Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Summary: "Sometimes, an argument is a necessity for the incidence of better events." A GrayLu one-shot.
Dedicated to: Nora57 (for her "Em-kun, write a new story!" and continuous motivations, and esp. for being my no. 1 fan! Thank you :)
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It all started with a simple sentence. A mere misunderstanding.
Who knew it would develop into such an uproar that even the guildmaster, Makarov would have to get involved in order to reach a god damned conclusion. The strange thing wasn't the argument itself, but the parties. While one of the contender wasn't anything out-of-ordinary as he was quite likely to get in such petty fights. Fights attracted him like a magnet, everyone knew it. It was none other than everyone's favorite ice mage - Gray Fullbuster.
The other person... was not Natsu - the topic being discussed was something a little too out of his reins.
Erza was surprisingly on the sidelines; in utter shock.
Gajeel would never show interest in something like that so he was sitting on a chair, a bit far away from the scene, chomping on some magical metal coins which apparently enhanced his charm and made him seem extra-special to his girl— or so he eavesdropped while the midget was talking to her best friend.
Wakaba and Macao were out on separate missions, so their silly verbal disputes were out of question. Other likely contenders were too minor to count.
Leaving all likely possibilities aside, there stood a blonde in a 'not-so-amused' mood - something quite surprising as the stellar spirit wasn't the type to bicker.
Gray considered Lucy as one of his good friends. Lucy felt the same. Both had good understanding and enjoyed each other's company.
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Then why both of them were standing still, giving each other some piercing stares for God-knows-how-many-hours? It was weird to see them confronting with each other, and that's what was freaking everyone out. But everyone tried to stay as quiet as possible: the darkened aura wasn't exactly pleasing.
It all started two hours ago, one hundred and twenty long, long minutes.
Flashback
It was a pleasant, sunny morning. The skies were all cleared up and there was no sign of rain any sooner. The weather had totally won a certain stellar spirit mage over who was doing a genki pose. After all, something pleasing had just passed through her eyes an hour ago when she was leaving , and she was over cloud nine.
As she entered inside the guild, she started humming playfully and greeting everyone in between short pauses. Noticing this, Levy rushed towards and greeted her best friend cheerfully.
"Lu-chan, you seem overly happy today. Tell me, what happened?" Levy asked energetically.
"Hmm, nothing much~" Lucy mused.
"Let me guess. You got a cat?" She asked with stars in her eyes.
"N-no- I mean yes- Wait what... a cat?" Lucy uttered, swinging moods.
"Hmm. what did you think I was talking about?" Levy grinned mischievously.
Lucy pondered a bit, as in deep thought and then suddenly snapped out of it, face beet red.
"N-nothing. I w-wasn't happy about getting a possible b-boyfriend at all." Lucy wailed with her fingers moving all around.
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For a moment, Levy froze.
"A BOYFRIEND?!" The blunette screamed, and it felt like the roof would fall down with the intensity of her emotions.
"Shhh- keep it down! And i-it's not like that!" The blonde whispered, looking around carefully.
"BUT YOU YOURSELF SAID YOU GOT A BOYFRIEND!"
And there, the solid script mage had done it, informing the whole solar system about the thing which she was trying to hide- well partly.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy said in a half-crying tone, glancing around.
"Ahaha... My bad." Levy stated nervously.
But nothing could be done now. Everyone was eyeing at the stellar spirit mage with suspicious eyes; some shocked, some demanding further information.
"Wait I can explain— "
But the noise was too loud for her voice to be heard. She tried again but to no avail. All she could so was hold her breath and fade away with embarrassment.
For a moment, everyone looked at Natsu, as if to check if he was the lucky person who was dating their dear comrade, but the dragon slayer continued enjoying his meal at full speed with fully open eyes. Upon noticing the deadly stares at him, he felt alarmed.
"What happened?" He asked without a single clue.
Everyone sweat-dropped.
"Yo Natsu-kun. Apparently Lucy is dating someone." Max pointed out.
"Dating? Lucy? Pfft~" The flame mage suppressed his laughter.
"Aye sir~" Happy emerged out of nowhere.
"Why would anyone date something like Lucy, makes me laugh." Natsu continued, laughing out loud now.
"Pfftttt~" The exceed followed after his master.
"What do you mean, 'someone like'! And you idiotic cat!"
"So he isn't..." Lisanna stated, sighing with relief.
"Tell me, everyone. Who is dating Lucy here. I will kill him, if he isn't worthy of her." Erza ordered out in a loud tone.
"Calm down, Erza. You are scaring them... " Mirajane sweat-dropped.
"Huh? Is it you?" Erza glared at the white-haired mage.
"W-why would I? I am a female... And why do I have a feeling you want to fight?" The satan soul mage sneered.
"You bet I do. Lucy is at stake!" Erza howled.
