» chapter nine

» in which lucy visits three graves

Stupid, Lucy thought. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She hated that she felt relieved to have expressed herself to him. Maybe it was better that he knew why, but that didn't change things: he loved her, and she lik…she loved him in return. And because of that, sooner or later, he would die. Burying her face in her hands, Lucy sunk to the tiled floor and silently cried away the night.

At some point or another, she'd fallen asleep crouched on the floor. Her back ached, and one glance in the mirror proved she was in no condition to face the world today, and to be frank, she didn't want to. She was half-tempted to remain sleeping in the bathroom all day and pretend nothing else existed—that is, until someone knocked on the door outside.

"Lucy, are you okay? Why weren't you at the Guild today?"

"Loke," she muttered, then said louder, "I'm fine, I just don't feel very well." Which wasn't a lie.

"Lucy." His voice came sterner than before. "Who made you cry?" She cringed.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." The doorknob jiggled and, with a small start, Lucy realized she never locked the door. She didn't have time to move before the door swung open and she fell backwards onto her bedroom's floor. Loke was staring down at her in surprise, but quickly schooled his features back into concern. He offered a hand and she turned her face away.

"That doesn't seem fine to me. How long were you in there?"

"Doesn't matter." Loke frowned and crouched in front of her head.

"Talk about it?"

"Not really." He pursed his lips but didn't press her further, thankfully.

"Well, I don't imagine the floor's very comfortable." Her lip wobbled despite herself and she threw an arm over her eyes.

"Please, Loke, j-just go away…" She heard shuffling and Loke's footsteps moved away from her, but she never heard the front door open, so she knew he was still inside. There was a bit of clattering in the kitchen before he returned and gently rubbed her elbow.

"I have a glass of water. You look like you need it."

She wanted to continue wallowing, but her throat was actually parched. Slowly, she sat up and rested on her knees, taking the cool cup in both hands. She made no moves to drink and Loke sighed.

"Is it Natsu? Is it something he did?" She swallowed and tears began flowing down her cheeks. Loke's eyes widened and he quickly produced a handkerchief from his blazer's pocket. "I'm guessing that's a yes, huh?" His humor was as flat as his smile as he carefully wiped her reddened face. "It seems like every day there's some new problem between you two." He sat next to her, cross-legged, and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into the curve of his body. Normally, she wouldn't condone such closeness (at least, in a private area; the days of pretending to be a couple felt like decades ago) but right now she appreciated the support. He waited until she'd calmed down and drank half the water before suggesting, "How about lunch on me?"

"We're not dating anymore, Loke. Or pretending to." Her voice was thick from her runny nose.

"I'm well aware. It's just a friendly outing." She gave Loke a dubious look—since when did any outing with him and a lady become platonic? But his face was devoid of all his usual charisma he reserved for asking ladies out. Actually, the way he looked at her was quite nostalgic. It was the same look he gave her the day he was persuaded to become her Spirit. He looked at her like she was the sun that rose in the morning.

"Loke…" She swallowed, then averted her eyes. "Do you…love me?"

"To the moon and back," he said without hesitation. Her head snapped to him in alarm and he skewed his lips. "You've always known that, haven't you? I mean, I'm aware I flirt…a bit…with everyone, but you're different, Lucy. You're the one I've contracted my powers and soul to. At the end of the day, my heart will always belong to you."

"I see." Loke didn't give her time to mull it over before taking the glass from her limp fingers, setting it on an end table, and pulling her to her feet.

"Lunch. On me," he repeated with a bright smile. "And I solemnly swear I will not flirt with you or any other woman in the vicinity."

"Loke—"

"What do you think of the color purple?" he interrupted, tapping his chin and eyeing her nightwear. She didn't get another chance to speak before he, still gripping her wrist, raised her arm above her head and pulled her into a twirl. She felt Celestial Magic wash over her seconds before a beautiful lilac dress appeared in place of her clothes. The sweetheart neckline was made demure by a dark blue shawl that was embroidered with white constellation patterns, and the flared hem ended just above her knees, leading into tan gladiator sandals with short blocky heels. Loke extended a hand, offering her a matching shoulder bag. For a moment, she didn't pay attention to anything except how lovely the outfit was.

