A/N:

And the long-awaited GrayLu Weekends 2020 is here! I'm super stoked to be participating in such an event for the first time – I know I'm a late bloomer, but well, it's better late than never, right? I'm so excited to be able to do my part to keep the GrayLu love alive, even in 2020 :)

And here's my submission for Day 3. I've worked with the prompts, which are quotes from the anime, and I hope you enjoy it! I will be posting a story each day based on either one of the prompts. They are all one-shots, and exist independently of each other. The other stories can be found under my alias!

As a side note, I realised that not everyone is aware of this year's GrayLu Weekend 2020 event. GrayLu Weekend 2020 is an event hosted by the Tumblr blog, grayluweekends, and will be running from 6 – 10 November 2020.

For those who are not fans of the GrayLu pairing, I've specifically stated in the story description that it's not for you if you're a hater of this ship. I would really appreciate it if you just avoid reading the story instead of leaving not-so-nice comments about how you wish this didn't exist. Fact is, it does. :)

Can't believe it's Day 3 already!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Day 3: A Series of Auditioning Mishaps

[Prompt] Gray: "Missy, could you please lend me your underwear?"

Today was the day. Today was the day that Lucy's many years of intensive training had finally culminated in. After months and months of practice, tears, sweat and prayers, today was the day that she'd get her chance at auditioning for the main female lead role in a big play.

Lucy had her hands clasped together tightly, sitting in a chair away from the crowds of hopeful youngsters wandering around. She didn't – couldn't – want to let herself get distracted by anything at all, lest she forgets a line or messes up an important sequence. She had too much on the line, and this was literally what she had been building her whole life towards. She couldn't afford to not get this role. She didn't want to disappoint her friends and family back home.

Lucy was a pretty 17-year old, gifted with beautiful brown eyes, lovely feminine features, silken blonde hair and a curvaceous body to boot. She hailed from the Heartfilia family, a bloodline that boasted of many famous actors, actresses and Broadway performers as its progeny. Her mother, Layla Heartfilia, was a renowned theatrical actress herself, having starred in numerous Broadway plays as the main female lead. In fact, Layla Heartfilia was a household name in the industry, and both hardcore and new fans alike would flock from towns far and wide to wherever she was, for a chance to hear her angelic voice and watch her incredible talent.

Although bearing that family name gave Lucy a head start into the theatre industry, that also meant she had immense shoes to fill. Since young, there were both spoken and unspoken expectations placed upon her young shoulders – for her to follow in her mother's footsteps and become nothing less of a famed theatre star herself.

Growing up had been difficult for her. It wasn't that she lacked talent, passion, or the resources – in fact, her whole life had revolved around grooming her into the next Layla. She had a fortune at her fingertips, and whatever she could want or need that would help her in her theatre path, she could get instantly. Lucy was fortunate to be blessed with Layla's natural talent in theatre, but she was never good enough for her father, Jude Heartfilia.

What Lucy lacked was his drive to win, to put others down, and to destroy competition in her strive for success. She was contented with trying her best, and making her audience happy with her performances, but to him, that was weakness. It meant she didn't want success hard enough. It wasn't enough until she was the last one standing.

Now, after the last 15 years of training hard for the day that she would finally be able to break into the Broadway scene and start making a name for herself, that chance arrived. She was old enough to audition for the lead female role in the new Broadway play, Robin Hood, which was well-known around the country and slated to become the next Broadway hit. Even when there were only rumours about the play being planned for production, everybody in the industry immediately began preparing for the rare chance of potentially being casted.

Fast-forward to today, Lucy knew she was incredibly lucky to have been granted a chance to try for the lead female. Only a very tiny handful even got to catch a glimpse of the script, but she was one of the rare few who was invited to audition for the role itself, likely due to the fact that her mother was the famed Layla Heartfilia. Although her mother had denied any involvement, Lucy knew even seeing the Heartfilia name in her application helped to open many doors that would have been tightly shut for a no-name amateur like her.

However, she didn't want to ride on her mother's coattails forever. She wanted to rely on herself, to prove to others and her father that she was good in her own right. She was going to show everyone that she was Lucy, and she didn't need to be a Heartfilia to win the audience's (and the judges') hearts.

