Lessons in Love » NaLu A.U.

chapter » nineteen

Seeing Gray in a faux police uniform had Lucy rather taken aback. After a moment or two of just standing there in the lobby, Gray finally took a breath to speak.

"Okay, so I might be a stripper." He said, his shoulders lifting and falling into a simple little shrug. "What's your point."

That was Lucy's point. "I thought Natsu was kidding when he said you were a stripper. I--I just thought--"

"That I prefer to be naked? There's that, too." The ravenette rolled his eyes in an all too relaxed motion. "Natsu doesn't know. Erza does, but trust me when I say I wasn't too keen on telling her."

Lucy lifted her hands up to her shoulders in a gesture of surrender. "Believable. Would you be up for explaining after your--session?"

Gray was silent a moment before snorting in laughter. "Mavis, blondie, please don't call it a session. I'm not a prostitute."

The blonde pouted her lips softly, having not meant it that way at all; then again, she was a bit of an oblivious girl. "You remember where my apartment is. Just come by when you're done. With your clothes on."

The fake cop before her tipped his hat at her before securing it over his waterfall of black hair again. "Yes, Miss Lucy." He assured her. Jabbing his thumb into the up button on the elevator, Gray rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment.

"Good." Lucy confirmed with a nod of her head. Her mail felt heavy in her sweating palms.

Gray stepped into the open elevator, his hand pressing up on the buttons. He stood there in silence for a moment, slipping his fingers through the waist of his black belt. "Well? You coming up or not?"

Lucy's eyes widened in realization that just standing there would do her no good. "Right." She said quickly, jogging over to hop inside the lift with him.

The blonde felt her cheeks heat up for a moment. "It's just it kinda seemed like we already said goodbye--"

"I know." Gray chuckled, comfortably staring at the reflectively gold doors in front of them as they ascended.

Lucy's chest rose and fell shallowly as she hugged her mail to her chest. Sure, this was an odd situation to be in, but she felt more than lucky that she knew Gray, let alone befriended him. Because things would be much more awkward had Lucy been riding the elevator with a stripper she didn't know at near midnight. At least now she could say she knew that stripper. And she was oddly proud of that fact.

Lucy Heartfilia, friends with a stripper. She must have written that in her dream diary when she was eight.

Pressing her lips together was all she could do to restrain the smile creeping up her face.

∞

Her smile diminished five hours later when she was more than tired and answered the door to an equally exhausted Gray. Leaving the door open for him, Lucy walked away into her apartment. "There's glitter in your hair."

Gray was locking up her front door when his eyes widened. He pulled out his phone, looking into the dark glass of his screen to shake out the sparkling flakes from his hair like dandruff. Clearing his throat, Gray kicked off his shoes and followed her. "How was your night?"

"It's three in the morning and I'm talking to a stripper." Lucy shrugged. She scooped loose tea leaves out from their tin and dumped it into the top of the colander. "Pretty good I guess. You?"

Gray leaned against the kitchen wall as he watched her work. "Fairly decent. I made money to make girls squeal without even having to touch them."

"Lucky you." Lucy drew out semi-sarcastically. As the tea brewed, she looked over her shoulder at Gray's smug face and gestured him over. "Come on, wash up. Are you hungry?"