Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its character, that right belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Two days. Two very long, awkward days since her shower incident as she called it. The atmosphere in her apartment hadn't really improved much. She tended to skirt around Erik, which she knew was a bad thing. Because it was neglecting him, allowing for the neuro-links to build that as a normal thing. But she just couldn't make herself look at him without flushing. Though she had re-read his manual about what his personality was supposed to be like. Hell, she had even gone online to the message boards to see if anyone else had had similar problems with their Living Doll's acting out and being rude.
She had found a few other cases, and they all were under the same category, Dragon Slayers. It had made her nervous because she knew that the core of his personality from what the manual stated was there. But his crass, crude, intrusive, and at times outright belligerent comments were not a part of that. It was like he was actually a real person, who had their mind implanted into the Doll itself. So, that was what had led her to post on the message board. Keeping her post short, not too detailed. And boy did that get a response from others who had had Dragon Slayer models. Though they were mostly from the earlier models, and she couldn't tell these people that she had a prototype and was its tester.
Clicking on several of the replies, Lucy paused as she saw a flash in the upper right of her wrist portal's screen. It was a private message. Narrowing her eyes, sucking on her bottom lip she used a finger to press it and open the message. Her eyes scanning its contents rapidly.
"I will not ask you what your model type is. But I will tell you that the patch they put out for the 'abnormal' personality traits doesn't work on the earliest models or the prototypes. There is much I can tell you about this if you are willing to meet in person. But, the downside is you will have to bring your D.S. with you. Also, if you have not already, do not send in a progress report of defects or outright bugs. ~KoD"
It was short and to the point. There was a little box down at the bottom that she was to click if she wanted to accept the invite. By accepting she would be breaking the terms of the agreement she had signed in the contract she had given back to the delivery man. She was not to take her prototype out of her apartment at any time before the testing period was over with. It meant jail time for causing a major scandal as all beta testers were kept under lock and key.
She had to make a decision on whether it was worth the risk. She really did want to know what was going on with her model. Why he had a very distinctive personality. That he seemed so human, to begin with. Hell, she was concerned that he had started up all on his own without her doing anything. And she had yet to send the progress report on any defects or bugs in his programming. That was actually due to him protecting her the other morning. She felt obligated to not report on him.
Snorting at her indecision, Lucy stood up and walked to her bedroom door. It was almost midnight and she knew for a fact that her Living Doll was an insomniac. So, steeling herself, she opened the door of her room and walked out to stand at the edge of the area she designated via furniture as her living room. She saw he was sitting on the couch and watching the Cooking Channel again. Not that she minded, it was how she knew he was fantastic in the damned kitchen, even if it was probably best for her to not be around hot or sharp objects, being a klutz.
"What!? Decided to stop ignoring me like I have some venereal disease you can catch?" He bit out at her without even looking at her.
His words cut her to the quick. She swallowed, feeling as if her throat was constricting. She was going to do this, one way or another.
"Erik... I mean Cobra... how would you feel about going out of the apartment tomorrow evening?" she asked.
The way he stiffened at the use of his given name, before correcting herself was telling. He had been very clear and adamant that she had no right to call him that. But at her question, his whole upper body whipped around to look at her. That single eye wide as he studied her. No doubt trying to see if she was lying by using her body's reactions. Yes, she was nervous, but she was serious.
When he blinked at her, eye narrowing, Lucy knew she should just wait until he spoke. Letting him know that this was his decision to make. That she was not joking or going to push this issue.
"You're completely serious. Why would you want to break the terms of the contract knowing what will happen to you? Did you lose what little fucking brain cells in that blond head of yours?" he asked, his words sharp but the ton was confused and shocked.
Shaking her head no, Lucy looked down at her hands which had grabbed the hem of her nightshirt and had hiked it up as she twisted it. A bad habit she had picked up as a child when her father would lecture her on the proper etiquette of an Heiress. Only to have been slapped violently in correction for doing it. And the way he was looking at her, she felt her mind regressing to that point in her life as she tensed ready for the blow to come.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she heard him ask.
Blinking her eyes rapidly she saw that he had stood up and was leaning down, peering at her face very carefully. It brought a flush to cheeks as she stayed still, unsure of what was going to happen. Though she'd admit silently to herself, and only herself, that he was absolutely gorgeous up close like this. all the lifelike details in his face as the faux flesh twitched the way real flesh did. The lines around his mouth as it moved as he continued to speak to her.
"Dammit, Lucy," he growled at her, pulling her from her thoughts.
"oh... uh... Nothing... It was nothing, Cobra... And I... uh... Just never mind," she said, stumbling over her words.
Stepping back and readying to run to her room, Lucy found she couldn't. The hard grip on her wrist held her in place. Turning to look at him, she saw that he clearly didn't believe a damn word she just uttered. And neither would she in his position.
"I do not want to talk about. But, I do need to know if you want to go out tomorrow. I have spare guy clothes you can wear to mask what you look like," she mumbled.
When he let go of her wrist, his face impassive, she waited. Not daring to move. When he grunted a soft 'sure' to her before flopping back down on her couch, Lucy let a small, sad smile appear on her lips. Sighing, she padded back to her room, sitting at her desk once the door was shut. She tapped on the box to indicate that she accepted the invitation to meet. Getting the address and explicit instructions on how to get there and what to say to gain entrance.
