A/N: Y'all should know by now that I love exploring Lucy's side friendships. You know this.
Chapter Six: Girls (and Gray) Gone Gossiping
'your secret is safe with me and all my friends'
.
The rest of the week crawled by with an incredibly slow pace after the second disaster of Blonde Day, and Lucy spent most of that time either hiding in her apartment or taking on incredibly easy, solo missions that only flushed away a few hours at a time. The last one was a fantastic avoidance technique, even if her team was starting to worry about her.
It's only been four days of this cowardly routine, and she has already completed five delivery jobs (one of which was safely transporting the lacy undergarments of a shrewd teenage aristocrat to her boyfriend's mansion in some twisted, wealthy version of teasing), two bodyguard missions, a request to help a kind elderly gentleman clean and organize his house before his wife came back from her two week long knitting camp, and a few more miscellaneous ones.
By far Lucy's least favorite job was the one where she'd been hired to round up escaped, rampaging cows with Virgo. It left her smelling of a mixture between grass and barn stalls, a stench that not even five baths and cupfuls of scented lavender body wash could completely wash away. Natsu and Gajeel still complained every time she got within a twenty foot radius of them, bemoaning something about 'perfumed cow shit'.
Though Lucy now flinches away from any job that includes farm animals, at least she was able to perform some fun jobs too. One request in particular she was hired to pretend to be a member of the Magic Council. Her job was to petrify a group of children who were going around wreaking havoc in this small village and needed the good scare of incarceration to stop. That last one had been fun, especially when the parents signaled for her to demonstrate her magic to show she was 'legitimate'.
The blonde had happily summoned Scorpio, and the star alignment appeared with a golden flash of holy light, a pierce ringing of a bell, and a quite eager, 'We are rockin' now!'. After that the children ran away screaming, and Scorpio might have gotten a little too much into his role. To really 'drive the lesson home', he created a Sand Buster attack, and Lucy's already minuscule pay was docked for the fountain that was reduced to a pile of rubble.
The missions had all been a great way to stop thinking about a certain other blonde, and they had all added up so that Lucy now had enough to pay next month's rent, so that was good! But, she knew she couldn't keep hiding this way forever. She had to face Laxus.
That being said, Lucy decided she'd give herself just one more day, and then she'd sprint back to the guild and search out the grumpy man. However, until then... she had gone back to her apartment to take a well needed break from the laborious jobs. Lucy had been wandering around her room, picking up trash and clothes that had been unceremoniously thrown onto the floor while she conversed with Mira through the communications lacrima propped up on her dresser.
The Celestial Spirit mage huffed as she dropped an armful of dirty clothes into her hamper as she thought about how it turned out it hadn't been necessary to take all the jobs in the first place. "So, you really are serious?" The blonde mage asked with an exasperated roll of her eyes. She shoved her hamper back into her closet while Mirajane nodded solemnly from across the room.
"Laxus and the Raijinshū left on a S-Class mission the day after Blonde Day," Mira informed her with an apologetic glint in her eyes through the lacrima, her voice slightly muffled. Mira's silver hair swayed when she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but they haven't yet returned. Might not before this Thursday, too."
Lucy could barely make out the Take-Over mage fixing dinner, her frilly white apron over her usual attire, on the other side of the lacrima. Lucy really needed to buy the newest model, she heard it had a way better protection quality.
Lucy snorted, wiped her hands on her shorts, and threw back her head to get her bangs out of her eyes. "Typical," she muttered darkly, nudging her hamper with her toe as she did. "At least he didn't pull a Gildarts and go on a five year mission, I guess." If he had, she would have tracked him down and joined them. Maybe even carry along a meal from the Strawberry Street Cafe, just to spite the man.
Mirajane had that look in her eyes that portrayed she wanted to reach through the lacrima and squeeze the blonde to death with affection. "Aw, Lucy," she cooed, voice as soft as a gentle breeze, "Last Thursday couldn't have gone that badly, could it?"
The younger woman turned her face towards her friend with a dejected expression. If only she knew. "You weren't there, Mira," she whimpered, and she almost grimaced when she remembered her pitiful display at the end. It had been the second time she had jumped him and begged him not to leave her sorry ass forever. She really was like a frantic girlfriend.
