just smells like blood.”

Levy instantly paled at Gajeel’s words, and Lucy gritted her teeth. She was sure that the blood the Dragon Slayer sniffed was Damon’s – maybe Rowena’s too – and not her brother’s. After all, Damon and Rowena smelt like blood, they had deceived Erik’s nose, and it was probably the same thing that was happening to Gajeel. Plus, Jude had hired Damon and Rowena which meant that they would stay close to him. Lucy was convinced that the smell was related to these two monsters and not her brother, or maybe she simply refused to imagine the possibility of her brother lying on the floor bleeding out.

“Do you think there is a chance that it is my brother that you smell?” she asked, dreading the answer and already regretting her question.

Gajeel shook his head. “No, I don’t think he is here, or if he is here, I can’t smell him.”

She clenched her hands into fists. Damon had told her that Jude had her brother, and even her brother himself had told her that he needed her help, she was convinced that he was here, there was no other way.

She took a deep breath, she knew she wasn’t ready for what she would find behind the door of the Heartfilia mansion, but she still pushed the door open.

The mansion was devoid of any servants, it was neat and tidy, but vastly empty. Except for her father who was standing in front of the staircase, a satisfied smile on his lips.

“Oh, my dear Lucy, I wasn’t expecting you,” Jude said, “I see that you came with some friends, please, make yourselves at home.”

A lie.

It was obvious that he knew she would come here and had decided to stand in front of her to unnerve her. She felt sick, how could he act like nothing had happened was beyond her comprehension. This was the man who had almost caused Erik’s death, this was the man who had separated her from her brother, this was the man who had destroyed families and lives. Seeing him standing there with a smile on his face was like a slap in her face, after everything he had done, and the pain he had inflicted, she couldn’t believe that he was acting all innocently like he was one sweet angel.

“Where is he?” Lucy immediately asked. She was not here to do small talk or see how her father was doing. She had only one goal in mind right now, and that was her only priority.

“Who?”

“My brother! I know you have him, Damon told me so.”

She saw a small, wicked smile cross his lips before his face turned innocent again.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, your brother is dead.”

Another lie.

“Cut the act. I’m tired of playing with you,” she said, seething.

Jude sighed and then shrugged. “Your brother isn’t here, you can look.”

She turned to look at Gajeel and Levy, they were on the defensive, both waiting for a potential attack. Then she nodded at them, a sign to tell them that they could search a part of the house while she explore another part.

Once her friends were gone, she summoned Loki because it would be faster to look around with another person, and also because she felt safer with him around in case her father decided to stab her in the back.

Lucy went upstairs, searching her old room first. She knew her father was following her from afar, eyeing her carefully. But she ignored him, he had allowed her to search the place, and she would do so. She looked in one of the shelves and grabbed an old music box.

“I have to say, I admire your determination,” a masculine voice stated, echoing around the room.

She recognized the voice instantly, and she had to suppress a shiver. There was not only her father monitoring her, but Damon was also here, just hiding. Loki was on his guard; he stayed close to her in case he would have to protect her.

“What do you want?” she asked, looking around as if she refused to acknowledge the man’s presence, clenching the music box tightly in her hands.

Damon laughed. “I’m just here to have fun, nothing else. Rowena told me you didn’t like her work. I thought her dress was beautiful.”

His allusion to what this crazy woman had done to Erik made her blood boil, but she contained herself. She did not want to respond to provocation, she had better things to do.

“Is he alive? She usually kills her toys when she knows she won’t be able to play with them anymore,” he murmured in her ear, and it took everything in her to ignore him, “But she really liked this one, so if he is still alive, let me know.”

She broke the top of the music box by clenching it too strongly, she knew Damon was playing with her, but her pain and her rage were still here, too recent to be forgotten.

“He is dead,” she answered bluntly, tears welling up in her eyes. She hoped that she sounded honest enough for this man to believe her and not verifying if Erik was still alive or not.

“What a shame.”

She sighed and put the broken music box back on the shelf before looking at Loki who was still searching for Damon.

“Let’s go elsewhere, there is nothing here,” she told the spirit.

Leo put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

“Before you go, I just want to say bravo for beating Rowena, that’s not every day that someone can win against her. But if I were you, I would be careful, after a defeat, she came back stronger and has only one goal in mind. Make the person pay for what they did to her.”

Lucy shivered at his words, and Loki pressed her against his body, a way to reassure her and show that he would protect her.

“What are you doing here?” Haru asked once they had both settled in the kitchen of the little hut, “You’re way too young to be here.”

It is not like I chose to be here, Erik retorted in his thoughts.

His father’s head snapped in his direction as if he had heard what he had just said, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Cobra said something before he could.

“You shouldn’t be there either,” he countered softly.

Haru looked down, guilt covering his face.

An awkward silence fell into the room, it was clear that both wanted to say a lot, especially Haru who seemed ready to ask a thousand questions. But how were they supposed to do this when their first encounter after years of separation was in death. It almost seemed futile to discuss about all of these things now because what would be the point of doing this anyway, there would be no future, no way of changing things. Erik—who had still trouble wrapping his head around what was happening—was not sure that he wanted to break his father’s heart for the rest of his death.

Haru sighed before closing the distance between them and kneeling to be at Cobra’s height, then he put his hand on the right side of his face, caressing his cheek and observing carefully his missing eye and the scar.

“Erik, what happened to you?” His father asked, worry written all over his face.

“I’m not sure you want to know,” he replied, looking away.

Haru smiled softly. “I have a chance to talk to my son, and you think I don’t want to know your story? I want to know everything.”

“But… It’s not a happy story.”

“I don’t care, Erik. I’m ready to hear what you will want to tell me, I’m all ears.”

Cobra took a deep breath, his lips trembling, he didn’t know where to start his story. His father put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and it’s at this moment that Erik realized that his entire body was shaking not only his lips.

“Take your time.”

Erik told his father everything, from the Tower of Heaven, the Oracion Seis, his deal with Lucy, his mission in the Bosco Kingdom to his death. By the end of it, Haru’s face was haggard, and Cobra regretted telling the story of his short life.

“You must be disappointed in me,” he admitted softly once he was done with his tale.

His father frowned, confusion on his face.

“Disappointed? Why would I be disappointed?”

“I’m a criminal… I spent most of my life hurting others,” he replied, looking down.

“Maybe… But do you know what I see?”

Erik raised his head, there was a sort of joy in his father’s voice that forced him to look up. He didn’t understand why the man suddenly sounded happy.

“I see a boy who did everything to survive, and I’m proud of you for never giving up after what you went through.”

“Proud?”

He was pretty sure he had never heard this word directed towards him; he was convinced that no one had ever been proud of him.

His father nodded. “You have a good heart, Erik.”

A good heart that was not beating anymore. For a short lapse of time, he had forgotten that he was dead. He had been too busy telling the story of his life to his father that he had completely stopped thinking about what he had lost, but now his mind reminded him of what the reality was.

“I had a good heart…” he whispered defeatedly, “I’m dead.”

Haru sighed heavily and shook his head. “Not yet.”

Erik’s eye widened at that. What did his father mean by not yet? He clearly remembered dying in Lucy’s arms, his heart stopping in his chest.

“You are on the crossroad of life and death; you just have to make a choice.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “But you are dead.”

“I am, indeed. But you are not, you can still wake up and continue your life.”

Cobra could feel his heart racing in his chest, it could be an illusion or perhaps it was his real heart that he could hear. If his father was telling the truth, Erik had another shot at life.

“And you’d better choose life because I’m not letting you stay here. You can’t let that poor Lucy alone; she seems really fond of you.”

Erik smiled for the first time in what felt like ages, it was a bright and genuine smile. He was alive! He could continue his life, he would be able to hug Lucy again and confess his feelings for her, he would be able to meet his mother and tell her everything. But his smile rapidly vanished.

“But you…” A sob caught in his throat, and it surprised him because he wasn’t expecting to be this emotional.

It was Haru’s turn to smile. “I’ll stay here, and we will meet again when your time has come.”

Cobra opened his mouth to say something, but his father shook his head.

“I miss you and your mother every single day, and I will continue to do so until we are reunited here. It is my biggest regret to never have been there for you two,” he admitted, cupping Erik’s face in his hands and looking at him fondly, “But I will forever cherish our little shared time here. I’m proud of the boy you have become, my little dragon.”

Erik blinked at the surname he had only heard in his memories at Ibisco Village, and when he did, a single tear rolled down his cheek. Then, golden particles started floating in the air, and when he looked around, he realized that it was his body that was slowly disappearing. He stared at his father who was only looking at him with a proud smile and tears in his eyes.

When he closed his eye, the landscape of golden fields and a single hut were gone, his father had also disappeared. Instead, he was in an utter darkness, and the world felt heavier, louder. And when he tried to open his eye again, it was as if a force was obliging him to keep his eye shut.

He gritted his teeth, and he used all of his strength to open his single eye.

Chapter Text

Lucy stepped into Cobra’s room after coming back from another unsuccessful trip to the Heartfilia mansion. She saw Kaede at the other end of the room, moving her son’s legs to keep him in shape as much as she could while he was still asleep. It had been a month now, and Erik had still not woken up.

She sat on a chair next to the bed and sighed tiredly. Going to the Heartfilia mansion only resulted in her being tormented by Damon and her father, even when she was accompanied by Gajeel and Levy. She had not told the guild about her brother and her father since she refused to involve them in her problems. And maybe it was better that way because she was convinced that if she brought Natsu, Gray, Erza or really any other members of the guild there, they would attack Damon once she would tell them that it was him who had tried to kill her and not Cobra. And even if she trusted her friends enough to win against this man, she didn’t want to take any chances, she refused to let her friends get hurt because of her.

“Still nothing?” Kaede asked, looking at her worriedly.

Lucy shook her head, desperate. She knew it was stupid to focus solely on the Heartfilia mansion, her father had probably taken her brother elsewhere, but she had not a single clue where it could be. So, she decided to go to the Heartfilia mansion repeatedly, hoping that her father or Damon would by accident give her a hint that would lead her to her brother.

“I’m scared I won’t be able to find him before it’s too late…” she whispered, clenching her hands into fists and holding back her tears.

Kaede went around the bed, and put a warm hand on her shoulder, squeezing it softly.

“Don’t lose hope, Lucy. I know just how hard it is to be in this kind of situation, but I’m sure your brother is waiting for you, you will find him.”

Lucy looked at Kaede in the eye, and then at Erik lying unconscious in the bed before taking one of his scaly hands in hers. “I wish Erik was here…”

She felt like Cobra was the key to finding her brother. Dragon Slayers were perturbed by Damon’s smell, but Erik had his hearing, maybe that was what it would take to bypass Jude and Damon’s schemes. And finding her brother was also the quest that had started their friendship and more than that, she felt like they had to accomplish this mission together.

Kaede nodded. “I’m sure he will wake up soon.”

But Lucy saw just how much Erik’s mother had trouble believing her own words, just how much it hurt her to say this when they had no guarantee if he would open his eyes again.

