Chapter 16

Renewed Light

Five days. Five days had gone by since Lucy fell to the ground, lifeless. Five days since anyone had last seen her smile or heard her laugh. Five days since she had so much as moved a muscle. Though no one dared say it out loud, they were starting to lose faith that she would ever return to them.

It was nearing dinner time on the fifth day when Lucy finally showed signs of life again. Laxus was startled from his thoughts when Wendy let out an excited little shriek.

"What is it, Wendy?" he croaked.

The young dragon slayer looked at him with a relieved smile on her face. She wiped sweat from her brow, having just performed a healing scan on the unconscious Celestial mage. "It's Lucy!" she chirped. "She's waking up!"

Laxus shot up from his chair instantly. "She is?" he asked with wide, hopeful eyes.

Wendy nodded enthusiastically. "It shouldn't be long, now. I'll be right back. She's going to need a lot of water when she wakes up!"

Laxus waved her away as he carefully perched his large frame on the edge of Lucy's infirmary bed. Gently, he took her hand in his as he gazed at her delicate form. Slowly, Lucy's eyes began to flutter open and Laxus let out a relieved cry he hadn't realized had been waiting to escape him.

"Lucy! Thank Mavis, you're awake!"

Lucy blinked a few times as her surroundings came into focus. Confusion filled her. This was the guild's infirmary. How could that be? She was just having tea with her mother and father in the afterlife. Wasn't she?

"Laxus?" she croaked. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"You scared the hell out of all of us, Blondie," he replied. "We… we thought you weren't going to make it."

Lucy blinked up at the lightning dragon slayer. Pure confusion marred her features. "But…" she whispered. "I didn't make it… There's no way I did. I was in the afterlife – I know I was. I was with my parents!"

Laxus' eyes widened for a second and he drew a shaky breath. Had she really died at some point? Did he really lose her? "I don't know anything about the afterlife, Blondie, but I promise, you're still alive. You haven't left us yet."

Lucy's confusion seemed to fade a little, but not much. "I don't understand," she said as she carefully sat up with a wince. "It should have killed me. The curse… without the lacrima, it should have killed me. I… I shouldn't be here right now…"

"I think I can answer that for you, Lucy," said a sweet voice from the doorway. Wendy stood there with a jug of water and a smile on her face. Swiftly, she walked across the room and poured the blonde woman a large glass of water. Lucy greedily gulped down the liquid as Wendy continued to explain what she suspected had happened to Lucy. "I believe the lacrima is what saved you. If I understand things correctly, the lacrima was doing more than just containing the curse. It was absorbing it. This whole time, the curse has been getting weaker and weaker. Unfortunately, the lacrima wasn't powerful enough to destroy the curse completely. That's why it cracked. It couldn't take any more. Thankfully it had already neutralized most of the curse, so when Loke took it out of you, there was only enough of the curse left to knock you out for a while."

Lucy gaped at the tiny healer as all the information sank in. Out of habit, Lucy placed her hand on her chest where the lacrima had been and was shocked to feel the rough patch of skin there. She looked down and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the scar that now marked her flesh. The deep, angry red scar clashed tremendously with the guild mark next to it.

"I healed that as best as I could," Wendy muttered quietly. "It should fade more over time but, I'm afraid it's permanent. I'm sorry, Lucy."

"Don't be," the Celestial wizard said softly. "It's fine. I don't mind scars. How long was I out for?"

"Five days. We were getting worried."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said with a tender smile. There was silence for a moment before Lucy sat bolt upright and looked at Wendy and Laxus in panic. "Freed!" she gasped. "Freed… is he… is he…?"

"He's all right," Laxus answered with a bit of a glare. "He got knocked out for a couple of days, but he's fine."

"Thank Mavis!" Lucy whispered as her shoulders sagged in relief. She looked down in shame. "I'm so sorry, Laxus," she continued. "I'm sorry I broke my promise to you. I… I didn't mean to. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous for him. Freed was supposed to be safe. I didn't mean to risk his li-"

"But you did," Laxus interrupted coldly. Lucy's head snapped up to look at him with wide eyes. "You did risk his life. You risked yours, too. By keeping it all a secret, you risked everything. Your life, Freed's… hell, if your shield hadn't held up, the entire guild could have fallen. Your selfish secret could have cost everyone their lives!"

"I-I-I dddidn't want to worry-" Lucy stuttered.

"God damn it, Lucy!" Laxus roared as he stood from his perch on her bed. "Don't you get it? Fairy Tail is a family! We are supposed to worry about each other! Family helps one another, protects and trusts each other, and they lean on each other! Family doesn't keep secrets that serious and they don't endanger the lives of others!"

Lucy's lip quivered as she fought to hold back her tears.

"Calm down, Laxus," Wendy said pacifyingly.

