She whispered so softly that she could barely even hear herself. "Bye."
Lucy sat quietly on her windowsill, drinking a cup of hot chocolate calmly and staring at the small droplets of rain sliding down the window, each droplet trying to race the other down the glass. She slowly blew inside her mug of the heavenly liquid and gulped it down, letting the warmth spread around her chest and to the rest of her body, licking her lips satisfyingly. She had decided to take a break from school for a day – yesterday had been a bit too much for her body, and her heart after she discovered that liked her. He held romantic feelings for her.
Being around Gray was dangerous, she had concluded yesterday, no thanks to the fact she was now 100% completely aware of the feelings she held for him. This conclusion that she had drawn yesterday deprived her of any sleep being able to take over her during the night, being replaced by hard thinking, darkness and the tossing and turning of her blankets on her bed.
While sitting on the windowsill, her thoughts trailed back to Sting and Rogue. Had they known everything from the start? Why didn't they tell her? Was her mum contacting them this whole time? Questions swirled around her head like tornadoes, giving her a headache and making her clink the cup down on the windowsill, massaging her sore temples.
"I'll have to ask those two when they get home…." Lucy mumbled to herself, gulping the rest of her hot chocolate down and standing up to put it in the kitchen sink. She pressed a button on her phone so it could display the current time – 10:07. It had been exactly 1 hour and 7 minutes since school had started that day – Lucy had taken around 3 days off school, using her 'hospital condition' as an excuse to worm her way out of the hellhole of the building.
She walked towards a small table and picked up the envelope that was sent to the Heartfilia Estate from her mother. Flipping over the letter, she stared intently at the address of the letter, an small inkling coming to mind. If she visited this house, would she meet her mother? Even if she did, would she also meet her mother's partner? She gripped the envelope and nodded to herself, a new determination blazing in her eyes.
After changing into a warm sweater, black skinny jeans and a maroon coloured beanie, she took a taxi to the address of the house. It was an extremely beautiful house – the front garden had blooming flowers, a few birdbaths and many grass sculptures of cute animals. The outside the house itself had deck and a small flight of stairs that led to the doorway. Lucy thanked the taxi driver, paid her and took a deep breath, staring back at the house.
"It's now or never," Lucy breathed to herself, heading up the stairs and staring right at the front door. She hesitantly pressed the doorbell, nearly jumping in shock when she heard multiple bangs, clatters and yells.
"Silver! Are you alright?" Her mother's familiar voice rung through her ears, nearly making Lucy tear up.
"I'm fine!" A deep and husky voice yelled out. Lucy's eyebrows twitched upwards. If her step-dad was a hunk…she wouldn't mind having a handsome step-dad, actually.
"Ahem. Hi, I'm Silver, what business do you have with us tod – AHH!" The man suddenly, screamed, making Lucy scream.
Silver had jet black hair that was slicked back, a weird scar that struck his forehead next to his right eye and a small beard, but man – he was handsome. He wore a plain black shirt and grey pants, smoking a cigarette that poked out of the corner of his mouth.
"Silver? Did you trip again? Oh dear, oh dear." Layla came running towards Silver and helped him up slowly.
"Ah – Ah –" Lucy held the envelope in her hands tightly, making it shake violently. Silver pointed towards Lucy with a shocked expression on his face, making Layla glance towards the door, her eyes going wide and tearing up.
"L – Lucy…."
"MUM!" Lucy ran and glomped her mother with all of might, making them crash to the ground.
"Mum?! Isn't she your clone?!" Silver yelled, backing away from the two.
"I missed you, mum." Lucy whispered, some of her tears dropping onto her mother's face.
"Me too dear, me too." The two embraced each other and cried tears of happiness, ignoring Silver completely.
"Erm…is that my step-dad?" Lucy stood up, helping her mother up as well and raising her eyebrows at Silver.