“Lucy?” Kaede asked tentatively, uncertainty on her face as she said her next words, “Could you take care of him for a little while?”

Lucy frowned; a bit surprised by the woman’s demand. She didn’t mind taking care of Erik at all, it just seemed really sudden, especially when she kept going back and forth to the Heartfilia mansion.

“I know it’s unfair to ask this of you when you have your own worries and things to take care of,” Erik’s mother added, guilt on her face.

“No, it’s alright, I don’t mind taking care of him… Can I just ask why?” she answered, caressing the scales covering Cobra’s arms. She didn’t understand why his dragon’s attributes were still here when they had disappeared in a couple of days after she had saved him from Fanny’s hands.

“I need to go back to Bosco,” she replied, sitting in a chair next to her, “I told Lionel what happened, the things the Magic Council let happen to my son or did to him. I can’t let that slide…”

Lucy nodded, understanding and agreeing with Kaede’s thoughts. The Magic Council had mistreated Erik until he had almost died because of their neglect for their prisoners, and to be honest, Lucy was still furious at them for what had happened.

“Do you think he will be able to do something? It’s not his kingdom; he has no power here.”

“I’m pretty sure he can at least get me an audience with the King of Fiore, but I refuse to let the incompetence of the Magic Council go unpunished. They failed in protecting their citizens, and it almost cost me all of my family.”

She took Kaede’s hands in hers. “I will take care of him, I promise.”

Erik’s mother offered her a warm smile, gently caressing her fingers. “I know you will.”

Lucy watched Kaede say goodbye to her son before she left for the Bosco Kingdom. She would have to pause her research for as long as Kaede was in the Bosco Kingdom, it would be hard, but maybe it would be good for her mentally. She would be spared from Damon and Jude’s torments for a while, that would give her time to rest and come back stronger.

Once Kaede was done saying goodbye to Erik, she stood in front of Lucy before wrapping her into a tight embrace.

“Thank you, Lucy. Thank you for saving him and being here for him,” she said with a shaky voice.

Lucy hugged her back, her whole body shaking, it had been a long time since she had felt a mother’s embrace. Kaede might not be Layla Heartfilia, but right now, Lucy felt loved just as much as if it was her own mother hugging her. She was hit with so many happy memories of her own mother that she had to hold back her tears. She took a deep breath, and in answer, she offered a wonky smile to Erik’s mother and watched her leave the room.

When she was alone in the room with Erik, she stroked his hair and pressed a small kiss on his temple. “I hope you will wake up soon; we all miss you,” she whispered.

After gathering all of his strength and also every single bit of his willpower to pry his eye open, Erik found himself in front of a mess of colors spinning in front of him. He felt instantly sick, and he had to resist the urge to vomit. He closed his eye rapidly to avoid staring at the cyclone of colors in front of him, and he took a deep breath. He waited for the queasiness to pass before trying again, he opened his eye slowly and he waited for everything to stop spinning. He blinked several times, letting his vision adjust to the world in front of him.

The room he was in had a pale blue ceiling and walls, and it reminded him of the bedroom he had slept in when he had been forced to stay at the Magic Council for his dance classes. He looked in front of him, his torso and legs were covered by a white sheet, his arms were wrapped in bandages except for a few parts with crimson scales sticking out. He could also see a part of his tail peek out from under the sheet, and he was pretty sure that he could still feel the wings attached to his back.

But what really caught his attention was the tangled blond hair near his left hand, or rather the person sleeping with her head resting on his bed. He had no doubt of who this person was, there was only one person that he could think of who would stay by his side no matter what.

Lucy.

His heart started racing and relief flooded him. He was happy to see her. He was happy to feel his heart race. He was happy to be alive.

He tried to move his left hand to caress her hair, but it was as if all his strength had left him, and he could barely lift it. He waited a couple of minutes for his body to be more awake, and for his mind to be more present, before he realized that his entire body felt extremely heavy as if he was being crushed by a rock.

He could always try to talk to get her attention, if his arms refused to work, maybe his mouth would. He opened his mouth to say something, but a voice in his head prevented him from doing that.

Let her sleep, she has been moving heaven and earth non-stop for you.

Erik winced at the sudden noise, his ears more sensitive than ever, and he wondered if they were still affected by Rowena’s torture. He shivered, remembering how exhausting and painful it had been to hear continuous screams for days. Searching for the voice, he had just heard, he looked around and he spotted Belno sitting in an armchair in a corner of the room, observing him keenly with tired eyes.

She was worried sick about you.

He looked at Lucy who was sleeping soundly with her head on his bed, he really wanted to caress her hair, to show her that he was awake and reassure her. He still couldn’t believe that she had come for him, that she had refused to let him spend years of his life in jail, and that when she had discovered that he had been tortured, she had not hesitated one second to fight the monster that had hurt him even if it was way stronger than her.

The old woman sighed and got up from the armchair before walking towards the exit.

You should rest, too. I will go get the doctor.

She looked at him one last time, a sort of guilt darkening her eyes before leaving the room.

It didn’t take long before Belno came back with a black-haired woman in tow. Erik recognized her, it was the same doctor that had taken care of him when he had been at the hospital, the one who had asked him if he was human.

Belno gently pushed Lucy’s body back in the chair so that the doctor could carefully examine him, and he was surprised to see that Lucy didn’t even stir.

She must be really exhausted, he thought, keeping his eye on her.

The doctor started examining him and running test on him to have a better view of his state.

“For a person who slept more than a month, everything looks rather good,” the black-haired woman said to Belno.

Cobra blinked, he felt like he had just been slapped. He probably hadn't heard correctly, there was no way he had slept for more than a month.

“What did you say?” he asked, his voice weak and hoarse.

“You’ve been unconscious for more than a month,” the doctor repeated seriously, “We weren’t sure if you would wake up.”

He still couldn’t believe it, but when he listened to the doctor’s thoughts, he knew she was telling the truth and she just thought he was a bit disoriented. Erik needed to know what had happened exactly, he remembered Rowena stopping his heart and laughing wickedly as he died.

He had died.

He had chatted with his deceased father.

He had been allowed to choose to live or die. 

And even if he had chosen to live, he couldn't explain how he was alive right now, how he had made it.

He was about to ask more questions, but it seemed Belno had understood what he wanted to know because she spoke first.

“When the guards arrived on the scene, you were dead. This woman had stopped your heart, and Lucy was desperately trying to get you back,” she said before glancing at Lucy, “I don’t think the girl even remembers it, but she tried to restart your heart until the arrival of the guards. And even then, she had trouble to let you go.”

Erik gritted his teeth and looked at Lucy painfully, he could easily picture the scene, and it made his heart ache to imagine the horrors she had gone through to save him.

He owed her his life. She had not given up on him for one second, and he would need to find a way to repay her for it.

“You need to rest, the doctor will come back later to check on you again,” Belno said before she and the doctor left.

He waited a moment after they left before he decided to try and wake up Lucy. He sat slowly in the bed, his body cooperating with difficulty. Now that he was a bit closer to her, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and he was pretty sure that she had lost some weight too. It pained him to see her like this, especially when he was the reason for her state.

“Lucy?” he tried once but got no reaction.

He tried to shout her name, but his voice was still too weak, and he just ended up with a coughing fit.

“Lucy…” he whispered this time; he was ready to continue and say nonsensical things, but she jumped in her seat and her eyes shot open once she heard her name.

It was as if time had stopped right now, she stared at him with wide eyes and she stayed silent even her thoughts were quiet.

“Hey, Blondie…” he said softly, offering her a little smile.

Shock and relief appeared on her face and a few tears started rolling down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but her lips and her whole body started shaking so much that she couldn’t utter a single word. Instead of trying to force her mouth to work properly, she got up from her chair so suddenly that it fell backwards before she tackled him in the bed, wrapping her arms around him tightly before bursting into tears.

“You’re awake…” she repeated several times, as if she couldn’t believe that it was real, “I thought you were never going to wake up…” she added, hugging him tighter.

He started patting her back as he reciprocated her embrace. “I’m sorry,” he said, feeling guilty for having slept for so long.

She raised her head to look at him in the eye. “Don’t apologize, it was not your fault,” she replied before putting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

He started playing with her hair, waiting for her to calm down a bit and he allowed himself to listen to her thoughts.

I’m so relieved, I can’t believe he finally woke up. I have so many things to tell him, but just the reality of talking to him makes me want to cry again. Come on, Lucy. Breathe. He is alright, everything will be alright. 

Lucy’s mind was going at full speed, and Erik was submerged by her torrent of emotions. Her thoughts were one big mess of feelings that she couldn’t control right now. He hoped that she hadn’t been like this for a month and a half waiting for his waking, but knowing her, she had probably been in the same state since the day she had found him in the cell until today.

Completely worried sick about him.

“Lucy, come here,” he said softly, signaling at her to lie in the bed next to him instead of being half on him and half on the floor. She didn’t hesitate one second, as if it were words she had been waiting to hear for an eternity. She nestled against him, her head against his chest and her eyes closed.

“Thank you for coming and saving my life…” he whispered in her ear.

“Always, Erik. I will always come for you.”

Lucy felt like she was still stuck in a dream. She had fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon after changing Cobra's bandages. His wounds were almost entirely closed now, but the sight of them still broke her heart. His whole body was covered in scales, but once they would be gone, she knew that there would be scars marking his body for the rest of his life.

She had never expected to be woken up by the whisper of her name, and especially not coming from Erik. She had started losing hope about him waking up, thinking that he might take years before opening his eyes.

He is here, he is finally back, she told herself while she lied next to him, eyes closed, and listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

She felt Cobra shift in the bed, and when she opened her eyes to see what he was doing, she saw him lying on his side instead of on his back, eyes closed, and one of his dragon wings was over them, creating a small and intimate cocoon.

“How do you feel?” she asked, putting a gentle hand on his cheek and caressing it softly. She hoped that they would soon find a solution for his scales, she missed the softness of his skin.

He opened his only eye to look at her. She had missed the way he looked at her, the love that he could make her feel with a simple stare.

“Alright… A bit tired,” he answered, taking her hand in his and gently stroking her fingers.

She examined his face, and she could almost see the infinity of questions tripping over each other inside his head.

“Do you want to sleep?” she whispered, and she couldn’t deny the fear growing inside of her at the idea of him not waking up again if he did.

He shook his head. “I think I’ve slept enough,” he replied, staring at her before looking down guiltily.

“Don’t be silly, Erik… It’s normal if you are tired.”

He nodded, still refusing to meet her eyes.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep anyway… I have so many questions, and I don’t know where to start, I just feel so lost.”

She offered him a little comprehensive smile. “I have so many things to tell you, and I also don’t know where to start.

He looked at her, a soft smile on his face. “I’m listening, Blondie.”

The surname sent shivers down her spine, she had disliked it at first, but he had a way of saying it that made her heart race stupidly in her chest, and she realized just how much she had missed this. Just how much she had missed him in general.

She took a few seconds to think about what she was going to tell him first, but in the end the answer was simple. She needed to tell him about the biggest thing that had appeared in her life and would soon appear in his if he accepted it.