Her fingers fidgeted with one another restlessly as she awaited her turn. It was still some time away, as she had arrived much earlier than her scheduled time slot. She thought coming early would help to calm her nerves, but it seemed like it was doing the complete opposite. It gave her more time to examine the people around her – other wannabe theatre stars who were there to pursue their dreams. Each of them were talented individuals, and knowing that all of them were like her slowly eroded her confidence. In front of the judges, it was up to her to convince them that she was suited for the role, and suddenly, she wasn't so sure that she would definitely be better than all of these other aspiring youths.

Finally deciding that sitting there being nervous wasn't going to help, she stood up to get herself some snacks and water. She might as well satisfy her growling stomach so that she'd have one less thing to think about. She had to ensure that she was in the best physical condition. Grabbing her small duffel bag, she turned to head towards the canteen, when suddenly she collided with a young man hard, making her stumble backwards and lose her balance. Lucy ended up sitting on the floor, several pieces of clothing from her duffel bag spilling around her.

What made everything worse was that the young man had been carrying a large cup of cold water, and with the impact jolting the cup, half of Lucy's top and skirt was now soaked in the chilly liquid.

"HEY! Seriously?!" Lucy yelled in a mixture of anger, shock and embarrassment. She looked down at her wet clothes in incredulity, before directing her furious brown orbs to the person responsible for the accident.

The man in question was currently staring down at Lucy with a somewhat apologetic expression. "Ah, crap!" he exclaimed. He put down his cup on the nearby chair, and bent over, stretching out a hand to help her up. "Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

Lucy ignored his outstretched arm, getting to her feet angrily. Squatting to pick up her belongings, she was appalled when she realised that some of her spare undergarments had fallen out of her bag along with her other miscellaneous belongings. A bright blush making its way onto her cheeks, she quickly swept everything back into the bag, hoping the stranger hadn't seen her underwear.

Turning back to him, she pointed a finger in his face, glaring up at him. "You should have been looking out for people around you!" In spite of her anger, she noticed that he had a boyishly handsome face and striking features – smouldering navy eyes, a sharp nose, a chiselled jaw and a head of tousled matching navy hair that somehow managed to look intentionally messy, with several strands falling casually over his eyes. He had a face that an audience would swoon for.

His deep blue eyes widened at her accusation, narrowing slightly in return. "Excuse me, you should have seen where you were going too. It's not completely on me, blondie," he retorted in defiance.

Lucy bristled at his audacity to talk back. Despite wanting to retaliate, she managed to rein her emotions in, not wanting to get too worked up over something small like this and risk ruining her upcoming audition. She decided she would be the bigger person, and perhaps it might give her some good points.

"Forget it. I don't have the time to deal with someone like you," she returned spitefully. Pushing past him, she stomped away, wondering desperately what other suitable outfit she could change into.

Gray watched as she stalked away, frowning to himself. "What a nasty person," he muttered to himself. "I'm sure she'll have a hard time finding a boyfriend." He sighed as he picked up his cup, looking at it in resignation. Now he had to go back to the canteen and refill his cup again. Just his luck… A thought suddenly occurred to him as he quickly checked his bag to see if it had gotten wet. Seeing that the bag and all its contents were dry and untouched, he heaved a small sigh of relief. Thankfully his sacred script was unmarred. If he lost his chance at the Robin Hood role because of that rude blonde, he was sure to throw a fit.

He checked his watch, noting that he still had quite a considerable amount of time to spare before his turn to audition for the male lead in the Robin Hood play. Satisfied, but still thirsty, he headed back in the direction he came in.

Gray kept his eyes closed as he recited several lines in his head, making sure that he had everything memorised. Well, he had gone through the lines so many times that he could probably recite them word for word in his sleep, but it didn't hurt to just make sure. Taking in a deep breath, he calmed his nerves before nodding to himself. He was ready.

He glanced at a large TV screen on the wall which showed the details of which auditions were taking place in which rooms. The auditions were being held in a huge building that belonged to a large production house, and there were multiple auditions going on simultaneously for various plays – hence it was important that he got the allocated rooms right, otherwise he might miss his time-slot.

