Chapter 49 - 49

"I do believe someone told them we were returning" Archer jested as she carefully placed the massive decorated horn on the floor before casting her gaze back to her guild mates. They sat quietly with their eyes casted down and a somber air around them. They all looked as if they were mourning the loss of a good friend. Erza folded her arms at her ċhėst,eyes stern as her gaze passed over the quiet members. She had to shake her head at how dramatic they were,but she was impressed by how quickly they had cleaned up their mess. She had seen Gray and Loke running away from them just a minute or two ago so she could only imagine how fast they had to be to accomplish such a feat. There was hardly a single speck on the floor,which meant there had been a big brawl taking place before their arrival.

"Gray,Loke,don't think we didn't see you" Erza shot a glare in their direction and they stiffened,a cold shiver running up and down their backs.

Archer suppressed a chuckle as she flexed her arms to release the tension of having carried the horn for so long. With her movements Silver popped her head out of her jacket,jawning after her long nap before climbing out and flying off to the bar. She received pets from Mira,who was always happy to see her as she ordered a simple glass of milk.

"Welcome back you two" Cana held up a mug in greeting with a grin on her face. "Those idiots almost lost it when they found out you guys were back. You should have seen them,it was hilarious"

"I bet"

Lucy was staring in awe when Archer casually tugged her mask down her face,leaving it resting around her neck. She smiled,revealing sharp teeth and dimpled cheeks before her eyes abruptly found Lucy's own,surprising her. She stared at her with eyes furrowed for a long time before raising a hand to wave slowly in greeting. Seeing her action,Erza leaned slightly forward to see who Archer had greeted to find Lucy as well. The redhead smiled in greeting and she too waved at her with a simple hello,leaving Lucy frozen. Sitting next to her on either side,Nero and Asher quirked a single brow in amusement. They realized that Lucy was meeting her idols at that moments and them being so friendly to her must've hit her hard. She was star struck and they found it adorable. And she finally saw her face too,she must be gleeful.

"Mira,is master present?" The redhead was approaching the bar with eyes constantly glancing overhead in search of Makarov. "We need to speak to him"

"Scarlet" Archer released a sigh when Erza asked the question for she already knew the answer and she had told Erza already. "I do remember telling you that he's at the gathering with the other guild masters"

"I still need to check,Archer. This is important"

"Permission to punish a group of bad wizards,is all" the words were said with a casual shrug as Archer forcefully grabbed Loke by the collar and dragged him across the guild. Lucy was surprised to have Archer standing before her with a struggling Loke in her grasp. Red eyes lingered on the blonde for a moment before drifting to her sister,who was watching her with a quirked brow. The two simply stared at each other for a long time before smiles broke through.

"Hello baby sister,how was your trip?" There was amusement in the elder's voice and her smile turned to a smirk when her younger sister released a sigh.

"You took my pills,so you tell me"

"I did no such thing"

Archer was very skeptical of that,but said nothing further as she held Loke tighter,wordlessly telling him to stop the dramatics.

"Hello Nero,I'm glad to see you've decided to join the guild"

"Awe,thank you" she giggled happily,as she often did,which made Archer smile.

Then those red eyes were back on Lucy,taking her in. She was different,she noted. She could tell. There were daggers hidden within that blue overall dress,daggers infused with magic that had Archer impressed. It had her curious as well for she wondered how different this Lucy shall prove to be from her counter part.

"You're our new member,yes?"

"I'm Lucy" she introduced,leaving her last name as she always did. She managed a smile,proud that her voice did not betray the excitement she was feeling.

"Archer" it was but a formality,for she was sure Lucy already knew of her. With introductions now out of the way she pulled Loke to stand next to her,the celestial spirit sighing in defeat. "This is Leo"

Lucy nodded to the words,having already figured that out. She was very different,Archer noted upon realizing that Lucy knew and how she knew of this. That was impressive. Very impressive.

"And you're a celestial mage" Archer continued as a golden key manifested in her hand,a key she offered the bewildered Lucy. "You may have his key"

"Isn't he contracted to you?" She hesitated before the key was placed in her hand without any other words.

