A/N: *Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters*
Also: Will include some mild yuri.
Robe of Yuen, huh? Erza really looks-...Lucy was snapped out of her daze by Erza's commanding voice. "Lucy! Don't just stand there. Help out!"
"R-Right!" The two mages had decided to undertake a job together. It was fairly simple. Eliminate the bandits outside Magnolia. Since they usually went on jobs as a group of 5 recently turned 7, this was a good opportunity for them to spend some time together. This was the perfect opportunity for Lucy to show Erza how much she had improved as a mage. She took out Fleuves D'etoiles and turned to face a few of the remaining bandits Erza still hadn't cut. She charged with her whip, slashing one's chest, surprisingly knocking him out in the process. Seeing what she had just accomplished, she forgot where she was and looked to Erza for praise.
"Stupid girl, your back is wide open!" a bandit roared. Lucy turned just in time to see Erza stop the bandit's blade and fiercely kick him some meters away.
The redheaded mage turned around to face Lucy who looked down in shame. "I'm sorry," the younger mage whispered.
"Don't ever let your guard down, Lucy. I might not be there next time." Erza spoke firmly. Quickly requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armor, she eliminated the remaining bandits and returned to the blonde.
"Come on. Let's head back. I'll treat you to some strawberry cake with the reward." Erza said as she requipped back into her Heartz Kruz armor. Lucy couldn't help but laugh and reply with "Don't you mean treat yourself to some cake?"
Erza let out a laugh as well as they headed back. Seeing the S-class mage beam with happiness brought flutters to Lucy's stomach. She loved seeing Erza happy. But a big part of her always hoped she could be the only reason for said happiness.
When Erza noticed Lucy was walking slower than usual, she glanced down at the latter's feet, noticing an injury. It had probably happened during their fight.
The redhead called out to her, but Lucy was clearly in her own little world. She saw Erza looking at her leg. "This? Don't worry about it. It looks worse than it actually is," the younger mage was clearly trying to convince herself more so than Erza.
The redhead didn't buy it. She could see Lucy was in pain, which is why, to Lucy's surprise, she carried her, bridal style.
...This...am I dreaming? Our faces are so close...Her eyes. Her lips. Her neck. They're all...
"..-cy...u-cy...Lucy...can you hear me?" Erza was trying to get her attention.
"Huh? I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Was Lucy's response.
Sighing, the older mage said, "No, I was just checking if you're alright. Close your eyes, and rest for a bit. I'll wake you when we've arrived."
"Eh? Ah, no, don't worry about me. I'm fine." Lucy said, as her blush became increasingly stronger.
"Oh, it's my armor isn't it? Hold on a second." Erza requipped into her regular clothes, for Lucy's comfort. "Is this bett-..." She looked down as she was speaking, and saw Lucy's eyes were closed and she looked at peace. "I guess it is." Erza whispered to herself.
Erza...So soft... Were Lucy's last thoughts as she drifted to sleep in Erza's strong arms.
"Uuhh..." Lucy stirred as she began to wake up. Looking around, she noticed she was in her room and her leg was bandaged. Gently smiling, she concluded that this must have been Erza. She slowly got up, changed her clothes and headed to the guild.
"Lu-chan!" She saw Levy sitting at the bar waving to her.
Lucy got to her in a few long strides. While sitting down, she asked Mira for a cold drink, to which the older girl replied "Right away!"
"Lu-chan, are you alright? That seems pretty painful," Levy said with concern showing.
"Nuhuh," Lucy shook her head. "It's not as bad as it looks, though it does burn sometimes."
"Maybe you should have Wendy look at it," Levy's face was clearly filled with worry. This was a girl who had been one of Lucy's closest friends, whom she felt comfortable talking with about nearly anything. She wondered if Levy would be able to help her with her dilemma. Was it even a dilemma? Shaking her head, she continued the conversation.
"It's alright. She's busy as is so I don't want to burden her." Lucy replied, with a big smile. She could manage. It stung and hurt but it wasn't so painful that she couldn't walk. She'd be fine in a few days. Or at least she tried convincing herself that was the case.
"Here you go, Lucy. Wild berry smoothie." Mira said as she placed the glass down.
While taking a few small sips, she heard the names "Jellal" and "Erza" repeated several times in quiet whispers.
"Erza must be heartbroken. Losing both Jellal and Mystogan..." Levy said. To which Mira nodded, while Lucy played with the straw in her glass. Maybe asking Levy for advice wouldn't be such a good idea. If Levy believed Erza only had eyes for Jellal...
