"Hey, what about this one? Whoa, $3 million Jewel?! You gotta be kidding me!" Gray shoved the paper eagerly at your face. "We're taking it!"

You rolled your eyes. He could be bluffing. "Lemme see…" You reached out tentatively.

You took the waving paper from the ice wizard in a cool manner, but inside, you were nervous. Come on, $3 million Jewel? What could be so detailed about this mission that they place a reward for $3 million on a normal request board?

You quickly skimmed the paper to drink in its appearance before delving into the mission request itself. Erza, who happened to be sitting next to you, sucked the whipped cream off of her spoon as she read over your shoulder.

You frowned. The picture placed in the center was a silhouette of a group of men in tuxedos gathered around a poker table with another silhouetted woman, adorned with fancy white jewelry. She placed a black undetailed hand on one of the men as she held a capris between two fingers in her other hand.

"Please help," You read loud enough for your two comrades to hear, but low enough not to draw attention to yourself. "Cunning couple needed for a secret mission. Man must be knowledgeable in playing Poker III and woman must be seductive beautiful."

Your grimace deepened before glancing up at Gray. He had already shed his shirt as you read and was leaning against the request board casually. You shoved the paper at him angrily in his direction. "Did you even read this through, you dumbass? Do you know what it's asking us?"

Gray chuckled amusingly. "To be honest, not really. I saw the money reward and I jumped."

You glared. "Yeah, I know."

Erza interrupted your staredown with the ice wizard, shaking her silver spoon in your face, like she was about to slap you with the back of it. "Quit wrangling and continue reading! This job just incited my interest!"

You swallowed and looked back down at the paper. "If needed, bring a backup team of three investigators and no more. The rest of the information is confidentiary and will be revealed at the designated at the specified meeting house."

You let your hand fall into your lap and sighed. "That's a lot of information for a mission…"

Erza grabbed your shoulder with a grip that could crush iron. "Don't you see?" she pitched excitedly. "All this information, a gambling game, an intimate acting couple, a backup team of investigation...doesn't it all make sense?"

She was shaking your shoulder at this point. You made a mental note to make an appointment with your chiropractic doctor for your poor shoulder. "Uh, no?"

The redhead stood abruptly on the table, bringing her strawberry cake with her. "IT'S A SECRET MISSION!" she bellowed. The guild turned in her direction curiously before you could tug her down with your good arm.

When you dragged her to your face, you mustered the courage to hiss, "What are doing? Don't you realize you just set a paradox?"

Erza's hazel eyes turned purple with a greedy glint to them. "So what? Let's do it!"

"Erza," you stared her down with a serious gaze. "It asks for a couple that clicks enough to pass for a realistic relationship. Who in this guild can pull that off successfully besides for Alzack and Bisca?"

She grinned sneakily. You knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth. "Why, you and Gray would do!"

You choked on you saliva. Gray jolted from the request board in embarrassment. "Say what?!"

Titania intertwined her hands and laid her head on them in a dreamy manner. "You two would be perfect for the united pair!"

She lowered her hands in serious thoughtfulness. "Then again, I could pass for a seductive woman…" Gray spluttered in the background. "Mmm, no. I look far too mature to be paired with someone so young as Gray."

"Hey! We're talking a year apart, Erza!" He shouted with his fist. "A year!"

You smiled wearily. Obviously, he was worked up about this fact for a long time. Your smile wore away as you thought about Erza's words.

It's true, though. You and Gray have always been the joke of the guild since you two were barely teens. All the teasing of your close relationship made you want to stray away from him even more, but he followed you obliviously like a lost , it was starting to get to you.

You shook your head. Uh, no. No. No. No. Heeeeeeeeeeeell no. You are not setting up a retarded imagination scene of you and Gray , Mr. Imagination. You were not Lucy!

Gray sliced through your thoughts with his smooth (stop it) voice. "Hey, you okay?"

