Hello everyone…I apologize for the extremely long wait. I'm trying to finish off old stories and I'm planning a Valentine's Day fic so I've been plotting for that. Please vote on my poll for which story to focus on and complete. Thanks.
(Natsu's POV)
We walked down the hall to where our rooms are supposed to be. I clutched the photo album against my chest. This is my first mission and I will not screw it up. The butler turned a corner and was now heading in our direction. "Excuse me." I asked. He stopped in front of us.
"What can I do for you?" He asked nicely.
"Can you show us where are rooms are please?" I asked nicely. He bowed to us and looked up at me.
"Of course; young masters." He said. Young masters! I wouldn't go that far. He stood up straight and he turned back around. "Please follow me." He started back down the hall and we followed after him. We turned the corner and walked down the hall. I was just stunned at how much bigger this house looks from the inside. We stopped in front of one of the bedroom doors and the butler opened the door for us. He stepped aside and we walked inside. I gasped in wonder; this room is gorgeous. There was a large bed in the middle of the room; there was a dresser on the left side of the room and there was also a computer on the other side of the room. We walked over to the bed and sat down. "Do you need anything else?"
"I think we're fine; thank you." I said. The butler bowed and left the room; leaving me and Gray by ourselves. I sat back against the bed and placed the photo album in front of me. I lied down on my stomach and rested my chin on top of my hands. "Alright; let's get started." Gray lied down in the same position I am in and I opened the album. The first thing we saw was a beautiful picture of a woman. She was sitting in a chair with who I believe is to be Lucy and I suppose Lucy's father behind her. "Wow; she's beautiful."
"Yeah; she is." Gray agreed. I smiled and flipped the page in the album. The first page was the woman; she was lying in a flower garden. The flowers were a beautiful sky blue color with a long stem and little blue flowers up the stem.
"So; I assume these flowers are one of the items on the list." I said.
"Yeah; that must be it." Gray said. I grabbed the page and turned it to the next. Next was a picture of the mother and Lucy. They were playing around in a field of bubbles.
"Bubbles! How do we give her bubbles?" I asked.
"Not sure; but we'll defiantly think of something." He said. I nodded and I flipped the page again. This time it was just the mother; she was standing near a wall. She was wearing a long, flowing red dress. She also had on a beautiful sun hat and diamond necklace. "Ok; this one is confusing."
"I agree. I don't understand the importance of this one" I said. We just stared at the photo for a few minutes; trying to figure this out. We were brought out of our thoughts when the bedroom door opened. We looked up from the photo album to see the butler standing by the door. He bowed to us.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt but you've been summoned to dinner." He said. I closed the book and sat up.
"Thank you for telling us. We'll be right down." I said.
"Would you like me to escort you?" He asked.
"Umm…" I started. I looked over at Gray and he nodded in approval. I looked back at the butler. "Yes that would be nice." He nodded and we got out of the bed. We walked over to him and he stepped aside so that we can pass by. He shut the door behind us and we started for the dining hall.
(Gray's POV)
Once we got to the dining hall I noticed how elegant and large the room is. I also noticed that Lucy was the only one in here. She had a smile on her face as we entered the room. "It's a good thing you're here. You got here just in time." She said. We walked over to the two chairs next to her seat on the end. We sat at both ends of her; I sat to her left and Natsu sat to her right. The chef came out with our dishes on a silver cart. She stopped the cart near the wall and picked up 1 of the plates. The dishes had a lid over them so I was curious what we were having. She placed the first dish in front of Lucy and we went back for mine and Natsu's. She walked back over to us after grabbing out dishes. She placed them down on the table and placed one in front of us. She removed the lids from the dishes and I felt my mouth begin to water.
"Tonight we are having smoked salmon with steamed vegetables and butter, garlic potatoes." The chef said.
Lucy smiled; "Thank you Mrs. Tanahashi." Lucy thanked. Mrs. Tanahashi bowed to us and walked out of the room and back into the kitchen. We all started to eat and it was delicious. I ate it slowly just so that I could savor every element of the meal; the softness of the potatoes; the tenderness of the salmon and the crunchiness of the vegetables. I looked up at Natsu; he was shoveling down his food. I raised an eyebrow and he looked up at me. He blushed and looked away from me. He chewed more slowly and I chuckled. Lucy chuckled as well and put a hand under her chin.
"So, Natsu; what's it like outside the city?" Lucy asked. Natsu stopped eating and looked over at Lucy.
"Well what do you want to know?" He asked.
"Well; what are the people like?" She asked.
