A/N: E: Hello there all you beautiful people! We are here to present to you, another chapter. This one created some very interested text conversations between Anabelle and myself, and I hope you liked what we pulled out of those conversations. Oh, and let's add a disclaimer, because we haven't done that yet. DISCLAIMER: Hiro Mashima owns FairyTail, which is very obvious because Lavinia and Kaia are not part of the canon yet (though that hasn't stopped us from trying…).
A: Yo yo yo! What is up in this hiz-ouse!? *cricket noises*…. No?
No.
Dang it. Anywhoolde! Hope you enjoy this chapter Lovelies!
Previously on Thaw My Heart…
"Nothing to forgive," Lavinia said softly, relaxing her stiff posture. "I probably would have done the same if I had been in your shoes. I know I've gotten a bad reputation throughout the years. But now I'm trying to mend what I've broken. I want to start over."
"And FairyTail will give you that opportunity," Erza promised as she offered Lavinia her hand. The blonde shook it, all harsh words aside. Lavinia gestured to the beast.
"Erza, you might want to smash that. Even my ice won't last forever," she said. Erza nodded, and quickly decimated the ice. She decided that she would take the two wizards into custody; Lavinia assured them they would unfreeze within a few days. The Council could decide what they wanted to do about them. And for once, FairyTail didn't destroy anything.
Now…
"Wow, we actually got the money for once," Gray muttered. "Maybe you're the good luck charm we need," he told Lavinia. She just shifted uncomfortably in her seat under his gaze. She didn't know why Gray made her feel so unnerved, but she didn't like it one bit. She already made an oath to herself not to get involved with men, not after—
No. She wouldn't allow herself to think the names. It was just too painful. She settled on looking away from him and out the window instead. They were on the train ride back, almost to the guild hall. Even with the money cut five ways, Lavinia knew she was already so close to having enough to make a down payment on an apartment. Then, she would be spared the humiliation of others asking awkward questions about her skin. She wasn't going to tell them, plain and simple. The sooner they accepted that, the better.
The awkward tension between her and Gray was palpable throughout the entire ride back. Neither Ice-Mage had forgotten that Erza had tried to get them to sleep together. Both of them knew that she hadn't meant sleep together sleep together, but it was still awkward as hell. Natsu's pain-filled moans were the only sounds breaking the silence until they reached the train station in Magnolia. The second the train landed, he had run off, in the direction of the guild.
"We should probably return to the guild to tell the master that we're back," Erza said. The rest of the group nodded, and they followed after Natsu. Lavinia, who was walking in between Erza and Lucy, was extremely aware that Gray was right behind her. She could feel the Ice-Mage's eyes trained on her the entire walk to the guild. Even though she was shrouded between Lucy's and Erza's much taller bodies, Lavinia had never felt more exposed.
The second the party reached the guild, Lavinia went straight over to Mira and ordered a glass of crushed ice. Mira had one instantly ready for the God-Slayer, and refilled it several times for the blonde while Erza recounted their small adventure.
Erza hadn't finished talking for but a moment when the group heard Natsu's voice behind them. "I love you so much, Sei," he said, with utter devotion in his voice.
Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Mira didn't think anything of his words. They all knew the story of Seiko, and while some members of the guild were still a little unsure of her, they accepted her for the most part. But Lavinia had never been told of Seiko's existence. The second the name left Natsu's lips, her eyes instantly grew wide with fury. She slammed her cup down on the table and launched herself over the chair, tackling Natsu with wild fury.
"HOW… DARE… YOU… CHEAT… ON… KAIA!" Lavinia screeched, punctuating her each of her words to put more emphasis on them. Natsu immediately sweat-dropped. If he had been scared of the God-Slayer before, now she utterly terrified him. "You have a loving and devoted wife, who is pregnant with your child, and you want to cheat on her?! And YOU," she yelled, suddenly turned toward the others who were still sitting there. "How are you okay with this? Do you even care about Kaia at all?" Erza slowly pointed behind Lavinia's head, where maniacal laughter could be heard. The blonde narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but looked in the direction that Erza was pointing. And standing there, holding onto a chair for support, was none other than Kaia, laughing as though she hadn't seen anything so funny for years.
