4: Settling in
19th January, Crocus central station. 7pm.
"Oiiii~! Lucy!"
The blonde opened her eyes and she looked up to see a group rushing her way, their feet pounding across the smooth linoleum of the station lobby floor. She sighed, half in exasperation, half in delight, as she stood up and smoothened out her dress. Sitting beside her was a tall, lean male with brown hair and a friendly smile who waved at the approaching group.
The blonde propped her hands onto her hips.
"Finally! You guys are finally here. I was wondering if I should just board early instead of waiting for you bunch of turtles."
Mara rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, we met with some... An unexpected complication."
"Huh?"
Mara jabbed her thumb at the three men beside her.
"You can blame these three. When we were leaving the office, we bumped into the new receptionist."
An image of a young brunette with forest green eyes popped into Lucy's mind and she sighed as the redhead continued poking angry jabs at the males behind her.
"I told you we were going to be late, and what did you do? Whip out the roses? The champagne? Idiots! Lucy, feel free to hit them as hard as you want."
The redhead at the trio. Eve was blinking up at the older woman, Ren had turned away to glare at the ground and Hibiki was chuckling awkwardly. The two women startled when the trio suddenly brought their feet together and affected a debonair bow in unison.
"Please forgive us, Lucy!"
The blonde cringed and raised her palms in defense. "Ah-h-haha… that's fine. At least you guys made it in time."
"Oh?" Mara poked her head around the blonde. "Hi Dan!"
"Hey, Mara. Long time no see. You guys are here to send Lucy off too?"
The four nodded excitedly. Well, the threesome. Ren was still glaring at the ground, mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Well, it's not like I'm here especially for Lucy… I just had some free time to kill…"
Eve's eyes brimmed with sparkling tears as he hurled himself at the blonde, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he buried his face in her shoulder.
"Lucy! I can't believe you're going for three months. What am I going to do at work without you?!"
"Uh… your job? Yosh yosh, don't cry all over my new dress. Geez…" The blonde sweat dropped and patted his head like she would a puppy.
The group of six headed over to a nearby café where they ordered drinks and basically assailed the blonde with requests for specific types of souvenirs until they heard an announcement booming from the speakers.
"The train to Magnolia City will be departing in 20 minutes time. All passengers please board now. This is the final call. All passengers please board now."
Lucy sighed and sat up, her heels clicking on the smooth floor. She pulled up the handles to her suitcases with a clicking sound and dragged the bags forward.
"Well. I guess that's it. I'll see you guys in three months."
Shouting instantly blasted her eardrums as her colleagues wailed out her name, reaching out their arms at the blonde, who froze on the spot. Dan dragged her suitcases towards himself laughing, and he patted her shoulder.
"We'll miss you!"
"Lucy!"
"Bring us back snacks you hear? You owe me for that keychain!"
Lucy waved her phone, the murano glass dangling on a keychain. "Wasn't this a souvenir from the goodness of your heart?!" She flustered at the redhead, who laughed.
"You wish!"
The blonde dragged her heavy bags up the step of the train carriage, where a porter moved to take it from her and bring it to her seat. Before she could board too, Lucy gasped when someone suddenly pulled her backwards roughly and she was folded tightly against the chest of a masculine body.
"D-Dan!"
"I'll miss you. So very much."
"Yeah… I know. I'll miss you too."
"Call me when you reach the house?"
"Of course. Thank you again, by the way, for helping me find such a wonderful place."
His arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her sweet – smelling hair.
"No problem. I'll try to find time to go over and meet you. God knows I'm swamped in work right now."
She moved herself out from his embrace slowly. "I understand. I'll see you soon, Dan."
"Lucy."
The brunette closed his eyes and leaned in to give her a goodbye kiss on her lips but the blonde suddenly whipped her head around when a porter tapped on her shoulder lightly from behind. Dan's eyes widened when his mouth brushed past her hair, the strands whipping against his face.
"I apologize for the interruption, Miss, but you have to board now."
"R-right! I'm sorry."
