I'd Freeze the Heavens for You | By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 3091 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure. |
Chapter 10
Warmth
Lucy stepped out of the bedroom feeling warm and much better. She was in long flannel pajamas with house slippers to keep her feet warm. The shivers were gone, and she felt normal once again. She was glad that while under the spell of the ice, she had lost all sensation, so she did not have to feel the painful ice the entire time. Everything shut down within her but her hearing. She had not even been able to truly think while in that frozen state, but she had heard Gray's voice clearly.
She also heard what was wrong with him. Now that she was better, it was time to take care of him.
She stepped out to see Gray sitting on the couch. His head was in his hand, as if he needed to hold it up, and for a brief moment she saw pain in his pale face. However, as soon as he heard her bare feet step across the cabin's wood floor, he turned around to her with a bright smile. She knew he was hiding the pain of the poison from her. He had lost a lot of color in just a few minutes.
As Gray watched Lucy walk into the living room wearing such cute pajamas, his heart felt heavy. He would have to tell Lucy soon. It was unfair to burden her with his emotions when it was too late for him, but her finding out about how he felt was an accident. He had not realized that she could actually hear him through the ice. According to the countdown timer, he had two more hours of life. From how horrible he felt, it was going to be two hours of torture and a slow, painful death. For as long as he could last, he wanted peaceful happiness for the two of them. He would hold back telling her for as long as possible.
She sat beside him, yet before Gray could point out the steaming cup of tea he made for her, Lucy grabbed the back of his head and kissed Gray hard. His eyes widened at the suddenness, but he relaxed, kissed her back, and let her do what she wanted. She was the one who almost died, after all. If she needed confirmation of life, he would hold her tightly and assure her that she was warm, breathing, and beautiful.
So beautiful!
"What?"
Crap! He realized he had just said that out loud.
Lucy chuckled at his shocked face. "Thank you so much."
"For calling you beautiful? I'm sure many men have said so."
She shook her head. "You fought all the way here."
"I was late."
"You still saved me. It's my turn now."
He blinked in confusion.
She folded her arms together stubbornly. "You're very rude, you know that?"
Gray looked completely lost. "Huh?"
"You made me cry when you ate those bloodberries. I cried myself to sleep that night. Do you really think I'd want you to sacrifice yourself for me? If you do, then you really are an idiot." She placed her hand against his naked stomach. "Is it painful?"
He did not want to admit to the agony he was in that was only getting worse. He had collapsed three times in the kitchen just trying to make her tea. "I'm fine."
"Liar. I glanced at the counter." Her brow tensed. "Can we make it to a town in two hours?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I don't even know how to make it out of this maze. Do you?"
"No," she admitted. "Wisteria never told me that part. I could search for her. You stay here."
She began to stand, but Gray snatched her hand. "Don't go out there!" He yanked her back down onto the couch and threw his arms around her. "Don't leave my side," he begged. "I almost lost you. I don't want you out of my sight."
"But Gray..."
"I'm not going to let him take you away from me!" he shouted. He struggled to breathe, and Lucy heard him gulping hard, fighting to keep his stomach down. "Please, don't leave me. Even if that lady can get us to the entrance, it took us four hours to travel from town to this maze. We'd never make it back in time. It's... too late for me."
Part of him was scared. He did not want to leave Lucy, not after finding out she loved him. Mostly, he was angry. He would not get to see Whitehall brought to justice. Gray still wanted vengeance for the suffering Whitehall put Lucy through. Instead, he would leave her, and there was no guarantee that Lucy could make it out of this maze alone.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, clinging to her. "It was really reckless of me to say I love you when I won't be around long enough to do more."
"Idiot. If you hadn't said it, I'd still be frozen." She took his face into her hands. "You fought to save me. Do you really think I'm going to sit around and do nothing while you die of poison?" She lightly slapped both cheeks with her hands and held them cupped in her palms. "We're Fairy Tail wizards. We don't give up that easily. There has to be a cure, and I'm not about to sit cooped up in this cabin like a princess in a tower while my ice prince sacrifices himself."
"Your... ice prince?" Gray whispered, shocked and embarrassed to hear her call him that.
With her hands still cupping his face, Lucy leaned in and rubbed her nose against Gray's. "My ice prince," she repeated gently. Then she kissed him. His wide, stunned eyes slowly lowered, relaxing into her kiss. He could definitely get used to the feel of her lips.
Suddenly, Gray yanked back, coughing hard. He tried to cover his mouth, but blood sprayed out. Lucy cried out to him, but Gray went limp, almost collapsing to the floor. Lucy grabbed his shoulders and held him against the couch as Gray tensed up in agony.
"Dammit!" He really had not wanted to show weakness in front of her, but the pain was unendurable. He suddenly coughed again, and although he used both hands to cover his mouth, he tasted blood and felt it drip between his fingers and down his chin.
"Gray!" Lucy shrieked. What could she do? She couldn't just leave him here, but they had to find Wisteria. She was the only one who knew how to escape this maze. However, Gray was right. Even if Wisteria took them to the front gate instantaneously, it was four hours to the nearest town, and there was no guarantee that a healer lived there.
Gray looked over at her. The terror in Lucy's brown eyes anguished him. He did not want to see her afraid like this, certainly not over him. He was about to tell her to go, try to find Wisteria, just to get her away so she did not have to watch him slowly die.
His stomach suddenly cramped again. Gray hugged his gut and collapsed sideways, screaming in pain. It felt like a hole had just eaten through his stomach, and all the gastric acid was leaking into his intestinal cavity. He punched the floor, trying to take his mind off the agony. He did not want Lucy to watch him die, but he did not want her to leave his side. Through tears of suffering, he looked up at her.
