Ok, getting to the good bits now!

Chapter 2: Natsu's Outburst

Gray and Elfman sat at the bar in the Guild Hall. Gray practiced his ice magic quietly to himself, every now and again listening briefly to Elfman discussing in the length the manliest way to eat Ramen. Mirajane stood behind her brother, laughing under her breath every now and again and smiling knowingly. Juvia sat in the far corner watching Gray, her eyes glazed over and her mouth open slightly as if she were in a trance. Charle and Wendy had headed back to the Fairy Hills dormitory and Happy had graciously accompanied them there, even though Charle had blatantly refused him. Natsu was still missing and Erza hadn't yet returned from going to find him. Gray didn't worry though, if Erza couldn't find the flaming idiot it was no big loss for the guild. Or so he tried to convince himself, it had been getting harder to hate Natsu so much lately. Lucy had already headed home for the evening. In fact she had left pretty sharply earlier. Gray had noticed that she had acted weirdly since Erza had left, as though she was extremely embarrassed. Gray couldn't see any reason she would be feeling like that, so he brushed it off. "Girls…"

At that moment Natsu came crashing through the Guild's large wooden doors, the fragments charred beneath the touch of his skin. He looked positively crazy Gray noted. Not quite his usual angry self, but visibly upset too.

"Where is he?" Natsu roared, flames shooting from his nostrils as he quickly scanned the room. He spotted Gray still sitting casually at the bar and he clenched his fists. He pointed one flaming finger in Gray's direction.

"YOU!" He positively snarled. "You're a worthless ice bastard and a stripping pervert!"

Gray felt cold fury flowing through his veins. How dare Natsu say that to him. He hadn't done anything to deserve it, and why did everyone care so much that he took his clothes off every now and again?

"Watch your mouth you hot headed prick!"

"You watch YOURS block head!"

"That takes it, you're an asshole, I'm gonna teach you a lesson."

Gray stood up and ripped off his shirt and through it behind him, knocking over Elfman's bowl of Ramen. "Hey! Gray that's not cool, not at all manly…"

"Just try it!" Natsu roared back, his eyes crazy with emotion. "I'm all fired up! I'll turn you to ashes! And as for you…" Natsu turned his attention to Elfman who looked very taken aback by the sudden attention. He was used to Natsu and Gray's quarrels but he was barely ever involved.

"You aren't a real man! You just pretend to be you… you big GIRL!"

"RIGHT THAT'S IT!" Elfman shouted, jumping to his feet and pushing past Gray who was still stunned by Natsu's outburst at Elfman. "I'll show you how a REAL MAN fights!"

With that Elfman transformed his right arm into that of some hideous beast and lunged at the furious Natsu. Natsu dodged the attack easily and sent a fiery fist right into the back of Elfman's head. Gray suddenly remembered his cold fury and sent a hundred Icy daggers in Natsu's direction, which Natsu melted easily before making a running attack at Gray. Gray was too fast for Natsu however and easily blocked him with his Ice shield. Natsu fell back onto the floor, only making his rage grow and the flames engulfing his body did too.

Elfman joined his sister behind the bar to 'protect' her while the fight raged on between the fire and ice mages. Everywhere tables and chairs were smashed and burnt. Other guild members vacated the hall, except the few who wanted to see how the carnage played out. It was an especially vicious fight on Natsu's part, he really wasn't going to give up easily.

Gray and Natsu had each other locked in some kind of head lock that looked impossibly painful for both involved when Erza came out from nowhere and sent the two flying into the floor and a pillar respectively. "That's enough!" she ordered. Gray just wiped his lip which had started bleeding in the scrap and went to sit back down. Natsu however wasn't going to back down so easily. He sprang to his feet and went to run at the retreating Gray. Erza slammed him down into the floor with a flick of her mighty sword, which as usual she had requiped from seemingly nowhere.

"LET ME GO!" Natsu roared, trying to melt the sword with his flames.

"I ordered you to stop!" Erza scorned. "You have done enough damage."

Natsu still didn't want to give up. "This is YOUR fault! YOU fight me!" he roared, pointing up at Erza who was somewhat perplexed.

