The hot sun beat down on Magnolia unrelentingly. So much so that you could see the heat radiating off surfaces and you'd find yourself dripping in sweat after spending just minutes outside.
"Could it be any hotter?" Lucy complained as she slumped down into a seat at the bar while fanning herself. Gray watched her as she swept her bangs back while brushing the back of her hand over her forehead, a droplet of sweat trickling down the side of her face and onto her neck. His eyes dipped a little lower following the liquid's progress in a not so innocent sort of way for a few seconds to see the moisture run off her collarbone before slowly sliding down between her breast tauntingly.
Quickly looking away lest someone catch him, Gray shifted in his seat that was a few down from her own. He rested his chin in his palm while closing his eyes to regain his composure and clear his mind.
However, Lucy wasn't helping.
"I swear, I'm never leaving my apartment again until this stupid thing is over. I'd walk around in my bathing suit if I could." She complained in her normal childish way that some found enduring and others annoying.
Gray, however, found it teasing. When she said things like that it just put inappropriate visions in his head.
Not that he minded them all that much when he was alone; but, in the middle of the Guild Hall with a certain stalker constantly watching him, well, not so much. The last thing he needed was to get berated by Juvia or called a pervert by Lucy or one of the other girls. It wasn't his fault they were all crazy and apparently not able to realize the things they said came off much different than they thought they did to the opposite sex.
"Oh, hey, Gray!" Lucy called, pulling him back to the present. He turned his head slowly toward her while opening his eyes.
"Yeah?" He replied in his normal nonchalant way. He did his best to ignore how low cut her shirt was and the fact that her skirt was hiking way too high on her thighs to not tempt a quick peek. She was trying to kill him today.
"Can you cool the place off or something?" She pleaded, eyes wide and innocently like they always were when she was asking for things that she really wanted. A small smirk crossed her lips as she slid two seats down so she was sitting next to him. She turned toward him, her hands pressed down against the bar stool between her legs that were spread on either side of them. "Please?"
"You think I'll freeze the whole place just because you want me to?" He scoffed, turning back to stare at the back of the bar so he didn't have to look directly at her.
"Oh come on!" Lucy pushed, leaning forward and invading his personal space a little too much. Her blonde hair brushed his bare shoulder teasingly and he could smell the vanilla in the shampoo she used. "You're half naked already, too! Cool the bar off some at least. Turn it into ice so I can at least rest my head on it for a minute."
The image of her pressing her body down against ice made him shift in his chair, re-positioning himself as his perverted mind got the better of him and traveled south trying to make him use his wrong head to make decisions.
"Don't you dare, Gray! Don't think for a second of ruining my bar top!" Mirajane warned him from the other side of the bar having been eavesdropping on their conversation. He was pretty sure she was on to him and was just looking for an opening to start berating him with questions nosily like she had when he'd had a thing for Cana a few years back. He'd sworn to never try and get with another girl in the Guild after that. It had been such a headache.
"Hey, how long does your ice last for?" Lucy asked as she perked up, getting some idea in her head. "Like… if you made a giant ice something or another how long would it take to melt? Oh, could it NOT melt?"
"What are you getting at, Luce?" He asked her suspiciously.
Lucy looked around before scooting to the end of her seat and leaning forward. She rested her hand on his shoulder as she whispered, "like, if you were to make some statue or something in the middle of my place would it melt everywhere and ruin the floors in a few minutes or last until this heat was over?"
Gray was very aware of her chest brushing against her arm, which made him tense and inhale sharply. Damn, she was so cruel whether she knew it or not. She was going to kill him if she didn't stop.
Gray looked over his shoulder quickly and sighed when Juvia was nowhere to be seen. This just the sort of reason that stalker constantly harassed Lucy and in turn, Gray.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he said while pulling away from her. However, she didn't let go of his shoulder as she smiled widely .
"Really? Oh, thank you so much Gray! You are such a lifesaver!" She laughed happily, those big brown eyes of her twinkling. How Natsu was able to put up with her and not trying something was beyond him. She was just about everything Gray liked and more.
Well, this was Natsu. The fire breather was an idiot.
"Come on, it is gross even in here." Lucy said as she hopped off the stool.
"Wait, what?" Gray replied, eyes widening in surprise while she grabbed his hand to yank him out of his seat.
"Why, you have something better to do?" She shot back at him. "You owe me for eating all my food last week anyways."
"That was Natsu!" Gray protested as she practically skipped toward the door. "Hey, wait, Lucy!" He tried before giving up with a sigh and following after her.
"Don't forget your shirt, Gray!" Mirajane said, hitting him in the back of the head with it.
"Thanks, he said blandly as he grabbed it with his hand before it could slide down onto the floor.
"Man, it is disgusting!" Lucy sighed when she unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed it open. She stumbled in dramatically, Gray following in her wake more than happy at the view as she leaned forward slightly, the top of her thighs just poking out from under her blue pleated skirt. Her celestial keys bounced off her hip as she walked, making it hard for him not to stare since she was in front of him and nothing was stopping him from checking her backside out.
"You can go ahead and do your magic… here! Should I put something down? Is it going to melt everywhere?" Lucy said while pulling her small table toward the wall.
"No, it won't melt all over. It'll just disappear after awhile." He replied, making her smile widely before bending out and rummaging through her dresser, pulling a few things out that he couldn't see.
"I'm going to go take a shower. Make yourself at home… but don't eat my leftovers! I am saving that!" She said as she stood up and walked into the bathroom. "Thanks again, Gray!"
"Yeah… no problem…" He said as the door closed and the shower turned on. He sighed, throwing the shirt he'd had slung over his shoulder onto one of the chairs she'd left in place in the middle of the room. He fell into it before rubbing his face with his hands as though it would push all his inappropriate thoughts out of his head. What was up with him today? The weather must be making him crazy.
