Chapter 6 – Get a Room!
Fairy Tail University, Part III
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CoverArt courtesy of whitefoxie on tumblr!
~ Fairy Tail University ~
They left the rental car where it had died (or at least fallen dangerously ill), and walked slowly over to the gate of the bed and breakfast. Sure enough, the sign really did read "Fairy Tail House". Now that they were closer, they could see more lettering underneath that read: "Serving Mages for Over Four Hundred Years!"
"Holy shit," muttered Gray. "This place has been here since the original Fairy Tail Guild was around. This is… actually a little weird."
He had taken Lucy's hand when they'd abandoned the car, and he felt her fingers tighten on his. One bright side to being an Ice Shaper, he thought, was that you didn't get sweaty palms. Otherwise it might be a real problem right now, between being turned on thanks to the last half-hour in the car with Lucy, and just a bit creeped out by the fact that he was now sporting a dark blue Fairy Tail Guild mark on his chest.
"Gray? Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Lucy sounded more freaked out than he was. Of course, that could just be a case of him not knowing when to be properly afraid.
"None. But in the spirit of adventure and in keeping with our new designs," he tapped the back of Lucy's right hand with his thumb, "I think we should stay here."
Gray turned to face the lovely blond and kissed her softly on the lips. He felt his hormones kick it up another notch when he realized that from this close in he could easily see down her half-unbuttoned white shirt to her more than admirable, creamy breasts. She was wearing a silky bra in a soft, pale rose.
It was difficult to pull his eyes away, but he gave himself credit for doing it without being nudged or smacked.
"Gray?"
The Ice Shaper blinked, and realized that his T-shirt was lying on the ground beside him. Amazing. Now he knew that he could take off a T-shirt without breaking a kiss with Lucy for more than a moment. Good to know.
"What do you think, Lucy?" He kept his eyes fixed on hers and tried to resist running his hands down her sides.
They were on the sidewalk of a public street, and although it was rapidly becoming dusk, there were still people around. A light kiss wasn't too bad, but if they went farther than that then no doubt a second person would tell him to take his girl and get a room. Except that nobody had – had they? Gray was momentarily very confused; he bent down to pick up the discarded shirt.
"Well, I guess you're right," Lucy said as he straightened again. She sounded more like herself again – more certain and a lot less nervous. "So, Mr. Fullbuster? Assuming that they're taking customers and they've got rooms, do we want one room or two?"
"Ah. Good question, Ms. Heartfilia. I know what I'd prefer, but I'm perfectly willing to get two rooms and decide later what we want to do."
Gray knew that his cheeks were unusually red, which was odd, since he was old enough and adventurous enough to have had some experience with adult relationships. On the whole, society was pretty laid-back about what people chose to do with each other if they were above the age of consent. What scared him a little – more than the strange Fairy Tail stuff – was that he'd always kept things fairly casual before, and he knew that he didn't feel "casual" about Lucy in any way. He was afraid to mess things up.
Lucy put her right hand on the gate latch, stepping gently away from him. The winged pink emblem seemed very clear in the evening light.
"One room sounds good to me too, Gray." She looked down at her hand, then back at her companion. "Unless you're worried that I'll take advantage of you?"
Gray shook his head. Once they had gone through the gate and closed it behind them, he put a strong arm around her waist and brought her back around to face him.
"Very much the opposite, as I think you've already figured out. But seriously, Luce, will you promise me that you'll make the right decision for you?"
"You're chickening out, ice prince."
Lucy laughed at the startled look on Gray's face. Her brown eyes were warm but there was just a hint of steel in them.
"Um… nice nickname… is that a new one that flame-breath has come up with?"
Lucy's brow creased.
"No – I've heard him use it before. Or I thought I had? But either way, if the slipper fits, Cinderella…"
"Hey!"
"Seriously, Gray, I understand why you're worried. And it's good not to take things for granted. But nobody can promise that they'll always make the right decisions – not for themselves or for anyone else. I learned that a long time ago. So… Could we aim for honest instead of perfect?"
Gray's dark eyes searched the pretty, innocent face that could look both childlike and fierce. She's smart, she's tougher than she looks, and she wants you. Don't treat her like china, she won't appreciate it. You don't like to look weak, well neither does she. He knew that she'd been struggling for the last two months not to consider herself the team's one weakness.
"Alright… I honestly think we should get a room here and spend the night together."
She met his slightly challenging look with one of her own and pressed her body against his, arms locked behind him, rising on tip-toe to so that she could reach his mouth with hers. Their lips met, their tongues met… he could feel her hips move against his and a slight ache as his jeans started to feel much too tight.
Gray had just dropped his shirt again when he had the strangest sense of déjà vu – strange because he still couldn't remember the first time.
"You two ever hear the expression 'get a room'?! Because it looks to me like it's that or a fine for indecency. If you'd prefer the cops, just let me know."
The voice – youngish and female – sounded annoyed and amused at the same time. Lucy gasped and whirled around, beet red and frantically trying to do up a couple of buttons. Gray grabbed his shirt off the ground and thanked all the gods that it was almost twilight. He fought to stop panting.
"Ah… yeah. Yes. We'd like a room. If you have one available?"
"Sure, come inside. Are you from FTU? I don't see as many from there these days."
Gray, still a little flushed (and still shirtless), followed the woman inside. The house was clearly very old, but Gray wasn't enough of a history buff to know how old. When the woman went into a small office and took a seat behind a very modern-looking desk, Gray took one of the visitor's chairs and Lucy sat primly in the other. Gray was grateful that he could fold the T-shirt over his lap.
