Welcome!
I've never done a LoLu (Loke x Lucy) so this is a first for me :) If you all enjoy me writing this pairing let me know so I can use it more in the future. And if you ever have a request for a pairing, do ask me. I'd be happy to write anything!
Pairing: This is a LoLu, but there will be GraLu until that pairing kicks in.
Dedication: This story is dedicated to faithful2kh.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Coming Back Down by Hollywood Undead.
Please Review!
Lucy looked at the apartment building before her. Above the door "122" was printed in elegant digits. She looked at the paper in her hand. "122 Strawberry Street," she read allowed. She smiled, seeing that she had found the correct place.
The mark on her left hand caught her attention. Between her wrist and the first knuckle on her thumb was a black mark. Over the years she had finally decided what it was. Growing up she believed it was a birthmark. By the time she was ten she realized it looked like half a heart. By thirteen, she was convinced that it wasn't there by coincidence. A burn mark? No, it was a tattoo. At twenty-three years old, her mind was settled. At a very young age someone had tattooed half a heart on her skin. Why? She didn't know. What did it mean? She also didn't know. After running away from her father the moment she turned eighteen, she made it her life goal to travel and find the man or woman with the other half of the heart that was so important it was inked into her skin.
"Can I help you or are you going to stare at my building all day?"
Lucy was startled by the harsh voice. She looked up and saw a short, burly looking woman with her hands on her hips. She flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, ma'am," she quickly apologized. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. We spoke on the phone about me renting-"
"Do you have your first month's rent and security deposit?" she asked, clearly not amused with the blonde' rambling.
Lucy flushed, once again. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope full of money and handed it over. She usually just stayed in a hotel, never permanently settling down, but Magnolia was a beautiful city. She was eager to learn more about the town and see some famous sites, as well as Fairy Tail. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she knew that they were very famous.
"Rent will be due the first of every month," the landlord began to explain. "You will be staying in the left apartment. No wild parties, and please keep the sex quiet. You may have people stay with you as long as it doesn't become a problem. Your dog may relieve itself in the fenced area in the back yard. " She nodded once before going to her car and driving away.
Lucy groaned, realizing that her landlord was very blunt and didn't take leeway on anything. She needed to push that out of her mind for now and get her things inside. She went to her car parked along the street and opened the passenger door. She put the backpack resting on the floor around her shoulders and grabbed her dog, Plue's crate, and took him inside.
When she first walked into the building, there was a door to the left and one to the right. The right apartment had another tenent, so she went to the left. After unlocking the door, she stepped inside. The awful scent of cat urine and must filled her nose. It was clear to her that no one had rented out the apartment in a long time. She set Plue's crate down and let the white corgi follow her around. She looked at the kitchen first, which was quite small. She went back to the living room and opened the two doors available there. The first was a closet for coats and shoes. The second was her bedroom, which had an adjoined bathroom and a large closet. The apartment wasn't that great, but it would do.
Going back out to her car, Lucy opened the door to her back-seats. She pulled out two boxes and struggled to carry them up to the door. She had left it cracked open, so she just had to push the door. When she did, she felt a bit of resistance. The boxes fell from her hands off to the side and she fell forward. Her eyes went wide when she saw that she was laying on someone. "I'm so sorry!" she gasped, rolling off him.
The guy laughed. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have been standing behind the door." He stood up and offered her a hand, pulling her up, as well. "I'm Gray Fullbuster. You must be Lucy."
Lucy smiled kindly. "I was wondering when I'd meet my new neighbor." She picked up one of the boxes that she dropped and, to her surprise, Gray picked up the other one. "You don't have to help."
"I don't mind," Gray laughed. He helped himself into her apartment and set the box down. His nose scrunched up. "It smells awful in here!"
Lucy laughed and agreed. "Do you know who lived here before me?" she asked.
Gray visibly crinched. "Yeah, it was this weird old guy who had five cats. How he managed to let that slide past the landlord is beyond me." He looked around the room slowly. "It's just like mine except backwards." He picked up the two boxes. "How about we leave these two boxes in the lobby and clean this place up first?"
Lucy followed him out of the room. "You really don't have to help. That'd be too much!" He began walking out to her car, so she followed him again.
Gray's face lit up in surprise at the gray Renault Clio. It was a very cheap car, which was why Lucy bought it. He was kind enough not to mention her lack of a good car, which she appreciated. "Do you have a box of cleaning supplies?" he asked, easily picking up four boxes and taking them inside.
Lucy quickly grabbed two more, closed the back door, and went to place them in the lobby. She quickly thought about what she packed. "Yeah, there should be a bag in the trunk."
