First or Last Kiss?

~9~

Lucy had been silent and thoughtful during the Games that day and Gray was starting to worry. Maybe she had been feeling something after all and was shejust  not able to handle it at that time.

Shit Gray, don't get your hopes up, dammit.
Gray sighed and zoned out of the conversation. They were talking about Erza defeating all 100 monsters in Pandemonium. It was amazing though, he thought, how Erza exercised her right to fight all 100 monsters in one go and how she managed to do as she said, too.
His gaze slowly drifted towards the blonde Celestial Mage that was staring at the Arena floor. A frown was plastered on her face as she watched Laxus getting beat up. Gray frowned too, something was wrong with the very thought of it.
Laxus would never take a beating, especially not from some Raven Tail mage.

Lucy squinted at the scene in front of her. Was Laxus actually losing? Lucy frowned. Impossible. But it seemed like it anyway. She watched with dread as Laxus took another hit and was sent flying across the Arena, crashing into a wall.
Suddenly the scene changed and out of nowhere a second Laxus appeared and the one that crashed into the wall vanished, together with the Raven Tail mage that was supposedly winning the fight.
Laxus rammed a lightning covered fist into Raven Tail's master, who had somehow managed to participate with his team. The man flew back and smashed into a heap of other teammates that Laxus had clearly disposed of earlier.
An awkward silence fell over the audience and mages until the crowd went wild and cheered for their winner.
"W-winner-kaboo: Laxus Dreyar ...of Fairy Tail B-Team!" the pumpkin man yelled and the Fairy Tail cheered with the crowd.
Lucy sighed in relief and scanned the balconies of other guilds, searching for one particular mage.
Finally Lucy's eyes caught sight of the blonde Dragon Slayer, but he seemed off in a way. He wasn't looking anywhere in particular and Lucy frowned, she looked at the rest of his team for any clues.
Rogue's face was a mask but it was similar to Sting's. Rufus was unreadable as always and Orga seemed ready to crack some bones in the person next to him.
Huh? Where.. is Yukino?
Lucy squinted but couldn't see her fellow Celestial mage anywhere. Instead she looked straight into the eyes of a blackhaired mage. Lucy's eyes widened in fear as the woman shot daggers at her. She quickly averted her gaze.
Was that Yukino's replacement? Had Lucy been right about her getting kicked out of Sabertooth? Should she go check on the girl, or would that cause more trouble?
Being the kindhearted girl that she was Lucy decided to visit Yukino. The Games were to end soon for today anyway.
She swiftly got off her chair and headed out the door, unaware of Gray's questioning gaze.

*Time skip: Lucy comes across Yukino*

Lucy had been strolling the city streets towards Sabertooth's inn, when she came across a coffee bar and decided that one cup of coffee wouldn't do any bad.
Once she'd entered, she saw the white haired Celestial mage sitting in a corner, staring out the window off in the distance.
Lucy ordered her coffee and walked over to the girl's booth.
"Hey! Yukino, right?" Lucy greeted cheerfully and asked if she could take place. Yukino simply nodded and motioned for Lucy to sit down.
"Um, you're..." Yukino spoke quietly and frowned. She looked up apologetically.
"I'm sorry, I don't seem to recognise you from anywhere." Lucy shook her head and smiled politely.
"That's okay! I'm Lucy." Yukino looked up in amazement.
"R-really? You're the mage that holds contracts with the 10 keys of the Zodiac?" she asked in awe. Lucy hummed and unclasped her key-ring from her side, showing her keys towards the other girl.
"O-oh, it's actually quite a coincidence that I've come across you." Yukino spoke softly and rummaged through her purse.
"I.. have been wanting to ask you..." she put her own keys on the table and bowed her head.
"Please accept my keys!" she spoke in a rush.
Lucy's eyes widened.
"W-what? That's n –" Lucy was cut off as the other girl began talking again.
"I think you must've heard that I miserably failed to win my one-on-one match yesterday. So Master has... politely asked me to leave Sabertooth." Yukino dipped her head in shame.
"Politely?" Lucy questioned. How on Earth-land could Sabertooth's Master ever be described as 'polite'.
"Yes." Was Yukino's short answer and just as Lucy was about to ask her to define politely, she was interrupted.