I thank you all for the reviews! Even though some may not be what other writers look for, however I believe a writer cannot progress or learn unless they accept the good and bad reviews. These are your thoughts on my writing, so I will not hold any of you back since I am putting myself out there. So, I want honest opinions, hold nothing back.
Now, even though it is explained more in this chapter, I feel as I must mention now and draw your attention to the fact that this is a Gray x Lucy x Natsu pairing fanfic. Meaning that the pairing is all three of them together. So, if this is not to your...tastes, then I do apologize for not making this clear from the start. However, I would still appreciate it if you read to the end and give a review. But, if you do stop reading then I understand as well.
Now that all the seriousness is out of the way, without further ado, the third chapter of Cold and Hot is presented a day ahead of schedule. (Who knew insomnia was good for something lol). Also, this chapter is time skipped ahead to one week from the last chapter. Thank you, and please review if you can :)
Cold and Hot
Chapter 3
Gray stared at the steps that Wendy had just went up, on her usual route to check and see how Lucy was doing today. Lucy, the woman that he loved more than anything. The woman he constantly wanted to be around and do anything for. The woman he wanted to make permanently his, once all of this was over with. The woman...who was constantly in a lot of pain and despair all because of the damn, idiot flame brained bastard that was better known as Natsu.
The last thought caused him to glare over at the Fire Dragon Slayer, who was sulking on a corner table, not meeting anyone's gaze and merely staring at the wall. It had been over a week since Natsu had kidnapped Lucy and mated with her, a week since she had been in a catatonic state, and only three days since Natsu had finally returned after his cycle was truly over. He moved his gaze away from Natsu, only to stare down at the cracks and fissures that lined his table.
He could still recall that night, him running through the forest where he had heard Lucy's scream. Only to arrive to late, and to see that Natsu had already claimed her and forced himself upon her. He had been terrified when he had saw that she looked unresponsive to everything going on around her, even when Loki had appeared and taken her away. Once he knew that she was safe, he held nothing back as he attacked Natsu in rage. He was wanting nothing more than to but him in the ground permanently, however his attempt was stopped by Laxus and Freed, who had followed him on Makarov's orders. Laxus had restrained him as Freed cast a barrier around Natsu, making it impossible for him to leave the area until he was truly out of his cycle.
Once he realized that they were not going to allow him to attack Natsu anymore, he had shaken off Laxus' hold and ran straight back to the guild. Wanting to know that Lucy would be alright. He had entered the guild and headed straight for the medical room, only to feel his heart clench tightly in his chest. Her eyes were closed, yet he recalled Wendy stating that she was neither awake nor asleep, more like in a meditated state of mind. Still, he had tried to reach out to her, to get her to respond in some way. However, all of his attempts failed, but he still refused to leave her. He had settled in a chair, wrapped his hand carefully around hers, and decided merely to wait until she awoke. That had been the plan, but it didn't go accordingly.
He had heard Natsu come through the guild door two days later. At first he had merely remained seated. However, once Natsu yelled out that he was going to see Lucy and no one would stop him, something had snapped. He had arose from his seat, walked out of the room, and down the steps until he saw Natsu. He gave no warning, no time for Natsu to react, instead, he created his ice cannon and hit Natsu point blank with it. Natsu barely landed on the floor once before he was then pelted with ice lance. Gray continued a barrage of attacks on the Dragon Slayer, until he had enough long distance attacks, and instead encased his fist in ice and launched at the man. They returned fierce blows, even dodging Erza when she attempted to stop them. He knew that the guild hall was paying heavily for their fighting, but he wasn't about to let Natsu near Lucy. Still, it took Makarov to separate them. He had enlarged both of his hands, one taking hold of Gray, and the other taking Natsu and slamming them into separate sides of the hall, where he then had Freed encase them. Neither of them were allowed to see Lucy now, not until she awoke and said otherwise.
The sudden sound of rushed feet meet his ears, causing him to look up and blink as he saw Wendy reach the railing and lean over. She called for Makarov, who jumped down from the bar and quickly rushed up the steps. Gray watched as the two conversed quietly enough that not even the Dragon Slayers could hear, and then Wendy lead the small man toward the medical room. He felt his body begin to tense, hoping that something wasn't terribly wrong with Lucy, and glared over his shoulder at Natsu.
