Here we go, loves! The much awaited sequel to "Denial, Denial", a one-shot I made a few months back. Reading that baby isn't really a requirement to understand the premise of this story, but it's a suggestion. For one, that ficlet is written from Gray's POV whereas this one is entirely from Lucy's, so reading both will give you a glimpse as to how they see each other personally, and... uh... hmm. Are you getting this? Bah! Just do whatever you guys want. xD

Anyway, this takes place around a month after Gray's poor attempt at denial in "Denial, Denial". As mentioned, this will be from Lucy's POV, so the story is to be narrated pretty much from her standpoint alone.

Oh, and for the record, I've been proofreading this for a few times already, but I might still miss a few errors. If you encounter such, don't chew me out, please. I'll beta this again when I have the time, I promise.

Standard disclaimers apply.
Rated T for... Well. Just because.

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Chaos Theory
By: Sechskies

This is not a love story, but it is a story nonetheless.

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one.

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Lucy wonders about Gray sometimes.

Not that she particularly likes him or anything, because that is just absurd. Sure, he's generally nice and he may be a little cute as well, but he's, well, he's... Gray. He's just too weird for her taste.

...Then again, what precious nakama of hers isn't strange in some way? After all, weirdness seems to be an imbued quality for the wizards of Fairy Tail — heck, even she admits that she has her 'moments' at times.

If so, does that mean being weird is actually normal?

Suuuure. In their guild, at least.

Well. Okay. All right.

So, Gray is 'normal' — by Fairy Tail standard.

There.

And perhaps his subconscious stripping tendencies aren't all that bad; he does have a nice body anyway (fairly tanned skin, broad shoulders, slender built with toned biceps, firm pectorals, and a well-sculpted set of abs — not that she's looking), which gives the female population (Juvia, mainly) something... delightful to check out. It's basically 'fanservice', as Levy puts it.

But no, she doesn't like him, she's sure of it. He may be Fairy Tail-normal, but he's still not normal-normal (and by that, she means her own standard), so thank you, but really, NO.

Then why does said mage keep on invading her thoughts?

Oh, Lucy's got a pretty good reason for that.

For starters, Gray has always been some sort of an enigma to her. Unlike Natsu, whose simple-mindedness and one-track way of thinking are constant (and she's proud to say she's beginning to get the hang of his craziness!), Gray is the complete opposite. He's secretive and cranky and too darn confusing, his mood swings so unpredictable that they greatly rival a girl with PMS.

And when a teammate of hers is THAT baffling, really, can anyone blame her for spending a (huge) portion of her time struggling to understand how his mind works?

A big note on the 'struggling', which basically translates to "trying really hard, but failing miserably".

And then, just when she thinks he can't get any more confusing than that, weeeell... he did. Gray actually did. A month ago, to be specific.

Great.

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At first, Lucy made no big deal out of it and resumed to acting the same way she normally did around him, insisting that the ice wizard's newly adapted behavior had nothing to do with her, but certain events reluctantly made her think otherwise.

They started out small and quite subtle or casual even, like something a friend would have no qualms doing (albeit a bit more extreme in this case) — sitting or standing close (if not next) to her, being the first to shield her from an enemy's attack (despite her spirits' presence), barging in to her apartment much more than usual (meaning, Natsu and Happy), carrying her luggage on missions (when he should be helping out Erza instead because she's always got tons), and giving her the best pillows during sleepovers (and she loves him for it — but not like that!).

When she decided to divulge these observations to Lisanna one day, the petite lass laughingly told her that there was — in fact — nothing small or subtle or casual about them. Lucy would have liked to hear more, but for some reason, her friend refused to expound on her claim further, smiling mysteriously at her instead. This baffled her, but only by a bit, and she was quick to dismiss Lisanna's reaction as part of her 'spirited' nature — the girl has the same playful personality as her older sister, after all (and curiously enough, both of them seem to enjoy teasing her about almost everything).

