Chapter SEVEN
Lucy took a deep breath and smiled. She glanced at Jellal again and when she manage to catch his gaze, she nodded towards the guild doors and Jellal seemed to get the message. He said something to the people on his table. After a while they nodded, though Erza seemed somewhat reluctant.
Jellal secretly shot Lucy a glance and gave her a faint nod. Lucy stood up from her stool and told Mira that she was going to head home. When the take-over mage commented on the time, Lucy gently shook her away, telling her that she was simply tired. Mira accepted her reasoning and Lucy called out some "Byes" and "See yous" before slipping out of the guild.
Jellal caught the look Lucy was sending him. He watched her nod towards the doors and he instantly got her message. 'We need to talk.' He gave her a faint nod and turned to Erza and her friends.
"I need to look for a place to stay the next couple of days." He said. That wasn't fully a lie.
Erza perked up. "We can accompany you." She offered. Lisanna nodded enthusiastically. Jellal frowned slightly. Why wasn't Lucy sitting with the rest of her team?
Jellal shook his head, half to clear his head and half to decline Erza's offer. If Erza and her friends came with him, it would ruin the whole talk-to-Lucy-alone thing. Erza frowned, but didn't press any further.
"Very well. Since you are spending the next few days here, maybe we can go on a short mission and spend some time together." She said. Jellal nodded absentmindedly.
Jellal was watching Lucy leave the guild from the corner of his eye. He wasn't really close to the Celestial mage. One of the few things he knew about her included the fact that she was one of Erza's closest friends.
He stood up, picking his bags up at the same time. "Okay, I'll be going." He said. Erza nodded and Wendy offered him a small wave. Natsu and Gray both glared at each other before turning to nod at him.
Random guild members offered him a farewell and he nodded back. He wrapped his cloak around himself and stepped out of the guild.
Lucy was leaning against the wall of the guild, her eyes closed. She opened them when Jellal approached her. She offered him a smile and tilted her head as she pointed towards the woods. Jellal nodded and he silently followed her as led the way down the path and into the trees.
Suddenly, Lucy broke of the path and led the way deeper into the trees. Curious, Jellal followed her. The trees soon gave way to a beautiful clearing. Flowers dotted the are and there was a stream that ran into a small lake nearby. Jellal looked back the way they had come and noted that the entrance was completely covered by trees, leaves and bushes.
Lucy plopped onto the ground by the stream and patted the ground next to her, telling Jellal to do the same. He dropped to the ground and they sat there for a few minutes in awkward silence.
Finally, Jellal opened his mouth. "This place is beautiful." He said, looking around the clearing.
Lucy smiled. "Since team Natsu began going on missions with Lisanna, I've had a lot of spare time. I was exploring the woods and I accidentally ran across this place." There was another awkward silence.
Lucy took a deep breath. "So you're Darque's other owner?" It wasn't really a question but Jellal answered anyways.
"Yeah, and I take that you are as well?" Lucy nodded, then turned to him with a smiled.
"I'm Lucy Heartfillia, Celestial mage of Fairy Tail." She introduced herself.
Jellal smiled back. "I'm Jellal Fernandez, a Heavenly body magic user and member of Crime Sorcière." He paused. "Well, ex member of Crime Sorcière."
Lucy frowned. "Ex?"
Jellal nodded. "The whole might-put-your-friends-and-guild mates-in-danger thing." He said.
Darque suddenly appeared with a poof. "Sorry."
Lucy smiled at her. "I told you already. You're my friend and I'll help you no matter what."
Jellal felt a surge of admiration for Lucy. The rumors he had heard about the gentle Celestial mage were true. He nodded in agreement. "I agreed to help you as well, so that's what I'll do."
Darque smiled. "Did you find the people I asked for?" She asked.
Jellal nodded while Lucy looked quizzically at them. He nodded reassuringly at her, then reached into his traveling bag and pulled out a Communication Lacrima. "Should I call them?" He asked. Darque nodded.
She turned to Lucy and they began talking about random things while Jellal tried to connect a call to the Communication Lacrima Rogue was holding. He heard Lucy begin to talk about the missions she had gone on with her team when Rogue appeared on the crystal.
"Hi." Jellal said. Rogue looked at him before nodding a greeting.
"I've met up with Darque's other owner. Where do you want to meet." He asked. He waited patiently as Rogue turned around to ask Cobra and Midnight for their opinions. He turned back a minute later. "They want to want to eat. Anywhere with food is fine."
Jellal nodded. "Somewhere with not many people." He added. Rogue nodded.
Jellal paused. "Hang on, I have an idea." He turned to Lucy, who was still deep in conversation with Daruqe.
"Guys." Jellal called. Lucy paused and looked up.
"What?" She asked.
Jellal ran a hand sheepishly through his blue hair. "Err, we need a place top meet up with the others and we're all pretty hungry so we were wondering if we could...er...gather at your house."
Lucy blinked, then slowly placed a finger onto her chin. "Well, I guess we could. But team Natsu breaks into my house often so we're going to have to do something about that."
"So, its fine?" Jellal asked.
Lucy nodded.
"Don't tell your companion your partner is Lucy." Darque whispered. She grinned, then turned back to her contractor.
Jellal turned back to face Rogue. "We're meeting at L...um...Darque's other owner's house." He said.
Rogue nodded. "Address?"
"Strawberry street. It's orange with a brown roof." Darque said.
Jellal nodded then relayed it to Rogue who nodded.
Jellal leaned back onto his hands. "Well, I'll see you guys there." He said, and Rogue nodded before cutting the connection. He turned to back to Lucy, who had sent Darque back.
"We should go now." He said. Lucy nodded, then glanced towards the lake. She was about to stand up when Jellal hesitantly offered her his hand. Lucy, equally as hesitant, took it and let Jellal help her to her feet. She smiled and he offered a small grin in return.
Don't forget to Review and tell what you think~ X3
I'm still worried Jellal's a bit OOC. Tell me if you think so as well.
The votes for pairings are still ongoing. Vote at the poll on my profile, PM me, or just post as a review.
Pairings so far:
Jellal x Lucy: 36
Midnight x Lucy: 19
Cobra x Lucy: 19
Laxus x Lucy: 17
Rogue x Lucy: 10
Sting x Lucy: 6
Natsu x Lucy: 5
Gajeel x Lucy: 5
Ideas and suggestions are welcome.