And here we go, chapter 3! Thank you for all of those wonderful reviews, favorites and follows! Seeing those in my mailbox gets me all fired up!
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wow, that sounded way more dirty than I thought it would.
Anyway, special thanks to ghostbones, who let me know that the name of the artist is rusky boz, or rboz on tumblr. If you guys haven't seen her other art, check it out!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, nor do I own the cover picture. Both are wwwaaayyy out of my league.
"Ugh, I need a shower," Natsu shuddered. The last group they entertained consisted of a bunch of single women attacking them like ravenous wolves; they had Gray reduced to his underwear in minutes. Thank god that none of them could handle their alcohol well and they had to leave early, or who knows what the boys would have had to do to appease them. The others grunted their agreement, and Natsu looked over to find Gray still in his underwear.
"Feeling a little drafty there?" Natsu teased. It took a minute of looking at him strangely before Gray finally realized what he meant. Cursing, he quickly left the room to find out where his pants went, praying all the while that one of the girls didn't make off with them. Sadly, they were one of the types that probably wouldn't find shame in stealing clothes.
"Well, I'm off," Elfman announced. The others looked at him in surprise, since he wasn't one who would just disappear on the boys during group entertainments, always saying that staying to the end made him more manly.
"Where are you going?" Gray walked back into the room wearing his pants, though his shirt and vest were still missing. He was probably so used to being shirtless that he didn't even notice. Gajeel grabbed the missing cloth from where it was hiding behind the couch and threw it to him.
"Nee-san has some party to go to, so I have to go home and stay with Lisana," he started changing into his regular clothes and putting the others in a book bag. Keeping busy so the memories of hurt wouldn't devour him, like they were starting to with Natsu.
"Tell her we said hi," Natsu said, the terrible memory retreating to the back of his mind. Gray nudged Natsu's arm and wiggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. Ever since they were kids in Fairy Tail Natsu's friends were convinced he would date Lisanna, something he has been denying ever since.
"You wanna fight, ice face?" He yelled, blushing like a tomato. Gray smirked, avoiding the wild punches Natsu threw his way with ease. Jellal sighed at the two's antics and rushed around the fight to make sure nothing important was frozen or burned. Elfman just looked at the two strangely, but quickly gave up on them and walked out the door to be quickly replaced by Fried. Gray and Natsu paused in their struggle, slightly surprised that the relatively new worker to the House was already elevated to being an Ace after only three months of service. Usually a worker would have to wait years to be able to entertain in the backrooms; they worked in groups and still were paid more than working on the floor.
"This next one is a Bachlorette party," Jellal looked at the slip of paper that they were provided for each group they were supposed to entertain. "Her name is...Juvia."
"That name sounds familiar..." Fried mused, mostly to himself but the others heard him and also pondered the name. Natsu thought back and remembered hearing a name like that on the news. Something about the Olympics and swimming...
Gray suddenly threw a punch towards his face and the two resumed their brawl.
"The girls are ready," Bob popped his head into the changing room. Jellal and Gajeel jumped in surprise at that a man of his size was able to walk around unheard by anyone. Bob ignored them and instead threw a glare towards the fighting boys, marching up to them and grabbing their ears. He painfully dragged them toward the back rooms with the others filing silently behind. Letting them go in front of the door, he hurried away to his office. Gray opened the door, leading the way into the fray of excited squeals.
"Come on, Lucy!" Levy tried to pull the reluctant blonde out of the car. Bisca's party van had come to a stop in front of a gaudy looking building downtown. It was pretty big, painted black with the name House of Aces written in red neon over the entrance. There were playing cards decorating the blank spaces behind the sign. Already Lucy could hear music and obnoxious laughter drifting from the inside. Erza gave her a loving shove from behind to get her onto the sidewalk.
"Don't worry Lucy-," Erza started to reassure her friend, only to be interrupted by her work phone. Flipping it open in annoyance she answered, the rest of the girls staring at her when she snapped a reply and smashed it closed. Turning around sadly she faced to the disappointed bride-to-be. "Sorry, Juvia, something came up at work. I have to go."
"It's okay," Juvia lied, forcing a smile on her face, "You just have to make it up to Juvia with the best wedding gift ever!" Laughing, Erza said her good byes and walked over to one of the many taxis who were idly waiting on the curb. She was off to her job as a bodyguard for one of the most powerful men in the country, Laxus Dreyer. Lucy always wondered why he kept a personal guard of three next to his side when he was once said to be one of the most powerful mages, but money had to be made and she was happy Erza was able to get the job.
"Well, lets go in!" Mira led the way to the door and was startled by a big man with small white wings who beat her to opening it. The man swung his arm grandly with a cheerful "Welcome!" and hurried the girls in, pushing them around the edges of the crowd to one of the many doors that decorated the back wall. Lucy found herself in a small, dimly lit room. There were couches along the walls, a small wooden table in the center holding several bottles of wine, and candles on every other surface whose light reflected off of the dark walls. The girls sat on the couches as the man introduced himself.
