Lucy's eyes widened as she gazed down the glass elevator, watching as she climbed higher, higher, and even higher. She deemed herself as calm, collected even.

By the 10th floor, she was worried. What if he was too busy? Would she be disturbing him?

By the 21st floor, she was scared. What if he refused to see her at all? Would her pride survive the humiliation?

By the 34th floor, she was freaking out. This wasn't a good idea, was it? She should turn back before it was too late, shouldn't she?

Ding.

40th floor.

She had arrived.

Oh, dearie dear. Lucy regretted being so aggressive with the receptionist downstairs. Maybe then she wouldn't have to face him again. After all, who would willingly want to meet the most powerful man in Magnolia?

Apparently, she would.

And so, "Lucky" Lucy Heartfilia walked out of the elevator, her head held high, her heart screaming 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.'

She was met with a short, silver-white haired woman with dashing light blue eyes and a smile adorning her lips. She was lovely, much to Lucy's mild envy, and was beautiful in a way Lucy could never hope to mimic.

"Hello!" She said cheerfully. "My name's Lisanna Strauss. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Heartfilia."

Lucy blinked. "Uh… how do you know my name?"

The woman—Lisanna—grinned knowingly. "Oh, trust me. We all know."

Lucy was confused as heck, but she wasn't about to let the woman know. A thought suddenly came to her. "You… don't happen to be Mirajane Strauss's sister, do you?"

Lisanna beamed at the question. "Actually, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I came to meet her recently," Lucy shrugged. "You both look alike, not to mention you guys have the same last name."

Lisanna tilted her head. "We… look alike?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't you? You're siblings."

"True," Lisanna said with a growing smile. "But I've hardly ever been compared to my older sis. After all, she's the model. Not me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "That's insane. You two are both equally gorgeous in your own unique way."

The woman was silent before "YOU ARE SO KIND! I TOTALLY SEE WHY HE HAS HIS EYE ON YOU NOW!"

"…Eh?"

Lisanna looped her arm around Lucy's and proceeded to drag her away from the elevators, marching off toward the inside of the building with yet another grin. "Let's not keep him waiting, shall we?"

"…Eh?"

Lisanna left her in front of door of beautiful mahogany with a shiny brass doorknob, the only one of its kind in the entire unit. The name plate to the side listed the name that was beginning to irk her.

Fullbuster, CEO

Dear God. She really should've left the items with the cranky receptionist or maybe even the bubbly Lisanna.

With a deep breath, Lucy lifted a hand and knocked gently on the door, hoping he wouldn't hear.

He did.

"Come in."

Lucy bit her lip, turned the knob as quietly as she could, and entered the room. What she saw made her eyed widen with appreciation.

The office was beautiful. It took on a fairly modern look, with its clean, polished wooden desk which curved around in a L-shape, the high-tech computer on top, the long couch on the side of the room, the comfy chairs that sat in front of the desk, and the large ceiling-to-floor window which looked down toward the heart of downtown Magnolia.

The walls were decorated with pictures galore, most of them with the CEO and his affiliates and a couple of of them with what seemed to be his family and friends. The picture that really caught her eye, however, was the one on his desk, depicting a beautiful woman with short, dark hair and a bright twinkle in her eyes. His mother or someone more important?

"Ahem."

Lucy jumped and faced the man she had come to see. If there was one way to describe the 'esteemed leader,' it would be this: an out-of-work yet looking-for-a-job white-collar worker. Because this man looked nothing like the image of a CEO of a major company.

He was wearing a suit. Kind of.

The jacket was flung haphazardly onto the couch and the tie was sitting over the top of his leather chair. His hair was some sort of mess, sticking up in twenty different directions and his eyes were droopy from lack of sleep (or perhaps a late night considering he was sleeping like a log when Lucy found him that morning). He was clad in only socks, one shoe against the door and the other on the couch. His shirt was wrinkled beyond belief, but Lucy would have been okay with that if it weren't for the worst part.

Not a single button was done. The only thing that stuck out to Lucy was the strip of bare skin that showed between the two halves of the shirt. Skin she was already well-acquainted with.

Hm. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she made it out to be. After all, he did look good. More than good.

"AHEM."