"Ah, I'm guessing things didn't go well with Lucy?" She asked calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked curiously, pressing an ice pack to his swelling lip.

"NOTHING!" Natsu shouted at him, "Nothing that concerns a two bit ice mage like you anyway!"

"That does it…" Gray began but one look from Erza and he sat back down sharply. "Prick…" He muttered, turning his attention to the drink in front of him. Natsu was still clawing at Erza's sword which was pressed against his chest. With one fluid movement Erza put away her sword and brought Natsu to his feet.

"I said NO more fighting." Erza said coldly, her look suddenly filling the enraged Natsu with terror. "Go cool off, there's nothing you can do about it now."

Natsu huffed and turned to walk back out into the night. On a second thought Erza caught up to him and out of earshot said "It was still the right thing to do. I know you blame me now but otherwise you would never have known. I'm sorry that she didn't reciprocate your feelings."

Natsu just stared silently at Erza for a moment and nodded briefly. Then he walked off into the dark, the rain thrashing against the cobbled street.


Natsu didn't return to the Guild the following day. News of his outburst at Gray and his recurring disappearances began to worry some members of the guild. Most however recognised that Natsu was both a fiery and strange person and thought nothing of it. Lucy didn't visit the guild hall that day either. Instead she stayed home and thought about the events of the evening before. Happy and Gray had called over to her earlier and told her about Natsu's strange behaviour. When Gray asked Lucy what Erza had meant about Natsu's business with her she just told him she had no idea what she was talking about. She didn't want to cause Natsu any more pain, no one else needed to know of his embarrassment. Lucy did take note however that Erza was aware of what Natsu had told her the night before. Lucy desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, but would she be able to talk to Erza? She couldn't even be around her without feeling awkward. She itched to tell her how she felt about her or to show her somehow but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Besides, Lucy didn't know if Erza even liked girls, or her for that matter. Was it worth risking their friendship over it like Natsu had risked theirs? Lucy didn't think she could handle being around Erza if she rejected her. Also was it even fair to do that to Natsu, to shoot him down and then go after his friend instead?

Lucy's thoughts raged inside her head. Gray and Happy stayed for a while, laughing and joking about other guild members and how Elfman had failed so spectacularly against Natsu. Lucy tried her best to keep up with the conversation but found it almost impossible. After a while Gray and Happy took their leave, to the relief of the distressed Lucy. She needed to clear her head or else she would be driven mad. However Lucy only knew one way she could do that. Could she really bring herself to tell Erza how she felt? And could she betray Natsu like that just for the sake of her own feelings?

Lucy clutched her head in one hand and her chest in the other. The storm was still raging inside her brain and now her heart had decided to join in. She was torn, but either way she needed to talk to someone about what had happened with Natsu. Unfortunately, there was only option of who that could be…


Day passed to night over Magnolia town and in the Fairy Hills dormitory Erza was inspecting her different armours in her five-room apartment. She stopped briefly at the (hideous) dress that Natsu had given her. She sighed deeply and moved on to the next outfit. She did feel slight remorse for poor Natsu and her role in his situation. Telling Lucy had definitely been the right decision, it was logical to do so. Erza wondered briefly why logical and social norms just failed to be compatible so often in life. The outcomes were almost never as favourable as expected.

The thought that mainly bothered Erza however was not whether Natsu would be okay, as she had already decided he was too strong a person and a mage to let this bother him for long, instead it was that a small part of her felt decidedly happier knowing that Lucy had rejected Natsu. Erza didn't have long to contemplate on this thought however because there was a knock at the door, disturbing Erza's train of thought.

Erza opened the door swiftly and saw Juvia standing on the other side.

"Lucy called up to the dormitory asking for you," She explained, clearly agitated for some reason. "Juvia told Lucy that this isn't a respectable hour to be calling on friends and that she should come back tomorrow. Lucy was insistent however that Juvia let her in to see you…"

Juvia sighed and continued. "I hope you are not mad at Juvia, Lucy was most arrogant about the whole thing."