Still, she would have liked at least a little help. Gray's 'illness' (because she doesn't know what else to call it — Condition? Transformation? Identity crisis? Hormonal imbalance?) was starting to muddle her up, and the much more extreme and stumping instances haven't even occurred yet at that point in time!

If only she knew, Lucy would have welcomed these succeeding... mental blows a bit more prepared.

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Like that time last, last week when one of their clients suddenly groped her butt — before she could even react, Gray had already frozen the pervert's hand to solid crystal and proceeded to threaten him of giving his balls massive frostbites if he were to do it again. Of course, the poor lecher cowered, and when Lucy approached Gray to say her thanks, the black-haired mage gave her the same (if not, more) intense glare and began to berate her for her naiveté and 'inappropriate' choice of wardrobe.

"When exactly did wearing a bikini on a beach turn inappropriate?", she wanted to ask that time — but was too dumbfounded (or scared?) to do so.

Stupid Gray... He certainly didn't have any problems with Erza and Juvia (who managed to follow them, or stalk Gray again) getting hit on by the same perverted client, and they were also wearing the same 'inappropriate' outfit as her! Surely, she was perfectly capable of protecting herself from perverts (and he better damn well know that!), so why was he picking on her, and only her?

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There was also that time when they were tasked to subdue a group of rogue mages in the woodland borders of Shirotsume Town.

Lucy had summoned Loke for additional aide, who wasted no time in dispatching the hoodlums one after the other before dramatically wooing her (as always).

Really, for a guy who possessed some serious prowess in close combat, Loke was incredibly cheesy with his words of flirtation, which would always make her wonder how exactly was he able to bag so many girlfriends before he came back to the Spirit World. Did he seriously think he could win her over by just his looks and assertiveness?

When she decided that he was getting a bit too touchy-feely for her taste, she reached for Leo's key and prepared to get rid of the troublesome spirit, but Gray suddenly appeared out of nowhere (with Erza, Natsu and Happy in tow), grabbed Loke by the back of his collar, and wordlessly dragged him to a much secluded part of the forest.

She wanted to follow them out of concern (and confusion), but Erza stopped her and said that the two were simply having a man-to-man talk, to which Natsu snickered and Happy cheerily proclaimed that "Gray is gonna kill Loke~", much to her horror (and confusion... again).

She almost fainted in relief when Gray finally emerged from the bushes with a very much alive lion spirit, but after a few minutes of doting on Loke and making sure that he was really unharmed (there was NO way she'd lose her most powerful spirit just because of a stripper with a PMS!), only then did she notice that:

A.) Loke was being unusually civil with her (No flirting? Really? …Odd.),
B.) Gray's face looked much redder than normal, and he appeared to be trying his very best not to look at her and Loke's direction,
C.) Loke would glance at Gray with a sort of gloating and arrogant air to him, and
D.) Erza, Natsu and Happy were watching them with poorly masked interest.

Jeez, WHAT was up with them? Lucy wanted to know, but she had this feeling that no one would tell her even if she begged them to (not that she would — Heartfilia's NEVER beg, right?), so she pretended that nothing was off.

Still... WHAT was up with EVERYONE?

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Ah, and there was also THAT time! Who could forget? Not Lucy, never her. It was the absolute winner, after all.

It was that time just a few days ago when she took a solo mission to pay her rent — working for a week as a waitress in Vanille Bistro, which turned out to be Erza's favorite sweets store.

All was well until her teammates arrived to dine in (or maybe make fun of her and her frilly maid's uniform — something the idiot Natsu and the pesky Happy did, darn them!). Erza was in her own little world of glazed peach tarts and triple chocolate truffle cakes, so she wasn't a bother.

Gray, on the other hand, was a wholly different matter; he was... staring at her—no, observing her, studying her. Seriously, deeply, and — dare she say it? — intensely. Very much so. It was unnerving, and Natsu and Happy's weird (knowing) looks didn't help to lessen her anxiety.

