A/N: Gah, I should be writing the epilogue to Heart of Steel or Fairies Don't Date Criminals. Or working on The Other Celestial Mage. BUT, I got a PM about GrayLu week in September, and now I'm falling down the rabbit hole of GrayLu one-shots that my busy brain wants to jot down. This one doesn't actually fit any of the prompts, so I figured, hey, why not post it now?!
sidenote: the "mating" involved isn't like with dragon slayer mating from a lot of fics. It's just the traditional use of the word. Despite that, this is not a lemon. (That's coming in September).
Lucy instinctively ducked. An empty beer mug flew through the spot where her head had been to crash into the wall behind the bar. She didn't bother looking around to see who had thrown it. At least 75% of the guild was involved in the current brawl, so there was no way she would be able to accurately identify the culprit. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to wade into that pile of bullshit in an attempt at payback. Nope. She was going to sit there and drink her juice and pretend that she wasn't surrounded by drunken lunatics.
"What'sa matter, Lu? Got your eye on someone tonight?" The guild's resident drunk asked as she draped an arm over Lucy's hunched shoulders. Lucy scowled at her friend. She loved Cana, and she usually didn't mind the card mage's antics, but she was so not in the mood tonight.
"I'm fine. And no," Lucy said. She brushed Cana's arm away. Lucy finished her glass and stood up. "I'm heading home."
"Oh come on, Lu, get in the spirit!" Cana said. She tried to grab Lucy's arm, but the blonde sidestepped away from her and Cana crashed to the ground giggling. Lucy sighed, but she did offer her friend a small smile before she turned to leave.
Lucy skirted the edge of the guild hall and finally made it to the giant wooden doors. She glanced back over her shoulder at her guild mates, and her heart clenched a little when she caught sight of two familiar figures at the center of the massive brawl. She shook the feeling off and headed into the night.
The moon outshone the stars and washed the empty streets of Magnolia in silver light. Lucy felt her magic writhing inside her, begging to be released. Any event in the heavens could trigger the pull, but tonight was a major event. The Mother's Moon occurred only once every century when the moon was closest to earthland while full and with the zodiac constellations aligned in a special pattern. Lucy had been waiting for this event for nearly a year with extreme trepidation. For one thing, it wasn't unheard of for the event to be tied to magical items powered by celestial magic, so she'd been on the alert for possible kidnappings more than usual.
For another, it was also called the mating moon.
Lucy wasn't entirely clear on what that meant; the celestial magic books she'd found were extremely vague. Grandpa Crux had only been able to tell her that any "relations" she had during the event would almost certainly result in a child. The books had hinted that celestial wizards would be pulled to "mate with his or her beloved."
If there was a pull, it was all one-sided, Lucy thought. She kicked at a stray rock on the cobblestones. She thought about calling out Plue to help ease some of the strain from her magical container attempting to overflow.
Her hand had barely brushed over her keys when she heard a rock skitter across the cobblestones. Lucy froze for a moment before gripping a different key than she had originally been aiming for. She heard another shuffling sound behind her and whipped around with her key pointed outward as she prepared to speak the incantation to summon Taurus. The words stuck in her throat as she saw the cause of the sounds.
"Easy, Luce, it's just me," Gray said. He had his hands held up in front of him in a placating gesture. Apparently he'd left his shirt back in the guild because his muscular chest nearly glowed in the light of the moon. Lucy felt warmth pooling low in her body, and she had to shake her head vigorously to clear the naughty thoughts that instantly sprang up. She put Taurus's key back on the ring.
"What are you doing here, Gray?" She asked. She put one hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. She hoped the power stance would keep him from realizing just how flustered she actually was as Gray took a few steps to reach her.
"You looked upset when you left the guild," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I'm fine," Lucy said. She gave him what she hoped was her usual bright smile. "Just tired, so I'm heading home. See you tomorrow."
She gave a small wave and turned to head back in the direction she had been traveling, but Gray reached out to grab her arm. Lucy stiffened at his touch, but she didn't try to shake him off. She didn't think she had the willpower, so she really hoped he would let go on his own. She slowly turned her head to look at him. Gray dropped her arm and put his hands behind his head in a nonchalant pose.
"You do know that you walked past your apartment already, right?"
Lucy blushed and looked around. She actually hadn't realized. She was so lost in her thoughts about the Mother's Moon that she'd completely missed her building. The buildings around her were unfamiliar, so she wasn't even sure where she was at this point.
"Just taking a walk?" Lucy said sheepishly. Gray grinned at her, but then his expression turned serious again.
"Come on, Luce. Talk to me. You've been on edge for a few weeks now. I thought you'd talk to somebody about it, but… I guess not. What's going on?"
Lucy took a deep breath and stared up at the moon for a moment. She finally let her gaze fall back to Gray. He was right. This whole event had been bothering her, and she hadn't told a soul about it. That was probably stupid given that if someone had tried to kidnap her, they probably would have attacked the guild (again). But she didn't want anyone to blow things out of proportion. And she definitely didn't need Mira knowing anything about the "beloved" thing.
Before she could decide if she wanted to confide in the ice make mage or not, she doubled over in pain as gold tendrils of magic leaked from her hands. Her keys began to glow at her hip with an answering golden light.
"Plue," Lucy whispered as she clutched at her keys. "Open gate of the little dog!"
