Hiii! this ended up being a snowball fight themed prompt, and it doesn't really have them whispering at each other or whatnot but I've managed to at least stick the word in lmao. so yeah, it's my day 1 prompt despite being day 3 of the week (haha) buuuut I've had trouble with this prompt considering lucy's initially meant to die hence the delay… I'll probs write that kind of scenario after this week and this chapter can be one of the flashbacks i originally wanted to put in but turning out to be more standalone than it should! :D
I also find it hilarious my first fanfic is based on a couple i don't ship actively. :P
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail as it belongs to Hiro Mashima, I'm merely borrowing some of his characters for now.
Word count: 3204
[ WHISPERS ]
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They've just come back from defeating and obliterating an alleged mercenary guild to a pulp, and handing their members whipped asses to the authorities.
Everyone is in high spirits: Erza, in particular, is going on about the scrumptious strawberry sponge cake she saw in a quaint confectionary shop at the local village to anyone who'd listen (even as far as suggesting they should go there for a celebratory dinner and it was on her), there are yelps of glee from the Exceeds and Wendy, Lucy is relieved she's able to afford her rent for the following couple months, and harmless taunts are thrown between him and Natsu. It's Team Natsu-esque of them.
"Snowball fight!" Natsu yells. It's so sudden the announcement, Team Natsu halts in their pursuit to the village, just emerging onto a fairly large snowfield clearing.
White is blanketing the landscape, a blank canvas shrouding the coniferous army of trees, still there, still yielding, and lying in wait under the alabaster snow. The forest maze is surrounding the snowfield clearing, confining the space like a secret.
Happy's the quickest to respond with an, "Aye Sir!" and does a quick head dive into the snow, either suddenly finding a frozen fish or actually aiding his partner-in-crime with the newfound task, Gray doesn't know.
"Natsu-san?" the younger dragon slayer questions.
"Here we go…" Carla tuts from just above Wendy's shoulder, but she's giving a rare smile. "Such childish antics."
"I beg your pardon, Natsu?!" Lucy whirls from the foremost point of the group, eyes widening in fear. "B-but we just got back from a completed request? Can't we wait until we've at least cleaned up, some of us need to be tended to!"
"I was expecting this." Erza cuts in, Gray swears he sees a dangerous glint to her eye that goes unnoticed by the blonde, who is triumphantly grinning in the fire mages direction; Lucy's probably thinking Erza's on the female side of the team, Gray guesses. He's not alarmed when the red-hair requip mage then does a one-eighty to face the celestial mage, "Please live a little, Lucy."
Lucy's face is aghast, "Erza?! You're up for this?! What about that strawberry cake?"
"My sponge cake can wait. We've time, haven't we, Gray?" Titania turns to Gray with a misfit's smile. He'd be in hell to be on the firing end of her ambush if she's serious about Natsu's request.
On the other hand, it gives him ample opportunity for a special bonding session. How special depends how he plays his cards correctly … "I'm in." the ice-make mage nonchalantly shrugs, hands shoved deep in his combat trousers in approval, fully aware he's pissed a specific guild member he fortunately has the hots for.
"Really, Gray? You've bruises and cuts on your arms-" said person says in exasperation. "-plus, there's a gash on your neck! Don't you think we need to be treated for first before indulging ourselves?"
"Heh, I don't see you complaining to anyone else, Lucy." Gray replies, his heart is thudding in his ribcage and it's not the inevitable adrenaline he'll need for the physical game "-plus thanks, nice to know my arms are attractive in your eyes. Didn't expect anyone to notice that small of a gash on my neck, either-" he's attempting to remain calm and collected as he realizes Lucy is in a way, checking him out. "You're not looking bad yourself." He adds at her.
He hopes it wasn't that forward, although it does the trick as there's a red tinge blooming across Lucy's cheeks at the implication of his words and she's spluttering at her reply, sentences coming out incoherently.
Yep, he's flirting, he's done it.
And no-one else seems to notice the exchange: Erza's busily eyeing an object Gray couldn't make out to the west where they were standing, and Wendy and Carla are running in the opposite direction.
"I-" Lucy starts.
