Fairy Tail - Darkness Revived

Chapter Three - Never Believe

Lucy awoke the following morning to the soft glow of the sun in her eyes, and sat up with a yawn. Her neck was stiff from sleeping on the couch, and it suddenly clicked where she was. Stretching, she looked over to the couch where she had laid Erza the previous night, and she wasn't there. Looking around, she spotted the other girl, sitting by the large floor-to-ceiling window, her knees pulled up to her chest as she gazed out over the landscape.

Lucy noticed that Erza had covered her with the blanket she had slept with through the night, and Lucy smiled. It was a cold morning, so she stood up, blanket wrapped around her, and sat beside Erza wrapping half around her. Erza smiled weakly at Lucy, before looking back out the window.

"Master told me what's going on.. Are you feeling any better this morning?" Lucy asked, her gaze following Erza's to find she was staring at nothing.

"Yes, thank you," Erza spoke up, "I'm sorry, it was just hard to hear all of that at once.."

"Don't be sorry. I understand, it was hard enough for me to hear, it must've been Hell on you to take all that in at once," Lucy offered a sympathetic smile, and Erza simply nodded.

"Anyway, thank you for spending the night with me," Erza smiled a little at Lucy, her thanks sincere.

"Erza, you were asleep on the floor when I got here, you didn't even wake when I tried to wake you," Lucy explained with a small laugh.

"True, but I could feel you there, and that helped a lot, believe me," Erza offered a slightly bigger smile, and Lucy pulled her into a hug, much to Erza's surprise.

"What was that for?" Erza asked after they separated.

"Oh, nothing. It's just good to know that you finally realise that your friends are always gonna be here for you," Lucy shrugged, and Erza gave her a confused look.

"Oh.. Well, thank you."

--

Later in the afternoon, Lucy had taken Erza back to her place, where she was happy to stay for a little while. She had said that the distraction of living with someone else would be good for her, and Lucy agreed.

Placing a plate of cake down in front of Erza, who sat at her table, Lucy also cut herself a piece of the strawberry cake Mirajane had sent home with Lucy when she had explained she was going to be with Erza.

Sitting across from Erza, she dug into her own cake, before looking up to see Erza simply picking at hers with her fork.

She looks so sad... Lucy thought.

"Hey, come on, cheer up," Lucy said, and when she got no response she began thinking about what she could do to get the smile back on Erza's face.

She flicked a bit of cake at Erza, smirking, hoping it would amuse her friend. The reaction was less than desirable.

"What was that for?" Erza frowned at Lucy, wiping at her face.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood," Lucy pouted.

"Right.." Erza sighed and stood up, moving to sit on Lucy's bed.

Lucy sighed and followed her, sitting beside her. Erza stared at the ground, clearly in deep thought.

"I wish there was something I could do... To make this a little better," Lucy said with a pained expression, and Erza didn't react, "please, if there's anything I can do that'll make you feel any better, just tell me."

Erza clenched her jaw, pressing her lips together as she took a deep, shaky breath. She then leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees, cradling her head in her hands, hiding her face. She wasn't crying, but Lucy could tell she wasn't far from it. She gently rested a hand on Erza's back, moving a little closer to her.