“Erik… There is something really important that I have to tell you,” she started, fear slowly creeping inside her chest as she realized that there was a chance for him to be mad at her for meeting his mother when he had clearly stated that he didn’t want to meet her.

He scanned her face carefully, waiting for her next words.

“I… Uh… I met your mother,” she said softly, looking at him in the eye, waiting for his reaction.

Cobra blinked, shocked before his face turned into an unreadable mask, and Lucy immediately regretted saying this. She should have known that he would be mad at her for not respecting his wishes, it all had happened so fast, and Kaede was the only person who believed in Cobra’s goodness as much as Lucy did.

“I know you don’t want to meet her, that you told her that you didn’t want to meet her. It just happened really fast, you were in jail, I wrote to Lionel, and suddenly she was here… And… And…” she tried to justify herself, but in the end, she was just rambling, fearing that she might have upset him, and not knowing how she could arrange the situation.

He gently grabbed her wrists and started stroking it softly with his fingers. “Breathe, Lucy,” he whispered, “I want to know everything,” he added with no hint of anger or disappointment in his voice, just pure curiosity. 

Cobra could not believe his ears. Lucy had just explained everything that had happened between the moment he had been taken back to the Council to today when he had finally woken up. She had met his mother; he still couldn’t believe it. Apparently, Lucy had written to Lionel to get his help immediately after she had woken up from her deathly injuries. She had clearly insisted on the fact that she was going to get him out of jail no matter what it would take and that was why one of the first things she has done was writing to the King of Bosco in case the Council refused to listen to her. And his mother had been with Lionel when he had gotten the letter, and the moment she had heard that he was in trouble, she had rushed back to Fiore to meet Lucy, even if it meant not respecting her own son’s wishes. Erik couldn’t believe the lengths his mother and Lucy were willing to go for him, he wasn’t sure he deserved such care and love coming from someone, but he couldn’t help but still feel happy about it.

“She saw me like this…?” he asked, pointing at the scales on his body, “She must have been terrified.”

Lucy nodded. “Heartbroken, I would say… Seeing the son she has been looking for all these years only to find him between life and death was a shock for her,” she started, then she looked down, “I’m sorry for not respecting your wishes, I just didn’t have it in me to forbid her from seeing you.”

Erik put a gentle hand on her cheek, stroking it with his thumb.

“I’m not mad at you, Lucy… I think I’m actually glad you did it… When I thought I was dead, I regretted refusing to meet her when I had the chance… And I don’t know if I am ready to meet her or if I ever will be, but I think I want to see my mother…”

Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise at these words, she had probably not expected him to have changed his mind on that subject.

His heart ached at the idea of his mother seeing him injured, half-dragon and unconscious after years of searching for him. He hadn’t wanted their reunion to be like this, he had wanted to be a free man before reuniting with her, he had wanted to be Erik, not the remnants of Cobra of the Oracion Seis.

“Where is she right now?” he asked softly, replacing a strand of her behind her ear.

She looked at him in the eye, a soft blush covering her cheeks at his action. “She went back to the Bosco Kingdom, approximately a week ago. She is mad at the Council, and she wants them to pay for how they neglected you.”

His mother was fighting for him, and that only thought filled his heart with an inexplicable warmth. But he could understand how his mother felt because he felt the same way. Since the moment he had awoken, he had felt a growing anger in his chest. Especially after seeing Belno standing there feeling guilty about what happened but never apologizing once.

“Yeah… I wonder what will happen now…” he said, biting back his anger before sitting back in the bed, breaking the little cocoon he had created with his wing.

Lucy immediately sat, too, watching him with determined eyes.

“You can be sure that I’m not letting them put you back in jail. Kaede and I, we will fight for you.”

Thirty years. If they failed in getting him out of here, he would spend the next thirty years of his life in jail. He shook his head, refusing to have sad thoughts right now. He should be happy, Lucy was here, his mother would be there soon, and they would find a way to stop the Magic Council from locking him up again. He was exhausted, he may have slept for a month, but all the information Lucy had just told him had drained the little energy he had left in him, but he also refused to sleep, he could already imagine the nightmares of the torture he had gone through plaguing his nights.

He felt selfish for only thinking about himself when Lucy had clearly mentioned that she had been looking nonstop for her brother. He needed to help her; it would be his way of thanking her for what she had done for him. He grabbed one of Lucy’s hands and squeezed it lightly.

“You really couldn’t find anything on your brother?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, even with the help of Gajeel, it was impossible for him to smell him, it’s because Damon is here. His smell can perturb a Dragon Slayer’s nose.”

Cobra nodded; he remembered that very well. How Damon and Rowena both reeked of blood with absolutely no way to differentiate them. The odor of blood was probably too strong in the Heartfilia mansion to smell anything else.

“I’ve been thinking that for a while now, but I think you are the only one who can find him. I think your hearing is the solution.”

It could be true. But it also felt like one very huge trap. Jude Heartfilia was probably waiting for him and Lucy to come to the Heartfilia mansion for whatever crazy plan he had in mind. Especially after she had told him that her father and Damon kept tormenting her, it was clear that they were waiting for something. And yet, he didn’t care if it was a trap, he didn’t even feel scared about going there again. He was mad at Jude for making Lucy suffer, she was one of the kindest people he had ever met, and she didn’t deserve any of the suffering she was going through because of her crazy father.

“But I understand if you don’t want to go… I know you fear my father, and I’m not forcing you in any way to go there,” she added.

Cobra gritted his teeth, even when he was her only option to get to her brother, she refused to hurt him or put him in an uncomfortable situation.

“Once I’m healed, I’m helping you getting your brother out of your father’s grip.”

Lucy had saved his life, and he was going to repay her.

They were going to save her brother.

Together.

Like it had been planned from the start.

She leaned against him, putting her head against his shoulder.

“Thank you, Erik…” she answered, her voice shaking with relief.

Chapter Text

A few days after Cobra had opened his eyes, Lucy felt like the world had gone back to a semblance of normality.

It had not.

Erik was still in a miserable state–especially mentally but he refused to admit it, except that it was highly visible for Lucy who had started being able to tell when he wasn’t doing alright–and her brother was still in her father’s hands. At least, the fact that Cobra was awake allowed her to have one less thing to worry about, her mind felt a bit clearer, not always haunted with thoughts of Erik dying, but she was still worrying greatly about him even if he was now awake.

Lucy went back to Cobra’s room after picking up two muffins from the cafeteria. When she stepped inside the room, she found him sitting in a armchair close to the window, looking at the world outside. It hadn’t taken him a long time before he had insisted on getting up from the bed and do some exercise, wanting to regain strength as quickly as possible since they would go to the Heartfilia mansion soon.

Lucy couldn’t deny that it was a nice view, Erik staring at the window, bathing in the bright sunlight. The crimson scales on his body shining like jewels, the tips of his hair taking a reddish tint in the sun. He almost looked otherworldly, now more than ever with his dragon attributes, but it didn’t take his charm away. Erik was always beautiful, that was one thing Lucy could never deny, but there was something more when he was just sitting peacefully in the sun, it was as if the cruelty of the world that had broken him countless times had vanished for a moment. Sometimes she still had trouble believing he had escaped death, but she was glad he had done it.

“You’re staring, Blondie,” Erik said softly, turning his head to look at her, a little amused smile on his lips.

Lucy blinked, feeling her cheeks heat before she came back to her senses. She crossed the room at full speed to join him.

“I was not staring,” she retorted before giving him a gentle flick on the forehead. She had in fact been staring, but she would rather die than admit it out loud, he didn’t need to know that, or she would never hear the end of it.

He laughed softly–a sound that she loved and that she had missed desperately during the whole time they had been separated–then his eyes landed on the muffins in her hands, and he raised an eyebrow, amused.

“If you are about to say something about my consumption of chocolate, I would advise you to keep your mouth shut or you can forget about me sharing it with you.”

A grin spread across his face, and she could see he was doing his best not to burst out with laughter, “I would never.”

Even if it was a blatant lie, she couldn’t help but smile. It was these silly moments together that she had missed the most, and she felt extremely grateful to be able to have fun with him again. “I know you don’t like sugary things, but it was the only thing that looked edible in the cafeteria,” she said, sitting in the armchair in front of him before giving him one of the muffins.

“Yeah, the food here sucks. I’m surprised you were able to find something that looks alright,” he replied, examining the muffin in his hands. 

He had said this as a joke, but she knew what he was alluding to, and it broke her heart. She shook her head, refusing to let sad thoughts about Erik being locked in a cell plague her.

“I can’t wait to be out of here, I hate this place,” he added, a bit absently, before taking a bite of the muffin. It was easy to see that there were a thousand thoughts storming in his head right now, and Lucy wanted to know all of them, but she also knew that right now was not the time to push him. Even if he acted like he was fine, she knew just how mentally tired he was, how what he had endured weighed on him heavily, and she would give him time to process all of his pain.

“Same,” she said softly, staring a bit too long at her muffin before deciding to eat it.

They ate their muffins in a pleasant silence, Erik was looking out the window while unconsciously agitating his dragon tail. It reminded Lucy of the day she had decided to make this deal with him, how when Lahar had taken her to the room Cobra was waiting inside, the first thing she had seen was the Dragon Slayer look out the window, yearning for the freedom he had always been deprived of.

“Do you think it will disappear soon?” he asked, breaking the silence. He kept his gaze focused on the outside world, and she wondered what he saw that could bring such tremendous pain on his face.

She blinked, surprised by the sudden question. “What is “it” exactly?”

“This,” he replied, pointing at the scales covering his body, a sort of shame contorting his face as he finally stopped looking out the window to meet her eyes. “You keep staring at me, and I know they probably disgust you or scare you, and I…”

Lucy didn’t let him finish his sentence; she got up from the armchair to get closer to him before cupping his face in her hands.

“Shut up, Erik,” she said, gently caressing the scales covering his cheeks, “You’re spouting nonsense.”

Her hands were shaking, her heart was racing in her chest, and the only thought in her head right now was just how badly she wanted to comfort him and perhaps kiss him. She could not comprehend how he could think that the scales terrified her or disgusted her, she found them intriguing and beautiful; plus it was a part of him, and she had fallen in love with him in his entirety, she didn’t care if he had scales, a tail or wings. She simply loved Erik as he was.

He was a bit taken aback by her sudden gesture, then his only eye met hers, the slit pupil staring right through her soul.

“They don’t disgust me, nor scare me,” she started, still caressing his cheeks, “On the contrary, I find them rather beautiful, they shine like rubies when you are in the sun.”

You’re beautiful, she let her thought slip, and she was pretty sure that he had heard her.

Cobra blinked, speechless.

“But I can understand if they bother you.”

“It makes me look like a monster,” he answered with a shaky voice.

“That’s not true…” she replied, leaning her forehead against his before grabbing his hands with hers.

He let out a little reassured sigh, and it was easy to see that this had been weighing on him for days, and she was glad he was finally deciding to talk to her about it.