Noting down the audition room for Robin Hood, he placed his script back into his bag, and started walking towards the room. As he walked along a corridor featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he looked out of the windows absently, watching the tiny people milling about on the ground floor. He felt a tingle of excitement travel through his body at the possibility of becoming a vital team member of the production house. If he got the role, it would be a miraculous breakthrough for him. Additionally, he was also anticipating auditioning alongside talented female actresses. A small part of him was hoping that he might meet someone suitable to be his potential girlfriend.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of blonde. Tearing his eyes away from the windows, he spotted a sleeping young woman with long blonde hair, a peaceful expression on her face. She was very pretty, with rosy cheeks and lips that looked supple and soft. Although Gray was sure he didn't know her, she looked oddly familiar. Upon closer inspection, he realised that she was the rude blonde that he had bumped into earlier!

Immediately, abhorrence overtook his initial admiration. Yes, she was definitely a beauty, that he couldn't deny – but she seemed so ugly from the inside! He shook his head quickly as he made to walk past her. However, something else caught his eye. A thick script was in her hands, lying on her lap, and he recognised the large, bold title as the same as the script in his bag – Robin Hood.

Gray's jaw dropped in shock. No way, she couldn't possibly be auditioning for the female lead, could she?! He groaned inwardly, hoping against all odds that he wouldn't be paired with her. That would be a horror story!

Just then, he remembered that he was in the midst of rushing to the audition room. The auditions were slated to start in 45 minutes, and they had to report there early to register themselves. Gray was about to continue on his merry way, when he paused. Turning to look at the still-sleeping Lucy, he was torn between leaving her there (which made his dark side laugh gleefully) and waking her up, now that he knew she was going for the same audition.

He knew that this play was a huge affair for any amateur in the industry, and such chances did not come by easily. Finally coming to a decision, knowing that if their roles were reversed, he would be eternally grateful, he squatted beside her sleeping form, tapping her shoulder lightly. This had better grant him some good points.

Lucy stirred, her eyes fluttering open. Taking a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light, she blinked several times, before she focused on a pair of familiar navy eyes. Recognising him to be the stranger from earlier, she let out a soft yelp. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed.

He frowned, lips pursing into a thin line. Gesturing to her script, he answered, "The Robin Hood auditions are in 40 minutes."

Upon hearing that, her eyes widened to the size of golf balls, and she gasped loudly, realisation dawning upon her. "Oh my gosh! Let's go!" She grabbed her bag, and stuffing the script inside hurriedly, she quickly took hold of Gray's wrist and rushed towards the audition rooms.

Gray's own eyes widened as this strange young woman pulled him along the corridors with surprising strength and speed. They were complete strangers who were almost at each other's throats a few hours earlier, and now, she was holding his wrist like they were friends, or more. Also, why did she assume that he was headed in the same direction?!

"Hey! Let me go! What makes you think I'm headed for the same auditions? And how about a word of thanks?" he demanded, forcefully coming to a stop and making her jerk backwards. She let go of him as she turned to face him.

"Nobody remembers the times for other auditions, dummy," she told him with an eyebrow raised. When he merely frowned at her, she sighed, rubbing her hands together shyly and looking away.

"Also, thanks for waking me up just now. I was sitting there going through my script while trying to pass time, but I guess I had fallen asleep without knowing. If I had missed my audition because of my stupidity, I would never have forgiven myself… nor would my father," she said, although the last part was muttered more to herself than to him. "So for that, I'm really, really grateful. I'm so sorry for being such a rude person earlier, but I was just nervous. I'm sorry and thanks?" she asked meekly, sneaking a glance at him with pink dusting her cheeks.

'Oh… maybe she's not that nasty after all…' Gray realised. Also, she looked super cute with her wide eyes peeking up at him and her blushing cheeks. He had a thing for blondes, damn it. Resignedly deciding to just let bygones be bygones, he nodded at her.

She returned his acknowledgement with a bright smile that stretched from eye to eye, and suddenly, the atmosphere around them seemed to brighten considerably. 'Did she really just do that with a smile?' he marvelled. He found himself more interested in her than he should have been.

"I'm Lucy, by the way." She stretched a hand out towards him, the smile still in place.

He took it with a smirk, tipping his head towards her in true Robin Hood fashion. "Well, I'm Gray. You do need to work on first impressions though," he added with a wink.

She stuck out a tongue at him. "Coming from you," she mock-glared at him as she gestured to the new outfit she had changed into.

Chuckling, he let go of her small hand and walked off, his long legs bringing him away from her speedily. "I don't want to miss my audition, but if you're giving up on yours already, then it was nice meeting ya!" he said loudly over his shoulder.

Hearing a high-pitched exclamation, he couldn't help smiling to himself as Lucy's quick footsteps sounded behind him.