Natsu frowned and placed his fork down on his napkin. He sighed, "Well most people that I've met so far aren't very nice to me." He started. Lucy gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "However; the friends I've made respect me for me. That's all that matters to me now. There are nice people in this world, I just haven't met that many yet. But, my friends are my world and there perfect." Lucy smiled brightly and jumped from her chair and jumped onto Natsu. I growled as they fell to the floor. Lucy looked down at him.
"Oh Natsu; I promise I'll be best friend forever. We may not know each other that well but I promise that I will always be your friend. I'll write you every day that I can." She said. Natsu smiled at her and nodded. Lucy climbed off of Natsu; she blushed as she stood up. I glared at her; who the hell does she think she is? Natsu stood back up; he picked up his chair on the way up. He sat back down and I went back to eating. Natsu seemed confused by my actions but let them slide and continued to eat. Lucy smiled as she continued to eat her dinner. Once I finished I wiped my face with the napkin and placed it back near the plate and stood up.
"Excuse me; I'll be heading back to the room. I would like to continue looking for the items on the list." I said with false politeness.
Lucy looked my way with a frown, "Aww, I was hoping we could all play a game together." She complained.
I bowed to her; "I apologized but I would like to get a head start on the list; that way we will have plenty of time to "play." I said.
She clapped her hands in joy. "Oh how exciting. Very well; I shall hope to see you in the morning then." She said. I stood up and nodded to her. I looked over at Natsu; his face showed sadness but I had to ignore it. I turned around and walked away; back to the room.
(Natsu's POV)
I looked over at Lucy; she had a smirk on her face. This confused me; why is she so happy. "What are you smirking at Lucy?" I asked curiously. She exhaled sharply and looked over at me.
She smiled; "Oh nothing."She said. I stared at her with suspicion for a moment before sighing. I finished up my dinner and stood up from the table.
"I'm going to help Gray; are you ok with that?" I asked. She pouted and stood up from her seat.
"Natsu; could you stay just a little longer; it's been so long since I got to play with anyone." She said sadly.
I bit my lip in worry. I want to go back and help Gray. But Lucy hasn't been able to hang out with anyone for a little while. What should I do?
I took a deep breath and smiled. "Alright; we can hang out for a little while. But; I will need to help Gray in a little later." I said. She smiled and grabbed my hand.
"Great; let's go to the game room and have some fun." She said. Before I could say anything she began to drag me along to the game room.
(Gray's POV)
I sat down on the bed that I and Natsu had occupied not that long ago. My knees were pulled to my now bare chest. I must have stripped off my shirt unconsciously before I sat down. My head was swimming with thoughts; jealousy; anger and annoyance. I was excited to come here and do my first job with Natsu. However; once I learned her true motive from us I knew it was a mistake. She has no interest in me; her thought only rely on Natsu. She wants me out of the picture and I plan to do that. I plan to do that by finishing this mission as quickly as possible. However; sitting here moping around is not going to quicken the process. I grabbed the photo album; placing it gently on my knees. I turned back to the page we were last on. The importance still confuses me but I hope to figure it out quickly. The door opened and I looked up from the photo album. One of the maids walked in and bowed to me.
"I apologize for the intrusion but I have a letter for you." She said. I was puzzled; who wrote me a letter and at this hour as well. She walked over to me and placed the letter near my feet. She bowed again and left the room but my main focus was on the letter. I shakily reached for the letter; my eyes showed slight fear. I shakily moved my finger towards the seal and traced it slowly. A short green light beamed from the seal. A figure appeared before it and I smiled in relief. It was just Erza. I feel silly for almost assuming the worst.
"Hey guys, sorry for sending this so late but I had just arrived at the city. I was fortunate to be able to write you this letter from the room that they had set up for me. Also; they were able to tell me the name of the noblemen's name. So, you're working for the Heartfilia family. I have to say that family is a nuisance, they try to get whatever the hell they want from anyone. It's sick. So, you better listen to me; don't buy into their nice act. Because once they have you in their web; they'll betray you in an instant." She said. I gasped and looked back at the door.
"Natsu." I muttered. I looked back at the letter.
"The only way not to end up in that situation is to finish that job of yours and fast. Give her no time to bond with you. It's the only way. I'm counting on you guys to come back in one, friendly bunch. Promise me that you'll follow my orders. I hope to see you soon at the train station. I should be there by the time you leave that house. Good luck and watch out." She said. Her message faded back into the seal. My fingers went numb; the letter slipped from my grasp. It fluttered down onto the bed; like a feather. I jumped from the bed and rushed to the door. Natsu's in trouble. I grabbed the door handle and rushed out the door.
