Gah! Thank you for all the great support! I really and truly appreciate you guys who support and read this story! This chapter is a little fill in, kinda, I hope you guys like it!

Song: Glassy Sky

Covered By: AmaLee

The song kinda goes with a part towards the end, as cringe and cliche as that is, but yeah it's there to play while you read or whatnot! 

Hope you enjoy!!

Word Count: 5336

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07| GLASSY SKY

Kou hardly got to spend time with the blonde named Lucy, the very cousin of his brother that he was now trying to win the heart of. It was a surprise when both Yuma and Ruki had come up to him and asked him to get as close as Lucy as possible. Which was now why he had basically been a guard dog to Lucy.

It was just a few nights ago when he and Yuma had pryed and pulled Shuu off her, making sure to care to her bite wound that was just a little too deep for comfort. Thanks to the help of Ruki, and one of her Celestial Spirits named Virgo, Lucy's bite wound had been just fine.

Upon meeting Lucy initially, Kou wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Originally he didn't expect much of Lucy, not really giving the job of protecting the human much thought. It changed when he met her. She wasn't afraid of the purebloods, which was proven with the yelling matches with Ayato, the blunt rejection for Laito, and the constant challenges for Subaru.

He was surprised she was still alive, but it only intrigued him more when Yuma confirmed he had memories of Lucy, not too many but enough to claim her. Not as if Lucy knew that, plus Yuma didn't remember much from his human life, yet if he could claim Lucy, the rest of them would too. She was a Mukami, technically, no maybe just to them.

"Lucy." Kou called, seeing the blonde's head buried in a book as she scribbled things onto the paper next to her in the library. Kou swore Lucy lived in the library, since it was the place he found she spent most of her times.

In the short period of time he had been here, Kou learned a few things about Lucy Heartfilia. She loved reading, had a passion for writing, she had a good heart but there was something else about her that screamed danger. Kou was once human, so were the rest of his brothers. Yet despite his harsh treatment and thoughts of humans being nothing more than vile creature, he saw Lucy as a true angel.

Something he never saw any human as. The truth was Kou had taken it amongst himself to read her heart, to see how pure this human could be. He was taken back by the brilliance and light in her heart that made her very being, but he sensed the underlying darkness that could snuff that light out.

A twisted part of him wanted the light to go out, to see how cruel she could be to the ones who caused her such pain. The very pain that shook her soul, hell- he wanted to see those people burn.

Looking up, Lucy couldn't help but smile at Kou. A smile that Kou didn't mind being directed at him. In all honesty, Lucy didn't mind the Mukami's, yet all but Kou were a bit standoffish. Not that Lucy minded too much, the space was a nice difference and for the first time in a while she felt like she had a friend that wasn't Yui. Her guard was still nice and tall, kindness or not she didn't know the man too well to trust him too much.

"Kou, hello." Lucy greeted, that cheerful smile on her face came naturally. Oh, how it came so naturally. "Back in here to bother me?"

Kou grinned. "Well Princess, I thought I would be better company than those boring books Reiji has you reading." He huffed out, folding his arms behind his head as he stood there and leaned slightly to see what she was working on exactly, then rolled his eyes. "What a prude. Etiquette lessons? You're by far more of a lady than he could ever dream of being."

Lucy couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, a laugh that caught her by surprise. She raised her hand, touching her lips. When was the last time she laughed so freely, and meant it? She couldn't help but smile at the blonde hovering over her.

"It's nice, feeling that fleeting moment of happiness isn't?" Kou asked her softly, hearing her laugh the first time since he had arrived nearly three weeks ago. A laugh that was of happiness, not spite or amusement.

"It is." Lucy replied in a gentle whisper, leaning her cheek on her hand and closing her book. "Want to sit for a bit? Maybe play some tic-tac-toe?"

"What a game for a lady to be playing." Kou teased, happily plopping into the seat next to Lucy. "What would Reiji say if he were to see us playing such a mundane game?"

Lucy gave him a wink, "I'll just blame you of course."

"You little minx." Kou chuckled, marking a square in the pound sign with an 'X' first, watching as Lucy marked her choice of square with a 'O'.