"Damnit. If anything has happened to her, you're dead." He snarled, causing everyone in the guild to glance uneasily between him and Natsu. Natsu blinked at him, and then merely returned his gaze to the steps. Gray gritted his teeth, and returned his gaze as well, his hands clenched tightly into fists. That was another thing that had been bothering him. After the fight, Natsu hadn't uttered a single word, to anyone. It was starting to drive him mad! The man had been hell bent on seeing Lucy upon arriving to the guild, now he wasn't saying or doing anything except sulking! Gray wasn't sure what was going on anymore!
"You two do know that this will only cause more stress on Lucy when she hears about it." Levy suddenly stated, causing him to look over at the solid script mage, she was standing between the both of them, looking one way then the other.
"She wouldn't even be like this if he hadn't attacked her like he did!" He shouted, gritting his teeth together as Gajeel narrowed his gaze at him for screaming at his mate.
"It isn't something that Natsu can control Gray. I'm not defending him, and I honestly don't know how to deal with this situation, but just continuously fighting with one another isn't going to solve anything." She stated, and he slammed his fist into the barrier.
"I don't give a damn about that right now. He forced himself onto Lucy! There is no way I can look past what he did to her! He just needs to be wiped off the face of the earth!" He shouted, his anger reaching a boiling point as he turned his hateful gaze onto Natsu.
"Why didn't you control yourself better!? Why couldn't you just go hole yourself up somewhere like you did in the past?! You didn't show any interest in Lucy when she had feelings for you in the past, so why the hell now?" He screamed, watching as Natsu stared at him for a moment, and then merely turned his gaze to the steps again. The lack of reply caused him to snap, and he released an attack on the barrier.
"Answer me now, damnit!" He shouted, waiting for Natsu to say something, anything. Yet, he remained quiet, his gaze remaining on the steps until they suddenly looked up and he placed a hand on the barrier. Gray turned to see what it was, and straightened as well as Makarov and Wendy slowly came down the stairs.
"Levy. Mira. Please, would you two head to Lucy's room." Wendy stated, causing both women to look at one another before moving past the youngest Slayer and up the steps. Makarov continued to walk with Wendy until she was standing in front of Gajeel and between the two in the barrier.
"Freed. Please release them, but neither of you are to move past me, Master, or Gajeel." She stated, her voice coming out soft but also holding no room for questions. Gray watched as the barrier faded, and slowly made his way to Wendy, looking over all of their shoulders briefly to look at the stairs before looking down. He held back his anger as Natsu stepped beside him.
"How is she Wendy?" Gray asked, and the little girl inhaled before meeting both of their gazes.
"She's awake, but both of you are prohibited to talk to, or see her, for right now." She stated, and he flinched back as if she had struck him.
"Why?" He asked, watching as she swallowed and closed her eyes.
"Part of the Dragon's Cycle, for the male anyway, is that when they start to mate with their perfect match, the hormones they release make their woman become fertile. However, it seemed Lucy was already fertile." Wendy stated, causing him to blink and frown when Natsu tensed and looked away briefly.
"So, what does that mean exactly?" He asked, watching as Wendy frowned and closed her eyes.
"It means, Lucy is pregnant. She is carrying your child Gray. However, because of what I just mentioned, she is also carrying Natsu's child. It is a very rare pregnancy, however the chances are increased if a lover and a dragon slayer are involved." She stated, and Gray stood stunned at the news. Lucy was pregnant with two children, one his, and the others...
"You bastard!" He shouted, slamming a fist into Natsu's jaw, and felt one connect with his own a moment later. They each reared back their fists again, ready to make more blows.
"Roar of the Sky Dragon!" Wendy shouted, causing him to flinch and grunt along with Natsu as they were both picked up and literally blown out of the guild hall. When he regained his footing, he blinked as Wendy stood before both of them, looking beyond pissed. It was the first time he had seen the young slayer like this, and briefly hoped never to see it again.
"This is exactly why I'm refusing either of you to see her. She has already told me that she is going to keep both children, regardless of what either of you say. She says that it comes down to you two in the end how she will proceed with her life and the life of her children. It seems, she has accepted that she loves both of you, and therefore is not able to make a choice between the two of you. So, until you two work something out, neither of you will see her." Wendy snapped, crossing her arms and pinning them with a glare that dared them to disagree with her.
