Stronger Than You (Graylu)

The Team Assembles

Lucy Heartfilia looked around her strangely bare apartment. This was way too weird. What on earth was she thinking, doing this? It was completely ridiculous. It was reckless. This was the type of thing that Natsu would do, not her. 

Her furniture was still in place but all of her clothes and other possessions had either been sold or packed into one of the two small suitcases that sat at her feet. Her rent had been paid to the landlady a whole year in advance despite the fact she knew that nobody would be making use of it, except perhaps Natsu when he couldn't be bothered to walk all of the way home from the guild. 

In her hand Lucy held an envelope with one name on it. Gray. He was the one person that had made her second guess her decisions. She knew that he cared for her, and she certainly cared for him too. It was a tough one, but she believed that this was for the better. Even Gray cant save her all of the time. 

There was two people who she would explain herself to. The second was Gray through this letter. The first would be Cana. Cana would give Gray the letter and tell the rest of the guild why she went. Lucy thought of telling Natsu or Erza instead, but for some reason the card mage just seemed like the right choice. She was logical, encouraging and wouldn't try to tell Lucy to stay. Something told Lucy that Cana was perfect for this.

And so Lucy Heartfilia left her apartment for the last time in a while and went down the street to Fairy Tail before her brain could catch her and make her back out. 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Lucy, something up?" 

The blonde haired mage had just entered the guild hall with her usual smiling face greeting everybody, but something was different. Instead of making her way over to Natsu and Happy she slid onto a bar stool next to a slurring girl in a teal bikini top. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, can I just talk to you outside a second?" 

Her voice was silkily sweet, like she was warming up to some kind of big reveal and Cana felt her stomach drop slightly. Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was actually to early in the morning to be drinking. Or maybe she just knew, something was starting. Whatever it was she shrugged it off and stood, following the blonde outside. 

"What is it, problems with lover boy?" She chuckled before shutting the heavy guild  doors behind them. She didn't receive an answer straight away as Lucy went over to the bush at the side of the doors and from it produced two suitcases. 

"I'm going away for a while"

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"What is it, problems with loverboy?" 

Love Rival. Juvia's head sprang up from the table it had been resting on. Lucy has a loverboy? What if it's Gray-Sama? she thought, her imagination running wild. She eyed the topless mage who was across the room suspiciously. His eyes had flickered to the door resulting in a certain Dragon Slayer gaining the upper hand in their match. It was only a brief second but that flicker was enough to make Juvia lose her mind with worry. 

She rushed to the door and pressed her ear against it struggling to hear. It didn't do much good, she couldn't hear a single thing, the door was soundproof. It had to be with all of the ruckus that the Guild caused. 

"Water Body" Juvia whispered and she turned to water becoming a puddle on the floor, just thin enough to trickle under the door and outside without being noticed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?! Why?!" Cana gasped. 

"It's not permanent, I promise, just for a year or so" Lucy quickly told her friend. "I feel that it's right. I have a lot to think about and I wanna train" This wasn't working how she'd planned. She had this big speech sorted out with everything that she wanted Cana to tell the guild and all of the reasons she had for leaving, but all she could now think to blurt out was that one sentence. She took a deep breath, in and out, then started again.