Slowly Dwindling
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Jellal's eyes widened and he watched as a small pained smile appeared on Lucy's stoic face. Her body dropped to the side and blood immediately began pooling around her body, sinking into her clothes and dirtying her body. With a cry, the bluenette crouched down beside her and held her body in his arms, tears slipping out of his eyes. "Lucy... Lucy..." He whispered her name frantically over and over, staring into her dull and lifeless eyes, "Lucy... Lucy..."

The blonde could only stare up at the bluenette. She attempted a smile but failed when she felt the bullet in her body. With a hiss, she could only sigh, "Thank G-God... you're... alive..."

"Lucy!" Gajeel barked, his eyes wide and filled with horror. He immediately ran towards them but not before shooting at Gray who was pulled away by Minerva.

"Exactly as planned!" The purple-haired woman laughed mischievously, "I knew it! I knew she would jump in to save you!"

Gray's eyes widened and he turned to stare at Minerva in anger, "You tricked me! You were planning to kill Lucy!"

"Never trust an enemy, Fullbuster," Minerva grinned evilly and she shot his leg. The man howled in pain and he fell back to the floor, holding his bleeding leg. She grinned and watched as Lucy's gang surrounded Jellal who held their leader. Smirking, she slipped away from the scene and no one bothered to follow her.

"Shit Lucy, keep up with us," Zen said and he felt his eyes stung. He didn't think it would be this painful to see your leader bleeding and dying in front of your very own eyes, it was horrible. His chest wouldn't stop squeezing and his throat was aching.

Lucy chuckled softly but a cough of blood interrupted it, "I... I can't... want... sleep..."

"Lucy!" Jellal cried out, his eyes blurry from all of his tears. He shook her, "Come on, L-Lucy, stay awake."

"Call an ambulance!" Elie shouted and Yukino nodded, running off to get her phone.

Virgo appeared beside Lucy, holding a first aid kit. She pressed down a piece of cloth on Lucy's chest, "I'll try to stop the bleeding. Princess might die because of blood loss."

"It's... a good... thing... that Gray... missed... my heart," Lucy rasped out. She could barely keep her eyes open but she knew that Jellal was crying. She could feel his tears dropping to her cheeks and even though she didn't like seeing him cry, his tears were comforting. They made her feel like she was really loved. "Jellal..." Lucy weakly called out, her voice choking in the end, "D-Don't... cry, it's not... ma-manly..."

Jellal closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "I d-don't care. For you, I'd spend a-a day like a girl. I-I'd waste all of m-my tears for you. I'd do anything for you. " He sniffed and he couldn't stop himself from chuckling through hiccups when tears also fell from Lucy's eyes.

"Idiot..." Lucy laughed out and blood dripped down her chin, "You're... m-making me... cry."

The bluenette whimpered and he hugged her close. Reina could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks as well. Seeing her brother cry was not normal. The last time she saw him cry was when their parents were murdered in front of them. It was a memory they promised to forget but she often had dreams about that night. To see Jellal cry was heartbreaking because she knew that he really loved Lucy.

Behind her, she could hear a redhead scolding Gray. The next thing she knew, Gray was being supported as he limped his way out of the mansion. Reina decided to ignore them and she walked over to Jellal and Lucy. She sniffed and touched the blonde's hair, running her fingers through those yellow locks, "You... You said you'd... you're not supposed to get shot!" She cried out and she fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." Lucy coughed out blood and when she felt like she couldn't go on any further, she smiled, "Take... care of... Jellal f-for me, o...okay?"

Reina's eyes widened and she pursed her lips as she cried, "Y-Yes!"

Jellal gritted his teeth as he heard the ambulance outside of the mansion. But before he could tell her that she would be fine, her eyes fluttered close.

"LUCY!"

For me... life was a challenge. Ever since Reina was born, I knew that she was going to make me happier. All I could think was, "Finally, I have a sibling." But it wasn't enough, that wasn't enough. I knew I was missing something and the gap grew bigger when my parents were murdered in front of us. I didn't know why they were murdered but they were talking about something that I couldn't make out. From then on, I was dead. Sure, I laughed at school but it wasn't the same as before.

As expected, Reina noticed the change and tried to distance herself from me. She didn't tell me why but I knew the reason. Whenever I see the tattoo beneath her eye, it hurt. I hated looking at myself in the mirror because I would always be reminded that I was branded. I belonged to someone and that someone wasn't claiming me yet. Reina had the same mark and I knew that she would be taken away from me soon but if she was taken away with me caring so much for her, it would be more painful. But I realized that... that was idiotic. I didn't realize that because of my selfish acts, I hurt her more than expected but the damage was done, I couldn't change the past.