"Welp, seems like all of us are pretty fired up!" Natsu's turning around, wiping stray clumps of snow off, smirking, "my stockpiles done-" he's shoving his thumb behind him where Happy's arranging the last of their snowballs in a messily done pyramid, "Luce, we'll be only at it for a good half hour so don't freeze your knickers off 'bout it-" Lucy protests as the dragon slayer brings his fists together. Gray sees a tiny, yet sharp fiery sizzle at the contact, and there's a resign whine from the key mage, "-anyway, Miss. Ice Princess is joining in, so this'll be a good battle, eh?"
"I agree with you for once, you flame bastard."
"No fair, Natsu-san!" Wendy shouts, Gray now noticing she's a good thirty meters away from the main group, half-way producing a good size snowball in her gloved hands, "I haven't made a single one yet!"
"Alright, at Wendy's request," Natsu pumps a fist in the air, roaring, "On three, you suckers!"
Most of the group scatters in seconds of the extra warning.
Erza is first to make a move, dashing to where she was scrutinizing previously.
"One!"
Meanwhile, Wendy's face lights up at the delay but then her eyebrows furrow at Natsu's statement, the predicament of Natsu's words dawning on her, "Quick Carla, we don't have time, we can make a few more if we work together-"
"Two!"
"That complete idiot…" Lucy sighs, but this time there's a small smile playing at her lips.
"See, Lucy-" Gray's come up behind the blonde. He's bold by placing his gloveless hand on her shoulder, and she stills at the contact, "this is the definition of living a little." He says the last bit close to her ear, her skin a bright apple red. The ice mage is that close in proximity he's able to make up the individual eyelashes and the few unseen freckles across the bridge of her nose. Being even further daring, he acknowledges the fact a kiss on the cheek is possible, and the idea, he admits, is sinful in itself, it'll definitely short circuit his brain.
"Three!"
Gray's breathing isn't the only one laboured as he draws away from Lucy's shoulder blades. He's about to break into a sprint when Lucy abruptly replies a, "Better watch out, Gray, you may get more bruises if you're not careful."
There's a smile in her tone that's producing chuckles from the ice-make mage, "Y'know what? I'm actually up for that-" he turns to look back at her, and she's beaming at him, "-but only if it's from you, Lucy."
"I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu bellows, "READY OR NOT!"
Elsewhere they both hear Happy correct his partner, "Natsu! This isn't hide-and-seek!"
"O-oh, oh yeah!" the dragon slayer considers the Exceed's comment, but lets it slide by proclaiming, "I'm coming for you, ice bastard!"
In an instant, Gray's behind a large rock, adjacent to Natsu's stack of ice missiles, unbeknownst to the dragon slayer. Thankfully, the fire mage is too occupied spouting utter nonsense into the snow-absent atmosphere to make judgement on Gray's whereabouts. He does a quick look over his hiding spot and sees the celestial mage dart in the only direction where none of his comrades were heading; her derrière goes unnoticed to Gray's amusement.
In due time, a battle cry rings across the snowfield clearing, and a curious Gray cranes his neck from his refuge. The sight befalling him is of Natsu, who's moving his arms in a propelling effect, chugging out a conveyor belt of snowballs so fast, Gray wants to laugh at his comrade's stupidity. Happy's busy making more of the snow ammo but their balance of teamwork isn't at equilibrium from where he observes: their artillery is being used up faster than it being produced.
"Eep!" Wendy's down for the count, as she's slowly turning into a mini snowman at the rate Natsu's pelting the snowballs, and Carla is nowhere to be seen.
The ice-make mage gives a silent prayer to the sky sorceress and her fellow Exceed, and is next swiftly making snow ammunition with precision. It's in his innate behaviour whenever he's thrown into a situation quite like this he's able to produce the best snowball in terms of size, density and skilfully knowing the right angle on the arm for a good swing. He has the upper hand out of the entirety of the group, boasting years of experience playing snowball competitions in the snow against Lyon and sometimes Ur.
"What the hell, Erza?!"
