DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

WRITER'S BLOCK: Whee~! An epilogue! It's because I just love epilogues and behind-the-scenes. And because I love you guys so much, this is a present I'm sending with all my love. Hope you like it!

WARNING: I'm not sure what rating I would give this but to be safe I'm going to rate this somewhere between T and M. Watch out for some provocative and suggesting writing. Kids, this chapter isn't for you. You have been warned.

-EPILOGUE: EVEN CLOSER-
"Never get tired of hearing that..."

The blonde turned on her bed to get comfortable. The three-hour nap she had wanted to get was unfortunately disturbed by the sudden aridity of the air in her room.

She grunted as she turned again, wiping the sweat that now trickled on her forehead. She tried to cool herself by flapping her hands over her face and generate wind. It wasn't enough.

Since when did her room get so uncomfortable, you ask? – Since she moved in her boyfriend's house, that's when.

Lucy lazily sat up, eyes half-closed. She looked outside the window of the dark room to see that it was already twilight. She smiled. In her old home, neither the sunrise nor the sunset could be seen because of all the buildings that surrounded the place. The view of the river, however, was lovely during dusk but nothing beats the view of the orange sun sinking down the horizon as the moon takes over its place, accompanied by the song of the night creatures of the forest.

No wonder Gray didn't want to move, she thought to herself, it's so peaceful here.

The blond was still getting used to her new place, having only spent two days there. Although she'd slept over a few times and stayed there temporarily when Gray was injured, the thought that she was going to live there permanently was still very estranging.

Lucy breathed in before finally getting up and out of the room where she was greeted by the view of the kitchen. Over at the stove, her boyfriend bent over, probably cooking something for the two of them to eat for supper.

She smiled. Of all the things Gray Fullbuster was good at, he was best at taking care of her. Of course, she had also tried her best to help out with the expenses and the cleaning. Now that they were under the same roof, they had to divide the responsibility like that.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Gray looked behind him and smirked.

"You're sweating," he greeted, and then went back to his cooking.

"It's always so hot in there during afternoons," she replied, "I could never get decent naps."

"And in the evening? Can you sleep well?"

"It's still a bit dry at night but it's bearable."

Lucy leaned on the counter beside him and watched as the ice mage stirred the contents of pot. He put some on the ladle, blew, and gave it to Lucy to taste. The blond smiled and put two thumbs up.

"I told you that you could stay in my room, right? It's more ventilated in there," Gray suggested.

Lucy swallowed and looked away sheepishly, "You're a pervert, Gray…"

"I d-didn't mean it like that," he said, pinching her nose as lovingly as he always does, "I meant that we should switch rooms, idiot girlfriend of mine…"

"O-Oh…" she blushed and smiled sheepishly at him.

Gray's black eyes met with her dark brown ones and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment then the ice mage nervously lowered his face to hers in an attempt to kiss her.

"Gah—!" he exclaimed and immediately moved his arm away from the hot pot. He had accidentally stuck his elbow on it.

"Are you okay?!" Lucy asked, coming to his aid right away. She immediately put a damp cloth around his elbow, "You're really clumsy."

"L-Let's just eat…" he suggested, "We'll talk about your sleeping problems later."

Ten o'clock. Outside the house, it was all silent except for the crickets that were singing eerily. There was neither breeze nor rustle of the trees; just the crickets—in perfect harmony.

And because there was neither wind nor breeze, that night, Lucy found it really hard to sleep. At least the night before it was drizzling and it was cold. Tonight, it was very dry and hot and Lucy could not sleep at all. Her pillows and her nightgown stuck to her skin because of the sweat.

Lucy bit her lip, got up, grabbed her pillow and went out of the door into the dark kitchen. She easily passed it and the living room with little effort as she got on her tiptoes. She breathed deeply as she knocked on the only other room inside the house: Gray's room.

Not even knowing if he was awake or not, Lucy opened the door and peeked inside. She could hardly see as it was equally dark inside, except for the moonlight that entered through the window. She could, however, see the ice mage's silhouette sitting up and facing her direction.

"Gray?"

"What's wrong…?"

"Uhm…" she started, and then felt a bit embarrassed about herself, "It's not as bearable as I thought…"

It was so awkward that Gray couldn't move but only remain stiff as a statue in his own bed. Beside him, Lucy also lay awake and motionless, trying to get some shut-eye. The two stared at the ceiling of the dark room, apparently not talking to each other but exchanging deep breaths every now and then.

"Can you sleep?" Gray asked after a while, "Should I leave?"