Plue appeared in a flash of light. He waved his arms wildly as his whole body trembled. He jumped around spouting the weird phrases that no one but Lucy (and maybe Happy) seemed to understand.
"I know, Plue. I should have called you sooner," Lucy said. She gasped as another sharp pain wracked her body. The gold glow from her hands hadn't disappeared. "Shit. I really should have called you sooner."
"Lucy, what's happening?" Gray asked. He had taken a step back, but now he was right next to her again. He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know if that would help or hurt the situation. "What's up with your magic?"
"Have to explain in a minute," Lucy said through gritted teeth. "My container is overflowing. Need to release more magic. Open gate of the Maiden! Open gate of the Seagoat!"
Virgo and Capricorn appeared before her.
"It's not enough, Miss Lucy," Capricorn said. "Even if you summon all of us at once, the moon is too strong for someone of your power level."
"What do I do?" Lucy asked. Another spasm ran through her, and she growled at the pain.
"A celestial spell could do it, Princess" Virgo said.
"I'd destroy the town," Lucy said. She fell to her knees. The cobblestones were rough under her knees, but she barely noticed as the pressure in her chest continued to build."
"If your container bursts, you will destroy the town anyway, and die in the process. You must heed the call, Miss Lucy" Capricorn said. Both spirits maintained their impassive expressions, but Lucy sensed their tension through her bond with them. Plue continued prancing anxiously in front of her.
"Not that simple," she said. She bit back a scream as another spasm rocked her small frame.
"What call?" Gray asked. She hadn't noticed him kneel down beside her. Lucy looked up at him. The pain blurred her vision slightly, but his dark eyes were in perfect focus. The concern in them made her want to reach out to him, but she didn't know what would happen if she did.
"The Mother's Moon calls celestial wizards, particularly those of the greatest strength," Virgo explained. She glanced at Lucy as if asking permission to continue. The blonde merely nodded. "It is a mating event in the celestial world, and those tied to it must heed the call."
"Mating event?" Gray asked. He reached out a hand to Lucy, but she backed away as best she could. She shook her head slowly even as she bit back another scream.
"I don't know what will happen if you touch me," Lucy whispered. Gray's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I don't understand what's happening, but you need help, Luce," he said after a moment. "I'm not going to just leave you here in pain."
Before Lucy could protest further, Gray reached for her again and laid his hand on her cheek. The world seemed to freeze as surely as if Gray had used his magic to cast a shield around them. Lucy stared into his dark eyes, and she saw the concern melt away as wonder filled them instead. The pain had vanished, but now the two of them were surrounded by a golden light tinged with silver.
"You don't want this," Lucy finally whispered. "You don't want me."
"But I do want you," Gray said. His lips turned up into the small smile she treasured, yet so rarely saw. "I always have."
The air left Lucy's lung in a whoosh. She barely remembered to inhale again before his lips were covering hers, and she decided that breathing was overrated anyway. Her heart seemed to swell as every dream she'd had for the past year rushed to the forefront of her mind. His lips were softer than she had imagined. Her hands came up to run over his bare chest and up into his shaggy hair, and she marveled at the firm yet silken quality of his skin and the slightly coarse texture of his black locks.
He finally pulled back, and they were both left breathing heavily as their lungs protested the prolonged absence of oxygen. Her lips already ached for the feel of his again as she gazed into his eyes.
"Wow," Gray murmured.
Lucy giggled. She thought that summed it up rather nicely. She looked around to see the golden glow had faded enough to reveal the empty street around them. Her spirits had all vanished back to the spirit world where they had their own calls to answer. Gray and Lucy helped each other to stand.
"Is it over?" Gray asked.
Lucy looked within to gauge her power levels. Her magic seemed to have returned to normal, so she nodded.
"I think so," she said. "Thank you, Gray."
She suddenly felt shy standing there in the moonlight with him. Their skin was still dusted with gold. She tried to cover her face to hide the blush that was spreading wildly across her cheeks, but Gray put a finger under her chin to make her look at him. His other hand reached down to intertwine his fingers with hers.
"I meant it, you know," he said. "I've always wanted you, wanted to be with you. If I'd known… If I'd had any idea at all that you felt the same…"
He stopped and grew self-conscious. He dropped both of his hands and looked anywhere but at Lucy.
"I mean, unless that was just part of the mating moon or whatever," he said hurriedly. "I mean, I'm glad I could help, so if it was just that anyone would do—"
Lucy cut him off by closing the short distance between them and laying her lips over his again. She pulled back and offered her megawatt smile.
"Not just anyone would do," she said. "I was trying to stay away from you. I didn't want you to get caught up in this because I thought… Well, I thought you wouldn't want to be."
Gray started to say something else, but instead he just shook his head and smiled at her. He grabbed her hand and gave a little tug to get her moving.
"Come on, I'll walk you back to your apartment," Gray said.
They strolled slowly. Lucy's body was awash with sensation. She could practically feel the silver moonlight on her skin, though it was probably just the remnants of her celestial magic washing over them both. She held Gray's calloused hand tightly. It just felt right, and she dreaded letting go when they reached her home. He walked her to the door, but when he tried to release her hand, she held on tightly. Despite what she had told Gray, she knew that the moon's pull wasn't really past. But it would have to be his decision how far they took this. She wasn't sure how to explain that so she just leaned in to whisper.
"Stay?"
And he did.