So...I know it's been like forever since I updated this story..life kinda makes writing hard to get done... Anyways! I've finally gotten into it again and have been getting chapters written. I've got this one done and I thought I'd publish it for you. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave me your comments/thoughts via review. Enjoy!
She lifted the last bag of her groceries, making adjustments as needed and began her walk home. A smile on her face, she felt happy to have her errands taken care of, her kitchen would be stocked and now all she would need to do was head to the guild and find a job. She bit her lip wondering what kind of jobs would be posted on the board, her smile fading as the failure of her job with team Natsu sunk in. It had already been some time since she was on that job and she would need to take another soon otherwise she was going to get an earful from her landlady.
Sighing softly she focused on getting home and putting her groceries away before calculating how much money she had left after her trip and how much money she would need in order to make her rent. Arriving at home the blonde stellar mage entered the building and made her way to her apartment, unlocking the door and hefting her groceries onto her countertop. Skimming the kitchen she sighed before beginning the process of putting everything away, and cleaning up the bag mess.
Once finished she sat down at her table double checking the numbers she had come up with on her way home, a heavy sigh escaping her as the results matched. Suppressing the urge to groan she got up and once checking to make sure she had everything, locked up her apartment and began her walk to the guild.
Entering the building she took in the guild's chaotic state a smile lighting her face. It honestly would astound many at the level of this guild's insanity but she truly loved every second of it. Making her way to the bar she took a seat, smiling brightly at Mira.
"Morning Mira" She greeted warmly, receiving a smile in return.
"Morning Lucy" The barmaid greeted in return. "Strawberry smoothie?" Lucy gave a short nod.
"Yes, please."
"Coming up!" Mira chirped happily and set about making the smoothie for her.
Lucy waited patiently for her favorite drink, thanking the barmaid when she slid it over to her. Grasping the pink straw Lucy took a long sip from it, sighing in contentment. She looked up at the take-over mage opening her mouth to ask about jobs when Mira placed a sheet of paper in front of her, smiling knowingly. Lucy giggled shaking her head as her eyes skimmed the paper.
"I found it last night and pulled it from the board for you. I thought it'd be something you could do. No fighting necessary." Mira informed her and the celestial mage nodded her head smiling.
"Thanks Mira I appreciate it." Mira waved her hand, brushing it aside and turned to head over to a calling guild mate. Lucy shook her head before focusing on finishing her smoothie.
His wings carried him into the guild, following his slayer partner inside the building and making his way over to the bar, his eyes immediately landing on the blonde who had essentially rescued him from the thunderstorm. Landing on the counter top beside her, he greeted her warmly, his tail swaying slightly when she returned his greeting, giving him a pat on his head.
"How are you today Lily?" She inquired.
"I am well and yourself?"
Lucy smiled at him. "Better now that I have a job." She smiled, glancing at the paper, his eyes turning to read it, recognizing the ad however found himself quickly distracted by Gajeel
"Oi Mira!" The iron slayer called as he made his way over to the bar. "What happened to that job?" He asked, the barmaid blinking in confusion.
"What job are you referring to Gajeel?"
"That damn job that was up there yesterday." He growled. "The one where you're supposed to travel to Seven. It was there yesterday and now it's gone." Mira gave a helpless shrug.
"I'm sorry Gajeel I – Lucy, is everything okay?" The stellar mage nodded.
"Yeah, ah, thanks for the smoothie Mira, and for the job offer but I think I'm going to pass on it." Lily watched the barmaid frown before Lucy turned and made her way over to the job board. His eyes moved to the ad still lying atop the bar, glancing over to Lucy before picking it up and taking it over to Gajeel.
"Gajeel." Lily called and showed him the ad.
"Lily you found it!" He grinned crookedly, petting his head a little roughly. "Good job." Lily smiled slightly, feeling a little guilty for Lucy losing the job.
"It seems that Mira had offered the job to Lucy." The exceed began, noticing Gajeel's grin instantly turn into annoyance. "After hearing you, she in turn passed on the job, leaving it here for us." Gajeel let out a slight growl before turning his red eyes to him.
"You wouldn't mind a bunny girl tag-a-long would you?" Pantherlily's lips lifted slightly as he shook his head. Gajeel rolled his eyes before standing up and making his way over to the blonde still staring at the job board. Lily watched as Gajeel informed her that she was joining him on the job, the stellar mage lighting up before Gajeel turned and made his way back to the bar. "Oi Mira." He called catching the barmaid's attention.