“But I think I know someone who might be able to help,” she said softly, caressing his hands with her fingers.

He immediately raised his head to look at her in the eyes. “You do?” he asked, hopeful.

“Yes, her name is Porlyusica, she is Fairy Tail’s medicinal advisor, and she is a specialist when it comes to healing, especially magical wounds. I think she might have an idea on how to make the dragon’s attributes disappear. She is the only person I can think of that might find a way to help you.”

Hope and relief shone in Erik’s purple eye until Lucy broke his spirit with her next words. “The only problem is that she will never agree to come here, she dislikes humans and refuses to leave her forest. I swear the Master always have trouble making her come to the guild, so forget about her coming to the Magic Council. Plus, I’m not sure she would accept to help someone that is not a Fairy Tail member so I don’t know what to do.”

Cobra sighed disappointedly, “It’s alright, Blondie. We will find another way.”

She hated how defeated he sounded, as if he was resigning himself to stay like this forever and accepting to see the monster he thought he looked like every time he saw himself in the mirror.

Erik was about to ask another question when the door opened and Belno stepped inside quickly, her wrinkled face full of stress and exhaustion.

“Lucy, I need you to get out,” she said urgently, crossing the room at full speed.

She blinked, taken aback by the old woman’s words. “What? Why?”

Lucy noticed how Cobra stiffened up after the member of the Council had walked inside the room, a burning rage shone in his only eye. She grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it gently, a sign that she was as mad as him right now, but also to show him that she was not going to leave him alone without a good reason. She could see how tense his body was, his tail moving menacingly behind him, he was ready to fight if he needed to.

“I need you to leave, right now,” the old woman ordered, her face impassible.

“Not without a reason,” she replied determinedly. She knew it was probably a bad idea to talk back to a high member of the Council, but after what Belno had let happen to Erik, Lucy didn’t care anymore.

“The King of Fiore has sent someone to question Cobra after receiving a letter from the King of Bosco. The interrogator wants to speak with him alone,” the woman explained, her tone severe and exhausted.

Lucy guessed that the high members of the Council had probably been surprised to receive the visit of an interrogator from the King of Fiore, but their stress was almost deserved after everything that had happened. She also knew that this sudden visit was Kaede’s doing, it seemed that her and Lionel had been successful in contacting the King of Fiore and had convinced him to listen to Cobra’s story.

She turned to look at Erik who was as pale as a sheet right now, the idea of talking about his past to a stranger terrorizing him.

“Isn’t there a way for me to stay?” Lucy asked weakly, hating seeing the terror on her friend’s face.

Belno shook her head. “It became impossible to bend the rules, the moment the King got involved, so no.”

And Lucy knew just how much Belno had bent those rules for her, her only reason for doing so the guilt of what she had let happen to Cobra, but Lucy was still grateful for her help.

“Alright,” she agreed reluctantly, letting go of Erik’s hand before getting up from the armchair.

“Lucy, wait,” he said, getting up as well before gently catching her wrist, “I don’t know how much time this is going to take, but do you think that you could perhaps go see the woman you just told me about, see if you can find a solution about my problem?”

Looking at his face contorted by terror but seeing a tinge of hope in his only eye almost broke her heart. To a normal person, his emotions would probably be impossible to discern, but Lucy had learnt how to read the Dragon Slayer, she knew that he was trying to hide his fear by asking something that could bring him a bit of hope.

“I can do that,” she answered, putting her hand against his cheek and softly caressing it, giving him a bit of comfort before leaving him.

A little reassured smile appeared on Cobra’s face before he placed one of his crimson scales in her other hand. She opened her mouth to scold him, shocked by his action, she didn’t want him to pluck his scales off, especially after what Rowena had done to him.

“It’s just in case it can help,” he said, “Better putting all the odds in my favor,” he added, a broken smile crossing his lips before he let go of her hand.

It hurt to see him like this, entirely broken and yet, doing everything to hide his pain.

“I’ll be back soon, I promise,” she replied, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek, not caring about Belno eyeing them almost disgustingly from where she was standing.

Lucy left the room soon after, glancing one last time at Erik before mentally sending him all the strength and comfort she could.

When Cobra had heard that the King of Fiore had sent an interrogator to learn about his past, he had not expected the King himself to show up. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to know that the man who stood in front of him was Toma E. Fiore, the King, but it seemed like the man didn’t know about his hearing and that the Magic Council didn’t know that the man wearing a pumpkin mask was the ruler of the kingdom. It was a bit unsettling to get stared at by a pumpkin with an enormous smile for a face, especially when he was about to dissect the horrors of his life. He didn’t even want to do that, and he had to admit that he was surprised to see that the first reaction of the King upon learning what he had endured was to come here to listen to his story. Erik knew it was his mother and Lionel’s doing, but he remembered Lucy telling him that his mother’s plan was to get an audience with the King not sending him directly here, especially because he could very well still have been asleep. The King was just lucky that Erik had woken up for his sudden endeavor.

“The King of Fiore has received a letter from the King of Bosco saying that you’ve been the victim of several injustices, I’ve been sent by the King to learn more about that-kabo.”

Erik stared at the man with the pumpkin head, and he wondered how much time it would take before he went crazy with this man ending all his phrases by kabo. He felt trapped right now with no way of escaping this. He could barely talk of his past in general, he didn’t enjoy reliving the awful memories that were constantly plaguing his mind. He had tried to open up himself a bit to Lucy, he wanted to tell her everything about himself, but it broke his heart every time he said something, he couldn’t bear seeing her in pain as if she was going through what he went through. When he had been on the pathway of life and death, he had been able to tell his story to his father, but it had felt different, at that moment he had been convinced that he was dead and that he could escape the pain of the reality of life. It had still broken him to tell his father the horrors of his life and how by the end of his story, Haru’s face had been haggard and sad.

Cobra took a deep breath, preparing himself for this terrible moment he was about to endure. “You will need to be more precise,” he said, clenching his hands into fists, trying to contain his fear and his pain.

Gods, he desperately wished that Lucy was here with him.

It felt weird to be back in Magnolia after spending a whole month alternating between the Heartfilia Mansion and the Magic Council, but it also felt amazingly good. Lucy felt like she was finally coming home after a long and exhausting trip.

Lucy feared that her little visit to the medicinal advisor of the guild might end up with a door being shut in her face and being ordered to leave, but she really hoped that it would go differently.

During the train ride, she had mentally debated about doing a stop to Fairy Tail. She had felt like she should ask the Master’s permission to go see Porlyusica, but at the same time, going to the guild hall would mean being drowned by the thousand questions her friends had for her, and she was definitely not in the mood to answer any of them right now. She knew the whole guild was worried about her and seeing it directly would only make her feel guilty about keeping secrets from them.

In the end, she settled for going immediately to Porlyusica’s place, wanting to fix Erik’s problem in priority, but she did not discard the idea of going to the guild after it. Perhaps, after dealing with Cobra’s problem, she would feel better about answering her friends’ question, plus she wanted to tell Gajeel and Levy that he had finally woken up. Lucy felt bad for not having said anything about this to her friends nor Kaede actually. She and Cobra had been too focused on helping each other and spending time together that they had completely forgotten to tell the good news to those who cared.

Lucy arrived in front of Porlyusica’s house and took a deep breath before knocking on her door, a bit stressed about being shouted out and asked to leave immediately.

“Leave! No one is welcomed here, no matter who you are,” the old woman shouted without opening the door.

“It’s Lucy. Please Porlyusica, I need your help,” she said, ignoring her words.

A brief silence filled the air, and she thought that the medicinal advisor would not come out, but after a few seconds that felt more like hours, the pink-haired woman opened the door.

“Come inside, girl,” she replied softly.

As she went inside, she noticed a tinge of worry on the woman’s impassible face. Lucy realized that the worry she had seen on her face was probably caused by what had happened recently, and that the only reason she was being allowed inside was because Porlyusica thought that Lucy needed help for the severe injuries she had sustained a few months ago.

“Sit and take off your shirt,” the woman ordered, immediately gathering medical supplies.

Lucy sat on the bed, but did not take off her shirt since she hadn’t come here for a check-up. Plus, the wounds had healed amazingly, and it didn’t hurt at all anymore, there were only faint pink scars that marked her chest, the remnants of how she had defied death.

“I’m not here for that,” she explained, “I came here for my friend, he needs your help.”

Porlyusica turned to look at her, her face severe and waiting for more information. At least, she was accepting to listen to what Lucy had to say instead of kicking her out instantly.

“He is at the Magic Council, and he is also not a member of Fairy Tail, so I wasn’t sure if you would help him. He is a Second Generation Dragon Slayer like Laxus, and he has been drugged with something that has turned him dragon like. You’re the only person I thought of being able to help him,” Lucy added, caressing Erik’s scale in her pocket.

The woman sighed tiredly, and Lucy thought that she had failed in convincing her to help Erik, but it seemed that she was wrong because a tiny bit of interest shone in her eyes. Porlyusica sat on a chair in front of her, prepared to hear more about it.

“Tell me more, I don’t know if I will be able to help, but the more I know, the higher chance I will be able to do something.”

Lucy let out a little sigh of relief before she explained everything that had happened.

After Lucy had finished explaining what had happened to Cobra, Porlyusica looked deep in thoughts.

“He also gave me one of his scales hoping that it could perhaps help you,” Lucy added, giving her the crimson scale.

The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of the scale and took it in her hand to study it.

“From what I gathered about your story,” she started, still pensive, “The drug that has been used on your friend pushes his Dragon Force beyond its limits, allowing him to have full access to the power of his lacrima.”

“Yes, usually he can turn his arms into dragon paws, but that’s his maximum. But what I don’t understand is why his dragon attributes don’t disappear; the effects of the drug have vanished a long time ago.”

Porlyusica nodded, still examining the scale in her hand. “The first time you saw this happen, what was the color of his scales?”

Lucy closed her eyes, remembering the moment Fanny had drugged him with her awful concoction, then flashes of when she had saved him Rowena’s hands filled her mind. Both times, Erik’s scales had been purple like amethyst, and yet now they had faded to a crimson color looking more like rubies.

“Purple, every time he has been drugged with this, his scales were purple like amethyst.”

“Spare me the details, girl. I just needed the color not the exact shade,” Porlyusica answered, disgust on her face at the love dripping from Lucy’s voice.

She felt herself blush; she had let her mind wander a bit too far about Erik right now. She needed to focus more seriously again.

“What is the color of his scales when he uses his Dragon Force?” The medicinal advisor demanded next.

“Crimson, exactly like the one you are holding.”

Porlyusica sighed before getting up from her chair. “Then there is nothing I can do.”

Lucy’s heart stopped in her chest, and she clenched her hands into fists.

“What? Why?”

The switch in Porlyusica’s words was surprising, she had seemed invested and convinced that there was a solution for Cobra’s problem, so suddenly hearing that there was nothing she could do was like a knife in the heart.

“It can’t be, there must be a solution…” Lucy continued, her thoughts spiraling madly for an answer.

