Chapter Text
"Aren't you going to take a job?"
Lucy blinked at the man's direct tone. Sure, he wasn't exactly known for being polite, but an underlying note of curiosity made her pause.
It had been over a year since Alverez, and thus, over a year since the man most well-known as "Cobra" was pardoned, along with the rest of Crime Sorciere. Since then, Jellal and the rest occasionally came by in order to socialize or report decreasing dark guild numbers; this was one of those days.
But Cobra had never even spoken to her directly, much less so brazenly before…
She wondered what he was up to.
"…I'm actually not doing too bad this month. I don't know if you know, but I recently published a bestselling book. I haven't had money problems for over six months now. Besides…" she tilted her head as a sign of confusion.
Before she could finish, he answered. "Why do I care? I don't, really." He shot a glance at the other side of the room where Natsu and the rest of her familiar party were drinking and being boisterous as usual. "But they'll probably be in an uproar if you say you plan on going solo by yourself for a few months."
Lucy blanched at his statement. "How did you–"
He raised his hands in a form of surrender. "Relax, relax. I'm not a snitch…well," he gave a grin, "not without the right reward."
She glared at him only to fall silent. She sighed. "What exactly did you want for that information?"
Surprisingly his eye widened, as if he hadn't expected her to give in so quickly. "You really don't want them to know, huh…" he mumbled.
"It's not-it's-" Lucy fumbled over the right words, taking care to be quiet, even in the loud guildhall. It's not as if Cobra wouldn't be able to hear her anyway. "I don't want them to think I don't want to be a team anymore…I'm just not sure if I want to be a team again right now."
Even now, the memory of the guild splitting up after Tartarous and everyone, especially Natsu, leaving felt like a hole in her heart that would always be a little open. She had forgiven Natsu and reunited with her team, but the events of the past could not be so easily swept under the rug for her. She just didn't know how to properly articulate it.
"So you don't want them to think you're splintering off, but a part of you wonders if it's still healthy to stay fully attached?"
Lucy's mouth opened to gape at Cobra, who didn't look directly at her as he spoke in a similarly quiet voice. "I know you probably won't believe me…but I get the feeling."
As Lucy felt time slow down as she processed the words she took a glance in another corner, where the rest of Cobra's own guild loudly (but less loud than her group) chatted in the corner of the guild. She had rarely seen him separate from them, and for the first time wondered how he felt about his own team.
"…Did you want to do a job together?"
Cobra turned to look at her directly for the first time in the whole conversation. His amethyst eye once again going wide in a look of utter surprise. Even though Lucy knew him mostly as a cold-blooded criminal she couldn't help but think the look on his face made him cute. (And prayed he didn't hear her think that).
"You'd really trust me enough to go on a job with me?" he asked warily.
She laughed, "Have you seen my team? If we don't almost die once per job it isn't a real job. Besides…" her mouth turned into a grin, "I'm pretty sure I could take you on."
Cobra's face also broke out into a wry grin. "We'll see Blondie, we'll see."
The two of them didn't end up taking a job that day; they were too busy discussing the other teams and woes thereof to even look at the job board. But they didn't feel as if their time had been wasted, not at all.