And that was when everything started going a little haywire.

Upon reaching the audition rooms, they found out that there had been a last-minute change of rooms due to an accidental double-booking. During their little exchange, they had missed the announcement over the PA system regarding the change in venues. Unfortunately for them, the new audition location was on the other end of the building where they had come from, so they had to literally jog as quickly as they could to make it on time, without messing up their hair or outfits.

After they arrived and registered their attendance, they were immediately ushered away into the waiting rooms, where they were each allocated a small space that included a dressing table and a lighted mirror. The auditions were simple – it was an individual audition, where each auditionee would perform a chosen solo scene.

Based on the schedule, the auditioning males and females would alternate and take turns to perform, beginning with the male lead role. Lucy was scheduled as the second female auditionee, which meant there were three people ahead of her, while Gray was scheduled as the fifth male auditionee, giving him an extra eight auditionees' time to prepare himself. Almost immediately, the auditions began.

In the waiting room, the other auditionees waited anxiously while watching the current auditionee perform via a TV screen that was mounted on the wall in the middle of the room. Lucy wasn't sure why they had to do that – was it meant to help auditionees learn from others' mistakes, or was it a psychological ploy to mess with their states of mind? She would much rather wait in ignorance than to watch someone else ace or fumble in their audition. It also gave her additional anxiety and stress knowing that all these other people would be able to watch her perform as well.

Her fingers fidgeted with one another restlessly as her eyes remained glued to the TV. The first male auditionee seemed to be controlling his nerves extremely well, greeting the judges with an enthusiastic smile. He carried himself confidently, and after a short introduction, he launched into his performance. However, it seemed like his confidence was merely a façade, as not even thirty seconds into his acting, he froze.

Even through the TV screen, Lucy could see his jaw trembling as he fought hard to drag the lines he had painstakingly memorised from the recesses of his memory, albeit to no avail. His eyes revealed his defeat as his mind betrayed him, remaining blank. Without sparing any chances, a bell rang sharply through the air, signaling the end of his turn, and possibly the sound of a bright future being mercilessly dashed. He gathered himself in front of the judges, and with a forlorn expression, he gave a small bow.

Lucy exhaled a long breath that she didn't even know she had been holding. She felt bad for the poor guy. That episode only served as a stark reminder to her of how the industry was cut-throat, competitive, and left no room for mercy.

Next up was the first female auditionee. As much as Lucy was tempted to continue watching, she knew that she needed to focus on her own performance. Turning away and trying to block the sounds from the other auditionees, she looked into the mirror and practiced her facial expressions, silently reciting her lines. Three tables down from hers, she noticed that Gray was doing the same – ignoring the TV and the others, and merely focusing on the script in front of him. She smiled to herself, mentally memorising his attractive look of concentration. Well, an eye-candy wouldn't hurt.

The poor girl came back crying. She managed to successfully finish her audition, but apparently the judges weren't exactly the nicest people. They didn't hesitate with making hurtful comments, and mincing their words simply wasn't an option. If you wanted to get far, you needed to learn how to thicken your skin and steel yourself against criticism. You wouldn't be able to please everyone after all.

In the blink of an eye, it was Lucy's turn. As she heard her name being called while the second male auditionee was midway through his turn, she stood up, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. It was time. Just as she reopened her eyes, she was surprised to feel a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was Gray. He stood there behind her, a smile on his face.

"Break a leg, yeah?" he said, his navy orbs sparkling with genuine warmth.

An unbidden smile crept onto Lucy's face as she met his eyes through their reflection in the mirror. "Yeah, I will. Thanks," she replied softly. She reluctantly turned away, holding his gaze until the last moment.

Making her way to the stage assistant, she reported her name. A moment later, she stepped out onto the stage.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lucy Heartfilia. Please provide a short introduction of yourself, the role you're auditioning for, and which act you'll be performing," stated one of the four judges that sat in front of her. Lucy could barely make out their faces, with the harsh stage lighting shining into her eyes. The heat was intense, but she was used to being placed in such environments, after her years of training, auditioning and performing.

Bowing low, she began speaking. "Good afternoon judges, and thank you for having me today. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I am 17 years old. I graduated from the Magnolia Institute of Theatre Arts, and have had experience acting in smaller plays. This is my first time auditioning for a Broadway show. I will be auditioning for the female lead role of Maid Marian, and will be acting out the scene of Maid Marian and Lady Kluck."