"I never said anything though!" The celestial mage spoke aloud, raising her hand.
"Very well." Mirajane stated slowly, and quickly transformed into her "Satan Soul" outfit.
And a reminiscing clash of fists began which wasn't gonna die out any sooner. People were roaring and betting on them.
Within minutes, the guild was in riot. Everyone was fighting; some on tables, others on bar counter. Some rarer ones fought like sane human beings on the floor.
"Listen to me too...!" Lucy cried to herself.
The blonde was looking in one direction a moment and then other, the next. Nothing was making sense to her as she looked around continuously. Her struggles to stop the fight weren't bearing any fruit.
"It's all your fault, Levy-chan!" She sobbed.
And then, she heard a certain masculine voice, a very familiar one.
"Maybe he can help!"
Greeting to everyone, the ice mage stood at the entrance. Too bad, no one bothered answering him. Annoyed, he decided to jump into the fight, taking it as one of those regular ones.
Just when he was gonna toss his shirt aside, someone stopped him. Lucy had grabbed his shoulder, and was looking at him with puppy dog eyes.
"Lucy..."
"Gray, can you help? Please, I can only count on you..." She uttered softly, giving him the very same puppy look.
"Wha—"
The ice mage turned his face sideways, scratching his cheek. It seemed like, he was trying to hide his face from her for some reason. He coughed as if to clear his throat.
"What do you want?" Gray spoke softly.
"Finally someone who understood her. Lucy couldn't stop celebrating. She knew Gray was the guy for these moments, no doubt he was among her most trustworthy friends.
"Actually, today I told everyone that I have seemingly gotten a boyfriend but—"
"You got a... what?" Gray stated with an evidently unbelieving attitude.
"Like I said, I got a boyfriend but—"
"A boyfriend... You?" He said, emphatically.
"W-what? Even I can get one. But hey, you are not completely right—"
"No, no. It's just that I am..." He barely whispered.
Lucy was getting annoyed now. She thought, she was being teased yet again.. And here she thought, she finally had someone on her side. Tch.
"You jealous?" She chirped.
"Jealous of what?" He stated with startled attitude.
"That I beat you to it."
"... Beat me to what?"
"Finding a lover I mean, of course."
"Remember Juvia?" He reminded her, like it was the most obvious thing.
"Except that you aren't dating her."
"...Then are you dating that guy?" He snorted, his tone showing mild anger.
"N-no, but I plan to. And why are you getting angry anyways. "
"Oh... I can get angry for all I want."
"Who knew you could be so grumpy."
"I am not grumpy. Just shocked.
"Fine then don't talk with me."
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. You must think it is cool when you do that. For your information you are not." Lucy said with her eyes scarlet-red.
"For you information, I don't do it to act cool. I just... like the phrase."
"Why are you telling me that?" She yelled, waving her hand around.
"Why are you fighting with me?" he yelped, mimicking her movements.
"... You started it."
"No, you started it."
"No, you!"
"You!"
And hence, the never-ending war began which lengthened for the upcoming two straight hours, with the parties not taking a break of a single minute even.
Erza tried to stop them, but even the unbeatable Scarlet Knight was made to shut up - a miracle. The matter was then left on Makarov, but all in vain in. Even the mighty hand didn't work, as they had some kind of unbreakable barrier around them - power of feelings. Tired, everyone gave up and just wished to the stars that the fight would stop somehow.
Flashback Ends
Both of them happened to be exhausted by now. All the yelling had really tired their bodies out but neither admitted their fault and continued shouting at the other one.
They stopped to take a breather for once but not for long.
"You strip because you think you hot that way. Not that you are hot anyways." The blonde attacked, laughing sarcastically.
"You are the one who dresses like that to seduce poor little guys. And right, I am cool instead." Gray replied coolly.
"Only your element..." Lucy said mockingly.
"You don't even have an element."
"I have the power of stars and my spirits!"
"Who cares."
"My soon-to-be-boyfriend does."
"And why would he?"
"Because he loves me. And come up with better comebacks next time, kid."
"Tch who is the kid here..." He mumbled.
Everyone looked at them with eyes like a dead fish, like they were saying "You both are!"
"Why don't you just give a concrete proof to stop this damned fight already. I want to go home and hit the bed now, too tired." The ice mage said liked he was the most tired person in the world.
"Proof of what? Lazy-bones..."
"That you really got a boyfriend. Yeah, yeah whatever."
"Wait... You mean, you were doubting me all along?" She asked with her eyes narrowed.
"You bet I was!" He uttered in his fury, not paying attention to what he was saying at all.
"..."
There wasn't a tiny drop of doubt in his voice and this annoyed her to no ends. How unbelievable he could get, distrusting her like that.
Her face darkened, and then she went silent. After a good long pause, she smirked, eyes shot open — God, how creepy could she get?