"It was pretty bad," she continued. "I mean, bad bad. He thought I only invited him out to force him to apologize for his past actions!" Lucy gave a sad attempt at a growl as she stomped her away over to her trashcan and threw some scraps of paper away. The dragon slayer hadn't even once entertained the idea that she might be doing it to become his friend, he had immediately come to the conclusion that she wanted something from him. Someone needed to knock some sense into that man.
All she got from Mira was a gasp and a scandalized, "Oh my." Mira, out of anyone, knew how much Lucy loathed being accused of holding grudges. It was more than just some pet peeve, Lucy despised it.
Lucy threw her hands up into the air in frustration. She had no clue what to do. The second Blonde Day had almost been more of a train wreck than the first. Wait, no, it had been definitely worse than the first one. They hadn't been jumping at each other's throats last Thursday. "I don't know if this is going to work out, Mira. I just have this… this..." her face scrunched up as she tried to figure out a way to phrase it. The blonde ended up lamely saying, "...this bad feeling."
Nothing had worked so far, and nothing was going her way. Why did good things happen to good people? She just wanted to slide into this endless pit of self-pity and complain the whole way down. Lucy refused to listen to the logical side of her that was screaming that it had only been two and a half weeks, not even a month.
Mirajane made a faint, wounded noise in the back of her throat, and the model put a slender hand over her chest as if she had been shoot in the heart. "Lucy, I wish I could just reach out and give you a giant hug! And don't you worry about a thing, it's just the beginning. You still have plenty of opportunities to befriend Laxus!"
Shaking her head, Lucy softly whispered, "Laxus and I just seem to be a bad mix, Mira." She smiled sadly and dug her toes into her rug. Self-pity pit, here she comes. "And I wish you could give me a hug too. I really need it." Self-pity went great with hugs and just a huge bowl of potato salad and Kobe beef.
That seemed to strike a chord in the other mage, because Mirajane's arms flopped down uselessly to her sides and she got a scary glint in her cerulean blue eyes that even Lucy could recognize through the fuzziness of the communications lacrima. "If you'll excuse me," Mira unexpectedly said , reaching for her lacrima as Lucy gulped, "but I have a quick call to make. Be back in a jiffy, I promise."
The oldest Strauss sibling didn't even wait for Lucy to excuse her. As soon as she finished her sentence, Mirajane's image immediately flickered out when the communications lacrima broke its connection, leaving Lucy blinking alone in her room, wondering what in Earthland had just happened. Had Mirajane just upped and left her? Without any warning other than she'd be back quickly? What.
Had Lucy just been ditched? Kinda-ditched? Mira did say she would be back, after all. The blonde looked around her now clean room and bit her lower lip. Should she… should she feel offended? Hurt? Surprised? Perhaps angry? Lucy was still a little down from openly admitting that Laxus and her maybe just were not meant to become friends, but she was also very confused.
Reaching forwards, Lucy tapped the clear ball, but Mira's smiling face didn't reappear. The only face in the lacrima was the warped one of her own being reflected by the crystal. She harrumphed and slightly pulled away, watching her reflection's lips drawl down into matching pouting frown as she did. She tried to be angry, but just couldn't. The other mage had promised she'd be back as soon as she could, right?
After a few more moments of staring and contemplating, Lucy turned around and hesitantly walked over to her desk where an unfinished letter to her mother lay. Mirajane had called her as she had been writing it, the Take-Overmage wanting to know how the second Blonde Day had gone and why Lucy hadn't stopped by the guild in awhile other than to scare her fellow guildmates when she snatched up the jobs from right under their unsuspecting fingers.
Lucy sat down in her chair with the gradualness of a sloth, looking back over her shoulder every ten seconds to check the communications lacrima. She had been picking up her quill when a voice cheerfully announced through the still air, "Okay, I'm back!"
Lucy rushed from the chair, almost taking herself out when she promptly tripped over herself. She ran back over to her tall dresser and bent over the lacrima, sticking her face right up to it. Inside the crystal ball Mira waved, a relieved smile pulling at her lips and frilly apron still tied around her neck.
"Mira, that wasn't nice!" Lucy immediately pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. She quipped up a brow and interrogated, "Where'd you go? Why'd you leave me like that?" Lucy pulled out all the stops, making her bottom lip quiver and even managed a little, obviously staged, sniffle that she was quite proud of.
