A/N: Thank you so much to anyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed! I did so much proofreading and rewriting, and I was still super nervous hitting that button. So seeing your feedback makes me feel better :)
II. Three Days Time
Erza was the last person Lucy wanted to see at that moment. Well, the second to last.
"How long have you been there?!" squealed Lucy.
"Fifteen seconds. You have a rather compelling list" replied Erza. She picked up Lucy's notebook and started rifling through the pages, intrigued.
"Give me that!" said Lucy, snatching it out of her hands and hugging it close to her chest. "You can't ask him!" she seethed.
Erza pouted. "Why not? I have been a friend of Gray's since childhood. I would like to know."
Leave it to Erza to ruin her life out of genuine curiosity, thought Lucy. The scarlet-haired warrior had a unique way of escalating situations that didn't even concern her in the first place. Lucy vowed to never bring her notebook into the guild again.
"Because it has nothing to do with you. It's my list, and my question" she answered.
Erza blinked, then straightened her shoulders and nodded. "Very well, let me call him over so you can ask it," said Erza. She started to wave her arm in Gray's direction, cupped her hand around her mouth, and bellowed "GRAYYY-"
Lucy panicked. She knew she couldn't ask Gray about it now, not with everyone staring at them. She sprung up, used all the upper body strength she had, and tackled Erza to the ground. Luckily, she had managed to catch her at a time she was not wearing her usual heavy plate armor. They both toppled to the grimy, cafeteria floor, and Lucy used Erza's momentary surprise to clamp her hand over Erza's mouth.
"Erza...please don't say anything" whispered Lucy, with wide eyes. She was lying right on top of her, with their faces so close Lucy could smell the lunch-meat on her breath. Erza's fierce, dark eyes stared into hers, demanding an answer. She was hyper-aware of every face in the nearby vicinity staring at them. Cana had stopped in the middle of chugging her beer. Wendy's eyes nervously darted to Master Makarov, who was meditating at the far corner of the bar, as if she needed him to interfere.
Erza wrenched Lucy's hand away from her mouth. "There was no need to push me" she scoffed.
"Why are you even getting involved in this?" asked Lucy. She checked to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. As expected, the people of Fairy Tail were so used to guild fights they had already resumed their normal activities.
"As I mentioned, I have known Gray since we were both children. I am also on a team with the both of you. As a friend and a teammate, it's important to know if two of your partners have feelings for each other. It impacts tactical decisions" said Erza. She frowned and added "Am I not allowed to want to see my friends happy?"
"You can wait to know until I ask him first," said Lucy, shaking her head. The most frightening member of her guild getting involved made her the opposite of happy.
Erza furrowed her brows and seemed to be lost in thought for a few seconds. Then, she beamed at Lucy and said, "Let us make a deal. If you don't get an answer by the end of the week, I get to ask him."
"What kind of deal is that?" wailed Lucy.
"What is the point of waiting? If he has feelings for you, then go be together."
As they continued to argue, Lucy could hear familiar, heavy footsteps approaching them. She dropped her voice to a low but furious whisper and said "I don't even know what my own feelings towards him are!"
"You have three days to figure it out. That should be plenty of time." When Lucy still glared at her, Erza shook her head. "We both know that if I don't force you to do this, you are going to ignore it."
"Like I asked for your help! Let me worry about this on -"
Her voice faltered as she came face to face with a pair of black boots. She gazed up and saw a puzzled Gray staring down at them, with his shirt buttoned up again. She pushed herself off of Erza, flattened her hair back down, and brushed the crumbs off her arms.
"Um...Erza? Lucy? What the hell is going on?" asked Gray, as Erza also got up and fixed the bow on her collar.
"It's not important" insisted Lucy, tucking her notebook back into her purse. Erza glanced pointedly at her, then at the clock on the wall. Lucy didn't need words to understand her threat. She mustered all her courage, hooked her arm around Gray's, and said "Come on, I need to ask you something"
She shuffled them through the crowd as fast as she could, dodging tables and chattering people. She ignored the raised eyebrows from Laxus and Evergreen, the casual wave from Wendy, and the knowing wink from Mirajane as they passed the bar. Right now, her priority was to get Gray as far away from Erza as possible. She kept one eye out for Juvia, who was sure to go haywire if she saw them together.
"Mind telling me where we're going?" Gray asked.
