An Icy Fetish? - GrayLu

Chapter One: The Mystery of Lucy??

"WHAT WAS THAT, ICE PRINCESS?! YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"

"BRING IT ON, FLAME-BRAIN, I'LL ICE YOUR ASS TILL IT FALLS OFF!"

"I'LL GRILL YOUR ASS TILL YOU-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

The armored red-head smashed their heads together, knocking them out momentarily. Lucy watched with mild interest as the Requip Mage started yelling at Gajeel to back off, saying yes, Natsu is unconcious, and no, you cannot mess with him while he is helpless.

Lucy shook her head in amusement and walked over to the bar. "Hey Mira!"

Mirajane turned from where she was washing some dishes and smiled at her. "Hey there, Lucy! How are you doing?"

Lucy smiled back kindly. "I'm doing alright, I guess. I need to take another job soon so I can pay the rent by the end of this month. What about you? Oh, and I'll have the usual, please!"

Mira nodded, preparing Lucy's strawberry milkshake. "I'm doing well! If anything, I'm just a little exhausted from Lisanna-"

"-talking about Natsu? Haha, yeah. She does that with me, too, though it seems like she's doing it to me so much to kind of tell me to back off of Natsu..." Lucy giggled at her own thoughts and shook her head. "I'm not even into him, though! He's like the brother I never had."

Mira nodded, then paused. "Hey, Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

She grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Who do you like?"

She stared at her, knowing that answering this question was a very dangerous move, and she gulped before speaking. "W-Why do you wanna know?"

Her smirk never left her face. "No particular reason...just curious."

Suddenly, the seat next to Lucy was occupied, and she froze when she saw who it was.

"O-Oh, hi there, Gray! Whatcha up to?" I'm so fucked, she thought, now Mira's gonna know and bug me about it forever!

"Hey Lucy! And nothin' much, just bashin' in flame-brain's head---"

"Hey! I can hear you, dumbass!" The salmon haired boy hollered from across the room.

"Shut up already, your voice is giving me a headache!" Gray sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, so I've been meaning to talk to you, Lucy."

She spluttered like an idiot. "W-whaaaaaaat? What do you mean? Did I do something? Did I---"

Gray placed a hand on her shoulder as an attempt to calm her down (it didn't work, obviously). "No no! You didn't do anything wrong! Chill, jeez," he said, chuckling at her reaction.

"I didn't...do anything wrong?"

"No, you didn't."

"But...I did do something?"

He sighed. "Look, I was just wondering...you've been acting a little strange lately, at least whenever I'm around, or so I've been told---"

"What?! So you've been told?! Who told you what?!"

"Lucy, calm down, damn!" He took notice of her reddening face and put a hand to her head (he didn't know that she was actually just blushing, the idiot xD). "Hey, do you feel alright? Cause' your face is red and you feel a little warm...here," he released my forehead and looked at Mira. "Hey Mira, can i have a clean dishtowel?"

"Sure!" Mira chirped, and tossed him a towel. He caught it, setting it on his lap and then creating several small cubic-shaped ice cubes and wrapped them in the towel. Just as he was about to place it on her head, she leaped backwards, knocking over her seat in the process.

Gray gave her a worried, yet also skeptical, look. "Uhh...Lucy?"

She laughed nervously, noticing the lingering stares she was getting from her curious guild mates. "Sorry! I just...uh...remembered something! I have to, uh...go back to my apartment! To clean! Yeah, that's it. So, um...bye!" She dashed out of the guild hall and left everyone confused. Except for Mira, who was giggling away in her little area behind the bar. Gray heard her and turned around, staring.

When Mira stopped, she noticed his stare. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just waiting for you to tell me why you're laughing."

She sighed. "Lucy...she is just too adorable. The scene she created was really amusing."

"Do you know why she left so suddenly?" He had a feeling that she knew more than she was letting on. Which is normally the case with her.

"Well it certainly wasn't because she had to tidy up her apartment," she said, smirking.

"Well then why-"

"Gray, dear, just go find out for yourself. I know you like her-"

"W-What?! No I don't!"

"-and I know you're worried about her, so go and make sure she's feeling alright, if you're that concerned. Nothing bad will happen!"

He sighed, seeing that it was pointless to argue with her when she knew she was right. "Alright, fine. I'll be back later, okay?"

"Oh no, take your time! Don't rush yourself!" As soon as he left the guild hall, she smirked mischievously. Juvia, who had been hiding under a table nearby while observing Gray, decided to come forward and address Mira.

"Mira? What's with that strange look?"

Mira shook her head, brushing off Juvia's concern. "Oh, nothing. I just think that Gray might not end up coming back to the hall today."

Juvia stood silent for a few moments, thinking. "Juvia is confused; why does Mira think that Gray will not be returning?"

It's precisely this time when Mira realizes who she is talking to, and that explaining it-the situation that is currently at hand-to Gray's personal stalker would just cause more trouble than the pair (Lucy and Gray) needed.