Chapter Three: First Kiss
Thanks again for the reviews! I made this chapter longer to make up for the last one. ^_^
I know Mirajane's plans are an overused cliché here, but I still like it. Yes, her plan is flawed, but that'll only help more! For the next few chapters, I'm planning on some romantic scenes, following Mira's plan, but then…
Well, read to find out. I don't actually have a clear plot set, just some ideas twirling in my head and it'll probably come out very different from what I originally intended, so don't, in a matter of fact, rely on what I just wrote.
Oh, just to be clear: I do not own Fairy Tail
Enjoy!
The next day Erza picked Lucy up from her apartment and they walked together to the guild. As Erza suggested last night, they were going on a combined date-mission. Lucy hoped it would help Natsu and Gray convince that they were a real couple. Which they weren't.
So arriving at Fairy Tail, Lucy walked to the bar while Erza walked to the request board, making a show of regretfully releasing Lucy's hand. She's way too into this. But that's Erza for you.
"Hi, Mira-san. Can I get an orange juice, please?"
"Ohayo, Lucy. It's coming right up." Mira smiled.
"Did you think of a final plan yet?"
"Yes, I did. You're going on a date soon, right?"
"That was the plan, a mission and then a date."
"Well, I have a good reason to assume a blue cat will follow you." Mira tilted her head a little, smiling all the while. "If you act really convincing, the others will think you're not pretending because nobody of the guild is around, right?"
I don't know. When Happy is involved, you never know how things turn out."
Mira smiled. "Which is why I've found the ultimate proof for everyone: you have to kiss."
"K-kiss?" Lucy stammered and blushed. She never meant do that! it'd be so awkward… kissing her… Best friend? Nakama? Fake girlfriend? Whatever.
"Sure, I mean, one can't possibly deny after that you're not dating for real."
Lucy sighed. "I don't know. I'll ask Erza first." She said goodbye to Mira and strode to the request board where Erza stood.
"Hey, honey. Did you pick anything yet?" She stood next to Erza, whose hand was around her waist now and kissed her cheek.
"Pet names now, too?" she whispered quickly. Lucy was shocked; without saying, Erza knew they should step up their game. Lucy liked it, She's really a natural. Or just likes this, too.
"Well I don't know what you want. These are mostly uninteresting requests. They're all under-payed and the same: beat bandits, protect the town, waitresses asked."
Lucy laughed. "They sound interesting enough. I guess you're just used to S-class quests, aren't you?"
Erza put a finger under her chin thoughtfully. "I guess. I apologize. Maybe we could pick one from upstairs?"
"I don't know." Lucy said insecurely. She wasn't ready for a mission that was ten times more dangerous than a regular one and would take probably more than a week. "I'm almost sure our date will be cancelled then."
Erza nodded. "Maybe next time. What about this one?"
She grabbed the sheet from the board. Lucy laughed inwardly. She took the most dangerous one alright, but it pays 200 000 Jewels!
"Bandits are causing trouble with dark magic. It's not a Dark Guild, is it? I'm not sure we can handle this alone."
"We'll succeed. I haven't failed one single mission since I became a mage."
"Not one?! But wait, if you can take out a Dark guild by yourself, why did you ask Natsu and Gray to help you when we first met?"
Erza grinned goofily. "To get to know you. I wanted to interrogate Natsu all about you, but something better happened: Mira set us up! She knew I'd fallen for you the second I looked at you."
Lucy was surprised. It sounded so sincere. She looked around and saw more than a few bystanders smiling about the cute story. She blushed heavily and dragged Erza to Mira once more. The girl, who if you thought about it, arranged more business by herself in the guild than the Master who was always on meetings, approved and sent Happy right behind them.
"Aye, sir!" he shouted. He was exceptionally determined to stalk both the girls. Mira promised him Fugu! Fugu, all for himself (A/N a Japanese delicacy, made from fish o.O).
Fairy Tail fish was the best, he thought. But where were Erza and Lucy? Mira told him to be as subtle as possible. He couldn't be seen under any condition. So he activated his wings and flew high above the city, spotting them walking to the train station.
They stepped in, Erza gallantly letting Lucy first, when the Exceed smelled something really good. It was familiar in a way, it smelled like fish, but also as quite something else. Yet he couldn't point out what. He followed the scent until he reached the haven. The scent was much stronger now.
So, distracted, he kept on following and following the lead, forgetting all about the task Mira gave him.
Meanwhile, Lucy sat closely to Erza on the train, talking so soft any passenger couldn't have heard them.
"Mira said Happy is going to follow us all day to see if we behave like a couple even if we're not in the guild."
"I see. So the plan is to behave very much like a couple all day, isn't it?"
Lucy fidgeted a bit. "Yes, I even thought we could act more like it, so it'll seem like we're just shy around the others."
"What else? You seem agitated?" Erza remarked, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking right in Lucy's eyes.
"Mira suggested that if we kissed, it'd be absolutely sure we were a couple."
Erza looked away and blushed faintly, embarrassed.