"It's too crowded out there. I don't want everyone to hear" Lucy replied, taking them down the stairs and to the basement. Finally, they stopped in front of the guild's pantry. She hesitated for a second before opening the door and entering the cramped, dark room. Gray stepped in after her and closed the door so it was only a few inches open, leaving a stripe of light across Lucy's face.
The moment they finally faced each other, Lucy tensed up. Every insecurity and every rational bone in her body screamed at her that this was a terrible idea. She wasn't Erza. She couldn't put Gray on the spot like this. But it was too late, and she needed to ask him something.
"Gray-" she started to speak, in a soft, nervous voice.
"Wait a sec" interrupted Gray, stepping closer to her. "You've got some ink on your nose."
Lucy's heart sped up tenfold as he reached forward and cradled her cheek with his hand, then gently wiped off the ink with his thumb. They were so far away from the others now she wondered if he could hear it thumping in her chest.
"Man, that was annoying me," he said, giving her the tiniest of smiles. "What were you saying?"
"I-I had a question " she stammered, now distracted his lingering tough on her cheek. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I was wondering if you...I mean, do you like...are you interested in..."
She recalled the time she had to ask her landlady for a rent extension, for the third month in a row. This was much harder. She wasn't Natsu either. She didn't like barging in without a plan. No matter what his answer would be she didn't have a response.
All she had to do to finish her sentence was say "me". Are you interested in me? But her mind swerved course like a racecar.
"going..."
Going? Now she was asking him on a date! Panicking and inspired by the food all around them, she picked the first activity she could think of that didn't sound date-like.
"...grocery shopping?" she finished.
"Grocery shopping?" he repeated, staring blankly at her, unaware of the self-berating that was currently taking place in her head.
"For a cake," she improvised wildly, looking at the cake mix boxes behind his head. "I need you to help me make one"
"A cake?" he asked. The poor man looked more confused than ever. "You should ask Erza, I'm sure she knows more about cakes than me"
"It's a surprise for her," she said, again going with the first thing that popped into her head. She cursed to herself as she realized Erza was now getting a free cake out of blackmailing her. Oh well, there was no way to change the story now. She would have to convince him to go, get him alone, and then try asking again.
Gray blinked twice, then surveyed the pantry until his eyes landed on the cake mix behind him. He grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to her.
"Here, just use this stuff."
"No, it needs to be from scratch, and I don't want to take any of Mira's ingredients. It's...a really complicated recipe."
"Are you sure you don't want Levy's help instead?"
"She's on a mission with Jet and Droy." That part wasn't a fabrication. Lucy thanked her lucky stars that Levy was out; she didn't know how much more lying she'd have to do. She knew perfectly well how to bake a cake, and would have asked Levy or Mirajane on any other day. She was beginning to think Mirajane was completely off about Gray liking her.
"I mean, if you seriously want my support..." he mused, ruffling his hair. "I ain't a chef, just so you know..."
Lucy did some quick calculations in her head. Today was Wednesday, and Erza gave her three days to ask Gray. She technically wouldn't even have to utter a word to him until the weekend. And she was sure as hell needed all the time she could get. She put on her biggest puppy dog eyes and crossed her fingers behind her back.
"Soooo, are you free on Saturday?" she asked.
"Fine," he said, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I'll bake for you, Lucy. But only for you. Don't tell Erza I got a cooking hobby or anything"
Lucy mentally breathed a sigh of relief. "Great! Meet me at my apartment at ten in the morning and we'll walk to the farmer's market"
She practically sprinted away when they both came out of the pantry, her cheeks starting to burn. She had actually pulled it off! They were going to go shopping together and bake dessert. All she had to do now was figure out what to say to him. And hey, if everything went wrong there would be cake batter to gorge herself on all weekend.
But the burning question still remained. Did Gray have feelings for her? And more importantly, did she have feelings for him too? After defeating dark guilds together, traveling to cursed islands and parallel worlds, and forming the strongest team in Fairy Tail, she only had three days to decide.
Thursday
Now that her plan was in motion, Lucy needed to tell Erza before she decided to take matters into her own hands. She managed to catch Erza at a table for lunch and inform her about her strategy to ask Gray. The S-class mage assured her that she had kept her word and hadn't said anything to him. She seemed disappointed that Lucy hadn't found out yesterday, but impressed that she'd gotten Gray to agree to a pseudo-date. Getting Erza to divulge moments about her own life though, was a different story.
"By the way Erza, is there anything, you know, special going on in your life right now?" asked Lucy.
"I'm going to polish my armor after lunch" replied Erza, beaming proudly.
