Lost and Found

notes: this was gonna be a oneshot but it got wayyyy too long sooooooo this is gonna be a short story. i'm on break now so hopefully i can finish this before i go back to school, fingers crossed! this is kind of inspired by the "my parents kicked me out and you're the only person that bothered to ask the crying, obviously lost kid with a suitcase if something was the matter au" prompt on tumblr (man i love tumblr). please enjoy! also feedback would be great!

disclaimer: i don't own Fairy Tail. (applies to entire story so i don't need to repeat myself; i'm sure it gets annoying)

/lost

It's raining.

It always rains on the worst days of my life. It rained the day my mother died. It rained the day my father first hit me so hard the bruise took a month to fade. Now it rains the day my father kicks me out of the house and disowns me. Figures. Either the weather is sympathizing with me or it's mocking me. Right now, I'm inclined to go with the latter because this storm isn't making my life any easier.

I lug my suitcase behind me as I trudge through the rain, desperately looking for shelter, anything that would put a temporary roof over my head.

Eventually, I see a bus stop in front of me, blurry through the falling sheets of water. I gather my last bit of energy and run as fast as I can to take cover. Thankfully, it's late so the buses aren't running anymore and there's no one waiting at the stop. I sit on the bench and pull my suitcase into my lap, hugging it for warmth.

I'm soaked to the bone and the wind is howling and I'm freezing, but soon enough I'm so cold I can't even feel it anymore.

That's probably not a good thing, but I can't seem to bring myself to care.

I'm exhausted and homeless and hopeless. I might be crying but I'm not sure because I can't feel my skin anymore. Maybe it's just the water dripping from my wet hair. My teeth keep chattering and it's annoying. I wonder if I'll freeze to death. Then I wonder if that's such a bad thing. After all, it's not like there's anyone who will be sad over my death anymore, and I don't have anywhere to go anyway. I suppose it doesn't really matter if I disappear.

I close my eyes and rest my forehead against my suitcase, the urge to sleep weighing me down heavily. Maybe I can just sleep and never wake up. That would be nice. I guess I'll feel bad for the person who discovers my body, but it's likely to be a stranger anyway. Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore.

I'm half-asleep when a voice breaks through the haziness in my mind. At first, I think I'm delirious. When the voice gets louder, I realize that there's actually someone yelling.

Shivering uncontrollably, I slowly lift my head and blink as something pink bobs in front of me.

"Hey!"

I blink. Oh, it's hair. Pink hair. Of course it is. Why not?

I'm totally hallucinating.

"You know, the buses don't run now." His dark eyes search my face. I think I see pity in his eyes and I don't like it. Then again, I'm sure I look like a drowned cat.

I blink again. Well, of course not, it's past midnight.

"Do you...need a place to stay for the night?"

I shake my head slowly. "Just leave me here," I croak.

"Sorry, I can't do that."

I hear him talking quietly, as if on a phone, and then he say, "Alright, just a bit longer and then we'll get you out of here."

"I'm fine," I manage to say, but I don't sound at all convincing. I hear him scoff and then there's a warm, strong arm around my shoulders, pulling me so my head rests on his shoulder.

It's so comfortable that I fall asleep immediately.

When I open my eyes, I blink in confusion when I notice that I'm dry and covered in a comfy blanket.

Where am I?

I sit up and rub my eyes, yawning and stretching.

"Oh, are you up?"

I turn and there he is. My pink-haired savior. He grins at me and beckons me over to the kitchen.

I rise slowly and look around me. It's a nice apartment. Cozy and lived in. More than I can say for any mansion I've had to call home. There are pictures everywhere, all full of bright and happy smiles and I feel a prick of jealousy.

I make my way towards him and he waves his hand around. "Eat whatever you want. I can't cook so..."

"Don't worry," I say quickly, "I'm not hung—"

My stomach growls.

"—ry?" I finish weakly as he smirks at me.

"Eat. It's totally fine. Your clothes should be done drying by now too."

I look down. I'm wearing baggy sweats and a huge T-shirt. My eyes widen and I throw my arms across my chest as I scramble away from him. "D-d-d-did you change my clothes?"

He laughs. "Of course not! Lisanna did."

"Lisanna?"

"Natsu! Is she up yet? I have her clothes—oh, hi!" A white-haired girl skips into the room. She smiles as soon as she sees me and hugs me tightly. "I'm Lisanna! Are you okay? You were cold as ice last night when we brought you here!"

"What were you doing there anyway?" the man—Natsu?—asks as he shovels cereal into his mouth. "Don't you know the buses don't run at night? You're weird."