"Yes Gajeel?"
The iron slayer lifted the paper, placing it on the countertop. "Put Bunny and me down for this job." Mira looked it over, a smile making its way onto her face as she did what the slayer requested.
"Noted." She stated simply before putting the book away and handing Gajeel his usual meal.
After finishing his meal he and Lily sat in the guild for some time before getting involved in one of the brawl's that the fire breather had a tendency to start majority of the time. Later the pair headed out for some training before making their way home and finishing the day with a shower, a home cooked meal and then a full night's rest.
When Gajeel woke the next morning he slowly and reluctantly got out of bed, beginning the process of getting ready for the job, greeting Pantherlily tiredly and heading out with the exceed once they were together. At the train station his red eyes sought out the blonde haired bunny girl, finding her waiting in line to purchase her ticket. Making his way over to her, he ignored complaints about him cutting the line, sending a glare toward the noisy morons, silencing them instantly.
"Morning Gajeel, morning Lily" The celestial mage greeted cheerfully.
"Good Morning Lucy." Lily greeted in return. "How are you this morning?"
She smiled brightly. "Awake, ready, and excited for our job" Glancing down at the blonde at her tone, he noticed she seemed to be permeating with joy, causing his lips to twitch in annoyance. He couldn't stand morning people; they were too cheerful for his liking and annoyed the hell out of him.
The trio made their way through the ticket line before heading over toward the train, his stomach already churning in protest. Lily and Lucy talking the entire time they boarded the train and partially through the ride until to his annoyance the stellar mage took notice of his motion sickness and made to try to comfort him like she did the fire slayer. Letting out a low growl when her hand touched his head he noticed her stiffen slightly before pulling away. She sent him an apologetic look before sitting back in the seat across from him, looking out the window silently. Gajeel almost felt bad for growling at her however that passed when his stomach turned and his focus returned to keep his stomach contents where they belonged.
The ride to Crocus seemed longer than he remembered it ever being and when the train finally stopped moving he staggered off the train, leaning against a wall in the station to gather his composure before he began heading towards the client's location, the bunny girl walking quietly behind him.
When they arrived to the place, the pair waited silently inside the foyer until the butler returned, leading them to the client, a count whose name he couldn't care less about remembering. When they entered the man's study, Lucy took a seat in the chair across from the desk and he, stood beside her, waiting for details.
"Good afternoon." He greeted, looking up at the pair, his eyes skimming them before focusing on Lucy. "I'm Count Radneil. I have requested the services of mages to head to Itomi port in Seven to retrieve an important package for me from a friend of mine, Count Vishik and bring it back to Crocus. Your job is to protect it from anyone who might try to steal it, as its contents are highly valuable." The count sent a glance toward him before returning his focus to Lucy, when she spoke.
"Of course sir, we'll make sure it's kept safe."
The count nodded. "Good, I'm glad to hear. I would also like to let you know that I need this package back here in one months' time." He could hear Lucy take a small intake of breath, and he knew she wanted to protest the timeline however he cut in before she could.
"We'll need the location and any additional information you feel is necessary." The count nodded his head.
"Yes, one moment." The man searched his papers before pulling out an envelope and holding it out for him to take. Gajeel took the envelope and sent a glance to Lucy before looking at the count.
"We'll have it back for you in one month."
"Good, thank you." Gajeel turned and left the room, his ears picking up on the sound of the bunny girl hastily following him. Once out of the home he glanced down at the blond, before walking, intending to find them a place to stay until they had a plan made.
"Gajeel" Lucy called. "Where are we going? Shouldn't we be discussing this? I mean logically there's no way –"
"We'll talk in private after we find a hotel." He heard her sigh in reluctant agreeance, silently following him as they looked for a place.
It took some time to find a hotel but they finally found one that had availability and once they booked the room, headed directly to it. Unlocking the door he held it open, motioning for the blonde to enter, ignoring the slight surprise that crossed her face as he followed her and Pantherlily into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Can we talk about the impossibility of this job now?" His lips quirked and he nodded.
"Yeah" He grunted out, glancing around the room before taking a seat in the chair, leaning back, and waiting for the blonde, to go on her rant.
"Great, so tell me, how exactly are we supposed to get to Itomi in one month? Getting from Crocus to Itomi can take a month by itself."
"I'm aware of that bunny." She huffed in annoyance and he began thinking about a timeline, wondering what the fastest way to get there would be. "Oi, Lily, you got a map?"
