Title: Fifth Time's The Charm (1/5: Cold Hands, Warm Heart)
Author: Noble Voyager
Rating/Warnings: T
Characters: Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Juvia Loxar, Mirajane Strauss
Setting: Sometime after Episode 50
Summary: They say, "two time's the charm". But who says you can't have it five times?
Disclaimer: This story is based on the anime/manga created and owned by Hiro Mashima. I do not own Fairy Tail. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: If you've read "Blush" or "Unsettling Realization" before, you're probably going to be familiar with this story. Actually, it's just the same story - only with better grammar and wording. I wrote this story almost 3 years ago. I took down "Blush" or "Unsettling Realization" because it was just filled with so many errors that were accompanied by my childish attitude before. But I decided to post it again so that I can salvage every story that I write, no matter how horribly written it is. This is just something that I want to look back to. I'm just glad my writing now is a lot better than before. So, here it is. It's basically the same story as that of the story, "Blush/Unsettling Realization". That is, if you've read it already. But if you want to read this again, do so. I just decided to permanently change the title because it suits the story better.
"Take some of this, you droopy-eyed icy-minty fresh bastard!" Natsu shouted as he pointed to a certain black-haired ice mage, preparing to attack him.
"Not until I get you first, you squinty-eyed fire spewer!" Gray firmly retorted. The guild was falling into an uproar once again, thanks to these two brotherly rivals. They were both arguing which mission to take today since Natsu liked this one while Gray liked the other.
"I can handle this mission all by myself! I don't need your freakin' help," the stubborn Natsu said, getting more serious than ever.
"I don't care. For this nonsensical fight to end, let's not take a mission anymore," Gray finally came to a sudden conclusion.
"This just proves how weak you are! Hahaha! Weak, weak, WEAK!" the pink-haired fire mage burst into a loud guffaw as he tried to ridicule his icy counterpart. And thus, the ice that had long since held the cool and collected demeanor of the laid-back ice mage has finally melted into fury. The fight between these two whippersnappers just keeps getting crazier and crazier by the moment while the rest of the guild members just sat back as if nothing is happening.
"Gosh, where is Erza when you need her?!" the blonde-haired stellar mage sat down near the counter where Mirajane is, completely frustrated. She couldn't forget that night when she thought that Natsu was going to confess to her. It was a misunderstanding, after all. I mean, come on. Why was she even fantasizing and dressing up beautifully, only to find out that Natsu called her just to help dig out Virgo? She thought of it this way since she hasn't actually dated anyone yet.
"What's wrong, Lucy? You look completely frustrated," Mirajane asked with a kind voice. She always had that kind of motherly personality – someone who was always ready to reach out to her guild mates whenever she notices that something's bothering them.
Lucy gave out a rather scornful smile. "Oh, it's been a long story. You don't want to know." She heard something crash on a table and turned to see her teammates stepping up their game without minding the wounds and injuries that were already being formed on their muscular bodies. They really recover fast, don't they? "Those two are just plain immature. They never learn how to get along. Why can't Erza do something to stop them? I bet she could instantly shut them up without even batting an eyelash."
"Erza's not here. She left for a mission right now and will come back sometime tomorrow," Mirajane said as she wiped one of the dishes, "why don't you stop them? I mean, they kind of respect you, and you get along with them pretty well."
"Me? No way! They wouldn't even listen to me, anyway." Lucy put her head down on the table and sighed in frustration.
Mirajane smiled and thought about that great friendship Lucy has with her teammates. Even though she constantly denies it and sometimes gets mad at them, she still knows that she cares for them deeply. "Did I mention you and Natsu-"
"WAAAHHHH! La-la-la! Don't mention his name around me! I know what you're going to say! La-la-la-la-la!" You could probably call this Lucy's knee-jerk reaction.
Amazed at how fun it is being with Lucy, Mirajane just laughed. "I was just going to say that you and Natsu get along very well."
Lucy felt relieved but was also quite embarrassed. "Oh, well, I knew that…"
"I've always been wondering. Do you think Gray has some sort of feelings for you?" And Lucy's eyes widened in bewilderment. She never expected something as sudden as that to come out of Mirajane's mouth, especially someone like her.
"What?! No! Gray and I are just good friends." She turned her attention to where the commotion between the two mages is and heard someone screaming, GRAY! YOUR CLOTHES! And there he is, never ceasing to be confident with his stripping habits. Disgusted, Lucy turned her attention back to Mirajane. "Nothing is ever going to happen between me and Gray. Ever."
"Really? I've always thought that you two would look good together. Besides, ever since you first joined the guild, he looked quite interested in you. Juvia even thought that you two were a couple!"
"Well, her thought of me as a rival for Gray's affection is wrong because there's nothing between us. We are just friends. Nothing is going to break our platonic relationship."
"Whatever you say, Lucy," Mirajane continued to hand over the corresponding orders to the guild members.
"Well, I better get going. Since my team will not even take a mission today, I'll just go home early. See you tomorrow, Mira-chan," Lucy stood up as she wore her orange jacket.
The fight between the dragon slayer and ice mage still kept on going. These two really are immature than they appear. Picking up fights over simple things is pretty much what little boys would do. Then Natsu punched Gray so hard, it had the black-haired ice mage flying towards a certain direction, which had him fall on the ground afterwards. Luckily, Gray landed on something soft that cushioned his fall. As he opened his eyes, he saw the amber eyes of a certain blonde-haired stellar mage staring at him. It was Lucy.
He immediately stoop up, leaning his hand to her, "I'm very sorry, Lucy! Are you all right?"
Lucy grabbed his hand, "Yes, I'm all right. Thanks." Gray put his arms around her and is concerned that he might hurt her too badly. Lucy could feel the cold sensation of Gray's hands but she always thought of him as a gentleman.
The attention of all the guild members turned to where Gray and Lucy are. They were quite shocked and flustered at the same time, seeing them like that. "Aww, what a lovely couple!" somebody shouted from behind them.
Lucy could feel her face turning to a bright crimson color and immediately turned away from Gray. "Ugghh, love rival! You will pay!" Juvia shouted as she pointed to Lucy. And this was the first time Gray made Lucy blush.
Lucy ran off and headed out of the guild. She could still feel herself blushing. Thoughts of what Mirajane said about her and Gray kept ringing insider her head. She doesn't want to experience the same thing that happened to her and Natsu. But this was different – more different than she imagined or expected this to be. She couldn't stop blushing profusely.
She finally reached her home and felt quite relieved. Before she even got in, she was pondering over what just happened. "Mira-chan is wrong. Gray and I are just friends. Nothing more," she thought and finally stepped towards her apartment. She just wished she could banish the last lingering thought of Gray inside her head. If only she could…