Update 4/18/18: I was reading through this in an effort to get some inspiration to continue and found way too many tense issues in this chapter to ignore, so that's the only change here!
"Ow!"
"Oh, I'm going to feel that in the morning!"
"I'm feeling it now!"
"I can't move!"
Erza, Lucy, Levy, Juvia, Wendy, and Carla were at Akane Resort. While they were enjoying a much-needed break from missions, they did not want to lose their touch and so they were also using the time to train together. Each wizard possessed their own strengths, and they were using those strengths to help train the others. They were currently on Erza's rotation, and she'd just put them through a most grueling physical workout, working on strength as well as their cardiovascular reserves. Therefore, she was the only one not exhausted and complaining.
"That was just the warm up," she threatened, standing above the others with her hands on her hips.
"What?!" the remaining five cried out. Lucy and Levy were completely sprawled out on the ground, panting and covered in sweat. Juvia was bent over, her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath. Wendy was curled into a ball on the ground, in a manner similar to Child's Pose in yoga, but also crying. Carla was simply seeing stars.
Chuckling, Erza brushed her hair back from her face. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she looked at the resort below them. They'd climbed some way up the mountain in order to be alone. "Why did the boys decide to come too?" she grumbled.
Juvia stood up, her body trembling, as she followed Erza's hard gaze. "They said they needed to train too. Juvia likes to think it's because they don't want to miss anything."
"That may be, but they better not be a distraction," Lucy whined, forcing herself to sit up. "How are you two still standing?!"
Beside her, Levy pushed herself up into a sitting position as well. "Because they're evil," she offered.
"I think I might throw up," Wendy wailed, holding her hand over her mouth as though she was about to.
"Wendy!" Carla cried, flying over to her fallen friend. When Wendy managed to keep her stomach contents inside, Carla glared at Erza. "Did you have to go so hard?"
Erza shrugged. "It's our third day here. If we're not upping the ante now, then what's the point?"
"You know what might help? The Jacuzzi!" Juvia cheered.
Lucy, Levy, Wendy, and Carla perked up at that. "The Jacuzzi sounds wonderful," Levy admitted. But when she went to stand up, her legs gave out on her. "If I can even make it back," she cried.
Lucy looked at her friend with a pout. How is Erza not even phased by this?! No wonder she's so crazy strong… "You know what, as much as I hate to admit it, we could all probably use some loosening up before we head back."
"Bambi legs not enough for you?" Erza teased, but she was already rolling her yoga mat back out.
"Oh, Lucy, no more!" Levy pleaded as Lucy managed to roll to her hands and knees.
"It won't be much," she promised. "And we'll start from the ground before we stand up, okay?"
Levy and Wendy reluctantly nodded while Erza and Juvia dropped back to the ground.
From the trees, the boys hid in the shadows, watching what the girls were up to. They weren't necessarily trying to spy on them, they had just never seen the girls train on their own and curiosity got the better of them. They had left them alone, as promised, the first two days, but today their curiosity would not be sated. And so, after a few drinks to bolster their courage (Natsu and Gray were terrified of Erza finding them), they found themselves huddled together in the shadows. They had watched as the girls sweat and cursed as Erza pushed them.
"And we wondered how she was so strong," Gray murmured in awe.
"Speak for yourself Ice Pick," Natsu grumbled.
"You want to join them?" Gajeel teased, elbowing Natsu in the ribs.
"Stop it!" Jellal hissed, his eyes only on the scarlet beauty leading the group. "You want to get us all killed?"
At that the boys had grown silent, appreciating the view even if they wouldn't admit it to each other. It wasn't until Lucy started leading them through some stretches that Natsu spoke again, his eyes growing wide. "I had no idea they were so…."
"Flexible," Gray finished for him.
"This won't take them long, we should head back." Jellal was ever the voice of reason.
"What? Why?" the others pouted, not moving from their spots. Lily was the only one who didn't seem to mind leaving.
"It's your funeral," Jellal cautioned tactlessly.
"Coming!" they whispered harshly, turning to follow the blue haired wizard down the hill and back to their room. The girls had no idea they were ever there.
"Better?" Lucy asked as she finished up the last pose.
"Much," Levy admitted as she rolled up her yoga mat.
"Can we go to the Jacuzzi now?" Wendy asked.
"Of course." Erza ruffled her hair. "I think we've all earned it!"
They were packing up their gear when Wendy's nose caught something. "Hey guys, I think the boys were up here."
"What?!" everyone shouted.
"I smell them." She sniffed the air again. "All of them."
The only one smiling ruefully was Erza as she roused the rest of them out of their stupor. "So that's how they want to play it?"