"No!" he growled. "No. I refuse to just smile and move on. I'm not going to just let her get away with this shit, Wendy." The large dragon slayer turned to Lucy with a fierce glare. He had to force himself to be firm when he saw her shrink away from him in his anger. He knew he had to let it all out. He couldn't let her off the hook so easily. "Do you have any idea what this little stunt of yours has done to the guild, Lucy? Do you have any idea what this has put everyone through? Freed was out cold for two days and was too weak to even stand up when your team practically pounced on him for answers, Mira has been out of her mind with worry, Wendy nearly passed out from magic exhaustion yesterday, and Levy has been in here every day to read to you. The whole place has been quiet as the grave, waiting for you to wake up. I haven't left that chair in five damn days and all you can say is that you didn't want us to worry? Newsflash, Blondie, that's what you do when you care about someone!"

With a huff, Laxus turned and stormed out of the room, leaving the two females stunned. Silent tears made a path down Lucy's cheeks as she stared blankly at the door.

"Oh, Lucy!" Wendy cooed gently as she rushed to embrace her. "Don't worry about Laxus. He's just been worried."

"No," Lucy whispered. "He's right. I… I should've told everyone the truth. I'm sorry, Wendy. I'm so sorry!"

Before either girl could say another word, the infirmary door burst open and the room filled quickly with their nakama.

Hours later, near midnight, Lucy sat with her knees to her chest in her infirmary bed. Wendy insisted that she needed to stay a few more days to recover and Lucy hadn't argued. Really, who was she to deny the young slayer? So, there she was, sitting in the dark as the eerie silence pressed down on her from all around. It was rather unsettling to hear the guild be so quiet. Of course, Lucy knew she wasn't alone in the guild. Everyone had agreed that someone would stay with Lucy through the night. Tonight, it was Levy.

Lucy glanced at the small figure of her blue-haired friend and smiled softly. She was so grateful that someone had stayed with her. Although, she was finding it difficult to rest. So, without making a sound, Lucy shakily got up from her bed and made her way out of the infirmary. There was a lot on her mind; perhaps a small walk would help clear her head.

Carefully, Lucy made her way to the second floor balcony on trembling legs. Lucy grasped the railing with quivering fingers and peered down at the dimly lit, empty guild below. She let out a small sigh as Laxus' words replayed in her head for the millionth time since she'd woken up that day. He had every right to be angry with her and he hadn't been back to see her since. Lucy suspected he likely wouldn't speak to her for some time.

Suddenly, Lucy was shaken from her thoughts by a deep voice.

"You should be in bed, Blondie," it said. Startled, Lucy's legs nearly gave out on her as she looked wildly around. Directly below her at the bar, sat Laxus, drinking alone in the soft light of a lacrima. "Or were you planning on leaving the guild again?"

Lucy flinched. Laxus' cold comment stung. "I didn't plan on leaving Fairy Tail again," she answered softly. "But I know a lot of people probably don't trust me very much now. And I don't blame them. I was wrong. It was selfish of me. I kept secrets to protect everyone I knew how hard everyone would take it… Everyone was so sad when I left to train. I… didn't want to add to the pain. I know I was wrong, though, and I'm so sorry for that. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me." Lucy gazed down at the hulking blonde man below as a single tear escaped her. Laxus hadn't looked up at her once. He sat there, silently sipping on his drink while listening to her talk. Her heart shattered a little more at his silence but she knew she couldn't stop talking now that she had started. "I wouldn't be surprised if you never spoke to me again, and I couldn't even be mad at you for it because I don't regret keeping my condition a secret from you. I'm sorry I hurt you and I hate that everyone had to witness what they did, but I don't regret keeping you in the dark. I'll confess, I have another secret. Out of everyone in the guild, you're the one person I never wanted to tell. I never wanted you to know I was dying because I didn't want to deal with the fact that if I died, I'd never see you again. I wanted to keep you from seeing my pain because I knew that if I told you the truth, I'd never be able to let go when it was time for me to die. So, you were right. Back when I left and you called me selfish… you were right. I am selfish. I didn't tell you because I'm in love with you, Laxus."

Without waiting to see his reaction, Lucy pushed herself away from the balcony and returned to the infirmary. She took one look at her lonely bed and climbed in next to Levy, curling into the smaller woman's side. After only a few minutes, the exhaustion and sadness caught up with her and she finally fell asleep.

Laxus sat there, stunned. Her confession had totally thrown him off. Surely, he hadn't heard her correctly? There was no way. When it finally sank in, Laxus shot up from his stool and dashed up to stairs and down the hall. He skidded to a halt in the open infirmary doorway. In the pale moonlight, Laxus saw Lucy's empty bed and for a moment, he panicked, thinking perhaps she had disappeared again. Then, he spotted Lucy and Levy cuddled together on another bed and he relaxed. With a sigh, Laxus leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed as he watched Lucy snuggle with her friend. He could tell she was already asleep. It was probably for the best. Laxus had no idea what he would've said to her, anyway.

A week passed before Wendy would let Lucy leave the guild's infirmary. In that time, Lucy had regained nearly all of her strength with the help of her team and various other friends. She had not been alone at all in that time and a part of her was grateful for that. It meant she had less time to dwell over her confession to a certain dragon slayer.

