[GRAYLU] If Only It Was You

4

The breeze blew lightly among the Island of the Moon, wafting parts of shipwreck about the white, sandy beach. It was a gentle wind that felt quite pleasant as it blew gracefully through the leaves and caressed the faces of the sleeping humans. Birds, tinted with a purplish hue, squawked overhead- peering curiously at the three unconscious bodies and an unusual blue cat.

Lucy twitched and her eyes fluttered open- her head throbbing with pain. She slowly sat up and looked around, spotting Natsu, Gray, and Happy a few feet away from her. How lucky they were, she thought, brushing away the granules of sand that clung to her clothes. They had survived the shipwreck.

She walked closer to the men and kneeled down, observing them momentarily before disrupting their sleep. "Hey, Natsu." She whispered, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him. The dragon slayers eyes opened abruptly and the man bolted up, jerking his head side to side.

"What happened?!" He exclaimed, waking the cat that slept so peacefully beside him. She sighed and ignored the oblivious, dense fire-user- moving on to the next individual who she was reluctant to even lay a finger on. Lucy gazed at the man's face, his sharp features becoming surprisingly gentler during his slumber. What a waste it would be, to have this face disappear once she wakes him.

Her hand was about to touch his shoulder until his eyes burst open, a scowl quickly developing on his face once he saw the proximity of the celestial mage to himself. "What are you doing?" He asked, undertones of viciousness apparent in his tone. She caught the maliciousness however and frowned. Why was he so cold all of a sudden?

"I was about to wake you. No need to be so bitter, Silver."

He watched her figure as she stood up and stomped her way to Natsu, clearly frustrated by his personality. Gray smirked and stood up as well, cranking his neck to the side to relieve the soreness in his muscles. This is was how their encounters should be: bitter and vehement, instead of reminiscent and light-hearted.

I couldn't risk her falling in love with my handsome self, he joked internally and strode to where the others were. Once Natsu spotted the familiar raven hair, he moved into a fighting stance- with a threatening look plastered on his boyish face.

"Hey, you stripping bastard! Don't try taking us back or else imma smack you again!" The salmon-haired boy shouted, clutching his hands into a fist and waving it in Gray's stoic face. "Don't worry fire prick, I'm going to help you guys." He growled, grabbing onto the fiery fist and drawing it away from his face. Although Gray didn't actually want to go, he still had to make sure he could get Lucy out alive for the reward. Two million jewel wasn't going to fall into his hands if he brought back a lifeless body to her father. Though it would be amusing, he still wanted his money.

"Well, if that's the case then let's go find the village, so we can get the details of the quest." The girl said and began to walk into the forest, with the rest of the group following her, silently.

~

They entered the village near evening and sat quizzically in their temporary shack- processing the crazed words of the old village chief. When she first heard it, she thought he had been playing a practical joke. But, the look on his face made her doubt herself infinitely. The celestial mage groaned in frustration, running her fists through her soft, blonde hair.

"How the hell are we supposed to destroy the moon?!" Lucy exclaimed, forcefully shoving her clothes into her bag, in hopes of relieving her anger and absolute mortification. Gray growled in agreement, stripping off his pants in the process. He carelessly threw it somewhere and smirked when he saw the green cargo pants drape across the head of the blonde girl- who possessed a disgusted look on her face. "Why are you stripping?!?!" She yelled and hurled the clothes into his face, her chest heaving in embarrassment. Her pale cheeks were suddenly flushed, averting her eyes away from the near-naked man- with only boxers as his only garment of clothing.

"Because it's time to sleep? It's not that strange." He reasoned, and the reasoning made Lucy's head bobble. Was he joking? Can't he at least put on a change of clothes?!

"Have a bit of courtesy, you're sharing a room with a girl- if you had forgotten!" She asserted, handing him some of Natsu's extra clothes, which she didn't know why he brought because he never seemed to change out of his typical outfit. The ice mage ignored her gesturing hand and swiveled his head around, arrogantly.

"There's a girl here? Why can't I find her?" He said mockingly, grazing his eyes over her head. She huffed and threw the clothes at him, which he dodged skillfully. A scowl played on his face and he gave her a stern look. "Hey, stop being so up-tight. I'm not gonna lay a finger on you. Never in a thousand years."

"Better be that way, Fullbuster." She growled, watching his masculine figure lay contently on his futon. She watched intently. The man had been acting strange around her recently. Initially, he was nice and charming but now, he was simply frustrating! Ever since the day in the infirmary he had been behaving differently around her. It seemed like all his remarks now were condescending and simply rude. Was his pleasant personality just a facade? Was he finally showing his true colors? Lucy frowned, wrinkles creasing between her eyebrows. She had genuinely thought that she was making a new friend, even helping him connect with the guild. But, she guessed she was wrong.

An envious glare suddenly took over her features when she saw the two men snoring- falling asleep the moment their heads grazed the pillow. How could they do so at such ease? Yawning, she approached them quietly and glowered when she saw that the only futon remaining was between the both of them.

"Why didn't I get my own room?!" She whispered harshly, climbing into her spot and glanced side to side at the two figures. Natsu, fortunately, was sleeping on his back, but his arm and leg stretched out to hog her space. He was snoring loudly, resembling a wild animal, and faint flames were coming out of his mouth.

The latter was on his side and facing her, with the same gentle look he bore when she first met him. Her negative feelings toward him quickly softened when she saw the beads of sweat dripping down his pale face. He inhaled sharply and mumbled strings of incoherent words, his brows furrowing in fear.

"Mom... Dad... Ur..." He murmured, gripping the sheets in his sleep. She watched worriedly as his body was shaking, his hands reaching out to nothing in particular. Unconsciously, her hand drew near his own and she blushed when he suddenly grabbed it- their hands intertwining. It was warm and his large hands felt nice against her own- but she quickly flushed at her own thoughts. She felt her heart pump faster as he pulled her in slightly, his warm breath tickling her button nose. Possibly, was she dreaming too?

"Don't leave me.." He mumbled weakly, his raspy voice sending melancholy throughout her senses. She could feel his pain, her empathy messing with her heart as it ached. It wouldn't be wrong to comfort him, right?

She patted his hair, his surprisingly soft locks of raven strands grazing against her slender fingers. "I'm here. It's okay." She whispered back and smiled faintly once she saw his panic cease- his face calm and collected once again. The grasp on her hand loosened and she quickly pried her fingers away, swiftly bringing the covers unto her face. Her face burned and heart palpitated- she wanted so badly to squeal out in embarrassment. Did she really do that?!

How could she foster such malicious feelings for him in one second- then suddenly she feels bubbly sensations for the enigmatic mage?! How did he do it? She drew the blanket away from her face slightly, to gaze at his handsome face once more. Was this his true self? Was he just putting up a fake personality to hide his vulnerability? She frowned at that. She wished he would stop putting up walls and defenses- so she could figure out who he was really. If he was a good person, or a bad person. If he truly disliked her, or if he was just faking it in front of her. And why did she care? Did she like him?

It was all too confusing. But, she was sure on one thing and one thing only.

Gray was hiding something from the guild, and she was going to pick the lock.