Cana drained another bottle, and waved it at the guys inside before throwing it on the ground. Natsu sighed. This was going to be a long, expensive trip if Cana kept drinking like this, and Gray wasn't helping either. They had reached the first gas station, and the two of them had already blown through at least a case of sake.
"Hey, Snowcone, Cana wants some more sake. Go see if they have any," Natsu grabbed some fireballs from the candy rack.
"Y'know, she might drink a lot, but she's actually kinda funny," Gray said, placing the sake on the counter with the fireballs.
Gray began looking through the freezer for a snack he could eat, when Natsu agreed, "Yeah, I guess. She doesn't mean any harm."
The clerk gave Gray a dirty look when he passed her the wrapper from the snow cone he was eating straight out of the freezer, "Is she all there? Like mentally?"
Natsu turned around, "Hey, Levy. We gotta get goin'. Hurry up," then he turned back to Gray, "Well, I think so. She just has a drinking problem, and being adopted with a father like Jude doesn't help any."
"Should we be worried?" Gray asked as the clerk began to ring them up. The sake was over 200 dollars.
"Goddamn. She's lucky her dad is bankrollin' most of this trip, 'cause that shit's expensive. And no, she's mostly harmless. Just drunk. Lucy did say we shouldn't let her drive, obviously, or gamble. We probably shouldn't let her in a bar alone either. Or anywhere else," Natsu said, then turned to look for Levy, "C'mon Levy we gotta go!"
"Jesus, she's like a gremlin and shit. So many instructions," Gray slid out of the way so Levy could hand her drink to the pile, "Water? Really? C'mon, we're on a road trip to Vegas."
Levy sighed, "Well, I was just on the phone with Droy, and I told him that we're two hours outside of Wine Country, and he bought it. Then he told me that I shouldn't be drinking any alcohol, so, yes, water."
"Don't you think it's strange that you've been in a relationship for going on three years and you still have to lie about going to Vegas with a bunch of friends?" Gray asked, turning to face her.
"Honestly, yeah, I do. But at the same time, it isn't worth the fight. Droy would just-" Levy started fidgeting with her phone.
"Oh, so it's not okay for you to go on a road trip, but it's perfectly fine for Droy to fuck a hotel manager in Japan. On his 3 week vacation you paid for," Gray interrupted, bringing a sharp glare from a mother carrying a small child.
"Hold on. First of all, she was the assistant floor director. Second of all, he was wasted. Third of all, it was a month, not three weeks. Also, if you must know, he didn't even cum inside of her," Levy looked down again, speaking with a strong voice toward the floor.
Natsu sighed. Gray turned around and picked up the sake, asking, "And you believe that?" Then he walked out the door, "Pay the nice lady, Firebrand."
Natsu ran a hand through his bright pink hair as Levy chased Gray out the door, "Uh, yeah, actually, I do believe him, because he doesn't like to cum at all."
Gray stopped in his tracks and shook his head. Cana walked over, putting the pump away, "Who doesn't like to cum?"
"Droy. He's grossed out by semen," Levy said matter-of-factly.
"He's fat? With a really ugly jacket all the time?"
"He's not fat! And the jacket isn't exactly ugly…" Levy protested.
"That's actually kinda funny, 'cause I see the dickface all the time at the Strauss, always tryin' to get in anyone's pants. Even other guys sometimes," Cana took a full bottle from Gray.
"Back in the car! We gotta lotta ground to cover today! Let's go!" Natsu came out of the gas station shouting at everybody, and they all filed into the car obediently.
Cana turned around from her seat in the front of the car, "Hey, so this drinkin' buddy o' mine, he's a real gambler, the fancy type, and he told me once that the way to go is to work in teams. So who wants to be my partner for tonight?" she looked expectantly at Gray.
"Actually, Cana, I don't think you should be doing too much gambling tonight." Natsu kept his eyes on the road.
"Who said gambling? It's not gambling if you know you're gonna win!" she winked at him.