The silver-haired mage put a finger to her lips and winked. "I can't tell you, it's a secret," she disclosed cryptically before making a 'go on' hand gesture with both her hands. "Now, continue on telling all your Laxus-induced troubles to me!"
Lucy's cheeks dusted a light rose at that, and she picked at the fraying hem of her shorts. With on violent pull, she was unable to yank out a long strand while she ducked her head in embarrassment. As it was expected of her, she denied the offer, "Aw, Mira, I don't-"
Thankfully Mirajane interjected, because Lucy wouldn't have been able to coherently finish that sentence, "Nope, none of that. Get it all out, you need to vent, and I'll gladly be your audience. All you need to do is promise me that you'll name me the 'Godmother' of your first child. That is all." Mira had put it dispassionately, as if it was just a silly title and not the honor that everyone knew the Strauss sibling would write down onto paper, frame, and hang over the bar for all to see.
Lucy waited her to spew something else about babies out but, surprisingly, nothing more came. Mentally shrugging, Lucy checked her chin. "Okay," she murmured uncertainty while eyeing Mira's pleasant and utterly innocent face. That had been weird and awfully suspicious, but she knew she wouldn't get anything out of Mirajane no matter how hard she tried. Perhaps later if she could manage to coerce the Take-Over mage to indulge in a few drinks. Lucy could even arrange a drinking challenge from Cana.
Letting it go (for now), the celestial mage climbed over her bed to draw the curtains closed, for it was starting to get dark outside. "I think he hates me," she whined as she thumped down to sit on her bed. "You said it yourself, Laxus went on a long mission with his cheer squad, he definitely won't be back before Thursday if he can help it."
She could even picture the lightning mage purposely sabotaging his job in hopes to delay its completion. Maybe electrocute the town's mayor in hope of being imprisoned and be prosecuted for attempted murder or something. Laxus could even sick the Raijinshū on the mayor. Who knows, maybe Bickslow and Evergreen would seize the opportunity to finally settle that argument they had awhile ago about who could seduce Magnolia's mayor quicker. Different mayor, but still the same seducing technique.
Mirajane had the gall to tutt and shake her head at the stellar mage and her troubles. The action became slightly terrifying when Mira picked up a giant, glinting kitchen knife from out of nowhere and started chopping up some celery. "Lucy, I know you're upset about Laxus' actions, but now I think you're overreacting. Laxus doesn't hate you, you're nakama. He could never hate anyone in Fairy Tail, not even Natsu." The other mage giggled. "And Natsu's the one who's constantly bugging him to fight him."
Turning serious, Mira harnessed her inner, disconcerted mother and leveled Lucy a serious look, "You understand that, right? That Laxus doesn't hate you?"
Lucy shrank back from Mira's disappointed gaze, and hunched in her shoulders as her hands clenched fistfuls of her pink quilt. "Okay, so maybe he doesn't hate me," she admitted begrudgingly, shrugging. But he certainly didn't like her. The celestial mage let go of her quilt and was able to meet Mira's eyes as she said confidently, "He does hate Blonde Day though, you can't deny that. Every time he always acts like he's… in pain or something." He also refused to cooperate, much to her frustrations.
"He's never spent time with you like this before, of course he's uncomfortable," Mira perceptively pointed out, and Lucy huffed. She was totally taking Laxus' side now. "You know, you shouldn't be so quick to criticize him. In the real world, it takes a lot longer than two days to become someone's friend."
Putting a hand to her chest, Lucy gasped, offended. The Take-Over mage was berating her! There had been a complete one-eighty in Mira's personality, it was like someone completely flipped her 'sympathy' switch to off. The blonde guffawed and desperately searched her head to come up with a retort to Mirajane's betrayal. Hadn't the older woman just told her that she would listen to her complaints?
"Mira," the blonde mage wheezed. She hopped off her bed, keys clanking on her belt, and walked up to the communications lacrima. Lucy took the orb off its stand and into her hands. "Why are you all of a sudden Team Laxus?"