"No I wasn't Juvia! You're being ridiculous, let me past!" Lucy's voice came from behind Juvia somewhere in the corridor. Juvia stood aside reluctantly and Lucy stepped forward, clearly annoyed. Her mood softened however when she saw that Erza wasn't annoyed but instead seemed slightly amused by Juvia's antics.

"Hi, I was just wondering if I could eh, talk to you about what happened yesterday?" Lucy asked quietly. Juvia cleared her throat loudly; obviously still not content with Lucy's behaviour.

"Thank you Juvia, but it's okay, Lucy is always welcome to call on me any time." Erza explained graciously. Juvia just nodded and walked off, still somewhat annoyed.

"She's quite odd isn't she?" Lucy asked, watching Juvia walk away.

"Yes, but no more so than the rest of Fairy Tail's members." Erza noted, then added as a second thought "except for you Lucy. You seem decidedly normal."

"Eh, thanks… can I come in?"

"Of course, take a seat."

Erza stood aside and Lucy scampered into the warm apartment. She had forgotten just how large Erza's living quarters were. She sat down gingerly on the large couch. Erza requiped out of her armour and into a simple skirt/top outfit before sitting down beside her. It really suited her. The skirt complemented her luscious red hair beautifully. Lucy was painfully aware of how close Erza had sat down next to her, though she was pretty sure the great Titania hadn't thought anything of it. Lucy clasped her own hand in her lap and sat back in her seat, creating at least some breathing distance between herself and her companion. The two were quiet for a moment. Erza was looking at Lucy somewhat intently, waiting for her to speak. Lucy blushed.

"I.. I'm really sorry for bothering you like this, it's just you're the only one who knows about Natsu's… feelings for me." Lucy blurted out, still blushing slightly."

"Theres no reason to apologise Lucy, we're friends and like I told Juvia, you can call on me any time."

Lucy smiled gratefully and relaxed slightly at Erza's kind words. "I just feel so terrible for… well for not feeling the same…"

"You shouldn't feel so bad Lucy. It's not your fault that your feelings for Natsu don't reach further than companionship." Erza said. Then her expression softened further and she added "Really, you did the right thing by being honest with him."

Lucy nodded and stared down at her hands. Erza watched her carefully. She knew that Lucy needed some kind of comforting but she wasn't sure what exactly that entailed. "It'll be okay." Erza said, putting her arm awkwardly around Lucy's shoulders. It wasn't actually as hard as she expected. Lucy seemed to appreciate the gesture, Erza thought. Of course it wasn't exactly the truth, Erza had no way of knowing whether everything would turn out in a satisfactory manner. However Lucy just seemed to need some kind of hopeful statement to cling to. Reassurance was the best method. Erza wouldn't deny Lucy that.

"Thanks Erza" Lucy sighed, leaning in to her arm. "I'm sorry for grabbing your arm like that yesterday too"

Erza smiled. She didn't really understand why Lucy was apologising for something so trivial, but she decided just to go with it. "It's ok Lucy, really you did nothing wrong."

Lucy smiled at the great Titania. Maybe she wasn't actually as socially awkward as Lucy had dubbed her to be all this time. She felt a great deal more comfortable around her now after her kind words and the warmth of her arm across her neck was soothing. Lucy felt a great deal more at ease than she had in the last day or so and she let out a small sigh of relief.

Erza relaxed her arm around Lucy's shoulders, now comfortable with its placement. She noticed that Lucy edged slightly closer to her now. She could feel the warmth of her arm against her body and found it oddly soothing. Erza smiled at her blonde friend.

"Erza, do you like anyone in the guild? The way Natsu likes me I mean?"

Erza thought for a moment. She hadn't really considered any of the guild members in a sexual way recently. What with all the commotion over the Oración Seis and everything, when did she ever have time? She had lately considered Lucy as an attractive companion, but that needed further thought…

"I'm not sure really. " Erza replied. Lucy's heart sank a little. "I just haven't thought about it much lately, though once I have I will be better able to answer your query."

Lucy nodded, smiling at the ever odd Erza.

"How about you Lucy? You have made your feelings concerning Natsu apparent but what about the other members of the guild?" Erza asked inquisitively.

Lucy blushed a deep shade of red, not far off from Erza's hair colour, and turned away. Erza was intrigued by her reaction and probed further.