"Loke, this is…this is…"

"You're welcome," he smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Can't let myself be the overdressed one here." She moved to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and realized her hair was styled too, piled on her head with a silky headband. "I have the perfect place in mind. Let's go while the day is young, huh?"

There was no pumpkin carriage or glass slippers, but Loke was nothing short of Prince Charming as he escorted her through Magnolia (borderline passive-aggressively warding off her cajoling boaters on the river) and to a nice little café on the docks. The small building was shadowed by the larger ones around it, but the porch was set with magical tea lights for illumination. Young couples filled the comfortable wooden chairs and set the air ablaze with their laughter.

"Seems fitting for a princess, don't you think?" he smiled before leading her on. Lucy didn't say much over the fifteen-minute walk, simply awed at the lengths Loke was going.

As they drew closer, a waitress with wild mint-green curls and a purple heart on her cheek smiled at them from where she was taking someone's order. "Table for two?"

"Close to the river, please." True to his word, Loke didn't let an ounce of charm into his voice, and his eyes never once strayed from Lucy's. She blushed under the attention as the waitress finished with her couple and led the two to a table at the edge of the porch's awning, parallel to the wooden railing of the river. She welcomed them to the Moonlight Sonata before bustling off with her notepad of orders, promising to return shortly.

"Why are you doing this, Loke?" Lucy's question seemed to catch him off guard a bit, then he rubbed his neck bashfully.

"You and Natsu have been at odds for a while, and whether you've realized or not, we all noticed," he explained. "And, well, I know I'm the cause, or at least part of it." Her eyes widened.

"No, Loke, it's not like that—"

"He thrashed me pretty hard. And right after we began dating? A little bit too much of a coincidence, I think. No, it's fine," he said, putting a hand up as she began to spew apologies, "I'm a lion, I know a thing or two about possessiveness. He's staked his claim and I'm fine with it. What I'm not fine with, Lucy, is seeing you miserable." For a moment, Loke's hair seemed longer, his suit brassier, his eyes meaner. She was reminded why the lion was the fiercest leader of the Zodiac. "And I would gladly kick his ass to where even the King couldn't reach for making you cry…but he doesn't do it on purpose. And my only consolation is that he's as bad off as you are."

"He is?" She was honestly surprised to hear. Natsu was obviously not as touchy as he'd been before, but she couldn't picture him doing anything close to crying himself to sleep.

"Maybe not so overtly, but he's kicking himself nonetheless. Not that there's much I can do for him, or you for that matter—as an outsider, my influence in your problems is limited. However, I can do both of us the favor of giving you two hours to be happy. At least, I'm prideful enough to think I can grant you that." A little laugh escaped Lucy at his remark, and he grinned at her response.

"Loke, I don't know what to say…" At that moment the waitress returned, pen poised above her notepad.

"Drinks?" she asked with a smile. Loke emulated the gesture.

"How about 'Water, please?'" he suggested. Lucy smirked.

"Water with lime, please?" she said. The waitress chuckled as she wrote it down.

"I'm assuming a glass of milk?" she said to Loke.

"A glass of iced water…hold the milk, please."

She promised to be back quickly with their drinks before hurrying to the next table. "She didn't give us a menu," Lucy said. Loke smiled and held up a finger.

"Are you sure?" He tapped the table twice and a series of glowing golden marks appeared in front of him. Bemused, Lucy emulated the gesture and read the marks; they were listing the menu items. "Very environmentally friendly, don't you think?" She smirked and shook her head in amusement.

"Favorite spot of yours?"

"Oh, I've taken a couple cat naps around here," he replied, earning another laugh.

"How many?" Loke quirked an eyebrow and she added, "How many dates have you taken hear?"

"Is that jealously I hear in your tone, my princess? You should know how loyal lions are." His smirk belied nothing but honesty, but Lucy was unconvinced.

"Yes, yes, how many?"

"Just one. Her name was Karen."

It took Lucy a moment, but her demeanor quickly deflated into something more subdued. "Oh…"

"She wasn't always so bad, you know. Once upon a time she was loved for more than just her looks. It was when the prestige of having two Zodiac Spirits began going to her head that she became…what she did." He sighed, then waved it away just when Lucy was going to apologize. "But I digress. I've known the owner here since he was young—his grandmother was once my Mage—and so on one of Blue Pegasus' excursions to Magnolia, I brought her here. She didn't fall for my charms, but it was a memorable dinner."