"Thank you, Miss Heartfilia. Please begin whenever you're ready."

Bowing once more, she counted to ten, mentally getting herself into the role. Once she felt the character's emotions flowing through her instead of her own, she opened her eyes as Maid Marian.

Gray watched the TV screen in wonder. Lucy's audition was the only one he wanted to watch, and he was instantly mesmerised by her acting. His first surprise was finding out that she was a Heartfilia, the daughter of the Layla Heartfilia. His jaw had dropped, but he quickly composed himself. Hang on, no wonder she didn't introduce herself with her family name earlier. He had thought it slightly weird at first, but he didn't think much of it. Now, it made complete sense to him. Heck, if he was a Heartfilia, he probably would have done the same.

His second surprise was just how amazing Lucy was on stage. She was like an entirely different person. She was truly Maid Marian, and despite her outward appearance and dressing, he felt like he was watching Maid Marian, and not Lucy at all. She drew him in with an invisible magnetic force, and he was more than happy to let himself fall into her magnetic field.

Suddenly, midway through her performance, everything went dark – the TV screen, the room lights, the mirror lights and the sound system. It was a total blackout. The entire room was silent for a few moments, until a low buzz of voices began, rising gradually until his ears hurt with the cacophony of the multitude of chattering voices.

"Seriously? A blackout? For real?" muttered Gray to himself, frowning in disbelief. Although he had no way of knowing, he was worried for Lucy and hoped she was alright, and that her audition wouldn't be affected by this technical fault. It would be completely unfair, and if the judges were to forfeit her attempt, he swore he would put his own audition on the line to fight for her. She was way too good for her to be overlooked.

He was about to feel his way through the darkness back to his dressing table, when the lights flickered back on. His head snapped to the TV screen, seeing the screen light up again to show the stage, the judges and also a confused-looking Lucy. A stage assistant ran up to her, talking to her frantically, while she nodded with a puzzled expression on her face. Finishing whatever she was saying, the stage assistant returned backstage, and Lucy seemed to take her starting stance once again. Hmm, it seemed like they were giving her another chance to start from the beginning. Gray let out a sigh of relief, a hint of a smile twitching his lips upwards.

This time, Lucy was less than five lines away from finishing the scene, when the lights went out, again. She groaned in frustration. What was happening?! This was supposed to be the largest production house in country, and they couldn't even ensure a steady power source? You have got to be kidding her. This was her second time running through the act she had prepared, and she was really hoping to get it over and done with. She simply stood where she was, huffing in annoyance and waiting for someone to come tell her what to do. Five minutes later, the lights came back on, the same stage assistant appeared in front of her, and it felt like déjà vu. As the assistant finished briefing her once again, she slumped in resignation. She needed to redo her scene for the third time. The blackouts had really killed her vibe, but she had no choice. This had better be worth it!

Gray was waiting patiently for her at her dressing table when she finally returned to the waiting room, her forehead beaded in perspiration from standing in front of the bright stage lights for an extended period of time. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and she flashed him a bright smile. He gave her a wide grin in return, and a thumbs-up.

"Hey, you were awesome out there. Glad you didn't actually break a leg during the two blackouts," he joked. "You probably short-circuited the whole building with your talent."

She laughed merrily, adrenaline still coursing through her system. Punching him lightly in the shoulder, she replied, "No way. They must have thought I was so bad, they had to cut off the power so I'd shut up."

This made him nod thoughtfully at her, making it seem like he agreed with her statement. Lucy rolled her eyes at him as she sat down at her dressing table, taking out a piece of tissue to dab at her face.

"So, a Heartfilia, huh?" He followed, sitting back on her table top to face her.

She looked up at him carefully, unsure where he was going with that. So many people over the years had tried to curry favour with her once they found out about her family background, and she was hoping he wouldn't be one of them. She liked him a little too much now… and really didn't want to be disappointed.

Seeing her wary expression, he raised his hands in defense. "Oh, I didn't mean anything by that. I was just surprised, that's all. It's pretty cool that you're Layla Heartfilia's daughter, but to me, you're just Lucy. Or actually, Maid Marian," he said, with a wink.

Lucy found that she had a hard time trying not to smile whenever she was in his presence. Her lips seemed to have a mind of their own, wanting to remain quirked up permanently.

