A Snowball's Chance

Chapter 11

Wendy was a flurry of salves, oils, and bandages as she tried to heal Gray's wounds quickly. What normally would have taken a week to heal was done in a few hours. Gray finally was able to move freely again. The first thing he did was stretch. As usual, he was shirtless and Lucy couldn't help but admire how ripped he was.
"Thank you, Wendy," he grinned and leaned towards her for a hug. Wendy squeaked in embarrassment but decided to go ahead and hug him back. She slipped out of the room and Gray leapt out of bed. "C'mon Lucy!" He grabbed her hand, "You've got some work to do."
~
"Okay, Lucy, today you're only going to be warming up. I don't want you hurting yourself before we get to the hard stuff." Gray instructed.
Lucy nodded. Even though the sun had long since gone down, sweat beaded her brow. She'd already managed to run a mile and do fifty sets of every warm up routine possible. Or so she thought.
"Hey, Natsu," he called,"Come over here so she can get an idea of what it's going to be like."
Natsu said nothing but sprung up from his seat to Gray's side.
Gray explained a few basic techniques and Natsu acted them out.
"Now it's your turn," Gray said turning to Lucy
"Um... Okay so... I hold my fist like this?"
"Close..." he corrected," ...more like...this," he said, bending her thumb.
"Oh."
For a brief moment their eyes locked. Gray realized he was still holding her hand but wasn't sure what to do.
Lucy glanced around nervously,"You're hand is warm."
"Oh! Uh... Sorry, Lu-"
"No, no... It's fine. I'm a little cold, actually."
"Well you won't be for long-"
"Whooaaa! Red card!" Natsu shouted from across the field.
"GAH!" They shouted in unison.
"It's not like-" Gray started.
Natsu raised an eyebrow. Gray's words died on his lips. Lucy shifted her gaze uncomfortably, not sure what to do with the situation. Gray cleared his throat, "How about we call it a day? I'm sure you're tired."
Lucy nodded but still wouldn't look up at him. He untangled his hand from hers and started to walk back to the apartment. Natsu pranced over to Lucy, "Well?"
" 'Well' what?"
Natsu rolled his eyes, "No offense Luce but... If I didn't know any better I'd think you like him."
"No... Natsu it's not like-"
"Shh. Look, Lucy, you're my best friend, regardless of whether or not we're a couple. I'm going to love you no matter what, but it doesn't have to be a romantic love. I'll always be here for you, but when it comes to stuff like this... You're just gonna have to follow your heart. Follow your head too though," he laughed suddenly, dropping the heavy tone, "It should keep your heart from putting you in a bad position." He clapped and hand on her shoulder, "Just give yourself time, Luce." And then he headed back to the guild. Lucy stood in the field, alone now, a chill setting over her skin.
"Follow my heart huh?" She looked up at the stars glittering in the sky. "Maybe I don't know what that means anymore."
She kicked a stone and started towards the guild. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth. She started to scream but couldn't, her assailant punched her in the stomach. She grunted in pain. A blindfold flew over her eyes.
"It seems we need to talk to you, Lucy Heartfilia," teased a sinister voice.