Gray was worried. His mouth was drawn into a frown as he searched the crowd for a shining head of golden blonde hair. Beside him, even Natsu looked more serious than he usually did; a sure sign that trouble was brewing. There! Elbowing his friend to get his attention, Gray made a beeline towards Lucy, Natsu following close behind.

As always, Lucy knew they were approaching without even turning around. Gray had yet to figure out how. His and Natsu's supernatural hearing came with being vampires. Lucy, on the other hand, seemed to just have some weird extra sense. She broke off her conversation and spun to face them as they stepped up behind her, but her bright smile faded as she took in the looks on her boys' faces.

"What's wrong, guys? Not enjoying the party?"

Natsu spoke up before Gray had a chance to open his mouth. "That's not it. This party's great! Have you tried the food? It's amazing! And some of these guys really know how to drink!"

Gray nearly slammed his face into his hand. It was unnerving how easily Natsu could get distracted.

"Get back on track, idiot. Lucy, we need to talk to you. Urgently. Something's wrong."

He watched her sigh and set her drink down before gesturing to them to lead the way. He felt sorry for her. She very rarely got to have any fun. Something always went wrong and she was constantly surrounded by enemies. But he supposed that's what he and Natsu were for; protection. Well, among other things.

Gray followed behind as Natsu led them down a side corridor and into a small room that looked like it was currently being used for storage. Apparently Natsu had done his job of learning the building's layout. Gray tried to not appear too impressed, but the insufferable pinkette had already noticed and was looking way too smug for his own good.

Don't start a fight, Gray shouted at himself. Lucy would jinx them both something horrible if that happened.

"Well?"

Gray was thankfully distracted by Lucy's voice. She looked miffed, but he knew it wasn't at them. They were just following her orders.

He glanced at Natsu, who just shrugged.

"You tell her. You're better at explaining this shit."

He nodded. "Yeah, alright. Sorry, Lucy, but you're being targeted by people at this party."

Lucy snorted. "When am I not? Sorry, Gray... Continue."

He couldn't help it. A small smile played on his lips. Her manner tended to clash amazingly with her appearance at these fancy balls. It never failed to make him feel a weird sense of pride.

As he spoke, Lucy sat down on a box. Natsu joined her, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. "I know. But this is different. From what we can gather, it's a fairly large, organised group. The main basis of this plan seems to be to split us up. It's a lot easier to handle us if we're not together. Which is why Natsu and I came to find you as soon as possible."

He stopped his pacing to look at the other two.

Natsu leant back to look at the roof and finished the explanation. "It's actually really hard to not get separated in a crowd like this. And you know we can't leave yet because we're supposed to stay until midnight."

Lucy chewed her lip in thought, sorting through options in her head. Gray leant back against the wall and closed his eyes. They needed a legitimate excuse to hide away together for an hour or two.

Lucy was trying to think. She watched Gray lean against a wall and try to put his brain power towards the problem. However, her thinking was being interrupted by a bored Natsu letting his fingers run along her waist and down her leg. He had never really been the thinking sort; he left that job to others. Suddenly, his movements stopped. She didn't bother to look at him and wasn't at all surprised when he lifted her and placed her on his lap.

Natsu and Gray had both taken a while to show affection, but Natsu had taken to it much faster than Gray had. Even now, Gray tended to be more subtle about it. Natsu, on the other hand, had become as overly enthusiastic with it as he was with everything else. She loved both ways and she had been with them both for so many years now that there were few surprises in their actions. She was an incredibly lucky witch to have come across these two, and even luckier to have made pacts with them both. Not only had she gained two close friends and bodyguards, who were loyal to a fault, the twin pacts had also raised her social standing and helped her to become a powerful and dangerous sorceress.

Lucy's lips parted slightly as she felt Natsu's lips tickling the skin on her neck, placing gentle kisses from her ear to her collarbone. The best part about meeting Natsu and Gray, she finally thought, was that she had gained two gorgeous, passionate, and attentive lovers. In them she had found decades of bliss.

Lucy couldn't stop a small hiss as one of Natsu's fangs pricked her skin, drawing blood. Gray's eyes flicked open and focussed on the pair. Oops. She watched with amusement as a number of emotions played across his face.

"Wha-? Seriously?"

Natsu paused from soothing Lucy's wound with his lips and tongue to send a mischievous smirk in Gray's direction.

"Goddammit, Natsu! This is so not the right time for that!"

Lucy started to giggle but it was cut off by a unbidden groan as Natsu sunk both his fangs into the soft skin of her neck. She internally rolled her eyes. He hadn't broken eye contact with Gray as he'd done it. They honestly couldn't help winding each other up.

"What are you talking about, Gray? It's always the right time for this." His grin was devilish.

Lucy could see Gray's eyes being drawn to the fresh bite mark. An idea struck her. Reaching one hand up, she touched a finger to the blood, and then slowly, delicately, painted her lips red with it.

Gray swallowed. Lucy had jumped off Natsu's lap and was sauntering towards him, her hips swinging sensually.

"Actually, Gray, it's perfect timing."