Lucy cringed. "I meant like, a birthday"
"It won't be for several months"
"What about um, the anniversary of when you became an S-class wizard?"
Erza narrowed her eyes at Lucy. "That was in December"
Lucy tried one more time. "Anniversary of when you joined the guild?"
"I don't recall. Why do you ask about these dates?" asked Erza, folding her arms.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders and gazed up at the ceiling. "I'm looking for an occasion to make a cake"
Erza swallowed the last bite of her dessert, gave Lucy a serious look and said, "You don't need a particular reason to eat cake. If you'll excuse me, I have over one hundred suits of armor to polish"
Lucy gave up and let Erza leave. The guild was almost empty after lunch as everyone moved on to afternoon activities. Freed and Bickslow were sitting at a corner table with both their noses lost in spellbooks. Max was having a conversation with Mirajane at the bar, presumably planning another guild event. Wendy and Charle were slumped over on empty sacks of flour in the corner, taking afternoon naps. Lucy had the sudden urge to turn and mutter to Gray about the flour stains all over their hair and clothes, but he was nowhere to be found.
The only other person left was Lisanna, and she was crawling on her hands and knees under the tables, clearly searching for something. Curiosity got the best of Lucy, so she walked to Lisanna's table and crouched down to peek at her.
"Hey, did you lose something?" she asked.
Lisanna, startled by Lucy's presence, yelped and bumped her head on the wooden table's underside.
Lucy winced. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!"
Lisanna smiled and began massaging the top of her head. "Hi Lucy, it's good to see you! Don't worry about it, I've been so distracted lately" she said. Her smile drooped and she gave a heavy sigh. "I lost my notebook and I can't find it anywhere in the guild."
"Wait, you have a notebook too? Where else do you take it?" asked Lucy. Levy let her read her notebook sometimes, but she had never seen Lisanna's.
"I usually leave it at home or take it to the forest"
"The forest? You mean the East Forest, where Natsu and Happy go fishing?"
"That's the one" Lisanna answered. Her eyes suddenly widened and she began standing up, only to bang her head on the table again. She stumbled to the floor and landed on her hands, sighing again.
"Ouch! Oh man...you're right Lucy, I think I dropped it there" she said, crawling out from under the cafeteria table.
Lucy wondered why the hell anybody would take a notebook deep into a forest. "Let me help you find it" she offered. Maybe, if they retrieved the notebook, Lisanna would show her what she'd written. Lucy loved diving into her friends' imaginations and seeing if they were similar to her own.
Lisanna showed the first signs of hope Lucy had seen all day. "Really?" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
"Definitely! I know I'd be worried if my notebook was missing. We should be able to find it if we retrace your steps"
For an area overgrown with shady trees, the East Forest was much hotter today than Lucy expected it to be. The humidity hung in the air like a fog, and the insects were out in full force. Lucy had put her hair up in a ponytail to stay cool, but even so, her neck was blistering.
They had been searching in the forest for over an hour, with Lisanna recalling every tree and rock she'd visited the last time she bought her notebook. Pulling her head out of a tree hollow, the take-over mage turned to Lucy and said "There's one more spot that I remember going to. Is it alright if we check it out?"
Lucy, who was kneeling and searching in the grass, nodded yes. If they failed to find the book she would feel heartbroken for Lisanna. She couldn't imagine losing something like her letters to her mom.
As they trudged through the dense shrubs to the final location, Lisanna turned to Lucy and said "Even if we don't find it, I don't know how I can thank you, Lucy. It's muggy and awful out today, you're still helping me."
Lucy would have loved to be indoors, sipping one of Mirajane's lemonades. In fact, right now she was craving a margarita. But she forced herself to smile and say "No problem"
"No really...thank you. I asked Juvia to help me look earlier and she said she was busy, but I know she just went to look for Gray"
That was strange, thought Lucy. Lisanna had mentioned she was good friends with Edolas Juvia. Apparently, their relationship hadn't translated well to their world.
The last spot was by the river where Natsu and Happy went fishing. When it was finally visible, Lisanna let out an overjoyed shriek and began sprinting towards the rushing water.
"It's here!" she exclaimed, picking up the leather-bound book from the ground. Aside from a little mud, it seemed to be in perfect shape.
"That's great! Ironic that we found at Natsu's fishing spot...I wonder if he would have stumbled across it eventually" pondered Lucy.
As she mentioned this Lisanna turned faint pink and looked away. "Yeah, this is where they like to hang out a lot." She sighed and mumbled, "I wish he'd invite me too."
