Fighting Oblivion

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

The transportation the girls tracked down was actually a huge time saver. I was honestly a little irritated at first, there was zero chance I'd get to talk to Lucy in private if the 13 of us were all crammed together in a carriage. But at least Wendy refreshed the enchantment on the troia lacrimas. Man, that little girl was useful. She did warn us though that the more we used them the less effective they'd become so we decided to make sure we only wore them when we were in a moving vehicle. The last thing I wanted was it to wear off in the middle of a bumpy ride and I end up throwing up on Lucy. Talk about embarrassing.

Everyone was eager to get back to Fiore and I couldn't blame them. The guild had been left on its own way too long. I thought I could trust Rufus to not let the paperwork pile up but if he went out on a job with just Orga in charge...I didn't even want to think about the mess that idiot might have left for me. It's been over two months since we arrived in Crocus to help Lucy. Luckily the cart Erza got us cut the trip to Reino from almost two weeks to less than three days. We were supposed to drop the cart off, take the train from Reino to Ermina and get passage back to Fiore. The cart was making up for all the time the group had wasted dragging my sorry ass through the snow.

We had just stopped for a rest and for Gray to repair the cracking rear wheel. We should be in Reino in a few hours. It was early evening but we were eager for home so we decided to just travel through the night. I'd finished lifting the wagon for Gray to fashion an ice lock on the wheel to keep it strong. Man these Fairies had some versatile powers. Not only was Gray good to have in a fight, he could use his powers to strengthen and reinforce objects, not to mention sled my ass down a mountain. I was impressed with the ice princess, and more than a little grateful.

"Hey, man," I said once we finished repairs. "I just wanted to say thanks again, for getting my ass off that mountain."

"Ah don't mention it," he shrugged it off.

"For real, we'd probably still be in the forest if it wasn't for you." He squirmed, a little uncomfortable. Damn, what was with these fairies? Can't take a compliment for shit.

"No big deal," he said. "Besides...Lucy would have kicked my ass if I just dragged you by your leg like I wanted to." I smiled at the thought of Lucy being pissed on my behalf.

"So...uh...you and Lucy huh? For real?" I did not want to have this conversation with the ice mage. From the look on his face he didn't really either.

"Yeah," I said. "I hope so at least." I rubbed my hand through my hair, my familiar comforting ritual. I hoped this would be over soon.

"Well, at least you're an arrogant dragon slayer who knows how to say thanks. Could be worse." He just walked off, leaving me standing there gaping at his bare back. Did he mean he'd rather Lucy choose me than Natsu? I had kinda thought all the fighting between Natsu and Gray was just them joking around. I thought they were partners like me and Rogue. But maybe Gray didn't really like Natsu after all? Or maybe...maybe he just thought I'd treat her better.

I decided to use the remaining break time to go find her and talk to her myself. She obviously wasn't pissed about what happened with Khavary, but something was still a little off about her. I didn't think I'd get a better chance than now to get to the bottom of it. Besides, we hadn't been alone with me actually awake in weeks, there was a lot more that I wanted to do than just talk. So I followed my nose, chasing after that sweet and tart scent of strawberries and cream. I found her in a clearing a little ways into the woods, next to a small creek. I was gonna go right up to her and pull her close, hold her like I'd been aching to for days. But she wasn't alone. She was sitting on a rock, her feet dipping into the water, and her beautiful mermaid spirit floating above her. I didn't know what they were talking about but Lucy had a sad little look on her face, the mermaid had her arms crossed, glaring down her nose. My first instinct was to run to Lucy and defend her from whatever...I don't know...scolding, the siren was giving her. But Lucy had been through hell and back to get Aquarius' key and they hadn't gotten more than a minute together during the battle. I decided it was none of my business and I'd better stay out of it. So I quietly backed up into the tree line and made my way back to the cart. See? And people think I'm dumb.