Frick, he forgotten about Erza, she's one to watch out for in this. Gray's twisting his neck in the opposite direction to witness her dodging Natsu's relentless attacking spree; she's hefting a long naked, lithe branch, which still has traces of snow precipitation (it's probably what she was eyeing earlier, Gray muses.) The red-hair's fallen branch is a makeshift sword to her requip magic, she isn't bothering getting out her actual military assortment of weaponry, and Gray's not in shock how she's expertly batting away, deflecting and slicing all incoming ice missiles herded towards her by one increasingly agitated fire mage.
"Hmph, good practice there, Natsu." Erza approves as Natsu and Happy's stockpile is officially depleted after a mere minute.
"You've got shit aim, flame-brain, give it up!" Gray taunts from his spot.
"Yeah, you wanna bet?" Natsu's head whips to the ice-mages path, a glare evident on his face, "I knew you were there all along, I was jus' waitin' for you to shift your ass." The Fire-mage looks to want to explain more, but a large grin splits across his face, beating it.
"And by the way-" Natsu hollers, "You've shit spatial awareness ice-prick."
Gray's in the process of standing upright, giving Natsu his full attention, "Is that all you've got, Lizard-brea-?!"
The biggest damn snowball in the history of Team Natsu banding together is shoved rather forcefully down Gray's neck.
He wasn't and isn't ready for that.
A normal person would probably outright experience a full body freeze at the coldness of the snowball. Luckily, he's an ice mage, thus the cold never bothers him anyway.
Yet, it doesn't help the most unmanliness yelp escapes his mouth in surprise at the contact.
"Told you didn't I?" a gleeful giggle is heard behind Gray, "You asked for it."
Oh, so that's what she's been up to whilst he was preoccupied.
After regaining his full composure, he grunts, "Really, Lucy? Where in the rules is this allowable?"
"It's only frozen water," Lucy admonishes, and she's chucking his own words back at him, "What I just did is the 'definition of living a little', Gray."
Gray single-handedly swipes up loose clumps of snow in his dominant hand and half-heartedly aims it at an alert-ready Lucy, who swings the front of her body away in time for the snow to hit her lower back.
"C'mon, Gray, that's such a half-assed throw just 'cos Lucy's a girl, man."
"It's because he liiiiiiiiiikes her!" Happy coos.
Gray's ready to retort back at Natsu when flecks of snow are showered at the side of his face. His dark eyes turn and form contact with honey-chocolate ones, "Natsu's correct, your spatial awareness does require a tad bit of improvement."
She then has the guts to stick a tongue out at him, and in seconds, she's legging it in the route she came from, peals of laughter bouncing from the blonde.
The ice-make mage makes haste in catching up with the celestial mage, having already gaining a decent gap between them.
"Oi, you lovebirds, don't go too far!"
"Leave them be, Natsu, we'll catch up with them later-"
"Yeah, 'cos Carla and Wendy need our help at the moment," Happy reasons.
"Shit, Wendy!"
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He's never usually this breathless.
They're reaching the edge of the clearing, and Lucy forks a sharp right turn into the foliage, "You're such a slowpoke, Gray!" she singsongs as she enters the green overgrowth, his last vision being the long strand of blonde hair, presumably her side ponytail, before disappearing.
Some precious seconds later, he too, succumbs to the foliage.
He doesn't look back at his teammates once.
This damn woman.
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In less than a minute, he's catching up and advancing in Lucy's pursuit, acknowledging she's fast but not fast enough as he's mentally preparing himself to bombard into her.
Without warning, Gray is reaching forward and wrapping his strong arms around Lucy's waist, crushing her to his chest with an "Oof!", his pupils dilating at the sudden warm contact he wasn't expecting, and they're falling to the snow-clad earth, a startled outcry emitting from the blonde.
The world is rushing by in a blur; it's rapid but the descent seems slow, limbs tangling. Then impact. The snow cushions the fall with a loud crunch.
He's fully aware her body's pressed up against him as he's taken the brunt of the fall and it's making his heart flip, but she's unaware, casually rolling out of his firm grasp to his left side whilst laughing so hard.
Lucy's amusement is intoxicating, not stopping to catch a breath, pinpricks of tears are coming to view at the corners of her eyes, and she's clutching her stomach tightly, and he's laughing just as intense, an arm covering his eyesight but savouring the moment, how lyrical she's sounding from his ears, despite the lack of oxygen.