'That's right. Erza probably loves him...' Shaking her head, she tried to change her thoughts, but to no avail. 'There is no way I can compete with a man. There is no way I...Huh? What's this wetness...?' Her thoughts stopped dead in their tracks as she touched her face, only to realize she was crying.
An instant later, Erza arrived at the guild, her eyes dead set on the new strawberry cake the bar had received.
"Lucy?" Erza grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her so they could face each other. Slowly placing her hand on Lucy's cheek, the older mage tried to calm her down. "It's ok, Lucy. Talk to me. What's wrong? Is it your leg?"
Lucy shook her head and wiped her eyes. She didn't want to burden anyone with her senseless one sided love. Especially not the object of her feelings. Life was nothing like in the movies or novels. At this point, she had stopped believing in "Happily Ever After" or "One true love".
"It's nothing. Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine," she was vehemently wiping her eyes. Erza looked at her, sceptical, wondering if Lucy took all S-Class mages to be fools.
"You're coming with me," she said firmly as she did another bridal carry, to not put any pressure on the blonde's injured leg. The tone in her voice left no room to argue, but Lucy couldn't help it.
"E-Erza?! Put me down! Please! I told you I'm fine." Lucy tried to free herself from the redhead, but stopped the moment she saw the glare on her face.
"Enough." One word. Who knew that a single word could hold so much power? Lucy was at a loss. She stopped moving, and rested her head on Erza's shoulder. No longer caring about who saw her, she let her tears flow freely. Erza stayed quiet through her entire walk to the girl's apartment, her mind trying to understand Lucy's tears. Was it truly just her foot? Was there more to it? She hated seeing Lucy in shambles.
Roughly ten minutes later, she told Lucy that they had arrived. The blonde motioned to be put down in order to open the door. Erza declined, forcing Lucy to rummage through her pockets while in Erza's arms. Once she found the key, she opened the door. Erza put her down on the bed, took off her shoes and started removing her bandages.
Sparks ran through Lucy's body as Erza gently touched her leg. Her face became red. Erza looked up and noticed her flush. "Lucy? What's wrong?" She moved closer to the blonde, having their foreheads touch.
Wha..what..what?! She's too close! Erza's too close!
As Lucy was about to enter fantasy land, Erza drew back.
"You don't have a fever...Maybe you're just tired", the redhead assumed.
Erza washed Lucy's leg with a damp cloth, and when she was going to apply a new set of bandages, Lucy spoke.
"Erza...is there anyone you like?"
Erza shot up in surprise. She never expected to be asked such a question. 'Someone I like?' She thought to herself. She looked at Lucy, who had a dark expression on her. It wasn't anything malevolent or bad. The best way to describe it would have been depressed. The redhead wondered what Lucy was really trying to get at. Therefore, she thought of an appropriate response.
"Lucy...is this about someone you like?"
Lucy looked at her somewhat perplexed, but in the end came to the conclusion that Erza was not as foolish as some of her other guild mates. She nodded silently. She had had these feelings for quite some time. If she were to put a time stamp on them, it would have to be...Yes, that's right. When Erza protected the guild and made it clear how she had no intention of selling Lucy out to Phantom Lord. And then, her feelings became stronger when Erza was kidnapped and taken to the Tower of Paradise... Lucy had to admit that was a bit...no, it wasn't ironic, it was just plain odd. It was the fact that Jellal, someone who Erza clearly cared for...maybe even loved, had been the mastermind behind it all.
The redhead couldn't help but smile. Lucy liked someone! She wanted to know who. She wanted to help her even if she barely had any experience in the art of love. She finished with the new bandages and joined Lucy on the bed. "Talk to me. Who's this mystery person?"
'"It's you, Erza!"' '"What? Really? Oh Lucy! How I love you too!"' Lucy vehemently shook her head and thought to herself : 'That would NEVER happen. Stop having weird fantasies. You sound like Juvia.'
"I don't think you know them", was her only quiet response. There is no way she could tell Erza how she really felt. Not with the fear of being rejected.
"Hmmm, alright," Erza knew she knew who Lucy's crush was. It had to be someone from either their guild or an allied one. But if the girl didn't want to give names, she wouldn't force her. No matter how much she wanted to know. 'Damn it, Erza! Control yourself! If she doesn't want to tell you, don't push her!' Shaking her head, she recomposed herself. "What's the problem?" Erza let out.
"Well..." Lucy began fumbling with her fingers, "I like them, but they clearly like someone else," she said looking sadder than before.