"I see." It was hard to reconcile Karen Lilica's image with something other than a Spirit-abusing wench, but if Loke said otherwise, she believed him. "Do you miss her, at all?"

"Sometimes. Most of the time it's guilt, still feeling as if I'm the one that costed her her life." He raised a shoulder, dropped it with a short breath. Lucy nodded once, steeled herself, and opened her mouth.

"Loke…"

"Here's your drinks! Sorry there was a bit of a wait." The waitress returned and set their waters down. "Are you ready to order yet?"

"Yes, I'll have the hearty salmon meunière, and she'll have the mushroom risotto." Again, Loke was nothing but cordial, and Lucy didn't even mind that he ordered for her as the waitress wrote down their entrees before leaving. "But this is no place to share stories of those passed." He smiled, oblivious to the tumultuous thoughts swirling in her head. "Want to hear what happened on my last mission with Cana?"

Without preamble he went into a long story about Cana wasting herself at a very popular bar in town, then taking on their target—a wizard with a blade sort of magic that granted him godly cutting abilities—in the town's plaza. During the fight she was reduced to the nude due to her clothes being ripped apart, but continued until the end without ever noticing. Sixty percent of their reward ended up being lost due to "public indecency fines." He was actually a bit overbearing in the way he told it; he continued in long, almost run-on sentences that prevented Lucy from changing the subject back. Loke could be awfully silly at times, but she began to wonder if he knew more of her thoughts than he let on, and if that was really the reason he took her to lunch.

Maybe so, because he timed his story so well that when he finished, the waitress had returned with their plates. "Let me know if you two need anything else." She smiled, gave a furtive glance at Loke, then looked back at Lucy and winked. "Although I don't think you'll need me when you've got a man like this." She left before Lucy could correct her. Then Lucy remembered: why try to correct her when Lucy had spent so long fooling people into thinking her and Loke were a thing?

"Try it," Loke said when Lucy hadn't yet begun eating. She unfolded her spoon and piled it with a heap of steamy rice. After waiting a bit for it to cool, she took a small bite. The tangy flavor exploded across her tongue and she choked a bit in surprise. "Do I disappoint?" he smirked.

"This is great!" Lucy filled her mouth in a very Fairy Tail-esque show of manners before swallowing, washing it down with her water. "Really great!"

"Yup. Knew you'd like it." Smugness was radiating from him in waves as he started on his own salmon, and neither said anything more until their dishes were done. "This place never disappoints with the food, does it?" he beamed, reaching for his water.

"Loke…" Lucy sighed and set her silverware down. Loke's smile disappeared and his eyes vanished behind the reflections on his glasses. Lucy was prepared to call him out for not listening to her—not listening to how she really felt, how much she loathed Natsu for loving her, how much more she loathed herself for loving him back—but instead, all that came from her mouth was a quiet, "Thank you."

He cleared his throat softly. "Do you still want to talk about how you feel?" She shook her head.

"I think I know what I have to do now. But really, thank you for all of this, it's really made me feel better."

"I'm always here for you, Lucy." The firmness of his statement briefly took his breath away. He was giving her that look again, like she was the center of his universe. "Don't forget that."

"I won't, I promise." Loke's ear twitched and he looked to the side. The waitress was returning from the building with a little black book in hand. He waved Lucy away.

"Do what you have to. Your knight will handle the more boring affairs."

"I care about you, Loke," Lucy said as she stood, grabbing her purse. "Don't forget that, else you'll get a Lucy Kick you'll never forget."

Loke saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."

She backed away, hesitated, then gave him a grin so wide it was almost a facsimile of Natsu's. "See you at the Guild later."

His eyes widened a bit and she mimicked the salute. Then she weaved between the tables and started on her hardest journey of the day.

The evening wind was cool against her bare skin, and browning leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked down the cobblestone path to the graveyard. No one else was there, so her presence was nearly deafening in the silence. She made her way over to the two headstones and knelt in the moist dirt. She put her hands together and whispered a silent prayer first, then began to speak.

