Swimming with the Fishes
Sunday, November 1st, 2020
-Magnolia City-
She'd first noticed him in the lobby of their hotel.
A school of silvery fish danced past Lucy's wide eyes as she stood before the large glass face of one of the Aquarium's exhibits, watching the underwater life teem with wonder.
It'd been years since Lucy had last been to an Aquarium, and she'd forgotten how calming it could be. While this Aquarium was small compared to some, it still had a large variety of exhibits, with both freshwater and salt water tanks. And the main attraction was clearly this one, its large glass face stretching high up towards the ceiling, with an impressive deep sea landscape within. Lucy even spotted a couple of small sharks swimming languidly along the sandy bottom.
She glanced back behind her and surveyed the rest of the room, looking for her friends. The Aquarium wasn't packed, but there were several other guests there, all spread out among the exhibits.
Gray and Natsu were squabbling over something near the touch tanks, positioned in the center of the room.
Lucy chuckled at the sight, noticing that although they were clearly annoyed with each other, their bodies were tense as if trying to hold themselves back. And sure enough, she spotted the scarlet red hair of the girl named Erza only a couple of feet away from them. Something about that women seemed to keep those two in check, it was certainly surprising to see.
A little further away, Cana and Lisanna were standing in front of a tank filled with sea jellies, and Levy was nearby, reading a placard on the wall.
Turning further, she spotted Jet and Droy, over by the octopus tank. Jet was clearly on edge also, but the sight made her frown. He'd gone too far, earlier in the lobby, and she knew Levy was still upset. He'd need to apologize if they were going to move on from this, but just by looking at him now, Lucy knew he wasn't going to.
Poor Droy was trying to distract his friend, but from the way Jet kept glancing angrily over at Levy, whose back was pointedly towards him, Lucy knew something would have to give. She sighed.
She noticed that Gray was looking around the room and she realized with a start she wasn't sure where Juvia had gone off to.
She glanced around herself before finally spotting a hint of blue, hiding behind one of the room's support pillars. Her eyes widened at the sight, as Juvia peeked around the pillar and stared intently at Gray. Lucy could see her from the angle she was at, but she was betting Gray wouldn't be able to, from where he was in the middle of the room.
The sight made her chuckle. What a strange woman. She seemed pretty shy… it was making Lucy feel a bit guilty for crashing what she was now suspecting might have been a date. Maybe they could make it up to Gray and Juvia later…
She hummed, pondering this, when she turned a bit further and finally glanced over at him.
The man who was following her.
Although it'd been bright and sunny outside, inside the Aquarium it was dark. Blue watery light reflected off the floor from the tanks, and only the occasional spotlight was positioned strategically throughout the room, illuminating the posters that described each tank. It was a little chilly too, surrounded by vast amounts of water, and Lucy shivered.
On the outside, the man seemed perfectly normal, like any other guest. Average height. Nondescript clothing. He had a hat on, and it was pulled forward slightly, obscuring his hair and his face. He'd been careful not to turn towards her fully, so she couldn't pick out anything distinctive about him.
But he was following her, she was sure of it.
When you grow up as the daughter to one of the country's wealthiest business conglomerates, you learned how to notice things.
Like a bag, left on a park bench. Or someone on the sidewalk who bumps into you. Or a random stranger in a crowd.
Maybe the bag is innocent, or maybe it's a bomb. Maybe the pedestrian is clumsy, or maybe they're a pick pocket. And maybe the random stranger in the crowd is just another face, or maybe their shifty eyes means that they're an assassin, with a knife or a gun.
Lucy had learned from a young age how to notice when things weren't quite right, and how to listen to her gut when it whispered warnings. And in the lobby of their hotel, when she'd been talking to Levy and Cana and Lisanna, she'd noticed him on a bench at the other end of the large room, casually reading a newspaper, and she'd felt it. That something… wasn't quite right.
Then she'd noticed him at the Café, sipping coffee. And now here he was at the Aquarium, casually walking between the exhibits across the room. Always keeping his distance, always halfway turned away from her.
She could feel his eyes on her though, when she turned her back, and it made her neck crawl.
Since moving to Hargeon Town, Lucy had been careful not to reveal her identity. She never used her last name since it'd be all too recognizable for her father's many businesses. And so far she'd managed to be pretty safe. Enough so that maybe she'd gotten a little complacent…
It'd been a while since someone had followed her and she frowned in thought. She couldn't quite figure out why. And until she could figure that out, she wasn't quite certain if her friends were in danger…
"Lucy?"
Lucy gave a start, spinning towards Levy who was glancing her over with concern. The other girl had walked up to her when she'd been lost in thought and now Lucy held a hand to her racing heart, smiling awkwardly at her friend.
"Is everything alright?" Levy asked.
"Yes! Yes, everything is fine," Lucy said, reaching out and squeezing Levy's hand to reassure her. "I was just distracted! You surprised me!"
Lucy didn't want to worry her friends. As long as the man was keeping his distance, she didn't think it made sense to tell them. And she could tell from the bags under Levy's eyes that she'd had a long night.
Honestly, Lucy was pretty tired herself. She'd slept in, but the two girls hadn't gotten much sleep the night prior, either, and alcohol never helped.
But speaking of Levy's long night, Lucy grinned wickedly and Levy groaned, glancing away.
"But hey, you actually have a lot you still need to tell me," Lucy teased, and Levy couldn't meet her eyes.
"Ugh, I don't even know where to start…"
"Well, usually a good place to start things is at the beginning," Lucy said with a wink and Levy rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's such a long story, I'm not even sure… well, really the reason I came over here was just to let you know I was going to go find a bathroom. I was thinking I'd head towards some of the rooms over there," Levy said, and Lucy followed her gaze towards the hallway, which clearly led further into the Aquarium.
