At long last, I've FINALLY managed to update this fanfic. And there will be more frequent updates, I promise.
"...What the HELL are you DOING?" Lucy cried.
All Gray could do was stutter as the stark naked blonde stood trying to cover herself in the bathroom. As quickly as he came in, he had slammed the door behind him, just in time to avoid one of Lucy's notorious face-kicks. Happy was still suffering from short-term memory loss because of her.
But the image still lingered inside his head. He could visualize how her breasts pushed together as she attempted to cover herself with a towel. And how her smooth legs were cowering together to hide even deeper hidden treasures (something Natsu loves in both senses). Now he wanted to see what that body of hers looked like when it was wet. As he heard Lucy turn the shower water on and step inside, he went back towards his room and turned in for the night.
A good two and a half hours later, Gray woke up and not a sound could be heard. The whole household was asleep at this point. But since Gray needed some cold water to quench his thirst, silence be damned. His door creaked as he opened it into the hallway. He was sure to slowly walk, as every light was out, and he could not see in front of him. Walking into the bathroom and turning on the lights, he turned on the sinks and let the cold water pour into his palms as they went from hand to mouth. Unlike most people, the cold suited Gray, so of course he did not get chills or so much as a goose bump when drinking the water...in nothing but pajama bottoms, no less.
To the side, he finally noticed, was a wet towel. The one Lucy used to shower with earlier that evening. Remembering the image of her nude body in front of him, Gray gave into temptation and picked up the towel, planting his face into it. Still wet, but fragrant. Smelled like vanilla. Was it perfume being washed off, or did Lucy naturally smell that good? Gray secretly longed to find out, though his cold demeanor would not show it.
As Gray walked back, he heard a faint sound coming from Lucy's room. The sound of crying. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Part of him was tempted to go in and comfort her for whatever reason she was sad. Then again, she might take his entering her room the wrong way and blow a cork on him. Especially considering the fact that he had earlier walked in on her in the shower and she had almost exposed her nude body to him. Was that really the reason for it? Or was there something else? Regrettably, he walked past her door back to his own room, leaving behind a weeping Lucy.
Gray got up the next morning very early. He had a long day ahead of him tracking down mountain bandits robbing nearby villages, and this time, he was asked to go solo. Much like the previous night, it was eerily quiet in the halls. Even for Natsu and Happy, the noise-prone duo. Not even crying or snoring from Lucy's room. She probably cried herself to sleep. Hopefully, Gray thought, he would be able to resolve things once he got home.
And by that night, he had returned with several scratches and cuts all over his body. And he was shirtless, too. He didn't throw it off for kicks or to show off his abs. It had actually been burned off by one of the bandits, who apparently knew his way around a blow-torch. He really hoped he didn't have to go into details about how his mission that day went. But when he opened the door to the cabin...
"Whoa! Gray! What's up with all the cuts, man?" asked a rowdy Natsu, "And who you showing off your pecs for?"
"Probably off messing with village girls under the guise of being on a 'mission'," said Happy, floating just above Natsu's head.
"Ah, you playboy, you!" Natsu said, elbowing Gray in the side, "So how about some booze? We're bringing out one of the big kegs for tomorrow night's meteor shower, and we're gonna give it a little...taste test, hee hee hee!"
"Can't you go one night without drinking yourself stupid?" asked an agitated Gray.
"Geez, why are your panties in such a knot?" asked Natsu, "Did something happen on your mission?"
During the time Gray tried to explain himself, as if that was actually necessary, Lucy emerged from upstairs, coming down in baggy pajama bottoms and a large white shirt with a Fairy Tail logo on it. It would have been tight on a large, overweight man, but on Lucy, it went halfway down her thighs.
"Oh...you're back," muttered Lucy, not showing any emotion in her face.
"Hey, Lucy!" exclaimed Natsu, "We;re bringing out a big keg of booze tonight for tomorrow night's meteor shower!"
"Nice," said Lucy, still not showing emotion, "I'll just take a cup and go back up to my room."
Lucy went into the next room to do just that. When she went back up the stairs with a cup, Natsu and Happy turned towards Gray with the dumbest grins on their faces. The usual mischievous ones they had when they replaced someone's food with flaming-hot food.
"Something's going on between you two, isn't there?" asked a cheeky Happy.
"What in the hell makes you assume that?" asked Gray.
"We heard her screaming at you yesterday, dude," replied Natsu, "And you had been coming out of the bathroom when she said it. Sound to me like someone's having a lover's quarrel."
"What happened last night was purely by accident," said Gray, walking past them.
"If that's the case, you better apologize quick!" exclaimed Happy, "Or someone won't be getting any tonight!"
"That's enough, you two," Gray growled, shooting an icy glare that literally froze them where they stood, "Now stay there while I make things right."
They did indeed stay where they were (not that they had much choice) as Gray walked up the stairs and turned the corner towards Lucy's room. He couldn't hear crying, so that was a good sign. This time, he played it safe by knocking on the wooden door.
"It's open," he heard her say.
Gray opened the door to Lucy's room and saw that the room he had once used as a training room had been modified indefinitely. The corner where his old punching bag was now had an end table with girly trinkets on top, as well as jewels and other things in the drawers beneath. There was a scarlet-colored armoire where his weights used to be, and a double bed with pink and purple sheets in the very center. In the corner where he had his stereo for workout music was a night desk. And sitting at that desk was Lucy, with her drink in one hand and a pen in the other. She had been writing something down in a small journal. Possibly a diary.
"Listen," said Gray, "About last night...I had no idea you were in there, let alone naked. The fact that I walked in on you was purely coincidental, I swear. Just thought you should know that, and I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"It's not you," replied Lucy, "It's just...well, you didn't see me completely naked, but...if you did, it would bring up even worse memories than before."
"Memories?" asked Gray, "Why's that?"
Lucy fell silent, turning away from Gray and resuming with her written musings.
"I'd rather not go into that," said Lucy, "Just leave me to my alcohol and my thoughts. Please."
Gray respected her wishes and left the room. At least they cleared up the whole 'bathroom intrusion' thing. But now something else plagued Gray's mind. It now seemed to make sense that she drank heavily. Even more so than other girls. Hell, not even Mirajane or Erza Scarlet could outdrink her, and they were far from delicate. Meaning something must have happened to Lucy in her past to make her want to drink to forget. But what?
And why did he suddenly care so much?