'So that's what this is about...' "Well, I guess I'd react the same way if Jellal had someone else he liked..." Erza looked at Lucy, and then realized she had accidentally said that out loud. "Eh? Ah, did I say Jellal? It just slipped! I wasn't actually talking about hi-...Lucy?" Lucy was smiling. With tears in her eyes. Tears that wouldn't stop.
"I'm sorry. I've been crying a bit too much these last few days." She wiped her tears as best she could, her mind punishing her by repeatedly going "I told you so! I told you so!" She wore her boots and told Erza she was going out for a bit. The redhead didn't even have any time to stop the blonde.
Erza was left alone in Lucy's room. She let out a heavy sigh and got up to leave; however, a large stack of drafts caught her eye. Given her curiosity, regardless of her morally right or wrong actions, she took a peak. She did not expect what she read.
At first glance it was a fairly simple story about a princess shackled by her king's rules, forced to live a pre-set life. The King had decided to put her under the watch of a female knight. He was against the idea of giving her a male she could possibly fall in love with. This knight was valiant, chivalrous, courageous, strong, and very protective of her charge. She was her "knight in shining armor". She was perfect. The princess and the knight unknowingly fell in love. Something no one, not even they, had expected. The two decided to run away. Two women couldn't possibly get married, especially given the time they were in. They couldn't have children either. Their union would have proven useless. Something like that just didn't happen. As they ran, they had to face a countless number of assassins and soldiers sent to retrieve the princess and kill the knight.
'Eh?' Erza continued reading, and stumbled upon the part that got her attention the most. On their journey, they both had to deal with issues from the past. One of them was a black mage, one the knight was acquainted with. They used to be very close friends. Even though they were slaves as children, they were still very happy just being near each other. The knight fought the black mage to protect the princess. Eventually, the knight found out that the black mage had reformed himself and had become good. He was saving others and helping rebuild villages. The princess saw how happy the knight was at this. Every time the reformed mage's name was mentioned, the knight's eyes would sparkle and she would smile. She would dream of him. She would think of him; to the point where the princess began to realize that she was not the one the knight truly loved. This caused the princess an immense amount of pain.
Erza stopped reading. She understood. Lucy's tears. The meaning behind them. They were her fault. She was the one causing her pain. How could she be so dense?! The way Lucy looked at her, talked to her. That...You didn't look at a friend like that.'Lucy...I need to apologize. I've been such a fool.' Hoping she hadn't lost too much time, Erza ran out to find Lucy.
As she was running down the streets of Magnolia, a massive light came from the direction of the forest.'What? That...that looks like...'
Without wasting any more time, she ran as fast as she could to the scene. Worry coursed through her. Why was that in the sky? Hadn't they dealt with it?! Hadn't Mystogan stopped it?! She hoped she was just seeing things. She silently cursed at the thought of something happening to Lucy.
She got to the core of the forest. Someone was on the ground, face down.
"Lucy?! Lucy! Is that you?!" Erza ran towards her. Her clothes were different. Her hair was a bit shorter. But it was Lucy.
"Lucy! Lucy, please wake up!" Erza was shaking her. What if she didn't wake up? What if she never woke up and it was all Erza's fault? Could she have dealt with the guilt? No. Lucy was fine! She was fine and they were going to go back to the guild in the morning and everything would be fine once more.
The redhead turned the fallen girl on her back.
"What? You..." Erza's eyes were wide with surprise. She should have expected such a development.
The blonde slowly opened her eyes.
"Wha...where am I?" She held her pain struck head, throwing a glance at Erza.
"K-knightwalker?!" She quickly got up to her feet, fear and confusion running through her. "No...You look different..." As though an innate instinct, she understood. "No way! You're Earthland's Erza aren't you?!What are you doing in Edolas?" she wondered, tilting her head.
"...I should be asking you that," Erza said, weary but confused.
"What? Wait. You can't be serious...don't tell me I ended up in Earthland..." Erza nodded. "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Edo Lucy let out a scream loud enough to wake up all of Fiore.
"I don't have time for this right now. I need to find Lucy!"
'I didn't really talk to Erza much, but...Why does it seem as though she'll break, if she can't find the other me?'
"Have you seen her?!"
The short haired blonde shook her head.
'Damn it Lucy...Where did you go?!'
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated.
Note: This has been reuploaded. I will be putting this note at the end of each chapter I've reuploaded. If you don't see this, it means the chapter hasn't been rewritten. I'll write it here too : I'm not rewriting the plot or the development. Just adding more depth & descriptions.