Lucy peered down at the lacrima. She searched Mirajane's slightly fuzzy stature for clues to her unexpected disloyalty, like a 'Laxus for Guild Master' button proudly gleaming on her bust, anything. Something that would explain why Mira wasn't telling Lucy that everything would be alright, supporting the idea that Laxus was being unnecessarily cruel to her, and sending mental head pats through the lacrima.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. Lucy would rant her frustrations and Mira would be the compassionate soul she was and kindly listen before offering her wise, all-knowing advice. Just like Lucy had done with Leo all those nights ago.
Though the communications lacrima only showed Mira from chest up, Lucy just knew that the silver-haired mage was putting her hands on her hips. "I'm terribly sorry if I'm coming off as insensitive-" then why did she not sound sorry at all "-but I really do think it's time you stop focusing on the negative and start fixing your problems. If you're so worried and unhappy at your current situation, then go out and do something about it when he comes back from his mission."
Mira's words hit deep. Lucy exhaled nice and slowly and glanced heavenward. She knew that Mirajane was right, but she didn't want to admit it so easily. Lucy's eyes shifted to everywhere but Mira. She had just thought that she deserved a little ranting time after what she had gone through, but apparently the Take-Over mage wasn't going to let her.
Mira chuckled at Lucy's obvious pouting, and the next moment the woman was smiling at her. "Really," Mira shook her head and spoke lightheartedly, "If you really wanted to complain to someone, you should have complained to Natsu. As your best friend, he would have blown a fuse and challenged Laxus in the name of your honor."
While Mira giggled to herself, the Celestial Spirit mage paused at that, and she grimaced. "I... well," Lucy shifted the spherical lacrima to one hand and used the other to rub nervously at her neck. Sheepishly, Lucy disclosed, "I don't think he knows about Blonde Day." She'd been thinking about the accident ever since she got back from that horrible demolition job.
The other mage stopped her soft laughing and appeared shocked. "I thought…" Mira drawled slowly, eyebrows pinching together as she did. The silver-haired beauty flicked her blue eyes upwards, and she looked like she was trying to remember something. "I thought," Mirajane started out hesitantly, "I thought you told me at the bar that this whole thing was a secret that only you, Happy, and Natsu knew? Is Natsu… does he not know?"
The Take-Over mage was obviously confused, and Lucy didn't blame her because so was she. The celestial mage let out a low hiss and shrugged helplessly. "Well, he should…" Lucy paused, recalling how Natsu was the one to point out that her and Laxus were both blonde. "I mean, he's technically the one who came up with Blonde Day."
At Mira's beyond perplexed 'huh', Lucy told her friend what had happened after Natsu had asked her if they could stay longer. She described how the fire mage had given her that strange, funny look and asked why she had wanted to get back before Thursday. When she was finished, Mira's baffled face broke out into another round of fond laughter for their favorite Fire Dragon Slayer. Mirajane's laughter was contagious, and Lucy found herself chuckling along for a little bit.
"My, my, he completely forgot, didn't he?" Mira sniggered as she brought up a hand to wipe at the imaginary sweat at her brow. "Whew, you know, Lucy, that was just what I needed to perk up the rest of my night! Maybe…" the woman had to collect herself before she could continue. Only after she could stop laughing did Mira unconvincingly assure her, "Maybe he was just playing with you?"
"I hope so," the blonde mage glanced away and muttered. She was about to add something else, but then the sound of the doorbell rang throughout her apartment, effectively causing her to jump in the air and nearly drop the communications lacrima in the process. "Wha?!" She spluttered as she fumbled with the orb in her hands.
Only after she was sure she wasn't about to accidentally drop Mira, Lucy eyed the numbers on her clock. Someone was at her door? At half an hour to ten o'clock at night? Had something bad happened? A twinge of nervousness grew in her stomach at the idea that one of her nakama had rushed over to her apartment because it was an emergency. She frowned down at Mirajane, questions already on her tongue-
Lucy froze.
Mirajane hadn't reacted at all, still grinning up at her and even twirling a strand of her silver hair around her index finger. She was suspiciously unaffected by the loud ringing of her doorbell. In fact, the Take-Over mage continued to smile lazily, and she waved her hand -the one with the knife in it- as she chimed in nonchalantly, "I think you should get that. It might be important."
Once again, the doorbell sounded impatiently in the distance, and Lucy narrowed her eyes as she asked somewhat accusingly, "What did you do?"
