I don't own Fairy Tail.

Graylu Week 2k16

Day 4: Drunk

He was so drunk. Lucy could see it clearly. He was absolutely sloshed. The way he was waving to the music, completely off the rhythm, with his eyes half closed. She giggled. The view was priceless.

At that moment, Gray decided to join in the lyrics of the song. He yelled and managed to utter two words straightly, then it was a slur.

"'Ey, y'droopy eyes, no sgn-in' for yaaaa!" Natsu, in no better state, cried to his arch-best friend.

"Oyea? Y'no betta, pyro— phiro— pyr— crap, faya-maniac!"

Lucy sighed. They were hopeless, even more while drunk. At moments like that, she was glad beyond belief that she restrained herself from drinking. Such a state was tolerable in men, yet, in women… Well. Not in the well-behaved ones, and as much as she wanted to deny it, she took it from her house. Then, there was Cana… Who was currently seated three tables away, having a game of strength with Max and Nab. Lucy laughed when Max was defeated easily by the drunk and she consumed another beer in one sip.

Sweatdropping, the blonde turned her head towards Gray and Natsu again. That time, they were trying to punch each other, yet, every and each strike landed in the air, causing them to stumble. Finally, Natsu landed on the floor from taking an overly wide swing, making Gray laugh drunkenly.

"I win!"

"Lucy!"

She turned and smiled. "Mira! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just making sure you're okay." Strauss's eyes followed Lucy's line of sight and she smirked. "I see, you're watching them. They're putting on quite a show, eh?"

"As always, those troublemakers." Lucy shrugged.

"Aw, now, don't deny that's not the only reason for you to stare at one of them." Mirajane grinned evilly.

"Mira! You promised to never bring that up again!" The blonde screeched, covering her red cheeks. "I wish I never played that Truth or Dare game with all of you girls!"

In fact, Lucy attended a girls' night at Evergreen's house and, unfortunately, during the Truth or Dare game she had been drawn by Mirajane. Knowing better than to take a Dare from the demon, she chose the Truth; yet, the decision quickly turned against her when Mira asked her about liking Gray. Of course, she had a crush on him, probably always had, still, to let the matchmaking Satan herself know about it in detail was another thing. But, having no other choice, she confirmed her suspicion.

"Come on. I'd know anyway. I have a good nose for love life of others, you know?" The Demon winked and smiled sweetly. "Besides, I'll have a special mission for you, concerning our dear Ice Make mage."

"M-meaning?"

"Look."

They both focused on the gathered crowd, with Gray and Natsu in the center. The fun was becoming a little too much for them, their state exceeding their possibilities. Lucy felt her head spin just by looking at them slumping around.

"See, they won't be able to get back on their own." Mira explained. "So I'm arranging help."

"Oh really? And who else is involved?" Lucy raised her eyebrows, skeptic.

"Lisanna, Erza, Levy, and you."

"Basically, every girl which is single and include in your matchmaking schemes." The blonde moaned.

"Correct. Although you wound me, Lucy." The model pouted. "You know you want to have a go with Gray~"

"Stop. Saying. That."

"Fine. Still, will you take him to his house? You can't leave the poor guy here, no one to take care of him… Lucy?"

Lucy spared one last look at the brunet and felt her heart melt. She couldn't just leave him there to his doom. Also, it was due to Mirajane's tactics, she knew she blackmailed her emotions by saying he would be left there alone. "Huh. Alright."

"Great! Thank you, Lucy." Mirajane clapped her hands, then added in a hushed voice: "Good luck!"

She groaned. She couldn't believe she got herself tricked into taking a drunk Gray home. However, she would never break her promise, and that was making her an easy target for Mira, who used it masterfully.

Three hours later, Lucy was sitting at the bar, talking to Macao and Wakaba. She was sleepy, but was forcing herself to be on guard. Gray was in a much worse state than before, that was for sure. Another certain thing was that he was far from being tired, apparently.

"Hey, Lucy, why are you watching Gray?" Wakaba asked her, moving his brows suggestively.

"It's n-not like that!" She denied quickly. "See, Mira tricked me into taking care of him and taking him home… Because he won't be able to do it himself."

"True that." Macao grinned. "But ohhh, he's a lucky guy!"

Lucy blushed slightly and waved her hand in modesty. It was one of the rare moments when she was not showing off her self-confidence. The men exchanged a sly grin and leaned closer to the blonde from her two sides.

"You know, Gray mentioned something…"

"Like, a few weeks ago…"

"About you."

"What? Really? What was that?" The woman frowned, annoyed by the look exchanged by the older men. It meant they knew something she didn't, and it had her beyond curious now.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Macao teased.

"If you want to know, ask him yourself."

"He's not in a state to answer any question, you know that." Lucy crossed her arms and huffed. "You're just teasing me. I bet there's a trick to that."

"You wound us!" Wakaba sighed theatrically.

"It's true. Ask him later, if you want to. Although maybe he wouldn't be likely to answer you of all people."

Heartfilia shook her head and face-palmed. She got herself in it again. Now the thought was stuck in her mind. "Damn you, guys!"

"Anyway, I think Fullbuster's had enough." Wakaba pointed at the direction of the Ice mage. Lucy followed it and moaned.

Gray appeared to pass away.

"And I'm supposed to carry him?!"

"Well, you did promise to take care of him…" Macao snickered.

"Do I look like a Wonder Woman to you? Or like a culturist?" Lucy exclaimed with frustration. "How can I—"

"Not that I want to interrupt or something, but aren't you a Celestial mage?"

"Yeah, you can summon your cow or the maid and have them carry him for you."