She glanced hesitantly towards the man. His back was to them.
"Did you want to come?" Levy asked, peering at Lucy suspiciously, then following her gaze across the room.
"What do you keep looking at?" she asked, snapping Lucy's attention back to her.
"Nothing!" Lucy said. "Nothing, really, it's nothing. Uh, I think I'll stay here, with everyone else…," she said, trailing off. In some ways she wondered if she should go with Levy, but she also wanted to test something…
"Hmm, alright," Levy said. "I'll be back soon then," she said, and she watched as Lucy nodded, already seemingly distracted again.
With a shrug Levy left, heading further into the Aquarium in search of a bathroom. Was it just her, or was Lucy really out of it? Maybe she was also just tired? It'd been a long night, after all…
Lucy watched Levy leave from the corner of her eye, then glanced at the man once more, waiting to see what he'd do.
But he simply turned, slowly perusing another exhibit across the room, as if he hadn't noticed Levy's exit at all. He made no move to follow her, and Lucy sighed in relief.
At least he didn't seem to be a threat to her friends. But she still had no idea why he was following her, and she decided that until she found that out, it'd probably be a good idea to stick close to Natsu…
Gray scowled at just another dumb thing Natsu had just said.
He and Juvia had been at the Aquairum for a grand total of five minutes before the rest of his friends had stormed on in, and their happy-go-lucky attitude about the whole thing was really pissing him off.
Couldn't they see they had completely ruined his plans with Juvia?!
And speaking of Juvia, where the hell was she?! She'd disappeared almost as soon as Natsu and Erza had come up to him, and he couldn't spot her anywhere as he glanced around the room.
"Oh my god, is that a cat?" Natsu yelled, and Gray rolled his eyes again at just how stupid his friend could be.
"There's no way there'd be a cat here, Natsu, this is an Aquarium!" he said exasperatedly, turning with little interest to look at whatever Natsu had clearly misidentified, when his eyes opened in shock at what was quite obviously a cat, mewing at Natsu's legs.
A blue cat. What the hell?!
Gray watched in shock as Natsu happily scooped the cat up with his good arm, and it mewed, nuzzling into the boy's neck.
"What do you have there, Natsu?" came Erza's voice from nearby and both boys flinched.
"Quick! Gray! Help me hide him!" Natsu hissed, suddenly in a panic, quickly shoving the cat at a reluctant Gray.
"Eh?! No way! Why should I hide him? How am I gonna hide him?!"
"Just take off your shirt or something! Like you always do, Stripper!" Natsu said, and Gray scowled back at him, but he quickly pulled his shirt up over his head and wrapped it around the squirming ball of fur.
"Stop moving!" he growled.
"Gray? Natsu?"
Gray hissed and without thinking, shoved the whole pile of shirt and cat into a trash can nearby.
"What's going on?" Erza asked, stopping in front of the nervous boys, her eyes narrowed as she glanced between them.
"You haven't been fighting, have you?" she asked, crossing her arms, and they shook their heads.
"Gray, where the hell is your shirt?"
"Uh, I lost it-!" Gray snapped, and Natsu nodded rapidly.
"Yep! He's a stripper!"
Gray glowered at him, shoving his elbow into Natsu's side.
"Gray, this is a public venue, I really don't think-," Erza started to say but she was quickly cut off by Gray.
"Erza! Did you know this place is known for their strawberry cake?!" he said quickly.
Erza blinked.
"Gray, I'm not an idiot, this is an Aquairum, not a bakery!"
"I know! I know, but it's true! There's a restaurant here that sells food and stuff to the visitors and they've got this really great strawberry cake! I swear, uh, Juvia was just telling me about it…"
"… your friend?" Erza asked, frowning as she glanced around the room. "Where did she go, by the way?"
"Yeah, I'd like to know that, too," Gray grumbled, "but seriously, it's great, or, er, so I've heard. The restaurant is just further inside, down the hall…"
He pointed towards the hallway that presumably led to more exhibits and Erza blinked at it.
"Well…" she said, her growing curiosity apparent on her face. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check…"
But she glanced at the boys suspiciously.
"You better not go anywhere or fight while I'm gone," she snapped, and they both nodded, smiling awkwardly.
"Alright, I'll be back soon," she said, and turned to confidently strut down the hallway, leaving the boys sweating in her wake.
"Oh man," said Natsu, as he watched her disappear down the hall. "How crazy is it that this place sells famous strawberry cake?! What a handy coincidence!"
"It doesn't, idiot," Gray grumbled. "I made it up."
Natsu cracked up, "Better hope she doesn't kill you when she comes back!" he teased and Gray scowled.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. But who knows, maybe there really was strawberry cake for sale here, somewhere in the Aquarium? There was a blue cat, after all.
"Hey, where'd the cat go?!" Natsu asked and Gray glowered as he reached into the trash, pulling out the bundle that had once been his shirt.
"Crap!" he hissed, immediately dropping it and Natsu cried out, diving forward to intercept the shirt plus cat bundle before it could hit the cold concrete.
"Gray!" Natsu cried, frowning up at him. "How could you?!"
"Damn thing scratched me!"
"What did you expect?! You threw him in the trash!"
Gray's scowl grew darker as he rubbed his scratched hand, eyeing Natsu and that dumb cat as they cuddled on the ground.
The cat seemed quite happy to be there, licking at Natsu's cheek as he laughed, but whenever it glanced up at Gray it almost felt like it was glaring back at him.
Damn cat…
Levy walked along one of the exhibits she'd found deeper inside the Aquarium, eyeing a long eel as it swam into a tunnel. It was dark in this hallway, shadows spilling out from the corners. Several other guests walked past, mostly families with children, and Levy smiled at some of kids' awestruck expressions.