"Very well... I will give you the proof!" Lucy yelled, as if burning with willpower.
Everyone looked fixedly at the blonde who was moving at the speed of hurricane to the front entrance. The door closed with a thud with a single Lucy Punch. Looks like the yellow-haired mage was too mad to be in her senses, throwing away her anger at the poor little door.
The rest of the guild members freaked out except a certain ice mage who felt a cold shiver through his spine instead. But he would rather pose to be unaffected, even if his legs said the opposite.
"He is shaking badly..."
"He got scared..."
"Pfft..."
But before anyone could point it out, the scary duo threw another dark glare at them, and the fairies just had to shut up.
Within a few minutes, she was back, or so was clear from the shrilly sound of the opening door which was yet again abused.
"SHE IS BACK ALREADY!" A voice rose from somewhere in the room.
"Talk about speed!"
"We should have just sent her with this attitude to the grand magic games and then the opponents would have been— "
"Annihilated." The blonde spoke loudly, completely the poor guys' sentence while giving him a death scowl.
With quick, heavy steps, she walked towards the guy who had been pissing her off for two freaking hours by now. She would rather end it and go back to watch her favorite drama than quarrel with a "cabbage head".
"Here." She hissed, handing him something, something which seemed like a paper; a white paper.
Gray examined the white sheet carefully, and then for a moment, his eyes grew slightly wide. While the blonde was too busy grinning, he managed to regain his composure.
"Huh? What is it." He said calmly, as if he hadn't read anything.
"Like I said before, don't 'huh' me. And It is a freaking letter, what else." She lectured.
"Hmm? And what's it's about?"
"Huh? You are that dense?"
"Now who is 'huh-ing'? And no, I am not."
"Fine, you won that one... It's a love letter I got."
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"EH?!" Everyone screamed together.
"YOU GUYS GOTTA BE OVERLY DRAMATIC ON EVERY DAMNED LITTLE THING?" Lucy snarled.
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(Poof)
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Everyone quieted together.
"And you! Be ready to beg for my mercy, or maybe lick my toes and maybe— I will consider forgiving you." She said, pointing her fingers at him with her eyes closed.
But to her surprise, there was no response. The raven-haired mate had stopped moving or better yet broke. Well, either consequence worked for her. Maybe, he had realized his mistake. Now he would have to ask her for his forgiveness and then she will act like an evil queen and then— And the wicked plans went on and on.
But, still, the ice maker didn't move an inch. He had stopped breathing even.
And it was enough to take her anger to a new criterion.
"HEY I AM TALKING TO YOU, MR. I-AM-LOOKING-SUPER-COOL-ICE-PANTS!"
No reply, nothing at all.
The blonde just had to calm down and think rationally. Maybe, he was just too appalled of her supremacy over him in the current condition. Maybe he has realized his mistake and then— Another current of random thoughts.
"Can't be helped. If you are regretting it that much then yes, say a simple sorry will do." Lucy said slowly, nodding to herself as if she was being super-kind.
But when he didn't say anything in return, she felt like ripping the ground apart with her sheer strength or pierce the sky through her fist power or whatnot.
The blonde moved forward, grabbing the ice maker by his wrist. Just when she was going to speak, she saw a peculiar change of events.
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The person standing in front of her, was smirking to himself and this made her want to just grab a broom and smack him with it endless.
She might even have hurried to grab some to teach him a lesson but just when she tried to move, she couldn't. Her feet had braced on the ground.
Seems like the raven-haired mage was holding her close and not letting her go. All the while, he was grimacing like he had just emerged victorious in a long, long war.
"You- leave me! I am gonna smack you with a broom—"
"I sent it..." He said quietly, not paying attention to her never-ending babble.
"Did you hear? Screw broom. A ladle would do!" She roared, 'upgrading' her weapon of choice.
"I sent it." The ice maker said albeit loudly, his grip on her shoulders intensifying.
"... Send me what? I don't remember receiving any broom from you."
"LIKE I SAID, DENSE WOMAN, I SENT THAT LETTER TO YOU, NO FREAKING BROOM!" He shouted at her, almost breathlessly.
"W-who you are calling dense and..."
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"Ehh?!"
Lucy couldn't believe the words at all. No way, this was true. Her ears must had been ringing. But the serious expression on the ice mage's face hinted that he clearly meant his words.
This lead to a bright red blush on the blonde's face who was trying hard to avoid eye-contact now. Had Gray ever shown to be interested in her before? Was he even the type to act romantic?
"W-what's w-with you..." She murmured, swallowing her saliva.
"My words..." The ice maker pointed out, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
"T-then! Why didn't you t-tell me earlier? Why did you... send me a l-letter anyways?" She stuttered.
"Do I still have to say anything?" He sighed, he couldn't believe her naïvety anymore.
The blonde's eyes were fixated on the exhibitionist face who had stripped all of a sudden somehow. This only made her body temperature higher.