"I did bring one for this trip yes." Pantherlily made his way to his bag, pulling out a map and laying it out on the bed. "It's a fair distance. Are you sure we can do this in the timeframe?" Lily looked at Gajeel.
"Of course we can. It's just a matter of finding the right route." Gajeel stood, noticing Lucy sigh, flopping down on the bed, her keys jingling. Turning his attention to the map he studied it for several moments, feeling his annoyance spike when he heard her messing with her keys.
"Gajeel" She called.
"What?" He barked, annoyed with the distraction.
"If we can get to Azalea port within a week, I'm sure we can get to the Itomi port in Seven and back in maybe two weeks or less."
"And how exactly are we going to accomplish that bunny?" He watched her smile widen as she lifted her hand, showing him three silver keys.
"With these" She stated happily.
Lucy sighed heavy as they arrived in Azalea port early in the morning. They had managed to arrive in a weeks' time and that meant she would need to do her part and make sure they got to Itomi in that two week time frame. Once on an empty dock she took her keys off her key ring, first summoning Gemini.
"Good morning –" Gemi began the greeting
"Miss Lucy." Mini finished.
"Good morning Gemi, Mini. I need your help with something."
"With summoning –"Mini began
"Your new spirits" Gemi finished
"Yes." Lucy smiled and watched as the twin spirits turned themselves into her. "Ready?" She inquired when they pulled two keys off her key ring, she taking the final.
"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open! Gate of the sails! Come Vela!" She could hear Gemini call out the two spirits one right after the other and within several moments she could see it. The Argo. A smile appeared on her face as she saw the ship sitting in the water, suppressing her urge to squeal at finally seeing the ship. She turned to Gajeel, a smile on her face. "Come on."
She made her way toward the ship and was greeted by three men, simultaneously giving her a bow. She smiled at them. "Hello." She greeted warmly. "I hate to be rude but would you mind if we got going? We're on a job right now and there isn't much time. I'd like to make our contract as we go." She informed them.
One man stood smiling. "Of course Master. We'll set the ship to sail immediately."
Lucy nodded in thanks. "Please don't call me Master, it's Lucy." He gave a nod before turning to the other two men and began preparation. She turned to see Gajeel and Lily already on board. She smiled before turning back to the three crew members and as soon as the ship began setting sail she made her way over to the first one who spoke with her. "So" She began. "About our contract" She pulled out her notebook with each, spirits contract information.
"Before we begin Lady Lucy." He turned his attention to her. "I would first like to ask our destination."
"Oh!" She shook her head. "One moment." She turned and quickly made her way to Lily asking to borrow the map. Returning she showed him the map, locating the port they were leaving and where they needed to go along with the timeframe they were working with.
"Thank you, may I keep this?" Lucy nodded.
"Of course." He tucked it away before looking at her once more.
"Let me introduce myself to you." He began. "My name is Jason; it's a pleasure to meet you." He gave her a bow, before raising and motioning toward the other two. "The others you see with me are me crewmates, the man at the helm is Erginus, who knows how to pilot this ship and the other one, who is moving about is Argus, he is the man who built The Argo." Lucy smiled at the both before focusing on Jason. "We three are each summoned with one key and as you know the keys can only be summoned all at once in order to get this ship." Lucy nodded, writing down their information.
"Our contract what –"
"Anytime Lady Lucy." He interrupted and she looked up at him. "We are available whenever you need us to sail for you." Lucy gave him a warm smile nodding her head as she wrote it down.
"And please, it's just Lucy." He smiled at her.
"I'd prefer Lady Lucy, if you don't mind."
"Okay." She conceded.
"If you don't mind I'd like to get our navigator going in the right direction so he is not sailing blind. Please feel free to roam the ship." Lucy smiled.
"Of course." She turned and made her way to Gajeel, smiling. "Looks like were set to go. Jason knows what we need and he said he'd definitely be able to get us there on time."
He gave a grunt. "Your magic is convenient isn't it?"
Lucy giggled. "Yeah, celestial magic is versatile like that."
-x-
Lucy stood staring out, watching as they reached Azalea port. It had surprisingly only taken them a week to reach Itomi port and a day to retrieve the item in question and now they were returning to Azalea port, with six days to reach the client in order to get paid. The trip was practically silent and she enjoyed watching and learning how the ship was sailed. Erginus didn't exactly speak much, however Argus had no problem telling her exactly how he built this ship.