"Would you go that far?" she asked.
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"It'll be fake." Erza said. Lucy didn't understand at all what she was saying.
"It's just a kiss. But if you have any problem with it, we won't do it, of course."
"No, it's not that, I've just never kissed before." Erza declared.
Lucy was taken aback. "Me neither. Wait, you told me you kissed Jellal once."
"That doesn't count. It wasn't a real kiss." Erza was sitting very still in her seat and looked out of the window.
"So, do you want to do it?" Lucy asked uncertain.
"Okay."
Lucy had not expected this. She never thought about it. This was her first kiss, she'd always remember it. How would it be? Erza's lips… they looked soft and nice. Her mouth was suddenly dry. I'm really nervous. Stupid Lucy!
She looked again at Erza, who was staring in front of her, focused on something far different than the opposing seat. Lucy yawned. I'm tired. Maybe I can sleep for a while. Trusting her nakama completely, she put her head on Erza's shoulder and closed her eyes.
Erza eyed the blonde mage carefully as she drifted off to sleep. Her armor was long exquipped to make sure Lucy was comfortable. She kissed the blonde's forehead and leaned on her head. This is nice. Lucy must be the best girlfriend ever.
They slowly snuggled closer and more intimately until the train stopped to let them off. Feeling refreshed, Erza opted to go out and catch the criminals immediately. Lucy agreed.
Neither of them saw a blue-haired Exceed anywhere, but they acted as if in love anyway. They held hands, kissed each other's cheeks and threw loving looks all the time. I never knew being in love was so tiring. Do real couples do this all the time?
Erza seemed to think the same. "Lucy, we'd never act this way if we actually were a couple. That's not how being in love is."
"You know so much about it? Have you ever been in love before?"
Erza grinned cheesily. Lucy just knew what was coming.
"You mean before now?"
"I'm being serious here. Loke told me that one before and I just hate it."
"Sorry. No, I don't think so. I mean, there was Jellal, but we never got a chance to work our feelings out. That's over now."
She didn't seem entirely convinced, but Lucy sensed she didn't want to talk about it and let it drop.
After a while of searching, they reached the client's house. It was a big house and looked nice enough. The owner let them in and to their surprise, over thirty people were sitting there.
"Welcome, young ladies. You're the Fairy Tail mages, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are. What is going on here?"
"We have all gathered here to explain the terrible events that happened to us."
"Do you mean the trouble that the bandits have caused?" Erza asked, eying every detail carefully.
"Yes. Let me explain…"
Two hours later, the meeting was closed and The duo went to find an inn.
"What do you think about it?" Lucy asked.
"It seems we're capable of handling it. It was quite a long story and the undertaking sounds dangerous, but we'll manage."
Lucy smiled. "There's probably a lot of difference between this and an S-class mission, isn't there?"
Erza nodded. "Well, the biggest difference isn't really the reward or the amount of time that it takes to complete. And apart from the danger level, because we both know there are a lot of mages like Natsu and Gray who can handle themselves quite well, it's especially the fact you need brains to handle it."
"Brains?"
Surely. Master told me once, every mage should have a balance between his mental and physical capabilities. It's very complex and varied, so few mages achieve it."
"Did you?"
Erza smiled calmly. "No. When I said few mages have achieved it, I meant the Ten Wizard Saints ad a few other exceptions, of course."
"It's that hard?!"
"Yes. To succeed in the S-class Trials, is to put a first step in the direction. It shows you can use your brains and have enough magic power to overthrow every non S-class mage, no matter how powerful."
Lucy looked thinking at the redhead and grabbed her hand. Erza was surprised. "Do you think you can achieve it? The balance?"
Erza looked into the distance. "When Natsu, Jellal and I were fighting at the Tower of Heaven, there was a moment I thought we would all be lost if I didn't sacrifice myself. I told you about that, didn't I?"
"Yes, I remember. You suspected that Jellal had taken the hit instead."
"Well, in that short period of time, I… I experienced something strange."
Lucy didn't dare to say anything. Erza's words were coming slow and careful. She squeezed the other girl's hand a little tighter. Erza smiled and looked down at their intertwined fingers.
"I think I saw my own funeral. Everybody was crying. There was a large statue built of me on a horse. Then… Then I saw the Ten Wizard Saints, acknowledging me in their ranks; I had become one of them."
Lucy said nothing, thinking about it.
"Do you think… it was a possibility, or just my subconscious telling me I should live?" Erza asked, looking at Lucy with those warm brown eyes.
"I don't know." Lucy responded after a while. "Maybe it was a mix of them both. Your subconscious knows the future. But I'm sure you're a wonderful mage."
Erza smiled widely. Lucy was reminded that Erza didn't often get compliments, except for her beauty and when in fights, which she never heard. She swallowed hard. "Erza?"
"Yes, Lucy?"
"I think you're a wonderful person too." Lucy said. She meant it and was sure Erza could tell. The redhead's eyes softened, she held Lucy's hand closer and tighter and for a moment, Lucy swore he could see a spark in Erza's eye.