Her chest felt heavy and painful, and for a moment, she was pretty sure that the world was spinning. How was she going to tell this to Erik? It was going to break him. He had had so much hope about a remedy, only for it to be a mere illusion

“I didn’t say there was no solution,” Porlyusica added, looking at her worriedly, “There is nothing I can do because there is no need to do something. If the scales have turned from purple to crimson, it means that his body has assimilated the drug and has turned it into his own power. His Dragon Force has evolved, allowing him to transform more than his arms. He just has to make them disappear like he does when he uses his Dragon Force.”

Lucy stared in disbelief at the medicinal advisor, it sounded so simple and yet, it also felt like the most logical solution.

“I could be wrong, though. And if that is the case, come back with him and I’ll run a few tests on him. But I’m pretty confident in my theory.”

Hope filled Lucy’s chest and she couldn’t wait to break out the news to Erik, he would be so relieved if Porlyusica’s theory was true.

“Thank you so much, Porlyusica,” she said gratefully.

“Now get out of here, I’ve seen enough humans for at least a month.”

Lucy thanked her again before rushing back to the station and get on the first train that would take her back to the Magic Council. She regretted not stopping by Fairy Tail, but she had found a solution for Erik’s problem and she had to tell him right now.

Cobra hated this day, telling his story to the King of Fiore was definitely not something he enjoyed doing. It was hard to hear the shocked thoughts of the King every time Erik said another terrible thing while a pumpkin head with a huge smile on its face was staring at him. Cobra was glad he could hear at least his interrogator’s thoughts; otherwise, it would have been really unsettling not to be able to tell what the man was thinking since he couldn’t see his real face.

“Boy, are you alright?” The King asked in disbelief, finally dropping his mascot act and not ending all his sentences by kabo anymore.

It was strange to hear the worry of the King, it was not like Erik was someone special to him, he was just another random citizen of the Kingdom of Fiore.

“Yes,” he lied. He didn’t want the pity of this man; he had no need for it.

“If you say so… I’ll tell the King what you just told me,” he said, getting up from his seat, “And he will contact you in a few days after he has taken a decision about what to do with you.”

Cobra nodded, exhausted, and as he watched the little man go, he couldn’t help but ask one last question.

“How did you know I wasn’t lying? How can you be so sure that I, a criminal, didn’t invent a story just so that the King would pity me and potentially give me my freedom?”

The pumpkin head turned in his direction. “Were you?” he simply asked.

“No, I’m just surprised you believed it. The Magic Council didn’t believe my words.”

Well, for the few parts they listened to anyway, he added in his mind, his anger for the Council still deeply present inside his heart.

He heard a little sigh from the King, probably disappointed by the Council’s actions. “It sounded way too real to be fake, boy. That’s why I believe you.”

Cobra blinked a bit surprised at these words. The King of Fiore was definitely the last person he had ever thought would believe him, that was for sure.

Without another word, the man exited the room and left Erik alone with his confused thoughts of what had just happened.

The sun was setting when Lucy came back, opening the door violently, the loud sound making him wince. She was breathing heavily like she had just run from Magnolia to Era, and he really hoped that it was not the case. Her thoughts were a big mess, but from what Cobra could gather she seemed relieved and excited.

“Is everything alright, Blondie? You look like you’ve just run a marathon,” he said, staring at her.

She crossed the room rapidly before flinging herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. He was a bit taken aback by the sudden gesture, but he rapidly returned her embrace, happy to see her again.

“We might have found a solution,” she said once she had calmed herself a bit.

Erik’s heart skipped a beat, he had refused to believe that there was a chance for him to go back to normal, even though right now that was one of the things he wished for the most.

“Porlyusica had this theory,” Lucy started, and Erik knew she was going to start rambling, and he didn’t mind that, he just hoped that he could arrange his situation before hearing what she had to say.

He put a finger on her lips to shush her gently. Her eyes widened while her cheeks turned a bright pink, she fell silent, surprised and confused. “Could you tell me how to fix this before you explain this theory? My body itches, and I really can’t wait to get rid of these.”

She blinked and then shook her head. “Yes, sorry. You have to make them disappear like you would do after using your Dragon Force.”

He blinked, and for a moment he felt extremely stupid. This couldn’t be that simple, the solution couldn’t have been laying under his nose the whole time. He hadn’t even thought about this possibility once. He really felt stupid right now.

Cobra closed his eye and focused on his scales, the tail and the wings protruding from his body. He drew magic from his lacrima, feeling the ethernano circulate in his body before he forced the scales, the tail and the wings to go back inside his body, as if his lacrima was a small box where he could store his dragon attributes away. It was a delicate and difficult process, he had learned to do it automatically with his dragon paws, but it was a bit harder when it concerned his whole body. When he opened his eye again, relief flooded him when he saw his bare skin without any scales on it. His body also felt lighter, the weight of the tail and the wings having disappeared.

“It worked…” Erik said shakily, staring at his hands in disbelief. All this time, it had been that easy.

“It worked!” Lucy shouted happily, tears brimming in her eyes.

He took her in her arms again and hugged her tightly. A little happy laugh escaped her, and he was pretty sure it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

“Thank you, Lucy,” he whispered, the emotions heavy in his voice before he rested his head against her shoulder.

She hugged him back, her soft hands sliding under his shirt to caress his skin. Erik could feel himself blush at the sudden contact between her fingers and his skin. Normally, it would have made him uncomfortable since he felt extremely insecure about his back, but it was Lucy, and the contact of skin against skin rather than skin against scales made it tolerable.

When they broke the hug, he looked at her in the eye, her cheeks had a taken a pinkish tint that he was pretty sure mirrored his own.

“So do you still want to tell me about this theory?” he asked softly.

Her eyes lit up with excitement, he made her a place in the bed, and she started talking about what had happened at the medicinal advisor of Fairy Tail’s place.

It didn’t take long before they both fell asleep in each other arms, both exhausted by their days. Lucy slept with her head against his chest, a sort of habit that she had developed after he had woken up, while he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. They slept peacefully until Cobra felt a strange weight on him that immediately made him open his only eye.

The room was dark, only and barely lit up by the moonlight, but he could see something akin to a shadow on top of him. He tried to sit to get a better look at it, but his body refused to move, immediately he could feel his heart quickening in his chest. The shadow moved slowly, putting two hands on his chest and pinning him against the mattress. Terror wrapped him when two red eyes–that he was way too familiar with–stared at him before a predatory smile appeared on the shadow’s face.

Not a shadow.

Rowena.

“Hi, dear,” she said, tracing up his chest with one of her fingers, “You didn’t think I would forget about you, did you? We had so much fun together, I can wait to start again,” she added, a wicked glint shining in her eyes when she spotted Lucy in his arms.

Erik struggled against whatever was paralyzing him, he willed his body to move, but nothing happened.

“This time, your girlfriend is with us,” she started as she moved to whisper in his ear, “Do you remember what I said I would do to her if I put my hands on her?” she continued, a sadistic smile escaping her lips.

Dread filled Cobra, he couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, couldn’t do anything. He would be forced to watch Rowena torture Lucy if he didn’t break free from what was blocking him. He would be forced to watch the love of his life die by the hands of this monster.

He saw the blade of a knife shine in the moonlight before Rowena stabbed Lucy right in the chest.

“No!”

Chapter Text

Erik sat up in the bed quickly, his breathing ragged, and his brain going at full speed.

“Erik, are you alright?” Lucy asked, rubbing her eyes, still half asleep.

He looked around the room to see where Rowena was. His chest was heaving, and his heart was beating crazily. She was nowhere to be seen; she had vanished into the darkness of the night. Or perhaps she had never been there to begin with.

A nightmare.

That was what it had been, a terrifying and awfully real nightmare.

He felt Lucy put a warm hand on his shoulder before squeezing it softly. “Erik… Is everything alright?” she asked again, this time her voice was filled with concern.

Cobra turned his head to look at her. Lucy was alive, no stab wound in her chest, no sign of Rowena’s torture.

“Rowena…” he whispered shakily, still having trouble differentiating the reality and the nightmare.

Immediately, Lucy’s brown eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively reached for her keys, ready to fight her again if she had to.

“It was just a nightmare, I’m sorry for waking you up… You can go back to sleep,” he told her softly.

Erik knew it was bound to happen, that sooner or later his sleep would be plagued again by nightmares. He had had a few tranquil nights after waking up from his coma, but the fact that today he had had to tell his story and relive the most terrible moments of his life had probably been the trigger to having nightmares again.

He could feel her brown eyes scrutinizing him worriedly; her mind was a storm of questions she wanted to ask him but refrained to do so because she knew that he was not alright nor able to answer her questions right now.

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “She is never going to touch you again, I promise…” she whispered against his back.

“I don’t think she is after me anymore… I think she is after you, Lucy. If she gets her hands on you, she is going to torture you and force me to watch.”

He felt Lucy shiver at the idea, and he could hear in her head just how scared she was to potentially go what he went through.

“It was just a nightmare, Erik… She doesn’t even know that you are alive…” she tried, wanting to gently change the subject and not talk about her potential suffering and death.

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I told Damon that you were dead, that she had killed you, and he seemed to believe me.”

He let out a little relieved sigh at this idea, he felt better knowing that these two monsters thought he was dead, it was better this way.

“I think I’m going to take a bath,” he said, a bit confused, even if she had reassured him a bit, he still felt extremely out of it. His body felt too hot, and yet he kept shaking, and the idea of being touched right now made his stomach churn, especially the idea of skin against skin. Usually, Lucy’s touch felt great, but right now he had even trouble to accept it. It felt like every part of him that was being touched was a reminder of Rowena’s torture, reliving the pain he had endured. Perhaps making his scales disappear had been a bad idea, they had been a protection, an armor of sorts.

“Good idea…” she replied softly, worry written all over her face.

Lucy watched as Erik staggered to the bathroom, his body weak and wracked by tremors. He had dreamt of his torturer and had woken up screaming, waking her up and scaring her in the process. She felt guilty for not having noticed just how bad his mental state had been deteriorating over the past few days, but it was highly probable that today had been the tipping point. She knew just how much talking about his past unnerved him, it was already hard for him to tell her about it, so telling it to a stranger was probably way worse. He had a talent for hiding his pain behind stupid jokes and silly smiles, putting up a wall of utter confidence, but the truth was that even if he tried to hide it, Lucy could see it, she could see the broken boy hiding behind the mask. She didn’t want to push him to open himself up, she was scared that if she forced him to tell her about it, he would close himself up and their relationship would be back to the start.

She sighed desperately, she wished she could help him, but she didn’t know how. Erik had lived through countless horrors that she couldn’t even fathom, how was she supposed to help him get better? She felt like the only thing she could do was being here for him and listen to him when he needed to talk, and yet, she was under the impression that it wasn’t enough.

Minutes passed. At first, she could hear the water flows and then the room was rapidly wrapped into a nerve-wracking silence, the atmosphere grew heavy, and almost oppressive. Minutes continued to pass, this unsettling silence being her sole company as the time went by.