She glanced up and noticed the scarlet haired woman they'd met earlier strut confidently by, her footsteps echoing as she walked. She blinked, wondering where she was going.
Levy was on her way back from the bathrooms, and she figured she'd meet back up with her friends in the great room at the front.
She walked down the hallway and emerged again by the large deep sea exhibit. She was about to walk back over to Lucy when she noticed the hint of a blue hat sticking out from behind a support pillar nearby.
She watched with growing amusement as Juvia stuck her head out, staring intently across the room.
Levy followed her gaze and spotted Gray, who was still on the other side of the touch tanks with Natsu, squabbling over something.
Levy chuckled.
Juvia seemed a little odd. She talked about herself in the third person and she was obviously quite shy.
But seeing her now also reminded Levy of what the woman had asked her earlier.
Somehow, this woman knew Gajeel and Levy wanted to know how. And maybe the woman would have answers to some of Levy's other questions…
She quietly walked over to the pillar that Juvia was tucked behind and she smiled warmly at the other woman when she glanced up at her approach.
It was dark behind the pillar. Blue light from the large exhibit nearby washed over Juvia, almost helping her hide in the shadows.
"Hi Juvia," she said. "I'm Levy, one of Gray's friends."
Juvia nodded, "Juvia remembers Levy."
"Are you… enjoying the Aquarium?" Levy asked awkwardly.
"Sure," Juvia said, humming thoughtfully. "Juvia loves the Aquairum. That's why she suggested it to Gray-Sama. And his friends, of course."
"Oh," Levy said, blinking. "I see. Yes, it's nice, thanks for recommending it to us. Does that mean you live in Magnolia City?"
Juvia nodded.
"You and Gray met last night?" Levy asked, and Juvia nodded again, glancing back at the man.
"At the Dragon's Den," she said. "He was looking for you."
"Ahh," Levy said, feeling awkward again. But of course, Gray hadn't found her, since she'd been with Gajeel…
"Actually, Juvia I wanted to ask you something," she started, and the woman turned to look at Levy with those deep blue eyes of hers.
Levy hesitated, perturbed by the woman's gaze. She could tell why Gray liked her, she was quite beautiful…
"Uh," Levy said, clearing her throat. "About what you asked me, if I know Gajeel…"
Juvia hummed, eyeing the other girl.
"I do know him, actually, and I was wondering how… how do you know him?" Levy asked.
Juvia paused, considering the question.
"Juvia has known Gajeel for many years. We are good friends."
Levy blinked in surprise.
"You're good friends?" she found herself asking, and the woman nodded. "Do you happen to know Lily also?"
Juvia's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"Levy knows Lily?" she asked, and Levy nodded.
"Yeah, I met him this morning."
"Hmm," Juvia hummed. "Interesting."
"Are the three of you all good friends?"
"Well…" Juvia paused. "Juvia knows Lily but she doesn't spend as much time with him as Gajeel. They are friends through the gym. Juvia met Gajeel through work…"
Levy inhaled sharply, there it was, a reference to his work. Something her curiosity was dying to know more about. But she could tell the other woman was being careful with her words and she knew she'd better tread carefully…
"Through work?" she couldn't help from asking, hoping the woman would elaborate.
Juvia turned to Levy thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes.
"Juvia thinks it's best if we leave it at that," she said coolly, and Levy swore in her head.
Juvia turned her eyes back to Gray, and Levy followed, both girls watching the man across the room. Levy glanced at the exhibit nearby, admiring a large stingray that swam near the glass.
She was trying to think of some way to circle back to Gajeel and his work when Juvia suddenly asked, "How long has Levy known Gray-Sama?"
"Ehh?" Levy said, caught off guard. "Gray? I don't know, quite a while I suppose…"
"Does…" Juvia started, as if hesitant, "Does… Gray-Sama happen to have a girlfriend…?"
"Ehh?!"
The woman before her, who had moments before seemed so cool and collected, now looked like a little girl in love, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she anxiously awaited Levy's answer. Levy couldn't keep the smirk from her face and suddenly she had an idea.
"Listen, Juvia, let's trade," she said, grinning widely. "I'll answer questions about Gray, and you can answer some more of my questions. What do you think?"
Juvia narrowed her eyes again suspiciously.
"What kinds of questions?" she asked and Levy shrugged.
"I just want to know a bit more about Gajeel."
"Why?" Juvia asked and Levy paused.
"Well, he's… my… friend, too, I suppose, and I'm just curious," she finally said, hoping that would be a good enough reason.
"Levy considers Gajeel to be a friend?" the woman asked, and Levy shrugged.
Juvia was surprised. Gajeel wasn't a very social guy. She wasn't sure how Gajeel knew the cute bluenette before her, but she found it interesting that the woman seemed to consider Gajeel to be a friend. He honestly wasn't very friendly. Was she just too nice for her own good…?
"How does Levy-chan know Gajeel?" she found herself asking now curiously but Levy winked at her, holding up a finger.
"Ah! That's a question! What do you say, should we trade questions?"
Juvia eyed the girl again, who seemed to have a hopeful glint in her eye. She honestly wasn't too sure but… she really wanted to know more about Gray.
"Alright," she said nodding, and Levy smiled back broadly.
"Sweet. Okay, is that your first question then?"
Juvia nodded, "Yes, how does Levy-chan know Gajeel."
"We met accidentally a couple years ago in Hargeon Town," Levy said, finger to her chin as she recalled the meeting. "He… helped me out when I needed it."
"Hargeon Town?" Juvia hummed. "Juvia supposes Gajeel has been sent there, on occasion…"
Levy blinked.
'Sent there.'
Lily had said it that exact same way, too.