"No he is not" Loke was shoved forward,now smiling charmingly at Lucy,who was not entirely immune to his obvious charms. "He is not contracted and is stubbornly keeping himself in this world even though I have fully taken care of his situation"

"I will happily take you as my mistress,princess" being the charmer that he was,he brought her hand to his lips.

Nero and Asher watched him closely with no clear expression on their faces. Each glanced to Lucy,wondering what she would do at the moment. Loke was indeed a charmer,but Lucy did not seem to like being treated like a princess as she had said many times before.

Loke looked genuinely hurt when Lucy pulled her hand away with a thin smile on her lips. Being the drama king that he was he sighed deeply with his hand on his heart,saying something about such cruel rejection

"Don't call me princess,please" the question was ignored and his nickname corrected. She rubbed a thumb up and down the newly acquired key,slowly. She had to admit that she was happy to have acquired another zodiac,the leader no less,but she still found it odd that Archer so easily handed him to her. She looked to the younger Phoenix,who was watching her sister with furrowed brows. Archer had keys dangling off a keychain at her waist so Lucy ȧssumed she was a celestial mage as well,so of course she was curious.

Asher looked to her sister after noticing her stare,silently asking her what the problem was. Archer said nothing and didn't even pretend to look at something else. She simply stared pensively before her eyes went to Nero and then Lucy. She seemed to be considering something for a moment before she turned on her heels and walked away with no other words.

She could just be reading into things,she told herself as she silently patted Wendy on the head. She earned a gleeful sound from the young slayer. Wendy was gracious enough to release Erza from her hug just to hug Archer as well,having missed them both equally.

"You destroyed the clock" Archer said as if she just remembered the incident. "I'm torn between being proud and disappointed"

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay" it really was no terrible issue and it was impressive. "Don't apologize"

"May I come?" The little dragon slayer was peering up at her with big pleading eyes and pouty lips. Archer allowed a smile and nod,knowing she could not say no to Wendy,especially when she pulled off the puppy eyes. It was adorable. And even if she said no,Erza would insist for she was weak to Wendy's charms. "Erza told you about it?"

"Yup" she seemed eager to attend the mission with them for it wasn't very often she accompanied them as of late. She had taken to more missions on her own recently,but she was missing them now.

"May I invite someone,Scarlet?" Archer easily lifted Wendy off her feet,earning a happy giggle as she was easily carried off. "The three of us are more than capable,but I'm curious about our new member"

The blonde perked at her name for she had been paying close attention to their conversation. There was a potential mission with Erza and Archer and it had her smiling like an idiot.

Erza looked to her,smiling because of the almost childish one of her own,making the other blush self consciously.

"She's fangirling" the words were said bluntly with Mira focused on cleaning a random mug. There was a devious smile on her face. "She's pretty strong and skilled"

"And confident" Cana added for good measure. "Very confident"

"And a big fan of this guild and the people constantly on the front page" Mira grinned at Erza and Archer who both looked to the person they were conversing about,as if she could not hear them.

"Then I suppose she had a similar reaction to the two of you?"

"Smart,aren't you redhead?" Mira rolled her eyes.

"I try"

"She was bȧrėly containing herself and did very good in the end. But she slipped up this morning when we talked,since we were the only ones in the guild this morning" there was a smile on Cana's face as she recalled. She had to admit that it was adorable and Mira repeatedly pointed that out to the blonde and even brought up Asher and Nero constantly.

"Eight tomorrow at the train station" Erza said loud enough for Lucy to hear to which the blonde nodded quickly.

"Eager" Asher commented.

"Now if only you'd be as excitable to see us" Nero sighed,but smirked at the way Lucy looked at her." Give it time,darling, and you'll see"

"Are they really a couple?" The words left her before she even realized what she had said. She had been staring at them and suddenly remembered all the suggestive words in the sorcerer weekly magazine. It said that they were,but it could just be rumors. However,she did learn that Mira and Cana were actually a thing so it could be that sorcerer weekly was telling the truth.