"Oh-oh my God! Lavinia, I love you! If Gray doesn't marry you I will, that was-oh Mavis that was amazing! Hi, I'm Seiko, and I can't believe someone besides me can strike that level of fear into my husband, thank you so much you have made my decade," Seiko managed to get out through her cackling. Lavinia was utterly confused.
"Kaia, what the fuck are you doing?" she asked, shocking the entire guild with her language. The God-Slayer was just so small, the word just did not sound right coming out of her mouth. Seiko, however, was completely unperturbed. She just smiled wider.
"I see no one told you about me yet," she said. "Not that I mind. No dear, Kaia's still here, but I'm out to play right now. Oh, and Gray, shut your mouth. You look ridiculous with it hanging open." The Ice Mage barely registered her words. In fact, he hadn't heard much of anything since Seiko's little 'marry Lavinia' comment. In fact, the entire guild had noticed that. Many of them were whispering together, Macao and Wakaba even taking a bet on whether or not Gray had gotten lucky on their little trip. Lavinia was the only one who completely ignored Seiko's comment, but that was more out of shock than anything else.
"Kaia and Seiko share the same body," Natsu said, breaking the awkward tension in the air. "But I love Seiko just as much as Kaia, and neither of them really care. You can't have one without the other anyway."
"Oh… why didn't you just tell me?" Lavinia asked, standing up. Natsu too rose to his feet, rubbing his head where Lavinia had knocked it to the floor. He then proceeded to tell Lavinia the entire story about Kaia and Seiko, occasionally interrupted with side comments from Seiko. Lavinia sat through the entire thing quietly, her expression void of any emotion.
There was silence as Natsu's voice faded. It seemed as though the entire guild was holding its breath to see what Lavinia's reaction would be. Seiko, however, was resigning herself to face hatred and fear from yet another person. She didn't mind, much. Natsu was the only one who ever saw any value in her anyways. And as long as he accepted her and loved her, she was perfectly happy.
After one long moment, Lavinia shrugged. "Alright," she said. She walked straight up to Seiko, and held her hand out. "Sorry for mistaking you for Kaia earlier. Are we cool?" The bluenette looked at the hand like she didn't understand what Lavinia was trying to do by putting it out there.
Truthfully, Seiko was shocked. There was not even a hint of malice in Lavinia's eyes, no trace of even fear. And she was speaking to Seiko as if she were a separate person from Kaia. Only Natsu had ever understood that Kaia and Seiko were two separate people—sure other people tried but none really ever succeeded. But here was Lavinia, actually apologizing for getting her and Kaia mixed up. "Wait, what?" she asked, caught completely off guard.
"I just want to apologize for thinking you were Kaia," Lavinia said again, a bit more slowly. "Natsu explained things pretty well. You're not Kaia, and I'm sorry I thought you were. From what Natsu said, you don't like it when people think that you and Kaia are the same person."
Seiko stood there with the most innocently confused look that anyone had ever seen on her face. "O-okay," she said, uncertainly and quietly, but shook Lavinia's hand all the same. The blonde smiled at Seiko, and Seiko didn't want to admit it, but the smile was almost… friendly. People only ever gave Kaia that smile. Beyond confused, Seiko settled for something she was comfortable with and promptly sat down in Natsu's lap, her arms around his torso, and her face half buried in his scarf clad neck.
"So, Lavinia, how did you get the nickname Ice Bitch?" Natsu asked. Lavinia scowled at the words, but she soon had much bigger problems to worry about. Natsu was not known for being a quiet person. The entire guild heard his question, and Cana, who was engaging in her usual activity of drinking an entire tankard, suddenly spit the drink from her mouth.
"Wait… you're the Ice Bitch?" she asked, glaring at Lavinia.
"Thanks so much, Natsu," the God-Slayer mumbled before raising her voice to address the entire guild. "Yes, I used to be the Ice Bitch. Yes, I know I almost messed up your arm, Cana, but I promise it was in self-defense only."