"Do you mean… he was sent there for work?" she asked, and Juvia nodded hesitantly.
"Huh," Levy said, but before she could think any further on it Juvia blurted out, "Does Gray-sama have a girlfriend?"
Levy chuckled, shaking her head in amusement as Juvia sighed with relief. Levy knew of lots of girls in college who had found Gray attractive, but Juvia was the first one he seemed to be interested in back. It was honestly quite cute.
"Okay, how often is Gajeel sent to Hargeon?" Levy asked next and Juvia seemed to be thinking about it.
"Not often," she said. "Only a couple times a year, maybe? At most? Usually around Halloween, actually…"
Well that would make sense, considering when Levy had run into the man. She was dying to ask outright why he was sent to Hargeon, but she knew if she was too direct the other woman might not answer.
Juvia herself was distracted with thoughts of Gray and she found herself realizing with a blush that her first question hadn't quite been complete.
"Does…," she started to ask, stumbling over her words. "Does Gray-Sama, perchance, have a… boyfriend?" she asked and Levy started to cackle.
"Or, a significant o-other! Of any kind?!" Juvia quickly amended. She really didn't know much about him at all! Who knows?!
"No!" Levy laughed. "No, he really doesn't. He has no love life at all! I don't think he ever has-!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Or-," she quickly added, starting to back track.
She wanted to help Gray look appealing to this girl, and wait, maybe it sounded totally lame for him to have zero experience-?! But luckily Juvia didn't look like she minded at all. In fact she looked absolutely relieved, clutching her flushed cheeks as she beamed.
"That is good to know," she said, and Levy smiled back at her.
It was Levy's turn to ask a question. She had a million things she wanted to ask, but she felt like she wasn't actually getting anywhere… She eyed the other woman carefully and, after a moment of thought, decided to make a gamble.
"Why… why was José happy that Gajeel won the fight?" she asked, and Juvia snapped her head up, eyes wide as she stared back at Levy in surprise.
"Levy-chan knows about José?!" she asked, and Levy hesitantly nodded.
She felt a bit guilty to be deceiving the other woman but… no, she wanted to know more. And well, she did technically know about this José guy, right?
But Juvia seemed positively stunned. She shook her head in wonder.
"Juvia is surprised Gajeel would talk to Levy-chan about such things," she said, and Levy flinched. Well he hadn't exactly talked to her about it, but it didn't hurt to not say that, right?
"Well then, if Levy-chan already knows about José, of course she'd know why he was happy Gajeel won the fight," Juvia continued, and Levy paused awkwardly.
"Because José had a lot of money in it," Juvia continued, and Levy exhaled in relief. She nodded, that made sense. It was just like she'd thought, there'd been money riding on that fight.
"And, well, José doesn't like it when things don't go his way…," the woman continued, glancing back across the room at Gray and Natsu. "When Pink- uh, Natsu, did so well, José was likely furious…"
Levy frowned as she followed the woman's gaze toward her friends.
"What is Gray's connection to Fairy Tail?" Juvia asked now, turning a curious eye to Levy.
Levy blinked. To… the hotel? The Fairy Tail Hotel, Casino, and Suites?
"Uh, we're just staying there while we're in town?" she said, and the woman before her seemed to visibly relax.
"That is a relief to hear," she said. "Juvia was concerned that Gray might be working for Fairy Tail. But it is as she thought, you all live in Hargeon Town, right? So none of you have a connection to Fairy Tail?"
Levy blinked again, she was still talking about the hotel, right? Why would Juvia have been worried about Gray working at a hotel?
She nodded along anyways, the other woman humming in relief.
"Well that actually makes sense, considering Gajeel-kun would never befriend someone who worked for Fairy Tail," Juvia said, referring to Levy.
Levy frowned. Were they really so prejudiced against a hotel?
"Levy-chan, please," Juvia said now, clutching her hands in front of her chest. "Please don't talk to Gray-Sama about José and Phantom Lord. Things are already so complicated…" she broke off, looking back at Gray again sadly. "Juvia knows it is dangerous to be here, but… as long as Gray doesn't work for Fairy Tail, maybe Juvia can make it work. But it is something she must talk about with Gray, herself."
Levy was completely confused now... What was 'Phantom Lord'? It was dangerous for Juvia to be there? Did she mean here in the Aquarium? But wasn't she the one who had suggested they go there? And everything would be okay as long as Gray didn't work at a hotel? What was wrong with their hotel?!
But before she could reply, a loud splash came from the center of the room, and she and Juvia both glanced back to the boys, and Levy's eyes widened in horror because what the hell was going on?!
5 Minutes Earlier…
Lucy smiled as she walked over to Natsu and Gray, who were still next to the touch tanks in the middle of the room.
"Heya Luce!" Natsu called, waving excitedly.
She glanced briefly at the man across the room before waving back.
"Hey guys," she said warmly. "Where did Erza go?"
"Hah, Gray told her there was strawberry cake being sold here," Natsu said, smiling devilishly at Gray, who seemed annoyed. "When she comes back she's gonna be pissed."
"Who knows, Flame Brain, maybe she'll find some?" Gray scowled, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "After all, you found that."
Lucy followed Gray's eyes and her own widened with shock when she noticed the cat rubbing itself against Natsu's legs.
And it was blue!
"Natsu?!" Lucy cried. "What is a cat doing here?! And why is it blue?!"
"He's probably here for the same reason we are!" he said, smiling down at the cat proudly. "To look at some fish!"
"Natsu, I don't think cats know the difference between fish and food! An Aquarium isn't a supermarket!"
"Ahh, he's harmless!" Natsu claimed, and the cat strode over to Lucy, meowing happily. "Look! I named him 'Happy'! Because he seems so happy!"