Was there something on her face?

Were her panties showing because of her skirt's apparent lack of length?

She'd just fixed her hair, so that couldn't be the problem... right?

Lucy got so tense and conscious of herself that she couldn't fully concentrate on her job, and she tripped while carrying a tray of assorted desserts toward Table #3, which instantly triggered a domino effect of disasters all around the dining area, ending with a Purgatory Armor-clad Erza going on a wild rampage (and eventually destroying Vanille Bistro) because her precious tray of mini cakes toppled to the ground amidst the chaos and got stepped on by a "merciless criminal" (according to Erza herself).

Said criminal was actually Gray, who got elbowed at the head by Natsu, who was about to beat up some guy responsible for stepping on Happy's tail, who got roughly shoved by a large, muscled man from Table #6, whose shin was kicked by a lithe, old lady, who was soaked with lemonade, thanks to an impish boy from Table #8, who had pie thrown to his face by a girl who seemed to be his twin sister, who slipped on the floor when she stepped on a neglected ice cream that belonged to the snooty teenager from Table #2, who—

—and Lucy can't remember anymore.

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...Okay, she does, but she'd rather forget it, really.

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Ultimately, she got fired, left the wrecked café with a bigger debt, and along with the rest of her team, was not anymore allowed to be standing (or walking, or running, or doing anything, really) within a ten-mile radius of Vanille Bistro AND its owner. It was her most disastrous and embarrassing mission to date, and she had a certain black-haired ice mage to blame for it all.

Of course, she couldn't just go to him and berate him like she normally would — not when he was still glowering at her the whole time they were walking back to the guild, which kind of scared her, so she merely bit her lip (to prevent herself from screaming in frustration) and strode next to Erza (in case he decided to attack her for who-knows-what).

But at that time, more than ever, Lucy was fully convinced that Gray's weird condition has, in fact, something to do with her, and that he was seriously out to get her.

Oh, and Erza's addiction to desserts needed to be checked ASAP. No one should be THAT murderous and destructive just because of some spoiled cakes. But nooooo, she couldn't possibly say that to her upfront — no, no, hell NO. Invoking the Titania's wrath is like cheerfully signing your death warrant. And that wasn't the point anyway!

Yes, the point IS Gray. Gray Fullbuster and his problematic behavior.

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Seriously, what is it with him nowadays?

A month ago, he was very much normal (well, as very much normal as he can get), and they were perfectly fine together like the nakama they're supposed to be: he'd squabble with Natsu and she'd stop them in a tizzy before Erza found out, he'd remove his clothes and she'd throw them back at him just as fast, he'd read her manuscript and she'd push him away in panic, he'd tell her a joke and she'd laugh at them all, she'd smile at him in greeting and he'd grin back...

More importantly, she could casually approach the ice mage without him shouting or glaring or stiffening or running away from her like she had a contagious disease of some sort.

It's weird — HE is weird. What exactly happened to her normally cool nakama?

Lucy doesn't know; she can only wonder.

(Why the sudden change of attitude?)

(Does he hate me now?)

(Did I do something wrong? Whatever it was, I didn't mean it—Honest!)

(Maybe he's on crack?)

(How did he get those rock-hard abs?)

(He's out to get me; I'm sure of it! ...I think.)

And wonder she does.

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"Maybe he's got the hots for you."

Lucy promptly chokes on her iced tea. "S-seriously?" she wheezes amidst her coughing fit. She feels Lisanna's hand rubbing her back for comfort and relaxes—almost! If it wasn't for Levy's reckless comment, that is.

Said mage simply looks at her amusedly. "Why not?" she chimes. "I mean, all the signs — or better yet, symptoms — are there. He's unusually cryptic, keeps his distance but is always there, you know? Aloof, but not really. Um, what else?"

"Steals glances at you?" Lisanna adds helpfully.