He takes his left arm away, and chances a glance to his left and… she's beautiful. Despite breathing heavily, a dazzling smile is seen as her eyes are trained at the Columbus clouds just passing above, and he feels his body temperature increasing, forcing it back down but failing as his cheeks goes pink at the vision because she's gorgeous and stunning and so damn pretty rolled into one.
He's feeling delirious.
They're human snow angels lying on the ground and he so wants to kiss her here and now.
However, he reins in his temptations to letting his eyelids slide close.
For a while, they bask in each other's company, cloud watching, letting the serenity of Mother Nature wash over them.
Only their right and left pinkies touch.
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The ice mage realizes they haven't said anything to each other since their snowball throwing spree.
"Uh, h-hey." Gray somewhat manages, fumbles, fails. Immediately, he's wanting to mentally face palm himself. Inside, the ice mage's pleading she doesn't notice how fucking lame he just stumbles over the greeting, and how unsuccessful at calming his pounding heart from turning into a full-blown orchestra he is. Simultaneously, he's going cuckoo about the fact she's beside him and seemingly enjoying herself, and Gray-exhibitionist-Fullbuster wants to burst.
"…Hey, yourself." She breathes out, turning her head to him. The words themselves aren't significant but how she said it is like a whisper carried along by the wind, a hidden secret shared between lovers, a ripple on a garden pond.
He doesn't want to assume such things.
The moment is gone as she takes a closer inspection at him and snorts, "Oh look, you're getting the full snow-body treatment."
He quips an "It's not only me, duh."
He's inhabiting a different parallel world, one would say, and one he absolutely yearns it'd prolong for a fraction longer.
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"Gray-san! Lucy-san! Are you alright?!" Wendy's concerned demeanour can be heard through the bushes.
Shit shit shit, they're here already?
Two other voices join in.
"They'll be fine, they're together." A reassuring voice says.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they're bangin' each other's brains out judging by how they ran off together!"
Gray's going beetroot at the fire mage's words and Lucy's flushing, too.
Wendy splutters and it sounds like Carla and Erza are berating Natsu on his usage of words, progressively getting louder as the group gets nearer to where they were.
Lucy laughs it off and calls out, "Don't worry, you guys! We're both here! Gray caught me! Typical, isn't it?" She gives Gray an apologetic smile, slightly rouge in the cheeks and heaves out of the snow-laden ground (a bit dejectedly at that), gives a once over to see if she's presentable and heads in the direction where a losing, bickering Natsu is against a Titania and an Exceed.
Dammit, she's going, idiot.
Fool, make the move.
Quickly getting up from his sleeping position, he's scrambling to stand, watching her retreating form head towards the loud din. It's true this will be the last opportunity in a long while for them to be alone like this, he doesn't know when the next time will be, and perhaps he won't be as lucky.
"Wait! L-Lucy."
Lucy's turned herself around, all ears to him, tilting her head in question.
"C-Coffee?" Gray's vocal cords churn the word out as a forced stutter.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Sorry, what did you just say?" It catches her by surprise, doe-like eyes wide. Did he hear hope in her tone? He knows for a damn fact she heard first time round. Has she always been this good at torturing him?
He attempts again, gulping, steadying himself, sight averting from hers, "I-I- said if you'd like to go for coffee sometime. A-and I mean just strictly us two."
"Really?" Gray notes how Lucy's voice has gone an octave higher. A pause. A long, drawn out pause. "… Sounds good to me."
He turns to look at her at the reply and it's as though he's stupidly forgotten to counter block one of Natsu's heavier punches to the stomach.
She's looking shyly upwards at him, eyes sparkling, a genuine luminous smile adorning her face and red, rosy hues appearing on her cheeks.
He's looking downwards at her, words clogging his rapidly drying throat, and obsidian irises wide at the pretty sight. He prays his cheeks don't resemble the blush creeping down Lucy's toodeliciousgoddammitneck, instead the tips of his ears burn and he's willing to fly himself, by all means, to Edolas and back.
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