With one more trip everything was inside. Gray was very surprised. She had a box of shoes, one box of shirts, one of pants and shorts, another with underwear, a box marked "Plue", the bag of cleaning supplies, and three boxes of books. "Is this really it?" he asked. "You don't have any furniture? What about food? Blankets?"
Lucy blushed in embarrassment and looked at her feet. When she travelled around she just kept the boxes of clothes and books in her car. She kept the bag of cleaning supplies with her because she never trusted the hotels she stayed at to be clean. Plue's food, dishes, and leashes stayed in the last box. If she wanted anything else, she would have to stop at her father's manor in Oak Town. She had stopped there only a few times since she moved out when she was fifteen. When she did she only dealt with the maids and butlers, who kept her visit secret from her father. A couple times she called her father, asking for money, but he refused. When that was the case she found odd jobs in town to get money. She got her car from a junkyard and bought cheap parts and had one of the butlers fix it.
"That's what I have with me," she finally said, choosing her answer carefully.
"Where's the rest of it?" Gray asked. He noticed slight hesitation in her words.
Lucy bit her lip. "At my father's...house." She didn't exactly what to give away that she was the daughter of the man who owned the railroads.
"Well let's go get it," Gray said. He looked at her car once again. "We should take my truck. There's no way that you're going to put furniture in that."
Lucy started to panic. "No, it's okay, really. I'll go find some pawn shop and-"
"Stop worrying," Gray laughed. "Come on, I'll grab my keys."
He walked into his apartment and Lucy awkwardly waited in the lobby. When he came back, he was twisting the key ring around his finger, making the keys clash together. "I'll lock the main lobby door so you don't lose your stuff." He did just that when they both walked out.
Gray drove a bigger truck. Lucy wasn't very good with cars, so she wasn't sure of the year or type. All she knew was that it was dark blue and a Ford. The seats were very comfortable, too. She was starting to guess that he had pretty good money, which made her wonder why he was living in a run-down apartment building instead of a nice house.
"Where does your dad live at?" Gray asked, starting the car. The air conditioner was already on and it shot out cold air almost instantly. He noticed Lucy flinch and quickly turned it off. "Sorry."
"Oak Town," Lucy said hesitantly. She grabbed the door handle, ready for him to tell her to just get out. The drive was too far.
"That's fine," Gray laughed, seeing what she was planning. He put the truck in gear and began to drive.
Silence soon filled the car. Gray didn't mind, but Lucy was feeling a little awkward. She was just realizing that she got in a car with a completely stranger. She knew that he lived next door, yes. The landlord would know that they were together by seeing his truck missing and both apartments empty, sure. That didn't mean she wouldn't be dead by the time she figured it out.
"You don't need to be so tense," Gray said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I guess I am being a little forward, but you just look like someone who is lonely and could use a good friend."
Lucy wanted to deny him, but it was true. She was taught by a private tutor growing up, so she never went to school. She had practically graduated by the time she was sixteen, so she took online college courses in English and Writing until she was eighteen. Then she moved out. She didn't stay in one town long. She'd stop at bars, pools, or any other place to find people around her age. She never stayed long enough to make friends.
"Yeah, you're right."
Gray turned the radio on and they didn't talk until they reached Oak Town. Lucy became more and more nervous every time she told Gray to turn. When they turned onto the long stretch that would lead to the Heartfilia Manor, her heart stopped.
"Stop the truck!" she gasped, clutching her chest.
Gray slammed on the brakes, startled by her outburst. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" He saw her grip her chest and could hear her breathing. "Are you okay?"
Lucy felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She may have visited a couple times before, but she hadn't for at least two years. She had never brought something with her, either, much less a stranger. What if she had to see her dad? Would he let her leave in one piece? What if he hurt Gray? Her mind was swirling.
"Breath," Gray said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Lucy gasped and snapped out of her daze. She looked up to Gray for only a moment before tearing her gaze away and towards her lap. "I'm sorry. Please continue."
He wasn't sure if she was okay or not, but he continued. They eventually reached a gold gate. His eyes widened at the large building before him. "You live here?" he asked in disbelief.
"My father is Jude Heartfilia," Lucy explained, surprised she could tell him so easily. "My father owns the railroads. They aren't used much anymore for the public, but a lot of working companies still use them."
There was a buzzing sound from a speaker outside of Gray's window. "Who is it?" a male voice asked.
Gray wasn't sure what to say, but luckily Lucy did. She leaned slightly over Gray. "This is Lucy Heartfilia."
After a moment the gates slowly opened and Gray pulled up parked along the front of the manor, Lucy's heart pounding once more.