"Yeah right," Cana snorted. "I heard all sorts of horrible things you had done to the nearby towns when I took the mission. They were going through a famine because you destroyed all their crops. And when I finally found you, which took me three full days, all you did was graze my arm, and it nearly froze. There was black frost all over my arm, and if it had completely frozen I'm sure I would have gotten frostbite. Not to mention you obviously didn't want anyone to know who you were; you had a thing of black ice over your face. That's why I didn't recognize you when you joined the other day."
"Look, the only reason I came to FairyTail was because I realized that I was going down the wrong path. I was young enough to create a new destiny for myself. And that's what I did. Accept it," Lavinia snarled. She was entirely done with all the prejudice she was receiving. She had been preparing for it, sure, but Cana was seriously testing her patience. If Lavinia had really wanted to kill the brunette, Cana wouldn't be sitting there arguing. The blonde was positive in that regard.
"We don't judge people based on their past," Erza reminded the entire guild in a powerful tone; most of them had once again been whispering about who they thought Lavinia really was. "We judge people on who they are now, and I will vouch for Lavinia. She saved all of our lives on our mission, and she even did it without destroying anything. When was the last time that happened?" All her words did was cause even more murmuring throughout the guild. Cana, however, was still glaring murderously at Lavinia.
The blonde wasn't going to take that, not without a fight. "You wanna go, Cana?" she asked suddenly. "I can see in your eyes that you want a rematch; let's go." That immediately sparked Cana's interest.
"If you really want to do that, I'm all for it," Cana grinned, bringing out her favorite cards. Macao and Wakaba started clearing tables away, but Lavinia looked at them scathingly.
"Uh, we're going outside guys," Lavinia said. "I mean, unless you want me to freeze the entire guild. That's a very real possibility. If we're outside I might be able to keep the damage down to a minimum. Natsu, come with me."
"Why me?" Natsu asked, slightly apprehensive. He didn't mind that the blonde had once been known as the Ice Bitch, but she intimidated him just as much as Erza. He knew that she wouldn't hesitate to tackle him again if he made her mad, just as she'd done when she thought he'd been cheating on Kaia.
"Because if I accidentally freeze someone, dragon fire is the only thing hot enough to melt them out without them suffering extreme frostbite," the God-Slayer explained. "I'm not going to try and cause any guild mates real harm, but sometimes I can't control my freezing power, especially in the middle of a fight. Usually, when I'm in an intense situation, if you touch any part of my body, you're a goner. I just want to take precautions." Natsu nodded in agreement to her words, and he joined the rest of the guild in following the two women outside. Mages and humans alike had already begun forming a large circle around Cana and Lavinia, anxiously waiting for the fight to begin.
Gray, however, was apprehensive. He knew that Lavinia was one of the most talented wizards he had ever met, but for some inexplicable reason, he was worried for her safety. He had seen how that burn she'd received completely incapacitated her for a while. Cana didn't use fire magic, but even that knowledge didn't stop Gray from worrying.
Lavinia and Cana circled each other carefully, neither woman taking their eyes off each other. Cana was the first to attack, summoning several burly, axe-wielding men. They all went straight for Lavinia.
"Frost God: Boost!" the Slayer commanded. At her feet, small blocks of ice appeared, quickly pushing her forward towards Cana. She weaved and dodged around the men Cana conjured, and went straight for the brunette herself. Cana responded by conjuring even more people, this time bikini-clad women (much to Macao and Wakaba's delight). The space became too crowded for Lavinia to maneuver around. Cana had forced her to take a stand.
"Frost God: Shield!" Lavinia shouted. Her spell, though almost identical in wording to one of Gray's favorites, had a very different effect. Translucent black ice encased almost her entire body, save for her arms and feet. The ice effectively blocked every attack that hit it; no part of it even cracked, much less shattered. "Frost God: Freeze!" Everyone in the near vicinity, even those just passing by the guild hall, heard the Slayer. Her arms became deadly weapons: each time one of Cana's creations tried to touch them, they were instantly frozen. Lavinia had turned herself into an invincible machine.