I was traumatized when I heard Reina crying in her room. Her cries were so loud, so loud that she woke our neighbors. I knew she was having another nightmare but I couldn't even get to her. Her room was locked and I couldn't bear to see her vulnerable state. Because of that, I've always locked away my feelings. I never liked anyone and I was always strict. No one seemed to notice so everything was going perfectly.

But then, she arrived. At first, I thought of her as another problem. I thought she was one of those attention-seekers. To be honest, she was annoying and I hated watching over her. I always looked forward to my patrols because it meant that I would be away from that delinquent. But that wasn't the reason why I hated her. I hated her because she reminded me so much of the woman who killed my mother. That woman was Layla.

I never predicted that I would fall for her. I don't remember when or how it happened but before I knew it, I looked forward to watching over her. I looked forward to attending school more than going home. She was like a light in a dark room, despite of her delinquent attitude, she wasn't that bad. In fact, she was actually pretty obedient and not to mention smart. She could surpass me if she tried.

Soon enough, the incident where Lucy was planning to transfer happened. The reason why I tried to stop her was because I liked her and I didn't want her to go. Granted, she stayed and everything went by smoothly. But then we figured out that she was in a gang. To say that I was surprised was an understatement. I was thinking, "How could a beautiful and graceful lady like her be in a gang?" I realized that I didn't have to search for an answer anymore when I found out that she was protecting something important.

She was amazing and I looked up to her. For the first time, I felt like everything mattered. She was the first to break through my façade. I was reverting back to my old self. I was slightly furious that someone managed to break that wall but... part of me was happy that someone managed to do it. It made me feel so relieved. I love Lucy and I'm not afraid to yell it. I knew she would always be here to make me happy. I knew it.

But... why?

Tell me why she's standing over there, fading away. Enlighten me why she took a shot for me, why she did everything just to protect me. Tell me! It hurts more than you think. To see your loved one shot and fading away like the sun sinking down, it was painful. I imagined that I would be the one jumping in front of her and taking a bullet but why did she do it?

Why is she disappearing from my view?

Reina stared up at the ceiling quietly, listening to the nurses walking in the hallway and to the ticking of the clock. She weakly turned her head to stare at her brother. He had his elbows on his knees with his fingers intertwined with each other, his head lowered down. Next, she turned to stare at Lucy's gang. They were all leaning into each other, sleeping. It's been exactly six hours since Lucy was brought to the emergency room and there was no news yet.

Silently, she lifted her hand and placed it on top of Jellal's head, patting it softly. He didn't raise his head; instead, he leaned into her palm. Her eyes trailed downwards and she frowned sadly at the small puddle of tears on the floor. She knew that he was still crying, maybe not as hard as before but with the occasional drops of water on the puddle, it was obvious that he was about to run out of tears.

Reina sighed through her nose, "Nii-chan, are you hungry?"

"I'm fine..." Jellal mumbled lowly. He sniffed and wiped his eyes again before dropping his elbow back on his knee, "What... What time is it?"

"Midnight," The cerulean-haired girl said, shifting closer to the other bluenette and leaning her head on his shoulder, "No news so far..."

"Oh..."

Reina closed her eyes. He sounded so pained... so disappointed. She huffed, "Nii-chan, I'm sleepy."

"Then go to sleep," Jellal muttered, eyes now sore from crying, "You can lean on me."

The younger Fernandes yawned and snuggled against him, falling asleep in a matter of seconds. Now that he was the only one left awake, he felt a pang go through his heart again. He felt the tears coming again but for some odd reason, they weren't falling. He gently touched his cheeks and winced. It hurt. He had been crying for too long and his eyes were puffy and red already. With a sigh, he covered his face with a hand.

Just as his head was starting to tip, the door to the emergency room opened and a doctor stepped out. Jellal's ears perked and he raised his head, turning to face the man. His eyes widened at the sight. The doctor looked so tired and his face was dejected. He looked like he had a hard time with operating on Lucy and that wasn't a good sign.

"Are you a relative of Heartfilia-san?" The doctor asked weakly, his voice cracking in the end.

The bluenette shook his head, "I-I'm her boyfriend." The doctor released a breath he held and he stared at Jellal with apologetic and pained eyes. At that moment, he knew that he wasn't going to deliver good news.

I can't see you anymore, where are you? Why can't I find you? Where did you go? Why are you fading away?

Come back... I miss you.

"I'm sorry but... your girlfriend is in coma."

Don't go away.

Come back.