He growled lowly. Ruby beads traced a path towards Lucy's cleavage, making his head spin. And if he was utterly honest with himself (which wasn't often), he might admit that it wasn't just her. Natsu's blood stained smirk was also doing its best to break his will.

These two were going to be the death of him. And vampires don't die easily.

"How is it perfect timing?" he managed to grind out.

Lucy smiled sweetly up at him. She had reached him and was pressing up against him, trapping him against the wall.

"At this sort of party, there's multiple couples disappearing off for any length of time. Additionally, who in their right mind is going to disturb two vampires feeding? It's the perfect excuse. They would have no reason to separate us until after, and this could take a while…"

Her fingers were trailing down his chest now. His shirt had disappeared not long after they'd entered the room, leaving it bare.

He could feel his resolve crumbling. It really was a good excuse. And he wasn't going to deny that he really liked the idea. But he was supposed to be the cool-headed one.

His eyes landed on Lucy's lips. They glistened with the dark red elixir, calling to him. It wasn't fair. He craved her. All of her. Her body, her blood, her love. He shared it all with Natsu, but that was okay. It was how their odd little group worked and it wasn't like he and Natsu weren't fond of each other either. It just wasn't obvious to outsiders.

Lucy's dainty fingers brushed over his hip bone and hooked themselves over the hemline of his pants. He moaned.

He heard Natsu cackle in the background. He'd won. Gray had lost. For once, though, Gray would accept this loss wholeheartedly. He dropped his head, capturing Lucy's lips with his own, tasting the blood that still stained them. There was no turning back now. Ever since they had offered Lucy joint pacts, she had been the one calling the shots. Neither him nor Natsu wanted it any other way.

Gray's strong hands lifted Lucy from the ground. He pushed himself off the wall and moved her back towards Natsu still sitting on the box, grinning like a fool. He was as smitten with Lucy as Gray was, possibly even more so, and these games were his favourite.

Natsu gladly accepted settling Lucy back on his lap. She barely had to do anything to set fire running through his veins, and the taste of her blood was ecstasy.

As he returned to working on the same area he had claimed earlier, he could hear Gray breathing heavily. Gray's hands were gripping tightly on Natsu's knees, causing him to laugh softly.

Gray and him had grown up together, been turned together, and spent all of their time since then together. They had always clashed a lot, but it was a complex relationship that resulted in the deepest friendship Natsu had ever known. And then Lucy had come along and they had fallen for her together. Affection and intimacy was shared between all three of them.

Natsu growled. Since when did he get distracted by thoughts of the past? He lived for the here and now, and the here and now was fucking amazing. With a bit if cooperation with Gray (and swapping blood with their mouths - he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the way their teeth clashed fiercely), he had successfully removed Lucy's figure hugging dress. The way the damn thing had been accentuating every curve had been driving him insane all night anyway. Unfortunately, now he was realising that her naked body was even worse. He whined. He needed more. Lucy responded by wriggling on his lap earning another sound of complaint from him.

Over Lucy's shoulder, Natsu caught Gray's eye. Payback time.

Gray's head dropped. Natsu reached a hand around, twisting his fingers into the other man's hair as Gray's fangs pierced the soft flash of Lucy's breast. At the same time, Natsu kneaded her other one. She yelped, but didn't move to stop them.

Lucy would have said this was heaven, except that she was pretty sure a lot of elements of this situation would land you a way one ticket to hell. Fortunately, she was very okay with that.

As she felt Natsu nibble her ear, she wriggled again. This wasn't fair. They were tormenting her with their teasing. She was supposed to be in control here. Not that it ever worked out that way. Though they were pact bound, she had never treated the boys as servants, and they were all the more loyal for it. Power was shared equally amongst them. However, that didn't mean there couldn't be a bit of consensual power play.

Both of Lucy's hands reached out, threading into both pink and black hair, and yanked. She was rewarded with matching gasps.

"This isn't what I meant when I said it would take a while, and you both know it. Stop being cruel."

A sly, lazy grin formed on Gray's face in front of her. "Us? Vampires? Cruel? Never!" he defended, faking insult.

"Lucy!" Natsu followed with a whine in her ear. "Let me go! I'll be good! Or bad. Or whatever you want."

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle. Natsu was like a puppy sometimes. A very violent puppy who liked to chew all his toys, but a puppy nonetheless. She released him and tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. She moaned as he bit her again. Gray used her momentary distraction to break free of her grip; she was happy to allow it as his kisses formed a path down towards where her thighs parted.

It's a well known fact that being bitten by a vampire caused the same effects as sex. Combining both pleasures induced a high that was unmatched by any other experience.

Hot mouths explored Lucy's entire body, leaving crimson trails of blood as they went, wonderfully painful bites immediately soothed by caressing tongues.

Finally, as Natsu returned to his favoured site on her neck, Gray changed tactics. An artery high on her inner thigh called to him, and it was without hesitation that his teeth sought the blood inside.

Lucy cried out, desire shooting through her like both fire and ice. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she felt the wetness of blood, saliva, and her own juices mix together between her legs. Her senses felt hyper aware. Unfortunately, this meant she heard the voice just outside.