Mirajane's gasped dramatically. She might haven even gone as far as pretending to act offended, but communications lacrima abruptly lost its clear connection and the other mage's physique developed into a messy, gray blur. "Why, Lucy!" the Take-Over mage's voice wavered in pitch and fizzled with what must have been static while her voice started to cut in and out, "I haven't… slightest idea to what you're… about." The image of Mira dissipated.
"Mira?" Lucy inquired, bringing the orb closer and peering into its crystal depths. "Mira, are you there?" She shook the lacrima, but got nothing. Okay, now she was really suspicious. Even though the lacrima was an older model, not once had it ever done that. Lucy rolled the sphere in her hands and inspected it, searching for any cracks and not finding any. Whatever had happened to their connection had not been natural.
Lucy carefully put the lacrima back on its golden stand and bit the inside of her cheek. The craziest idea passed through her head when she stepped away from the dresser. Had Mira purposely tampered with the connection on her end with magic? First she disappeared to make a sudden call, and now this? Something was definitely up with the mage today, and Lucy wasn't so much she wanted to know what it was.
The doorbell ringing for the third time that night snapped Lucy out of her chaotic thoughts. She could question Mirajane about it later. Plus, whoever was at the door had gotten impatient because without any warning, a horrible cracking sound interrupted the doorbell's chime and an ear-deafening crash exploded from her living room.
The blonde didn't even need to hear the awful scraping of wood sliding against the floor to know what had happened. "My door!" She screeched, and she flung herself out of her room with a cry of sorrow. She had just paid for the door to be replaced last week, and it had cost her 125,000 jewels! The blonde ran into her living room, and paled when she saw her newly replaced door come to a slow, achingly slow, stop at her feet.
Her door gently nudged her ankles, and Lucy miserably stared down at it. Where the door handle should be was a piece of metal that had collapsed in on itself, the wood around it cracked and splintering. She wanted to bend down and whisper reassuringly to it that everything would be okay, it had done its job to the best of its ability, but what sounded like a heard of elephants stomped up to her gaping doorway.
"Lucy of Fairy Tail!" A voice heartily called with too much gusto needed for this time of night, and Lucy meekly looked up.
None other than Erza Scarlet strutted proudly into Lucy's apartment, throwing her head back and laughing haughtily as soon as she stepped over the door-less threshold. Behind her Erza pulled a heavy metal cart, wheels screeching horribly as they scratched up the floor. Three suitcases were packed on the hunk of metal, and they all appeared so stuffed that they were nearing their snapping point. One in particular, if she looked closely enough, was already shaking like it was about to explode. That couldn't be a good sign.
The Requip mage's chocolate brown eyes were alight with a vivacious energy as they scanned the room, and a shining smile instantly pulled at her lips when she spotted Lucy. Even though Erza was without her usual shining armor -a matching pink pajama set in its place- she leaked superiority. Erza was like a breath of fresh air to Lucy's gloom, and the stellar mage couldn't help but straighten up her sloping posture in response.
Erza marched straight up to the blonde with the ever prominent gleam of responsibility in her eyes, dropped the handle to her cart, and threw her arms over the celestial mage.
As soon as the thick cords of muscle known as Erza's biceps wrapped around her, Lucy's diaphragm was constricted to a pulp, only able to let out a strangled wheeze instead of the cry for help that she so dearly wanted. Erza was seeming unaware of Lucy's impending doom because the Requip mage only squeezed tighter and used her height to lift the shorter woman off the ground.
"There, there, Lucy," Erza hushed her as she guided Lucy's purple-ing face to the crook of her neck. For some reason the scarlet-haired woman also decided to sway them from side to side, and Lucy's feet kicked against her hugger's shins. The only saving grace was that Erza was wearing her 'in no way sharp and endangering to Lucy's own soft, easily pierced flesh' pink pajamas. "It's all better now, I'm here."
Miraculously, Lucy was able to slightly push away from her teammate's chest to gasp and rasp out, "Erza… I'm dyi-" She couldn't get out the rest as Erza squeezed her closer.
Her surroundings were getting darker and darker when Erza sniffled above her and rested her cheek atop of Lucy's blonde head. "I said it's alright, Lucy, you do not have to reside here all by your loneself any longer!" She exclaimed to the world and Lucy's thrashing form. "Shh, you are now safe and secure in my arms, and I will have my head decapitated from my body before I release you!"