"What's with that tone, kiddo? Were you expecting someone different? Mind you – there's no one in the world who's stronger or more handsome than me," Silver winked at her, flexing his arms. Lucy giggled at him – he wasn't half bad. At least he wasn't a stuck up business man like Jude. The couple both welcomed Lucy in an invitation she was more than happy to accept. After she had made herself comfortable to the warm and inviting home, Layla sighed and sat down opposite of Lucy.
"I'm guessing Jude didn't tell you?" she asked, spitting out Jude's name in disgust. She shook her head, making Layla sigh again. "He didn't tell you, but I'm assuming you basically know what happened?" This time, Lucy nodded her head, watching in the corner of her eye as Silver sat down with her, taking a puff of his cigarette.
"I'm sorry honey, it's just that –"
"It's fine, mum. As long as you're happy." Lucy gave her mother a pained smile, making her frown at her daughter. Silver heaved himself up, stubbed out his cigarrete and slowly brought his big hand to her head, ruffling and messing up her hair. Not that Lucy seemed to mind.
"It's alright now, kiddo. Jude's gone. It's only me and Layla here. Just let it all out," he said soothingly, slowly wrapping his arms around her head. Lucy teared up, sniffled, and jumped into Silver's broad chest which stifled her painful crying to some degree. Layla sobbed quietly to herself and buried her head in her hands.
"How much pain have I destroyed her with to make her cry this much?"
-X-
Lucy once again sat at her windowsill like yesterday morning with her favourite mug of hot chocolate, satisfied with just looking at the bright sun radiate outside. Her glass windows didn't do much to shield her from the bright sun, but she didn't mind – today, she felt like basking in the sun. Sunbaking, if you prefer. Many thoughts swirled around her head, but less than she expected. Many of her questions had been answered as soon as she step foot into her mother's new house. Lucy thought back to the warm, cozy and homey atmosphere that the house had to offer, wanting to stay there.
But she couldn't. She wasn't part of that warm, cozy and homey atmosphere. She could almost sense it – her mother would probably get pregnant and have a baby with Silver. When thinking about this, Lucy felt like a pit of darkness had formed in her stomach. All she could imagine was the new baby, Silver and Layla sitting in the living room, cradling, feeding, spoiling the baby. Lucy, the outcast, would be sitting outside the room, begging with loud wails and cries to come in, but no-one could hear her. She wasn't part of that family, after all. Even though she wanted to be part of it, so much. So much that it hurt her and made her think of these painful thoughts.
She shook her head quietly and heaved herself off of her windowsill, peering into her empty mug. She grinned to herself and concluded she would have some more hot chocolate to reward herself in being able to go to her mother's house yesterday.
Ding dong!
The sudden ring of her doorbell made her squeal out and trip over air, the glass mug flying in the air and crashing down quickly on the floor, shattering into pieces. Lucy had huddled into a ball and covered her head in the process, only to be stabbed in the hand by a few shards of glass. She squealed out a second time as she felt some blood oozing down her hand.
"Lucy? Lucy!" Gray's familiar voice rung inside the apartment, making her heart beat faster in the blink of an eye. She looked down at herself – she was wearing a white shirt and black shorts. She sighed out in relief, thinking what would happen if she was wearing her undergarments.
"Lucy? Are you okay?!" Gray stormed in the kitchen, his eyes widening as he saw a half-bloody Lucy Heartfilia sitting in the middle of her kitchen with a broken mug next to her.
"Geez, Lucy! We have to get this cleaned up! What the hell were you thinking?" Gray scolded her, rummaging through her house for a broom and dustpan. She noticed that he was wearing his school uniform and had thrown his bag onto her couch.
"….And what do you think you're doing, barging into a woman's room so casually?" Lucy put on a poker face and stared at him with raised eyebrows. Gray, who had finally managed to find the broom and dustpan, froze in his place and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well….." he started, stopping when Lucy put a bloody hand in front of his face.
"I appreciate your help in cleaning the mess up." Lucy smirked as he rolled his eyes and continued cleaning her floor.
"You're welcome, Princess," he said.
