Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima.
She just stood there in shock at the scene before her. It had taken a lot of cajoling, but she had finally gotten Jackal to take her to see her friends and family. Of course, she had thought of many different scenarios of their first meeting. But this was not one of them. Nope. Not at all!
Jackal was in a Mexican standoff with Erza, Gray, and Natsu. The latter seemed nervous and twitchy as he stared back at Jackal. An odd reaction from her normally rambunctious friend. And now she was wondering if this was going to be a good arrangement in the long run. Since it had taken two more of her menstrual cycles, the interest of his brother's Torafuzar and Silver before he caved. Of course, Silver was one of his siblings she actually enjoyed being near. The man was older, refined, a bit of a lech, but easy to talk to and respected her.
He said that for the four days she bled and was in 'heat' that they could go back and visit her friends and family. This was the first visit. The excuse she had for Jackal was that he was her boyfriend she acquired from her new job overseas. Of which they had been made to believe after Mard Geer messed with their memories. And none of her friends were too happy with him.
"He looks like a Stripper, Lucy," Gray said.
The look she shot her friend, had him flushing darkly. Since he had manifested his Ice-Make Magic, he had been known to get tickets for public indecency due to stripping subconsciously for being too hot. So, to her, he had no right to make that comment. Not when he did it unprofessionally.
"I mean look at him. He is wearing nothing but pants and a scarf. Almost like he is mimicking Flame Brain here," Gray said, trying to explain and failing miserably.
Before she could speak up, Erza moved to put herself directly in front of Lucy. Already knowing that this was going to go south quickly, she sighed and waited for her dearest friend to get her little speech done. The woman was a force to be reckoned with. Especially where her 'honor' was to be concerned. A reason why Lucy gave up on dating in general.
"I won't let anyone think that they can besmirch your honor, Lucy. You are the light of our group. Your purity is what we value most in you. So, if he thinks he can take your honor and muddy it than I wo-" Erza said, starting her little lecture only to be cut off as Jackal started laughing hysterically.
The horror that she knew crossed her face as she turned to look at Jackal. Who was holding his stomach and doubling over from laughing so hard, had Lucy mentally groaning.
"I... haven't... she still... 'pure' as you put it...And I have absolutely no plans... take... it..." he said around his laughter.
Twitching Lucy had the urge to kick him as hard as possible just to see how far his ass would fly. Only to burst out laughing at what Erza said next.
"Than are you gay?"
The moment Jackal stopped laughing, Lucy quit as well. Her hands coming out and wrapping around his waist. As she caught the faint shimmer of white-gold around them. Letting her know that her magic was coming to the surface. It was something she had wanted to break her friends into slowly. Because they always protected her. Treated her like she was weak. Unable to do a damn thing for herself. Which really irritated her.
"Luce!? You... have magic?" Natsu said, his voice breaking an octave or two.
The looks the other two were giving her were reproving and sad. It hurt, making her lay her head against Jackal without thinking about it. Letting a soft sigh come out as she kept her hands on his waist, to keep him from harming Erza.
"Yes, I found out when I went to my new job after a very stressful meeting with a client. I guess I have always had it. And no Erza, I can assure you Jackal is not gay in the least. One of his siblings I am pretty sure is!" she said.
The silence that followed her comment as she felt Jackal start a bit. Knowing he knew she was referring to Mard. It had become a small inside joke for them. Both aware he was not, but still, the way he acted and stuff, she had let it slip as a joke. And Jackal latched onto it like a starved dog to meat.
"Okay. Then why would he not want to take your honor?" Erza asked. Her head tilting to the side in an innocent manner.
Closing her eyes as she turned her face into Jackal a bit, really hating how her friend could go from one extreme to another. Totally clueless in both the common sense and romance departments.
"Because she hasn't offered it to me. I do have some honor you red-headed devil woman," Jackal scoffed.
At his comment, Lucy looked up and smiled warmly at him. He was being honest and she was sure he didn't want to bed her anyways. No, she knew that he'd prefer to torture her mercilessly.
"So, are you a stripper?" Gray asked suddenly.
"No, I work in demolitions. I am really good at making shit explode," Jackal replied before she could even react.
The mumbled, 'I-bet-you-can' from Natsu had her attention. She was curious as to why he was acting unfriendly, standoffish to Jackal. And that when he did look at in their direction, he wouldn't look at Jackal at all.