A/N: Hello Everyone! I hope you all enjoy the prompts that were given this year for the wonderful Graylu Week!~
Disclaimer: I do not own FairyTail.
Day 1: Cold
It was a foggy morning in the town of Magnolia. The trees were bare,russet red and orange leaves scraped along the sidewalk giving that autumn vibe as light rain drizzled down from the cumulus gray clouds above. The atmosphere was calming across the area, regarding that it was a day to stay in and snuggle up under a blanket and read a good book before a kindling fire.
The smell of burnt leaves weaved itself through the still air lissomely and invaded the nostrils of a certain Celestial Spirit Mage. Inhaling the signature redolent of fall,the young woman smiled as she stepped out of the bookstore with a bulky plastic bag swinging from her forearm.
"See you around, Mr. Millio!"
"Have a good day, Lucy-san!" called out the kind old man whom owned the bookstore.
Lucy smiled and waved farewell as the door closed behind her with a ding. She strode down the pavement as leaves crackled underneath her heels. Her blonde tresses bounced with every step she took, spilling down her shoulders like a golden waterfall. Rosy pink began to tint her cheeks as the early,crisp September breeze wisps across her face.
"Finally something to look forward to when I get home." she said to herself,giggling effervescently and squealing while hugging the bag close to her chest, "When we get home,we are going to be bonding very well!"
Passing by other stores, Lucy crossed the street quickly and proceeded her stroll once more. Her keys jingled and bumped against her upper thigh along with her trusty whip,reassuring that they were present and attached to her brown leather belt that was slung around her flamboyant hips.
As the temperatures decreased,the amount of clothing increased for her. The brown-hued woman wore a short,black petticoat with bronze buttons,curvy high-waist jeans with a black camisole tucked in underneath, topping the outfit off with black,lace-up wedged boots. It was a change and odd at first to wear jeans,but she soon grew fond of the piece of clothing.
'Seriously,I rarely wear pants unless it's my pajamas.' she thought to herself,shaking her head.
As Lucy turned a corner, she blew her fringes out of her eyes then spotted a lone figure sitting down at a bench in front of a calm river. Nearby were the many oak trees of Magnolia, possessing gorgeous yet scarce leaves of autumn on its broad branches. Occasionally, they would flutter down to the body of water, drifting along its rippling currents.
Blinking,the blonde bombshell immediately recognized the familiar, spiky mess of noir locks causing a small smile to grace upon her lips. As she approached the man,the young woman settled herself down on the unoccupied space on the bench, closing her eyes.
"Relaxing isn't it?" Lucy began,the rustling of leaves in the wind being the only background noise.
"Sure is." The man exhaled,his breathe becoming visible in the air.
Smiling,Lucy tilted her head as she settled the bag besides her feet. "What're you doing out here alone, Gray?"
The Ice Mage shrugged,leaning forth and crossing his muscular arms on top of his knees. "Don't know. Just felt like it?"
"Oh come on," Lucy started,scooting slightly closer to her comrade and playfully bumping shoulders with his. He cracked a smile and bumped back,the two swaying side to side while small giggles and chuckles emitted from their throats.
Stopping her ministrations,the cheerful young miss shrugged her shoulders and asked once more. "You look awfully out of it,is something bothering you?"
Gray kept silent for a few moments,his dark blue eyes swirling with numerous emotions.
Numerous emotions she could not tell apart.
"Just thinking," he stated,running a hand through his hair. "Thinking about certain things..."
"What... certain things?" she made out,raising a thinly-trimmed brow.
Gray sat up then looked at the blonde seated beside him. "Y'know,when you're a Wizard/Mage... you have limited amount of leisure time in between missions and such... and sometimes you just get stumped and warped in meaningless things that were not a big deal before,but are now."
Humming and understanding where the man was coming from, Lucy smiled lazily then lolled her
head to the side. "Oooooooh~! It's one of those type of certain things." she clarified,tilting her head and gazing up at him. "You're thinking about your future aren't you?"
Surprised-yet not surprised at the same time- Gray grumbled and rested his head against his hand. "Nailed it right on the head."