She walked over to the sink and plucked out the shards of glass in her hands out, putting them in a recycling box. She washed her hands under warm water and dried them with a tea towel, satisfied that Gray had cleaned all the bits of glass off the floor, emptying those into the recycling box.
"Tea, hot chocolate or water?" She asked him as he moved towards her couch and saw down, shifting himself so that he was comfortable.
"Hot chocolate, please." He watched her through the door as she glided through her kitchen and prepared his drink, his heart beating uncontrollably as he watched her. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself, hugging his bag against his chest.
"Breathe, Gray, breathe," he murmured to himself as he shut his eyes and thought about relaxing on the beach. The warm sand sinking in his feet, the warm sun's rays shining on him and the calm whispering of the waves in the conch shell pressed against his ear.
"Here's your hot cho –" Lucy stopped halfway as she heard light snores from Gray. She narrowed her eyes and rotated around Gray, seeing his chest rise and fall delicately.
"How dare you sleep in my house!" She whispered to herself, putting the mug of hot chocolate down. She took quiet steps towards her cupboard and dragged out a fluffy blanket, carrying it in her arms and shutting the door with her back. Tippy-toeing towards him, she spread the blanket over his body so that it covered all of him.
"Why did you choose to like me, out of all people?" She stroked his face for a bit, playing with his dark hair, sighing a few times. She plopped down next to him and leaned on his side with her back, her feet just hanging over the couch, swinging her legs over the edge. She stifled a small yawn and snuggled closer to Gray and the blanket wrapped around him. All thoughts that clouded her mind slowly disappeared from her mind, her brain focusing on the warmth of the room and how she felt so comfortable and relaxed. Mulling over these thoughts of hers, Lucy soon fell into a relaxing slumber next to Gray.
"I wonder where Gray went in such a hurry, we just started school," Levy thought out loud while reading a book in the library. She was lying down near a window, her skirt pulled down as low as it could go so that no one could see her panties.
"Nice underwear, shrimp."
Except for Gajeel. Of course. Levy rolled her eyes and peered behind her, glaring at Gajeel who slowly walked till he was in front of her, leisurely plopping himself down on a seat.
"Probably went to go visit his girlfriend," Gajeel drawled, rolling his eyes and leaning his arms on the back of the chair.
"What, you jealous?" Levy asked with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe."
For some reason, Levy's heart stung with a little stab of pain, making her wince slightly.
"I'm joking, I'm joking. She's been Stripper's girl right from the start. I always knew they would get together," Gajeel smirked, obviously proud of his talent of matchmaking and not afraid to show it off to the world. The pain in Levy's heart subsided, making her breath out a sigh of relief. Gajeel looked at her weirdly for a bit, but shook his head and ridding his mind free of the little inkling that Levy held romantic feelings towards him.
-X-
"Urgh….where am I?" Gray woke up slowly, his eyes half open and trying to identify where he was. He recognised nothing in the room he was in and flipped through his memories, trying to remember where he was.
"That's right! I was waiting for Lucy and –" Gray tried to stand up but felt a weight on his left shoulder. As he looked to see what was weighing him down, his eyes bulged out of their pockets and he shut his mouth immediately upon seeing a sleeping Lucy using his arm as a pillow. He debated with himself whether he should wake her up or slowly get off the couch while letting her sleep.
"She even gave me a blanket…" Gray murmured to himself, lifting her head off the blanket, grabbing the soft material and covering it over her instead. He slowly lifted her head again and lowered it down onto the couch where he was once sitting, sighing a breath of relief as her eyes kept shut and she stayed asleep. He loitered around the living room and the kitchen for a little, staring at the furniture and some of the photos around her room, but soon enough, got bored of exploring. He sat in front of Lucy and admired her sleeping face – she looked like a cute little baby, her cheeks rosy red and looking squishy as hell.
