* If I owned Fairy Tail of Vampire Knight, I wouldn't be able to experiment with the pairings like I do when I write fanfiction like this!
General POV
There was a loud banging on her door that startled Lucy enough that she rolled off of her bed and onto the floor. Her body was still sore from the demonstration the night before and was protesting every move she made. When she tried to get up, between the sheets tangled around her body and muscles of her right leg, she wasn't able to hold her weight and yelped as she fell to the floor again.
The door burst open and she looked up to see a concerned and confused looking Aidou staring at her. "Are you okay? I heard…" Then he seemed to realize where she was and snickered at her. "What are you doing on the floor? Don't tell me it's more comfortable than the bed."
Lucy scowled at him as she worked at untangling her legs from the sheets. She quickly freed herself before pulling her upper body back onto the bed. Much to her annoyance, Aidou didn't leave, he strolled right in and started looking around. Now I'm glad that I decided to wear my long sleeper pants, she thought to herself. If he had come in here while I was only wearing a tank top and booty shorts, that would have been really bad.
"You don't have a lot of personal stuff in here," he commented as he continued to look around.
"Of course I don't, the only stuff I brought with me was either what I was wearing or what was in my backpack," she told him, as she turned her head away.
"Is this from your world? You didn't tell us that you had magazines there."
She felt the blood drain from her face and her head whip around to see him pick up the Sorcerer Weekly magazine and start flipping through it. Lucy squeaked and made a dive to grab the magazine from him, but her leg was slowing her down and Aidou was just that fast.
He was grinning at her as he jumped away, keeping the magazine out of her reach. "Oh, what's the matter? Something in here that you don't want people to see? Maybe there's something in here about you." Aidou had only meant to tease her, but when he saw her practically freeze mid-step and one corner of her mouth pull down in a grimace, he realized that he was right!
Jumping back from her again, he started flipping through the magazine as fast as he could without missing anything and almost swallowed his tongue when he found the section that she was probably trying to hide. It was an article and photo spread about Lucy and a pretty white haired girl; apparently, the other girl had the same type of magic as Lucy. The article was titled: The Celestial Beauties of Fiore; Separated by Guilds, United by Magic.
The first photo was of the two of them. They were standing side-by-side with Lucy holding one of her gold keys in her right hand and the other girl, her name was Yukio according to the article, was holding a different gold key in her left hand. Yukio was wearing a white dress and cape with feathers and a blue flower in her hair. Lucy looked absolutely stunning in her white tube top with a blue heart on the bust and a blue and gold vest. Her blue skirt looked so short that a slight breeze would have shown everything to the world, and her thigh high stockings made her legs look a mile long.
Lucy tried to snag the magazine from Aidou while he was distracted, but he would have nothing of it. He reached out one arm to give her a gentle push that sent her tumbling back onto the bed without even looking up from the article.
The next photo was of Lucy alone, and it almost gave him a nosebleed! This time, she was wearing a blue bikini top with gold stars that was so small that he couldn't help but wonder how it was holding up her chest. She was also wearing matching bikini bottoms and sarong that opened up at her left hip to show off her long legs. The shoes that she was wearing were a pair of gold gladiator heels that wrapped all the way up to her knees and seemed to make her shine. The look she was giving the camera was a cross between sultry goddess and innocent maiden, almost like she was demanding with her eyes that he bow before the virgin goddess.
The article written at the side of the photo described the type of magic she used as well as the number if keys she held. Apparently, Lucy had the largest collection of gold keys in all of Fiore, making her the most powerful Celestial mage there was! There was also mention of her team: Natsu "Salamander" Dragneel, the fire dragon slayer; Erza "Titania" Scarlet, re-quip mage and said to be the most powerful female mage in all of Fiore; Wendy Marvel, the sky dragon slayer; and Gray Fullbuster, ice-make mage…
"You've worked with someone with powers like mine before," Aidou said accusingly.
Lucy sat up on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest as she pouted. "Of course I have, and before you accuse me of cheating during the demonstration, the two of you use ice in different ways. You can freeze everything you touch while Gray makes objects out of ice like shields, lances, and cannons."