(Natsu's POV)
I sat down on the couch as I watched Lucy. She was playing a virtual dance game; she was laughing and having a great time. She stepped to the beat; her feet never once missing the arrow that appeared on the screen. It seems she's mastered this song; as if she's played it tons of times before. However; as she danced I noticed her outfit was slightly inappropriate for a girl her age. Since she was only 12, she was still going through the stages of puberty. These things I learned during the sex talk. I shivered at that memory. But, back to the case at hand; her skirt was way too low and her shirt was a little too revealing. I hadn't noticed it earlier since she was sitting down. The game finished and she stopped dancing. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned around to me. "Well that was fun. What do you want to do?" She said. She stepped off the dance pad and walked over to me. Her pony-tail swished back in forth with each step.
"W-Well we could play one of the other games you have." I said. She put a finger to her lips; thinking about it.
"How about we just talk instead? I want to get to know you better." She said. I stayed silent but nodded a few moments later. She smiled and sat down on the couch next to me.
"Well, what would you like to know?" I said.
"Tell me; what is guild life like?" She asked.
I frowned at her. I really don't want to talk about this. That was the reason I took this job; to get away from the guild. A tear fell from my eyes and landed on the sofa. "I'm sorry; but I can't answer that. The guild life for me isn't the best right now." I cried.
"Why? What's wrong?" She asked. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked away from her.
"Please, I really don't want to talk about it." I whispered.
She sighed, "Very well." She said. She stood back up from the couch and I looked up at her. "I'm going off to bed; I recommend for you to do the same thing." She walked over to the door and walked out. I blinked; what just happened? I sighed and stood up from the couch. It doesn't matter; right now I have to get back to room to help Gray. I walked over to the door and grabbed the door handle. I was instantly knocked to the floor; a cold body holding me down. I gasped as I looked up.
"Gray; what the hell are you doing?" I asked. He looked down at me; his face showed confusion.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
I pouted; "I was before you pounced on me." I said. He chuckled and stood up. He held out his hand and I grabbed it. I stood up and released his hand. I dusted myself off and looked back at Gray. "So, why did you rush over here?"
He smiled; "No really reason." He lied.
I raised an eyebrow, "So you ran all the way over here to glomp me." I said.
"N-No; that's not it at all. I just wanted to let you know that it was getting late." He said nervously.
"Alright; you could have just said that without glomping me." I said. He sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"What am I going to do with you?" He asked happily.
I smiled at him; "Nothing; because you like the way I am." I said happily. He blushed and I chuckled. That's the Gray I know. We walked out the door of the game room and headed back to our bedrooms. Personally; I'm worried about sleeping on my own. I'm so used to sleeping next to Gray. I just hope I get some sleep at all. "Did, you figure anything else out from the list?"
He sighed; "I didn't have time; I got caught up in something." He said.
"And what would that have been?" I asked. He bit his lip in panic. What was he so nervous about?
"Uh, we got a letter from Erza." He said.
I gasped, "Really, what did she say?" I asked.
"She wished us luck." He lied.
I smiled; "Well that was nice of her. Hopefully we can write her back." I said. He nodded and we walked down hall towards our rooms. "Oh and by the way." He looked over at me. "Where's your shirt?"
He looked down at his bare chest. "Ah man; I forgot to grab my shirt. Now, what will everyone think?" He complained.
I chuckled; "Yep, because a shirtless 13 year old isn't strange." I said. He glared at me and I just smirked. "You know I'm kidding." I said.
He put his arm around my shoulders, "You better be." He said. I blushed and we stopped in front of our rooms. My room was the one the left and his was the one on the right. Gray looked over at me; he could read me like a book. "You're worried aren't you?" I nodded and he grabbed my hand. We walked into my room and he sat down on my bed. "Here's the deal; I will sleep in here with you tonight. But, tomorrow you'll try on your own." I bit my lip; can I really sleep by myself. I sighed; I have to learn sooner or later. Gray won't be around me every day.
"Alright; I promise not to bug you tomorrow." I said.
He frowned; "I never said it bugged me." He said. I walked over to the bed and sat down next to him.
"You may not think it now; but if I kept bugging you every night then it would get annoying." I said. Gray put his head on my shoulder.
"Even if you asked me every day; it would not annoy me." He said. I blinked and he looked up at me. "Come on, let's get to bed." He said. He removed his head from my shoulder and I moved over to the right side of the bed. Gray took the left side and we lay down under the blankets. I put my head on my pillow and closed my eyes. I felt Gray's arm wrap around my waist. I smiled as I fell asleep in his cold embrace.