"Alright, it's your turn in a bit. You should go get ready. I'll be watching you," she raised her eyebrows at him.

Smirking, he stood up, tipping his head once more in his usual fashion, before heading back to his own dressing table. The smile didn't drop from Lucy's face, even after he left.

Another pair of auditionees finished their turns. Lucy was taking the time to cool down in the air-conditioned room, watching the auditionees perform via the TV screen. As yet another male auditionee froze in fear on stage, and the buzzer sounded to indicate the end of his turn, she wondered how Gray would fare. With his confident demeanour, she was sure he wouldn't have stage fright. However, she was super curious as to how he'd be like as Robin Hood, especially with his dark smouldering eyes, and his low, sexy baritone…

Just as she was thinking about him, said man suddenly appeared before her, looking flustered. Why, speak of the devil… or think of the devil. She looked at him curiously, as the usually smirking man was nervously wringing his hands beside her.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Um…" he hesitated. "Lucy, can you please lend me your underwear?"

"WHAT?!" A couple of heads turned to look at them, after hearing Lucy's high-pitched shriek.

Gray's eyes widened as he quickly grabbed her arms, trying to diffuse the situation. "Lucy, no! It's not what you're thinking! Wait, just listen to me," he tried desperately to calm her down. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Okay, explain yourself." She stared at him with hard eyes, demanding a good explanation for his sudden, perverted request. Her underwear! Of all things!

He looked like he was having an intense internal battle with himself, before he finally sighed loudly. "Alright… I was looking for my Robin Hood mask, for the scene I'm planning to perform, but I couldn't find it. Then I realised that I had actually left it at home, but it's super important that I have it, because I need it to get into my role. Believe me," he quickly continued as he saw Lucy open her mouth, wanting to interrupt. "I've tried acting without it, and it just doesn't feel right. You know what I mean." He waited for Lucy to acknowledge his statement, which she did with a reluctant nod.

Here, his nervousness seemed to increase. "So while trying to think of a solution, I suddenly remembered our first encounter earlier, when we bumped into each other, and I made you wet." His eyes widened as he realised exactly how wrong that sounded, especially when Lucy was already on the verge of giving him a tight slap. "NO! No, no, that came out wrong. I mean, when I accidentally spilled my water on your clothes. Um, some of your stuff, fell out of your bag, and there happened to be a piece of black cloth that I initially thought was a mask…"

Lucy's jaw dropped as realisation dawned upon her, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You saw my black panties, and thought it would make a good mask replacement for you?" Hmm… now that she had said it like that, it somehow sounded a lot worse than it did in his head.

"Um, yeah?"

"What! Of course not! Whatever made you think I would even agree?" she exclaimed in disbelief. Taking a couple of deep breaths to relax, the wheels in her brain started to turn. "What even makes you think that it would work? Tell me, how do you intend to wear it without making yourself look like a fool?"

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a hand. "Well, I was thinking, if you didn't mind, I could cut out a section of the waistband, and cut two holes for eyes, and wear it like that. It's the only thing I could think of that would stay on my head because it's elastic. And it's not as perverted as you're probably imagining it to be, because I'll only be using the waistband," he tried to play down the awkwardness of his request. "If it's expensive I promise I'll pay you back for it."

Lucy directed an exasperated look at him. "You want to cut up my underwear?"

Gray had nothing to say to her… He could only hope that he had had accumulated enough good points for her to help him out of his situation. He knew deep down that he was sure to screw his audition up if he didn't have a mask. To him, getting into a role meant that he had to feel the part, and preparing props was one of his ways to do that. Well, he couldn't hold it against her if she refused to lend him her underwear. He had been banking on the fact that they seemed to click pretty well, but it seemed like it was too much of a stretch after all.

"Ahh… you know what, it's fine, ignore me. Pretend I didn't say anything, alright?" Gray backed off slowly, internally already resigned to giving up this opportunity to be Robin Hood. It's okay, there will always be future opportunities. This role just wasn't meant to be.

Lucy frowned as she watched the emotions flash across Gray's face. Sheepishness, embarrassment, resignation, sadness. She could understand how badly he wanted this role, and with all the competition, it was of utmost importance that he be able to get into character as much as possible, so that he can perform his best. As weird and perverted the request may be, she knew he didn't have any ill intentions. Also, he did save her ass after all, by waking her up from her accidental nap.

