Souls Entwined: Remake

Chapter 13

Erik and Bickslow had been on their missions for three days now and Lucy was pissed. She knew exactly why they had both gone on missions and it was so Lucy would have to tell Erza about their situation by themselves. She had been very tempted to tell Erza that they hadn't been treating her right so that they would get beat up by the Titania when they came home. The blonde was currently sat in the guild, sulking in the corner with the rest of her team. Erza was sitting next to Lucy with her arm wrapped around Lucy's shoulders. Even though Lucy acted mad and upset, she still missed them very much and it hurt to have both of them ditch her at the same time. Sighing, Lucy looked down to play with her skirt. She had decided to wear something a bit nicer than usual today, although she wasn't quite sure why. Lucy was wearing an asymmetrical, silk skirt that ended just above her knees at the front and down to the middle of her claves at the back. It was a light pastel blue colour that had gold trimmings at the bottom. She was also wearing an off the shoulder, white, ruffle top that struggled to contain her large chest.

She also had her signature belt around her waist with her keys and whip. On her feet, Lucy decided to put on a plain pair of white pumps to complete her look. The weather had been quite warm so Lucy didn't need a jacket or anything else to keep her warm. Erza had been unaware of Lucy's sudden wardrobe change but she really liked what Lucy was wearing and complimented her outfit. Currently, Lucy was sat with Happy curled up in her lap, sitting in between Erza and Natsu. Gray, Wendy, Carla and Julia were on the other side of the table and they were all talking about upcoming missions that they wanted to do. Hearing the guild doors open, they all turned to look who was walking through the door and saw that it was the Thunder God Tribe. Before Bickslow could make eye contact with her, Lucy looked down and gave her full attention to petting Happy in her lap.

She didn't hear the familiar sound of Bickslow's armour moving when he walked, so she guessed he didn't come over to see her. Lucy felt another layer of sadness being added on top of her previous anger. It was bad enough that they had both left her behind in such short notice but now he was ignoring her? Gritting her teeth together, she tried not to let it get to her. Happy eventually moved from her lap, leaving her with nothing to distract herself with. Glancing over to her right, she saw Natsu who was being a little quieter than usual. Lucy sighed and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, "Is there something wrong Natsu?" He lowered his voice so that only Lucy would hear him, "I think I might need some love advice." The blonde tried her hardest not to let out a loud squeal of delight. "I can help you. You wanna come over tonight and we can hang out. You can bring Happy if you're okay with him hearing about it. I can bring Levy too. She'll be able to help you with this stuff as well." Natsu shook his head, "Actually, Luce, I'd prefer it if it was just me and you. I only trust my best friend with this kind of stuff." Lucy smiled at the pinkette before nodding her head, "Okay salmon brain, my place at six." Lucy pretended not to see the glare that Natsu gave her after she called him one of his most hated nicknames.

Feeling thirsty, Lucy assumed it would've been safe to get up and go get a drink from the bar, but this was the moment when the guild doors opened again. Looking to her side, Lucy mentally cursed as she saw Bickslow coming down from his team's table and Erik walking into the guild with Kinana. While there was a small part of her that was happy they were both home safe, it wasn't enough to quench her anger at the two men. Not bothering to get a drink, Lucy turned back around and walked back to her own table, sitting in between Natsu and Erza once more. There was no way that they would dare interrupt her while she was with her team, especially if she was next to Erza. Lucy had calmed down quite a bit, but this had brought out her petty side and she couldn't find it in herself to let it go just yet. She bit her lip and was about to say something to her teammates when she heard her name being called. Turning her head, Lucy saw Mira waving her over to an empty bar, but Erik and Bickslow were still in earshot.

Holding back an annoyed groan, Lucy got up and wandered into the obvious trap. Her lips curled into a fake smile as she approached Mira, "Yes Mira? Can I help you with anything?" Although Lucy didn't sound angry, her tone was almost sickeningly sweet, highlighting her clear anger. The Strauss sibling looked almost sad at Lucy's words and took Lucy's hands into her own. "What's the matter, Lucy? I thought everything was okay?" The blonde sighed, "It was, until I was left completely alone to tell Erza everything. It felt like they were embarrassed to be with me." Clearing her throat, Lucy pulled away and tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. She hoped that Mira didn't clock her voice crack during the last sentence. Lucy knew that Erik had been listening into their conversation and she had no doubt that Bickslow was making Laxus listen in and repeat everything. "I don't really wanna talk about it anymore. I'm gonna spend the night with Natsu and forget about it."

All of them knew that Lucy didn't mean it in any way other than how you would hang out with a friend, but that didn't stop Erik and Bickslow from getting jealous. Lucy is their mate, not Natsu's and he shouldn't be alone with her. It wasn't like they could talk to Natsu and make him not show up, that would make Lucy at least ten times angrier than now. Feeling like the walls were closing in on her and as though everyone was staring at her, Lucy turned and left the guild. She headed home to be within the safety of her house, not wanting to be around anyone at the moment. She even didn't really want Natsu to come over tonight, but she never liked cancelling her plans and this seemed important to Natsu. When Lucy reached her house, she walked inside and locked the door behind her. The Celestial Mage knew exactly what she could do to cheer herself up. She walked over to her small desk in the corner and opened up her small box that had a lock on the lid of it. Inside it, were all of the letters that she had written to her mother over the years. Humming quietly to herself, Lucy picked up a blank piece of paper and a pen. She started to write.

It's been a hard couple of weeks, Mama. You'll never believe what's happened to me. Erik and Bickslow told me that I'm their mate! It was very hard to believe at first, I was sure that they hadn't wanted anything to do with me because of our conjoined history. Oh, I forgot. Erik used to be Cobra, but now he's asked me to call him Erik since that's his real name and I guess that makes sense. It was very hard to adjust to having two mates at the beginning but then it got easier.

The guild had a day at the beach and I actually found myself having a good time with Erik and Bickslow. Then we went on a date, all three of us. It was awkward at first but it felt really romantic after a while. It was just like something out of one of my books, Mama. I guess you had to be there to feel it though. Anyway, a few days ago, they both left me to go on missions to make me tell Erza everything about our relationship. I felt like a burden on their part, they didn't want to stay and support me through this. It didn't matter that she already knew, it felt like my feelings weren't considered.

Hmm, maybe I'm being petty, or overthinking things again, but I dunno. I just want to take some time away from them. If I see them too soon, I'm sure I'll find something else to be mad at. I wish you could give me some advice, Mama. I know that you'd know what to do and help me through this. It's really hard not to have your shoulder to cry on during moments like this. You'd think after all these years, I'd learn to be a big girl who doesn't need her mother. But I'm always going to need you, Mama and I know you'll always listen when I need you too. I gotta go now, Mama, Natsu will be here soon and I don't want him to ruin these letters.

Yours Forever,
Lucy.

Carefully, Lucy slid the letter into an envelope and sealed it before putting it into the box to keep it safe. She'd had the box specially made to keep them safe from her teammates. It had cost a lot of money but it was worth it. The box was fire proof, it couldn't be frozen, the metal was strong enough to survive a sword attack and it didn't let any scents absorb into the material. Lucy knew how much Happy liked to bring fish over to her house and she didn't want her precious letters to end up stinking of rotten fish because her teammate was too hungry one time. A knock on the door brought Lucy out of her thoughts and Lucy was confused as she got up. Natsu rarely, if not never, knocked so who was at her door at this time?