"Oh?" Nero had to laugh at absolutely mortified expression that bloomed on Lucy's face as she realized what she had said.

"That just came out"

"It would seem so" Asher stood and did a quick stretch before walking towards her sister. "But yes they are lovers and I shall prove that to you"

"I don't....I don't need proof" her words did nothing to stop Asher for the elder Phoenix was not simply doing this for Lucy.

"Hello,little red knight"

"You just had to,didn't you?" She questioned. "Or do you actually have something to talk about?"

"Nothing really"

Archer was absently chewing on a bar of chocolate as she watched her sister very closely. She smiled at her to which Archer simply narrowed her eyes at her. Her hand twitched with a sudden urge and she quickly buried it and glared dangerously at her older sister. She was doing it again when though she knew it made Archer very uncomfortable having her that close to Erza. Biting into her chocolate bar,Archer forced herself not to move because that would result in....well,it would just end up pretty bad.

"Asher" her tone was warning as the redhead escaped her grasp. She had gotten used to her antics by now that she didn't react much to her. "Do you remember what happened the last time?"

"Yes,that was quite entertaining" she mused and petted Erza's head as she sometimes did. The pets were no insult to injury so Archer calmed slightly,only for Asher's eyes to find Erza's neck. Erza simply stared at her for a moment before palming her face and pushing her away,laughing when Asher said something utterly rediculous.

"What's Asher trying to do?" Lucy had to wonder to which Nero simply chuckled.

"You'll see"

Just as she said that Asher had somehow gotten hold of Erza again,carefully tilting her head to the side to reveal her slender neck,eying the unmarked flesh for a moment before looking to her sister with a show of teeth

Mira looked between the sisters with excitement while eating out of a bowl of peanuts and ignoring all request for alcohol including Cana's. It was always fun to watch when such things happen. Asher would continuously test her younger sister in one way or another and often times it ended with Archer punching her and Asher laughing on the floor.

"Asher" Archer was calm,or at least doing a good job of appearing so.

"Yes,dear sister?"

"Let go of her"

Asher took too long to answer,for Archer was suddenly right there and quickly pulling Erza out of her grasp. She held her close while looking at her sister sternly before sighing deeply when Erza soothingly squeezed her hip.

She said nothing to her sister and simply stalked towards the door with Erza in tow.

Asher smiled after a moment of thoughtfulness and returned to Lucy and Nero.

"That wasn't very nice" Lucy said with a frown

"I know" a shrug accompanied her answer,giving off the illusion of casualness.

"Why'd you do that?"