"Erza!" a much higher pitched, and panicked, voice shouted. "Let go of Lu-chan, you're killing her!" Small hands tugged at the Requip mage's forearms, and Lucy nearly cried out in relief when she recognized the frantic voice. Levy. Levy had come to save her.
Instantly, Erza pried her arms off with a shout of worry and Lucy was dropped to the ground. Her feet had barely touched her floor before gravity took hold of her and the Celestial Spirit mage began falling backwards. Fortunately for Lucy, Levy had been behind her. Unfortunately for Levy, she had been behind Lucy. Levy didn't so much as catch her friend as she did slow her descent to the ground with her own, much tinier body.
Levy stumbled -and for one stomach-in-the-throat moment, they almost toppled over together- but was able to hook her arms under Lucy's armpits and use pure will alone to keep them both up on their feet. They teetered precariously, and Erza rushed forwards to steady them, officially completing the Fairy sandwich.
"Levy?" Still somewhat out of breath from the accidental strangulation, Lucy whispered faintly into the Solid Script mage's trembling arms. Levy answered her with a strained huff of air that Lucy felt against the back of her neck. Lucy tilted her head to peer feebly up at the S-Class mage in front of her. "Erza? Why are you... why are you guys here?" And why, oh why, did she have to do that to her door? What had it possibly done to deserve the same fate twice?
"Juvia is here also!" A blue-haired water mage piped in from out of nowhere, popping into Lucy's blurry line of vision to her right. The self-proclaimed Juvia grabbed ahold of the stellar mage and helped Erza support and right Lucy until she was able to stand by herself, much to the intense relief of Levy.
They all stared at each other for a confused, silent second, and then Erza, Juvia, and Levy all unanimously fired off so many overlapping questions concerning Lucy's health and if she was truly dying that the blonde couldn't understand a lick of it. It was only after Lucy regained her breath and lost that dizzying light-headed feeling that she realized all three woman were decked out in their pajamas, not just Erza
Lucy was a taken back, and her face must have shown it because the three crowded in around her even closer and asked what was wrong. Turning her head side to side so she could look at them all, Lucy probed warily, "Why are you three all here? And all in your pajamas, no less."
Lucy took another step backwards and bumped into her coffee table. Should she be worried? Did Levy burn down all of Fairy Hills this time and the three needed a place to stay?
"Actually…" A blob of silver hair peeked out behind Erza's stacked pile of suitcases in the cart, "I'm here too!" Lisanna giggled and absentmindedly played with her short hair. The youngest Strauss sibling stepped out around the cart, revealing her own adorable, penguin-infested pajamas. "Juvia was teaching me how to embroider when we overheard Mira-nee talking to Erza outside in the hallway. So we tagged along! I hope that's okay!"
Alarm bells went off in Lucy's head. She peered over Levy, which honestly wasn't that hard to do, and directed her exclamation to Lisanna, "Erza was talking to Mira?" With the way Lisanna said it, it sounded like that had happened only a short while ago, which would match up exactly with the time Mirajane hung up on her and mysteriously 'disappeared'. The Take-Over mage had called Erza? Why? And what did that have to do with everyone arriving in their pajamas?
Lisanna nodded, and Erza stepped in to explain with a respectful nod, "Mirajane got in touch with me to inform me that you had had a trying day, and needed someone to embrace you and drive your worries away." Erza gestured to her suitcases, to which Lucy was still sending nervous glances at. "I took it upon myself to arrange a sleepover between you, myself, and Levy to cheer you up. Juvia and Lisanna happened to overhear and wanted to join in on the fun."
Lucy gasped and brought her hands to her mouth when the S-Class mage finished her explanation. Mirajane had basically sent over the cavalry to take Lucy's mind off of yesterday? That's what she had done? "We're having a sleepover?" Lucy whispered, this time in awe. Small bubbles of excitement started rising in her stomach at the thought one giant sleepover with some of her closest nakama. Suddenly she was incredibly glad that she had just gone shopping and restocked her fridge.
"Yes!" Erza confirmed with a brisk nod, and the rest of the female mages started exchanging fun crafts or activities they could do rapid fire. "You all are going to partake in the best, most cliché, sleepover known to Fairy Tail! We will paint our nails, binge on sweets, play truth or dare, and gossip!" she stated, brimming with confidence, and it garnered Juvia, Lisanna, and Levy's cheers of approval. Lucy wouldn't have been surprised if Erza materialized into existence a staff and started pounding in on the floor in declaration.
