Thank you all so much for your support with this story! I love hearing your thoughts and ideas.
This story will be GraLu for a couple chapters, just until LoLu can kick in.
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Lucy woke up around seven o'clock. She was happy to see that she had a coffee machine, even if it was an expensive Keurig. It gave out coffee, which was all she needed. She put food in Plue's bowl and made herself a piece of toast.
After her simple breakfast, she changed into a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail. While she put her running shoes on, Plue yipped and danced around her, exciting for their morning run. And, after his leash was secured, they were off doing just that.
While running, Lucy took in everything around her. She would see older couples walking, children already up and playing in their yards, and bakeries already starting to cook the day's goods. The sun was almost up, so a pretty shade of orange painted the sky. She was happy that she decided to move to Magnolia. Her good feeling had been about more than just her half-heart tattoo.
When the two passed a park, Lucy decided to stop for a break. She found a bench and sat down, tying Plue's leash to the one leg. It was a retractable one, so she let it out the whole way so he could run around. She saw that her shoe was untied, so she reached down to tie it.
"Is this spot taken?"
"No," she said without looking up. She messed up the first time, so she blushed, knowing that the stranger was watching her. She quickly tied it a second time.
"What's your name, Cutie?"
Lucy looked up and glared at the man. He had spiky orange hair and was wearing a suit with the jacket slung over his arm. Her eyes narrowed, not liking what she was seeing. "Don't call me 'Cutie'."
The man smirked and put his arm around her shoulders. "Of course, Beautiful," he said smoothly.
Lucy shrugged away from his arm. "I'd prefer that you don't call me anything if you're just doing it to hit-on me," she said. "And it's rude not to introduce yourself first."
The man smiled wide, clearly amused with her. "Leo Celestia," he said.
"Your name even sounds like you're a player," she said, rolling her eyes.
Leo looked at her with shock. "Don't you know who I am?" he asked.
Lucy stood up and grabbed Plue's leash. "You just said who you were, not that I care anyways," she said. "Go hit on another girl."
She then jogged away, leaving Leo confused and alone.
X
When Gray knocked on Lucy's door at eleven-thirty, she answered with a sour face. He was surprised, to say the least, but after sitting on her couch for ten minutes, it was clear that it wasn't him who upset her. While getting ready she would stomp, groan, and mumble to herself.
He decided that it wasn't funny anymore, so he got up and crouched beside her. She was looking at her jewelry box, looking at earrings. "Okay, I'll bite," he laughed. "What happened?"
Lucy gave a deadly glare to a pair of pearl earrings. "When I was at the park this stupid guy sat down beside me and insisted on calling me things like 'Cutie' and 'Beautiful.' Then he told me his name and asked if I knew who he was. Like I give a damn about that pervert."
Gray chuckled, which he received a pointed look for. "You're going to get that a lot since you're an attractive young woman," he explained, making her blush. "Speaking of which, you're not even ready yet. Even if you are gorgeous, you can't expect me to wait around forever."
Lucy laughed and hit his shoulder playfully. "In my defense, you never actually said what time you were coming over." She picked up a pair of pink topaz earrings and fished them through her ears. The three small gems were encased in a silver back and dangled, the smallest on top and the largest on the bottom. "I just need to do my hair and I'll be ready."
Gray followed her into the bathroom, admiring what she was wearing. She had on a light blue skirt that had pink flowers on it. Her top was a low-cut, basic white shirt. A thick brown belt was tightened around her waist, and her shoes were gray ankle boots with a three-inch heel. She left her hair down, but she was putting on a little makeup. He was happy to know that it was just a touch of lipstick and some mascara.
"Are you ready?" Gray asked.
"Yeah, I'm all set," Lucy said, turning around and smiling at him.
He realized he was looking her chest and quickly smiled back. "We're taking your car," he announced, snatching the keys from the counter where she tossed them the night before.
Lucy was about to tease him, saying that if it's a date he should take his own car, but she knew that he just wanted to drive her fancy car. He was clearly the one who wanted her to get it, so it made sense. After grabbing her purse, she followed him out to the car.
"What kind of place do you want to go?" Gray asked. "I'm starting to guess that you don't like anything fancy, but if that's what you want it's fine."
Lucy laughed. "No, I don't like fancy. Can we just go somewhere laid-back?" she asked.
Gray smirked. "I know just the place."
He drove towards the center of town. It was only a five-minute drive before they were pulling into a parking lot. Gray picked one closest to the building, no doubt so it would be seen. He hurried around and opened the door for her, making her blush.