They were in the hot baths within thirty minutes, glasses of wine all around (except for Wendy). "This feels sooooo good," Lucy murmured, sinking so that she was submerged up to her neck.
"I could stay in here forever," Levy admitted, doing the same thing.
Juvia sat up, her arms resting on the edge of the Jacuzzi to either side of her, but her nakedness successfully concealed beneath the water. "Being in warm water immediately revitalizes Juvia."
Erza sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi with just her feet in the water, lazily moving her feet back and forth as she swirled the wine around in her glass. Her mind was not on the girls she was with, but with a certain blue haired mage… "What do you think the boys are up to?" she asked, taking a drink so it would appear like a casual question.
"I thought we weren't going to let them distract us," Lucy admonished.
"It's just an innocent question," Levy defended Erza, partially because she was wondering the same thing.
"They have been distant this whole time," Juvia admitted. "Juvia fears they prefer being without us," she whimpered, her voice turning into a soft whine.
"I'm sure they are just using the time to train hard, just like we are," Wendy offered. She was the only one present who didn't have a man in her life, whether the others would admit that fact or not. She didn't mind – she was still too young for such things – but sometimes she wished the others would get their heads out of their asses already. "But they were up there today when we were training. I'm sure of it."
"Maybe Erza's workout scared them off," Lucy huffed.
Erza shrugged. "Then they shouldn't have been watching without permission."
"Without permission?!" Levy gasped. "What do you mean by that?"
"Gray can watch Juvia all he wants," Juvia drawled dreamily, her eyes full of hearts as she looked at the ceiling.
Lucy stared at Erza and Juvia with wide eyes. Although she would never admit it, the idea of the boys secretly watching them sent a thrill through her. Feelings she tried not to think about flitted through her chest and stomach at the thought of the boys pining over them. Do they think about us the way we think about them? Blood warmed her cheeks at the thought. "Would you have done things differently if you knew they were watching?" she finally asked, feeling brave enough (or perhaps tipsy enough) to handle the answer.
Erza thought a moment. Levy was staring at Lucy with wide eyes. "You mean like one of your stories, Lucy?" she blurted without thinking.
"Levy!"
"What's this about your stories?" Erza immediately quipped, dropping into the water so she could be closer to them.
"N-nothing," Lucy blushed furiously. Levy opened her mouth to speak and Lucy clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare say anything!" she hissed dangerously.
"Oh, come on, Lucy! Be a good sport!"
"Please, tell us!" Juvia pleaded. The blue and scarlet haired mages surrounded her and even Levy looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"Ugh!" she groaned, all but shoving Levy away from her. Her cheeks grew so warm she could swear she was as red as Erza's hair. "Tell them, Levy, while I go drown myself with wine." Little did she know that the men's baths were directly below them and the four men (plus two Exceeds) in question were in there, able to hear every word they were saying.
Levy looked at Wendy, who had just passed out on one of the lounge chairs before she launched into an account of Lucy's most recent and ongoing story. "A lot of the characters are based off people in the guild and people we've already met. Several of the members of the guild are already paired up with each other." She looked at Lucy out of the corner of her eye. "And there's unrequited love between characters awfully similar to Lucy and Natsu."
Below them, Natsu's brow furrowed. "What's unrequited love?"
"Really? It means it's not returned or reciprocated," Gray answered, pulling his eyes from the ceiling.
"What does that mean?"
"It means one of the characters loves the other but the feelings aren't returned," Jellal expanded.
Natsu looked at the water in front of him. Why would she write about that? Is that how she sees me?
Back with the girls, Erza chuckled. "Like it would really be unrequited!"
"Oh, come on! Like Natsu even understands such a thing as love!" Lucy interrupted. Even as she tried to sound light, an underlying tone of sadness came through her voice, making her drink more wine.
Beneath them, Natsu frowned at the water, clenching his teeth. The others wisely decided not to say anything.
"What about Gray and Juvia?" Juvia asked, clasping her hands in front of her chest in her excitement.
"They are exactly the opposite of you two," Levy explained. "Gray's character fawns over you but you constantly blow him off."
"Juvia would never!"
"That's what makes it perfect," Erza said dreamily.
Below, Gray tch'd and folded his arms across his chest. "Like I would ever," he began.
"And?" Erza asked, trying not to sound too desperate as she clasped her hands in front of her chest.
Levy thought a moment, her eyes turning to Lucy. "Jellal is, well, he's complicated," Lucy admitted.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jellal asked from below.
Gajeel smiled ruefully. "And you'd have us think you didn't care."
Jellal glowered at the iron dragon slayer and tried to listen closer.
"Well, he's still wanted by the Magic Council. He's not an official member of Fairy Tail, but he comes by as often as he can."