It wasn't long before the blonde had taken out enough of her foes to reach Cana. Her arm shot out, and the entire guild gasped, positive that Cana was about to become a black popsicle. However, they underestimated the reach of Lavinia's arm. The blonde made sure to time her attack so that her hand would stop just short of Cana's face. The boosters on her feet too, disappeared just in time.
Cana snarled for a moment, obviously upset about being bested again. She and Lavinia held their poses, muscles tensed. It was Cana who finally backed down. She slowly held her hands up in surrender. The God-Slayer too, relaxed her aggressive stance.
"If I really wanted to hurt you, I would have done it then," Lavinia said. "Do you finally believe me now?" Cana paused for the space of a heartbeat, then slowly nodded her head.
"I'm not going to lie, you are a seriously talented wizard," Cana admitted. That earned a rare smile from Lavinia.
"So are you, that was a most interesting fight," the God-Slayer responded. Cana inclined her head in acknowledgement, then stepped back into the crowd of people, leaving Lavinia standing alone, hundreds of eyes trained on her. She looked back at them with no fear whatsoever, but with a fierce pride.
"Does anyone else have a problem with me?" she asked, raising her arms. "Now's the time to come forward, I don't want to have to do this again. Speak now or forever hold your peace." For a few moments, a deadly silence palpable through the air. Then a lone figure stepped forward.
"Girl, you are freaking brilliant!" Seiko grinned wickedly. "I have no problem with you, but I'm bored. Let's fight!" Lavinia matched Seiko's smile perfectly, which Seiko took as an invitation to proceed. "Yo, someone toss her a cuff!" she called out. Lucy slid the cuff off her wrist and tossed it to Lavinia. She caught it and examined the cuff carefully.
"What's this for?" she asked Seiko.
"Kaia explained to you that I've got too much magic for my body to hold," Seiko said. "That cuff will allow you to use magic, but it will be from me. That way we can fight and I can get a nice release of magic at the same time. We'd also be on an equal playing field, because let's face it, I would beat all of you if it was a test of endurance."
Lavinia suddenly threw the cuff straight back at Lucy, acting as if it had burned her. "What the hell?" Seiko asked the blonde. "I'm not going to fight you if you don't have that cuff on."
"Then there won't be a fight," Lavinia said. Her tone was calm, but her face betrayed her emotions; anyone looking into her eyes could see the tumultuous storm that was brewing beneath the surface.
"Come on, Lavinia, it's not like you're going to hurt me or the baby, just wear the thing," Seiko huffed, one hand on her hip. Even pregnant, she managed to look fierce.
"No!" Lavinia screeched. The storm was unleashed; and the full fury of her wrath descended upon them like lightning. Her eyes, if angry before, were now murderous. Several people took steps back when the full force of her tempest fell upon them. "My magic will NEVER come from another source. That honor is mine and mine alone, and you cannot take it from me!" With that, she stormed off, the crowds instantly parting before her.
There could have been no doubt about it now. Lavinia was hiding something, something that she definitely didn't want the rest of the guild to know.
Gray hesitated a moment, and then hurried after her. He was no less affected by the God-Slayer's storm, but unlike most of the spectators, he wasn't afraid of the one who wielded it. No, if anything, Gray just wanted to learn more about the mysterious blonde.
He found her not long after he started searching. She was roaming the streets, and even those who hadn't been present for the fight were moving out of her way. Not wanting to lose sight of her, Gray ran up and put his hand on her shoulder.
She turned around instantly, arm raised as though ready to strike. Her eyes were still an enraged storm, trying to ward off invaders, but Gray wouldn't leave until he knew more about her. He forced himself to meet the storm head on, and after a few moments, he knew he had prevailed. Lavinia's eyes softened, and she lowered her arm from its defensive position.
"What do you want?" she asked, obviously trying to sound cold and distant, but Gray thought he heard a faint waver in her strong tone.