Letting out a sigh of content, she waited patiently for the ship to dock and once it had they began to leave the ship, Lucy thanking Jason and his crew before quickly catching up with Gajeel, her spirits returning after a few moments. She kept a steady pace, her mind distracting itself with calculating how to make sure they arrived on time wondering if she'd need to sacrifice sleep in order to ensure their timely arrival. Sighing softly, she put her focus on the walk, however soon distracted by Lily, having fun.
When nightfall came Lucy couldn't help but yawn, her pace slowing down slightly and soon she began falling behind. The celestial mage startled when Gajeel grabbed her wrist and began pulling her along, a small whine escaping her.
"Gajeel, can't we rest for tonight?"
"You want to get paid?" He half growled out and Lucy sighed, catching herself as she stumbled.
"I do, but I'm ti –"She cut herself off as she smothered a yawn. "I'm tired." Receiving no response from the slayer the blonde sighed heavily. "Gajeel!" She whined after a few minutes. "Please." Her brows furrowed in annoyance as he continued to ignore her. "Gajeel!" She whimpered, feeling his hand tighten on her wrist slightly. "Gaje-"
"What?!" He snarled and her lips twitched in amusement.
"Please, let's just stop for tonight. I'm exhausted." He let out a low growl in response and she almost thought he'd give in.
"Gajeel maybe we should –"Lily began but was interrupted immediately by Gajeel.
"No." He barked
"Why the hell not?" She demanded.
He turned around, jerking her forward, his face mere inches from hers. "Either we rest tonight and miss our deadline or we keep going and make it on time. Only one option will get us paid blondie and I'm pretty sure I heard you whining about rent. Choice is yours."
Lucy ground her teeth, annoyed with the fact that the iron slayer was right. She let out a huff before nodding her head. "We'll keep going." She grumbled under her breath, knowing he'd hear her.
Gajeel released his hold on her and continued walking, Lucy following suite. The pair continued in silence, Lily flying above them before landing on Gajeel after some time. She sighed, suddenly feeling as if she shouldn't have taken the job with Gajeel and gone on one on her own.
The whole thing had definitely not been what she had expected but truthfully what had she been expecting? Gajeel to suddenly be a chatterbox? Lucy let out a soft snort, but realized that maybe she hadn't expected that but perhaps she had slight hope the two would be in some way friends. Sending a glance to the slayer not too far in front of her she had a sudden sinking feeling that, that was unlikely to happen.
Suppressing her disappointment she turned her attention to keeping herself awake and from stumbling over her own feet.
She stood beside Gajeel, in front of the client's home, smothering a yawn and trying to make sure she looked decent for when they met with him again. Gajeel had been persistent in making sure they kept going and she had missed out on a couple nights of sleep and only getting a few hours on another. She was in desperate need of a good night's sleep, but that would have to wait. The pair waited for a few more moments before being greeted in surprise and led to the count.
The duo delivered the package, receiving the full amount, Lucy personally enjoying the shocked look on the client's face and the way he stumbled over his words. He obviously did not expect them to show up a full day early. Keeping the amusement off her face she followed the iron slayer as they finished up and headed outside, a wide grin spreading across her face before laughter burst from her mouth.
Calming down, Lucy stretched to wake herself up a bit, before turning to Gajeel. "Let's head home." He gave a nod and they began their walk to the train station, Lucy easily picking up a conversation with Lily, feeling in a much better mood despite her exhaustion. On the train ride home Lucy used that as an opportunity to take a nap, falling asleep within moments.
He sat on the train waiting for it to take off, his red eyes skimming over the sleeping bunny girl, lips turning upward in amusement. The train hadn't even started and she had already passed out. Shaking his head, he leaned back, getting comfortable before closing his eyes, in much need of sleep as the blonde. He felt Lilt land on his lap and he petted his cat before letting himself drift to sleep, barely noticing the train began to move.
Shifting he opened his eyes, struggling to suppress his nausea, hating that he reacted this way to moving vehicles now. Gaining as much composure as he could, he opened his eyes blearily, glancing around before his eyes landed on the still sleeping celestial mage. Closing his eyes as another wave of nausea hit him he waited a moment before opening his eyes once more and began to let himself wake, feeling Lily stir.
After several more moments his ears picked up on the sound of the train slowing down, the voice of the conductor coming over the speaker to announce their arrival in Magnolia. Shifting in his seat he slowly sat up, grateful once the train stopped moving. Standing from his seat he glanced down to see her still asleep.