"Oh," Erza sounded disappointed.
"You two are engaged," Lucy finally blurted out, unable to stand the dejected look on Erza's face. "But it's a secret from everyone else since he's wanted. You haven't even told anyone else in Fairy Tail about it."
Erza's eyes shone with stars as she envisioned the wedding dress she actually already had stashed away. "Seriously?!"
Lucy smiled. "Of course!"
Jellal's eyes fell to the water below them. "It's like she heard my excuse," he breathed.
"What's that?" Natsu asked, catching his barely spoken words.
"Nothing." He turned away to hide the blush darkening his cheeks.
"What about Gajeel?" Erza asked as Levy remained silent.
Now that she had started sharing, cutting Levy off, Lucy felt more secure about it. That, and she knew Levy wasn't about to divulge any information on the man she pined for. "Gajeel's character is sweet and kind. Might as well be the opposite of our Gajeel."
"Damn, that's harsh," Gray stated as he looked at the iron dragon slayer.
Gajeel simply stood with his hands folded across his chest and shrugged his shoulders. "Makes no difference to me."
"She has you as the exact opposite too, Snow Ball," Natsu teased.
"Can it Flame Brain!"
"Shhhh! Or do you want them to know we can hear them?!" Jellal snapped.
"Sweet and kind, huh?" Erza looked at Levy, who was blushing furiously. "Is that how you see him?"
"W-w-well," Levy stuttered. "I see him differently than everyone else."
"Awe, Levy wants to have Gajeel babies!" Juvia cheered.
"What?! No!" Levy shouted.
Below, five sets of wide eyes turned on Gajeel. He wasn't able to hide his blush fast enough. "This has gone far enough," he grumbled.
"Is that how you see us?" Erza asked, downing several sips of wine as she tried to imagine preparing for a wedding.
Lucy shrugged, likewise drinking more. "It's a possibility of how I see things. Call it wishful thinking sometimes," she breathed. Natsu was the only one who could hear her from below as she muttered the last part.
What's she mean, wishful thinking?
"Can we please stop talking about this?" Lucy finally whined, leaning back against the side of the Jacuzzi once more. Her heart ached with loneliness.
"Fine." Erza settled on the opposite side of the Jacuzzi. "Then tell us exactly what happens when Natsu sleeps at your house all the time. Happy says he even sleeps in your bed." She paused for dramatic effect. "With you."
"WHAT?!" Lucy nearly jumped out of the water.
"Yes, do tell!" Levy shrieked.
Below them, five sets of eyes now turned expectantly on Natsu. Happy snickered from over his shoulder. His mouth fell open, empty of an excuse, as his hands came up defensively. He was saved by Lucy's response.
"It's n-n-not like that!" Lucy stammered, heat darkening her cheeks once more.
"Then how is it?" Erza asked pointedly.
"It's not that I want him to sleep in my bed, he just sneaks in half the time. I don't even realize he's there until I wake up in the morning."
"And the other half of the time?" Levy added.
Lucy's eyes shot daggers. "Why are we talking about this?"
"Juvia would love it if Gray slept in her bed."
"We know," they responded, suppressing eye rolls. The men below mimicked their reaction without realizing it.
"Well, he-he's really warm," she breathed, again quiet enough that only Natsu could hear. He smiled softly to himself.
"You want him to sleep there, don't you?" Levy asked quietly.
"Do you cuddle?" Juvia blurted, her hands once more clasped in front of her chest with hearts in her eyes.
Lucy had to swallow past a lump in her throat as her heart rate kicked up. More often than not, she woke up with Natsu's arms around her. Even though she wiggled out of them before he woke up most of the time, she loved it more than she would ever admit. It made her feel even closer to him, and maybe for a moment, just for a moment, she would allow herself to imagine their life differently. "Would that be so bad? He makes me feel safe."
Natsu's ears turned bright red but his heart was pleasantly warm.
"Is that all?" Erza inquired, her eyebrow cocked up.
"Lucy wants to have Natsu babies!" Juvia cheered, splashing all of them as she clapped her hands happily.
"What?! NO!" Lucy repeated Levy's previous denial.
"Do you even know how to make babies?" Gray teased, elbowing a blushing Natsu in the ribs.
"O-Of course I do, Snowflake!"
"Juvia doesn't understand why you'd deny what your heart feels."
Lucy and Levy exchanged looks that spoke volumes. "Can we stop talking about this, now? Please?!"
"Fine." Erza brushed them off.
"I feel like I have to wash after all this talk," Lucy admitted with a nervous laugh, and they set to work cleaning themselves up, continuing to drink as they went.