Gray shouted out a curse and slammed his fist into the ground, causing ice shards to shoot out of the ground around him. What the hell was this? How could he make a decision under these circumstances? Not only was Lucy, the woman he loved, pregnant with his child, but Natsu's as well. She was willing to keep both, even though one of them wasn't planned. All he wanted was to beat Natsu to a bloody pulp, and then talk with her about everything. See her point in this, and then make a decision. Not work it out with Natsu!
"Oi, Wendy. Tell Mira and Levy that we'll be at this location. They'll get the plan once they see where it is. Natsu, Gray. Both of you get your sorry asses up and follow me and Redfox." Laxus growled, and Gray glared up at him. Who the hell was he thinking he was? Ordering him around like this while everything was falling around him.
"Don't give us that look Ice boy! We're attempting to help ya here. So suck it up and get yer ass movin'." Gajeel growled, grabbing Natsu off the ground as Laxus pinned him with a glare that threatened a shock if he didn't follow orders. Gray stood and dusted himself off before following the Dragon Slayers, thinking that there was nothing that could help this situation, however being away from it momentarily would help him clear his mind and think more rationally.
"Where are we going?" He asked, hearing his own fatigue in his voice. Only to look up with a frown when both of the older slayers shook their heads.
"No questions until we reach our destination." Gajeel stated, turning a glare on him briefly before facing ahead again. Gray gave a mental sigh and looked over his shoulder in time to see Wendy return back to the guild, no doubt to give the message to the women. No worries Lucy, I'm not giving up on you. Just, give me a bit of time to try and figure everything out.
XxxXxxXxx
Wendy quickly dashed up the stairs, her emotions swirling within her as she realized that she had just attacked two of her teammates. Although she quickly pushed her guilt aside, she had done it for Lucy. Sure, both of them were now in a very devastating situation, but Lucy's was worse. There wasn't many who went through something like she had, and still came out swinging and making decisions like keeping both children. Nor did they proclaim their love for both men, at least not when a Dragon Slayer was involved. It went against everything that Grandine had taught her about, at least when it came to the cycle. However, with it being Lucy she guess she shouldn't be all that surprised. The woman she saw as an older sister had a knack for doing the unexpected.
She knocked on the door softly, and then carefully eased in as the women in the room looked her way. Mira was sitting on the chair beside the bed, while Levy was sitting beside Lucy on the bed. All the women looked at her though, and she gave them a smile as she stepped closer.
"I delivered your message Lucy. Also, no worries about them bothering you about it. Laxus and Gajeel took them on a trip to, wherever this is." She stated, handing the paper over to Levy. However, her eyes remained on Lucy as the woman blinked and leaned back some.
"They...left?" She asked, and Wendy quickly soothed the woman with a kind smile as she crawled onto the bed.
"No worries. They'll be back. Laxus and Gajeel said that they were helping in a way." She stated, watching as the Celestial Mage blinked again before looking at Levy and Mira.
"Where are your mates taking them?" She asked, and Wendy turned to see the two women smiling as they stared down at the paper.
"Our mates, as you put it, are taking them someplace where they can come to understand what's going on." Mira stated, folding the paper in her hands without Lucy seeing it.
"Also, there is a good chance that everything will work out just fine with this plan. Although, something tells me it will be a few months before any of you see one another." Levy added, and Wendy glanced at the woman as she took that in. Lucy was frowning, but didn't seem to think too badly about what they were saying. Even though they were being vague in detail.
"No worries Lucy. The rest of the guild will be here for you until all of this is settled. Now, since you're an expecting mother, you need to eat some food. I'll be right back." Mira stated, giving a smile before quickly standing and leaving the room before Lucy could protest. The blonde gave a sigh and shook her head before looking at Levy and Wendy.
"She left before I even told her why I wanted you two in here with me." She whined slightly, and Wendy blinked as she looked over at the older bluenette in question. With a shrug, Levy leaned closer.
"Why did you ask me and Mira to come up here?" She asked, causing Lucy to give a small smile.
