Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

An Exercise in Futility	By : anaeotae Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 4360 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor do I make any money from this work.

Chapter List
- 1-An Exercise in Futility
- 2-Chapter Two
- 1
- 2
An Exercise in Futility

Part 1 of 2

When he realizes that Lucy has stopped protesting every time that Happy claims she is in love with someone, Gray becomes suspicious. He stealthily begins lingering by nearby posts and around convenient corners to find out more (he pretends not to notice the similarities between himself and his own stalker).

            He discovers nothing, but, having seen him peering at Lucy from over his shoulder and behind a pole while mostly naked, Erza discovers at least five new ways to make him beg for mercy.

            Normally garnering Erza's attention would make him abruptly turn around his behavior out of self-preservation, but Gray is either very brave or very stupid because he does not stop surreptitiously investigating Lucy's love life.

            One day, while he is nonchalantly relaxing in the guild’s hall, he notices Macao and Wakaba attempting to determine the exact dimensions of Lucy's ample bosom. Another day, he discovers that Jet and Droy will occasionally halt their adoring veneration of Levy in order to watch the way that Lucy's skirt puffs up slightly when she flops herself dejectedly in front of Mira at the bar. As Gray is both clever and cool, he responds to these revelations by insulting the legitimacy of dragon slayer magic until Natsu is heated up enough to accidentally scorch all perverts, old and young alike, in a radius of fifty yards. Gray feels victorious when all four guilty parties must retreat in tattered clothing (it's a bonus that he also gets to watch as an angry Erza forces Natsu to repair all collateral damages).

            He realizes that he may have been somewhat overzealous with defending Lucy's honor at about the same time he realizes that he still has no idea what might have caused Lucy's sudden reticence towards her love life.

            Still, he dislikes the idea of other men looking at her. He almost wishes that she would develop a sudden interest in maidenly clothing (almost). He dislikes these feelings of confusion and finds himself longing for simpler times, times when he only had to be around Lucy for a mission or two to see most of her assets, and he could always go home knowing that she wasn't going to get a boyfriend over night.

            Lucy'd never shown an actual ability to be involved in a romantic relationship before. She'd become practically immune to Natsu's tendency to show up in her bed and Gray's own habit of stripping to his skivvies. She barely even batted an eye at Loke's never-ending barrage of pick-up lines and romantic declarations, and that guy had had a near perfect batting average even before he regained his celestial glow. Oddly enough, this last thought did not help to settle Gray's thoughts.

            Loke: celestial lion spirit who was literally attached to Lucy's hip, could summon himself to her side no matter where she was, and had declared himself her knight in shining armor. Gray can train Natsu to sleep in his own bed, punish Macao for leering perversely, and sic Mirajane on Ji-chan when he tries to cop a feel on Lucy, but he realizes that he can't do a damn thing about Loke. It would be unethical to steal the key that grants Loke free access to Lucy whenever he wants it (he often wants it so that he can save her life).

Gray tries to convince her to leave the lion key at home when she isn’t on a job, but Lucy just laughs and reminds him that, in Fairy Tail, danger lurks around every corner. She smiles at Gray the entire time he talks to her, but, when she talks about how she never knows when she might need to call on Loke, her smile seems to be slightly different. Gray recognizes the threat that lies in the curve of her lips.

            Gray determines to move to the defensive. Now that he has identified his enemy, he can determine a strategy.

            He knows Loke. He's known him as long as the lion spirit had been masquerading as a ring-wielding mage, and he had never had a reason to dislike him before. In fact, they've always been friends. They have things in common; they don't break promises, and they don't let anyone get away with hurting their loved ones. He hates to have to fight against him, but he can't stand the thought of someone else getting to look at Lucy when he can't.

So, instead, when they find themselves in dangerous battles, Gray becomes twice as likely to stay by Lucy's side rather than rushing off to engage a distant opponent. If Lucy is not in danger, she is much less likely to call on her strongest spirit for aid.

            They are on a routine job (find dark wizards, destroy dark wizards), Natsu is brashly fighting the meddlesome groups's leader, and Erza is smoothly wiping out their grunt force. A rogue tries to escape her vengeance, but he has to run through Gray and Lucy first. Gray could easily take him down with any number of ice forms, but, before he even gets a chance, the wizard has launched a high-speed blast of dark magic towards Lucy. She is nearly hit, but Gray is close enough to sweep her into his arms and behind a shield of ice. He'd been fast enough to save her, but not fast enough to stop Loke from summoning himself to the scene.

            Gray holds Lucy a little tighter; her head is tucked against his chest as he cradles it protectively with a barely free hand. She's clinging to him, just a little. For just a moment, the only expression on Loke's face is one of profound relief; Lucy is safe. Gray can see his eyes dart over her body frantically, and he knows that the spirit is looking for any sign that he'd failed in his duty. Gray lets him, because he feels the need to check Lucy over for signs of pain as well.

            Once assured that all is right with the world, Gray allows himself to smirk. Loke is now glaring at him from behind his blue shades and briefly looks like he's considering calling forth the power of Regulas even though the offending dark wizard has already been swept back into Erza's warpath. The lion and the ice mage exchange looks of significant intention and recognize their rivalry with nods of significant acceptance. Lucy is oblivious as she blushes at being so close to Gray's skin.

            Gray rallies himself; he knows that Loke is capable of more than silly light shows and shallow flirting. Emboldened by the way she'd blushed when he'd rescued her, Gray sets out to be her protector in all things. He walks alongside her and Plue when she insists on walking along the canal wall. He smiles and makes a shield of ice around her the next time Natsu starts an all-guild brawl at the bar.

            He then begins a multiple-front assault on Lucy’s affection. He stops trying to read her novel (even though he really wants to know what happens next) because he knows she puts a high value on her promise to Levy. When he shows up to Lucy's apartment uninvited, he now makes sure to knock at the door. He even attempts to curb his exhibitionist habit, but soon realizes that it’s a lost cause.

Instead, he smirks at her in a way that he knows is devilishly charming whenever she protests his partial nudity. Lucy blushes every time, but she also stops protesting---even when he doesn’t put his clothes back on.

Once Lucy is no longer annoyed at him at least 50% of the time (and maybe even a little intrigued on occasion), Gray moves onto the next stage of his plan.

            He persuades Mirajane, who had been rooting for him ever since the ice-shield incident, to help him make a delicious meal so that he can bring it to Lucy after she exhausts herself trying to keep Natsu from destroying all of Hargeon for the sake of finding a child’s lost puppy. She savors the meal with adorable little moans and sighs and thanks him with sparkles in her eyes.

When their team takes a request on Mt. Hakobe, Gray brings a coat along with him so that he can chivalrously drape it around Lucy’s shoulders when she begins to shiver. The abrupt replacement of whines with exclamations of affection is extremely gratifying.

He brings her flowers when she’s been home working on her novel all day. They are beautiful and sweet-smelling, and he imagines that Lucy will swoon into his arms when he presents them. She opens the door with a pen and messy hair. She smiles when she sees the flowers and presses her little nose into them to inhale, but when she reemerges from the blossoms, she has a troubled look on her face. She doesn’t have a free vase, she sweetly explains (because, Gray can see behind her, the only one she has is currently being used to hold a dozen red roses brought straight from the spirit world).

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed part one. Please, review! I find it difficult to write Gray, so I would love some constructive criticism on it!
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

An Exercise in Futility