"I don't know if I'd call it 'happy' or 'hungry'," Lucy said, eyeing the cat.
"Why is the cat bwue?" came a small voice, and Lucy and Natsu both glanced to the side in surprise, seeing a small girl with dark green hair. She was wearing an orange cowboy hat and clutching what looked like a snow globe, as she stared at the happy cat strutting back and forth between Natsu and Lucy, rubbing himself against their legs.
Lucy blinked in surprise then smiled warmly, crouching down to be on the other girl's level.
"That's a good question, huh," she said brightly, meeting the little girl's curious eyes. "Honestly, I don't know! I just met him today, too!"
The little girl glanced between Lucy and Natsu, seemingly deep in thought, when she suddenly asked, "Do you kiss?"
"Ehh?" Lucy asked, glancing up at Natsu who looked equally surprised by the little girl's question.
"Mommy and daddy kiss all the time," she continued. "You should kiss, too! Kiss! Kiss!"
"Well, it wouldn't hurt," Natsu said, chuckling, and Lucy stood, recoiling from him in shock.
"Yeah but that's not the issue here!" she cried. "This is a public space!"
But between the little girl urging them to kiss and that look Natsu sometimes got in his eye, Lucy freaked out, snatching up the blue cat Natsu had named Happy and holding him in front of herself as a shield.
Natsu laughed and pulled away, but being at a new height gave Happy an unobstructed view of the fish in the touch tanks, and if anyone had been watching him closely they may have noticed a new gleam come into the cat's eyes.
Lucy shrieked in surprise as the cat leaped from her arms, seeming to fly through the air before crashing into the tanks.
"No! Happy!" Lucy cried, rushing after the cat and leaning into the tanks. "Happy! Stop! Fish are friends! Not food!"
Lucy grabbed onto the cat, pulling it from the frothing water with all her might as it splashed about. It wriggled in her arms much like a fish itself as she pulled it from the tank, dropping the squirming and soaking cat onto the ground.
"Oh my god!" Lucy exclaimed, panting, and Natsu started to laugh.
Gray, who had been watching wide-eyed, now blushed, turning away from her.
"Uh, Lucy, your um, your shirt…"
Lucy glanced down at herself and realized in dismay that she was drenched and the water had made her shirt entirely see-through.
"Ugh!" she groaned, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"It's not bad though," Gray said, in a reassuring manner. "Uh, at least you're wearing clothes this time, right?"
And Lucy blushed deeply at the memory of Gray walking in on her in the bathroom earlier that morning.
"…What?" came a voice, and Lucy realized Natsu had stopped laughing.
"Crap," she muttered, desperately glancing between Natsu and Gray. Stupid Gray!
"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked, starting to glare as he glanced between them, and Lucy glanced at Gray in embarrassment.
"Uh, it's really not a big deal, Natsu, but Gray… kinda accidentally walked in on me in the shower this morning," she said, Gray wincing.
"But I really didn't see anything, there was tons of steam and…" Gray tried explaining, but Natsu had developed a dark look in his eyes.
"Gray-Sama… saw Lucy naked?"
The three of them looked over and saw Levy and Juvia had run up to them, presumably after the commotion of Happy diving into the touch tanks.
"Crap!" Gray groaned, running a hand down his face. "Juvia, I didn't see anything-!"
"Hey Gray," Natsu snapped. "Ya already took off your shirt, looks like you wanna go for a swim."
"Natsu! It's not like that! I swear!" Gray cried, holding his hands up, but the other man was already storming over to him.
"You're dead!" Natsu cried, grabbing Gray around the waist and launching him into the tank, resulting in a much larger splash than when Happy had dove in.
Gray emerged from the water, sputtering, but had seconds to regain his breath before Natsu was jumping in after him.
"Oh my god!" Levy cried. "We have to stop them! This is an Aquarium!"
She rushed forward, desperately leaning over the edge of the tank, trying to grab at them.
Natsu and Gray were throwing punches at each other as they wriggled in the water, splashing it up over the edges of the tank. Natsu was a bit disadvantaged because of his sling, but he seemed to be paying it no mind, attempting to punch Gray with that arm anyway.
Lucy was about to join Levy when she heard, "Lucy! Are you a love rival for Gray?!"
She glanced back and shivered when she met Juvia's eyes, the girl looked half crazed.
"I- what?" Lucy gasped, "No! Not at all! Natsu is my boyfriend!"
"Wait, what?!" Levy gasped, pulling back from where she'd been leaning into the tank and staring up at her friend in shock.
Lucy flinched, realizing she hadn't told Levy yet about anything that had happened between her and Natsu last night and she started to blush furiously, frantically glancing between Juvia's angry glare and Levy's shocked face and Natsu and Gray who were still fighting in the middle of the touch tanks.
Just then she spotted a flash of red behind Juvia and her eyes widened in relief.
"Oh thank god! Erza! You have to stop them!" Lucy cried, pointing to the two boys, water splashing everywhere.
"What the hell is going on?!" Erza exclaimed. "I leave for two seconds and-!"
Just then a particularly large splash of water vaulted through the air, hitting Erza dead in the chest, and Lucy's jaw dropped.
"Erza, are- are you okay?" she asked, glancing over the now dripping girl, noticing in particular that the brown take-out box she'd been carrying was drenched…
"Those motherfuckers are dead…,"T came a deep growl, and Lucy's eyes widened as Erza seemed to transform, her eyes filled with rage. Without a pause she stormed forward, walking straight into the tank as if it wasn't even there.
"You ruined my CAKE!" she yelled, and Natsu and Gray, who had only just noticed her arrival, yelped as they faced her.
But to Lucy's dismay, rather than pulling the boys straight out, Erza started to beat them up instead! The brawl only escalated, sending bits of marine life and fish flying.
