Lucy was already awake from her deep slumber.
She rubbed off her sleepy eyes to take a good view of the place where she was in. Then, she had snapped out as soon as she found it out to be unfamiliar.
There were many things that came through her mind that time.
She kept her gaze at the ceiling as her thoughts had deepened.
Who could've found me? She wondered. Her thoughts had then trailed towards Gray.
She immediately got up from her bed to look for the guy.
She quickly fixed the bed, before she scurried towards the door.
As soon as she went out, she was able to see a small living room, with a fireplace near its corner. The place was simple, yet cozy. It's actually a cabin, built in a traditional fashion using full round logs.
She went to open the three-paneled door in the living room.
Outside the house, she observed that the sun had almost touched the horizon. She also heard a couple of birds chirping.
Then, she decided to make a little exploration of the cabin's surroundings, and of course, with the hope of finding Gray.
She walked towards the backside of the house, and as she moved along, she could hear something. It's like someone had been slashing some logs.
Not long after, she was able to confirm what she had heard when she saw the back of a young man, skillfully manipulating the ax to cut every single log into half.
The man was surely familiar to her. She felt relieved when she saw him, the second time since he and Natsu had gone missing.
"Gray..." She called out in a soft tone.
She had seen his back flinched a little when she spoke his name, yet, he turned around to face her. His expression was unreadable. Then, he earnestly spoke,
"We should get inside."
They went back inside the log house. Both of them were now in the living room. Gray stood against the door while Lucy sat on the couch.
He told her that the place is temporarily his, while still being on this mission. After a while, he had mentioned something that got her upset.
"I had prepared some breakfast... After we had it, you can leave. I will escort you-"
"What do you mean by leaving? I can't do that, Gray." Lucy interrupted him from speaking.
"Lucy, this mission is far more dangerous than you think. Let me and Natsu handle this." He explained but, it wasn't enough for Lucy's satisfaction. She needed further explanation. After all her efforts to locate them, she just couldn't leave him, especially without finding Natsu.
"Then, tell me. I'll be more than willing to listen. Besides, where is Natsu, and why isn't he with you?"
Lucy was now anxious because of Gray's behavior. For her, this was the first time she had observed him be this distant. It's like he treated her as a stranger. Other than that, she's so much worried about her pink-haired buddy.
"Please, listen to me, Lucy. I don't know where Natsu is. I'm still finding ways to look for him. But, I need you to leave this place soon. I'm gonna go with you until we reach the station..."
"Gray..."
"...And before that, we need a diversion, we'll have to pass through..."
"Gray, look at me!" Lucy had once again interrupted him from speaking. She was infuriated by his inconsiderate proposal. She had now moved
closer to him to grab his arms, encouraging him to look her in the eye.
"Are you that blind, not to see how desperate I am, Gray?!"
I was so worried sick with you guys, and even our friends back at the guild...
Can't you at least let me stay and help you find Natsu, and get this mission done?" She had her tears pouring from her brown orbs when she said this.
"Lucy..."
At the moment, Gray couldn't think of something more to say. He only looked intently at her, as her shoulders faintly shuddered when she began to sob. She covered her face with both of her hands, while she constantly wiped her tears away. Gray just kept his gaze at his weeping friend, until his attention went suddenly to her right hand. He noticed that something's missing on it. Then, he gently grabbed it from her. He held her soft hand and kept an eye at it.
"Where's your guild mark?" He worriedly asked the celestial mage, who had tried to prevent herself from weeping further.
Lucy swallowed her emotions down to give him an honest answer...
"I know you're going to say how stupid I am for doing this. But... I can't go back to the guild anymore..."
YOU ARE READING
The Art of Trouble
Fanfiction(I do not own Fairytail and it's characters. Only the plot in this story, and some of the characters my mind has created. As FT lovers, you would be able to distinguish who among them are fr.this book or fr.the greatest H. Mashima. 😉😊... Plus...