"Hi Mama, Father. Usually, I'd write letters to you two, but I really need some guidance right now…"

"There's this boy—well, man, he's only a little older than me—and we're in the Guild together. You know of him, Father, since you'd been keeping tabs on Fairy Tail. His name is Natsu, but they call him Salamander. I'm kinda rambling a bit, I know I've already told you all the trouble he causes me and how much he ticks me off and whatnot…but this isn't about how annoying he is. This is about how he feels, and how I feel." She stopped to take a few deep breaths. Her hands, still clasped together, had begun shaking.

"Natsu confessed his love to me under a Truth Charm. I ended up doing the same thing. We have feelings for each other, and it's so, so terrifying… I'm afraid that if I let something become of our feelings that he'll end up like you two and Aquarius, and I can't lose anyone else. I just can't…" She sniffled, swiped her hand across her eyes, and looked at the unyielding stones. "Please, tell me what I should do."

Only silence responded to her, yet she didn't move. Then, after an indeterminate amount of time, a hand landed on her shoulder. She startled with a girlish scream that Natsu would've had a ball with.

"Whoops, sorry, Miss." The accoster pulled his hand back with somewhat of a lopsided grin. "Didn't mean to scare ya." He wore a thick black jacket with the hood pulled over his head and a thinner red jacket beneath. It was a little hard to make out the features of his face, but she could tell he was male and had luminous golden eyes.

"Well you did!" she huffed. "What are you doing eavesdropping on me anyway?"

"Eh…couldn't help it." There was no shame in his voice as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I hear you need help."

"No thanks. Not from a stranger."

"Don't be so dubious, Miss. Expectations can always be overturned."

Lucy turned her back and tried to ignore the stranger until he went away, but he seemed determined to hang around. He crouched next to her and she suddenly became aware of his bare feet peeking out from the hem of his worn-looking pants. He put his hands together and closed his eyes. Her surprise didn't come from the fact that he was paying respects to people he didn't know—the surprise came from what he said once he was finished:

"Must be hard losing both your parents."

She supposed, after a moment, it wasn't a hard leap to make. A man and woman about the same age in the same family plot who she was paying respects to; by reasonable expectations, the stranger could assume they were her parents. "More than I can describe," she admitted, rubbing her forearms. As the sun lowered the air grew chillier. He regarded her from the corner of his eye for a couple of seconds, then stood, shaking off his coat as he went.

"My son was in the same boat," he said as he unceremoniously draped the jacket across her shoulders. The nearly intimate gesture from a stranger made her flinch, but she couldn't help relaxing into the warmth of the woven fabric. It was more potent than normal body heat, as if that man was running a fever. Or as if he was a Fire Mage…like Natsu.

"Your son lost both parents?" She arched an eyebrow, letting the gesture pass for the moment. She gripped the edges of the jacket and pulled them closer. "You're here."

"I'm not the father who gave birth to him," he amended. "But, nonetheless, he is my blood son…and I hope the little shit reciprocates the thought." As crass as his word choice was, it hinted a fierce affection that also struck her as familiar.

"Was it…hard for him?" she asked after a bit of silence. He shrugged a shoulder.

"Can't say. Happened when he was still in diapers. But death affects us all one way or another, whether we know it or not. Don't ya think so?"

"…You asked if I needed help." Lucy sighed a little. "What would you do if death kept taking the things important to you?"

"Huh. Well." He rubbed his strong chin pensively. "Dunno. Mostly because it seems impossible to me."

"Well it's possible."

"Ya sure?" Her cheeks reddened from frustration.

"Why would I joke about that!?"

"Whoops. Sorry, sorry. Ah, well…like I said, I dunno. Seems, if you're so certain that's so case, there's nothing that can be done on your end. Just gotta believe that those important people are strong enough to manage on their own."

"I don't doubt his…their strength," she correctly hurriedly, ignoring his gaze burning into the side of her face, "but my friend, she was just as strong, and she's…"

"Let's stop for a second. I'm supposing these guys are important to you too." He gestured to her parents' tombstones.

"Yes?"

"Did ya kill 'em yourself?"

"Of course not!" She was appalled he would even suggest such a thing.

"Did ya set 'em up?"

"No!"