"Oh my god!" Levy cried. "You GUYS! This is an EXHIBIT!"
"Wait, Levy!" Lucy cried, grabbing her friend's arm to keep the other girl from launching herself into the tank after Erza.
Levy winced as Lucy gripped the cuts on her arm.
"Wait, are you okay?!" Lucy asked noticing Levy flinch but Levy nodded fiercely.
"Yes, I'm fine, but we have to stop them!" she snapped.
"But wait, you can't go in there too!" Lucy cried. "What about your new shoes?! They'll be ruined!"
Levy paused, glancing at the boots Gajeel had given her that morning, then she shook her head fiercely.
"They'll be fine!" she cried. "They're probably waterproof! Worst case I can just get new ones!"
"Yeah I bet he'll buy you new ones if you whine enough."
"What did you say?!" Levy snapped, whirling around to find Jet behind her, scowling.
"Your sugar daddy," he snapped. "I bet he'll buy you anything you ask for."
"Enough, Jet!" Levy cried. "You have been a jerk to me all day and you have completely misunderstood!"
Behind her, the boys were still fighting Erza, and Lucy flinched in panic as water sprayed onto them. There was too much going on, she didn't know what to do, and Jet was acting like the fight behind Levy wasn't even happening as he glared at her fiercely.
"I don't know, Levy, he sure as hell seems like a sugar daddy to me!"
"He what?! How dare you?! You don't even know him!" Levy yelled, her voice getting louder.
"And you do?! Or is it enough that he's rich?!"
"Shut up!"
"If you put out enough what else do you think he'll buy you?! A car?!"
"How dare you?!"
"How dare I what? Call you out on your bullshit?!"
"Shut the hell up!" Levy screamed, her face distorted with fury.
"Call you out on the truth?!" Jet yelled back, his hands in fists at his side.
"What's the truth, Jet?! What the hell do you think is the truth?!"
"Oh I don't know, all I'm saying is-"
"-what?"
"You're-"
"-I'm what?"
"I just didn't realize before-"
"-realize what, Jet?!"
"-That you're such a SLUT!"
The words seemed to reverberate through the air, bouncing off the glass of the aquarium tanks and the ceiling far above and then… it was silent.
Natsu, Gray, and Erza had frozen in the touch tank, where Erza currently had both boys in a head lock.
Lucy's jaw dropped.
Juvia blinked in concern.
Droy was pale as a sheet, steps behind Jet.
And Levy's face was dark, her hands clenched at her sides.
Jet started to sweat… he was realizing that, maybe, he'd finally taken it too far…
"Asuka?!" a frantic woman with a green braid cried, running over to where the little girl was still standing, staring blatantly in shock at the group.
"Why did you wander off?!" the woman fretted, picking her daughter up. She eyed them all with a glare, and they could hear her say as she left, "come on, these people are crazy…"
And it was silent…
Nearby, a couple of fish flopped on the ground.
"Le-," Jet started to say, but he was quickly cut off by Levy's fierce glare, flames in her eyes. He swallowed hard. He'd never seen her so angry.
"I am going to the fucking library," Levy snapped, and everyone flinched. "And you'd best leave me the fuck alone."
And they watched as she stormed off, nearly knocking over a desperate security guard who was racing towards the group. He glanced back at the girl briefly, but quickly decided that the trio who were still standing in the middle of the touch tanks took priority.
"You!" he shouted angrily, pointing at Natsu, Gray, and Erza. "Out! Get out! Get out of there this instant!"
Just then Cana and Lisanna walked in, wide eyed.
"What the hell happened?!" Lisanna cried, as Natsu, Gray, and Erza were pulling themselves out of the tank guiltily. "We went to the bathroom for three seconds?!"
Ten minutes later, the group of friends found themselves sitting on the sidewalk outside the Aquarium, soaking wet.
Except for Cana and Lisanna, of course, who had managed to miss much of the splashing.
The mood was gloomy and it couldn't have gotten any worse.
But then it started to rain.
"Uhm, Gray-Sama?" Juvia said hesitantly, and Gray glanced up from where he was sitting hunched on the sidewalk, glaring at the street.
He frowned up at her guiltily, raindrops hitting his face. She was clearly a bit wet too, probably from being near the tank earlier…
"Juvia should leave… Juvia must go to work soon…" she said, a bit awkwardly.
"Right, yeah," he said, standing and wiping his hands on his pants, but it didn't do much, considering they were wet, also.
"Hey, let me help you get a cab," he muttered, and she nodded, walking with him towards the street.
"Listen, Juvia," he began awkwardly. "I'm- I'm so sorry… I would never have let those bastards come if I knew it'd turn out like this…"
Gray felt terrible. He'd wanted to have a pleasant afternoon with Juvia at one of her favorite spots in the city, but he'd barely spent five minutes with her there, and then he and Natsu had practically destroyed one of the exhibits.
They'd obviously all been kicked out and banned from the Aquarium for life.
Gray winced. He was embarrassed and upset and more than a little anxious, especially about what she might think of him.
But when he glanced at her, mustering the courage to meet her eyes, she was smiling back softly.
"It's alright," she said. "That was unexpected, but honestly a bit entertaining. But," and her smile turned sour, "Did Gray-Sama really…?"
"No!" he snapped, waving his arms in front of himself. "No! I swear to god nothing happened this morning with Lucy, I saw nothing."
Juvia nodded, relieved, but her stomach twisted a bit. They didn't have a lot of time together, and here they were, talking about another girl…
"Listen," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "There's this… Masquerade Ball at the hotel I'm staying at tonight. I don't know when you get off work, but would you want to come? No water involved, I swear!"