Deciding to visit that bit of information another time, Aidou went back to reading the article. After the part about her team, the article started going into Lucy's background and where she learned her magic. Just as he had thought, she had once been a debutant in high society but had given it all up to join Fairy Tail. When the article got to the part about how she had joined the guild, he read about how she had been in a town called Hargeon when she had inadvertently met her partner, Natsu. After causing some trouble that practically destroyed the entire port, he had dragged her out of town to join the guild and the two of them had been in a relationship ever since…
Although his power had to do with ice, Aidou had never felt cold. But after reading that Lucy had a boyfriend, a powerful boyfriend if the description in the article was any indication, he felt his blood chill and his heart slow down. No wonder she talks about missing home and wanting to get back there, she has someone she loves waiting on her. According to this article, they have been together since the beginning…
Unable to read it anymore, he tossed the magazine to the side and scowled at her. "I don't see why you were so against me seeing that article, it's not like there was anything there worth seeing." He didn't miss the hurt expression on her face, but he couldn't let himself care, he had to create some type of distance between them or else pay for it a great deal more when he fell for her even harder than he already had.
"Get dressed, we're leaving for town in half an hour. If you're not ready by then, then the deal is off," he said as he turned to walk out the door, not daring to look back.
Lucy was hurt, so hurt and so angry that she would like nothing more than to chase him down and beat him upside the head until her fists were bruised. Instead, she quickly got dressed in an outfit that Virgo had brought her from the Celestial world a few days earlier. It was a matching black mini skirt, black midriff jacket, and white tub top. The skirt and jacket had matching silver embroidery designs that reminded her of the Milky Way, and the bottom hem of the tub top was lined with silver lace that peeked out from beneath the jacket. She matched it with a pair of silver ballet flats that were comfortable enough to go shopping in. With the little time she was given, she simply ran a brush through her hair and left it down to flow around her shoulders.
Aidou was waiting for her at the main doors, a sour expression on his face. "It's about time," he practically growled at her. "Five more minutes and you would have been on your own."
Never having been the one to let people speak to her in such a way, she glared back at him as she spoke. "I don't know what it is that's got you in such a bad mood, but stop taking it out on me! I haven't done anything to you! Besides part of the bet we made says that you're not allowed to complain. So whatever's bothering you, get over it! I like having fun while shopping and I'm not about to let you ruin my fun."
He scoffed in annoyance but still opened the door for her to go outside. It was a short walk to the main drive where a car was waiting to take them into town. Having never seen a car from this world before, Lucy couldn't help but look at the front to see how it worked. There was no SE Plug attached to the driver's wrist and there were pedals at the driver's feet, though she wasn't sure what those were for.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing a vehicle without an SE Plug," she muttered as Aidou opened the door for her to climb into the back seat of the car. He didn't reply as he sat down beside her and shut the door.
Neither one of them said anything as they were driven to town. When the driver dropped them off she could hardly hide her excitement. It had been forever since she'd gone shopping and she was curious to see what the fashions were like in this world. Lucy practically skipped to the first shop with Aidou trailing after her.
It was already harder than he expected to keep himself emotionally distant from her. It's that damn magically pull that draws everyone in, he thought as they entered the first shop. At least that's what he wanted to blame it on. But the truth was, Lucy was just so cheerful, kind, and beautiful that it was impossible not to fall for her. He watched her go to each display to inspect the different styles of clothing. When she found a few items that she liked, she grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the dressing room to wait for her while she changed.
The first thing she tried on was a simple outfit, jeans that fit her like second skin and a pink button up top that just barely concealed the size of her chest. "What do you think?" She asked him with a smile as she spun around.
He shrugged. "It's not bad."
She pouted at him before going back into the dressing room to try on the next outfit. A minute later, she stepped out in a formfitting red dress, it had teacup sleeves and the skirt reached just above her knees.
"What about this?" She asked him, sounding hopeful.
You look good enough to eat. That's what he wanted to say, but he didn't. "Don't know, what would Natsu think of it?"
To his total shock, she scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. "Like that dense idiot knows anything about fashion. Let alone cares about what I wear." She stepped back into the dressing room without sparing a glance at Aidou, but if she had, she would have seen a very confused vampire.
"Why wouldn't he care about what you wear? He's your boyfriend, isn't he?"
Her head flew past the curtain to stare at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "Me and Natsu? Not a chance! I don't care if I'm here, in Edolas or in Earthland. That will never happen." Her head disappeared back into the dressing room as Aidou continued to stare at the empty space where her head had just been. "You read that in that stupid article, didn't you?" She continued to rant from inside the dressing room. "I swear, if I ever get back to Fiore I'm going to kick that stupid reporter in the head for misquoting me. When I told him that I had been with Natsu since joining Fairy Tail, I meant that as being his partner, not his girlfriend. And Natsu, that dense idiot, when I showed him the article, he just laughed and said how ridiculous that idea was. That no one would really believe that the two of us could be together."
When she stepped out of the dressing room this time, she was wearing a vibrant pink mini skirt and black lace top, that was see through, with a matching pink tank top underneath. "How does this look?" She asked him, her voice hopeful.