She caught sight of Dan's longing face when she turned back around. She gave a small smile and leaned upwards to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "See you, Dan."
The five (four, minus Ren) watched, waved and shouted terms of endearment as the blonde's figure disappeared into the carriage, and her head popped up in the small window next to her seat, where she continued to wave exuberantly till after they were out of sight. Sitting back in the soft, cushioned bench, Lucy sighed and looked out the window at the dim reds and yellows that coloured the dusk sky.
With each turn of the wheels, the train brought her further and further away from her life in Crocus, and inexorably nearer towards the life she had left behind with the signing of that paper.
20th January, Magnolia city. Fairy Tail Corp.
"Listen up, people."
The buzz of gossip in the steel and glass conference room died down as Erza Scarlet greeted her audience. Beside her stood an imposingly tall male with broad shoulders, a bald head and a neat goatee lining his chin. His arms were folded against the front of his smart grey suit as he stared impassively at the people sitting around the large table.
"Two days from now, there will be someone from BlueHeel Events & Exhibition coming down to meet me. They'll be in charge of planning the official meet and greet event between the employees of Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale. As of yet, I do not know who we'll be working with, only that it will be a female and she is supposedly one of the best BlueHeel has to offer."
Erza directed her brown eyes around the table, making sure that she had the attention of everyone present.
"As the Heads of the different departments in Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale, I expect, we expect" She gestured toward Jura, "that all of you will do your best in accommodating our guest in making sure that she feels at home. If she has any enquiries, we hope that you will all give her the respect that she deserves. After all, she'll be working with all of us here in Magnolia for at last three months, depending on how the planning goes. Now, any questions?"
A hand at the back of the room shot up. "Yeah. I'm hungry! When do we break for lunch?"
"Not a valid question. Next."
"But Erza-!"
"In the office, you will address me as Ms. Scarlet, not Erza. Do you understand, Mr. Dragneel?"
"Y-yes. Hmph." The male folded his arms and tucked his chin into the folds of the white scarf.
"Ha. Too bad."
"Do you have a question too, Mr. Fullbuster? It had better not be about where your clothes have gone to." Erza arched a brown at the dark haired male.
"Huh? My clothes? Gyaaaa!" Gray looked down and flung his arms to the side, narrowly hitting the two males sitting on either side of him.
"Shit shit shit! Where did my shirt go?!"
Natsu quirked a grin at him. "You sure you didn't throw it somewhere around here?"
"I've got to find it!" The male freaked.
Gasps of shock and surprise rang out across the room when the half naked man suddenly slid off his chair and disappeared under the large rectangular desk. The women shrieked and pulled up their legs, some darted off their chairs and pressed themselves against the walls of the room. The men cursed and rolled themselves backwards, and cursed even louder when they ran over each other's feet in the mess.
Natsu and Gajeel were had rolled their chairs to the corner and were clutching their guts with laughter. Juvia stood beside them, her eyes wide and unblinking as she watched the earlier peace in the room descend quickly into chaos.
A sudden thought occurred to her and Juvia hurriedly slid off her stilettos. Behind her, the eyes of a shorter blunette widened as she watched Juvia's skirt disappear under the desk too. Over the shrieks and laughter in the room, Gray's voice rang out loudly.
"Gyaaaa! Juvia! What are you under here?!"
"Juvia wants to spend some private time with Gray – sama under the desk! It's so dark and cosy! Ahhh~ How lovely!"
"Get away from me!"
Gajeel elbowed the male beside him.
"Oi, Salamander. You were there, weren't you? I saw you standing beside the stripping idiot when his shirt came off. Where'd he throw it to?"
Natsu merely clutched his gut harder and stood up in his seat, his hand reaching below his legs. He grinned widely at his friend, as he held up a white shirt crumpled and creased beyond repair.
"Right here. God, it's so funny h- Ouch, what the hell?!"
"You idiot! Give me that!"
Natsu rubbed his sore head as Erza glared down at him, clutching the stolen piece of clothing. The redhead turned and fumed at the table surface. "Juvia, Gray! Get out here now!"