What should he do? She was crying, and he hated that. He began to open his mouth to apologize, but blood gurgled up. He barely had time to turn his head down before clots of crimson blood spewed out with force.
"Gray!"
Just then, the door flew open, wind and snow swirled into the cabin, and there was a massive, black, floating hand. Wendy was in those shadowy fingers, and she was suddenly dumped inside the cabin. A second later, Wisteria appeared magically, apparently in the midst of putting on her coat.
"Dammit, Whitehall!" she yelled.
Gray sat up despite his condition. "Whitehall?" he growled with blood dripping down from his mouth.
Lucy reached to her Spirit keys, ready to fight.
Then the mad wizard himself appeared. "Another contestant has arrived. Let the game begin!"
"Bastard!" Gray snarled. "Ice-Make..." Before he could summon the magic, Gray fell over, coughing up more blood.
"Gray!" Wendy cried out, and she rushed forward.
Lucy fretted over Gray, and when she looked back to the open door, Whitehall was gone. "He escaped."
"Dammit!" Gray growled, but his mouth was suddenly filled with more blood.
Wendy got right to work. "Rest, Gray. I came so I could heal you."
Wisteria walked forward. "Luckily, I had already grabbed the antidote before he summoned me. Here." The purple-haired lady handed a vial to Wendy. "It won't repair the damage already done to his body, but it will stop the poison from spreading."
Wendy uncapped the vial and smelled it first. Her Dragon Slayer sense of smell told her the liquid inside was safe, something herbal. "Drink it," she urged, and she tipped it to his blood-covered lips.
Gray managed to gulp the bitter medicine down. It did not make him feel any better, but if Wisteria was telling the truth—and he did not easily trust someone who worked for a dark wizard—then at least he would not die.
Wendy looked up to the two older girls. "Can you help me carry him to the bed? I can heal him easier if he's lying down."
Wisteria and Lucy hoisted Gray between the two of them and half-dragged him to the bedroom. He had no strength to even walk. Carefully, they laid him on the bed. Wendy settled beside him, stretched her hands out over his stomach, and a green healing glow shined from her fingers.
"How did you get here?" Lucy asked the little girl.
"Erza called me here when they found out Gray had eaten poisonous berries."
"But how did you get into the maze? Only lovers are allowed inside."
"Actually," Wisteria corrected, "only two people mutually in love, whether if it's known between the two of them of not."
Wendy blushed fiercely. "They told me about that, too. So... we brought..." She muttered something so softly, no one heard.
"What?" Lucy asked, leaning closer. "Who did you bring? Don't tell me it's Doranbolt."
"No!" Wendy cried out. "He's like a big brother, or more like an uncle. He's way too old! It's... um... R-... Ro-... Romeo." She tucked her head down, and her face was bright crimson.
Lucy struggled hard not to giggle at the twelve-year-old's adorably infatuated face. "Romeo, huh?"
"Don't tell him," she cried out. "We... we didn't tell him why it had to be him. We made sure he had lots of food and water, warm clothes, and he was warned against eating the berries. Since Happy and Carla managed to map out the maze from the air, Romeo already knows the best route to take. It means I have three to seven days of sitting around waiting for him, but I can heal Gray during that time."
"That's a relief," Lucy sighed. She took Gray's hand and squeezed it. "See! I told you. Fairy Tail doesn't give up on their friends."
He smiled weakly and squeezed her fingers back.
Wisteria looked troubled. "Another victim for Whitehall, though. This time, two children. He's a sick man. You and your sweetheart shouldn't have to suffer just to heal your friends."
"Romeo is strong," Wendy said with prideful confidence. "He'll make it through the maze. And we're not sweethearts." She blushed again at that.
Wisteria tittered in amusement. "You sound just like Lucy did at the beginning. I'm glad it worked out for you two." She stroked Lucy's hair with sisterly pride. Lucy grinned up at the poor servant girl.
"We got Whitehall to make a deal," Wendy explained. "If three couples from Fairy Tail can defeat the maze, he'll tear it down and turn himself in peacefully. He agreed, since if three couples pass, then the maze will no longer be fun."
Wisteria frowned. "He mentioned that deal. He'll keep his promise, at least."
"Are you sure?" asked Lucy.
"He plays by the rules, although he makes the rules. Once a rule is set, he won't break it. It's all part of the game for him."
"So first up is me," Wendy told them. "Then Bisca and Alzack are already waiting for their turn, and Levy sent a message to have Gajeel come."
Lucy laughed that even her best friend would have her turn within the maze. "It's going to be a Fairy Tail couples getaway." Then she grinned to Wisteria. "You'll have lots of company."
"Yes," she muttered, looking aside to hide how happy it made her, suddenly having many people around, plus knowing this maze would be defeated and destroyed.
Lucy patted Wisteria's shoulder. "I know you've suffered under Whitehall. It'll be over soon. What will you do once the maze is torn down?"
Wisteria glanced to the blonde and her raven-haired beau. "Watching you and Gray has inspired me to go out and search for my girlfriend. Maybe we can reconcile."
"I wish you luck."
"I'll stay here until everyone completes the maze. I want to see it burned down."
Wendy giggled. "Natsu is waiting to do just that."
Even Gray laughed. "That idiot flame-brain can have fun setting those damn bloodberry bushes on fire. Torch the whole thing, for all I care."
"I'll make cookies," Wisteria offered. "Would you like anything to drink, little one?"
"My name is Wendy," she said. "And some milk is fine."
"Cookies and milk, then. We'll have a little party to celebrate Gray and Lucy finally realizing their love for one another."
Lucy flushed brightly, and Gray's cheeks went pink with embarrassment. Wendy giggled at their reactions while secretly hoping that maybe the maze would spark something between her and Romeo.
End of Chapter 10
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