"So I'm havin' some trouble seeing how you caused them to die. Sorry 'bout that—brains don't run in the family." He appeared almost smug when she growled in frustration. "Just my humble opinion."

"Why am I telling you? You don't care or understand."

"I do care," he said flatly. "And I understand it's something you're pretty torn up about. And I'm also certain that unless your name starts with 'Z', it's impossible for death to follow you around. Very bad luck: that's more of a possibility."

"And so what if it is just bad luck?"

"Then it goes back to what I already told you. Believe in this guy, that he'll pull through whatever gets thrown at him. Tell me, what's he like?"

"He's tactless," she said immediately. "Always getting into my personal space whether I like it or not. And he rarely ever thinks before he speaks. He also makes fun of me whenever he gets the chance."

"Sounds like his old man didn't teach him much about respecting woman," he said with a smile that was almost bitter. Lucy shook her head slowly.

"At the same time…he's a powerful wizard, and he'll easily put his life on the line for his friend's. He'll fight to his last breath for the people he cares about and he doesn't care how injured he gets… He's extremely loyal and courageous, with a burning hot temper and a massive heart. He's my best friend, and I…"

"You love him." Lucy bowed her head and nodded once. Suddenly the stranger let out a boisterous laugh. She looked up to see his head thrown back and shoulders tensed. He wheezed out the last of his breath before dissolving into chuckles. "Well, Miss, if you think so highly of him, and you love him so much, shouldn't that be enough? Doubting him and your own heart won't do anything but make you sick with worry and what if's. Fact is, you're just as feisty as you make him out to be—with that, I think you'll be fine."

He was right. This odd accoster had a point: she really wouldn't know anything until she made that leap. The same as running away from the Heartfilia Estate: so many things had gone wrong making the journey to Magnolia, but she held out her hope that Fairy Tail would be worth it…and it was. The Guild brought with it so many new glorious memories and friends and Natsu, who was a whole journey in himself. But only if she could bring herself to take that first step.

"But how do you know—" Lucy turned back to the stranger and startled, for there was no longer anyone beside her. She spun around and searched the whole graveyard but not even his footsteps remained. The only remnant of his presence was the jacket that no longer held his body heat…that very familiar body heat…

Good luck, Miss.

Lucy blinked up at the sky—and blinked harder, scrubbing at her eyes. The purplish expanse had, for a very, very brief second, formed into a very confusing image… She would've thought she'd seen the outline of a dragon up there. But then, but then…

"Mama, Father…?" She looked at the tombstones again, silent as ever despite her prayers…but they did give her help. Somehow, someway, she'd gotten help from the one person—so to speak—who knew Natsu most. The how wasn't super important—what mattered was acting on this resolve while she still felt inclined.

She had to go see Natsu.

Oof, here comes the author's note.

I'd like to start off by saying that this chapter was not double-checked at all. I imagine there are quite a few inconsistencies and spelling errors, but I will get to that later. For now, I'm glad to have knocked this out and managed to publish something after two weeks of hardcore typing.

Secondly, well wishes to all my readers who are in quarantine, in a locked-down area, or are self-locking-down to avoid contamination. Truly insane times we're in right now and it's all we can hope to make it out in one piece. I hope you guys keep yourselves healthy, and for any who are already sick, I pray you'll make a swift recovery.

And finally it's excuse time! Frankly, I have none. Since the last update, I have entered college, transferred to university, held down two jobs, gotten two cars, learned true meaning of love yadda-yadda so on and so forth. Why haven't I updated? Hell if I know. I have no real reason other than lack of ideas. Nothing truly dramatic has stopped me from writing for this...or, in hindsight, any of my other stories. But, dear readers, know this: none of my stories are abandoned. I will, eventually, gradually, painfully, arduously finish all stories still In Progress on my profile. It will happen, can't say when, but trust in that. As long as there are readers interested, I am driven to deliver.

That being said, don't know what I can promise as far as an ETA on the next chapter of "Boiling Point." I see there's still a healthy amount of interest in this story to date, which makes me giddy don't get me wrong, but also in the last three years, Fairy Tail canon has gone down the toilet quality-wise. So I'm not as motivated as I once was. But, nevertheless, the machine chugs ceaselessly on, and with my current resources I will make do. Until next time, Sqydd out.