Chuckling softly,Lucy looked to the side and hummed. "It's incredible how we are alive."
The Ice-Make Mage caught this side comment then rose an eyebrow. "Incredible? How so?"
"It is just... we all have had our close calls and..." the tawny female shook her head,narrowing her eyes. "It's just not normal."
"We are far from normal, even you." Gray added,poking her cheek making her giggle and swat his hand away.
"I am one of the most normal people around! You guys are... monsters!"
"Says a monster herself." Gray hummed,smirking as she punched him playfully in the arm. "Haha! Kidding kidding!"
Huffing,she crossed her arms."Anyways, I don't know where I was going with that. I find myself just rambling on from time to time. Its just ever since... everything happened I wonder from time to time.."
"What?" Gray said,narrowing his eyes.
"If I..." Lucy started,a large blush emerging upon her face. "I don't know...compared to what I wanted in the past in the Heartfillia Konzern to now is immensely... different." she said in utter shock.
"Really? How much?"
"Too much!" Lucy said,laughing and waving her hand around. "Like back then,I always dreamed of one day a handsome prince that will save me from my 'prison' and we'd run off into the sunset and live happily ever after with thirty babies or something."
Watching Gray roll in his lips,Lucy huffed as she watched the man fall over laughing and clutching his gut. "Oi oi! I was young!"
"Bwahahaha-!" Gray continued,laughing harder every time his dark blue hues landed on her.
Growling,Lucy grabbed a bunch of leaves nearby and threw it at his face making him sneeze but continue to laugh anyways.
Taking in deep breathes,Gray hooted. "Woo! Haha,that was a good one!"
"It was not that funny!"
"Oh yes it was!" Gray chuckled out,shaking his head. "You are way far from that dream."
Eyes widening slightly,Lucy leaned forth. "What do you mean?"
Looking at her,the man chuckled out once more and smiled. "It's obvious Lucy. You are not like how you were in the past. You are a bigger and better person now! You've been through hell-literally, gotten your hands dirty,died once, faced the most worst people you'd ever met or know in your life... that dream of yours from before sounds like a pissy wannabe princess's with a cliche ending. You are better than that,like a true warrior." he nodded.
Surprised at his honest words,Lucy opened her mouth but closed it,smiling at his answer. "I see..."
Smiling,Gray nodded and settled a hand on her knee. "Don't you agree?"
Lucy just shrugged and turned her head to face him. "Where do you think you'll be in ten years?"
"...In the guild." he answered playfully,shortly receiving a smack in the shoulder. "Ow! Mavis you are violent today!"
"I'm serious! Where do you see yourself?" she asked lowly once more, turning her head back up to the gray sky. "In life."
Pondering,Gray crossed his leg over the other properly and continued rubbing her knee. "Heh...I don't know...being a Mage and all,it is like you really don't have time to think about the future."
Lucy's eyelids lowered at the answer."Yeah that's true, but now that we have a breather... think about it."
He closed his eyes and hummed,patting his bare rock-hard abs. After a few moments,the raven-haired male smacked his lips. "...Ten years from now?"
"More or less.."
"In ten yearsss.." he slurred,pursing his lips in thought. "In ten years I see myself as an S-class Mage already. Probably earlier than that."
She nodded,half-expecting that answer. "I do too, me and you haha!"
Gray smiled. "We'll get there. Easily."
Lucy giggled as he offered her a fist bump,returning the same gesture.
"Hey Gray?"
"Mh?"
"Your shirt." she sighed,watching the man curse and rummage through a pile of leaves for it. After a few minutes the Ice Mage returned back to his seat and exhaled,dusting off the article of clothing.
"What about you? You have any future dreams or a life goal?"
The Celestial Spirit Mage grinned widely,her pupils glinting spontaneously. "Kids."
Gray's eyes widened at her one-word reply. "K-Kids?"
"Mhm!" Lucy nodded,looking at him. "One, two,or three of them. I want a boy first so he can protect his younger sister or sisters, and I'll be married to...mmh, maybe another Mage or a normal guy. Levy would be my maid of honor-or probably Erza and Mira would fight over the position haha- and my best man would be..." she stopped, furrowing her eyebrows as she turned her head back to face the sky. "...I don't know.."