"Yes! And he's always stepping in to protect you from enemy attacks, or wild animals, or guild members brawling, or banana peels, or... well, just about anything!" Levy finishes dreamily, hands tightly clasped in front of her chest.

Seeing the stars in her friend's eyes, Lucy shakes her head and chooses to keep mum for a moment, allowing herself to survey her surroundings instead.

Really, she should have known not to confide with the Solid Script mage about her predicament. She may be one of her closest friends in the guild, but being an eternal optimist and all, Levy is bound to warp everything around to some cheesy, romantic soap opera... like what she's doing right now. Even Lisanna is no better; she thought having her join their conversation would put things into perspective, but so far, she did nothing but back up Levy's far-fetched claims.

But who else can she possibly approach without being made fun of? Everyone else is SO out of the question, after all.

Shaking her head yet again to rid herself from such thoughts, Lucy continues to roam her gaze around with bored, chocolate-brown orbs until they chance upon one Gajeel Redfox, who seems to be alternating between eating his bowl of bolts and throwing looks at their direction, and suddenly, it becomes clear to her. Despite her dilemma and inner turmoil, she briefly lets an understanding smile blossom across her face.

"I think that applies to some other guy, Levy-chan," she remarks, earning nothing but an innocent blink from the blue-haired lass. Deciding not to pursue the topic any further (as her friend seems painfully oblivious and really, it's not her place to say anything yet, she deduces), Lucy lets out a sigh and veers their conversation back to its original issue. "Gray is... He's not 'aloof', like you said, and he's more weird than 'cryptic'. Also, he glares at me most of the time, okay?"

The Solid Script user is unperturbed. "But he keeps you safe, right?"

Lucy can't help but scoff at her friend's question. "Too safe! He's getting worse than Loke, actually..."

"Then, there you go!"

"But he also causes me a lot of problems," she is quick to add. "It's like he's out there to get me, ruining whatever chances I have to scrape some money for my rent. And you know how much debt I'm in right now!" Here, she slumps toward the table, resting her head on her folded arms dejectedly.

Lisanna pats her head consolingly. "Well, whatever he's done, I'm sure he didn't mean it, Lucy," When the poor girl merely whimpers in reply, she chuckles. "Believe me when I tell you that the last thing Gray wants right now is your wrath."

"What do you mean?"

"Heh?" the white-haired mage blinks, then mentally slaps herself for her carelessness. "Ah, that's—"

"Araa! What are you girls doing here all huddled up like that?" Mirajane's timing to join their little group could not have been more impeccable. With a grace that can only belong to Fairy Tail's most celebrated model, she disposes a tray of empty mugs to the sink, and approaches the three girls. "Is something the matter?"

Levy shrugs her shoulders. "Lu-chan's having problems."

"Oh, my! What kind of problem?"

"Boy problems." Lisanna answers automatically, grinning.

"Oh, MY~!" the waitress gasps, this time more dramatically — much to Lucy's chagrin. Sheer glee replaces the worry on Mirajane's pretty face in an instant, and she leans toward the Celestial Spirit mage, beaming a little too happily. "So Lucy's actually in lo—"

"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH GRAY!" the blonde suddenly cries out (quite defensively, Lisanna and Levy note with mild amusement), cutting her off. This little outburst earns them a few curious looks from nearby patrons, and thankfully, nothing more; otherwise, Lucy will... well, she'll get angry. And maybe wail like a banshee, as well. Maybe.

"...Gray?" Mirajane repeats after a few seconds, eyebrows raised. She notices the blush beginning to form on Lucy's cheeks, and can't help but feel giddy for some reason. "Did I hear it right? Gray?"

"N-no, I—Gray is, h-he's, um, I mean, he—no! Just NO!" Lucy splutters, flushing even redder.

The flighty waitress tilts her head to the side, ignoring the flailing blonde. "Hmm... You know, I was going to say 'in lots of trouble', but... 'love', Lucy?"