"But I haven't-"
"Your shirt is here with me, get out from under the table before you two embarrass yourselves any further!"
Erza still had on a furious expression as the pair crawled dutifully into sight, and Gray took the shirt from her hands, his eyes widening in horror.
"Geeeh! What the fuck happened to it?!"
Erza didn't reply, but her eyes flicked towards the male behind her, who instantly "Eep-ed!"
"Flame head! I should have known!" Gray lunged towards the guy but was halted with a sudden punch to the gut. Gagging, the male flopped lifelessly over Erza's arm out cold.
"Gray – sama!"
"Juvia, put your shoes back on!"
"Ha-hai! Erza – san!"
"Mou…" Erza rubbed her temple and sighed. "Can't you guys just let me have one normal meeting? We even have our important friends from Lamia Scale with us today."
She turned to look at Jura and the other department head from Lamia Scale. "I am really, really sorry you guys had to witness that. As you can see, my people from Fairy Tail tend to be… overly energetic."
The large male waved a hand. "It's fine, Erza – san. It's good to see that the younger generation is bursting with life. Besides, Lamia Scale is also known for its exube- Chelia!"
"Lyon! What are you doing!" The pint sized pink haired female had shot up in her seat and was shouting across the table.
Juvia was sitting on the edge of the table with an extremely surprised look on her face as a silver haired male held up her left leg by the calf. In his other hand, he had one of her stilettos.
"Sa sa. Juvia. Let me put on your shoes for you." Lyon Vastia smiled gently as he looked up into her face.
"Uh… uh… Juvia doesn't…"
"Oi, Lyon! Let go of our member! Just because we are now working together doesn't mean you get to harass our women!"
"Harass? Not don't be ridiculous, Gray. This is merely the act of a true gentleman. Now, Juvia. Your other leg please."
"Uh… Lyon – sama…"
Erza smacked her palm against her face. Looks like they still had a lot of work ahead of them. The redhead only hoped that whoever BlueHeel was sending to them would have enough tenacity and strength of will to survive the project.
It was evening by the time Lucy Heartfilia rolled her suitcases up to the curb of her new apartment building. The building Dan had managed to find for her was barely three streets away from Fairy Tail Corp; she could easily walk there in ten minutes, tops.
It was a charming brownstone set in 18th century architecture with fresh bougainvillea lining the low border walls and the neighbourhood was better that she could ask for. Cafés to her left, and spas to her right. Lucy instantly spotted the bistro further down the street that she loved to frequent during her lunch breaks when she still lived in Magnolia.
Taking the lift up to the fourth level, she rolled her bags across the shiny parquet floor and came to a stop in front of the last door in the hallway. Her heart was beating widely as Lucy turned the key in the lock and stepped in and her eyes instantly widened in delight.
The place was even better than it had looked in the photos.
The apartment wasn't big, but it was perfect for a single person. The living room was furnished in browns and yellows, lending the room a cosy, wood – cabin feel. There was a small gated fire place against the wall. Perpendicular to the fireplace was a stretch of clear glass that opened over the street. Cream lacy curtains were tied up with neat bows to the other side of the glass.
Lucy dropped her bags and dashed to see the rest of the house. The kitchen, as Dan had promised, was fully equipped with two stoves, an oven, and a microwave. There was a small steel table at the corner, the tabletop and single leg embellished with flowers and vines woven from metal. Two chairs stood around it.
There was also a wall – length fridge which was sadly, empty. Lucy made a mental note to stock up later.
The bedroom boasted of a private toilet with a white marble sink and gleaming tub. The bed was a four poster and was already lain over with ivory cotton sheets.
The blonde sank herself into the soft mattress and sighed in delight. It was such a wonderful change, after almost a full day of sitting upright on the train with a growing neck crick.
She washed up quickly and unpacked most of her clothing into the cupboard, which was thankfully, large enough to accommodate her wardrobe and still have space to spare. Which wasn't a good sign, since it meant that Lucy would be free to (buy and) put more stuff in. At least she had an allowance from the company. Magnolia was known for its foodie and fashion delights.