Gray stared at her in awe,surprised she had really thought about it. "Whoa... so you have it all set in stone."
Lucy giggled. "Well,I personally want to marry another 'Mage' but... I don't know if they will ever return my feelings."
Hearing this,the male drifted his gaze down at the blonde then shifted himself. "Do you know the 'Mage' you want to marry?"
...
The Heartfillia miss then suddenly let out an effervescent giggle and grinned. "I'm actually surprised. I didn't think a guy like you would actually stop and smell the roses for once... that goes for some others in the guild as well."
"Smell the roses?" Gray rephrased,raising an eyebrow. "Lucy, we never have a break-like I said before,we're wizards for crying out loud! Tch, when do we ever stop and smell the roses?"
"Whenever we get the chance. Whether it's a minuscule or an abundant amount of time, we should always at least stop and.. and smell the roses." she said softly, lowering her eyelids. "Face it Gray,one day you are going to get married to a beautiful woman,have kids and experience the love only a family can give and provide you with. You are going to endure what comes with a family. There will be good times and then there will be bad, but hey!" she piped up, looking over at him,"It's life, and life is short... so we should all stop and smell the roses whenever we can."
Gazing at the woman before him,the man could not help but give her a large,genuine smile.
This is why he adored this woman so much.
Always a step ahead or just buzzing with new knowledge he had yet to realize,recognize or receive.
Intelligent and intriguing.
That was Lucy Heartfillia...
Placing a heavy hand on her head,Gray watched in amusement as she began to flush a darker shade of adorable pink.
"Always knowing what you're saying huh?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Lucy giggled, pushing his hand away and fixing her hair.
Standing up,the blonde brushed the invincible dust off her pants then looked down cheerfully at the male wizard. "Well,I'm heading home, I gotta date with my favorite author!" she informed, winking while holding up the bulky bag containing a couple of thickly-paged books.
Gray chuckled and stood up then shrugged off his leather coat,reaching around her and tugging it over the female. "Alright Rudolph," he started,adjusting the heavy article and sliding his hands down to her elbows. "don't catch a cold now."
Furrowing her eyebrows,Lucy pouted and covered her nose. "*Damare! It is not that red!" she defended,walking over to see her reflection from the water's surface. Cursing she rubbed her nose.
Indeed it was.
"Ruuuuuuuudolphhh~!"
"Don't tease me idiot!"
Gray laughed and poked her nose, "But it's funny!"
"I'll throw this beloved jacket of yours down the river!"
"Whoa whoa whoa,calm down there Zeref."
Lucy laughed and shook her head,tugging it tightly against her body. "Thanks Gray."
The Ice Mage just gave her a wink and shoved his hands into his pockets. "C'mon, I'll walk you home."
Twirling around,Lucy gave a radiant smile and nodded,quickly rushing up to his side. The scent of his cologne invaded her nostrils in a pleasant way, oddly comforting her at the moment. It smelled of his signature redolent; wintergreen and had a striking,icy edge to it that she could not describe.
No pun intended.
She felt blood rush up her neck and face then subtly inched closer to the male, tugging the leather tightly around herself as the bag swung from her forearm. The brown-eyed beauty sniffled and flicked the collar, tucking herself within deeper until an arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Looking up,Lucy couldn't help as a giggle rumbled in her chest at the sight of his cute, boyishly shy expression. She lowered her eyelids then snuggled into his side as they proceeded to walk down towards her apartment.
"You're surprisingly warm Gray..."
Blinking at her statement,the raven-haired male could only blush more and give a somewhat hesitant smile.
"I don't know how to respond to that."
Laughing at his reply,the blonde closed her eyes and hummed. "You don't have to."
Gray just scoffed then grinned, pulling the shivering Lucy closer. "You know...you never really did answer my question earlier."
The tawny bombshell just shook her head as her luscious lips curled up into a taut smile. "Nothing gets passed you, hm?"
"You know me."
Lucy let out a soft laugh then shrugged her slender shoulders, casting her gaze over the snow-covered streets, "I guess only time will tell..."
Thank you all for reading!
