Back with another chap! I like some parts of it. Other parts seemed too...ehhh. But overall I liked it enough to post it after what may seem like forever. Sorry for the wait. Work and laziness doesn't mix well. Anyways, enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.
How she ended up in this situation was far beyond her. Yeah so they were staying at the hotel for their mission. Naturally they would get one room since it saves money and all. They've all stayed in one room before so it was fine. Upon arriving to the hotel though... well...it wasn't what they thought it would be. Red lights were strung up around the place and a tacky sign illuminated the night with the words Motel. Girls were in revealing outfits just sitting around as if on the lookout. Upon seeing Gray and Natsu they waved at them and winked. The group tried their best to ignore them. It was in a slightly sketchy part of town. No wonder they needed someone to take care of some muggers.
The group entered the hotel and found the reception desk. A lady with heavy makeup and a beehived styled hairdo was chewing her gum behind the desk. Lucy was the first to speak up.
"Uhh. Hello. We are the mages from Fairy Tail here to help with the mugg-" before Lucy could finish however the reception lady shushed her. Lucy was thrown in for a loop as the women started speaking.
"I know who you are. Now come come." She waved to follow her upstairs. Lucy looked at Natsu and Gray. They shrugged in response and followed after the lady. They went up the stairs and down a long hallway. The lighting was dim and hazy. Red wallpaper lined the tall walls. Natsu almost tripped over several objects before catching himself. The mahogany doors were super big and thick. Some noises could be heard on the other side despite the thickness. Lucy just shivered, not at all comfortable. The reception lady stopped abruptly before one door. Lucy would have walked right into her if it weren't for Natsu's quick reflexes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back just before she could.
"Name's Lola." She stated as she opened the door as she blew a bubble. She walked in and the three followed. "I assume y'all will get started with ya mission tomorrow, seeing as you'll want to settle in first." The room wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. Three people could fit in all cozy. The hallway's deep red wallpaper continued into the room. The lights a little more brighter than the hallways but the knob by the light switch suggested that the lights could be dimmed. A very shelfs here and there. There was a large flat screen TV on one side of the room. In front it was a glass coffee table, a stack of magazines on top. The main piece of furniture was the bed seeing as it was queen sized and had a large red silk canopy over the top. Heart pillows were placed neatly on the bed. Lucy shivered. Gray blenched. And Natsu just looked on as if nothing was wrong. "Be in the front lobby in the morning so I can brief you more on the job. For now enjoy your night."
As fast as she came, she quickly left and shut the door. Gray and Lucy let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Lucy glared at Gray.
"Why did you take on the job knowing it was this kind of hotel?!"
"Whoa whoa whoa. First off, I didn't know it was this kind of hotel. Second off, what's so bad?" He said with an easygoing smile. Lucy just smacked him in the arm.
"It's! It's….just bad…" A blush started in her cheeks and crept down to her neck.
"Oh come on Luce! It doesn't seem bad at all!" Natsu just swung his arm around her neck wearing his signature grin. Lucy doubt Natsu even knew what kind of hotel it was. Gray just got even more cheeky. The three left their luggage unpacked seeing as they didn't know how long they would be here. If Lucy had anything to do with it thought they would be leaving as soon as possible. It wasn't until Gray was looking for the futons and only found one that conflict started.
"Looks like one person can get the futon and two people can share the bed." Gray stated. He quickly added. "Dibs on the futon" Gray proceeded to flop down on the futon. Lucy however processed that if Gray had the futon then Natsu and her would have to share the bed. Ha. She couldn't. No way.
"Are you kidding me? I'm the girl here! I should get the futon and you guys share the bed!" Lucy huffed as she kicked Gray off the futon and sat on it herself.
"There's no way I'm sharing a bed with that hot head over there!"
"Yeah! I'm not sleeping in the same bed as that ice freak no matter what!" Natsu added.
"Well too bad. I get the futon. No exceptions," Lucy just stated matter of factly. Natsu was the first to whine.
