Chapter Text
Lucy lay awake, staring at the swirling darkness consuming her bedroom ceiling.
Were her eyes closed?
Or were they open?
She couldn't really tell. It was so dark.
She could pull back the curtain. The hem was brushing her fingertips. Just one twitch and she could bathe her room in the cool moonlight streaming through the window.
No.
She liked the dark. Because, so long as it was dark, she could pretend Natsu and Happy were here in her room. She could imagine they were asleep on her couch, ready to rise with the sun.
So long as it was dark, she couldn't see the board reminding her she was all alone.
So long as it was dark, she could pretend it was night; that all this loneliness--all this heartbreak--was just a bad dream.
So long as it was dark, it was night. And when the sun rose at the end of this night, she would open her eyes and her family would be there. Natsu and Happy would be there. Erza and Gray would be there. Levy would be there. Aquarius would be there.
Lucy listened in the darkness. She listened for the air to move, for the window to open, for an explosion in the distance.
Nothing.
So instead, she lay in her endless night.
Waiting.