There is a hint of playfulness to her voice that Lucy didn't miss, and her left eyebrow twitches when the older girl gazes back at her, sapphire-blue eyes sparkling in mirth.

Right then and there, she decides that Mirajane is a demon.

"I wonder if Juvia knows about this..."

"NO! Nooo!"

Scratch that; Mirajane is The Demon.

It is here that Levy chooses to step in, feeling sympathetic toward her poor friend (despite the rather entertaining reaction she is showing from Mirajane's ribbing). "Ne, Mira-san, you're gonna break Lu-chan's brain if you keep on teasing her."

"Yeah. Not helping, Mira-nee."

The older Take Over mage relents almost immediately. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make Lucy so upset." she titters, then turns her attention back to the tortured lass.

Lucy mildly loosens up at this, noting the sincere and apologetic expression on Mirajane's face. Now that the teasing is over, perhaps they can have a somber and sensible conversation from this point on.

"So, what about Gray?"

Yes, just like smart and rational women.

"He likes Lu-chan!—"

NOT.

"—At least, that's what we think. Right, Lisanna?"

"You bet!"

Lucy nosedives once again to the counter, arms sprawled uncaringly on the wooden surface. "This is crazy! You guys are crazy!", she wants to say, but a small whimper escapes from her lips instead. She hears Mirajane's airy giggle, and braces herself for another bout of torture.

"Well, I guess that makes three of us," she utters. "If you must know, I happen to think the same."

The bluenette nudges Lucy's shoulder with her elbow. "See? See?" she tells her a bit too proudly.

"Levy-chaaaan..."

Mirajane taps her head this time, catching her attention. She looks up at her with guarded chocolate-brown eyes, to which the barmaid smiles cheerily.

"Ne, Lucy, remember when I told you before that Gray may have feelings for you?" she asks good-naturedly. "I was really serious back then, you know."

"What?" Lucy straightens up from her position to look at the white-haired waitress with a frown. Her eyebrows crease in confusion, before she stiffens briefly, as if remembering something, and shaking her head dismissively. "No, Mira-san, that's crazy, okay? You said the same thing about Natsu, and nothing good came out of it."

"Eh? Natsu?" Lisanna blinks in question.

"Oh, no, it's—it's nothing! Absolutely nothing!" comes the instant reply. When the short-haired girl narrows her eyes at her, Lucy laughs nervously.

"...You're being suspicious, Lucy."

"N-no, I'm not..."

"In any case," Levy intervenes, her voice loud enough for the two teens to cease their staring contest and turn to her. She leans her elbow on the table and rests her chin on her hand as she fixates her gaze at her blonde friend. "Why do you keep on brushing off the idea, Lu-chan? Is the idea of Gray crushing on you that repulsive?"

Lucy's own chocolate orbs widen in surprise. "No, of course not!" she exclaims, staring back at Levy in disbelief. "I'm not repulsed by him. No way!" Gray is her nakama, and she feels a bit offended that the smaller girl beside her would insinuate something so... so wrong (for a lack of a better term) between them. Whatever happens, Lucy will never feel sickened with the ice mage — even if he strips a lot and has the tendency to casually walk around butt-naked.

"Why, then?"

Yeah, that's a good question.

"I... That's, um..."

"Perhaps Lucy already has her eyes set on someone else?" Mirajane supplies out of the blue. Her words visibly enliven Levy and Lisanna, and only make Lucy cringe.

"Ooh, is it Natsu? It's gotta be Natsu, right?" Levy coos, clapping her hands in glee.

Lisanna smirks at this and crosses her arms to her chest. "Really? For all we know, it could be Gajeel."

"Maybe it's Happy? He's cute." the petite waitress adds.

"Or that Blue Pegasus guy you were talking about before. Hibiki, right?"

Lucy rubs her head, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Guuuuys, please..." she starts to whine, when the trio looks at her with the same knowing expression.