"Lushy~ But! We've slept together plenty of times!" Natsu countered while kneeling beside Lucy.
"Oh?" Gray asked with an amused eyebrow raise. "Who knew you guys were so….intimate," he teased. Lucy's face flushed a bright red as her heart skipped a beat. She smacked her fist into Natsu's noggin.
"OW! What was that for?!" The fire mage asked with alligator tears in his eyes.
"Don't phrase things weirdly for Gray to misunderstand!"
"No worries, Lucy. I understand things...perfectly and it's all the more reason I should get the futon. I would hate to split up two lovebirds."
"Lucy! Don't make me share a bed with squinty eyes!"
"That's it! One more word and Lucy kick both of you!" Lucy yelled with a glint in her eyes. She was tired of their bickering and quite frankly wanted to go to sleep. Her yells shut both of them up. In the end Gray and Natsu ended up sharing the bed a wall of pillows and really anything else they could find between them. Gray made sure to freeze the bed up a few times in order to annoy Natsu. He in turn raised the temperature to make the ice mage uncomfortable. Lucy slept peacefully ignoring the two's childish behavior. It was in the middle of the night when she had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately the bathroom was down the hall. Lucy groaned as she kicked the covers off of her. Quietly she tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to disturb the two males who had finally stopped messing around and were actually sleeping.
The hall was, as usual Lucy supposed, dark and hazy. A faint cloud of perfume hung in the air as well. The celestial mage walked briskly to the bathroom ignoring any noises or people she happened to come across. She found sanctuary in the bathroom. Right as she closed the door to her stall the bathroom door opened again. The sound of heels against the tile echoed about.
"You know, I honestly just don't understand why Lola wants us to be nice to those fairy brats. They are here for a job, Not a pampering service. We do enough of that already."
Okay...Wow. This person doesn't seem to like us that much?
"Oh come one, Crystal. At least they are all hot. Did you see the abs on that one guy? They looked hard as rocks! And the girl's chest?! It's hug-"
"Cathy, I know you swing both ways, but please refrain from such talk." Crystal said monotoned.
"Well, they are better than the normal old guys we get. And they are attractive you must admit that!" The voice, who Lucy supposed was Cathy, answered. "They remind me of those couple of guys who stayed here last time. You remember those guys?! The blond one really gave you a hard time didn't he? What was his name? String?"
"Sting. And don't remind me. That bastard will get what's coming to him for doing that to me." Crystal's voice was laced with distaste. "Come let's go Cathy." Their heels sounded in the room again singling their leave. Before they could completely leave though one pair stopped. "Do Fairies always eavesdrop?" Lucy froze. How did she know she was there? "Your boots gave yourself away, honey." She answered as if she could sense Lucy's inner question. "Nobody wears tacky, worn shoes like that here." With that she officially left. Lucy was a little shocked. About...well everything she heard in that conversation.
First off, it looks like they had some people not overwhelmed about their presence. In fact, it seems they would rather have them just do their job and be done with it. Which Lucy had no problem with. But she did have a problem with their rudeness. Second off, were they talking about Sting? As in Sting Eucliffe? Surely not, right? It seems no matter where she goes she can't escape that guys name. Well not that it matters much seeing that she has made up her mind. Next time she sees Sting she was going to tell him that she was thankful for taking her home, but because of what ensued she didn't want to hang out with him a lot. It seemed solid….right? Right? Ugh. She honestly didn't understand her own feelings. She was angry at him, yes. Who wouldn't be after being violated. Thinking back to it now makes her almost rage. But the blond hair maged couldn't have possibly done anything….bad, Lucy realized after she noticed she wasn't sore, nor were the sheets stained. So perhaps Lucy did, 'overreact'. But he lead her to believe more went on then what actually did. And surely she didn't make out with him...right? He probably made that up too, trying to rile her up. Well it worked. He was just a player who liked poking at people's feelings and making them feel terrible. And Lucy wasn't going to humor him anymore. With her thoughts still rattling about in her head she washed her hands and went back to their room.