"What? He hasn't taken you?" asked Lucy, surprised. She knew all about the story of how Lisanna and Natsu became Happy's adoptive parents, right in this very forest.
"I've been gone for two years. I understand if I'm not a big part of his life anymore. Besides, I'm lucky to be here at all."
"That's silly, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I could ask him for you if you want" said Lucy. Now she was beginning to understand Erza's bluntness. There was nothing to lose by asking. And she knew part of the reason Natsu didn't hang out with Lisanna was that he was so used to breaking into her own apartment, showing her the latest flyer he'd pulled from the Fairy Tail job board.
Lisanna shook her head and smiled. "That's alright, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, you know? Whether that's fishing with Happy or going on quests with you and the rest of his team. You shouldn't...you shouldn't try to change the people you love."
For some reason, Lucy thought of Juvia and how fiercely possessive she could be of Gray. Lisanna's response was a sharp, refreshing contrast. Still, it saddened her. There had to be a healthy middle between being with the people you care about every second of the day and watching them fade out of your life.
Unlike Erza, Lucy didn't want force Lisanna into a situation where she ended up in the pantry, so she changed the topic. "Why do you write in the middle of the woods anyway?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm not a writer. This is for drawing" said Lisanna, holding up the notebook. "Um, do you wanna see?" she asked shyly.
Lucy nodded in excitement. With shaky hands, Lisanna unbuckled the leather strap and handed her book to Lucy. The pages were filled with anatomical line-art of animals. Lucy counted several forms she'd seen Lisanna as before, like cats and rabbits. There were also creatures like mermaids and harpies, and even unfinished sketches of beasts she didn't recognize. She couldn't help but notice how precisely her friend had drawn every tuft of fur, every outstretched wing, every open eye.
"These are amazing" Lucy worded breathlessly. At her praise, Lisanna smiled tentatively and wiped her sweaty brow.
"When I work here, I get to see them in person," she explained. She then stuffed her hands in her pockets and said "Um, animals aren't the only thing I like to draw though. I have some artwork of the guild in the back half if you're interested"
Lucy flipped the notebook to the second half. She was met with a drawing of Gajeel crouching on the floor, stacking blocks on a sleeping Pantherlily's chest. Gajeel's expression was so curious and so focused, Lucy couldn't help but burst out in giggles.
"Oh...yeah. Gajeel didn't even know I was drawing him" said Lisanna, beginning to giggle too.
Lucy continued going through the Fairy Tail artwork, recognizing most of her guild members. There was understandably a lot of Mirajane and Elfman. She saw pictures of Team Natsu, with Erza scowling at Natsu and Gray in over half of them. There was a poignant picture of Mystogan with his fist raised towards the clouds, with Edolas above them. Then there was an entire page of only Natsu's head. Lucy quickly flipped to the next page since she thought Lisanna might be embarrassed.
Her heart stopped. There was a picture of just her and Gray, with her whispering into Gray's ear. They were sitting at one of the Fairy Tail cafeteria tables together. Her eyes were closed and her hand cupped around her mouth, spilling a secret. Gray was smirking but his eyes were pointed to Lucy. She stared at the picture for several seconds, unaware of the fact that she was now tracing the lines with her finger.
"You like that one?" asked Lisanna, peering closer.
Lucy shut the book and stammered "I, um, just wondering what day that happened"
Lisanna frowned and said "I honestly don't remember. You guys whisper to each other a lot. I guess one day I just thought it was cute and decided to capture it!" She clasped her hands together and her eyes brightened. "I know! Lucy, do you wanna keep that one as a thank you?"
"Oh, you don't have to-"
"It's your favorite, isn't it?" asked Lisanna. She took back the notebook and opened it to the drawing of Lucy and Gray again. Then she carefully tore the page from the spine and handed it to Lucy.
The poor celestial mage couldn't remember for the life of her what she was saying to Gray in that picture. All she could do was stare at it. She tried to recreate the moment in her head. She imagined Gray's spiky black hair, his dark blue eyes, and his coy smile. The way he said her name and the way his eyes sometimes lingered on her a second longer than necessary. She was leaning towards him, but instead of a whisper, she went in for a kiss...
"Well, shall we head back to the guild?" said Lisanna, interrupting Lucy's daydreams. Lucy stiffened and almost dropped the piece of paper.
"I, um, good idea. Thanks for showing me your notebook" said Lucy hastily.
"No problem! You helped me find it. Let's go home and have my sister make us some lemonade, whaddya think?"