"I thought... you were dating another guy without me knowing... and that made me jealous..."
His voice was deep and this made her heart beat louder. She could almost predict what he was going to say next, but even if she knew, she wasn't ready for it. And then it came, the three words.
"I like you..."
Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but gulp down her saliva.
"No, I love you. It's the I-wanna-marry-you kind of love, Lucy..." He gazed at her passionately, as if he would chow down her entire self, her entire being with those icy yet burning onyx eyes.
All she could do was, gape at the floor endlessly.
What she was gonna do? She had no idea what was happening right before her eyes. Gray of all people? That Gray? She went in her own world of thoughts, not realizing how much time had passed. She wouldn't have been able to discern, until his voice reached her ears.
"Can I get... your reply, miss Lucy? I am nervous as hell right now for your information..." He stated restlessly, taking breaks in between his sentences.
This made her even more embarrassed. She examined his face carefully, she noticed how his forehead was dripping sweat at an amazing rate, his hair wet with moisture.
"And yet, he is an ice mage..." She thought to herself.
She carefully reviewed the events of the day, and at last reached one conclusion. She knew she was right about it, there was no doubt. She inhaled and exhaled warm air, trying to lose some body heat.
"Gray... I am very happy to hear this... It's the first time I got confessed, p-proposed even..." She uttered slowly, stumbling on words.
"To think an argument could to lead to such an outcome, ahaha..." She laughed nervously, sending goosebumps through his skin.
"You are the last person I thought I would fight..." Lucy informed him.
"And you are the last person I think, I am gonna love... " He whispered, audible enough to make her blush.
"But... to be honest... I have never thought about you like this you know... I am sorry..." She whispered, eyes closed.
The ice maker felt the gravity becoming thin. It felt like the earth has exploded around him. He had seen this coming but he had to act like an idiot.
"But..." She smiled mysteriously.
He was doomed for sure. Maybe, he shouldn't have bothered. Maybe, he should have—
"I won't say that I... l-like you, it would be too unreal but..."
The lump in his throat moved up and down as he (along with the rest of guild members) yearned to hear the words with his eyes and mouth wide open.
"But from now on, I wanna do... Think about you as a man..." She smiled the sweetest he had ever seen, something which lighted him up.
"I can't express it in speech so... Maybe I will have to... write to you..." She said delicately.
"W-what?"
"J-just... look forward to the l-letter, okay?" She uttered quickly, and turned her body away from him.
She felt submerged in a mixture of embarrassment, uneasiness and what else she was going through.
"Hai?!" He questioned on impulse.
"A letter, a response!" She spoke with her remaining strength and ran away.
All he could do was stretch his arm towards her.
He fell on the ground, not moving at all. He had no idea what he had just gone through. The woman was no good. He knew, she had vague ideas about him but vague to this extent? His pride was hurt to bits.
But she was the woman he adored and loved. He knew he wasn't gonna get her .. She was going to write a letter to him... and thinks of him as a man now.
Just when he remembered her last few sentences, he turned beet-red. He had managed to keep his face from heating up around her but now that she was not there, he felt free enough to express his real emotions.
He kept moving backward and forward in all his confusion and bewilderment, grasping his head. If this wasn't bad enough, what could be?
Well, his questioned was answered, as when he was approached by his guild-mates a few moments later. They had some really fearsome expressions on their face, each having a unique one of their own.
"Wha—"
"Why didn't you tell us sooner..." Erza gritted upon her words, her tongue hanging loose like that of a snake.
"W-wait guys, there is an explanation for this—"
"Save that for latter, you will need it." A holy voice informed her.
With the order of their redhead leader, everyone pounced upon the poor ice mage.
"This is too unfair!" The raven-haired guy stated loudly but no one bothered listening to him.
"Think, Gray, think!" And just when ordered himself to do so, a fantasy of a totally defenseless Lucy passed through his eyes. She was uttering softly,
"I... think of you as a man now... so tonight you can have your way with me..."
A massive nosebleed - There, the job was done. A complete Knock-out!
And the fairies didn't even to move an inch. Impressive.
Well, at least, he could dream about her all he wanted now. No matter how perverted the dreams would be... as long as no nightmare interferes of course. One day these dreams could be fulfilled for sure.
Until then, he will wait for the letter and (if the contents are positive) just hope for mores to come, from his Lucy: his dear Lucy.
=== The End===
Writer's Corner
Another reason for writing this story is, tomorrow is the day when I wrote my first ever GrayLu fanfic so it is a celebration on completing one year of fanfics... sort of.
At first, the argument was going to be something like, "Lucy says she like something about summer, like beaches etc so Gray denies that saying winter is better and that turns into a quarrel." Don't know which one was better, the current one or the original one (or maybe both aren't xD)
Please. please. Review and tell me what did you like and what not ^^
