The guild of Fairy Tail was celebrating! !
Well, when it wasn't?!
But this time, there was a special occasion to drink and to party:
The picnic day.
Every year by order of the Council to maintain the peace among members of allied guilds and blah blah, one of them had to host the festival and contributing to the charity auction with its own members.
"I still don't get how the hell this thing works" Natsu exclaimed while he was napping on the counter
"That's easy!" the beautiful barkeeper Mirajane announced lifting her finger as a know-it-all teacher
"This year the Host guild will be Fairy Tail, therefore, our girls will prepare picnic baskets. The baskets will be sold at the auction and the boys will make offers, the winner will be rewarded with the basket and with a date with the girl that made the basket." She smiled devilishly, this kind of thing was what Mirajane lived for. So much potential to tease her friends. She almost wanted to lick her lips.
"ooh I see" Natsu exclaimed, "Luce hey Luce, what will you put into your basket then?"
The celestial spirit mage started with her cheeks burning "well..me?.. I don't kn.. I still haven't thought about it...but..W..Why are you asking Natsu?"
"Ah ah" the She-devil howled aiming to the dragon with her dreadful look "the baskets will be anonymous, you'll discover who made it only after your purchase, got it?" she scarily asked causing a shiver down Lucy and Natsu's back
"Hey Cana, yours won't be difficult to recognize! Will it contain just beer and vodka eh?!" Gray laughed hitting Cana's shoulder with his
"Yeah right Ah. Ah. I guess you're right. Anyway, who cares.. Hic! Who wants a date? Hic! Nooot me, Not me..Nope.
The ice mage shrugged and returned to focus on his own beer until a cold shake made his hair lift with an annoying sensation at his back.
"Hey there, sorry excuse for a brother, already drinking at the guild at this time of the morning"
"Lyon? Why the hell are you here?" Gray asked smashing his hand on the counter
"Isn't obvious! I am here looking for clues and to investigate so I will be sure to buy my Juvia chan's basket"
"But the auction isn't until tomorrow" Gray stated slightly clenching his teeth
"Yes Yes I know, but I won't risk that someone else will take the basket of my princess!" Lyon said glaring at his rival
"Princess? Ohi, are you totally insane already?" Gray rolled his eyes slamming his glass on the bar
"How can you know about love, little brat?!" the ice mage said in theatrical tone, with a leg on the chair and one hand on his chest "By the way, where is my siren?!"
"princess? Siren? Are you out of your mind?! However Juvia, MY Juv.. My Nakama Juvia, she is not here! She is on a mission!"
"Oooh no! I can feel my heart break. Will she be here tomorrow right?" Lyon asked worriedly
"yeah sure!" Gray exclaimed rolling the eyes "She said she would never miss it"
Truth be told, her exact words, the evening before her departure had been, that she would never ever lose the chance to be able to go out with her Gray sama. And she told this while she was throwing her arms around his neck, asking him with puppy eyes if he would make an offer for her basket. She even told she would make sure he'd recognize it.
Taken aback, you know because she was squeezing him so hard that he had no air in his lungs, and because her whole body was pressed against his, that who knows when and where had lost all of his clothes so even the blood was not exactly reaching his brain.. He found himself nodding while his dear (jerks) guild mates were howling verses of approval.
And so he was doomed, he made a promise and Gray Fullbuster always keeps the promises.
nothing of this was his fault ok? Those enormous, bouncing, soft "things" of hers, pushed against his naked chest, her long legs with the slit that showed right the mark on her thigh, that giant eyes of hers and the long eyelashes that kept on fluttering. He had been distracted.
And now keeping his promise would be even harder with Lydiot there.. His rival would surely fight over that basket.. Well, technically he promised her to make an offer, not to win.. But did he really wanted Lyon to win the basket? And after that to go out with Juvia?
Just to make things clear, it was not that them going out was a problem per se. It's just that he didn't want to lose anything against Lyon and if they really would go out together, probably he wouldn't see the end of it with Lyon all arrogant about it. Probably Juvia would not be happy.. heck, she would probably cry and he could not let one of his guildmates to cry, right? Hey, what if she'd enjoy it? Nah, not a chance! Right? Lyon was annoying as fuck, Juvia would never enjoy a date with him. However letting him win was out of the question.
But there was the other side of the coin: Lyon surely would fight and if he'd started a battle to the highest offer over Juvia, his guildmates would never end the tease. Not to mention that doing this was sort of admitting he could kinda like Juvia and moreover, win would mean to go out with her...Not that he was totally against the idea but...
Mira laughed looking at Gray's thoughtful expression and he snapped out of his stream of consciousness
"Damn, that girl always put me in these situations" he muttered slamming a fist on the counter
"What?" the Lamia Scale mage asked with a smile
"What what?" Gray asked
"I said: what did you say?"
"Who said what?"
"Oh leave it, idiot! I'll go wait at the station to my beautiful water fairy!"