I'm about to tell him to mind his own business when Lisanna slaps his arm lightly and hisses, "She must be new to Magnolia!"

I jump on the excuse. "Yeah, I'm...visiting," I lie. "I got lost trying to find my, uh, hotel."

"We can show you around!" Natsu cheers.

"But first," Lisanna rolls her eyes at Natsu, "we'll help you find your hotel."

"Oh no, it's totally fine. It's daytime now and I really don't mind walking around and exploring by myself." Also, I don't know any hotels here! I think frantically.

"Are you sure?" she presses and I nod firmly.

"Thank you for helping me, though. I'm completely in your debt."

"Nah," Natsu says easily. "Just be friends with us and we'll call it even." He grins widely and I'm suddenly struck by how boyishly handsome he is.

Stop it, Lucy, what are you thinking? I scold myself internally. They're obviously together!

"Is...is that okay?" I question hesitantly, feeling like I've imposed on them.

Lisanna beams. "Of course! Oh wait, introductions! I'm Lisanna Strauss and this is Natsu Dragneel."

"I'm Lucy Heart—uh, Heartley." I can't tell them my last name or they'll know who I am immediately. I hope they don't notice my blunder.

They take it in stride. "Nice to meet you, Lucy!" Lisanna says warmly.

"Yeah, nice to meet ya, Luigi!" Natsu grins when I glare at him.

"It's Lucy!"

"Okay, Luigi!" He proceeds to stuff himself.

Lisanna punches him and then whispers to me, "Don't mind him. He's just an idiot."

"Am not!" he protests but we ignore him and giggle.

Lisanna returns my clothes to me and I change back into them before we make some eggs and toast and we sit down to eat.

"So," I swallow a bite of egg, "how long have you two been together?"

"Fourteen years!" Natsu shouts around his mouthful of food—gross—while Lisanna splutters, "Together?"

I glance between them in confusion. "Yeah. You guys are dating, right?"

"Oh! Nah, we're just best friends," Natsu explains casually and Lisanna agrees, but I can see the way she looks at him. She's definitely in love with him.

"You live together?"

"No, he just crashes here all the time." Lisanna playfully pouts at him.

"So basically you live together." I chuckle at Lisanna's faint blush.

The two bicker like an old married couple. I guess that's what happens when you're friends with someone for fourteen years.

I can't deny the jealousy blooming inside me. I wish I had that kind of intimacy with someone. I wish I had been allowed that kind of childhood.

The phone rings and Lisanna quickly answers it. She moves to a different room and all I can hear is muffled conversation.

"So Lucy," Natsu says, grabbing my attention. "What brings you to Magnolia?"

I shrug, panicking inside. I need a story, and quick. "I don't know. I'm...looking for something."

He leans forward, interested. I try not to let his stare intimidate me too much. "What are you looking for? Treasure?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No. Maybe. I don't know. I'm just...I don't know. I guess I'm looking for...a reason."

"A reason?"

I nod. "A reason. To keep going."

He cocks his head, frowning. "I don't get it."

I don't either. "Well, I also have a friend here. She works in the bookstore." I use the term "friend" loosely. She was one of the only people my age I was allowed contact with because of my weekly trips to the bookstore.

His eyes light up. "Levy?"

"You know Levy-chan?" I can't contain my surprise.

He nods energetically. "Yeah, she's awesome! Probably the smartest person I know. She used to help me study sometimes. How do you know her?"

"I love books," I say simply, hoping he doesn't ask for details.

Unfortunately, he's not that dense. He furrows his eyebrows. "Wait. You're new here, right?"

"I've passed through here before, on my way to other places," I counter. "I decided I needed to stop here and explore this town too."

Thankfully, he accepts it. "I see."

"Hey, Natsu!" Lisanna rushes back in. "Nee-chan wants us to go in today."

Natsu groans. "Today's our day off!"

"Yeah, but Elfman and Evergreen got sick last night. Something about being outside all night, I don't really know."

Natsu shoots a look at me. "Looks like you weren't the only one. Luckily, we got to you before you got sick."

"And I am very grateful," I agree dryly. "But if you guys need to go, I'll just grab my things and leave."

"Why don't you come with us?" Natsu suggests. "They won't mind."

"Um, who? Where?"

"A day care," Lisanna quickly explains, "that we run with some of our friends."

I shake my head. "Oh no, I couldn't interfere with your work. I'll just go."

"Just come, weirdo." Natsu rolls his eyes and grabs my wrist, yanking me out the door.

"Wait, Lisanna—!" I try to say, but he just pulls harder.

"Don't worry, she'll be right behind us. C'mon, I want you to meet my friends!"

© Copyright 2015 by The Siege