"You do? Well that's not entirely surprising. Who is it?"

Lucy felt her heart begin to race. It was like a samba drummer had taken up residence inside her chest. Her throat felt dry and scratchy. She gulped and looked back at Erza. She couldn't lie, not to Nakama, and Erza HAD asked her outright… Lucy opened her mouth to try to speak but found she couldn't. Her nerves had gotten the better of her voice, but that wasn't the only way she could tell Erza who she had fallen for.

Lucy leaned towards Erza, her lips parted slightly. She could feel Erza's warm breath on her lips as she edged closer. They were mere inches apart…

"Are you aware of what you are doing Lucy?" Erza asked quizzically.

Lucy jumped up from the sofa, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. What was she doing? She didn't even know if Erza liked girls, never mind her! Now she had gone and ruined everything by trying to kiss her. She had completely humiliated herself. There was no way she could even look at Erza right now.

"I, I should go…" Lucy turned and strode towards the door, opened it and hurried out and down the corridor. Erza watched her go.


Lucy headed out of Erza's room and started down the winding corridors before heading into the night. She was completely distraught. Not only had she managed to ruin her relationship with Natsu, now she had completely destroyed all chances she may have had with Erza. Who was she kidding? Lucy had never had a chance with the great Titania. Even if she DID like girls, which Lucy doubted, why would she fall for someone as bland and powerless as Lucy?

Lucy stopped at the gate of the Fairy Hills and leant on them, sobbing. After a moment she tried to calm down. Her emotions were completely shot and she found it difficult, but eventually she managed to compose herself enough to stop crying. Lucy stood up straight and looked up at the night sky. She wished she could take it back, all of it, and start again.

"Lucy…"

Lucy started and spun around. Erza had followed her down the path and was now standing right behind her. Lucy hadn't heard her coming.

"How did you get here so fast?" Lucy demanded, clutching her chest and trying to breathe.

"Well you were quite a bit ahead of me but you kept stopping along the way for some reason."

"Oh, right…" Lucy wiped away her tears hurriedly. She didn't want Erza to know that she had been stopping because she was sobbing so hard she couldn't see. Erza did notice the tears however. She reached a hand up and gently brushed one from Lucy's cheek. Afterwards, she left her hand resting there. Lucy was taken aback and completely confused by the gesture. Why…?

"You left before I had a chance to explain. However you did give me a chance to think through what I was going to say to you, or not say, as the case is."

Oh, that's why… Lucy's face dropped slightly. She had already been rejected. She didn't need Erza to make it official. She could feel the tears welling up again. The last thing she wanted was to break down in front of Erza.

That's when Erza kissed her.

Lucy froze in shock. She could feel Erza's warm lips pressed against hers but she couldn't bring her body to react. Erza's kiss was so gentle and soft; not at all what Lucy had imagined it would be like. It lasted only for a moment.

Erza pulled away, looking slightly confused. "Sorry, is that not what you had in mind?"

"No! No I mean it was, you just surprised me." Lucy explained quickly. Erza smiled at her and took her hand in hers. Lucy still couldn't help blushing. Was this really happening?

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted to your advances. I realise that it wasn't exactly what you were expecting. I hadn't considered what to do in that situation." Erza tried to explain. Lucy just beamed warmly at her. She certainly was odd, if not just confusing at the best of times.

"So, does this mean what I think it means?"

Erza looked quizzically at Lucy. "Lucy I am never quite sure what you are thinking…"

"I mean, do you like me too?" Lucy's heart seemed to stop for a second.

Erza smiled back at her beautiful blonde friend. True she hadn't really realised the full extent of her feelings for Lucy before but when Lucy tried to kiss her, everything just seemed to fall into place.

"Well, I would have thought that was obvious." Erza smiled cheekily.

Lucy let out a little shriek threw her arms around a somewhat startled Erza and hugged her tight to her. This time she wasn't going to freeze up, she was positive and she had gotten some of her long lost confidence back. She leaned her head in close to Erza's, stopping briefly to kiss her neck lightly. Erza practically melted under Lucy's touch. Then Lucy smiled warmly at her and kissed her passionately under the moon lit sky.


