Random idea! Yay! Hmmm…I seem to have a bad habit of getting ideas and then writing them in the middle of the night when I should be asleep. Does anyone have a cure for that? I desperately need it.

Yeah, anyway, read the story. I wouldn't be surprised if most of you skipped this.

Badum. Badum.

The guild was silent.

Badum. Badum.

Cana stood in the doorway, tears dripping down her face.

Badum. Badum.

A voice, unusually quiet, echoed in the silence. It was Natsu's.

"What?"

Badum. Badum.

"I-I'm so sorry." Cana stumbled over her words and curled her hands into fists. "It's all my fault."

Badum. Badum.

"Tell us what happened."

A blob of molten steel flew past Cana's ear. She winced at the heat. A quick flick of her hand and the man was tied up in vines that had appeared from nowhere. How the hell did this go so wrong? She wondered.

"Ice Make: Floor!" Gray pressed his hands to the ground and a thin sheet of ice spread outward. Cana stumbled and fell, hidden behind a rock.

"Steel Make: Death Needle!" A tiny sliver of metal flew towards Gray. He didn't notice until too late. It sliced through his abdomen with a sickening lack of sound. He gasped, and collapsed. Cana shrieked. She sprang up, using the rock as support.

"Card Magic: Lethal Slice!" A deck of cards sprang from her hand and honed in on the many enemies. They all hit their marks, and she winced and fell to her knee as she felt the huge drop in her magic. It was a risky move, but there was no other way out.

The ice had melted, and she crawled over to her friend.

"Dammit, Gray, hold on." Cana dragged him out of the catacombs and collapsed at their magic four-wheeler. With great effort, she heaved him into the back and stumbled to the front. Porlyusica, Porlyusica, Porlyusica. She focused on that one name. Her vision blurred, but she could not stop. For Gray. Hours later, the Card Mage knocked on the Healing Mage's door, supporting Gray's limp body.

"Help, please." She leaned on the door frame. The world spun, and she slid to the ground, unconscious.

Drip. Drop.

The guild was so quiet, you could hear tears hitting the floorboard. Eyes latched onto the shaking figure, standing at the end of one table. Her hands covered her face, and her shoulders shook. Cana took a step forward, but the girl pushed past her and ran out the door. Cana froze, her watery eyes wide open.

"Lucy…"

Knock, knock.

The four figures stood outside the treehouse. The door creaked open, and a tall woman stood there.

"What?" she asked grumpily. The visitors merely waited. They were aware that she knew exactly why they were present.

"Fine." She stepped to the side, and the four entered silently. A young man sat in the bed towards the back of the house, staring out the window. He looked away from the glass as the visitors entered. They stopped, not expecting him to be awake. He smiled tiredly.

"I wasn't expecting you to come, otherwise I'd have washed up." His friends stood there for a moment. Then a blonde blur tackled him—gently—in a hug.

"If you ever do that to me—to us—again, Gray, I'll—I'll—" She burst into tears. He patted her back.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, I really am. I didn't mean for the mission to go downhill like that." He looked up, at his other visitors. Natsu was glaring at him, but there was unrestrained happiness and relief in his eyes. Happy was flying circles above their heads. Porlyusica was shaking her head, but a hint of a smile graced her features. And then there was Cana. He tapped Lucy's shoulder, and she released him. She sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Cana." His brown-haired friend flinched.

"Look at me." She slowly raised her head. He could see tear tracks staining her face, but she tried to pretend she wasn't crying.

"Gray, I—"

"It's not your fault." He could see the guilt in her eyes. "No one could have predicted that they'd know about us, not even you. Leave it be. No one blames you, except you. There's no place for that kind of mindset in Fairy Tail." A single tear slid down her cheek, and she nodded. Gray smiled and glanced at the others.

"I need to get out. This crazy witch won't let me do more than stare out the window. How about you help me sneak out?" His friends grinned, but they were interrupted by Porlyusica.

"Don't even think about, young man! You have a long ways to go before you leave that bed!" She glared at him from across the room and he groaned.

"Somebody help me, please."

I apologize if the characters are OOC. Somehow, Gray and Porlyusica's relationship turned into a kind of mother-son/grandmother-son relationship.

Ooh. Now I want to give them some kind of backstory.

On a wholly different note, does anybody know how to list two characters as a pairing when you choose which characters are in the story? I have no idea, and I'd like to be able to use that feature. Any help would be deeply appreciated.
Edit: I have it figured out. Thanks to Altairis vogue for the help!

Thanks for reading,

ClairePuff out.