Lucy jumped again and properly looked at the CEO. His smile was amused. "See something you like?"

Lucy immediately scowled. "No. Not in the least."

Gray simply laughed and leaned against his desk. "So. How can I help you, Lucy?"

Lucy tried to ignore the shiver that went through her spine when he said her name. It seemed to roll of his tongue almost effortlessly. "I've come bearing gifts," she said.

Gray's brows lifted. "Gifts?"

Lucy held up the bag in her hands. "Yes. Gifts."

She wordlessly handed him the bag and he wordlessly accepted, nodding his thanks. He peered inside and smirked. "Guess you found my shirt, huh?"

Lucy sighed. "Yes, I did. Wendy also found your wallet."

"Ah. I was wondering where it went."

Lucy gaped at him. If it had been her, she would've been freaking out. Her wallet practically held her whole life within it, what with credit cards and her driver's license and such.

Gray must have noticed her look because he chuckled. "Don't worry. There were only two places I knew I could have left it. Your apartment and Fairy Tail. I knew you weren't the type to keep something that didn't belong to you, and I'm sure Fairy Tail would have held onto it for me. I hope." He shook his head before sighing. "But where are my manners? Please sit."

Lucy did as he asked. Gray remained where he was and frowned into the bag. "There's something in here that doesn't belong to me though."

Lucy cracked a smile. "That would be Wendy. She included a little something for you in thanks for saving us."

Gray raised a brow. "Save? All Romeo and I did was help you two back home."

"It was more than enough to win Wendy's heart though. Besides, we didn't get you anything impressive," said Lucy, her eyes wandering around the room. "I'm sure you're used to more extravagant prese—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Gray looked up innocently from where he was pouring a fair amount of syrup onto his pancakes. "Um... indulging in my beautiful present? Tell Wendy thanks, by the way. Did she make these?"

Lucy gaped again. No, Lucy had not known what Wendy had put in the box for Gray, and no, she did not think that it would include pancakes and syrup. Especially the same pancakes and syrup they had had for breakfast that morning.

Wendy's words came back to her.

'I wonder if Gray-san had breakfast...'

Wendy, why?

Lucy was startled by this new... development, but hell if she was going to let him know. "Anywho, that was all I came up for."

Gray blinked, half a pancake still stuffed in his mouth. "Ya mean you don' wan' 'nything elsh?"

Lucy shook her head.

He gulped down what was left in his mouth and gave her a stern look. "I can't just let you go after you've done me such a favor, Lucy."

Lucy frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gray grinned, set the box of pancakes aside, and walked up to her, grabbing her hands with his own. Lucy said nothing about it, simply gazing spell-bound into his eyes.

"I'm taking you out to dinner."

It was a statement, a declaration, if you will. In no way was it request or a question. It was then followed by a kiss to the cheek.

Lucy's face flushed and she mechanically nodded her head, not truly aware of what she was agreeing to.

Lucy frowned as she stared at her appearance in the mirror. She walked toward Wendy's room and peeked her head through the door. "You haven't happened to see where my pearl earrings went?"

Flash.

Lucy blinked, bewildered by the sudden photo Wendy had taken of her. Wendy gripped the camera in her hands, her eyes tearing up in happiness. "I'm so happy for you, Lucy-san."

"Um... what for?"

Wendy jumped up and down excitedly. "For finally catching a date! Not to mention one with the Gray Fullbuster. You haven't been out with a man in forever!"

Lucy sighed. "Then what was the picture for?"

Wendy held the camera high above her head in triumph. "Tis a photo to commemorate this moment, to capture the memory of Lucy's first real date with a real gentleman."

Lucy snorted. "Yeah. Real gentleman, my ass."

Wendy shook her head. "Come now. You might not have met him in the most normal of circumstances, but at least he had the courtesy to invite you to dinner in appreciation for your kindness to him."

"You mean your kindness. You were the one who sneaked pancakes into the bag."

"Sure, sure," Wendy said knowingly. "But I wasn't the one who volunteered to personally deliver his present to him, was I?"

Lucy's eye twitched. "I'll ask again: where are my pearl earrings?"

Wendy grinned. "My dresser. Hold up a second while I fetch them."

And that was when the doorbell rang.

Oh, boy.