"To talk," he responded, to which she scoffed.
"I'm not going to explain anything I did back there, so if someone sent you to try and get answers from me, they're wasting their time-"
"No, not about that," Gray said, cutting her off. "I just want to know more about you, as a person. Let's just forget all the magic stuff for a while, alright? Can you at least tell me more about you?"
Lavinia's guard slipped for a moment, her mouth falling open slightly. She had heard those exact words five years ago, under very different circumstances. But she quickly recovered from her shock, putting up her cold façade once more. "What could you possibly want to know about me?" she asked the black-haired mage.
"Well, maybe your last name for one thing," Gray said. "You saved my life the other day, and I don't even know your full name." Lavinia hesitated, but Gray stood his ground. He wasn't going anywhere until she had given him an answer.
"Soya," she finally said in a soft voice. "Lavinia Soya."
Gray kept up a cool persona, but he was secretly thrilled. Finally, he was getting somewhere with the blonde Slayer. He pressed on, making sure to keep matters trivial. That seemed the best way to get her to open up. "How old are you?" he asked. That remark actually caused the corners of Lavinia's lips to turn up slightly.
"Why don't you take a guess?" she smirked.
"Ah… damn," Gray muttered to himself. Lavinia had one of those faces that was timeless; she could have been 13 or 30. But, thinking of her command over her power and natural authority, Gray thought she had to have been at least his age, maybe even a couple years older. "Twenty-four?" he guessed.
This time, he was rewarded a peal of real laughter from the God-Slayer. "Not even close," she chortled. "Geez, I thought you were going to guess younger than I am; most people do. I'm nineteen, but I'll be twenty in a couple weeks."
"You're only nineteen years old?!" Gray blurted before he could stop himself. He was utterly dumbfounded. She was four years younger than he was; he'd be twenty-four before the month was over. He couldn't imagine anyone having the kind of power Lavinia had at nineteen, much less being able to beat wizards like Cana. Gray figured that if she wanted to, Lavinia probably could have taken on the entire guild and won. The only exception to the rule might have been Kaia, but that was only because of her unlimited magic.
For the first time, Gray was aware of who stood before him. That little blonde could very well have been the most powerful mage he'd ever known. And all he wanted to do was get to know her even better.
"How old are you?" she asked him, snapping him back to reality.
"Oh, I'm twenty-three at the moment, but I'm turning twenty-four on the twenty-second of this month," he responded.
"There were far too many 'twenty's' in that one sentence," the blonde pointed out. She mulled something over in her mind for a few seconds. "Wait… you said your birthday was on the twenty-second, of December, right?" Gray nodded his head in affirmation. "Well, mine's on the twenty-first," Lavinia revealed. "I was born right on the solstice, at midnight."
"Is that why you decided to deal in Ice Magic?" Gray asked, grinning. He crossed his fingers that he wasn't pushing the boundaries too far just yet. He didn't want Lavinia to think that he was just using her for information; no, he genuinely wanted to know.
"It was kind of an accident that I fell into magic," Lavinia replied, and, to Gray's astonishment, in such an easy tone. "Actually-" she cut herself off here, suddenly aware of what she was saying. "I'm not talking about this," she asserted, but she wouldn't look Gray in the eye.
Gray's first response would have been to argue. If it was anyone else, he would have, or he would have stopped caring. But Lavinia was guarded, one of the most guarded people that he had ever met. Yet, just a few moments ago, he had gotten through to her. Gray had to remind herself how new she was to FairyTail; she fit in so naturally with their team it was hard to imagine that she hadn't been there for years. She would open up to them, eventually.
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to," Gray told the blonde. "I'm not going to force you. What I am going to say is you are one helluva mage. I've never seen people use magic the way you did in that fight with Cana."
"Thank you," Lavinia said, and for the first time, Gray was privileged to see her real smile. It softened her face, and made the God-Slayer almost seem innocent, and a thousand times more beautiful than she already was. That smile completely lightened her face, and it was as though sunlight itself was shining out from beneath her skin. And Gray wanted nothing more than to make her smile like that again.