When they got to the front of the building, Lucy gasped. "Fairy Tail?" she asked.
Gray smiled. "Have you heard of this place before?"
Lucy nodded. "I mean I know that it's a famous, exclusive place, but I don't know exactly what it is."
"It's like a club," he said with a shrug. "We have our own gym, bar, pool, movie theater, and anything like that. And yes, very exclusive."
"So you're a member?" she asked.
Gray lifted his shirt up, showing her a mark on his right pectoral. "The marks are optional, but a lot of us get them." He lowered his shirt. "Are you ready?"
Gray was amazed when he went to the Heartfilia Manor. Everything was bigger and better. At Fairy Tail, Lucy was the one amazed. Nothing was expensive or new. There were old picnic tables around the room, an old bar at the very back. The stairs beside it led to everything else Gray mentioned, she assumed. She could see barrels of alcohol rather than bottles, old glasses instead of new, shiny ones, and the people weren't high-class. She was dressed the same, if not better than everyone there. But everyone was laughing and smiling, something she never saw at "home."
"Do you like it?" Gray laughed. He put an arm around her waist and walked towards the bar. She blushed when she saw everyone looking at them. He didn't seem to mind at all, though. He just took them straight towards the smiling woman behind the bar. "Hey, Mira," he greeted her.
"Gray!" she said with a smile. "It's good to see you. You didn't stop in yesterday. Were you busy on a job? I didn't sign you out on anything."
Gray laughed. "It was a job, but not one you're thinking of." He looked at Lucy. "Lucy, this is Mirajane Strauss, the barmaid here at Fairy Tail. She helps the Master with paperwork, too, so I guess she's the secretary, as well."
"It's nice to meet you, Lucy," Mira said with a smile. She looked back at Gray. "So is she what you were busy with?"
Gray blushed, which Lucy found amusing. "Not like that, Mira. She moved into the apartment next to mine, so I was helping her move in."
Mira nodded in understanding. "So now you're having lunch to celebrate her moving in?" she guessed.
"We're on a date!" Lucy hurriedly blurted out, surprising Gray and Mira. He smiled down at her, happy that she considered it a date. He didn't want to, just in case she wasn't thinking that way about the day, but clearly she was.
"Well you two can sit wherever you want and I'll make sure everyone leaves you alone. Just wave me over when you're ready to order," Mira said.
Gray put his arm back around Lucy's waist. "Do you want a table or the bar?"
"I guess the bar," she decided. She was sure that if they sat at a table Mira wouldn't be able to keep people away. She had only been in the room for five minutes and she could already tell that they were all loud and obnoxious.
The two sat down and Lucy looked at the menu, deciding what she wanted. Gray knew the menu like the back of his hand, so he just watched her with a smile on his face. Her face finally lit up, which let him know she made her choice. He called Mira over so he could tell them their order.
Mira just walked back into the kitchen to make the food when there was a shout, then someone sat beside Lucy. She was startled while Gray just rolled his eyes. "Can't you see I'm busy, Flame Brain?" he asked, annoyed.
"It's not like you're on a date," the man laughed. "I mean, you couldn't get a pretty girl if you tried. Juvia is about as good as you get."
"Lucy, this is Natsu," Gray said, introducing the two. "Natsu, this is my girlfriend."
Lucy blushed and agreed.
Natsu laughed. "You know, the world is turning around. You have a girlfriend who is actually attractive." He pointed his thumb towards the entrance. "You know what else is crazy? Someone in Fairy Tail has a Jaguar. I've been asking everyone but no one knows who it is. Who here actually has enough money for that? We don't get that many jobs!"
Lucy coughed awkwardly. "That's actually mine," she said.
Natsu didn't have time to be surprised because Mira came out right after that, food in hand. He scurried off, not wanting her to catch him. She made it very clear that she didn't want anyone interrupting their date.
While they were eating their food, Lucy took the time to ask him about Fairy Tail. "I heard you guys mentioning 'Master' and jobs. What are they? Isn't this just a club?"
"Makarov is the owner of Fairy Tail. I'm not sure when we started it, but we all call him Master. As for the jobs, none of us actually have jobs. If we do, it's not constant. A lot of times people who need odd jobs done give requests to clubs like us and people can do them for money. It's really helpful for people who don't have work all the time. Like I do ice sculptures for people, so I don't always get business. Natsu is a firefighter, so that's just volunteer work. Some people do just come here for the activities and to drink, like Loke."
"Who's Loke?" Lucy asked.
Gray pointed at a guy that was sitting a few tables over.
"Leo?!"