"hic... How lucky Juvia is... Hic! She'll have two boys fighting over her basket... Hic!"
"Hello Cana, I hadn't noticed you! So rude of me " the Lamia Scale's alchemist greeted her taking her hand in his.
"Hi Lyo..hic" the card mage answered lifting the head and squeezing the hand he was offering
"Cana you should not be already this drunk at this time of the morning! Did something happen? At times a good cup of hot coffee solves problems and gives energy!" the mage said leaving the guild and go searching his beloved Juvia
"Idiot!" Gray exclaimed massaging his temples
"Mira.. Hic... Make me a coffee... Hic... Hot.. Hic"
The barkeeper and the ice mage exchanged a stunned look
"Cana, seriously? I don't recall you drinking coffee since we were what? 8 years old"
"Cana wants a coffee.. Hic!" she repeated beating a fist on the counter
"But do you mean coffee with a shot of spirits? A special coffee? A coffee flavored cocktail?" Mira asked wide eyed
"No no no no...hic Coffee coffee coffee coffee" card mage whined shaking hands and feet as a child
"Wow, this sure is new! It's more than 10 years that we try to make her drink something not- alcoholic and she never listened once and now that idiot arrives... Hey, Hang in there. Could it be that? Cana?" Gray started for the revelation that was spreading in his head
"Cana oh Cana finally" Mira howled clapping her hands all excited "Cana has a crush on Lyon!"
Cana didn't say anything but she looked at Mira, then at Gray, again at Mira and again at Gray before noisily beating the head on the counter
"Spill it!" Mira shout throwing her rag in the air "When did it happen? How did you notice? I want details, details" she peeped making a smoking hot cup of coffee for Cana
"Dunno, Dunno! Maybe it was one of the times he came here for Juvia, he was so handsome and chivalrous, it kinda made me want a lover too..
"Wait" Gray said "Do you think he is handsome? and chivalrous? don't you find him annoying?"
Cana ignored Gray shrugging "Maybe it was during the Games when he stripped and then I saw his enourmous dragon...!"
"have you seen his "dragon?" Mira asked clasping her cheeks
"Is it just your opinion that he is handsome and not so annoying, or you girls discussed this? Gray asked
"Yes and it was enormous and made of ice" Cana said
"You saw his dragon and it was enormous and made of ice?" Mira squeaked "Gray your's is..too?"
"yes, I saw it while he was showing it to Kagura!"
"My God" Mira said "He was showing.. It.. to Kagura"
"yeah and he was so strong and handsome" Cana muttered
"again with this handsome thing?" Gray complained
"Oh. My. My" Mira said shaking her head
"Mira," Gray said still disgusted from this whole handsomeness matter" "I think she is talking about the battle that Lyon had with Kagura during the GMG "when Lyon created a dragon out of his ice" Gray intervened
"Ooooh, aaaaah I had understood it already... Sure... " the barkeeper said with the hands on her heated face
"Sure!" the mage giggled rolling his eyes
"However what can we do?" the she-devil asked
"We?! I don't want to have nothing to do with this kind of bullshit" the mage said, standing and ready to go out.
"Are you sure Gray? Think about it. If Lyon gets to like Cana, someone, here could have a rival in less with a certain water mage"
Gray stood and shrugged
"As I care, what makes you thing that the stupid and useless feelings Lyon keep howling around in his stupid, annoying, way can bother me?
"we could even prevent him from buying Juvia's basket leaving you with a sure victory"
The ice mage slowly turned toward the demon
"What's you plan? I'm listening"
She smirked "we just have to make sure that Lyon buys Cana's basket rather than Juvia's and I am sure that when they'll go out together Lyon will be enchanted by our Cana"
She said looking kindly to her friend that in the mean time, had passed out on the bar and was snoring loudly
"Ok... Let's suppose that this work, how can we make Lyon buy Cana's basket? He is here for Juvia's and knowing her she will fill it with sandwiches with my face and little hearts that will make it super recognizable" the mage said feeling his cheeks getting warmer while he was trying to fake indifference
"That's exactly what I'm counting on?"
"what do you wanna say?"
" if we make sure that Cana basket resembles something that Juvia would do and we make sure that Juvia's resembles something that Cana would make..." Do you understand right?! And you... Ahdhdjsjhdjs... and she Aafagsggs. All clear?!" the barkeeper asked moving away from Gray's ear
" Yeah I get it! I get it! But wouldn't be easier to just exchange their baskets?"
"Not a chance" Mira shock her head. "Master Makarov assigned a guard to the baskets therefore once recorded they will not be touched anymore from anybody.. They will be more protected than the jewels of the crown"
"Let me guess..." Gray asked and exchanging a look they both exclaimed "Erza"
" Well then, I'll go put our plan into practice" Gray stated smirking devilishly. Probably too much affected by his white-haired friend "I won't leave Lyon putting his dirty hands on Juvia's soft buns"
"Uhm Gray are we still speaking about food,right?!"
"Sure!"
"oh ook"