When the shower turned off, Gray snapped back back to reality and made a quick hand sign before creating a large rectangle of ice where the table had been. It wasn't creative, but who said it had to be?
The room slowly started to cool some and he sighed. It wasn't much; but, it was the best he could do. His ice wasn't really supposed to act like ice in nature, after all. It didn't really radiate cold. Though, he hadn't bothered trying to explain it to Lucy since she hadn't bothered to ask or even give him time do anything but follow her stupid plan.
Hey, at least he was alone in her room with her, right?
Wait, what was he thinking? Why would he want to put himself through that? God, Natsu and Happy could appear at any second for no good reason other than they wanted to. It left him on edge while glancing at her dresser that held all those tiny pairs of underwear and lacy bras him and Natsu had gone through forever ago. Man, just thinking about it got him excited and he hated himself for it.
"Thank you again, Gray…" Lucy said happily as she walked out of the bathroom. "That's much better! I can already feel it starting to cool this place down. Is there like a cold setting or something like that?"
"No, of course not Luc..y..." Gray started to reply as he turned to look at her before stumbling over his words. "you… it's just… ice."
Lucy was standing there, feet from him, in a blue cropped top that she was almost spilling out of and a pair of small low slung white shorts that barely covered her ass cheeks. It didn't even look like she had underwear on.
He wasn't sure he could handle this anymore.
"Uh, are you okay?" She asked with a small laugh as she walked over to him and pressed the back of her hand against his head. "Did you get hit with heat stroke or something?"
Gray swatted her hand away as his face flushed while looking away. "For someone who constantly gives me a hard time about stripping you sure aren't wearing much."
"Huh?" Lucy replied dumbly before looking down at herself. "Seriously? It's not like I'm in my underwear! And, this is my home! I can wear as much or as little as I want!"
Lucy rambled on defensively, hands on her hips.
"... And yeah, as a streaker you have no right…"
Lucy stopped when Gray stood up and closed the space between them. Her eyes widened as he wrapped one of his arm around her waist and the other around her neck, holding her in place.
"You are an idiot. Who lets a guy into their apartment and then prances around half naked as though it's nothing? You'll get taken advantage of if you aren't careful." He whispered in her ear, making her shudder and bite her lower lip. "Or, are you doing it on purpose?"
He wasn't sure why he asked the question, but to her reply shocked him.
"So wh-what if I was?" She replied hesitantly, not pulling away from him.
Gray tensed, having told himself he was just trying to scare her and maybe cop a quick feel. He had expected her to shove him away and punch or kick him while screaming bloody murder.
Instead they both stood there, almost touching, neither knowing what to do next.
Unable to to take it, Gray pulled back slightly. He opened one eye to see Lucy's tightly shut as she bit down on her lower lip nervously.
"...so… you're saying I can kiss you?" He asked trying to sound nonchalant and teasing. He was still waiting for her to snap back to her senses and end this. However, she merely nodded her head vigorously before opening her eyes momentarily to look at him before quickly closing them again.
Not needing anything else, Gray closed the small gap between them and kissed her. It was tentative at first, still unsure of himself; however, when she started to melt in his arms he kissed her harder, pulling her flush against him. The arm he had wrapped around her neck slowly traced forward until he could run it down her collar, which made her shudder and moan into his lips.
Everything about it was so intoxicating he hardly knew what he was doing as he lifted her up off her feet and practically tossed her onto her bed. She let out a short shriek as she bounced once before he was on top of her, pushing her down into the bed, too much pent up sexual frustration coursing through him to think better of his actions.
Lucy let out a gasp and then a moan as his hands roamed over her body sending shock waves of pleasure shot from every touch, grope, and kiss. It was so exciting and forbidden feeling that she felt that familiar rush of building pleasure overtake her and it was at Gray Fullbuster's touch. She'd dreamt about this way too many times. He just had that bad boy 'I don't care' look and feel about him that she could help but want to break through. She wanted to see that intensity and ferocity he fought with aimed toward her in the shape of desire and need.
Little did she know he felt the same way and then some. He couldn't believe the situation he'd gotten himself into. It was like winning the lottery, being in bed with Lucy like this, feeding off each other's excitement and desire as it rose higher and higher until it reached that boiling point that you couldn't return from.
Lying in Lucy's bed, trying to catch his breath, Gray tried to figure out whether he was dreaming or not. His head was still spinning and his heart racing as Lucy moaned next to him, rubbing her face with her hands, clearly trying to orient herself as well.
"Sorry, I don't think I did a great job of helping cool you off." Gray said, unable to help himself. He had to break the silence and it was the best light hearted and non-idiotic thing that he could think of.
Lucy snorted next to him before slapping him on the shoulder.
"Shut up!" She laughed, smiling at him with that beautiful big grin of hers that she only got when she was truly happy about something. He couldn't help but smirk in self-satisfaction.
"Luce," he asked a few minutes later as she snuggled up against his side, tracing a circle around his Fairy Tail mark on his chest.
"Hmm?" she replied lazily, looking up at him questioningly with those large brown eyes.
"Do… I mean… what is… what I'm trying to ask is…" He awkwardly said while trying to come up with the right words to ask what she thought they were.
"I think I like the idea of spending my free time with you… as a couple..." She replied slyly. "Though, can we not tell the others, at least not yet. I don't want Juvia to try and drown me… again. I really like you; I just kind of like living more."
Gray couldn't help but laugh, wrapping his free arm around her. "Sure, it'll be our little secret; at least for now."
Lucy smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. This was going to be a challenge to keep to themselves. He wasn't sure he'd be able to let her out of his sight after today. However, he'd make it work. They'd make it work.