"Oi, Bunny girl" He called out, noticing her stir but not awaken. Sighing he leaned forward. "Bunny girl" He called loudly, smirking as she startled awake, glaring up at him, "We're here." He informed her before she could make any complaint.
She looked out the window, before standing up, a smile on her face. "Let's go."
Turning the pair made their way off the train and out of the station parting ways, he heading home to clean up and head to the guild for some food.
Lucy sighed, giving a stretch as she made her way home, desperate for a shower however knew that would come second as she needed to pay her rent first. Making a stop at the landlady's apartment she paid her rent in full before making her way to her own, tossing her things down and stripping as she made her way to the bathroom. Turning on the hot water she poured her bubble bath before stepping in, too impatient to wait for the tub to fill.
A content sigh escaped her as she relaxed, her mind going blank as her eyes closed, enjoying the silence. After a few more minutes of relaxation she sat up, glancing around her tub before sighing heavily. Standing up she pulled the plug from her drain, watching as the water lowered before turning her shower on. Grabbing her luffa she poured her favorite strawberry body wash, giving herself a much needed scrub down before washing her hair.
Once finished with her shower she turned off the water and stepped out of the tub, wrapping herself in her towels. Leaving the bathroom she dried off and dressed, gathering her dirty laundry to wash later before putting her fleuve and keys in their appropriate places, heading out to the guild.
Entering the building the stellar mage navigated her way through the daily chaos of the guild, plopping herself on a barstool within moments and smiling at the eldest Strauss sibling.
"Afternoon, Lucy." The barmaid greeted warmly.
"Afternoon Mira"
"How'd your job go?"
"It went well." She grinned. "I got to use my new keys and we managed to complete the job a day early."
"I'm glad to hear. Strawberry smoothie?" Lucy nodded her head and waited patiently for Mira to bring her, her drink.
"Lu-chan!" Levy called out and she turned, greeting her friend.
"Levy-chan, How are you?"
The blunette plopped herself beside the blonde, ordering a drink from Mira before answering. "I'm good, going on another interguild job soon." Lucy smiled, enjoying the light blush on her friend's face.
"Are you now? Eager to spend time with –"
"How's your novel going Lu?" Levy quickly cut her off and the stellar mage giggled.
"It's going great. I've gotten a few chapters further so, I think here in a little while I'll have a decent amount for you to read." Levy smiled.
"Great, I'm excited to see where it goes." Lucy smiled, giving a small shake of her head, thanking Mira when she delivered her smoothie. "So, just out of curiosity, I heard you went on a job with Gajeel." Levy began casually.
Lucy side glanced, her before taking another drink from her smoothie. Sitting up she turned to her friend. "Yes, I did. Mira had accidently -"
"Did I hear right?" Cana interrupted. "You went on a job with Gajeel?" Lucy nearly rolled her eyes at the sound of her drunken friend. "Is that why you've been gone for a month?"
Lucy was tempted to groan but merely chuckled. "Yes, Cana. I went on a job with him and yes it was a month long job. Mira had actually given me the job that Gajeel wanted and he was nice enough to let me tag along." She shook her head. "Anyways we actually managed to complete it a day early."
"Wow, that's –"
"Hold on a second Levy." Cana interrupted. ""You've got to tell me all the juicy details."
Lucy frowned. "What?" She turned to Cana. "Oh, I-I mean it was pretty easy, we walked for a week and sailed to Seven using my new keys." She turned to Levy. "I wish you could have seen the ship, it was amazing and Jason and his crew –"She cut herself off. "It was fantastic, hearing their stories – well maybe not Erginus, he was mostly silent." She shook her head. "I'm getting distracted. We came back o Fiore and walked back to Crocus – though that part wasn't fun. We did get paid in full though." She smiled.
"Wait." Cana turned Lucy toward her. "You're telling me you went on a month long job, with him and nothing happened?"
Lucy blinked up at her, confusion spreading through her before her eyes widened a blush on her face. "N-no, Cana!"
"Nothing at all?" She asked, looking at her suggestively.
"Cana!" Lucy groaned. "Nothing, okay?"
"Uh, huh." Lucy sighed giving an eye roll and turned back to Levy to continue telling her about The Argo. "You, going, to go on a job with him again?"
Lucy blinked, glancing back at her. "No."
"No?" Levy questioned and Lucy turned back once again, shaking her head.
"No, it was a one-time thing." Lucy stated feeling exasperated.
"Just once?"
"Just once!" Lucy exclaimed. "A onetime job and a onetime partnership that's not going to happen again."