As for Lavinia, she was baffled by the dark haired man. She sensed no ulterior motive from him. He wanted to seem to want to get to know her for who she was, not to use her power as a way to achieve his own goals. She'd had enough of that for one lifetime.
Instead, Gray seemed to want nothing more than a friendship with her. But Lavinia had never had a true friend before, and she was more than unsure of how to respond. She had thought she had been friends with both of them, but both of those situations turned out to be absolutely disastrous.
But that was why she had come to FairyTail, wasn't it? Yes, a part of the reason was to make up for crimes she'd committed while under the persona of the Ice Bitch. But another part was that she had been desperately craving human companionship. Even her cold heart was not made entirely out of ice. She still had basal human needs under her frosty exterior. She loved being around everyone at FairyTail, and Natsu, Erza, Kaia, Lucy, and Gray had almost immediately added her to the family they had created together. If it were any of them, Lavinia was sure she wouldn't have felt as strongly as she was now. But it was Gray. Gray, the Ice Mage, Gray, the one that seemed to want to know her more than any of the others, Gray, the one whom, against her will, she found way too attractive for her own good.
She knew it was wrong. She knew that every person she had ever gotten close to had caused her pain. And yet she didn't want to push Gray out. So she simply continued to stare into his deep blue eyes, even as he gazed into her brown ones.
The moment could have been a second, or it could have lasted an eternity. All either Ice Mage knew was they their eyes were locked together until a coarse shout brought them both out of their stupors. "Gray! Lavinia! There you are!"
The voice was quickly identified as belonging to Erza. With her were Natsu, Seiko, Lucy, Happy, and Rose. "Lavinia, is your burn still going to bother you while you sleep?" Erza asked, getting straight to the point. Lavinia shifted uncomfortably but she nodded. There was no point denying anything the Requip Mage said; they had all seen what had happened the night before. "In that case, I think it might be best if you weren't at Kaia and Natsu's house tonight. Natsu means well, but I don't want to risk him getting excited and accidentally burning you in the process, especially not while the burn on your arm is still healing. I would offer you to stay at my place for the evening, but I would have nothing to help you if your burn starts acting up again in the middle of the night. There's only one option left."
"Erza, what are you getting at?" Gray asked slowly, starting to understand where the red headed wizard was saying. He certainly didn't mind one bit, but he didn't want to make Lavinia uncomfortable and ruin any semblance of a friendship they had built in their earlier conversation.
"Lavinia is going to have to stay the night with you Gray. That is what I'm getting at," Erza responded. She was met with nothing but Lavinia's open mouth, as the God-Slayer tried to process what to do. Gray held his breath, not even daring to hope.
"I agree," Lavinia said after a moment stunning everyone. "If you don't mind Gray, I would be grateful for some help with the burn if it becomes a problem."
For a moment, Gray was too shocked to speak. "Dude, she's offering to go to your apartment, willingly! Which means you wouldn't have to get a girl drunk for her to go home with you for once," Natsu told him in a side whisper. "Are you seriously gonna let this opportunity go?" Gray elbowed the Dragon-Slayer in the rib cage to shut him up, then turned to Lavinia.
"Right this way," he told her.
The two Ice-Mages were about to set off when Erza called out for them to wait. She had seen how uncomfortable Lavinia had become, and the red haired mage took it upon herself to ease that discomfort, seeing as she was the one who suggested the idea in the first place. "Why don't we all go together, just to make sure you get all settled in?" she offered. Gray gave her a look, but nodded just the same, and the group set off down the streets of Magnolia, apprehension filling the bones of the two Ice-Mages in their midst.
A/N: A: Well that was fun! Let us know how we did in a REVIEW, because we love hearing from you! Ain't that right Em?
UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES!
E: She is right. We do heart us some reviews. THE MORE THE MERRIER! Did you catch who her best friend is going to be? Sneak peek for next time: Lavinia and Gray attempt to look over their awkwardness and spend the night together, and wake up to a rather compromising issue. We'll see you then!