"Definitely Loke." comes the inevitable chorus.

"Oh, my God! Enough! J-just STOP, please!" Lucy shrieks, desperate. This is becoming too much for the poor Celestial Spirit mage to handle, and she slaps her hands hard on the counter, cheeks tinted a bright red from mixed irritation and embarrassment. "Seriously, you guys should stop tormenting me like this! I only wanted pure help with Gray, but you just had to go way, waaaay overboard. First, telling me he likes me, then setting me up with other men..." She purses her lips, locking her eyes on Mirajane's flower bracelet just in front of her to keep herself from glaring at any of her peers. "This isn't funny anymore, you know. Gray is giving me mixed signals and I have absolutely NO idea what to make of them! I couldn't ask Natsu or Happy or Erza because they'd always look at me funny, like they know something I clearly don't, which really puts me off. I think even Loke knows what's up, although I doubt he'd tell me anything — they're best buddies, after all, and that leaves me all alone and so confused!" She finishes her rant by scrunching her face in sheer frustration, like a bratty princess about to throw a temper tantrum, but deflates at the last minute and simply breathes out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I hate, hate, hate this..."

Levy waits for the blonde to calm down fully before she opts to start again. "Hey, Lu-chan...?" she calls out slowly and cautiously. "Don't take this the wrong way, but my best bet still goes out to the notion that he may like you."

Lucy sighs again. "You're just being a romantic, Levy-chan."

The bookworm shakes her head. "No, I'm not. I'm actually looking at this objectively," she says, the resolve in her voice evident. "Gray's actions may be weird and scary, like you said, but the thing is, I really can't think of any other reason for someone to act so out-of-character besides developing an interest in someone."

Lisanna nods in agreement, and turns to the blonde with clear, probing eyes. "Take Juvia as an example," she reveals. "She's usually cute and shy... and a little strange too, but when it comes to Gray, she's very protective of him and suspicious of everyone. It's kind of adorable, actually."

"You mean scary." Lucy can't help but add.

"Uh, okay, but you get my point, right?"

"What? That love makes you go crazy?" she counters with sarcasm.

"Exactly."

At Lisanna's quick reply, Lucy gapes at her incredulously, panic bubbling from within her. "No! I wasn't serious when I said that, okay? Love is, love is—!"

"Love is what?" Levy prompts.

Her mini outburst fades into a soft whisper as she bows her head, eyes unfocused. "...Love is... It's too much." she concludes. "Gray can't possibly... I mean, no, he—"

"Oh, quit denying, Lucy!" Lisanna interrupts with a snort. "We're girls; we're supposed to know this!"

Mirajane hums, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "If Lucy is still in doubt, maybe she can just approach Gray and talk it out with him?"

Lucy's eyes widen in fright. "W-what?" she squeaks.

The waitress merely returns her gawp with an innocent smile.

"Yeah, that'll save us the trouble, for sure!" Levy enthusiastically pipes in, then pauses. "Where is Gray anyway?"

"L-Levy-chan!"

"He's on a job with Juvia, but they'll be back soon." Mirajane answers. She notices Lucy stiffen slightly from her seat, but decides not to say anything about it.

At her sister's reply, Lisanna pouts. "Again?" she asks to no one in particular. "I notice he's been taking one job after another recently. Last time, he was on night patrol for a small village in the outskirts of Fiore, then a proxy bouncer for some swanky nightclub with Elfman-niichan."

"Oh, he was also on guard duty at the nearby library last week," Levy adds, shrugging her shoulders. "That was before Jet and Droy came across him dragging a group of frozen bandits to the local police. Another solo mission, no doubt. What's gotten into him anyway?"

Mirajane giggles softly. "You know, I heard Natsu and Happy talking to Erza the other day," Carefully masked mischief is dancing in her sapphire depths as she continues, "They said that the reason why Gray's working so hard is because he wants to give something special to someone." The emphasis on the word 'special' is so painfully obvious that Lucy involuntarily backs away from her.