"Ugh, fine. Take it. You owe me one though," she looked at him pointedly. "It's expensive."

He sucked in a quick breath. "Really? Thank you so much, Lucy! I know, this is totally weird. I'm sorry, but I'm eternally grateful. I'm going to buy you ten more pieces of underwear!" He hurriedly corrected himself when Lucy shot him an appalled look. "I'm definitely going to pay you back for it!"

She rolled her eyes in amused annoyance as she reached into her bag to find said piece of black underwear. Handing it over to him discreetly, she told him in a stern tone, "You better do well and kick ass on stage with this. You're going to be wearing a Heartfilia's underwear, after all."

He grinned boyishly at her, his deep blue eyes dancing with mirth. Taking the underwear, his hand lingered over hers for several moments, making her heart race. Leaning closer towards her, he whispered, "I'm definitely going to be your Robin Hood, Maid Marian." They locked gazes for a minute more, before he finally let go. "I'm going to get ready, I'm up in a bit. Catch you later, Lucy," he gave a small wave and smile as he turned towards his table.

Lucy had to sit down after that, because for some odd reason, her heartbeat wouldn't slow down, and her face was burning.

So, Gray was a Fullbuster. Lucy should have known. That was where he had gotten his good genes from – there weren't that many families with navy hair and matching navy eyes.

The Fullbusters were a well-known family in the entertainment industry. Silver Fullbuster was an acclaimed theatre critic, while his daughter, Ultear Fullbuster, was a talented score composer. While Gray didn't exactly follow in their footsteps, it made sense that he would be pursuing something similar, much like she was doing.

Lucy watched in pride as Gray performed his scene, effortlessly getting into character and reciting his lines as though acting was truly his second nature. He never missed a beat, and each line was punctuated with just the correct amount of emotion, intonation and emphasis. The words rolled off his tongue like silk, and watching him, she thought that if he was the real Robin Hood, she could completely understand how Maid Marian could be so smitten by him. Gray was incredibly charismatic – both on-stage and off-stage.

She had to admit that he did a great job with her underwear. Now that it was on his face, nobody could tell what it originally was. She blushed a little, knowing that her piece of undergarment was literally on his face, but it was remedied by the fact that it was a new piece of underwear anyway. At least she hadn't worn it before.

Like what he did for her, she waited for him by his dressing table. When he came into her view, she gave him a big wave and a bright smile. Spotting her, he made his way over to her directly, not giving her a chance to say anything before he pulled her into a hug.

"G-good job," she managed to stutter out, still stunned from his sudden close contact.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he breathed. The adrenaline from his audition was still rushing through his veins, and he couldn't stop himself from expressing his immense gratefulness to Lucy. Especially not when she looked like an angel descended from heaven, with her beautiful blonde hair making her glow in absolute perfection.

Pulling away, but keeping his hands on her shoulders, he looked at her. Taking in her wide brown eyes, that were as expressive as they were mesmerizing, her cheeks that were currently pink with a cute blush, her soft lips that looked ever-so-tantalising as they parted slightly in surprise at his actions – he felt a deep warmth blossoming in his heart. Even though they've only just met a couple of hours ago, he felt like they've known each other for years. He was completely enraptured, and he really, really, really wanted to get to know this talented blonde beauty more.

Yes, she was definitely beautiful. But no – it was her passion, her overflowing feelings, her quiet strength and determination that he felt when he was watching her act earlier, that stole his breath away.

His father had once told him a quote – "Actors think more with their hearts than with their heads." When he saw her on stage, he felt like he could see and feel her heart, and it was absolutely breathtaking. And right now, as an actor, he was going to act on his heart's impulse, because his heart was telling him that it was right.

"Lucy Heartfilia, do you want to go out with me?"

Although the day had started off with a series of unfortunate auditioning mishaps, he was very fortunate to have gotten to meet Lucy Heartfilia.

"… Yes, Gray Fullbuster, I would love to."

- End -

I tried my hand at writing within a setting that's not exactly my area of expertise, so I tried to keep it as general as possible, and I hope I did it justice! I'm sorry if there were any terminology mistakes, please let me know if there were any and I'd be happy to correct them :)

This story was meant to be a light-hearted first meeting between our two favourite characters, with some love-hate moments thrown in! I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoyed reading it too :D

And with that, 3 days are down, just 2 more to go!

x, WinterMaidenMuse