A/N Riiiiight! I know I said I'll update White Dragon Slayer's Mark soon… *bows* Please be patient with me! ~,~ I have to mend my Gray/Lucy heart first, ne? Just this one time, onegaishimasu!
Okay, this fic is beta'd and enhanced by Fiamatta Montague (Thank you so much again for the quote! You always inspire me with your quotes ^_^) and is dedicated to IloveCelestialIce for sharing that awesome GraLu moment in the Fairy Tail light novel – I promise to find a copy of that!
This story was first rated K+ and not K. And just to be safe, I changed it to T.
Yo, anon. Thanks for your concern, ne? :)
DISCLAIMER: Nope, I'm still not Hiro Mashima. :)
THE GRAY EFFECT
Lucy couldn't stand it any longer.
Damn it, her dirty mind was such a pain in the ass.
Unconsciously, a wistful sigh escaped her lips as she locked her eyes on a certain ice mage that has been haunting her dreams since Kami-knows-when.
Shit! There it goes again.
She immediately shook her head back to reality.
Wake up, Lucy! You silly girl!
But woe is her!
Her eyes went all dreamy again as she openly ogled at the ice mage who was currently engaged in a brawl that occurred regularly at the guild.
Who could resist that well-formed chest, well-defined arms and finely-chiseled abs? Sure she was used to Gray stripping – ooh, not to mention how she'd seen him stripped to nothing the first time they met.
But lately, ever since they got back from Tenrou Island, not even a day had passed that she didn't think about him. Heck, she must be going crazy because every time she sees his godly features, a stir of awkward emotions start invading her system - and yeah, she knew this had to stop or else she might really need some serious help.
So, she decided to spend the day by making a list of Gray's stinking habits that'll mark the end of her twisted craze – Yep! She's not oblivious about this and even knows and admits she likes him – though not out loud.
At least she's honest to herself.
And she couldn't help but wonder how Juvia would react if she learned about her attraction towards Gray – she'd be lucky if she got out alive after this.
Focusing her eyes towards her current obsession, Lucy finally decided to start making her list – it's now or never.
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Number 1: He's an Exhibitionist. Check.
That's a total turn off. Lucy nodded vigorously to herself.
But why – with big emphasis to this word – wasn't she turned off?
The upshot was the opposite. Yes, just like Juvia…
Instead of being freaked out like she'd usually be seven years ago, she found herself enjoying the view of Gray's exposed body like it was a piece of magnum opus.
Damn, now she's turning into a voyeur? Totally like Juvia.
Is this some kind of a Gray effect?
If it is, she must find a cure… fast.
"Checking Gray out, Lu-chan?" Levy's cheery voice woke her up from her trivial little stupor.
Shit! She's been caught. Did Levy just ask her about Gray?
Her blood rushed up to her face, unsure of how to answer, "O-of course n-not, Levy. W-what made you think that?" Her voice had failed her. Curse the land!
A knowing smile crossed the solid script mage's face as she nudged the blonde celestial mage teasingly, "You were doing it so openly, you're almost drooling."
"E-eh?" Lucy almost yelled as she wiped the imaginary drool off her mouth.
Really? Was she drooling?
Levy stifled a laugh as she tapped Lucy's back. "I was just kidding, Lu-chan!"
The celestial mage heaved a sigh of relief, well. What could go wrong even if Levy knew about it? She's one of her most trusted friends. "Levy," she called out in a low voice.
"Hm?" Levy hummed, "Need help with what you're doing?"
Just then, Lucy realized, Levy was stretching her neck, eyes directed to the list she was making.
Boy was she pathetic.
She just unconsciously doodled hearts around the word, Exhibitionist.
Curse it!
"You really like him?" Levy's eyes grew wide in realization; her tone evidently conveyed that it was such an interesting discovery.
With her face as red as a tomato, Lucy sighed in defeat. "Yes." She admitted just like that.
Levy almost squealed in delight – good thing Lucy was quick enough to stop her before anyone suspects their weird shenanigan.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Levy susurrated in a hyper manner. "I never expected you…" she looked at Lucy in disbelief and then dragged her vision to the ice mage and then back to Lucy again, "…to Gray? Kyaaaaa!"
"Shh, Levy. Somebody might hear you." Lucy warned her friend, face flustered in both embarrassment and awkwardness. "That's why I'm making this list. This stupidity has to stop – fast."