The blonde had a delightful, albeit lonely, dinner at her favourite bistro, and she ordered some cakes to go for her first night back home. A sign on the top of the cake glass display caught her eye and she laughed out loud.
The shop had a new cake design. It was a triple layer strawberry sponge, with copious amounts of fresh strawberry jam between in each layer. The top of the cake was lined with strawberry slices, and the design was called "The Scarlet".
Lucy wondered if her old boss knew she had a cake christened after her.
Adjusting the bags of groceries in her hands, Lucy headed back to the apartment and unpacked everything.
"Eh, let's see. Clothing. Check. Toiletries. Check. Food… Check. I guess I should call Dan now."
She glanced at the clock. 9:30pm in Magnolia, which meant that it was 7pm in Crocus. He should be having his dinner now…
"Oh well, I'll call him later to thank him again. Gods, this place is amazing! I can't believe he managed to get such a steal…"
The memory of Dan leaning in towards her yesterday popped into her mind again and Lucy felt a tiny pang of guilt. She knew that she had disappointed him when she had kissed him goodbye on the cheek. The man had been nothing but patient and accepting of her secrets and emotional trauma, even though she had not told him anything.
He sometimes waited for her after work just to drive her home, even though their houses were on the opposite ends of Crocus.
He bought meals over to her house on weekends and when she didn't like what he'd chosen, he's swap with her with no questions asked.
He was obviously a virile man in his prime, with God knows how many females lusting after him, and yet he had made it clear that Lucy was the only one he was interested in.
And despite all that, Lucy had never let him go further than a kiss on the lips and fully clothed cuddling.
She made a mental promise that the next time she saw him, she would… what? Have sex with the guy? As grateful as she was towards Dan, sex was… off the plate. At least for now. The memories of all her failed flings prior to her divorce was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't bear to lead Dan along, only to roughly kick him away when she freaked out again.
Lucy was halfway through her chocolate mousse and the 11pm episode of "Fringe" when she heard a commotion coming from the corridor outside. Sounded like people laughing.
Setting down her plate, she slipped her feet into soft furry slippers and padded over to the door, peering through the peephole.
Nothing.
She flipped the padlocks and swung the door open, and the blonde caught side of two people standing just behind the bend of the hallway. There was a tall male with dark red hair and judging from his profile, he was at least in his mid-forties. Not that that made his looks any less attractive though.
Next to him was a slightly shorter male. He was lean but obviously well built.
Lucy couldn't make out any of his other features since the guy was wearing full length workout pants. His hoodie was black and red with a pattern of burning flames lining the edges of the cloth. The hood was up, completely masking his profile and hair. He had both his hands thrust into the front pocket such that pretty much every inch of his body was covered up except for the tip of his nose.
She watched as the older male wave goodbye at his companion and turn to enter the lift, heading back down and out of the building.
The second mysterious guy stood there for a moment before heading down the corridor towards her. Lucy gasped and quickly shut the front door, though her eye remained glued to the peephole.
The male stopped in front of the apartment directly in front of hers and retrieved a set of keys from his pocket before disappearing into the house. She had a glimpse of the messy living room before the door closed fully. Typical mess of a bachelor's pad.
Lucy released a breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding in.
A bachelor, huh? The blonde found herself wondering what he looked like under that hood only to gasp. She lightly patted her cheeks in admonishment.
Geez, c'mon Lucy. First night here and already spying on the neighbours? You really need to get a social life, or a hobby.
The blonde highly doubted that she would have time for either here in Magnolia though. The faster she finished the project, the faster she could return to the safe haven that was her life in Crocus.
I apologize for any typos or whatnot. I really shouldn't be writing when I have shitloads of essays but I can't help myself!
It's a damned shame that I have no good looking neighbours myself to spy on... meh. But... flame patterned clothing? OHOHOHOHO!
Now, won't you lovelies be a dear and review?
Faie.