Juvia chuckled. "Juvia rather likes water," she said, her voice filled with mirth. "But-,"
"Wait, before you say you can't go, just consider it? And you don't even need to bring your own mask, I heard there will be extras. I'm leaving tomorrow so… I just thought it might be fun, to do one last thing together before I leave…?"
Juvia sighed, glancing at the ground. It would be at Fairy Tail.
But Levy had just told her that Gray didn't work for the guild. And, it was a Masquerade? So, at least she could hide her face if she went…
And she couldn't deny that she'd love to spend time with Gray, before he left for Hargeon Town, which was hundreds of miles away…
Without fully realizing it, she found herself nodding hesitantly.
"Juvia shall… try to make it," she said, and Gray let out a breath, grinning with relief. He looked to the street and waved down a cab, which pulled up to where they stood swiftly.
"Great! That's great. Okay well you have my number," he said, opening the back door of the cab for her. "Just let me know when you get off work, alright?"
Juvia nodded.
"Alright," she said, sliding smoothly into the backseat.
Gray smiled at her one last time before closing the door, and the cab sped off.
He watched for a minute, before turning back to his friends with a scowl.
Natsu was still hugging that damn cat, which had obviously been kicked out too.
"You both will have to explain to Master Makarov why the guild is paying for numerous damages and restocking fees at the Magnolia Aquarium," Erza snapped, glaring at them sharply when Gray approached.
Erza could be quite intimidating. It was only due to her powerful persuasion skills and referring all costs to the guild that they'd managed to avoid getting arrested for destruction of private property.
But now her angry image was a little less fearsome given that she was soaking wet as she stood there on the sidewalk, arms crossed firmly over her chest.
Regardless, the boys nodded numbly, knowing they'd be in for a scolding later.
The rain started to pick up.
Cana and Lisanna laughed, much to Gray's annoyance.
Jet glowered at the ground, and Droy stared glumly at the street.
And Lucy eyed the man as he stood a ways away at a bus stop, opening an umbrella and pretending to wait for a bus.
She shivered, huddling closer to Natsu, as he continued to pet that dumb cat, meowing happily in his lap.
Levy slammed the door of the cab firmly behind her and glared up at the grand building of the Magnolia Public Library.
It was a beautiful sight, a massive staircase leading to a grandiose front entrance, with white columns and decorated arches. A large domed roof soared into the sky, scraping the low hanging dark clouds above.
It'd started to rain and Levy shivered, wishing she'd brought a jacket. But she'd gotten quite wet, earlier, so it might not have done much anyways.
She hunched her shoulders and began the climb to the front doors. Normally she'd be much more thrilled about every single part of this.
Exploring a new library! In a large city! And look at that gorgeous architecture!
But she her mood had completely soured, given the course of events at the Aquarium.
Jet had gone too far.
She glowered, pushing open the large doors and walking into the beautiful main hall of the library.
Fuck it, she thought. Fuck it and fuck him. She didn't even want to think about him.
She breathed in deeply, trying to push out the bad thoughts.
For now she wanted to focus on her research. She could deal with Jet and all that shit later. But for now, she had questions and the burning desire to find some answers.
Her conversation with Juvia had made everything more confusing, rather than telling her anything.
She still didn't know who José was. Was he a friend of theirs? Who had put money on the fight? So he was happy when Gajeel had won and he hadn't lost his money? But the way Juvia spoke of him, it was almost like she was scared of him…
And what was Phantom Lord? Juvia had mentioned that when she spoke of José, but Levy had never heard of it before.
And why was Juvia so nervous of the idea that she or Gray or any of her other friends worked at the hotel? That didn't make any sense.
And what the hell did Gajeel do for work?! Why was he being 'sent' to Hargeon once a year, around Halloween? What did he do there? Why didn't either Lily or Juvia want to talk about it?!
And why the hell had she and Gajeel been shot at last night?! Who the hell were the gunmen?! What had they wanted?! Why had they targeted them and did it have anything to do with the fight?!
Levy's mind was a swirling mass of questions which normally she didn't mind but she had more questions right now than she could handle and she wanted some answers, god dammit!
She glanced around the grand hall, eyes flashing.
She had questions about this library too, dammit!
Where were the computers and how were the books organized and where the hell were the reference records and the periodicals?!
She noticed a help desk and stormed over to it.
The man behind the counter glanced up, his long green hair cascading over one shoulder.
She noticed the name badge he wore read 'Freed'.
"Yes?" he asked politely, observing the wet and somewhat angry girl before him. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," Levy said, trying to calm herself down. She knew she was flying off the handle a little bit, and that was entirely impolite. "Yes, can I have a map of the building, please? I'd like to get my bearings."
She tried to steady her breathing, smiling at him politely, but he frowned.
"You are quite wet," he said, and Levy glanced down at herself in dismay. He was right. She was.
"Right…" she said awkwardly. "Well, um, then first, where are your bathrooms? So I can clean myself up?"
He pointed across the hall and she saw a sign for the ladies room.
"Yes, alright, thank you," she said, walking briskly away, his eyes following her.
Her shoes squeaked on the tile.
Levy winced. She was a mess. How had this happened again!?
But, at least she could clean herself up. And then she could calm down a bit and focus on the task at hand. Finding some answers.
And thus, she did. She dried herself off, refocused her thoughts, and went back to the green haired man in the hall with a much more pleasant attitude. She got her bearings, exploring the library at great length.
And she researched and she learned and while she discovered even more questions, she also found some answers.
And after the hours of the day had melted into each other, she finally glanced at a clock, noticing it was 10:49 PM.
Eleven minutes away from 11.
The night sky outside was pitch black. The rain had stopped at some point.
And Levy swallowed thickly, feeling a great heaviness in her chest.