It went like that, a few friendly games of tic-tac-toe that ended with cat's game or one of the blonde's cheating the other. A few laughs and jokes, and it was this moment Kou felt his humanity. A side that would never be seen by anyone else but this woman who sat there, once again cheating.

"Hey you little cheater!" Kou whined, grabbing and throwing the now wadded paper at her forehead.

"Kou!" Lucy yelled, throwing her book at him.

From afar Yui couldn't help but smile slight at the scene, having walked into the library to tell Lucy that Reiji wanted to see how far she had come in her studies. In reality, Yui just didn't have the heart to interrupt the moment between Kou and Lucy, seeing the half blood act so human and Lucy seem so happy.

It was something they both needed.

___________

Instead of Libra or Pisces telling Yukino what was going on with one of the last four Celestial Mages, who happened to be a close friend, it was Loke. He had been able to open his own gate near the light blue haired mage that was close with Lucy at a point in the blonde's life. Yet Lucy was doing a good good keeping her distance now.

Of course Yukino listened to every words Loke told her, taking in the untold story of Lucy Heartfilia that no one knew about, not even her comrades or her team. Which was now disbanded and scattered amongst the Kingdom of Fiore.

"She sacrificed Aquarius?" Yukino asked, her brown eyes holding sympathy as her finger tentatively touched her own gate keys. She couldn't bare the idea if parting with one of them, let alone being left by herself after doing so. "Where is she now?"

Loke sighed, running his hand through his hair. "She had no choice, not one Aquarius left her with anyway. It broke her heart to break Aquarius's key, that being she had Aquarius since she was a small child and Layla passed Aquarius into Lucy's hands for safe keeping."

"Lucy probably feels as if she let her mother down." Yukino hummed, deep in thought. "Loke, you came here for help. Tell me the whole story, this time without keeping pieces of it to yourself."

Loke felt like he was betraying Lucy in every sense, because the blonde mage didn't want help. She didn't want anyone to know, but Loke feared not only for her life but for her sanity. He did not want her to keep pushing him and the others away, for her to start going her own way and leaving the bright path she was on.

Lucy wasn't the only one who lost comrades, wasn't the only one who lost the guild. Despite him not losing a friend like Lucy lost Aquarius, he couldn't help but feel as if he already lost Lucy. He didn't want to lose Lucy, she wasn't gone quite yet and Mavis forbid he tried to save her by reminding the blonde that people were still here who loved her.

"Her father made a deal with a very bad man when she was a child. If I had known, I'd never have let her go back to visit their graves, but it was too late. He was waiting there with his six sons, and once Lucy was close enough she was caught." Loke clenched his fists, Yukino's eyes widening.

"They caught her? Loke! You should have came sooner-"

"No." Loke cut her off, sighing again and running his hand through his messy maine he called hair. "Lucy is there because she signed a contract all those years ago. The six brothers she's with now, by the beginning of next year she will pick one to marry."

"I have a feeling that's not the whole thing Loke." Yukino could sense there was something else, something that she wouldn't like.

"These brothers, they come from another world. Their father made a deal with Jude Heartfilia, a deal with the devil." Loke looked Yukino straight in her brown eyes, and for the first time she saw his anger at such a high level. "They are vampires, they hurt Lucy and bite her and push her around. She allows it, and she's losing herself day by day. If this continues, I'm afraid we won't just lose Lucy to them, but she'll lose her humanity and her life."

Yukino understood the situation clearly now, yet processing that vampires were real was a new thing. Sure if dragons and demons existed, weren't vampires just another form of demons? It made sense that they would exist as well.

"What do I do though? What can I even do Loke?" Yukino wanted to help her friend, more than anything. "Do I go over there? Do I try to fight them with the help of Sting and Rogue?"

Loke's eyes swelled with unshed tears, unsure how to help Lucy in a way the would impact her the least. Instead, Yukino went ahead and pulled the prideful lion spirit into her arms understanding he needed someone to grieve with. Lucy was too busy with her own problems, Loke wasn't able to grieve with her, so she would let him grieve here.

"It's okay to cry, I promise not to tell anyone." Yukino said softly, running her hand through Loke's hair as he took a few shaky breaths.