A day or so passed and a lot of things had changed in the Fairy Tail guild. Though he had promised Lucy that they would remain friends, Natsu had not shown up to the Guild or talked to any of its members since the incident with Gray and Elfman. Some of the members of the guild had begun to worry but Erza assured them that he had just needed to blow off steam. She knew Natsu, he would be back.

Meanwhile, Erza and Lucy continued to see each other and their relationship began to develop. Nothing official had been laid down yet, neither of them yet considered the other her girlfriend. Nevertheless the two girls understood the prudence of keeping what was happening between them a secret. Neither Erza nor Lucy wanted to lose Natsu completely as a friend. Lucy especially still felt terrible for her actions; though she also knew she wouldn't have changed what had happened with Erza if given the chance. Sure, she may have taken out the bit with her running out of the girl's dormitory like a blubbering maniac, but nothing after that.

It was an unusually chilly evening when Natsu returned to the Guild. He walked right into the Hall and up to the bar as if nothing had happened. All the members present watched him curiously, some in terror, expecting another fight.

"Boy I'm starving! Anything good to eat?" Natsu asked a confused and wary Mirajane. He positively beamed from ear to ear and she couldn't help but return the gesture.

"Sure Natsu" she smiled and cautiously placed a large bowl of ramen in front of him.

"Awesome!" Natsu exclaimed, tucking into the bowl as if it was his first meal in weeks.

"Natsu!"

Happy came flying down and landed on Natsu's shoulder. His companion grinned at him, his face stuffed with ramen. He attempted to say something that sounded vaguely like "Hi Happy!"

"Where have you been Natsu, I looked everywhere!" Happy was both excited to see Natsu and upset that he had left in the first place. His ears drooped as he hugged the side of Natsu's face.

"I went off into the woods for a bit." Natsu grinned, then stuffed more food hurriedly into is mouth.

"What were you looking for?" Happy asked inquisitively, his head bent slightly to the side.

"Oh, nothing really…" Natsu replied, an image of Igneel briefly flashing across his mind's eye.


Erza ran her hand along Lucy's shoulder. She loved watching her sleep, especially when she was in her arms. Her skin was soft and firm to the touch. Erza enjoyed stroking it and the pleasurable view she had of the naked Lucy snuggled up to her chest. At first Lucy had found it awkward, being naked around Erza, but she had found it easier when Erza reminded her that she had already seen Lucy naked before when Hilda had sent her on a job in Fairy Hills. Or, Hilda's spirit had really.

Erza hadn't had any problems being naked around Lucy. She had often been naked around femal companions and viewed it as an important bonding process. However, the intimate side of things had initially puzzled her. Lucy seemed to know what she was doing though, and Erza made sure she was an efficient and fast learning student.

Lucy began to wake up. Yawning, she blinked her eyes for a few seconds and then looked up at Erza. She blushed profusely and looked away. "You're staring at me again!" She giggled. Erza apologised awkwardly and shielded her eyes with her free arm. Lucy just laughed and removed Erza's hand from her now puzzled face.

"I don't mean I mind… I'm just not used to it is all."

"Well my apologies anyway Lucy. I'll try to do so a little less or at least not when you are aware of it."

Erza smiled at her and Lucy reached up and kissed her companion. A beautiful tingling feeling washed over them, starting from the point where their lips touched. Lucy pulled away and laid her head down on Erza's chest, sighing. Erza tried to catch her breath and then upon success began to stroke Lucy's hair.

"I love just lying here with you Erza." Lucy breathed happily. "It just feels… right."

Erza lifted Lucy's chin and kissed her. She could feel her breath mingle with Lucy's and leaned in further, kissing her passionately. Just lying there wasn't exactly what Erza had in mind. Lucy moaned softly and ran her hands through Erza's hair before grabbing it and pulling gently. Erza flipped Lucy onto her back and started to slowly kiss down Lucy's neck, her hands caressing her as they followed. Lucy dragged her finger nails along Erza's back and gasped as Erza stopped between her thighs. Pleasure rushed through her in waves and Lucy moaned loudly, arching her back… just as the door burst open...