Friday
Of Sugar Mice and Gingerbread Men
(over 2000 dessert recipes included)
Lucy clutched the book in her hands, hoping it was worth the 3000 jewels she paid for it. The bookstore owner had recommended it, saying it was the perfect book for beginners. He'd even included a voucher for some food dyes. She tucked her new recipe book in her bag, waved goodbye to the owner, and stepped out into the streets of Magnolia.
The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the city a beautiful orange. Lucy paused for a minute to admire the glow and gaze at the building reflections on the nearby canal. She felt a rumble in her stomach informing her it was about dinnertime. It was a far walk to the guild hall, but luckily, she spotted a kebab stand nearby.
The kebab stand was by a neighboring florist shop, which created an interesting mixture of aromas. As Lucy paid for her food, she heard the bell to the florist shop chime. She turned her head and caught Juvia, carrying a single white daisy. She appeared not to have noticed Lucy and strode right past her to the canal.
Lucy decided to keep watching her, bemused. Maybe Juvia liked to decorate her house with flowers. Or perhaps Gray had made some offhand comment about liking daisies once. The blue-haired woman reached the water, took a deep breath, and hugged the daisy close to her heart.
"He loves Juvia, he loves Juvia not, he loves Juvia, he loves Juvia not..." she recited, plucking off the flower petals and watching them fall into the water.
Of course, thought Lucy. Though it came as no surprise, she couldn't help but keep watching her. She positioned herself behind the kebab stand as Juvia continued her flower game. When Juvia got down to the last petal, her lip quivered. Then she shook her head, turned around, and waltzed back into the florist shop. A few minutes later, she was holding a large sunflower.
Juvia started the game again, meticulously going through each yellow petal. This time, she landed on a 'he loves Juvia'. Satisfied, she tossed the flower stem into a nearby garbage can and admired the floating petals. Lucy observed her for a few more minutes before she finally strolled off into the sunset.
When she was sure Juvia was gone, Lucy walked to the canal herself. She kneeled by the water's edge and caught sight of her own reflection between the mixture of white and yellow flecks. There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it had nothing to do with the kebab. Before she could identify what it was, she heard heavy footsteps approaching. A moment later, she saw Loke's face reflected in the water next to her.
"She definitely cheated, huh?" said Loke, kneeling down beside her.
"Loke!" cried out Lucy. His ability to open his own gate was helpful but sometimes startling. "How long have you been here?"
He shrugged and adjusted his glasses. "I started watching Juvia play her little flower game about the same time you did." They both watched the water for a few more minutes before he said "Something's bothering you. Wanna talk about it?"
Lucy clutched her purse tightly. Only Mirajane and Erza knew about her list, and so far she'd been determined to keep it that way. If Levy were here, she'd understand her for sure, but she was gone and Loke was offering. Turning to face him, she asked "Does our contract include keeping secrets?"
"Nope. But our friendship does" he replied.
Lucy hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a folded but crumpled piece of paper from her bag. She flattened it out and handed it to him.
"A few days ago, Mirajane said Gray had a crush on me. I didn't really think she was serious until I started writing down all the observations people made about us" said Lucy, watching Loke's eyes glide through her writing. When he was done she pointed to the paper and said "So...do you think it's true?"
Loke said nothing for a moment, then pushed his glasses up and smirked. "Do you want it to be true?"
"I-I don't know. Maybe," she said.
Loke's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he grinned widely. "So Princess Lucy and my best bud Gray might like each other! What a development!" He scrunched his eyebrows and said, "I'm not seeing the issue here."
"It's Juvia. I don't want to hurt her. She's been in love with Gray for so long and the thought of being with him makes her so happy...I just don't know what to do!" she said. She shook her head and rested her forehead on one hand. "I don't know if you remember how she was before she joined Fairy Tail. Every day of her life was stormy and lonely."
"Yeah, I remember...she used to say 'drip drop' all the time. Can't decide if she was more of a nutcase before or after she met Gray" muttered Loke.
Lucy continued to pour out all her guilty feelings like a broken dam. "Maybe I should just back off. I mean, Gray could like her eventually, since their magic is compatible and everything. They'll be happy together and I'll...I'll get an exceed like Natsu"
Loke gave a long, low whistle when she finished. "Lucy, man you are something else" he chortled. He put a hand on her shoulder and said "So about Juvia and Gray...don't assume they should be together just because she's persistent. Honestly, if you and Gray date let her cry an ocean and get over it. Every girl I've dumped has done that, and they turned out fine"
"Loke, no" scolded Lucy, crossing her arms. Despite Loke's frequent claims that he loved women, he could be remarkably blase towards them sometimes. "I care about her feelings!"