"No, I can't cry." Loke muttered, sitting up and wiping angrily at his eyes. "I need to be strong for Lucy. I need to help her."

"And we will," Yukino grabbed Loke's hand, and gave him a warm smile. "Yet the situation is highly sensitive. They are vampires, we don't know how they fight, or how fast they are of if they even have any capabilities we know nothing of. We don't want to barge in to save Lucy, and only make it worse for her."

"She's right you know." Sting's voice caught both their attentions, and in the doorway stood the Twin Dragon Slayers with their exceeds. "In order to save Blondie from these parasites, we have to get an understanding of them. Not only that, we need a plan A and a plan B."

"Plan A and Plan B?" Loke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Which consists of?"

Rogue was the next to speak, "Plan A being we, being you and the other spirits, study these brothers, gain knowledge on how they work and then we put something together here. Something fast, but not as efficient if we don't understand the opponent."

"Plan B, that's a little more complicated you see." Sting says next, scratching the back of his head. "Plan B consist of getting Fairy Tail back together, but I heard in the woods work that Erza was already trying to put the guild back together."

Loke's eyes held surprise at the news. "Erza?"

"Apparently she's already put together a little group. Laxus has already gone back to the guild hall, where Makarov has agreed to remain guild master for a few more years. Since everyone is so dispersed amongst the kingdom, Erza, Gajeel and Levy are the ones looking for everyone, including Laxus's team." Sting told the information he had gathered quite recently.

"If you told Lucy this, do you think she'll leave back to Fairy Tail on her own?" Yukino asked Loke, hope in her eyes.

Yet Loke knew that Lucy was in deep. She wasn't just there for the deal and a contract but for Yui, he knew she wouldn't leave Yui- the sweet human girl who wanted to save her as well.

"No." Loke saw Yukino deflate. "Lucy is angry, she's angry they left her and I don't think she would go running back. As happy as I am that the guild is slowly coming back, I know for a fact if any of those brothers get whiff that Fairy Tail is back, they'll move her away."

"Then what do we do?" Yukino asks. "We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"We don't," Sting muttered, cracking his fists. "We are going on a mission to find the one person who can save Lucy from herself. We need to find Natsu."

Loke frowned, knowing that would go south the moment Lucy saw the pink haired man, Yet maybe Natsu was the only one able to save Lucy, and as much as he wanted the three of them to barge in now. Loke knew the rational thing was to sit and wait.

They wouldn't kill Lucy, so at least Loke had that really bad reassurance.

___________

Lucy was a bit upset with the job that Shuu had decided to grab while he was out in the town. After the first mission Lucy had gone on with Ayato and Subaru months prior to the current, the other brothers would randomly come back home with job requests and take Lucy to go.

Oh some of those missions Lucy would never be able to forget, no matter how hard she tried.

It happened more frequent, but never had Shuu ever expressed that he was interested on going to a job request. Lucy had, in fact, asked him a few times if he had wanted to go on a mission with her, but she was always met with the same silence of him not paying attention.

Yet since that day in the attic a few nights ago, the night of the full moon (which Kou and Yuma had come between her and Shuu), things were different. She could sense that between her and Shuu, because he treated her a bit more like a person now than an object. Had her words actually affected him so greatly? She didn't know, and she probably never would.

He was the reason she stood in the pub in a random town she hadn't heard about before in the kingdom, a town she didn't even think was on the map, in a pub where broken hearted people drink their sorrows away. It was a pitiful sight really, but she didn't have room to actually judge anyone here.

"Let me get this straight, you want me to drink a potion that will have me sing my heart's greatest and deepest sorrows?" Lucy asked both Shuu and Ramon, who happened to be the pub's owner, with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be playing the piano right next to you on stage, since we're a team now." Shuu offered lazily with a shrug.

There was something about that sentence that made something in Lucy snap, something she just couldn't accept. Her brown eyes narrowed at Shuu, legs moving before she thought about it as she jabbed her forefinger into his chest. The anger radiating off Lucy was strong, and Shuu knew he had finally hit a chord successfully in her.

"We are not a team. Hell, I would never be on a team with the likes of any of you." Lucy spat, nearly shaking in her spot.

Shuu couldn't help but smirk, because it was just his nature to find this human reaction so amusing. "Well it's not like you're on team Natsu anymore."

