Gray and Erza were on their way to visit Lucy at her apartment. It was that time again—the end of the month. That's right, Lucy's rent was due soon so they were on their way to invite her on a mission. It was a high-paying job which would certainly please her, and there promised to be plenty of action which would please everyone else.
"Lucy's gonna love this one." Gray enthused "Five hundred thousand jewels, making her portion more than enough for her rent and it's in a forest so we can't do too much damage."
Erza gave him a hard stare. "That remains to be seen. As I remember it, the last time we were in a forest for a mission, you froze half the trees, while Natsu burned the other half."
"Yeah, after you chopped them all down first." the ice mage mumbled inaudibly.
"What was that?" Erza asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, nothing." Gray quickly answered.
By now they had reached Lucy's apartment building. Once inside, they quickly ascended the stairs.
Opening the door without knocking (as was the usual for them), they found Lucy laying on her stomach in bed, the covers pulled up to the middle of her back. Although it looked like she had been reading in bed, something seemed "off" about her appearance.
Gray was the first to pinpoint one of the differences.
"Good book, Lucy?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Oh...uh...yeah, it's really good." Lucy answered, looking at the book as if noticing for the first time that she was holding it.
"I'm impressed, too."
"Eh? ...Why is that?" Lucy asked, confused.
"Not many people can easily read a book when it's upside down."
"Heh, heh...No wonder it wasn't making any sense" Lucy laughed nervously as she flipped her book right side up.
"Lucy, are you feeling unwell?" Erza asked, stepping closer and peering intently at her.
"Of course! I'm fine!" Lucy answered, a little too quickly. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you're sweaty, your hair is a mess, your makeup is smudged, and it appears that your shirt is on backwards." Erza stated matter-of-factly.
Lucy looked down at her chest to see her tag poking back at her.
"Huh, of course it is." the celestial maiden sighed to herself.
Erza furrowed her brow in concern for her friend's state of mind.
"You know, you're right Erza." Lucy said. "I am unwell. That's why I wasn't at the guild today. Maybe you should go before you catch something..."
"Lucy, where's Natsu?" Gray interrupted. "He wasn't at the guild today either."
Lucy looked flustered. "Wh-what makes you think I know?"
In answer, Gray silently held up one of the fire dragon slayer's well-worn (and well-known) sandals by a strap.
Lucy chewed her lip for a while. "Maybe he left it here the last time I kicked him out?" she finished lamely.
Gray just smirked cockily at her.
Erza eyed the suspiciously large bulge next to Lucy under her blankets.
Quickly, Erza peeled back the top of the blankets to reveal...nothing, except for a few large pillows.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked Erza in puzzlement.
Erza and Gray were not to be distracted. They began exploring Lucy's apartment in earnest, checking under the bed and in her bathroom and closets. They were both looking more than a little frustrated.
Lucy still hadn't moved from her spot when they came back to her bedroom.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked in a bored tone as she put down the book she had been reading.
Erza and Gray let out defeated sighs and shook their heads in the negative.
"Be at the train station tomorrow morning, we've got a job to do." Erza commanded before they both left the apartment.
Shortly after the door clicked shut, Lucy felt a familiar weight on her bed.
"I thought they'd never leave." Natsu said as he lifted Lucy's hair and placed several hot kisses on the back of her neck.
Putting her book on the nightstand, Lucy turned on her side to face her secret lover.
"They almost caught us this time. You forgot your shoes." she admonished.
"And my scarf too, I see." he said as he pulled it from where Lucy had been lying on it. He wrapped it around the bedpost. "Good job hiding it, by the way."
"I think they know." she frowned at him.
"Yeah, but they can't prove it." he answered, smiling wickedly at her.
"Tell me, why are we doing this again?"
"What, this?" Natsu asked as he squeezed one of Lucy's breasts through her shirt, earning himself a squeal from her. "Cause it's fun and exciting, of course!"
"No, baka." she said as she slapped his hand away. "Why are we hiding it?"
"Ah, well, that makes it even more fun and exciting." the pink-haired man said huskily as he turned his blonde teammate back onto her stomach. He pulled back the covers entirely, exposing Lucy's completely bare bottom. The sight was getting him 'all fired up'. As he shirked off his one-sleeved jacket and began to unbutton his pants, he smiled at his good fortune.
"Now where were we?"
"Argh, this is so damn frustrating!" Gray groaned as they walked back to Fairy Tail. "Where the hell does that fucker disappear to?"
"He certainly is a slippery little devil." Erza confirmed.
"This is driving me crazy." Gray said as he pulled at his hair. "How does ash-for-brains keep outsmarting us?"
"Ah, you're forgetting about Lucy." Erza pointed out, smiling slightly. "Her brains combined with his heightened senses make them formidable opponents."
"Don't tell me you're actually enjoying this?"
"I like a challenge." Erza nodded and clapped Gray on the back, making him stumble and nearly fall. "Don't worry, we'll win in the end."
"How can you be sure?" Gray asked, wincing at the pain in his back.
"Because Natsu is Natsu. It's just a matter of time before he angers Lucy or messes up in some other way."
Gray contemplated this and had to agree.
"Now, I see you took his sandals with you. I found these under Lucy's bed..." Here, Erza pulled out a pair of flame-printed boxers. "What say you? Shall we display them at the guild?" Erza looked downright devious.
"Alright, but I'm not touching those."
"Deal."