He couldn't speak. Not only did she look gorgeous in that outfit, but he felt like a jerk for the way he'd been acting. I should have just asked her. And didn't I already say from the way she was acting that first day that she had never had a boyfriend? I was right, but I let that stupid magazine get to me. When he noticed that she was still waiting for him to answer, he smiled at her. "It looks perfect on you, and so did everything else."
Lucy gave him one of her brighter-than-sunlight smiles before ducking back into the dressing room. The last outfit was a denim skirt with a purple sweater, even though her chest was completely covered, it still made his mouth water.
"Good?" She asked him.
He grinned at her. "It's decided, you're getting all of it!"
She clapped her hands together with delight before ducking back into the dressing room. "Do you think I'll need any other clothes? Most of the time I'll just be wearing the school uniform, but I still need to make a stop at a store to get some other things."
"What other things?" He asked.
"More… private clothes," she said in a quiet voice.
Unable to help himself, Aidou started to imagine Lucy in some more revealing items and almost felt blood drip from his nose. When it comes to that store, I think I'll stay outside, he decided.
He bought her the clothes and they ended up going to three other stores. One store, he stayed outside and did the best he could not to let his mind run away with images of Lucy in a set of lacy undergarments. Another store was one that he had recommended since he knew a school dance would be coming up in a couple of months and he wanted her to be prepared. The last store was a shoe store since she needed a pair of heals to match her dress.
When Lucy said she was finished, Aidou insisted on carrying her bags and taking her to a small café called Una Carozza. It was a cute little ice cream shop that had her grinning like crazy the second they stepped inside. She ordered herself a strawberry milkshake while he ordered a banana split that looked bigger than his head. She couldn't help but giggle as she watched him devour the entire thing.
"You probably don't want to hear this, but you sometimes remind me of Natsu," she told him, unable to hide the hint of sorrow in her voice.
"How so?"
"Both of you have a tendency to live by your emotions. You sometimes act before you think but you like a good fight, and you both have bottomless pits for stomachs. Plus, he was the first person to call me 'Luce,' after he called me 'Luigi,' that is."
Aidou chuckled. He had to admit, whoever this Natsu guy was, he sounded like an interesting person, and he was obviously her best friend. At least it was easier to admit now that he knew that he wasn't her boyfriend. "You miss it there, don't you?"
Her expression dropped for a moment before she nodded. "Of course I do, Fairy Tail is my home and everyone there is my family. I know that I could make a life for myself here if I had to, but until I know for sure that there's no way back, I'm going to keep the hope alive. I have to believe that I'll get home someday."
It was difficult for him to admit it to himself, but she was right. The world he lived in, it wasn't hers and it very well might kill her someday. But if he was being truthful with himself, he didn't want her to leave and he knew that neither did Takuma or Hikaru, he even suspected that that jerk Zero wanted her to stick around.
He didn't voice his thoughts, he had a feeling that hearing him ask her to stay would just make her feel guilty. Not to be mistaken, if he'd thought for even a second that asking her to stay would make it happen, he'd have already said it; but that wasn't an option. His only choice was to stick by her and make sure that she didn't fear him anymore. If it turns out that she can go back, he would do his best to let her go. But if by some miracle, at least in his mind, that she has to live in this one, he would do everything within his power to make her his. That was a promise that he would make to himself and to her, he just wasn't going to tell her about it.
"I understand," Aidou told her. "But you should know, if worse comes to worse and you can't go home, I'm sure that you'll be able to find a place for yourself here in this world."
She looked up at him and smiled, not the sunlight smile but a sweet smile. "Thank you, Aidou."
After that, Lucy started telling him stories about her adventures with Team Natsu. It was hard to believe all the things she had done since joining the guild and even more amazing that she had kept her happy disposition after all the hardships she had gone through. But, he decided, that's what makes Lucy… Lucy!
Another hour later, they were walking into the Moon dorm when they saw a group of Night Class students huddled around something. When Lucy realized that it was her Sorcerer Weekly magazine, she squeaked and darted over to snag it from Takuma's hands.
"You weren't supposed to see that!" She shrieked as she sprinted up the stairs to her room. Everyone could hear the door slam and lock behind her. Aidou laughed at her over-the-top reaction as the other vampires stared after her.
"I think we should have her explain that magazine tomorrow night," Takuma said his cheeks slightly red from staring at Lucy's photo spread. Hikaru nodded as well, his face equally red.
A/N: Another chapter down and another day closer to closing the polls! The lead has changed hands so many times that I'm not even sure who's going to win. But I will say, that I will be counting the poll results as well as the reviews!