Lucy's words caught in her throat as she glared, turning to look at Ramon who had the potion ready for her to drink. The goal of this mission was actually the opposite of helpful. They, being Shuu and Lucy, were to perform a show that would cause these broken hearts to become more depressed with music affecting them to buy more hard liquor to drink away their sorrows.

Selfish gain for Ramon, Shuu and Lucy. A mission that Fairy Tail wouldn't have taken part of to begin with. Did Lucy feel shame, yes deep down, but was this easy money? Also a yes and Lucy would take what she could get.

The vile of whatever the hell the potion was called was bitter as it slid down Lucy's throat. She cringed, coughed for a second and had to smack her lips to rid of the lingering tinge it left behind weirdly. Almost right away she could feel the effects on her body, the inner demons of grief taking over for the moment.

"Ready?" Shuu asked, his hand on the small of her back as they walked towards stage.

It was weird, how her mind was working, she could only focus on the things that hurt her inside causing her grief. Which went all the way back to her childhood, things she locked away. She could feel a few pair of eyes on her while she became independent and stood on the stage alone while Shuu took the piano seat.

The blonde vampire's fingers slowly pressed on the piano key, a soft melody taking hold and filling the pub's walls. Lucy stood there, in front of the microphone. It had been years since she sung anything, especially from her heart. Before she turned to writing books, she used to write songs and sing them.

In fact, Lucy and Layla used to sing around the house together. Only her father had quickly crushed that dream after her mother had died, saying it only brought false hope of happiness. He threw her into her studies and that was the end of that story.

Now, it felt as if she was given this chance to voice these emotions in ways she hadn't been able to do before, as silly as that sounded. She felt like she had her voice back again, for just this moment.

"How many days have passed like this?
The city, the crowd is fading, moving on
Sometimes I have wondered where you've gone

Story carries on... Lonely, lost inside"

Hours. Days. Months. All the hours that passed with the thoughts of her nakama, of where they could possibly be and what they were doing. Was Levy still with Gajeel? Did they confess yet? How about Juvia and Gray?

 Everyone had eventually faded from Lucy's mind, because out of sight out of mind was true in every sense. She could wonder all she wanted about their whereabouts, but she slowly moved on each day feeling more and more alone than ever.

"I had this dream so many times
The moments we spent have passed and gone away
Could there be an end to this?

What I'm feeling deep inside?
You know there's no looking back

Glassy sky above
As long as I'm alive, you will be part of me
Glassy Sky - the cold, the broken pieces of me"

Lucy's voice was surprisingly soft, a little raspy that held raw emotions. Her brown eyes closed as her heart thought of her mother, of her childhood. How in that time she knew happiness, warmth and love. All the nights she spent looking at the stars with Layla, how she learned to summon spirits because of her mother.

Then her thoughts went to her father, who she never got to say goodbye too. If Lucy was being completely honest, it tore her apart inside that night she came home to find a letter from her father. Not only that but there were gifts and a letter for the seven years she was missing and stuck in time on Tenrou Island. It was that final letter of acceptance from her father that Lucy wish she could tell him she loved him too. To mend that broken bond.

Yet she never got that chance too. Of course her heart yearned for Aquarius as well, a friend she lost that only she and her other spirits know of. She knew that her beloved siren spirit wasn't dead, but it didn't make it easy knowing she would never be able to fight alongside her comrade, or see her again in this lifetime.

"The mystery of it I recall
Suddenly the truth will change the way we fall
I didn't wanna hurt you, hope you know"

Loke, she knew she was hurting her most loyal spirit by making him watch her suffer and be swallowed by her own grief. She could fool the world with her smiles, but never Loke. The lion spirit knew her too well, knew her as if she were the back of his hand. Nothing went past him, and she knew since the initial meeting between her and the Sakamaki's, there had become a rift between her and Loke.

Lucy never wanted Loke to worry, never wanted him to stress, but he did just that. She knew he was concerned about her well being. He was there for the initial part of her grief when she lost Aquarius, lost the guild and her nakama.

Yet she realized slowly how selfish she had been. She never asked him once if he was okay. How selfish and mean.