He resisted the urge to kiss her on the lips right there – who wouldn't? Her hair was sprayed over the couch, some of it sliding down her shoulder, and the white oversized shirt she was wearing made her look even cuter than she was. He pulled the blanket over her shoulder a bit more and smiled goofily at her, starting to play with her hair.
"I don't get this braiding thing at all," Gray grumbled to himself as he failed over and over again to braid her hair. "Maybe I should just go get a drink." He stood up and walked over to the kitchen, and as soon as he did that, Lucy's eyes shot open.
"Idiot! Why are you playing with my hair?!" She screamed to herself, blushing slightly. She got up slowly, rubbed her eyes and yawned as if she just woke up.
"Oh, Lucy, you're awake." Gray popped his head from the kitchen grabbing the mug of hot chocolate she had made for him before out of the microwave. She peeled the blanket off herself and walked into the kitchen, hunting for some food, grinning in triumph when she found some leftover cake, bear gummies and some chocolate chip cookies.
"Goo nyouuuu gwant shum?" Lucy spat out, bits of cake spraying out of her mouth.
"Uh…..yes?" Gray hesitantly replied to her gibberish question, taking some of the cookies from the tray she was holding. She sat down next to him, swallowing down the last bits of her cake with a big gulp.
"So…Gray."
The air suddenly turned serious and tense and Lucy started off her sentence, alarming Gray. Had he done something wrong? What was happening?
"About the um….the day we were at the hospital ward," Lucy continued, looking down. Gray noticed that her ears were a bright pink.
"…Yes?" He answered slowly, wiping some crumbs off his mouth with his sleeve.
"I was awake."
"…"
"I heard everything you said that day."
"Ah – erm…." Gray quickly swivelled his head around, his face boiling hot and about to explode. "So you w – were listening that day… I s – see," Gray stated as calmly as he could. Lucy turned her head away as well, forcing her face to stop going red.
Gray sighed a little and scratched the back of his head. "I had an idea you were awake…so I guess it's natural you overheard m – me...I think," Gray stuttered, thinking back to the time he confessed to Lucy while she was 'asleep'.
"G – Gray…" Lucy turned towards him and bit her lip, waiting for him to go on, until…
CREAK!
"Yo, Lucy! Sorry, just wanted to pop in for a bit. You left your beanie – oh, Lucy, who's that guy?" Silver leaned against the doorframe, holding Lucy's beanie in his hand.
"Eh? Silver! W–w-why are you here?" Lucy asked him, flustered. She ran up to him and grabbed her beanie back, throwing on the couch, looking from Gray to Silver and back and forth with an extremely flustered face. "You could've just left it in the mailbox or at the front door!" Lucy yelled at him, punching him lightly on the arm playfully.
"Oh? I didn't really notice, but you actually have a pretty big chest," Silver looked at her teasingly, taking a puff of the cigarette that forever hung on the corner of his mouth.
"W – where do you think you're touching?! Kyaaaah!" Lucy squealed, trying to escape from his firm grip.
"Heyyy, who's that? Can I pet him or what?" As Silver spoke, the cigarette moved up and down through his teeth. Lucy winced as some of the ash fell into her hair.
"Get rid of that cigarette, Silver!" Lucy pouted at him as she wrapped his arm around her shoulder and used her head as a rest. Gray sweatdropped at these two, making him shocked as they acted so….intimate. Was this her boyfriend? As he thought, she had a boyfriend….He guessed it was to be expected from a girl like her. He looked a bit old, though. Did she fancy older guys?
"Everybody smokes, right?" Silver had crouched in front of Gray and extended the cigarette in front of Gray's face, dangling it and making the smoke attack his face.
"N – no, I –"
Gray was cut off when Lucy kicked Silver's head. The impact was so strong it forced his head all the way down to the floor, making Lucy laugh when she heard his back crack painfully.
"Serves you right for smoking in my apartment," Lucy nodded to him as she handed him an ashtray. He inwardly questioned why she had it but shook his head and decided not to pry.
"Lucy, daughters don't perform axe kicks on their fathers, you know?" Silver rubbed his head painfully and groaned.