In the room beneath them, the boys grew unnaturally quiet, each subdued by their own thoughts and by what they had just heard. They drank as they listened, surprised by how quiet the girls got while they bathed. Nearly thirty minutes went by before they heard anything else.
"I need a massage," Lucy complained, rolling her neck and rubbing a hand on her shoulder.
"I bet Natsu would give you one," Levy teased, but she was likewise rubbing sore muscles.
"Shut up!"
"Nah. I wish Gajeel would give me a massage. He's so strong…"
Erza looked at Levy with an eyebrow raised, surprised by her confession. "Really?"
"Oh, come on. Like Erza wouldn't want a massage from Jellal?" Juvia teased. Erza shot the bluette daggers from her eyes. "Well, Juvia would take a massage from Gray."
"We know," they all answered in unison. The taunts went round and round the room.
"You know, they decided to tag along on our training," Erza began, "I think the least they could do is give us some massages." Her eyes sparkled with determined stars as she looked at the others before her.
Everyone had pink cheeks, their faces flushed from the wine and heat from the Jacuzzi. "What are you going to do, Erza?" Lucy was the only one brave enough to ask. Erza was already standing up and wrapping a robe around herself.
"I'll be right back."
"Oh, shit," Lucy and Levy breathed.
"Oh, Gray!" Juvia cheered.
"You think we should go up there?" Gray asked. Natsu and Gajeel looked at him like he was crazy.
"You really want to get involved in that?" Gajeel asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Oh, come on."
"Sounds like Erza's going to come looking for us either way," Jellal casually commented.
"The girls get crazy when they drink," Natsu tried to reason with him, even though he was also curious.
"And we don't?" Jellal countered, already getting out of the baths.
"Jellal!" Gajeel cried, but he was quickly the only one left and sprang from the Jacuzzi to follow them.
Erza tried the boys' rooms first, and when she got no answer she tried the baths, suspecting they would still be trying to spy on them. "Hey!" she called as she strode in. She was taken completely by surprise when she found them all clumsily covering themselves with towels or robes.
"Erza?!" Gray and Natsu shrieked, hugging each other. Jellal looked at her with curious eyes.
"Come with me," she demanded. When no one started to move, a vein popped out on her forehead and a dark aura surrounded her. "Now!"
"Yes ma'am!" they exclaimed, moving to follow her obediently.
"I think you meant to say the girls get scary when they drink," Gray corrected Natsu quietly. The fire dragon slayer nodded in agreement.
They arrived in the girls' baths a moment later, the girls instantly paling.
"Hey!" Gray called, sauntering into the lady's Jacuzzi as though he belonged there.
"Gray!" Juvia shouted, her flushed face instantly perking up at seeing him.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried, plummeting below the water.
"Gajeel!" Levy shrieked, falling back into the water – she had been about to get out and get more wine.
"What are we doing here?" Gajeel asked darkly, his arms folded across his chest.
"Wendy caught your scent after we were done training."
Way to beat around the bush, Erza, Lucy grumbled. Her eyes traveled down Natsu's glistening wet abs before she caught herself and turned away with a blush.
"Since you spied on us, you're going to give us massages." She looked at the girls still in the water. "Clearly, we've earned them." The four men couldn't come up with an argument, so they stood there, gaping.
"Here?" Gray finally asked. Juvia blushed.
"No, you idiot! In the massage rooms."
"What?" Natsu asked, his eyes wide.
Erza quirked an eyebrow. "For privacy, dumb ass."
"R-r-right," he breathed, feeling his heart rate kick it into high gear.
"Girls, out!" Erza ordered.
"But we're," Lucy and Levy started to argue.
"Boys, turn around!" Erza hurried to command, and they rushed to obey. Splashing water was heard behind them and the girls rushed to wrap themselves up in towels. Each of them grabbed their own bottle of wine.
"Where are these rooms, Erza?" Jellal asked, his voice deep and quiet.
Smiling, Erza led the procession down the hall. Lucky (or perhaps unlucky) for them, the hotel had six different rooms that could be used for massage. They were all open. She stopped outside each door and instructed a couple to go inside until it was just Jellal and her left. "We'll take the last one, but I need to get Wendy up to bed first."
"I'll stay with her," Lily offered. Happy and Carla had disappeared into one of the massage rooms.
Jellal returned Erza's smile, resisting the urge to brush her hair from her cheek. "I'll carry her."
A/N: Honestly, I deleted my other version of this chapter before posting this one (bad mistake on my part), so I'm not sure what I had here originally, haha! But anyway, I hope you enjoy this story and know that future chapters will be steamy and will feature each couple, ideally.
I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. They all belong to Hiro Mashima. I just own this story/idea.