"Empty promises, shattered dreams of love
Sometimes I wonder what's beyond
I tried many times to make it up to you
Can somebody tell me what to do?
I thought we're meant to be, but there's no looking back"

Wendy. Erza. Gray. Happy. Natsu. Promises between them were all broken, because they left as if they meant nothing. Her heart had cracked more, become more fragile than it ever was before because her heart was hurt.

It's true, that one time she thought of ending it. It was only a few weeks after living with the Sakamaki's that she wondered what life there was after life was over. It was a thought she wondered for a moment before shaking that feeling away and feeling unhappy with herself. She could never leave this life behind by choice.

In all honesty, Lucy wished she had her mother her to tell her what she should do. For the family she had found in Fairy Tail had been a simple means to an end, the good times always ended eventually. Now she just had to move forward with her life.

"Time has already come
The sun is gone - no more shadows
Can't give up, I know, and this life goes on
I'll be strong
I'll be strong
'til I see the end"

Shuu could hear the pain in Lucy's voice, his blue eyes watching her the whole time he played on the piano. It was the first time he heard his blonde companion sing, and he was fondly surprised that she could sing at all. Let alone like a broken angel that fell from heaven's grace.

That night of the full moon when he found her, it was the first time Shuu wasn't trying to hunt and hurt Lucy. In fact it was the opposite. Despite his harsh biting, Shuu was marking her so his brothers would stray away, yet those damn Mukami's had interrupted.

He knew that Lucy was different from any other human he had meet. Where his brothers saw Lucy as a sex toy, or a blood bag, hell even a damn stereotypical wife- Shuu saw her for her, surprisingly. He knew Lucy had a strong will, and a strong mindset. Yet he could see the sadness in her eyes, and feel her pain in this very moment, and for the first time he found he wished he could see into that blonde's head to know what was going through it.

"Inside I've been shaken, my sanity taken
Our broken halves, they intertwine
From once was yours and once was mine
I'm breakable - unbreakable
I'm shakeable - unshakeable
I'm breakable - unbreakable
I'm breakable"

Flashes of faces went through Lucy's head as she opened her eyes, seeing that people were buying drinks and watching the stage with broken hearted eyes. There minds in the place that caused them sadness to begin with, and suddenly Lucy felt guilty. She felt guilty for reminding them, and sad for reminding herself.

"Glassy sky above

As long as I'm alive, you will be part of me
Glassy Sky - the cold, the broken pieces of me
Sometimes I wonder what's beyond

I tried many times to make it up to you
Can somebody tell me what to do?
I thought we're meant to be, but there's no looking back"

As sad and confused Lucy knew she was deep down, she swallowed that thick greif that was there in her throat, blinked her eyes a few times to bat away the unshed tears and took a step back away from the microphone. The potion worked, it worked more than she liked and more than she'd care to admit.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Lucy recomposed herself. She ran her hand through her hair and looked over at Shuu, who was looking at her with an emotion in his blue eyes she just couldn't place. Not that she wanted to place them anywhere, because he didn't care.

None of them cared. It was all an act, and she knew that and she fell for it every time. Shuu was nice to her a few times, and he brought her on this cruel mission that humailated her by making her sing her sorrows away. She'd rather be drinking them.

Then there was Kou, who made her laugh. How long would it be until he switched up on her? Turned his back on her and left her to wallow alone? To show her kindness, treat her nicely, only to eventually make her feel less than? It was all in due time, when the true intention of each brother came out. Even if they had glimpse of human emotions, they were too stubborn and stuck in their violent ways.

"Good job Mrs. Sakamaki and Mr. Sakamaki." Ramon praised as the two blondes exited the stage. Lucy had forgotten Shuu had placed them under this job as husband and wife, unfortunately. "You two play beautifully together."

Lucy bit her tongue, not okay with the fact they just leeched of the brokenhearted people in pub. Yet the way Shuu's arm snaked around her waist, it had her tense. She would admit since her time with the brother's she had experienced new touches, fortunately none very sexual but still new.

"Well my wife does have a beautiful voice." Shuu nearly gloated, looking down at Lucy and tilting her chin up and before she could react, his lips were on hers.