Carefully, Lucy made her way down the stairs to cheers with the help of Gray. She smiled at everyone but her eyes lit up when she spotted a familiar green-haired Rune mage waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her.

"Freed!" she shrieked as she flung herself into his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!"

Freed chuckled lightly as he returned her hug. "I was worried about you, too, Lucy. I would have come visit you, but Evergreen and Bickslow insisted I stay at home in bed to recover."

Lucy's smile faltered and a guilty look replaced it. "They were doing what was best for you. They're wonderful friends."

Bickslow and Evergreen gave her looks of appreciation at her praise. Freed frowned at the guilt he could see written all over her face, but before he cold say anything about it, Lucy had turned away from him to timidly climb on top of the bar – much to everyone's curiosity.

Lucy stood up on top of the bar with shaking legs. Gray rushed forward to steady her but she brushed him off, gripping a support beam to keep herself from falling. With a deep breath, Lucy addressed her family, explaining everything to them, from the very beginning. The whole place was silent as she spoke; no one dared to interrupt her, but they all noticed how she avoided eye contact completely. The Celestial mage then went on to apologize.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen," she said as she held back her tears. "It had been brought to my attention that my actions were selfish. I haven't been acting much like a proper member of the guild and I know most of you probably don't trust me now. I put Freed's life in danger… I put all of your lives in danger." Lucy's voice was barely a whisper now but they heard every word. Next to her, Freed was glaring daggers at Laxus, knowing that it was most likely the older man's fault that Lucy was so upset and being harsh with herself. "I've been thinking a lot the last few days and I've decided that I'm going to leave it up to you guys. I've been a terrible guildmate and an even worse friend. I hurt you all and nearly got one of my dearest friends killed. Fairy Tail deserves better. So, if you guys don't want me here anymore, I'll go. I won't blame you and I hope you can forgive me someday."

The silence that followed her speech was deafening. For a full minute, you could hear a pin drop. Lucy misread the silence and looked down in defeat before nodding in acceptance and shakily lowering herself to the floor again. Lucy hadn't taken five steps on her wobbly legs before she was stopped by a deep, assertive voice.

"You're not going anywhere, Blondie."

Lucy froze and slowly turned to face the direction the voice had come from. There, sat at the opposite end of the bar, was Laxus. Lucy watched him silently as he took one last gulp of his beer before turning to face her.

"If I'm not wanted here, I can't very well stay," she said in a small voice while trying to hide her shaking hands.

Laxus shook his head, his eyes boring into her. "No one said they didn't want you here. You assumed that's what the silence meant, but you're wrong. They're all quiet because you shocked the hell out of them. Not one of them holds any of this against you, so they don't know what to say. But I do."

Slowly, Laxus stood from his seat and made his way through the crowd. His eyes were locked on her fiercely and Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

"You're not leaving Fairy Tail again, because you just made a whole speech apologizing to everyone for being selfish. If you left now, that would be the most selfish thing you've ever done. You don't have the right to put everyone through that and then walk away again to let them pick up the pieces. We are a family and we take care of our own."

Lucy ran a trembling hand through her hair with a defeated sigh. Laxus was only a few steps away from her now. "I just can't do anything right by you, can I, Laxus?"

A small smile graced his lips as he finally stood before her. "You're not allowed to leave our family ever again. No one wants you to go," he said as everyone nodded their agreement. He leaned forward a little. "Besides," he continued with a smirk that made Lucy gulp. "I can't speak for everyone else, but I know I'd never forgive you if you left me again."

Lucy barely had time to register what he said before Laxus had seized her by her face and planted his lips on hers in a fierce, passionate kiss. Lucy was so shocked it took her several seconds to respond to the kiss, but when she did, it was like her entire world lit up again. The two were so lost in their kiss, they didn't notice the chaos going on around them. Jaws were dropped, girls were squealing, money was exchanging hands, Mira had fallen to the ground with hearts in her eyes, and Natsu and Gray were being restrained by Erza.

When they finally pulled away, both of them were smiling and Laxus pulled her to him by her slim waist. She looked up at her lightning dragon slayer with a peaceful smile. "All right, you win. I'll stay."

Laxus growled lightly. "Like I was giving you an option."

Lucy playfully rolled her eyes. "Stubborn dragon slayers," she muttered.

He chuckled. "Damn right… I love you, Lucy."

"I know."

A/N: Well, here it is! The final chapter! I am sooooooooo sorry that it took me so long to get this one up. I had the worst case of writers block after that last chapter and before I knew it, more than a month had gone by. Thanks to a friend, I was able to decide on how to continue. I hope you all enjoyed this journey with me and I pray no one hates this or me, too much. I've considered writing a small epilogue for this, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I'm fairly satisfied with how I ended this so I'll probably keep it.

Anyway, if you have any further questions or even requests, feel free to send me a PM. I am so glad I got to share this story with you all and I can't wait to further contribute to this wonderful fandom.

Heading to my birthday dinner right now, so I'll end this here. Have a nice night my lovelies!

XOXO ~Andromeda

P.S.: to reviewer LunaVermilion... you've read my HP stories, too? ^_^ OMG thanks so much.