"Counting cards is illegal, Cana," Levy chastised.
"It's not illegal, it's frowned upon," Cana objected, "Like masturbating with a beer bottle on an airplane."
Natsu and Gray grinned, "I'm pretty sure that's illegal too."
"Maybe after the Tenrou Island incident when everybody got so damn sensitive. Thanks a lot Acnologia," Cana scowled at a child in the car next to them.
"Either way, you have to be super smart to count cards. Ok? It's not easy," Natsu kept attempting to persuade her to back down.
He failed as she said, "Oh really? Tell that to Rain Man. 'Cause he practically bankrupt a casino, and he was a ri-tard."
The rest of them looked at each other. Levy leaned forward, "a What?"
"A ri-tard you ri-tard," Cana repeatd.
"It's retard," Natsu correctd.
"Yeah, and he wasn't retarded. He was a savant," Levy mumbled, glaring out the window.
"Hello, how may I help you today?" a beautiful silver haired woman asked, looking up from her computer behind the desk.
"Yes, we have a reservation under Dr. McGarden," Levy said, placing her bags on the floor and leaning on the desk.
"Doctor. Levy, you're a teacher. Like me," Gray looked at her, amused, "don't try and get fancy."
"It's not fancy if it's true," Levy rationalized, smiling at the girl behind the counter.
Gray looked at her nametag, "Lisanna, she's just a teacher. Is someone has a heart attack, you should still call 911," and Gray smiled at her.
"Um, will make sure that happens, but in the meantime, sir, I'm going to have to ask that you leave the hotel," Lisanna said, looking down and smiling back.
"What! Did my flirting make you uncomfortable?" Gray stood up straight.
"No, not at all, but you see, we have a policy here. No shirt, No shoes, No service. And you sir, have no shirt," Lisanna said as Natsu finished loading their bags onto the trolley, just to watch them fall again.
"Oh, yeah. That happens sometimes," Gray looked around for his shirt, finally getting it from Cana, and re-clothed himself.
"Um, do you know if this place is pager-friendly? 'cause I'm not getting a sig on my beeper, and it's pissing me off," Cana asked, holding up a small device.
"I'm not sure." Lisanna turned to the drunkard, "But I'm afraid you'll have to leave the hotel. A bra is not a shirt."
"Think of it as a bikini. And do you have a payphone bank? You know, like a rack of payphones, just stacked up one after the other? Business calls," Cana explained.
"Well, there's a phone in your room." Lisanna offered.
"Cana, you don't work. At all," Gray said, "I bet you found that pager on the ground outside."
She stuck her tounge out at him, "Loser."
"So, I have you four in a 2 bed suite on the twelfth floor, is that ok?" Lisanna asked.
Natsu pushed their cart over, "Sounds perfect. Now let's go before everything falls off again."
"Hold on, wait a minute, Salamander," Gray turned to Lisanna, "I was wondering if you had any villa's available."
Levy asked, "Gray, we're not even going to be in the room. Why the heck should we get a villa? It's no big deal. We can share beds."
Cana immediately grabbed onto Gray's arm, "I call Gray!"
Levy rolled her eyes, "No, we'd split boy/girl."
Cana pouted, and Natsu and Gray began fighting and arguing that they'd never share anything. Then Levy broke them up, by kicking everything off the trolley. Natsu shouted and began stacking everything up again, and Gray turned to Lisanna and took a deep breath, "Lisanna, I apologize. How much is the villa?"
"We have one villa available, and it's 4200 dollars for the night," she looked at all 3 of them.
"Is it awesome?" Cana asked, drinking straight from the sake bottle.
"It's pretty awesome," Lisanna confirmed.
"We'll take it," he motioned to Levy, "Give her your credit card."
"I can't give her my credit card," Levy said, just as Natsu finished with the cart.
Natsu offered to split it. "Are you crazy? No, this is on us," Gray objected.
"You don't get it. Droy checks my statements," Levy turned all the way toward him.
