Heart Beneath The Armour

Hope

Lucy's house has been destroyed in an "accident" by a certain pink-haired firebreather, and Erza has offered to move in with Lucy in her new place to split the rent. Lucy decides the new house is a little big for just the two of them...

"Hey, Erza?" Lucy asked, looking over to the other girl who was sitting at the table, looking out the window.

"Yeah?" Erza replied lazily in response.

"Can we get a pet?"

"A... Pet?" Erza's gaze drifted to Lucy, who was grinning innocently.

"Yeah, a cat or maybe a dog? This house is so big.. And there's only two of us, I thought-"

"Of course we can get a pet, a dog would be nice," Erza cut her off, smiling.

Lucy grinned in excitement and thankfulness. She knew how much Erza's friends meant to her, and she would go out of her way to do anything for any of them, happily. Lucy squealed and ran to Erza, grabbing get arm.

"Let's go right now! The pet store is open! Let's go get a puppy!"

Erza frowned slightly and looked to the ground, and Lucy's smile faded.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, concerned.

"Well.. I..." Erza mumbled, a little embarrassed, "I'd love to get a dog, but.. Could we please adopt one from the shelter instead of buying one? The ones at the pet store will get good homes, the ones at the shelter only have a bit of time to find one before they're put down..."

Lucy couldn't help but smile at how sad Erza had become over the fate of the dogs. Though she forever held a tough exterior, the kindness and warmth of Erza's heart never failed to amaze Lucy. She put a hand on the girl's un-armoured shoulder and smiled.

"Of course we can! Let's go, Erza," she took the redhead's hand and pulled her up, and Erza smiled.

---

Outside the pet shelter, Lucy got excited once again, and Erza too seemed excited by the prospect of having a puppy.

Walking in, they immediately saw all the dogs in cages - the shelter looked after them well, but unfortunately there was just so many animals that were left alone that there was hardly any room for them. Upon seeing the sight of the dogs crammed into cages that were barely big enough to contain them, Lucy's heart sank.

She felt Erza tense up beside her - an unusual thing for Erza - and she looked over and raised an eyebrow, but Erza's expression remained normal so she left it alone.

They were greeted by a worker who told them to look around, and if they found one they liked to let them know.

Lucy happily crouched near all the cages, while Erza stood behind with her arms folded. Looking up to Erza, Lucy couldn't help but keep the grin plastered on her face.

"I wish we could save them all!" she exclaimed, and Erza simply nodded with a sad smile.

After several minutes of searching, Lucy came across a puppy that was barely bigger than her hand, and it yelped at her. Her heart melted and she immediately knew that the caramel coloured pup was for them. Waving to the worker, he came over and unlocked the cage so Lucy could hold the puppy, and he then moved back to what he was doing. The puppy wagged it's tail and excitedly licked at Lucy's face as she held it close, giggling in delight.

"Erza, look at him! He's perfect!"

Lucy turned to see Erza's reaction, certain that she would be just as excited by the small animal, but upon glancing at the latter's face, her heart felt as if it had stopped in her chest.