She didn’t how much time had passed exactly before she couldn’t take it anymore and had to make sure that Erik was alright. She got up from the bed and knocked on the door, calling his name.

Silence.

A complete and utter silence.

She didn’t even hear water dripping or anything, it was dead flat calm, and that did nothing to calm her nerves.

“Erik?” she tried again, only to be met again by this terrible silence.

Fear clutched at her chest when she didn’t get an answer after her second attempt. Erik was at his lowest, and she couldn’t help but think that perhaps leaving him alone in that state had been a mistake. He was still weak, perhaps he had collapsed and hit his head on the bathtub and that was why he didn’t answer.

“Erik, I’m coming in,” she said, grasping the handle of the door before turning it.

She pushed the door open, and a little sigh of relief escaped her when she spotted Erik sitting in the bathtub, his head down. Her relief was short-lived because Cobra was staring absently at the water, his hair wet and tears rolling down his cheeks. No reaction apparent on his face at her entrance, as if he wasn’t present here mentally.

As she crossed the room at full speed, her eyes landed on the scars covering his torso and his back, the new and the old ones, the marks of his suffering that he would forever bear. She knelt in front of the bathtub and took his head in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

“Erik, are you alright?”

She could see the moment he freed himself from his trance, his eye regaining its light as if he was regaining consciousness.

“Lucy?” he said weakly, blinking several times as if he was seeing a ghost.

And it was at this moment that Lucy realized what she was doing, and heat crept up her cheeks when her eyes descended on his torso before quickly coming back to his face. She had come into the bathroom, fearing that something bad had happened to Cobra, but instead she had found him taking a bath like he had said he would do. The detail that she had not taken into account when breaking in the bathroom was the fact that Erik would be completely naked. She closed her eyes and shook her head, now was definitely not the time to have certain thoughts about Erik.

“You scared me,” she started, “I called your name several times and you didn’t answer, I thought something had happened,” she added, her worry taking over her.

“I am sorry… I think I got lost in my head,” he answered, his mind still half-absent.

“Do you maybe want to talk about it? You were crying,” she said, looking around the room to find a towel in case he wanted to get out of the water. 

He wiped his tears away, making no move to leave the bath, he only started staring at the water again.

“I feel like I will never be able to heal,” he started with a shaky voice, and Lucy felt a pang in her heart at these words, “No matter how well it goes, it always goes downhill at one point. When I feel like I’m advancing, it is only to take three steps back instantly.”

Lucy’s body went on automatic pilot as Erik started talking, she found a shampoo bottle and came back near him before kneeling again and putting shampoo on his hair. He didn’t complain, didn’t say anything about her sudden actions, he only kept going with what had been weighing on his heart for so long.

“I’m tired, Lucy… I don’t know how much more suffering I can take before I break without the possibility of being put back together, before my body says it has had enough and give up on me.”

She listened to him, feeling like she shouldn’t interrupt him when he was being completely honest with her, but also with himself. She started massaging his head, shampooing his hair before rinsing it.

“I already feel like I am beyond repair, that there is no way for me to heal.”

Lucy gritted her teeth, she didn’t know what to say to comfort him. She didn’t think he was beyond repair, and she was convinced that he could heal. It would take time, of course, he had gone through hell countless of times, but the fact that he was still here was a sign that he was determined to keep fighting until he reached happiness or whatever he was looking for in his life. Her whole body moved on its own, she got inside the bathtub fully dressed before cupping his face in her hands forcing him to look at her in the eye.

“I think we all are broken in some ways, some more than others, but I don’t think you are beyond repair like you said. Healing takes time. You will heal Erik, but not in two days. It’s a long and arduous process; you have to hang on and keep fighting.”

“Do you really believe what you are saying?”

“Of course, I do. You are the strongest person I know, you went through countless horrors, and yet you are still fighting strong. Not giving up is the first step towards healing. You’re doing great, Erik.”

He let out a heavy sigh as if a crushing weight had just been removed from his chest.

“I really don’t know where I would be without you,” he whispered shakily, “You are the best thing to ever happen in my life.” 

Lucy felt her cheeks heat, and it seemed like the heavy atmosphere had lightened up a bit. Cobra seemed a bit better now, having been freed from the weight on his chest, and he had sort of changed the subject.

“I feel like I have been deprived of happiness all my life, it is foreign to me,” he started.

“Did you never feel happiness in your life at all?” she asked, the question escaping her lips before he could finish his sentence.

A faint exhausted smile crossed his lips. “I did… I do. You crashed into my life and changed it completely. I can tell without an ounce of a doubt that the months we spent together were the happiest moments of my life. Sure, it has not always been happy since there has been Fanny, Aliénor and Rowena, but I think I would have given up a thousand times if you hadn’t been there for me.”

Lucy stared at him with tears brimming in her eyes and rosy cheeks, his words going straight through her heart.

“Will you help me to heal?” he asked softly, looking away as if he was ashamed to ask for her help. It was a kind demand filled with a tinge of desperation in it.

And Lucy felt like this was a moment she had waited an eternity for. Cobra was not known for asking for help, so his demand was a huge step forward, he wanted her help to get better, and Lucy would give it all.

“Of course, Erik. I’m here for you; whatever you need me for.”

Chapter Text

“Are you ready?” Lucy asked, putting Cobra’s white coat on his shoulders.

She had gotten so used to wearing it, that she almost felt a bit sad giving it back to its rightful owner, already missing its warmth and fluffiness.

Erik turned to look at her, his eye full of surprise before it turned into gratefulness when he had understood what she had just put on his shoulders. He smiled at her brightly before putting on his coat, the joy on his face was enough to make her heart melt. She knew just how much he cared about his coat, and seeing him so happy, almost giddy was a relief after seeing how depressed he had been for the past few days.

They had never talked about what had happened in the bathroom a couple of nights ago, and sometimes she wondered if she had imagined the events of this night, if all of it had been a dream. But she knew all of it had been real.

“More than ready,” he replied seriously, taking her hands in his and caressing her fingers.

Today was the day where they would go to the Heartfilia Mansion and find out where her brother was being held. Erik was fully healed now; he had built back some strength and they were ready to fulfill one of the terms of their deal that had started it all. Then once she got her brother back, they would find a way to set Cobra free. She felt like it was already on a great path with Kaede and Lionel’s intervention that had led to an interrogation from the King of Fiore. Perhaps Lucy was also completely delusional, but it had to mean something, and if it didn’t, she would fight until the end of time to set him free. She had vowed to herself that Erik would never see the inside of a jail cell ever again.

Lucy and Cobra knew that leaving today might stir some trouble with the Magic Council and the King of Fiore. Belno had reluctantly agreed to let Erik go to the Heartfilia Mansion, even if she would have preferred to hear the decision of the King concerning Cobra’s situation before doing so, but they couldn’t keep waiting for an answer while Lucy’s brother was suffering, they had wasted too much time already and Lucy feared the worst now.

“I would love to say that you don’t have to come with me,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder before squeezing his hand.

“I know, Blondie, I know,” he answered, wrapping an arm around her waist before bringing her closer to him.

“Damon will be there for sure, but she might also be here, you know? I wouldn’t be mad at you for refusing to go there, I can always find another way.”

He shivered before taking a deep breath. “There is no other way, and you know it, if I refuse to go with you, it means that I’m letting your brother die. And, besides, I have scores to settle with Damon, that monster almost killed you,” he said, his eyes briefly landing on the pink scars marking her chest that stuck out of her top.

“If you want to fight Damon, then I will take on Rowena, I’ve beaten her once, and I will do it again.”

Erik seemed unsure at first, terrified at the idea of Lucy facing this monster since he knew what could happen if everything went sideways. If they failed, Lucy was going to be tortured by Rowena, and Cobra would be forced to watch.

“I’m as scared as you, Erik. But we won’t fail, we can’t allow it.”

He put his chin on the top of her head before gently caressing one of her arms. “You’re right, Lucy. We can’t fail.”

The train ride to the town where was located the Heartfilia mansion was mostly filled with stress and anxiety. Lucy could feel her heart beat crazily in her chest, the fear of what might happen tormenting her, and she noticed it was the same thing for the Dragon Slayer. He had his head on her lap, and he was gritting his teeth, his brow creased with uncertainty, and it was clear he was thinking about every possibility of how this could go wrong as much as she did.

“Maybe we should think of a plan,” she said softly, playing with his hair.

“It’s not like we are going in totally blind; we thought about it already… There is just no good plan, yet.”

She sighed desperately, she knew he was right, and it was not reassuring. They had spent the last couple of days racking their brains on finding a plan that would not end up with both dying or getting severely injured. But the hard truth was that there were too many variables right now. Jude could still use the slave mark against Erik and her brother. Plus, they didn’t know where her brother was being held, they didn’t if Damon would be alone or accompanied by Rowena, they didn’t know anything. They would know only when they set foot in the town and were close enough to the mansion for Cobra to be able to hear anything interesting.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she replied, “I guess, I’m just anxious.”

At these words, Erik opened his eye even through his motion sickness and he took one of her hands in his.

“It’s normal, Lucy. I’m terrified as well, but I know you will come up with a great plan once we know more about what is happening over there. You’re a great strategist, and I know for a fact that you will find a way to make this work.”

A slight brush crept up her cheeks at the sudden compliment. “We will find a way to make this work,” she corrected him.

His only answer was a little smile before he closed his eye again to rest.

The atmosphere was heavy when they reached the town, and once they got out of the train, they found the closest café to the Heartfilia mansion and hid themselves there so that Erik could hear anything interesting. They didn’t want Jude Heartfilia or his goons to spot them and completely ruin their chance at saving her brother, but even if they were hiding right now, Lucy felt like her father knew she was here anyway. But there was a high chance that Jude didn't know she was accompanied by Cobra, she had told Damon that Erik was dead, and he had probably relayed the information to her father.

Lucy looked at Erik, she could see on his face how focused he was, listening to any sounds that might reveal itself useful. Sweat bedded on his brow, and he had his teeth clenched, and she was pretty sure she had never seen in him that state when he was listening to thoughts. Usually, he was just focused, not showing any sign of pain or struggle, but right now it seemed to take a toll on him.

“Erik, is everything alright?” she asked, unconsciously reaching for one of his hands.

He nodded, keeping most of his focus on the sounds in the Heartfilia Mansion. “I’m fine, I had forgotten just how overwhelming the world was.”

She stared at him worriedly, but she understood what he meant by that. They had been locked in the Magic Council for a long time now, far away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, it was normal if he had forgotten just how loud the world could be.

“Take your time, don’t push yourself.”

He gave her a small look that told her that she didn’t have to worry about him too much, but Lucy knew it was an impossible task. She was sort of forcing him to go beyond his limits, and she felt guilty for it. She knew he should take it slow and rest, he should not be about to brave death again.

After a few minutes of listening, Erik sighed, and he focused his attention on her and not the sounds.

To be honest, Lucy didn’t feel ready for his next words, there was no way that what he was about to say would be positive. But Erik had probably noticed her stress and how unwell she was because his next words were the most positive thing he could have ever said to start the conversation.