"Well, we just need it on file. We don't charge anything until you check out, so you can figure it out then." Lisanna offered.
"Perfect, that's perfect. Thank you, Lisanna, we'll deal with it tomorrow," Gray said, then motioned back to Levy, "C'mon, give her your credit card."
Levy let out a deep sigh, reaching into her purse, "Fine."
"Can I ask you another question? You probably get this one a lot." Cana said, tipping the bottle back.
"Sure," Lisanna nodded.
Cana leaned close, and whispered, "This isn't the real Ceasar's Palace, is it?"
"What do you mean?" Lisanna gave her a confused look.
"D-Did, uh, did Ceasar live here?" She stammered, glancing to Gray and the others.
"No," Lisanna smirked.
Cana took a long swig from her bottle, "Good, I didn't think so. Let's go, guys."
Natsu swiped the room key, and with a slight beep, the door swung open, "Holy shit! It's enormous! Thank you guys so much. Or should I say, thank you, Levy."
"You're welcome, Salamander. But it's only because I love you. In a non-romantic kind of way," Levy said, dropping her bags in the middle of the room.
"God damn! Guys, Welcome to Vegas!" Gray said, standing in front of the glass wall with his arms spread wide.
"Hey look, free sake!" Cana said, running over to a small table full of various products and foods.
"No no no no no!" Levy exclaimed, running over and taking the bottle and placing it back where Cana took it from, "Cana, those are on a pressure sensor. If it registers that you have picked it up for more than 30 seconds, there is a charge for it. And knowing Vegas, and sake, that bottle is probably like 600 dollars."
"Levy, relax," Gray said from the small kitchen area.
"Gray, Droy is like a forensic accountant when it comes to my statements. He scours them until they shine more than your ice," Levy watched as Gray came over with an empty sake bottle he had filled with water, "If you want the sake, I suggest you put your own credit card down."
"Watch this," he said, picking up the full bottle of sake from the table and replacing it with the water-filled one Cana had finished on their way in. The pressure sensor turned off. He tossed the bottle to Cana, "Here, have your sake. Just save some for me!"
"Y'know, even you can't ruin sake, Levy," Cana said, taking the flower out of Levy's hair and placing it in the water-filled sake bottle.
"Alright, pick a room, get dressed, and be out here in half an hour," Natsu said, walking back from one of the expansive rooms in the villa, "this one's mine."
"Droy, I just wish you could see this place. I know that you of all people would love it. It's so quaint," she said, while picking up the remote to open the curtains and reveal the glamour of Las Vegas, "Yeah, no there are no tv's, no phones, there's just little antique am radio's in every room."
Gray and Natsu both walked into the room, already finished dressing. They motioned to her to hurry up. She held the phone against her shoulder while trying to do her hair, "What's his name? Ceasar. Caesar Palache. Yeah, like the salad. Well listen, I have to go, we're going to this wine tasting, and – no I won't have the wine, just water and cheese – and. W-w-wait! I love you!" before she could get the 'you' out, there was an audible click as Droy hung up.
"I'm not even going to say anything it's so embarrassing," Gray said, buttoning his sleeve.
"Where's Cana?" Levy asked, putting the finishing touches of make-up on.
"She went downstairs already. She said she had to grab a few things," Natsu said, giving them a pointed look.
"Good, because I have something that I need to talk to you two about," Levy said, getting excited. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a ring.
"What the hell is that?" Gray asked, as Natsu took the ring from her.
"What do you think it is?" Levy asked, unable to contain her smile.
"If it's what I think it is, it's a big fucking mistake. Besides, doesn't the guy usually propose?" Gray leaned back in his chair, looking straight at Levy.
She continued to beam at them, "I'm going to propose to him, at your wedding, after the ceremony."
"Levy, congratulations! This is a beautiful ring!" Natsu said, admiring the stone.
"Thank you, Natsu. And that is going to be the ring that I wear. It was my grandmother's. She made it all the way through the Holocaust with that ring," Levy checked to make sure everything was in her purse, and then placed the ring inside as well.