"But she doesn't care about Gray's" he stated, matter of factly. Lucy opened her mouth to protest and he covered it with her hand. He stared right into her eyes and said "Listen to me, Lucy."
She nervously looked back. Loke had never sounded so serious before.
"Love and respect are two different things. Juvia doesn't care how uncomfortable she makes Gray or the position she puts him in. She's in love with the idea of Gray, the idea that he'll bring her eternally clear skies. I think destroying that fixation is the best thing you could do for her, Lucy. If she gambles all her happiness coins in one basket, that's on her."
Lucy pulled his hand away from her mouth and retorted "Well, not everyone wants to date five girls at once like you."
"She doesn't have to. All the best friends you could ask for in the world are right here in Fairy Tail"
Lucy thought of Lisanna and Juvia's relationship again. She thought of Juvia and Gajeel. She even thought of Lyon and Meredy. She understood now - Every one of them, every last person in her guild would spill their own blood and tears for each other. If Juvia's obsession with Gray was so important that she couldn't appreciate that, that it wasn't enough for her, then it was her own fault.
Lucy picked up the daisy Juvia had discarded on the ground, with the one remaining lone petal."I suppose you're right. There's enough love here to mend any broken heart."
"Damn right I am. Also, what's this compatible magic bullshit? Celestial magic is by far the sexiest" said Loke, rolling his eyes.
"But it's not inherently harmonious like water and ice" she responded, fidgeting with the daisy.
He snorted. "Who cares? Technically, since water is below the freezing temperature of ice, it will always melt it. But look at all the beautiful, icy, heavenly bodies up in the sky." He pointed upwards to the darkening night around them. It was sparkling with stars. "Comets, moons, asteroids, planets...hell almost the entire cosmos are freezing"
Lucy giggled this time. She knew it was petty, but she loved the metaphors of their magic. They were celestial mage Lucy and ice mage Gray, and together they created a dazzling, frozen universe.
"Speaking of the sky, it's getting kind of late. Want me to walk you to Fairy Tail, or would you rather go home?" he asked.
"I have to get my shopping list and my outfit ready. Erza's forcing me to ask Gray so I kind of made plans with him tomorrow. Let's go home" said Lucy, standing up. She had all day with Gray tomorrow to look forward to, and she wanted to be as prepared as possible. She extended her open palm so Loke could return her list. Once it was back in her hands, she gazed at it one more time before turning to him and asking "You still haven't told me if you think he likes me? You're one of Gray's best friends after all"
"Doesn't mean he tells me everything. Hmm..." he said, stroking his chin. "Read me the list again?"
Lucy read aloud the five reasons she'd written down on Wednesday at the bar. She'd been over them so much in her mind, she could recite them by heart now.
Loke smirked. "Have you forgotten that I also meet a lot of that criteria?" he said, holding up his fingers to count. "I think you're attractive, my entire job is protecting you, I try to flirt with you all the time, and I'm essentially risking my life for you even if celestial spirits don't technically die."
"I- yeah but you flirt with everyone! And we have a contract! It's different" insisted Lucy.
He chucked and said "Alright, then by your logic Gray adores you even more than I do"
Lucy bit her cheek to prevent herself from grinning like a maniac. She did want her little list of reasons to be true. She wanted all their whispered conversations and secret moments to be as precious to Gray as they were to her. Giving up and handing them to Juvia would be like tearing out a chunk of her heart. She had to find out, she had to seize her moment tomorrow - she was not going to let Erza or Juvia or anyone else get in the way.
Before they left, Lucy plucked the last petal from the daisy she'd been fiddling with. She released it and watched the wind carry it into the water.
He loves Juvia not.
I know there was a lot of Lucy bumbling around, talking to friends and figuring out her feelings in this chapter. I promise, there will be LOTS of GrayLu later :) Speaking of which, sorry if you were expecting this to be a big lengthy story, it will probably only be three-four chapters. It was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but it ended up being much too long.
If you do want to review but don't know what to say, here's a question again! Which characters you wish got more of the spotlight in Fairy Tail? For me, Lisanna Strauss deserves better. I feel like her character and her relationship with Natsu got pushed to the side a lot which makes me sad. If you don't want to review but you liked it, I still appreciate you. Thanks for reading!