Morning came by with a start. Lucy was awoken by yells and a huffing Natsu and Gray. Apparently some girl's came into the room and offered services. Natsu being dimwitted asked for food, while Gray told him that he shouldn't ask for anything. This in turn started a fight between the two. Ice and Fire was thrown about scaring off the girls. When Lucy finally smacked the two on the head, they settled down begrudgingly. Lucy laughed at their pouting faces at being scolded.
They got ready in order to meet up with Lola in the lobby. It was business time. The three trekked down the stairs and stood in the lobby waiting for Lola.
"Ah, there y'all are. Come. Talk business with me." They followed her into her office and sat down. "As y'all may know you've been called here to...take care of some dirty thieves running amuk in my part of town. They have mugged and assaulted some of my girls and guests." Lola paused to take a sip of her drink on her desk. She smacked her lips afterwards as if sucking out the last taste in her mouth. "It's gonna be y'all job to find these hooligans and teach 'em a lesson for messing with me guests. They often attack at night right after the sun sets. I want you guys to set up a watchpost and take action when you see them."
"Alright! I'm all fired up!"
"Natsu, please try to not burn down the place with your antics." Lucy just sweatdropped.
"Oh come on Lucy. I'm not that stupid." Natsu said standing up with his fist already alit. Gray just smiled and shook his head at the two acting like they normally do. A knock at the door and it's opening caught everyone's attention. A leggy lady came waltzing through the door. He heels clicked against the floor and her wild red hair bounced with every step she took.
"Lola, James is here to se-" she stopped speaking when she saw the Fairy Tail mages. Sharp brown eyes narrowed at the trio. Her stained lips turned slightly into a sneer until she faced Lola with a brilliant eye closed smile. "I thought I told you I could handle it?"
"Not everything can be controlled by you now can it, Crystal?"
"No. But most can. And this is one of them." the redhead mumbled underneath her breath.
"What was that dear?" Lola said sickly sweet with a closed eye smiled.
"Nothing, Miss Lola." Crystal answered in a submissive mocking tone.
'That's what I thought. Now off you go. I'll talk to James as soon as im done here." With that Lola dismissed Crystal. The clicks of her heel sounded down the hallway. Lola noticed the now awkward air of the trio before her. "I'm sorry about her. She really is a good person...she's just in need of some….guidence."
"No worries." Gray disregarded it.
"Anyways, off ya go. I expect it done quickly and expertly." Lola waved them off. They started walking back to their room. The long hallway to their room twisted about. They passed many tall dark doors. When they heard a screechy voice, they froze.
"Oh my goodness! It's them! The Fairy Tail wizards!" A short haired women came running up to them. Her blonde feathery hair floated about as she bounced up and down with excitement. Her lips were painted in a thick coat of red lipstick that contrasted greatly with her white pale skin. An air of sparkles showered around her. There was an odd luring sense emitting from her. A sense of yearning overcame two of the fairy tail wizards. The two males of the group started to feel a unique warm feeling rise in their chest. They were dazed by the female in front of them. Lucy felt a little off. The air felt overly dense and cold to her. She watched as the woman happily greeted them full of energy.
"Hey there!" The women twirled one of her short locks around her finger. Her eyes sparkled. Gray was the first to respond.
"Well aren't you a cute one." He proceeded to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She just giggled. Lucy was shocked. What on Earth was Gray doing? He wasn't normally a flirt on missions….or was he..? What shocked her even more was Natsu's actions. He was obviously blushing in the face and entranced by the women in front of her. He fumbled around with a greeting.
"H-hello." Natsu's timid voice rung out. Lucy looked at the female in front of her. She smiled brightly at her. When Lucy just continued to stare on in slight jealously and shock, the female furrowed her eyebrows. She escaped Gray's arm and walked closer to Lucy. She maintained eye contact and lightly touched Lucy's arm.