Because the answers she'd found had just given her more questions, and she realized that things weren't as simple as they'd once seemed. And the world she'd thought she knew was now an entirely different beast.
A/N
So my Monday posting schedule seems to be becoming a Tuesday posting schedule .;;;
But in some ways, it's an appropriate day to be updating this story because today, September 21st, is the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, aka the Moon Festival!
This is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated by many East and Southeast Asian countries and regions, lasting several days, wherein people get together, celebrate the moon, eat mooncakes and other delicious foods, etc etc.
I hope you all are able to do something fun today to celebrate the Moon during this auspicious time! ^.^
Next chapter: Chapter 15: "Eleven Minutes Away"
Notes on this Chapter:
If you haven't been to an Aquarium, touch tanks are usually low, open tanks with a variety of friendly saltwater sea life that it's okay for kids to touch. This includes sea stars and sea cucumbers and sea anemones, etc.
"Swimming with the Fishes"
Aka "Sleeping with the Fishes" is an idiom frequently associated with gangsters and the Mafia, if someone is "swimming with the fishes" it means they're dead, specifically murdered. I realized some people might not know that.
It was hard writing the conversation between Levy and Juvia because it's important to keep in mind that they're coming to this conversation with completely different perspectives.
In Levy's perspective, Magnolia City must be a perfectly normal place, with a normal government and trustworthy police. She has no knowledge of the guilds or the extent of the criminal underworld, even though she knows the fight last night was illegal.
She suspects that Gajeel is involved in shady things, considering he was in the fight last night and considering Lily didn't want to elaborate on it, but at most she probably just thinks he's a drug dealer.
When she words her question to Juvia as if she already knows who José is, Juvia assumes that if Levy knows about José, she must also have an understanding of the various guilds throughout the city, thus why she asks Levy about Fairy Tail.
But since Levy does not actually know about the guilds, she assumes Juvia must be referring to the hotel they're at, which is named Fairy Tail.
So when she tells Juvia that neither she nor her friends have a connection to "Fairy Tail", outside of staying there for the weekend, is she accidentally giving Juvia false information?
It hasn't been outright addressed, but I've been writing this story based on the idea that Levy and Lucy, who are complete newcomers to the city, don't know about the guilds at all and they just assume that Makarov is the owner of several large establishments.
But Natsu, Gray, Lisanna, and Cana might know a lot more about it. They all refer to Makarov as "Master." And Erza, who they all previously knew but who Levy and Lucy have only just met, is certainly working for the guild. But how much do each of them really know?
For instance, Gray doesn't seem to realize how dangerous it is for Juvia to be around him when he's involved with Fairy Tail, so he either doesn't realize that Juvia works for Phantom Lord or he doesn't know much about the guilds himself.
Regardless, the misunderstandings and assumptions made during Levy and Juvia's conversation may have misled Juvia, and Levy is certainly left more confused than she was before.
Manga/Anime Reference: Asuka (Bisca and Alzack's daughter) telling Natsu and Lucy to kiss!
This happens in Episode 219 of the anime (not sure what chapter in the manga)
Shout out to Lucy H Lover for reminding me of this great scene xD
A bit of a reference to Finding Nemo: "Fish are friends, not food."
Just kinda snuck in there :P
Song for this Chapter: So Cold by Mahalo, DLMT, Lily Denning
"I think the water could be dark, Girl, let's dive into the bottom and figure it out…
And when we're deep under the surface, we can try and burn it, and find our way out…
'Cause it's too cold to be washed away… It's so cold to be washed away…
[…]
"And we're all running through a circuit, just finding how to work it, to figure it out…
Stuck in a cage within a circus, no one there to turn to, can't find our way out…
'Cause it's so cold… 'Cause it's so cold…"
…
The Aquarium was a bit of a cold and dark place, surrounded by large tanks of water…
José is out for blood, and our characters literally swam with the fishes….
Someone is following Lucy (?!), and Levy is more confused than ever, looking for answers and only finding more questions…
They're all running through a circuit, just trying to figure it out.
…
Thanks so much for reviewing and letting me know what you're thinking!
rao hyuga 18 – Thanks! It turned out being one of the bigger chapters, which surprised me. I hadn't thought it would be that big. And yeah, I'm glad I got Lily in! I love Lily, he's such a great friend to Levy and Gajeel.
Ushindi – Gotcha! Well I'm glad you like your new name! Yeah, Jet went waaayyyyy too far, and honestly I'm not sure if the real Jet would really take it quite that far but it worked for my story. He's def gonna get a reality check soon.
Onionsaur – Yeah, I love your insta! I've been following it, love love LOVE some of your drawings of Gajeel and Levy, they're so fucking CUTE. Dude yeah, secretly rich Gajeel is great and lmaooo I think Levy's too prideful to be an actual sugar baby but whenever they get together (there's no possible timeline in this AU where they DON'T get together eventually, even if I don't write about it) he'd definitely spoil her like one ;)
Copperreign12 – Haha thanks! Tried to include a lot of humorous parts! It's fun for me hearing which ones stood out to you. Yeah, can't wait for the Masquerade Ball either! Thanks for reviewing ^.^
NPrime – Yeah, you're right, the fight was rigged in Gajeel's favor from the start. In this AU, Gajeel has many more years of experience in this particular setting than Natsu does, even if Natsu has trained considerably in Hargeon. And honestly I needed Gajeel to win so José wouldn't wring his neck. But also, yeah, I don't think it's a secret that Gajevy is my OTP so of course I'd want to write Gajeel as a total badass 3 But I love Nalu too! And I don't want to downplay Natsu's strength, and I love writing cute Nalu scenes so I'm glad you've enjoyed them! Cheers and thanks for reviewing!
Have a Wonderful Rest of your Weeks and Happy Moon Festival Everyone!~~