"Should I?" asked Lucy and turned on her side to face him, "I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?" he simply turned his head to look at her face as it reflected the yellow light from outside, "Don't sweat it…"

"But I am sweating, though," she joked and laughed.

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Gray forced a sarcastic laugh, "Real funny."

"Shaddup…" Lucy said, slapping his chest lightly. She was aware that she does not tell very good jokes but for him to laugh at her like that was embarrassing.

Lucy then realized that her companion was not wearing a shirt and so her hand rested in his bare skin. She was able to touch the wound on Gray's chest that he had gotten more than a month ago. It had closed but it hadn't completely healed yet. The Stellar Spirit mage ran her fingers across it.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

"Not as much as it used to…" Gray said, smirking as he, too, turned on his side to face her.

"That's good," she said, "But I guess it'll leave a scar?"

"Most probably. But that's okay," he assured and pulled Lucy closer to him into a tight hug, "It'll remind you how much I'm willing to do for you."

"You're so corny it gives me goose bumps," she said but smiled and blushed anyway. She rested her head on his chest comfortably, "I love you."

"Never get tired of hearing that," Gray answered and pulled back to smile at her.

Despite the lack of light, Lucy could see him gently smiling at her. Lucy pulled his face closer and kissed him gently. The ice mage kissed her back.

All of a sudden, the soft, slow kiss became a fast and longing one. Gray pulled Lucy closer while the latter clung to his neck. One of Lucy's hands travelled to caress Gray's cheek, passing gently over his ears and making him break the kiss with a gasp. The hair on the back of Gray's neck stood on end and he smiled at her. She sheepishly smiled back and bit her lower lip.

Gray laid Lucy on her back as he moved on top of her, but was careful enough not to crush her with his weight. He could feel his heartbeat hasten; he could feel Lucy's as well. He examined her face. Her eyes held both fear and yearning, her lips quivered as they split into a toothy smile.

The blonde's hands moved to his cheeks and pulled his face closer and they kissed. It started slowly once more, and then gradually hastened pace as if each wanted to crush the other. Lucy could feel Gray's body heat reach her skin through the thin nightgown that she wore. Hands quivering, Lucy pulled Gray's pants belt off. As quickly as she did, the ice mage's left hand had successfully taken off her nightgown.

"Ha!" Lucy exclaimed in embarrassment, which made Gray stop. Tears fell from her eyes as she gasped for air.

"You okay?" he asked, wiping her tears for her as she seemed to be incapable to letting go of him.

"Yeah... G-Go on…" she whispered and rested her head on his shoulder.

Gray became silent for a while, trying to weigh out the situation. Then, he smirked and whispered in her ear, "Yes, ma'am."

Lucy shut her eyes tightly as she felt Gray moving again. Somehow, she was filled with bitter-sweet emotions of fear and excitement. The few novels she had read had told her that the first time was always going to be a bit scary, especially for the females. But that didn't matter anymore. She knew Gray was a gentle person to begin with. And she trusted him with all her heart. She knew he was never going to hurt her.

Gray pulled away, reached for the covers of his bed and wrapped it around Lucy who was not wearing anything at the moment. Then, he sat up, took his belt and buckled it around his waist.

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up behind Gray. What was happening? Why wasn't he doing anything? The girl flushed a deep shade of red and bit her lip.

"Gray…?" she started, "Aren't we—?"

The ice mage simply turned around to look at her, hug her and kiss her on the forehead.

"Not tonight, Lucy…" he smiled, and then fixed the cloth that covered her, "Not tonight."

"Are you mad at me…? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, "I'm sorry. I was just…"

"It's okay…" Gray assured her, "You didn't do anything."

"But then, why are you—?"

"It's my decision," he said, "I want to do it right… And by that, I mean, when we're married."

Lucy heaved a sigh. "Gray…"

"Go on and sleep here. I'll sleep in the living room."

Gray walked away and Lucy, drapes and all, ran after him and gave him a back hug. The ice mage held her hands tightly.

"Love you, Luce…"

She laughed and repeated the words he's said to her a while back, "Never get tired of hearing that…"

-END'S END-

WRITER'S BLOCK (2): Well, that was awkward. I had to battle against myself in writing this chapter, as I'm not used to writing scenes like these. Heck, I have trouble writing kiss scenes, how much more something like this?! But I guess it all ended well, didn't it?

Gray, you're such a good guy!

Thanks again for reading. With this, 'Another Shot at Love' (ASAL) is completed. It has been wonderful entertaining you. Hope to entertain you guys more in the future. This is , signing off…

For now…