You rubbed an eye tiredly, though it was only the afternoon. "Yeah, I just...need to take this all in." You lifted the paper to read it over again, making sure you knew the details in your sleep so nothing went wrong. "Do you even know how to play Poker III?"

Gray's calm expression wore off quick. "Of course I do!" he yelped, a bit put off that you didn't trust his abilities. "I used to play with Cana, remember?"

"And you always lost."

"That's besides the point!"

Erza smiled gently as she scraped the remains of the cake off of her plate and swallowed them down swiftly. "Alright, you two lovebirds," she began to have been interrupted by two shouts of denial. "We need to make a choice. What's the team look like for now?"

Gray raised his hands and backed up a step. "Hey, don't ask me. (Name)'s good at this kind of stuff." He turned to you, a sneaky grin on his face. "Ain't ya?"

You growled at him before stopping to think. Obviously, you and Gray would have to be the (super reluctant, you might add) couple, but you needed a good investigating team with smart, serious and strong wizards.

You raised your head in conclusion. "Lucy!" You waved at your best friend to come over. She excused herself from talking to Natsu and Happy, who were both chowing down food and skipped over to your group. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

You smiled. "Oi, Gajeel!"

The black mane of the Iron Dragon Slayer waved as he turned to face you with a grouchy face. You motioned for him to come over. Lucy shifted uncomfortably as the reluctant man stomped over like someone just stabbed the dude's toe.

He crossed his arms. "Whadda you want?"

You turned to your team's newest members. "I need you two's skills to help me on a mission. Erza and Gray will join. Will you come?"

Before Lucy could answer, Gajeel jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Not for me, girlie. GO find some other punk to do your dirty work." He began to stomp away.

You sighed dramatically. "Oh whatever. Guess this makes $3 million Jewel a lot easier to split between four people…" Gajeel stopped his strut.

You pulled a piece of iron from thin air as you looked around nonchalant. "And what am I gonna do with this stupid iron? Guess I'll just have to give it to Salamander to dest-"

The iron was gone from your hand and Gajeel stood in front of you as if he never left, munching on the metal. "Yes?"

You smiled crookedly. "Alright. Now, we're ready."

Lucy placed a hand on your bad shoulder. "Uh, (Name), $3 million Jewel is A LOT of money. How are we gonna split it up evenly?"

You waved your hand dismissively. "I already calculated beforehand. Our potential client isn't the brightest guy; he wrote that the reward was $3 million Jewel. He's not paying us $3 million each. The real reward is $600,000 Jewel each member of this newfound team."

A few groans emitted but Lucy clapped her hands gleefully. "Yes! That'll be enough to pay off rent this month!" She hugged you gratefully. "Oh, thank you so much!"

You chuckled. "You don't even know what the mission's 'bout, silly."

She let you go, a bit abashed at her sudden actions. "Sorry. Go on."

As you explained the mission to the two new team members, Erza was thinking. "So, Lucy is the brains, I'm the investigator, and Gajeel is the muscle." She pulled your head into her hard armor, demonstrating what was supposed to be a one-armed hug. "You're a genius, (Name)!"

"Yeah, ow…" you muttered a bit dazed.

"Still," Gajeel complained. The ungrateful brat. "Why'd ya pick me? Why not Salamander, eh?"

You shared a knowing smile with your team. "This is a secret misison. Natsu is the epitome of destruction and calamity. We can't have that."

"Oh, yeah? Since when is it a secret mission, small fry?"

"It says so on the bottom of the paper."

"Oh…"

"Well then, that settles it!" Erza stood taller and snatched the paper from your hands. "I will go and confirm this request with the Master. And then, we're on our way!"

You and Lucy cheered while Gray smiled from the sides. As long as he finished the job, he was happy. And he'd do whatever it takes to protect his friends...and you.

"We leave at dusk tomorrow! Be ready!" Erza's powerful voice boomed through the guild halls and the members all simultaneously shouted an, "Aye, sir!"