"Hm, now that I think about it…" Levy's voice instantly turned serious, she tapped her chin with a finger and stared at Gray. "Isn't it weird that Gray never had a girlfriend?"
Lucy raised a brow. Never?
"Really?"
"Yeah," The solid script mage continued, "As far as I remember, Gray was quite popular to the girls – aside from Loke. And well, he was a close friend of Loke but I never heard of him flirting with anyone before."
A light bulb appeared over Lucy's head as she mentally analyzed Levy's observation. "Maybe he's gay?"
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Number 2: Probably a gay. Check.
Now that she thought about it, Juvia had been chasing him for some time now but why does it seem that he was ignoring her feelings?
Juvia's a nice girl – she must admit to that. Although,when it comes to Gray, she have no qualms turning into a fan-obsessed slash stalker slash lovesick girl.
But despite all that, she is a strong, attractive, commendable mage.
Surely, Lucy would understand the suffering of Juvia from being ignored if she liked Natsu, that fire-breathing idiot is as dense as a rock so it's no wonder if her too obvious advances would be left un-noticed.
Sadly, much to Lucy's dismay, it's not Natsu that Juvia likes - it was Gray.
And Gray is never and will never be as dense as that idiot.
There are only two explanations that Lucy could think of as the reason for Gray's unresponsiveness towards Juvia - it's either Gray isn't interested with Juvia or… he isn't interested with girls at all?
Her heart preferred the first.
"Gay?" Levy mused out loud, "No way, Lu-chan. Gray is just like most men, he could appreciate a woman's body." A blush crept across her cheeks, "I always catch him blushing every time you'd end up naked – thanks to Natsu."
Lucy was sure her face couldn't get any redder than it was.
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Number 3: He's a pervert. Check.
Aha. That might be true.
There were a few instances that Lucy thought Gray was being a pervert like that one time during the Lullaby incident. He was the only one that noticed hers and Virgo's flying skirts – well, maybe that's because he was the only guy around. And also that one time in their acting job, when Natsu burned her dress off and left her standing naked in front of the audiences, that look on his face definitely said he was totally enjoying the view. She saw the same expression again when Virgo changed her clothes in front of him in the Tower of Heaven.
Okay, screw few. There were a lot of instances like these.
"That's…" the blonde's brain had denied her access to her vocabulary box.
Clear your head, Lucy.
"D-don't mention things like that, Levy-chan. It's embarrassing." Was the only thing that came out of her mouth.
She heaved another sigh as she glanced at Gray again.
This time, her eyes had caught his. Her heart almost skipped a beat, damn it. He flashed her a smirk – she loves it when he smirks, then she heard someone yelled – probably Cana, "Gray, you're clothes."
Just then, the ice mage looked down, finding himself clad only with his boxers. He almost gagged, making Lucy laugh.
"When did that happen?" was his loud scream as Natsu charged at him again.
"Perverted ice brain!"
Then again, another brawl had started.
"I really hate that odd habit of his." The blonde mage blurted out in a very low voice, "It's making me go crazy."
She heard Levy giggled beside her. "Isn't he cute?"
"No way!" Lucy protested half-heartedly. How the hell was she going to overcome these stupid feelings if she'd find them cute? "Oh right!"
She wrote another addition to her list.
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Number 4: He makes ugly expressions each time he'd realized he's naked. Check.
Nah-uh! Lucy's totally in denial.
What a liar?
Just so she could complete her list, she had even labeled those cute expressions that made her heart beat fast as ugly?
There's no way it was ugly.
In fact, she loves how he reacts during awkward circumstances like these. It was so innocent, like he never intended to strip in the first place – damn this Gray effect.
"You really think it's ugly, Lu-chan?" Levy asked ogling at her list.
Lucy reluctantly looked at Levy who in turn, stared back at her. "W-well… I-I don't know."
A giggle escaped Levy's lips again as she tapped Lucy comfortingly on her shoulder, "So, what's next?"
The blonde mage huffed.
This is getting more and more difficult.
"Ah!" She brightened up like a great idea just popped out of her cracked up head.
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Number 5: Because he's Gray - the guy who stole my heart. Check.
Levy almost squealed again but restrained herself. She noticed that the brawl had died down.
"That damn Gray!" Lucy cursed as she pulled her blonde locks like a psycho.