Without the blonde's permission, tears of happiness sprang to her eyes. She still couldn't get over the fact that they had come to comfort her. It was mind-boggling, and incredibly humbling. Yes, Lucy nearly committed a grave mistake. Even though she was failing to become Laxus' friend, that didn't mean that she could forget that she has her own. She had friends who loved her and would come running to her house without any hesitation just to come cheer her up from a bad day. The tears built up enough that a few of them slid down her cheeks, and all the girls froze when they spotted them.
Unconditional love for her family surged through her, and Lucy just took a moment to breathe it all in and study her nakama who came to her rescue as if she had been a lonely princess in a tower. Except, in that case, screw knights in shining armor, Lucy had her four other princesses who liberated her from her imprisonment.
Before they could fret over her any longer, Lucy held out a hand to stop them in their tracks and used the other to wipe away the stray tears. "They're te-tears of joy," she laughed happily before her voice got caught up on a dry sob. Curious eyes of all colors watched her as Lucy fanned her face and laughed again. "I'm just so… so grateful to have y-you all as my friends! I love all of you so much."
A cry unanimous cry of "Lucy!" sounded and then four female mages were tackling her to the ground in a giant dog pile. Shrieks and screeching laughter emitted from the dog pile as the girls jumped unto each other, dishing out affectionate noogies and proclaiming their eternal love for one another.
Lucy was peeling with laughter, even after she got Juvia's elbow to her lower intestines, as Erza -easily- wrestled her into a headlock, the scarlet-haired woman shouting at the top of her lungs, "You are a ray of light in Fairy Tail's downcast world!" It was quite poetic, Lucy was impressed while she blushed down to her roots.
Somewhere around the blonde's kicking feet, Juvia straddled Lucy's ankles with her own surprisingly muscular thighs, and proudly stated, "Juvia would die for Lucy!" There was a small 'oopmf' from Lisanna when Juvia's out of control elbows got the Take-Over mage right in the chest. Everyone else winced in sympathy.
Slightly out of breath and completely wrapped around Erza's waist like a monkey, Lisanna kindly said from some place in the sweaty, quickly-overheating dog pile, "We really do love you-" there was an interrupting squeak as Levy took this opportunity to tickle the youngest Strauss sibling under the knees "- Lu-Lu-Lucy!"
The Celestial Spirit mage was positive that was a pat on her ass. "Lu-chan, if I had to pick between you and books, I'd burn the books!" Levy was about to tickle Lucy, but a dramatically disheveled Juvia scrambled her way over thrashing limbs and got to the Solid Script mage first.
Lucy was already sobbing with joy at this point, she was so happy. She didn't have time to profess her thankfulness at their too kind words (and profess her love again) because the heavy weight of a person was able to unbelievably knock Erza's headlock off, flop down on her back, and add, "Yeah, you're a pretty awesome person and mage, Lucy."
Everyone stilled at the familiar, masculine voice. A voice that definitely didn't belong to either five of the girls.
Lucy was the first one to act. She propped herself up on her elbows and craned her head around behind her to be met with a shock of ink colored hair and serious dark blue, droopy eyes. She, along with the rest of the females, gaped and widened her eyes in pure surprise at the unexpected addition to their pile of limbs.
The blonde had been planning to screech the mage's name, had even been building the shout up in her throat, but Juvia beat her to it. Hearts appeared out of nowhere and swirled around the heap of Fairies as the water mage squealed, "Gray-sama!"
Practically synchronized, the rest of them winced simultaneously, Gray Fullbuster going as far as wrenching out his arm under Levy's stomach and rubbing his ear with the palm of his hand. The man nodded in acknowledgment, even though Juvia was currently facing the wrong direction and struggling to drag herself properly to his side which only made the tangle of bodies worse.
"Fancy meeting you here, Juvia," Gray deadpanned, but the slight pull at his lips gave away his inner amusement.
"Um, Gray..." Levy spoke up, squashed between Juvia and the Ice Make mage, much to Juvia's frustration and jealously. Lucy could feel the petite mage confusion from the bottom of the dog pile as Levy squeaked, "Why are you here? Oh! But don't take that the wrong way!"