"Oh, so he's her father. Wait, what? Wasn't Jude her father? No wait, he raped her mother. So who was this guy? Her step-father?" Gray thought to himself.
"I'm not even your daught –" Lucy stopped halfway and frowned, taking the ashtray and emptying it in the bin. Silver chuckled and shook it off. So she wasn't used to having a step-father, after all.
"I decide to visit your house for the first time and all I see is my daughter treats me with violence and an unknown guy sitting in her house. Suspicious, hmm?" Silver grabbed onto Lucy like a life support when she came back, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"Gray, this is Silver, my step-dad. Silver, this is Gray," Lucy explained.
"Yo, nice to meet you. I'm Silver F. Heartfilia." Silver grinned, wrapping his arms tighter around Lucy's neck.
"Let go of me!" Lucy yelled at him, throwing his arms off of her and pushing him onto the couch.
"Make me some food, Lucy. I want to try your cooking," Silver grinned.
"Huuh?" Lucy scoffed at him, but complying anyways and walking towards the kitchen to make some soup or something.
"She complains but makes me food anyways," Silver chuckled, making Gray feel awkward sitting next to him.
"Maybe I should stand up and introduce myself…" Gray thought to himself, standing up. " U – um –"
"Just sit back and relax!" Silver yanked him back down, making Gray sweatdrop.
"So, what school do you go to, Gray?"
"I'm a junior at Fairy Tail High - I'm in Lucy's class."
"Same age as Lucy?"
"Y…Yes…"
"How's school and stuff?"
"Okay…I guess."
"Ah crap – did I interrupt you guys? Sorry," Silver apologised, scratching the back of his head.
"Wha – no – of course not!" Gray shook his hands in front of his face a little too stiffly.
"Alright, gain way –" Lucy smashed a bowl of soup into Silver's head with a loud thud, making Gray sweatdrop.
"Lucy…I'd appreciate it if you would put it on the table," Silver groaned again as he grabbed the hot soup in his bare hands, unaffected.
"I'm keep that in mind," Lucy answered sarcastically.
"So, Gray, are you a single child? Middle child? Eldest brother?"
"I'm the youngest child. My older brother and sister are twins."
"Lucyyyyy -! Lucyyyyyyy-!"
"Wha?! I'll be there in a sec!" Lucy yelled at him as she turned the stove off, ladle still in hand and walking over to the two boys on her couch.
"I was planning to ask Gray too, but it's like that, right? Gray's your boyfriend?"
"Tha –"
Gray looked towards Lucy with a scarlet-red face, watching as he mentally exploded right in front of her.
"That's…That's right, do you have a problem with that?!" She yelled at him, pressing the boiling hot ladle that was in a steaming pot a few seconds ago to his eyes, making him scream out in pain.
"L – Lucy..." Gray mumbled, looking at her with shocked eyes.
"Alright, enough with the questionaries. Gray, you never got to introduce yourself, right?" Lucy nodded towards Gray, her face still blazing red and burning as she sat down. He got up and bowed slightly.
"It's nice to meet you, Lucy's step-dad. I'm Gray Fullbuster."
"…Fullbuster?"
"Mmm."
"Why, do you know the Fullbusters?" Lucy asked Silver, blowing on her soup.
"Yeah…ever wondered what the 'F' in Silver F Heartfilia stood for?"
Lucy and Gray's eyes both widened significantly. Lucy dropped her soup spoon, the food spraying droplets of itself onto her clothes. "N – No way…"
Gray could only stare in shock at Silver as he asked a question in horror.
"Are you my…Dad?"
A/N: gasp! If Silver is Gray's missing dad, then wouldn't Gray and Lucy be subtly related to each other?! is this forbidden love?! tell me what you thought in a review!
Make sure to review & read / support my other stories: Valentine's Day, Darkness, Of Dragonslayers love and best friends, The proposal, Fairy Tail Academy and Replacement!
- hime