"Hey, are you okay?" Her sickly sweet voice sent alarms off on her head. Why did this feel familiar to her? The woman's thumb rubbed soothing circles on Lucy's arm. The warm of her hand contrasted greatly with the cold metal on her fingers. Wait. Metal? Lucy looked at the hand on her arm. Several rings were adorned on her fingers. One had a lightening bolt on it, another had a giant pink heart on it. Recognition rang in Lucy's eyes. Lucy yanked away her arm and glared at the female in front of her. The pale girl just pouted.
"Darn. I thought it would work." Lucy was confused and slightly angry.
"Why would you try and charm us?" The female in question tapped on the rings to dispel her magic. Gray and Natsu broke out of their daze and were confused.
"What happened? I feel like I just got hit." Gray groaned.
"This little girl charmed both of you with ring magic." Lucy explained. "Now how about you answer my question, little girl?" Lucy said through a strained smile. She didn't like the vibes coming off this girl, or maybe that was her just being bitter of Natsu being charmed. She didn't think it would work for him.
"First off, my name is Cathy, not little girl. And….I just thought it would be fun to have some young attractive people all over me for once. The regular oldies get really...well...old." Cathy rubbed her upper arm as she continued, this time looking a little guilty. "I wasn't going to charm you guys forever. Just long enough for me to be amused…" She defended herself while fiddling with her rings. Gray noticed she had another ring on her other hand sporting a symbol of optical illusion. Lucy sighed. The girl, Cathy, didn't look like she meant any...serious harm. And the way she was pouting seemed to Lucy that she really just wanted to hang out with them. Lucy was a sucker for puppy dog faces.
"Well. Cathy." Lucy cleared her throat feeling a little awkward for having to reprimand the girl. She felt like a mother telling her children right and wrong. Cathy looked up to Lucy signaling her to continue with her sentence.
"Don't do it again to us. We know now so it won't work anyways." Lucy rested her hand on the slightly shorter girl's head and ruffled her hair. Cathy smiled warmly up the the girl and agreed.
"Okay. Only if you guys come by to see me sometime. I get bored. We could all have a pillow fight! Or a Movie night! It's a promise!" Her innocent voice chirped. Before Lucy could respond a voice called out.
"Cathy! Your noon guest is here!" Cathy seemed to deflate a little bit. But as soon as she did she slapped on a bright smile and responded.
"Alright! I'm coming!" She then turned her attention back to the Fairy Tail wizards. "I have to go now. But don't forget your promise!" With that she was off in a flash. Lucy turned back to her guildmates only to see Gray and Natsu somberly quiet. The spell Cathy cast didn't cause them harm did it?
"Hey guys. Are you okay?" Lucy broke the silence between the two. Gray looked at her and seemed to shake off a thought. Right after that he scratched the back of his head and spoke.
"Yeah, I just feel a little out of it." He nudged Natsu in order for him to respond. If Natsu just experienced almost the same thing he did then he probably had a lot of thinking to do. Thinking that involved a certain blond mage. Natsu avoided eye contact with Lucy and instead just provided a low grunt. Lucy's worries weren't settled at all, but she left it at that and insisted that they all go back to the room. When they entered the room, Natsu went straight for the bed and decided to take a nap. Lucy concluded that he was probably tired and wanted to rest. Gray caught onto Lucy's worried glances towards the snoring male on the bed.
'These two are about to hit revelations,' Gray thought. How did he know? Well that spell the little girl casted was a dose of charm and optical illusion magic. The Illusion magic combined with the charm magic cause the person afflicted with it to imagine the person they hold dear and then amplifies their feelings for them. What Natsu saw probably shocked him. No doubt it was an image of Lucy. What Gray saw….well that is another story, but either way. Gray knew Natsu was going to go through some serious thought. He was just glad Lucy won't have to suffer through the flamebrain's ignorance anymore. When this was all over and done with, surely their relationship will change….yes?
But enough of that. Tonight they will take care of the muggers and whatever happens happens.
Boom. There it is. I believe everything is tying together rather nicely. I just hope it isn't rushed nor too...weird? I don't know...I'm just really excited to write the upcoming parts. :D
Until then~