Gray's attempt at a shrug would have gone a lot better if he wasn't utterly tangled up with five other females. "I have no freakin' clue," he said casually, calm exterior not even cracking when Lisanna experimentally tickled the inside of his elbow. "One minute I was taking a walk by the canal, and the next I was swept up in this army of Fairy Tail females marching their way down the street."
With a great show of strength, Gray brought up a shaking arm (he'd been losing circulation in it ever since it got trapped under Lucy) to point at Erza's suitcases, one of which was opened and spilling clothes and a few daggers over the floor. "In the rush, I was shoved into that suitcase right there."
Erza hummed from above Lucy, "How peculiar."
Everyone scoffed, still rocking this synchronized actions thing, and Juvia spoke up hesitantly, "Perhaps Gray-sama can stay and participate in our sleepover…?" The water mage was much shyer now, and she stretched out a foot to poke Erza's arm for the S-Class mage's attention. There was a murmmur of agreements from the rest of the girls.
"You guys really want me to stay?" Gray asked, surprise evident in his voice. "I thought you were having the most cliché all-girls-no-boys-allowed, mega sleepover?" He wiggled around in an attempt to at least look Erza in the face, Lucy grunting in discomfort at the weight shift, but he couldn't manage it.
"I believe we can make an exception," Erza gave her consent and everyone welcomed Gray to the sleepover. Except Juvia, Juvia was too busy squealing in happiness -those damn elbows flailing around again- and promising to name her and Gray's firstborn after the S-Class mage. The scarlet-haired mage's proud laughter drowned out Gray's immediate denial, and Erza started up a conversation with Juvia that involved baby showers.
Honestly, sometimes the Requip mage was just as bad as Mirajane.
"Hold on," Lucy grunted out and kicked someone in the back as she grabbed a hold of Levy's calf like it was foothold. "Before we continue the sleepover, I just have one complaint." A very important one at that too.
Lisanna tugged at the blonde's shorts to convey that she heard her. "What is it, Lucy? What's wrong?"
The stellar mage paused before saying slowly, "Gray, where are your pants?"
Multiple, ear-piercings 'what?!'s cried out from the dog pile and, as if by magic, they untangled themselves and leaped away the furthest they could in a single bound, leaving a swearing Gray in the middle of the floor. Lisanna, face a bright, cherry red, threw herself behind Lucy's couch to preserve her innocence, and Juvia cursed herself for giving in to mob mentality and running away when she should have taken the chance to get closer.
"Hey, wait," Gray spoke up, and the abhorrent yelling died down in an instant. "I still am wearing pants!" And much to everyone's shock, it was true. There the Ice Make mage stood in her living room, dressed in a proper shirt, pants, and even shoes. He wasn't missing a single piece of clothing, and the rest of the mages were oddly disturbed by that.
When they all turned to Lucy, the blonde sheepishly laughed under the gaze of all the pairs of eyes. "Sorry," she apologized bashfully and twiddled her thumbs together. "It was just a habit, I guess." It honestly had been, she had just been expected Gray to be pant-less, he always was in potentially awkward moments like they had been in.
Was that weird? To automatically assume one of your friends had lost an article of clothing?
She was just about to apologize to Gray, maybe make it up to him by offering to make him her infamous mac n' cheese, when he held up his hand, effectively gaining the girls' attentions, and murmured, "Wait, hold on a second."
With both hands, Gray grabbed two of the belt loops on his pants and awkwardly shifted around. Instantly, he broke out into a large grimace that was almost as painful looking as Laxus' had been yesterday. Gray looked up at the girls, cringe still in place and growing more uncomfortable by the second.
The Ice Make mage's face grew paler than a sheet of paper. "Okay," he nodded to himself, now jumping from foot to foot. "I didn't lose my pants… but I did lose my boxers."
A dull thump resounded in Lucy's apartment when Juvia fainted, and the chorus of screams that followed pierced the air with such high frequency, that it felt like a few sound barriers had been shattered by their force.
A/N: So! Did you like the chapter? Thoughts? I toyed with the idea of Mira calling Laxus and giving him a verbal smack down, but then I realized it's Laxus, and he'd hate someone (who isn't the Raijinshū) telling him what to do.