𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒽ℯ𝓇 𝒽ℯ𝒶𝒹 ⚤︎✯

𝑷𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈

Leaning heavily on her mop, Lucy let out a massive sigh. Cleaning the guild's pool should not be taking as long as it was, but the crew of morons that had agreed to do it with her – aka her team – had somehow mysteriously vanished when it came time to actually do it. Which meant that she had to do it all by herself if she wanted the pool to be refilled to swim in. Normally she would hunt her team down for this slight, but Lucy was so exhausted trying to do it all on her own that she didn't think she had the energy left over to deal with them.

Her progress thus far was minimal. Most of the pool was still coated in green slime, wedged into the mortar between the tiles. Not only was it gross, it was pretty slick as well. Not to mention that she kept having to pause and dump her bucket as it turned forest green from the gunk on her mop. It smelled pretty rank. It was amazing how much grime could accumulate in a pool in just a month. To polish off the tour de disgusting was the absolutely rank stench that permeated everything.

If her memory served, it was Team Shadow Gear that had done it last. Lucy could vaguely recall laughing at hearing about Jet trying to use his magic to clean it faster, only to slip on the slimy pool tiles and go careening across the length of the pool to smash his face into the wall. Now it wasn't quite as hilarious, as she struggled to keep her feet firmly beneath her.

Oh her team was so paying for bailing on this.

"Lucy?"

She glanced up at the sound of her name, surprised to see Laxus staring down at her. "Hi, Laxus," she responded with a smile, glad for the interruption. Now she had an excuse to take a longer break. "What's up?"

"What are you doing, cleaning by yourself?" he asked, his brow furrowed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this supposed to be a group effort?"

"They ditched me," Lucy informed him bluntly. "So I thought I'd get it done by myself, but…" She gestured broadly at the profound lack of progress that was clearly visible. "It's not going too well, as you can see."

"Ah."

He continued to hold her gaze for a few moments, just long enough for Lucy to get slightly uncomfortable, as she had nothing further to say and neither did he. Her gaze drifted to one of the green puddles that sat at the bottom of the pool with her. Stagnant, just like this conversation.

Lucy cleared her throat in an effort to break silence between them. "So… what brings you poolside?"

"I heard groaning out here and came to check it out." He grinned as her cheeks colored slightly. "Hold on there for a second."

Then he disappeared from view, and Lucy was left staring at the place he'd been in confusion. Shrugging, she dunked her mop in the bucket, and then went back to scrubbing. After a few minutes, she heard noises coming from the direction of the guild, and paused.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see Evergreen climbing down into the pool with her. She even had a mop and a bucket in hand. "The boys take longer to get ready, but they'll be coming along shortly as well," Evergreen informed her curtly. "I can't believe your team abandoned you on this. We'll have to give them a talking-to later."

Lucy gaped at Evergreen, not fully processing what was happening.

The other woman let out a laugh at her expression. "Laxus said that you were toiling away down here by yourself. What kind of guildmates would we be if we didn't lend you a hand?"