"Eh? Really?" Lisanna gasps.

From her right, Levy nudges her shoulder again. "See, Lu-chan? There's your proof!" she tells her, her youthful face breaking into grin so wide, the blonde is quite certain that her friend will have severe facial muscle aches later on. "If he's been working so much, it can't be for a guy, right? Unless he swings that way... but I know him well enough to know he doesn't, so it's gotta be for a girl!"

"And he, or any other man for that matter, wouldn't give you something special unless he has feelings for you." Lisanna continues, raising a finger as if to prove her point.

Lucy reaches for her forgotten glass of iced tea and begins to play with her straw. "Well, um, if you put it that way..."

"I think she still needs a little more convincing..."

Lisanna lets out a heavy sigh of her own, eyes closing. "Right. Well. Back to Mira-nee's suggestion then," She turns back to the stubborn ex-princess. "Ne, Lucy, if you're going to be bull-headed about this, why don't you just ask Gray yourself and spare everyone the headache?"

The girl looks at her, alarmed. "No! I-I can't just... just walk up to him like that, Lisanna!" she stutters. "H-haven't you been listening to what I said? Gray is—h-he's, uh, kind of unstable right now..."

Unfortunately, the white-haired mage doesn't back off. "Well, then, you're just gonna have to suck it up, because I really don't see any other way around your problem."

"Yeah, you're such a skeptic, after all. Really stubborn," Levy follows up. "It's best that you hear it from Gray himself."

Lucy opens her mouth to retort, but Mirajane cuts her off when she suddenly squeezes her hand. In return, she doesn't say anything, and simply looks up at her with mixed curiosity and apprehension. Somehow, she knows that their lengthy conversation is finally drawing to a close, and feels a sense of both relief and dread.

"Don't get us wrong, okay, Lucy? We're not forcing you to talk to Gray; it was just a practical suggestion," she assures her kindly. "Whether you decide to do so or not is still up to you in the end, but think of this way..." She pauses, seemingly to mull over her next words.

Lucy doesn't realize that she has been actually holding her breath (and hanging on to her every word at that) until Mirajane gives her a meaningful smile.

This is it!, her knowing blue eyes seem to declare. It is time to drive the last nail in.

"Based from what you relayed to us, and how Gray has been acting recently, it's very clear that he likes someone," The barmaid's voice is soft, yet it is laced with a firmness that leaves no room for argument or negativity. "And Lucy, as far as evidences point, there's a huge possibility that it might just be you."

Lucy gulps.

Gradually, hesitantly, she allows herself to absorb Mirajane's words.

And then—

...And then, she lets herself give in.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Sort of.

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tsuzuku.

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History:
12.15.11 ~ First published.
01.31.12 ~ Corrected typos. Changed Loki's spelling to Loke (the 'official' spelling, they say).
05.11.12 ~ Minor edits. Removed a number of annoying parentheses. :P
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So far so good? I sure hope so! *crosses fingers*

Now, before you say anything, I want the lot of you to know that I had every intention of making a reference to the GrayLu tidbit cunningly provided by Gemini, but decided against it at the last minute. No worries though, because I'm SO gonna include that in the future.

Also, updates will most likely be erratic, I'm sad to say. I have the plot planned out already, but putting ideas into words takes a helluva lot time for me. I'm a slooooow writer, remember? That, and I need to prioritize making some dough for myself because I'm flat broke — a penniless pseudo-writer who seriously needs to ease up on shoe-shopping. (Wow. My pathetic situation kinda mirrors Lucy's, no?) I'm sure you grownups understand. Feel free to put this in ALERT, if you want. :)

As usual, reviews, comments, criticisms, suggestions and the likes are very much welcome. Not only do they fuel my passion for writing, but they also make for GREAT Christmas gifts! Just sayin'. Ciao for now~! *winks*