"I'm Mary Jane Stross. You can just call me MJ if you make it down for breakfast or if I see you around this evening… which I doubt."
Their hostess had bright blue eyes and long white hair that she kept out of her way with a number of brightly-coloured clips. Gray had no idea how old she was. Her face was young but her eyes and voice… weren't.
"Names please?"
They went through all the usual process of checking in, although it seemed a little old-fashioned compared to the electronic processes at most decent hotels. MJ didn't ask what kind of room or rooms they wanted. Instead, she conducted them briskly up a flight of stairs and down a hall to a very pretty round room with an oversized bed and its own bathroom. Apparently, this was the Tower Room.
"It actually is a tower, although a small one," MJ explained. "But I use the two upper floors as display rooms and storage.
Apart from her annoyance when she'd interrupted them in her front garden, MJ seemed very nice. Lucy, who had finally recovered her countenance, was chatting away happily as MJ checked that everything was in order.
"Oh, and what about a garage for the car?" Lucy asked at the end.
"I'd be happy to leave a message for somebody now," MJ offered. "If they know it's for one of my guests and that you're from FTU I'm sure they'll help out."
"That would be great, MJ – thanks!"
Gray, who standing a few feet inside the room watching the women chat, walked forward and silently handed over the key remote for the car. He knew that Lucy had a key remote as well, but he didn't want MJ – however kind – to have to stay and wait for Lucy to track the key down inside the purse inside her tote bag.
Finally, MJ put a hand on Lucy's arm, and Lucy gave her a rueful smile.
"I know I'm chattering – I'm just a little mortified over what happened earlier."
"It's fine, Lucy, really. But I have a feeling that your boyfriend is waiting eagerly for me to leave - he's trying to be polite but he really doesn't look very happy, does he?"
Gray started, waving a hand in negation.
"It's fine, um, MJ – I was just thinking about something else."
"Mm-hm. But my windows don't normally have frost until late November and I think the room temperature's dropped a couple of degrees. Ice Make mage are you?"
"Well, yes, although most people say Ice Shaper now, to be honest." Gray grinned for a moment. "I think it changed when the ice mages got tired of people asking if they could be installed in a refrigerator. Personally, I like the sound of Ice Make mage, but I'm in a minority."
"He's also the best ice mage in a very long time," added Lucy proudly.
MJ gave the young Celestial mage an understanding look, but laughed:
"Then I'd better leave you to warm him up don't you think? Goodnight, Lucy. Goodnight, Gray. Oh – and just one thing that I've been curious about, if you don't mind?"
"Sure," responded Lucy promptly. Gray tried not to look impatient, which was probably a lost cause.
"Has FTU decided to go back to using Guild marks for students? I didn't think anybody had those anymore." MJ gestured to Gray's chest and Lucy's hand.
"We're trying them out," Gray said neutrally, before Lucy could start explaining.
MJ nodded, but Gray had the impression that she wasn't convinced. Either way she smiled and nodded at them once more and then went out into the hallway with a wave.
"Goodnight MJ!" called Lucy, as the door closed firmly behind the pale-haired woman.
Gray locked the door and dropped his T-shirt onto a chair. Then he crossed the floor to Lucy and put a hand under her chin.
"I won't ask for promises this time – at least, not like I did earlier. I'll just try to be honest with you. But if there's something wrong at any point, please tell me, okay?"
"I will," Lucy said softly.
"In that case…" Gray said equally softly, but without hesitation, "…we have some unfinished business."
"I agree."
X [M Content Removed Here] X
"Thank you." Gray's voice still sounded rough, but it was filled with a kind of wonder. "I didn't want to say it before – I didn't want you to think it was just a line – but I love you, Lucy, very much."
She turned her head sideways to look at him, brown eyes still heavy-lidded.
"You're incredible. And I love you, too. I didn't say it before because I didn't want you to think that I was trying to pressure you into saying the same to me."
Satisfied both physically and emotionally, they lay in silence again for a while. Then Gray got up and padded into the bathroom, bringing back a washcloth soaked in warm water.
"I'll clean us up a bit."
Lucy watched, occasionally still twitching slightly, as Gray gently washed them both. There was a sense of ritual about it.
However, he looked a little embarrassed when he came back from tossing the washcloth into the sink.
"It probably seems silly to you, but I wanted to do this. So that we could curl up together and not feel… messy."
The blond Celestial mage just nodded understandingly. Then she smirked.
"All part of the service?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He smacked her shoulder, very half-heartedly, then lay down and pulled her against his chest in a spoon hug. They arranged the covers over themselves, and settled down to nap.
Just as Gray was drifting off to sleep, he heard Lucy's voice, very low and a little tentative.
"Gray?
"Yes, Luce?" He could hear that his voice was blurred with drowsiness.
"Can we do that again sometime?"
Gray opened his eyes and tugged at Lucy until she turned over and he could see her face. Her blond hair fell in tangles around her shoulders, and Gray could see his love bites marking her on one side of her neck and across both shoulders. He felt simultaneously remorseful and a little proud. He also made a mental note to loan or to buy her a scarf.
"Well, that's the hope, Luce. Have some pity, though – at least give me a few minutes to recover. Sheesh."
The world was a very good place to be after all, he thought. He had noticed, though, when he went into the bathroom, that the Fairy Tail mark was still there and appeared if anything to be darker. Oh well. He thought it looked pretty good.
A/Note: And so... Thank you as ever to all those who read this piece, and please remember that it is Chapter 6 of a 7-8 chapter story!
All reviews, Faves and Follows are much appreciated! You can also send me a PM here or a message on Tumblr (also Impracticaldemon).