“He is alive, and he is here at the Heartfilia mansion.”

She exhaled deeply at the news concerning her brother, and the reassurance she felt at this moment would have been enough to make her cry. Cobra didn’t add anything else, he observed her carefully, waiting for her to calm herself before continuing with the bad news.

“And what is the bad news?” she dared to ask once she felt better and had been able to rein down her emotions a little bit.

He sighed before telling her everything he had learned.

“So, if I have understood correctly, my father has hidden my brother and one of your friends in a secret room, and Rowena and Damon are standing guard, am I right?”

He nodded. Lucy was surprised to hear that her father had captured another person, a certain Sorano.

“Why would he capture another person? It is absurd,” Lucy said, racking her brain to understand her father’s actions.

“Believe me when I say I want to tell you everything, but right now, it is best for you if the only thing you know about her is that she is one of my close friends and your brother’s,” Erik replied, a tinge of guilt covering his face.

She looked at him in the eye, it was obvious that he was hiding something concerning this person, and she was about to open her mouth to ask more, but he cut her.

“I need you to trust me, Lucy. You need to focus on saving your brother right now, and knowing more about Sorano isn’t going to help. I will tell you everything when the time is right… But what you need to know is that her presence is a way for your father to torture your brother.”

Erik was still a master in keeping secrets, and yet, the fact that he was at least sharing a bit with her right now made her happy, he was trying to change his bad habit of his. If he said that knowing more about Sorano right now wouldn’t help, it was probably true, and in the meantime, Lucy would have to rein her curiosity and wait for all of this to be over to know more.

“Focus only on saving your brother, alright?”

She gave him a small nod. “Alright, Erik… I’ll do as you say, I trust you.”

He let out a little sigh of relief, but everything was far from over.

“Now, the question is why he adopted another strategy?” she whispered pensively, remembering how Cobra had told her that if she stepped in the Heartfilia Mansion today, she would not have to look for her brother like every other time because this time he would be there waiting for her.

“It may just be another of his cruel mind game?” was Erik’s answer.

She shook her head; her mind going at full speed to find the real response to her father’s sudden behavior change. He had a reason for changing his way of tormenting her.

“No, he definitely has a reason to do this, I just can’t put my finger on it,” she replied, beating her brains out.

“Maybe because he knows you are not alone,” Erik said, caressing her hand.

“It doesn’t make any sense, I went there several times with Gajeel and Levy, and he never decided to do that. So, why now?”

“Perhaps because I am here?” Cobra tried.

“I told Damon you were dead, my father probably believes that, too. He just knows I’m not alone, he doesn’t know who is with me.”

She watched as Erik’s face fell when someone stepped into the café, and she turned to see why the person who had just come in had caused such a reaction. And with the arrival of one man, they knew who Jude thought Lucy was with.

Dan Straight.

Even though the situation was extremely serious, Lucy had to refrain a laugh. How could her father had mistaken Cobra with Dan? They had nothing alike except for their hair color.

“Please, tell me this is a joke,” Erik grumbled desperately, almost disgusted by the fact that he had been misunderstood for that man.

“You know what? This might actually play in our favor,” Lucy said, a small smile on her lips, her mind already concocting the start of their plan.

“This is a nightmare.”

There was no way possible that Lucy would talk to Dan and drag him to the Heartfilia mansion. First because she couldn’t tolerate the man, but also because he would never agree to work with Cobra. What she could do, though, was summoning Gemini, ask the spirit to touch him so that it could take his appearance, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

While she summoned her spirit and sent it to discreetly touch the knight, Lucy explained to Erik why Jude had suddenly changed his behavior. She couldn’t be entirely sure that her reasoning was right, but in her head, it made a lot of sense.

“It might be far-fetched what I’m about to say, but my father thinks that Dan is with me, and Dan is a knight from the Zentopia Church,” she started.

The Zentopia Church was another figure of authority in the Kingdom, not as strong as the Magic Council nor the King, but still strong enough to have influence on some people. Jude Heartfilia might have the Magic Council in his pocket, but probably not the Zentopia Church which explained why he had suddenly decided to act like the Heartfilias were a happy loving family and show her brother. Her father didn’t want the church to believe that some dark stuff happened between the walls of the Heartfilia mansion.

“He is scared that if Dan is with me, the Zentopia Church might learn about his activities. I’m convinced it is why he has embraced another approach today. If I go with Dan to the mansion, he will want to show that our family is fine and not broken so that he will not suspect anything is wrong there.”

Erik nodded, taking in her reasoning. “What you are saying is actually pretty smart and knowing the lengths your father will go to protect himself and his activities, it doesn’t sound far-fetched at all.”

Gemini came back after successfully accomplishing his mission, Lucy complimented it before sending it back to the Celestial Spirit World before calling it back later, she needed to save her magic right now.

“I will enter by the main entrance with Gemini, I will walk right into my father’s trap and meet my brother while you go look for the secret room and Sorano,” Lucy said determinedly.

It was a rash plan, but they had to use the fact that Cobra was considered dead to their advantage. They both knew Damon and Rowena would probably catch on really quick on their little scheme, sensing the Dragon Slayer’s presence, but at least he would have a head-start.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I see no other solution, Erik,” she answered, looking at him in the eye.

“Promise me something, Lucy. If it’s possible, favor the running away option rather than the fighting one. Our mission is to get them out of here, not win against Damon and Rowena.”

She nodded, agreeing with his words.

“I promise, but I want you to promise me one thing in return and you might not like it.”

She took one of his hands in hers and started tracing circles around his palm while still maintaining their eye contact. “If… If we are both caught and if she gets her hands on me, I need you to act like you don’t care about me and that you aren’t scared for me.”

He blinked, confused and shocked by what she was saying.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I think that she will get bored if she gets no reaction from you nor from me, if she loses interest in us, we might have a chance to get out of here alive,” she continued with a shaky voice.

“I don’t like this plan, Lucy.”

“It’s only as a last resort, I’m hoping it won’t get to this.”

Cobra gritted his teeth and promised her reluctantly to try his best to look disinterested if Rowena tortured Lucy.

They both took a deep breath, hugged each other tightly for perhaps the last time before it was time to go. Lucy had to hope that today would not be her last, and that when everything was over, she would have the chance to talk to Erik about her feelings for him.

If Erik could hate Jude Heartfilia more than he already did, he would.

When he had focused his hearing on the mansion and he had heard Sorano’s voice alongside Lucy’s brother, it had made him mad and riddled with guilt. Cobra couldn’t believe that Jude had also gotten his hands on Angel along with Lucy’s brother and that he had spent gods knows how long torturing them. His two best friends had been here for at least two months since Erik had been asleep for that long, but there was a very high chance that it was way more than that, especially if Jude had captured them when Lucy and Cobra had still been in Bosco.

Angel was one of the only member of the Oracion Seis who hadn't been caught by the Magic Council, and Erik knew she had planned to get revenge on Jude before turning herself in once she would be done with it, but it seemed that this cruel man had outsmarted her. Cobra had decided to hide the fact that Sorano was Angel for now, not that he thought it was good to do so, he didn’t like lying to Lucy, but he preferred that she stayed focused on helping her brother. If she had known that Angel was here, she would have been thinking about the reason nonstop, and right now Lucy didn’t need any unnecessary distraction.

Cobra was climbing one of the walls of the Heartfilia Mansion that had climbing ivy on it to sneak inside, he had found this wall that led to an open window and had decided it was the perfect spot to get inside discreetly without having to break something which would have immediately given away his position.

Deep down, he knew Lucy and him were walking into a trap, and he wouldn’t be surprised if this open window was a part of it. But he had to believe that Lucy’s reasoning about Dan was right, and that Jude didn’t know that Erik was currently sneaking inside the mansion because he was supposed to be dead.

Erik kept a part of his hearing focused on Lucy, she had summoned Gemini and was now crossing the garden to reach the main entrance accompanied by her spirit. He could hear Jude waiting for her, impatient to torment her again while Lucy’s brother wished that she would turn around and not put herself into any danger. Damon was also present, close to Jude and chatting with Rowena. When Cobra heard her voice, he had to catch himself to the ivy strongly or he would have fallen and probably made enough noise to alert them of his presence.

He had to take a deep breath to calm himself, he refused to let the fear overcome him and ruin their mission. He was terrified by Rowena and just knowing that she was here reminded him of all the suffering he had endured by her hand. But he was here to save his friends, and he couldn’t allow himself to have a moment of weakness that might cost them their lives.

When he got inside the mansion, the only thing he could smell was blood. He knew it was just the confusing smell emanating from Damon and Rowena, that had thrown him and Gajeel’s nose off several times.

He tried his best to ignore the smell, and he discreetly made his way towards the secret room where Angel was currently locked up. He followed her thoughts, they were full of anger and pain and desperation, but also of worry for her friend that was with Jude right now. Sorano was a member of the Oracion Seis and a child of the Tower of Heaven, and if there was one thing Cobra knew about the children he had grown up with was that they were all fighters, strong-willed and brave to no end, and that even in despair, they would keep fighting until the end.

He reached the entrance of the secret room, and instead of finding the right way to open it, he used his poison to rot the wallpaper and the wood beneath it, and after a couple of minutes, he could see the stairs leading to the room where his friend was.

He took a deep breath and started making his way downstairs.

Lucy was terrified to her very core, the walk through the garden even accompanied by one of her spirits had felt like an eternity. As she walked, she kept playing with the little vial of poison in her pocket Erik had given her. It was just a precaution in case she found her brother in cuffs and couldn’t break them.

This poison should be able to erode the metal, Erik had explained in the café, playing with the vial in his hands before giving it to her.

She reached the main door, and soon, once she had calmed her nerves a bit, she would knock and then, it was left to fate to decide what would happen.

Today, she would see her brother again after almost eighteen years of being separated from him. And today, she might also die trying to save him.

Gemini noticed her unease, and the spirit put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She offered him a weak, but thankful smile before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.

The door opened fast, too fast, even if she had known that her father had been expecting her. The person who had opened the door was not her father nor Damon, it was Rowena with her red eyes staring at her with a burning anger and a strong desire of vengeance. But instead of showing fear, Lucy tried her best to look disinterested–a hard task when this monster was still wearing the dress made of Erik’s scales.

“I’m here to see my father,” she said as coldly as possible before stepping inside the mansion, without even glancing at Rowena.

Jude Heartfilia was waiting for her in the main hall, a satisfied small on his lips.

“My dear Lucy, it’s been a while since you last visited,” her father started, “And you came with a friend, please make yourselves at home, dinner will be served shortly.”

The guiltlessness on his face made her sick, she couldn’t believe that he was still trying to keep up with the innocent father act when he was a cruel old man who had ruined too many lives.

“You know that I’m not here for that,” she said, “Where is my brother?”

“Again, with that? I already told you he was dead, stop being so delusional.”