"He's a bull! And I don't want to use them to such a strange thing…" The woman observed as Nab approached Gray and tried to lift him and put him on a bench from the middle of the passage, yet, he gave up, complaining about him being too heavy. She sweatdropped and quickly added: "On second thought, though, I'll call Taurus."

Lucy touched the key and, a few seconds later, the bull stood in front of her with a smile.

"Luuuucy, dear, what can I do for you?"

"Help me carry Gray, please." The blonde pleaded, showing him the unconscious mage.

"Of course! What happened?"

"Alcohol happened." She grunted and lifted herself from her seat. "Okay, thanks for the company, Macao, Wakaba! See you later."

"See you, Lucy!"

"Take care of Gray!"

"Shut up!"

She directed herself to the brunet and watched as her Spirit lifted him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Where to, Lucy?"

"I think his home. Follow me, Taurus."

After a while – and one stop on which Gray had to throw up, making Taurus disgusted – they reached Gary's household. Even though she knew where he was living, Lucy'd never been inside. She pushed the door, but it was closed. Frowning, she started searching for a key around the bushes and on the roof, but found none.

"That's bad." She murmured.

"Try my pants pocket." A weak voice reached her ears.

"What?"

"The key should be there… Unless it fell out at the guild." Gray managed to slur, making her angry.

"If it's not in the pocket, I'm making you run to the guild and back here at once!"

"I doubt he'd make a step, Lucy…" Taurus observed.

"Right." She sighed and touched his pockets without restrain; she was so pissed. Fortunately (for Gray), the key was there and the woman quickly opened the door. Glancing back at Taurus, she smirked and said: "Throw him on the bed, please."

"Suuuuure thing!"

The bull unceremoniously did as told, making the brunet groan in pain, then grinned and bowed. Lucy giggled and sent him away, thanking him. She then approached the man and sat beside him.

"You shouldn't have drunk that much."

"Shut up…"

She blinked. Gray never talked to her that way. Is that possible? He doesn't recognize me, does he… "Can I give you something?"

"Yea, let me sleep and leave me alone, Juvia." Gray grunted, turning his head away.

Lucy nodded to herself. He definitely had no idea who she was. Suddenly, she remembered about the conversation with Macao and Wakaba, and the matter of Gray talking about her… Curiosity killed the cat, but she was in a too perfect situation to let it slip.

"Gray, Macao and Wakaba told me you were taking about Lucy to them…"

"Not tellin'— you… Ugh." He slurred with difficulty. "You stalk her… enough… alr-dy…"

Now, she was amazed. What should she do? She couldn't just feign being Juvia and promise him to leave herself alone if he told her… There was so much wrong about it. She wasn't such a terrible person to deceive others. Thus, she exhaled deeply and said delicately.

"Gray, I'm not Juvia…"

Not expecting any reaction, she was about to stand up and leave, but his head moved slowly towards her and he raised his heavy eyes at her. Suddenly, he snorted.

"What?" Lucy frowned.

"You look like… Lucy…" He laughed to himself. "Love-ly Lu-cy, y'know? Ahaha…"

"I am Lucy." Lovely Lucy? Did it mean Gray was speaking of something concerning her looks? Maybe she got fat and no one told her? Aaaagh! I need to know what he said, I MUST KNOW IT! "What did you tell Macao and Wakaba?"

"Nah, she wouldn't come… here… to me… what for?" Gray blurted. "She knows I'cn take care of myself…"

"Gray!" She had enough and caught his cheeks, stopping his ranting. She placed herself in front of him, her face close to his, his breath brushing her lips. Still, she did not care at the moment. "I. Am. Lucy. Not Juvia."

The man stared at her with hazy eyes, then did something unexpected; his hands shot out to her and, having grabbed her by her shoulders, placed the woman under him on the bed, earning a surprised squeal from her. Gray scrutinized her, apparently in a drunken thought.

"You certainly look like her…" He mumbled to himself. The brunet leaned ahead and put his nose into her hair. She blushed. "And use a similar shampoo to hers…"

"G-Gray, what are you d-doing?"

"See… You can't be her… You would've kicked me off already…" Gray murmured into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Gray." Lucy whispered and turned her head to see him even a little, ignoring her heart pounding in her chest. "What did you tell them? Please. I need to know."

The Ice Make mage appeared to be wondering, calculating. Lucy was both scared and hopeful that he'd realize it was really her; she so badly wanted to know, needed to know. He was behaving as if he was at least attracted to her… Could it be?

Suddenly, he moved and his mouth crashed down on hers. WHAT?! Lucy cried in her mind, her heart stopping and her eyes widening. The man kissed her, he kissed her! In truth, he was still trying to kiss her, although due to the alcohol, it was turning a bit sloppy. Still, she was dreaming about a situation like this… Save his drunken state. Still! She had to save their first kiss! So, she kissed him back, making him grunt in approval.

After a few minutes, he broke the caress and sighed heavily. "You asked what I said to Macao and Wakaba. I told them I wouldn't be able to hold back much longer, because the feelings I have for her only grow each day. I love her… And even though you're not her, I'm glad I kissed you, Lucy, maybe just one time ever…"

Suddenly, he collapsed next to her and started snoring.

Lucy, who was still breathless after the unexpected kiss, almost fainted from the lack of air after his confession. So, it was true. He liked her. No, even loved her! It was like a dream coming true to her.

Suddenly, she snorted and held in the laughter.

After all…

Well. Can you, dear Reader, imagine the surprise waiting for the poor guy when he wakes up in the morning?

Yep. Me, too.

Simply. Priceless.