"Thanks, Lucy."
XoXoXoXo
Thanks to Erza's skills and Lucy's wits, the bandits were defeated easily. They were weak, no doubt about that. But again, next to Erza in her "battle mode" everyone looked weak and insignificant. She has beautiful form, was what shot through Lucy's mind multiple times.
So that part was certainly not what they were both worried about.
Lucy had just a hunch something wasn't right, and Erza was the one to give words to them.
"Something isn't right. The villagers described how big the problems were, up to the point that they rewarded 200.000 Jewels. We've defeated them with ease. I didn't have to requip once, and you only used Taurus and Scorpio!"
"I know what you mean, it is off. Maybe they heard we were coming and just didn't put up a fight?" Lucy suggested. She didn't actually believe that.
"I suspect something else, too. You have sensed how little magic power they possessed, isn't that so?"
Lucy nodded. "It didn't even get near the level of the lowest Fairy Tail wizard."
Erza nodded approvingly. "it can't be that they're the same ones as we were told by the villagers."
"So…" Lucy knew what was coming.
"We have to find this out to the bottom. The guild's pride stands in the way. If word got out Fairy Tail failed a mission, we failed our guild!"
"What do we do right now then?"
Erza smiled widely. "We'll arrange something tomorrow, but for today, let's have that date, shall we?"
But before she could continue, Erza turned her head to the windiw, as if sensing something approached.
"What's wrong, Erza?"
"I heard something. It can't be Happy…" she trailed off. "Lucy, stand behind me. I will protect you."
Lucy did as she was told, her hand moving to her keys. If her girlfriend sensed something, they were in trouble.
Erza's eyes widened quickly, right before she grabbed Lucy's hand so fast the blonde didn't see the move.
The room darkened.
Lucy's hand was ripped from Erza's. Erza immediately requipped in her Flame Empress Armor and the light shone from flames she called.
"Show yourself!" She said calmly.
The darkness evaded and two wizards were standing in front of her. Both were tall, muscled and blonde, one held Lucy while the other lifted his hand, preparing to use magic.
"Nice to meet you, Titania."
"What do you want?"
"You hurt our servants. We want revenge. We want to defeat the strongest female mage of Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet."
"Then I will fight you. Release Lucy." Erza said; Lucy felt as if the magic vibrations oozing from Erza would suffocate her.
One of them laughed. "We're not stupid, Queen of the Fairies. If we'd fight you, there's no doubt we'd be beaten to a pulp. No, for now, we're taking your precious nakama. That's the first step in destroying you."
"Give. Lucy. Back."
"Come and get her." And Erza did. Or she tried. She reached forward, jumped and Lucy could feel an illusion of Erza's fingertips grazing her, saw the look of panic and despair as her nakama was taken from her, before they were gone.
The first thing she noticed, was that she was moving. Or rather, she was in a vehicle that was moving. She felt someone tying her up and Walking away, but she couldn't see or hear anything. They probably deafened her with some sort of spell.
She didn't know how long she was there. It could have hours or even a day before she was rescued. But Erza came for her.
Somehow, she could feel light as the door opened. The presence of someone hovering over her was all too familiar. Her ties were undone with a skilled cut. The spell was removed, but she still closed her eyes and covered her ears because she hadn't heard or seen anything for a while.
Two gentle hands lowered her own, and she could feel long, soft hair on her neck when her savior embraced her.
"Lucy." The voice said. It was reassuring, having someone that knew her name and saved her so close, but it couldn't last forever.
Erza parted with her too fast. She made Lucy sit up straight and asked some questions. It was obvious Erza was worried and happy, but Lucy didn't hear any of them.
"Erza." She just said.
She put her hands behind the redhead's neck and pulled her closer. And when she kissed her for the first time, she wasn't thinking about the mission or the fake relationship, Happy or thanking Erza for saving her.
She thought she was in love with Erza and never wanted to let go of her. Erza kissed back, with need and care somehow. The intoxicating feeling of her moist tongue made Lucy forget her own name, but she remembered Erza's all too more.
Erza parted, and as awareness of what they both had been doing raised, both of them became beet red.
"I didn't mean to…" Erza said embarrassed and shoved away quickly.
"It-It's okay. We are fake girlfriends after all." Lucy stammered a bit, her heart pounding faster than ever before. The kiss had been amazing, mind-blowing to be more precise.
"There's no way they won't believe us now." Erza laughed awkwardly.
Both of them realized however, there wasn't anything remotely fake at the kiss for their parts. If Happy somehow managed to see it, he'd be definitely convinced.
Well, this is a bit longer, almost 3000 words, since you had to wait so long. I didn't write this in one go as I usually do, so sorry if some parts differ from others.
Also, ErzaVsErzaFan, I hadn't really noticed until now, but I tried not to change the PoV's the last part. Thanks for reviewing!
Thanks for anyone reviewing, actually. If you have any prompts for ErLu, send me a PM, and I'll do my best, I promise.