"Lady Lucy? Where are you? There is something if the utmost importance that I must confer with you about."

All three lovers turned to look as the door to their abandoned storage room creaked open. The man who had interrupted froze upon spotting them.

They were a sight to behold. Two powerful, handsome vampires, mouths dripping with blood, glaring at the intruder for having disturbed their meal. And Lucy as radiant as she was terrifying. One of Natsu's arms was around her naked waist, holding her close, as one of her hands caressed his face, and a foot rested on Gray's shoulder. Her hair had long ago fallen from its elaborate placement and now framed eyes that blazed with absolute fury.

"Sir, if you do not turn around and leave right this instance, I will cut you down myself! Get out!"

He didn't need to be told twice, whipping around and bolting from the room like a field mouse faced with a room full of cobras. No one at this party had any hope of standing up to the Sorceress and two of the strongest vampires on the continent.

Lucy was determined to not allow the mood to be ruined. With a renewed smirk, she kissed both Natsu and Gray in turn until they were both blind with lust and then set them to task in returning her to her desired state. They did so with unmatched enthusiasm and it wasn't long before the interruption was forgotten and Lucy was once again begging for release.

Natsu was well aware that there were very few occasions in which him and Gray could work perfectly in synch without bickering. Most fights they got into didn't count as serious enough to force them into harmony, and their fucking was usually aggressive and violent. However, the one thing thing that guaranteed their cooperation with one another was pleasing Lucy. They revelled in it, in coaxing her to scream for them. They needed nothing for themselves, she always made sure they were rewarded later. This time was no exception, despite the slightly unusual circumstances.

Natsu let his hands and mouth run over every inch of Lucy he could reach. A gasp and keen escaping from her full lips let him know that Gray had begun ministrations of her core, and he smirked into her soft skin.

The feel of skin on skin, the smell of blood and desire, the sounds of encouragement, the sight of bodies entangling. The goal was to saturate her senses until she shattered. And they were well practiced at it. Lucy's nails dug into his skin, marking her territory, showing her approval. Her moans echoed in his ears as he kissed her jaw. She was so close. He could see it in the way she writhed, bucking her hips and arching her back, subconsciously seeking the end.

She would have to wait; they weren't going to let it end yet. A whining groan of complaint confirmed that Gray had calmed his attack, backing off slightly. This was the game. Natsu's own lips brushed Lucy's ear.

"Beg, Lucy. Beg us for what you want."

They were hers, but equally, she was theirs and just sometimes it was worth confirming that.

"Ah, please… Please! Natsu… Gray… I need it, please!" Her words tumbled out through gasps, voice hoarse and thick.

Natsu caught Gray's eye and they both grinned, their sharp teeth flashing wickedly.

The clock struck midnight.

Teeth sunk deep into arteries and nipped at swollen pearls pulsing with sensitivity. The screams of pleasure were only just drowned out by the Grand Bells tolling their call of time.

Panting, three lovers lay on the floor of a storage room, slowly regaining senses lost to desire.

Lucy hummed to herself, satisfaction making her feel languid while she stroked hair of the men either side of her. She thought that if they could, they would be purring.

They were fire and ice, these two; so different in so many ways, and they clashed often. And yet, they were remarkably similar. She had never known one without the other and knew that they rarely did anything separately. More, she loved them both, for everything that made them the same and unique.

Sighing, and ignoring protests, she removed herself from their embrace in order to redress.

"Told you it was a good idea. Shouldn't have questioned me, moron. Can we leave yet?"

Lucy turned, amused, to see Natsu smirking triumphantly at Gray, who, with a roll of his eyes, responded by forcefully planting a fist in his best friend's face. Natsu's undignified squawk of protest earned a snort of laughter from Lucy.

"Don't call me a moron, idiot."

Before Natsu could return the hit, Gray was on his feet. "Lucy, I'll help you get that dress back on," he offered, gliding towards her.

She nodded her appreciation, letting her gaze linger on them both. Shirtless, pants riding low on their hips, their sculpted physiques represented the pinnacle of power that they embodied. With the image of them floating in her mind's eye, she offered Gray her back in order to have her dress relaced.

"Not quite yet, Natsu," Lucy stated, answering his earlier question. "We have to go back to the main hall and make a brief appearance. Show we're still here. But it only has to be for a moment, and then we may depart."

Natsu scowled in response. "Fuck, I hate these stupid social rules. Everyone here hates each other, why the hell do they pretend otherwise?"

Lucy chuckled. "Don't think too hard about it. It won't be long. And when we get home, we can continue this game." She winked at him over her shoulder.

This answer seemed to be sufficient. Natsu's expression glazed over for a moment, then he was on his feet, ready to go.

A peck on her temple was the silent communication that Gray was finished with her clothing. Chances were the poor dress would be torn to shreds before morning. It wouldn't be the first to suffer under the impatience of these two.

Steeling herself for false smiles and dangerous small talk, Lucy exited the room and headed down the hall, flanked by the two deadly vampires she entrusted with her very life. She grinned, something flashing in her eyes. Her world was a bloodthirsty one, but this sorceress enjoyed every second of it.