Lucy's brown eyes widen in surprise, her first instinct to push Shuu away but his arm was tight around her. She couldn't make a scene, but she also didn't react. She stood there, not sure how to react, but eventually he released her and smiled as smile she could remember her mother smiling at her with. Love.

It's all an act.

"Ah, young love." Ramon chuckled, coming over with the reward money for them to take."Her you go you two lovebirds, as promised."

Lucy was quick to look away from Shuu's captivating deceptive blue eyes, grabbing the reward money and making her way towards the door. She needed air. Her first kiss was just stolen, her cheeks were literally on fire, and her heart was beating too fast for comfort.

Yet Shuu, he couldn't help but smirk at Lucy's reaction. He stole her first kiss from Ayato, who never gotten close enough to have a slight chance, and he made her blush with a racing heart. Naturally Shuu felt smug, he liked knowing he had Lucy right where he wanted her.

Yet as Lucy got outside, she took a step back seeing as the rain started to pour, but ended up backing up into Shuu- who was now directly behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist, causing Lucy to stiffen again.

"Don't." Lucy whispered softly, tilting her head up to look a the dark skies. Juvia. The rain reminded her comrade.

"Don't what?" Shuu muttered into Lucy's hair. It wasn't the first time he held her, sometimes sneaking into her bed, tainting the find memories of Natsu, but it was the first time she spoke up.

"Whatever that was inside. Stop it." Lucy put the reward money into her bag, gripping Shuu's hands and pushing them away.

Only instead of letting himself be pushed away, Shuu grabbed her hand and spun her around. This time his hand was on her chin gently. "And if I don't?"

Lucy's breath hitched, her brown eyes once again captivated by Shuu's blue. "I don't want to be apart of this game anymore. My heart, I can't take it anymore Shuu."

"Who said it was a game?" Shuu tilted his head to the side. "I intend to win your heart, and by the looks of it I have a head start of doing just that."

Lucy shook her head, pushing his hand away and turning away. "We have a train to catch Shuu." Lucy reminded, not saying anything in response of his previous statement.

Sighing, Shuu let it be and popped the umbrella he bought inside the pub's store and covered Lucy with it as he stood a little out of it so his shoulder got slightly wet. Together the two blonde's walked in silence. One trying to figure out what he was doing exactly, and the other trying to fight new emotions she just didn't want to accept.

Not to far in the distance of a local cafe sat a blue haired woman with a blue haired man, staring at the blonde woman who walked away with a man she'd never seen before.

"Jellal-san, who is love rival walking with?" Juvia Lockser couldn't help but ask, curious as to why he wasn't going after Lucy. "Why is Jellal-san letting her leave?"

 Jellal Fernandes wrote a few things in the notepad he had on the table: Lucy Heartfilia, spotted leaving Ramon's Pub in Evermore Village- East of Fiore with unknown blonde male to be suspected as new partner or significant other approximately 11:23 at night on October 23rd.

"To answer your question, it's because I believe the man she's with came through another anima. Where the breach was, I can't pinpoint it." Jella answered, looking at Juvia seriously. "It was a mission Princess Hisui asked me to looking into due to my previous experience with the anima from Edolas."

"That still does not answer Juvia's question." Juvia pointed out, sipping her coffee. "Jellal-san told Juvia that Erza-san was trying to get the guild back together. Love rival is part of the guild, so Juvia does not understand why love rival can't know we are here."

Jellal sighed at the rain woman, " Trust me on this. Oh, and Juvia, can you promise me one thing?"

Juvia eyed the man across from her, "Depends on the promise."

"You can't tell Erza we saw Lucy." Jellal says, closing his notepad.

"When Erza-san finds out, Juvia will throw Jellal-san under the bus." Was all Juvia could promise.

___________

Gah! Please comment your thoughts on this chapter. Sorry if it seemed OCC, I should really watch DL again, but I think I got the hang of this haha. Some new faces to the story, new interactions and some development! I kinda liked it haha.

Important question though! It's now time I start to consider who Lucy will end up with, and I have a vague idea but not anytime soon. Please let me know which character you want Lucy to interact with more. I always love Kou and Shuu scenes, but I'll need to switch up soon, so let me know!

Hope you liked it! Please vote and comment. xoxo