"I'm Bob, one of the owners of the House," he smiled at each of them,"Now, which one of you wonderful ladies is Juvia?" His searching eyes found Juvia's raised hand instantly. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a glittery, plastic tiara which he promptly placed on her head. The big blue jewel in the middle and light blue fluff along the bottom matched perfectly with her dark blue dress. Bob nodded with approvement and started to walk out of the room, but paused at the door with a curious look on his face. He shook his head and smiled, hurrying off into a swarming mass of bodies.
Lucy started to feel a nervous pain in her stomach, realization finally hitting her that she was actually in a club and not dreaming at home. She cast a glance at the others and found Levy was already downing her first glass of wine while trying to convince Juvia that she should have some, which the bluenette replied a big fat "NO!" to. Mira was starting to tease Bisca about what a certain cowboy coworker would think if he found out she was at the House. Sucking in a few breaths, Lucy tried to calm down and tune into the excitement that was thrumming through the room. The door started to open and all eyes were glued to it as five men walked in.
"Hello ladies," a raven haired man lead the group in, four others trailing behind him. They were dressed up in strange uniforms that each had the crest of each of the card suits on them, except for the fifth who had a joker hat instead. For a moment a wave of panic passed through them, though to a normal person it was probably unrecognizable, and the leader continued smoothly, "We are the Aces in this House and will be entertaining you tonight." He winked at Juvia, making her squeal in excitement. Lucy sighed from the corner of the room.
It was going to be a long night.
As the boys walked in they paused for a split second, surprised and mortified to find Mira sitting in the room. She looked over at them, a look of excitement in her eyes, but not one of recognition. They proceeded to walk in, and as Gray introduced them she still didn't give them a sign that she knew who they were. Fried shot Natsu a look and nodded, so he relaxed and focused on the task on hand. Usually Fried kept to himself, so the only thing that Natsu knew about his magic is that he wrote a bunch of rules, which is possibly why Mira wasn't realizing who they were.
Natsu scanned the room. Over the years of working in the House, he and every one else had learned to read people like an open book. They were able to judge their guest's mood, personality and romantic type as soon as they heard two sentences from the guest. In his cursory scan, he saw one really nervous girl, another that was totally drunk already, Mira was smiling cheerfully and the bride that they were focusing on was very excited but also embarrassed. The last girl was sitting in the corner and looked like she was in pain, which struck Natsu as odd. Nervousness and embarrassment was normal for first timers, but he has never seen someone looking pained during an entertainment.
They all adjusted to the group dynamic and started to spread out. Gray went toward the main girl and started to suavely talk to her while Gajeel took on the drunken bluenette. Jellal moved onto a green haired girl and Fried maneuvered next to Mira. Natsu walked toward the middle table and started to hand out drinks, deciding to leave the last girl alone for a while.
"So ladies, how about a card game?" Gajeel pulled out his ever handy deck of cards, grinning like a maniac he was supposed to be. Next to him the blue haired girl laughed boisterously. Her friends looked like they were trying not to face palm at her drunken state. She reached for the cards and for a bottle of wine but her friends were quicker.
"Juvia thinks that if Levy drinks more it will end up like Spring Break Junior year," the bride, well, Juvia, pulled the bottle out of her hand's reach. Over their heads the boys shot questioning looks at each other.
"You're just jealous that you're the emotional drunk, Juvia," she retaliated, making her friend blush.
"That means that you're overflowing with passion," Gray said smoothly, Juvia's face turning into a deep tomato red blush. Mira started to giggle at her embarressment and from the corner the blonde had a faint look of amusement on her face, though she still looked uncomfortable. The bride glared at her treacherous friends. Jellal shot Natsu a look and in response he upped the temperature in the room. Immediately the group was able to feel the heat.
"Dang, it's hot in here," the green haired woman fanned herself, finally calming down after a glass or two of alcohol.
"Sorry, I can't keep control of my flames around such beautiful women," Natsu grinned mischievously at them before his shirt was once again consumed by his controlled flames. On the inside he shuddered at the cheesy line, yet the girls were grinning stupidly at him. Not like he was surprised, that line was part of the unwritten script the boys followed for success.
"I'd rather keep it cool," Gray pulled off his shirt, and threw it in a corner where he will probably forget it. The bride stared at his chest with starts in her eyes. The boys followed the change seamlessly; Gajeel rolled up his sleeves to reveal his pierced arms, Jellal took off his coat and unbuttoned his shirt, and Fried took off his thick jacket. The heat stayed, making the air heavier by pairing with the smell and sound. A change in the songs outside stirred a reaction amongst the women.
"Oh my God, I love this song!" Juvia exclaimed. Gray stood and offered her a hand up to dance, the others following their lead. Well, except for the drunk, Levy, and Gajeel, who were content with starting a game of poker; by the state of things, the metal studded man would be in his underwear in the next two minutes. Natsu rose his glass saying cheers and the sound of clinking glasses filled the air. Over Mira's shoulder Fried flicked his eyes toward the lonely blonde in the corner. Natsu sighed before sticking a smile on his face and walking over to her.
It was getting to be too much for Lucy. The heat, the excruciating small space, the strangers were all mixing together to form a deadly concoction she did NOT want to be anywhere near to. She was happy that her friends were happy, but Lucy was about thisclose to screaming and high tailing it out of there like she usually did when her trips outside got to be too much.