"I was going to ask your opinions if I was doing the right thing. Not about keeping the children, nothing could change my mind on that, but about deciding to love both Gray and Natsu." She stated, and Wendy blinked before frowning.
"I was actually hoping to ask you about that Lucy. You see, when a Dragon Slayer claims their mate, the mating ritual should have made it so that you only loved Natsu. However, you're still claiming to love them both?" Wendy stated. It was confusing her, she had never heard of a mated pair including the lover into their family life, even though it was possible that the one being mated could carry a lover's child and the Slayer's child. Usually what happened was that the woman did give birth to both, but handed the lover's child over to her past love so she could remain and raise a family with the Slayer.
"I don't quite understand it myself. But, something within me refuses to allow me to choose between the two of them. It was rather both of them, or neither of them." She stated, her gaze going up to the ceiling. Wendy frowned, once again stumped by what she was saying. Had something gone wrong with the ritual? Was that why Lucy was still divided on her feelings between the two? She didn't want to make it sound like she wanted Lucy to leave Gray, it was just that Lucy was proving everything that Grandine had taught her about mating wrong, and it wasn't settling well with her.
"Well, that just goes to show how big of a heart Lucy has." Levy stated, mirth shining in her eyes as she looked at the confusion on the other twos faces.
"What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked, glancing to Lucy to see that she had a slight blush on her face because of the statement.
"Well, with Lucy being Lucy, it was only natural that it would happen. Lucy isn't one to hurt someone else just because of some ritual or tradition. She would find some way that everyone would be happy with the situation. Resulting in her having to make Gray and Natsu work things out, so they could all live together as a family. Especially since she forgave Natsu for forcing himself onto her like that." Mira stated, having caught most of the conversation as she walked into the room. A tray held in her hands that was loaded with food.
"You seriously think that I could eat all of that! I'm not even that far along, Mira!" Lucy stated, her eyes going wide at all the food that was set before her. Mira merely giggled and waved her hand. Smiling inwardly when she noticed that Lucy didn't even flinch at her mention of what happened a week ago.
"Nonsense. This is Gray's and Natsu's children we're talking about. Natsu alone could put all of this away, and Gray nearly matching him. Something tells me your children will be no different." Mira stated, causing the blonde mage to groan as she realized the demon had a point.
"I'll see what I can do first. Hopefully they get their appetites from me instead of them." She stated, pulling the tray a little closer before looking up at the Solid Script Mage and Take Over Mage. Then blinked when her best friend turned to her with a worried expression.
"Lucy, are you really okay? I mean, what Natsu did..." Levy trailed off, but Lucy gave a small smile before nodding her head.
"I'm fine, really. It took me a moment, but it's not like he really took anything from me since I already gave myself to Gray. I also know that he couldn't control himself since he was in heat, and that there was no way I could fight him like that. It was confusing at first, having my heart, mind and soul wage war as to who to turned to. Saying that I should fear Natsu for doing that, and that I could only trust Gray. However, I knew that it wasn't true. Natsu didn't mean to hurt me, he would never hurt me like that. It is a common reason why I love them both. Both of them want what's best for me and what will keep me safest. There is no choosing between them." She stated, watching as Levy blinked and understanding crossed her mind. Lucy smiled and then turned to Wendy, who was wearing the same expression as Levy now that she had explained it.
"So, about my question earlier. Do you think I should try to pursue a relationship with both of them?" She asked, and Wendy watched as the women looked at one another before smiling.
"It has always been obvious that you loved them both Lucy, and they both love you. They merely have to overcome their differences to see that. I'm sure that your choice is the right one, just as I'm sure they'll come around to the idea." Mira stated, causing the blonde to smile before she began to eat. Wendy smiled, glad to know that Lucy wasn't going to mope and become depressed over her situation. Still, there was something else that she was curious about.
"Mira? Levy? Where exactly are Laxus and Gajeel going with Natsu and Gray?" She watched as the women looked at one another with a smile before facing the two of them.
"Oh, just to see some old friends of theirs." Mira answered, before steering the conversation back to the children and what they may look like.
There is the third chapter! Once again I apologize for not clearing up the pairing earlier on, and hope that you can find some way to forgive me for my error. However, I will continue on with the story, because I never leave a story until it is complete. So, please leave a review if you are able and tell me what you think!