Ever since she was a child, she had always dreamt of her first love as someone comparable to a prince charming.
Eh? Gray Fullbuster is far behind being a prince charming as how they were described in Fairy Tale books.
But damn, wouldn't she prefer Gray over some Fairy Tale Prince Charming?
Again, she shook her head vigorously and cursed herself mentally. What was she thinking?
Concentrating on the list, her breath escalated as her heart hammered inside her ribs. Damn to hell! Are these even enough reasons to get me snap out of my own little ruse?
"Erm, Lu-chan?" Levy called her attention in averseness.
She held her hand up in front of Levy's face and focused her eyes on the list. "Wait, Levy. You agree that these aren't enough, right? Should I put more reasons why I should hate Gray?"
Levy clasped her hand with hers and let out a worried laugh, "A-actually, Lu-chan–"
"Ah, I see. I've been wondering what's keeping you busy here, Lucy…"
The celestial spirit mage froze.
That voice? That familiar manly voice – nope, he's not talking about being manly and stuff, so definitely not Elfman.
She looked up and brought her gaze to the spot where the brawl was currently – Crap! All she saw was an empty space and Erza sitting on one table enjoying a piece of her own strawberry cake and a certain dragon slayer lying by her foot.
"W-what?" was the only word that she managed to come up to as she immediately crumpled the paper at hand.
"Is that true?" she felt his breath against her ears.
Was he standing behind her and leaning over her shoulder all this time?
Since when did he get here without her or Levy noticing?
"T-that's what I was trying to tell you, Lu-chan. Gray's behind you…" Levy chirped in, an apologetic smile plastered across her face.
Lucy could tell all her blood had rose up on her face, she could feel cold sweat starting to form on her whole body.
"Can I borrow Lucy for a while, Levy?" Gray asked as he pulled the blonde mage by her wrist – much to her dismay and embarrassment.
"S-sure…" Levy smiled, letting go of Lucy's hand.
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It was the longest walk of her life.
Apparently, Gray had brought her somewhere in between the top floor and the roof – she's somehow thankful… Because… aren't confrontations supposed to be made in private? Imagine how much shame she would have suffered if Gray had confronted her in the middle of the guild.
"Uh… uhm…" she started, with her back facing him, frightened to turn and face the man on her list. This is probably the worst scenario she got herself into in her entire existence.
In a swift motion, Gray snatched the paper from Lucy's hand. As he read through each numbers; he gave out a hearty chuckle.
"Seriously, Lucy? What's this?"
Moment of truth. Damn it!
Lucy wished there was a hole anywhere beside her where she could crawl in and hide. Maybe she could call Virgo and ask her to make one?
Or just face him and get this over with today?
"A l-list if it isn't obvious?" she croaked out, annoyed at how her voice was betraying her. She turned around and pushed him away, flustered she said, "You see, I really hate you because of your stupid habits!" she eyed him in determination, meeting his own set of orbs – this must be it. There's nowhere to go but straight ahead. "You're an incomprehensible jerk for making me feel this way." She said in a hasty speed while clutching her chest.
Finally, when she saw his mischievous eyes and that oh-so-devilish smile, Lucy turned her head away as she babbled away in exasperation.
"Damn it, I hate everything about you."
An absolute lie – obviously.
"But still…" she continued but restrained herself.
There's no way she'd say that out loud – especially to him.
Of course she wasn't expecting him to over react with some kind of outburst but what she didn't expect was his laughter after that long meaty speech either (Long? Nope! Meaty? Haha, who was she kidding?).
Oh, what had she done in her past life to be punished like this?
She rolled her eyes in disappointment? That's it?
Show's over, folks.
As she was about to walk out, she felt his – what was that again? – well-defined arms wrapped around her shoulders, her back against his well-formed chest and finely-chiseled abs – number one and three on the list. Check.
Oh, dream. Was she dreaming? If she is, don't ever wake her up. Don't. Ever! Please!
He leaned his head onto her shoulder, blush creeping across his face. He was grateful she couldn't see him – number two and four on the list. Check!
A smirk formed on his lips, the perfect moment had finally arrived… Because he is Gray Fullbuster – number five on the list. Check! – he'd have to throw his own list on why Lucy Heartfilia wouldn't like someone as lame as him to be her lover.
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"Thank you, I really like you too."
A/N Off to update other stories... Sumimasen! :)