"To encourage her" Nero answered for Asher after she went silent. When Lucy looked on with questions she did not elaborate any further,frustrating the curious blonde.

~~~~~~

Erza silently watched Archer walk back and forth in the familiar living room. She was seated on the couch and made no move to stop her pacing for it was something she did everytime Asher riled her up like she did. After regaining her senses she would never truly be mad at her sister and would always say that Asher had her reasons for irking her in such a manner. She would do such things every now and then,always getting the same reaction out of her sister,but in the end Archer was never angry. Their relationship was complex,but they loved each other,Erza had witnessed moments of their affection often. Neither would admit it around others.

"Are you going to tell me why your sister does this?"

"Because she's a dimwit who enjoys torturing me?" There was a dry chuckle and the pacing only increased. She sighed,running a hand through her hair as if it would help in some way. "She's encouraging me"

Erza did not understand in the slightest and Archer had to elaborate.

"I haven't claimed you as my mate yet and she's telling me to do so" she spoke,her pacing slowing just slightly. "It's more of a primal thing really. If you are not marked anyone can have you,hence Asher constantly reminding me of that. It's claiming territory,so to speak,a very possesive act. And as my sister she will constantly push me to do it,it's just how she is,I suppose. She's very fond of you,if you haven't noticed"

"Oh"

Archer nodded,her pacing increasing again

"Whenever she does that I really need to prove that you belong to me. I desperately need to and she knows that so she does it to inspire the urge until I do it"

Erza said nothing and really didn't know what to say. She still wasn't entirely sure how the whole process worked too. She wondered if that's why Archer would pace as she currently was. Walking up and down to focus on something else and burn out the urges.

"It truly is primal" Erza finally said.

"As I've said"

"And why dont you mark me?" It was a genuine question on her mind and one she often thought about because neck kisses were a constant. There would always be the slightest hint of teeth,but she would never bite,not hard enough that is.

"You would let me" it was a statement more than a question and it had Archer faltering,for it was so very appealing to her in that moment. But she shook her head no,continuing her frantic strides." Gods,you would let me and I do want to and it would be absolutely amazing,but if something happened to me the pain you would be left with would be unforgivable"

Before Erza could comment on that she was already talking again.

"The mark is an unbreakable bond tying us together;mind,body and soul,perhaps magic as well. It is like a completion to yourself,as if finding the half you never knew you needed. But once you have that half when you lose it you will truly know despair for losing half of yourself is a painful tragedy" that was the only reason she constantly stopped herself. If something happened to her Erza would be in unbearable pain and she could not allow that.

"But you-"

"There is no such thing as true immortality. Everything living can and will die at some point. Even the gods can perish for they are with their weaknesses"

Was Archer constantly worrying about such a thing,Erza had to wonder. She often times hinted at her terrible future,but never truly told her what would happen or why she thought she would be in such danger. It worried her and only encouraged her to work harder and grow stronger to protect her should she need to. But she still worries that there was nothing she could do.

"Archer" she was on her feet when she did not respond to her,not having heard her with her own thoughts consuming her. She had to stop her by carefully taking her arm,finally getting her attention. "It's alright,I understand"

That was all she could really say to her. She did understand and she let her know that. She did not comment on it any further because she didn't want to think about it. Ignorance is bliss as they say and she'd rather be blissfully unaware for the time being,as illogical as that may be.

"I am in desperate need of a hug right now" Archer admitted with a weak laugh and Erza promptly complied. Arms came around her waist as she nuzzled into her neck,releasing a sigh of content at the gesture. "I'm picking you up"

She was warned,but still yelped when Archer easily lifted her off the ground and quickly wrapped her legs around her to secure herself. Archer was quick on her feet as she carried them up the stairs,stifling her laughter as Erza told her to be careful lest they both fall down the stairs.

"I won't drop you"

"I don't care,you could"

"But i will not"

"You could"

She said nothing for she realized it would just end in a constant back and forth.

After finally reaching their room Archer quite carelessly tossed Erza onto their shared bed,amused with the high pitch yelp that escaped her before quickly joining her.

She was humming as she slipped between Erza's legs and rested on her stomach with a content smile.

"Don't throw me" Erza complained even as she tugged on her scarf to pull her further up her body.

"You said that last time,but here we are" of course she never truly listened to her warnings. Even though she had silently refused to leave her comfy spot on Erza's stomach she still let her pull her further up until she settled on resting her head on her ċhėst. They were great pillows so they did the job.

Erza always enjoyed playing with Archer's hair and did not reply to her because she was too invested in doing so. She had carefully removed the band keeping her hair in the usual pony tail and watched silver locks fall around her in a mess before she took the time to neatly arrange them. The pads of her fingertips found her scalp and gently massaged the tender flesh there,enjoying the soft hum of encouragement she received as reward.

They lay in silence for a blissful ten minutes, Archer softly humming while enjoying their close embrace and Erza comforted by playing with her hair.

"Erza" the silence was then broken ,but not ruined.

"Hmm?"

There was a small silence as if Archer was thinking over her words.

"It appears that I am aroused"

She said it so easily and so bluntly that Erza was sure she misheard her,but then there was another long ranging silence as the words sunk in.

Erza's face was quickly reaching the color of her hair even though she shouldn't be surprised. Archer always told her what she was feeling,sometimes describing her feelings so that Erza could help her figure out what she was experiencing. So this was not the first time she had said those words and not the first time it happened while they were cuddling in such a position. Archer just enjoyed being between her legs,saying that it was comfortable and she would often fall asleep on top of her.

But then there were moments such as this.