“And I already told you I don’t believe in your lies,” she whispered before grabbing Gemini’s arm tightly, “Dan will be very sad if he can’t meet my brother, he said he wanted to meet my whole family before proposing,” she added, hoping that her father would take the bait.

At first, Jude looked surprised by her words, but Lucy saw the moment he fell for it. She was convinced that her father would have shown her brother anyway even without mentioning marriage, but by mentioning it, she was giving hope to Jude that he could potentially gain the Zentopia Church’s trust. She knew now that the first part of her plan had worked, and that her father would stop hiding her brother from her.

“Marriage, huh…” he said, looking pensive and a bit suspicious before staring at Gemini, “I’m glad you stopped hanging around with this criminal of yours, Dan will definitely be a better man for you than Cobra.”

She gritted her teeth at how her father talked about Erik, but she didn’t contradict him and instead decided to agree with her words. She knew what he was saying wasn’t true anyway.

“I guess we need to talk about this fantastic news around a good meal. Damon will bring your brother in a minute. I will make sure dinner is ready,” he said before disappearing in the dining room.

If not for Rowena at the end of the room, Lucy would have sighed of relief. But she couldn’t allow herself a moment of weakness, or this monster would notice it and her plan to save her brother would be ruined.

There was a brief moment where time seemed to have completely stopped. No sound, no movement, nothing. But the world had not stopped, and she heard footsteps approaching from behind her, and she straightened when she felt the cold breath of Rowena on her neck.

“Is my lovely Erik really dead or are you hiding him from me?” she teased, her voice dripping of sadism.

Lucy hated how Rowena talked about Erik, how she only saw him as a toy to break.

“He is dead, you stopped his heart, don’t you remember?” she answered, trying her best to contain the shake in her voice, she couldn’t allow her anger to take over.

A little laugh escaped the black-haired woman, “Of course, I remember. The hopelessness on his face when he realized that his heart had stopped and that was going to die was divine.”

Lucy clenched her hands into fists, she knew all of this was a game to this monster, and she needed to resist, she couldn’t allow herself to be broken by her words.

Then, Rowena moved to be in front of her, staring at her with her wicked red eyes, “Your hopelessness was delightful too, you know? When you held his dead body in your arms, crying like a baby. I even saw you try to restart his heart, but I guess you weren’t enough.”

“Are you done? I’m tired of playing with you, I didn’t come here to talk about Erik.”

Rowena rolled her eyes. “You really are no fun, and I’ll leave you alone soon enough,” she started before getting closer to her to examine her face carefully, “Something really bothers me… You told me Erik was dead, but you do not look stricken by grief at all, why is that?”

Lucy was angry, and it took every ounce of strength in her to stay calm and not attack Rowena where she stood. She thought about how she could answer her question without raising any suspicions, but she never gave her an answer because her attention shifted towards the two men at the top of the stairs instead of Rowena’s words.

Damon was here, holding a man with black and white hair and brown eyes by the arm who kept struggling against his grip. Lucy blinked once, twice, utterly confused when she recognized that it was Midnight standing there. Before her mind could process this huge surprise, their eyes met, and fragments of memories crashed down upon her.

Their eye contact on the Nirvana.

At that moment, Lucy had thought Midnight was just trying to scare her, using his magic to paralyze her, but he had not done so. When their eyes had met, he had immediately realized who she was, and he had been surprised, but since at the time he had been her enemy, she had misinterpreted his expression.

Erik constantly repeating that her brother was one of his best friends.

She should have known from the start that her brother was a member of the Oracion Seis, Cobra didn’t trust neither did he make friends easily, but there were only a couple of people that he trusted to no end, and it was the children he had grown up with and who had become members of the Oracion Seis.

Midnight’s eyes shifting from red to brown.

Judging by how his eye color shifted from one to another, Lucy was convinced that it was linked to his magic, and that the real color of Midnight’s eyes was brown exactly like hers except that he preferred hiding it and changing it to red for a reason she ignored.

You’ve always been the one I hated the most.

Words Jude had spoken to Midnight when he had seen him in Fanny’s hideout. On the moment, Lucy hadn’t thought much of it, but if Midnight was her brother, this sentence took a whole another meaning.

The experiments that had been done on him, turning his hair from blond to black.

Everything matched. All this time, she had all the puzzle pieces lying in front of her nose and she hadn’t known how to put them together. But now it all made sense; the puzzle was complete.

Midnight, one of the Oracion Seis members, was Lucy’s long-lost brother: Macbeth Heartfilia.

Chapter Text

Too easy, were the words Cobra kept telling himself as he descended the stairs towards the secret room where Angel was locked up.

Fear wrapped itself around him, making his heart race madly in his chest, but he did his best to ignore it and restrain it as best as he could. He could not allow himself to be consumed by fear, he needed to rein his emotion and focus entirely on his mission because the lives of his friends but also of the woman he loved depended on it. If he decided to flee right now, he would damn all the people he cared about, and he would never forgive himself for it. But it was tempting to listen to his brain and his body telling him to run away when he still had the chance, especially when he knew that if he were to confront Rowena today, he would not win. He was pretty sure he could manage Damon–especially with the hatred he felt for the man after he had almost killed Lucy–but the evil monster who had tortured him and enjoyed every second of it? He could not face her. His terror would only get the better of him, leaving him at the mercy of this woman. He knew Rowena was here, in the same mansion, just a few rooms away from him and thinking about how she was going to torment Lucy. They were not in the same room, and yet, Erik was terrorized, his body kept shaking at the simple thought of this cruel woman.

He took a deep breath and tried to accept the fact that he would see her again soon because what he knew for sure was that right now Rowena didn’t believe for one second that he was dead. And he could also hear that she wasn't buying Lucy’s lie about Dan and the marriage.

It was only a matter of seconds before everything went to shit.

Erik reached the end of the stairs, and his eye immediately landed on an unmoving figure lying on the dirty floor. The first thing he saw was the pure white hair, the only thing standing out in the dullness of the room, then he noticed that she was barefoot and that she wore the rest of a torn dress.

His mind emptied, all these terrifying thoughts about what Rowena could do to him or what was going to happen in a few minutes receded to the back of his head, not being the most important thing right now.

“Sorano!” he called, running towards her.

She slowly raised her head at her name, her deep blue eyes shining with fierceness–her way to show her captors that she would never give up–before it turned into confusion when she understood that it wasn’t them in front of her, and then it turned into relief when she recognized him.

“Erik…?” she whispered, her voice weak and filled with disbelief.

He is alive, her mind articulated and he could hear relief in her inner voice.

And Cobra knew that Lucy’s lie about him being dead had reached his friends’ ears. Guilt hit him in the guts at the idea of Sorano and Macbeth stuck here and in pain, grieving him.

He kneeled beside her, and he gritted his teeth when he noticed her body covered in bruises, cuts and dried blood. He recognized some of Rowena’s work on her and he immediately felt sick knowing what Angel had gone through. He gently took her in his arms, hugging her softly, not wanting to hurt her too much.

Months had passed, almost a year now, since they had last seen each other, and even if he would have preferred their reunion to be in different conditions, he was just so happy and relieved to see one of his best friends again. She hugged him back tightly her whole body shaking, her thoughts were filled with the relief that her hell would soon be over.

“You took your time,” she said, her voice filled with emotions, and he knew she was crying.

It was rare for Sorano to cry; she was kind of like him in a way–all the members of the Oracion Seis were actually–putting a wall of fake confidence until they felt safe enough to break and be themselves.

“I’m sorry, I wish we could have come sooner,” he told her softly.

She slowly broke their embrace and then she put a hand on his cheek, noticing the scar on his face.

“Don’t apologize, I was teasing you,” she started, a little smile crossing her lips, but it rapidly fell, “I know why you took so long… Jude and Rowena took a wicked pleasure in describing us what they did to you… Is she also the one who…” she trailed off, not wanting to phrase her question out loud.

Cobra shook his head, “It’s a long story,” he replied, not saying more about it because right now was not the time for stories nor catching up. They needed to get out of here quickly.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know once we are out of here,” he said, helping her to her feet.

She nodded weakly, leaning on him. “We need to help Macbeth… Jude left with him a few hours ago, and I know he wants to hurt him again,” her voice was filled with worry for her friend as she said these words.

“Lucy is with him; she is going to help him.”

Sorano’s eyes filled with uncertainty at Lucy’s name as if the Fairy Tail member was not strong enough to save Midnight or if she simply could not be trusted since she was Jude’s daughter. Or maybe she feared their reunion, the effect it would have on Macbeth the moment he met his sister again. Perhaps there was also resentment since Lucy had been the one who had defeated Angel.

“She is strong,” Cobra tried to reassure her.

“She’d better be, I gave her my keys,” Sorano answered, a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

It was easy to see that Angel didn’t really like Lucy, and Erik couldn’t exactly pinpoint the reason, but now was not the time to think about it.

They were about to ascend the stairs when the temperature dropped in the room, an icily and bitingly cold filled the air as Damon reached the bottom of the stairs.

Cobra gritted his teeth; he had been too focused on Sorano’s state to hear the man coming. An awfully wicked smile appeared on Damon’s face as his red eyes glinted with amusement and cruelty.

At this moment, Erik made a mistake. Dread filled him as this monster stood in front of him, and instead of focusing on the enemy right in front of him, he put his attention on Lucy and Macbeth, listening to what had happened. If Damon was here, it meant that their plan had gone awry and that now they would have to fight their way out of this.

Damon noticed the opportunity Cobra had offered him on a silver platter, and before Erik could hear what had happened to his friends, this monster punched him in the stomach and sent him flying against the wall.

“Erik!” Angel shouted, shocked by what had just happened.

Pain shot through Erik’s body as his back hit the wall violently. He coughed, having trouble catching his breath and for a moment he thought a few of his ribs had been broken by the punch, but as his chest heaved, he realized that the pain was tolerable. Cobra looked at his body confusedly, he was trying to understand why the punch didn’t hurt that much. Crimson scales covered his chest, and he knew it was what had softened the blow. He had unconsciously called upon his Dragon Force to protect himself. He was still unused to the fact that now his Dragon Force could spread further than his arms, but it seemed that his body knew how to protect him even when his mind wasn’t really in the game.

Sorano ran towards him, but she was rapidly stopped by Damon who coveted the ground with blood spikes that plunged right into the woman’s feet. Her scream tore the air as she fell on her knees, sticking more spikes into her legs and in her hands.

Cobra shouted her name, his heart filled with worry, but also and indescribable rage. He was tired of all these people tormenting his loved ones; today he would put an end to all of this.

“I knew you weren’t dead,” Damon grinned, looking at him before his attention shifted to Angel. Her body was writhing in pain, and she was fighting to contain her tears, she would never give Damon the satisfaction of having won. “So defiant, I love seeing that you still have so much fight in you, but you’ve served your purpose, now die,” he whispered to Angel before stabbing her right in the heart with a dagger made of his blood.

Or that was what would have happened if Erik’s body hadn’t moved on its own, making him jump into the fight, one of his dragon wings appearing so that it would serve as a shield between the dagger and Sorano’s heart before he clawed Damon’s face.