Me: Hello, everyone! Sorry that it's been so long! Here's another chapter for you guys!
Lucy: Thanks so much for all the views and reviews! She really appreciates it!
Gray: I'm in this chapter, so prepare to have your mind blown.
Me: Yeah, sure. I don't own rights to Fairy Tail!
Frozen and Forgotten Feelings Chapter 4
Fear
Gray POV
I gritted my teeth as the scene played out in my head for the seventh time.
Their foreheads were resting on the ice and Natsu was speaking in tone that I had never heard him use before. "I know you are hurting right now, but you're not alone. I'm right here with you, I will always be next to you."
A lump formed in my throat as he presented her with the lotus he had made and she slowly came out from center of the ice flower. Stupid fire-breather... I mentally cursed as the ice vanished, dropping me unceremoniously on my head. My anger for the flame brain subsided slightly as I stood and saw her peacefully sleeping for the first time since the incident.
"Yo, droopy-drawers,"
I growled as a tick mark appeared on my forehead. He knew better than to call me that. "What do you want, fire-breather?"
We had gone back into town for the night and were back to see if she could remember anything else. He carried her over to me, his bangs hiding his eyes. "Can you watch her for sec? I need to..." his voice cracked as if he had something stuck in his throat. "I need to go do something..."
Even though I hated his guts, I still respected him as a comrade and guild member. Gently so not to disturb her, I slipped my arms around her and drew her close as he turned and disappeared into the deserted mansion. "What could that fire-freak be doing now?"
My attention averted to the girl in my arms as she shifted, curling and nuzzling into my chest. Heat seared across my face as a small smile graced her lips and a hand rested on my suddenly frantic heart. She looked so adorable when she was sleeping... Shaking my head, I forced my heart to return to normal.
"Hey! You coming or what?"
"You're the one who walked away saying 'I need to do something', moron." I shouted back, rolling my eyes at his contradictions.
"That was then, this is now! Get your icy butt in here!"
"Are you telling me what to do?!" I bristled, running in and head butting him.
His eyes narrowed as he took her back. "Watch it, ice princess!"
I blinked, then turned away, mentally kicking myself for forgetting that she was in my grasp during that little stunt I just pulled. How could I have acted so carelessly? A shriek caused me to spin around and I sweat dropped as he tripped and tossed Lucy in my direction, whom I caught easily.
"Don't just sit there, let's get moving." I smirked, walking past him and down the hallway.
The hallways were a faded white and there were lots of antique paintings with statues that were around every corner. Whoever had bought the mansion after her father had lost it was keeping very good care of it.
"I know this..."
I nearly dropped her as she pointed to a door to the left. "You're awake!"
She turned her gaze to match mine, surprising me with how small her pupils were. "I don't want to go in there."
"What's wrong, Luce?" Natsu asked, coming up on our right as I placed her on her feet and moved to open the door.
"No! Don't!" She suddenly slammed herself against the Dragon Slayer, knocking him to the floor, and plastered herself against the doors to prevent our entrance. "Don't open the door!"
I tilted my head. "Lucy, did something happen in that room?"
Her body began to tremble. "We can't go inside. We mustn't."
Noticing the crazed look that had entered her eyes, I stepped forward and placed my hands on her shoulders. "Lucy, can you look at me please?"
"We can't go inside. It's against the rules," she muttered, her eyes swimming in and out of focus. "We mustn't go inside. We can't."
Natsu jumped up and shouldered me away. "Luce, you're starting to sound like a broken record."
Her eyes snapped up to lock with his, and he visibly stiffened. "We. Can't. Go. In." Each word was spoken harshly, almost Erza-like. "If we go in, we will be punished."
It clicked in my head. This must be her father's office... "Lucy."
Her head snapped to lock her eyes on mine, sweat now starting to drip down her face as she slightly moved to the right. "We can't go in!"
"I hear you, okay?" I said slowly, not breaking eye contact. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked, catching sight of the fire breather as he grasped the now exposed handle of the right door. "She needs to open the door herself if we are going to make any more progress."
He glared but he backed off, muttering something about kicking my butt later. Note to self: make sure Mira knows every little detail of their little moment earlier. She will drive him insane long before he could even challenge me.
Turning my attention back to the blonde in front of us, my concern for her rose as she began muttering under her breath. "Lucy?"
"Wecan'tgoinside, wecan'tgoinside, wecan'tgoinside..."
I gently tilted her head upwards from its now downward angle and made her look me in the eye. "Lucy, remember what we talked about earlier?"
She paused, her eyes growing a little more clear. "My father and Michelle..."
"That's right, and what did you remember about your father?" I asked, making sure that my voice remained steady.
"...he passed away..."
I nodded. "Right. So if he's no longer here, then why are you so afraid of going into his office?"
"It was against the rules..." she slowly answered, her eyes never leaving mine.
"But you don't live here anymore, you live in that little house near the canal. The rules don't apply here anymore." I smiled softly. "You wanted to be independent and live by your own rules, so you ran away and came to live in Magnolia."
"I remember," a small smile found its way onto her face and her eyes grew a little more clear. "you wanted to borrow my underwear because yours were stolen."
I blinked, my face flushing with heat. "I did what?!"
"I remember that!" Natsu suddenly fell to the floor laughing.
I turned, ready to beat the pyro senseless, but froze as a tinkling sound rang through the air, cutting Natsu's laughter off. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I turned back and saw her smiling and holding her side as she laughed. At that moment, even though she was surrounded by many things that were considered priceless, she seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world and was truly most priceless thing that could ever exist.
She leaned back against the doors; still holding her sides as she laughed, then shrieked as the doors opened and she fell into the room. Immediately, she curled up into a ball and covered her head, but raised her head after a few seconds. "Nothing happened."
Smiling, I offered her my hand. "Of course not, we wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?"
Her smile returned as she took my hand and stood. "Because we're a team, and we look out for each other."
My heart literally skipped a beat as she winked, heat flooding my face again. "Wow…"
"Hey, man," the pyro came up and head-butted me. "What's going on in that perverted mind of yours?"
I slugged him in jaw, sending him flying off into one of the rooms farther down the hall. "Don't be an idiot."
M: What do you guys think?
Lucy: I remembered another one!
Gray: No one else knows about…you know…
M*wink*: Please leave a review!