And then the pink haired man walked up to her with a smile on his face. She looked up at him, wondering for the second time why and how is his hair pink of all colors. Was it natural or dyed? Why would someone want to dye their hair pink? His smile also unsettled her. It was meant to look happy and inviting, but underneath she could see something closer to annoyance than happiness.
"Hey," he greeted, trying for suave but failed. She shifted in her seat, her eyes not directly meeting his, and muttered a small hello. He stared at her strangely, which she easily ignored since she was so used to it, and instead looked at her friends. Juvia looked like she was in a dream while she was talking to her Ace, but when he wasn't looking she darted her eyes to the Heart in front of her and back to Lucy. Levy wriggled her eyebrows, Mira and Bisca both giggled and rolled their eyes at her pained look. Oh, such good and supportive friends she had.
"Do you want to step out for a second?" He asked uncertainly. Startled that he was still trying for a conversation, Lucy looked up and nodded dazedly. He grabbed her hand and led her to a nondescript door on the back wall of the room. Lucy didn't even have time to be surprised of the door's existence before he pulled her into a long, narrow hallway. The music was muted to background noise, and the air was stale but better than the scent filled air in the club. However, the small space forced the Ace to be scrunched up against her.
"Can you put a shirt on?" Lucy asked, looking away with a light pink dusting her cheeks. The young man looked at her, surprise written all over his face at her unexpected request.
"Why?" He asked incredulously.
"Because a man shouldn't be shirtless in front of a woman," she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, staring at the cracked floor. It was silent for a moment as he processed her odd behavior; he probably never had to deal with a woman like her.
"You're weird," he stated. Lucy looked him in the eye, something she hasn't done to a stranger in a while.
"Says the man with the pink hair," she retaliated.
"At least the hair is natural. You just showed up to a club demanding someone to get dressed instead of stripping," he saw her disbelieving look at the fact that his hair was natural.
"Your hair is an impossible color," she stated monotonously.
"I can assure you, there are many women around here that can back me up," he muttered darkly. Lucy looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant, but he just blushed and didn't elaborate , instead changing the subject. "Look, I know what is normal and what isn't. You are definitely weird."
"So I'm a little odd. It isn't my fault," Lucy pushed back the memories of the people who actually were at fault. There was no need for them to make her night even worse.
"Isn't that letting whatever is at fault win in the end?" He asked. The thought made her pause and think, but he suddenly grabbed her hand once again and squeezed past her to go back into the room. Before they walked in he stopped and turned around to give her a small smile.
"I'm Natsu, by the way," he said.
"Lucy," she smiled back. He opened the door and let her enter the room first. When she walked in Lucy found her friends in the same places, which isn't surprising since they weren't gone for more than five minutes, but they were all at least one drink more under the influence then they were last time she saw them. Levy was laughing at the Joker, as he was reduced to his underwear and only had a small stack of bills in return. Juvia was starting to tear up as she talked about the wedding with the cool Diamond. Bisca was reverting more and more to her native southern accent and Mira was looking around and making up love matches for everyone. When Lucy walked back into the room Juvia detached herself from her Ace (who had lost his pants somehow) and grabbed Lucy into a giant hug.
"Lucy! Juvia was so worried that you ran away!" She wailed, clinging to the blonde for dear life. Yup, Lucy thought to herself, Juvia is definitely drunk.
"Why would I do that?" Lucy was starting to struggle in her friend's tight embrace. Though she has been friends with Juvia for years, she still doesn't like to be hugged by her for that long. Its part of her claustrophobia.
"Because Lucy doesn't like people!" Juvia squeezed the poor blonde even tighter. Lucy tried to wiggle from her hold but it took a couple minutes of waiting to finally let go. Juvia returned to where she was and the session continued on normally for the rest of the time, with a bunch of drinking and dancing and Levy kicking every one's ass at poker.
"Well, ladies, it was fun entertaining you," Jellal said smoothly. The rest of the time had flown by in a blur of drunken laughter and the shedding of a piece or two of clothing, and now the shift was finally over. The boys were saying their grand good-bye and handing the women over to Bob to be escorted out again. As they walked out, Natsu reached out and grabbed Lucy's hand without realizing what he was actually doing. She gave him a questioning look, but instead of answering he took out a pen and wrote a string of numbers on her hand. The blonde retreated her hand quickly and walked out of the room to catch up with her friends.
"What fake number did you give her?" Gajeel chuckled. Usually, if a particular guest was very needy and asked for a number, Natsu and the other boys would give them a fake one to make them shut up.
"It wasn't a fake," Natsu was just as taken aback as the others were; he had no idea what possessed him to give the girl his number, but the deed was done and now he was curious if she would actually get the courage to speak to him.
Truth be told, Natsu really wouldn't mind if she did. There was something about Lucy's strange behavior that made him wish they had talked a little bit longer in the hallway.
I have been fighting a long, epic battle with this chapter for over a week. I'm still not sure who won. For some reason I have the sinking feeling that I lost.
Review and tell me what you think!
-NeverMakesSense