Gray was still just as angry as Levy seemed happy, "Wait, I still don't get it. Have you ever listened to anything I have ever said?"
"Gray, we have been dating for three years. It's time, this is how things work," Levy said, her happiness starting to fade.
"A. That is complete bullshit. B. He is a complete asshole!" Gray threw himself down on Levy's bed.
"Hey!" Natsu threw a pillow at Gray, "Be nice, Ice Queen, that's her fiancé you're talking about!"
"It's true! You know it is!" Gray said, standing and stalking towards them, "He beats her!"
"That was twice!" Levy interrupted, pushing Gray back, "and I happened to be out of line both times! He's just strong-willed, that's all. And I respect that in a man."
"Wow. Wow! She's in denial!" Gray shouted at Natsu, then turned to Levy again, "You're in denial! Not to mention he fucked a hotel manager! For three weeks straight!"
"She was an assistant floor director. And it was a month. You know that, FrostFace," Natsu corrected, shoving Gray back into a chair.
"Guys! I'm standing right here, so I can hear everything that you're saying," Levy interrupted the impending fight, and then continued to spray on perfume.
"You guys ready to let the dogs out!" Cana screamed, jumping into the room, in a very tight, very small black dress.
"What?" Levy asked, picking up her purse.
"Y'know, the song, who let the dogs out," Cana began to sing and dance her way around the villa, the others following her toward the door.
"We'll talk about this later," Gray said, pointing at Levy, "We're not done."
Gray and Levy began singing 'Who Let the Dogs Out' and dancing toward the elevator. Natsu held out the door for Levy, "You know he just does it because he cares about you, right?"
"And he doesn't care about you? He never made such a big problem out of it when you were getting married," She commented.
"Gray doesn't believe half the things he says. He loves Juvia and his son too much. You know that. He also knows that Droy is no good. He's a lazy, jobless leech that uses you. Gray loves you in his own way," Natsu shut the door behind them.
Levy looked away from him, and at the floor, "Yeah, I guess. I love Gray too, you know," her eyes, full of fear, snapped to Natsu, "But not in a romantic sense! Not ever! Don't tell Juvia I said that! Just forget I ever said it!"
Natsu laughed, "Don't worry, your homewrecking secret is safe with me."
Levy's face turned bright red, almost matching her dress, "No! You bastard! You know what I meant!"
Natsu's laughter joined Gray and Cana's as they entered the elevator. Levy, still blushing, looked down at Gray's feet, "uh, thanks, Gray, for caring, but-"
Gray just smiled at her, "Leave it, Levy. We'll talk about it later! Now, we're gonna have fun! It's Natsu's last night with us! Time to party!"
Levy smiled back, as the elevator doors closed, and said, "Well, you might want your jacket then, Iceman."
"Uh, guys, I know we're not supposed to be up here. It clearly says, 'No entry past this point', and 'Employee's Only'," Levy protested as they snuck out onto the roof of Caesar's Palace.
"Oh give it a rest, bookworm. Look at the view. Isn't it amazing? Natsu needed to see this before he forever lost the ability to go where he wants when he wants. Or maybe that comes before marriage? I forget, looking at you and Droy," Gray said, jumping down toward the edge.
Levy just smiled and followed, taking off her heels, "It is pretty amazing, Popsicle."
Gray turned to Natsu, "You like it, firebro? This is the best view in Vegas. I just had to make sure you got to see it."
"Are you kidding? This is amazing! How'd such an icy dude find such a hot place?" Natsu asked, awed by the scene before him.
"Hey, this place is cool," Gray said, then called out to Cana, who was pouring drinks on the ledge, "Hey, Cana, how we doin' over there?"
"Almost ready!" she sang back, walking over with the drinks, "Gray bought me a bottle of Ace for tonight, so we could all celebrate in style!"
"I'd like to make a toast," Levy announced, taking her glass from Cana, "to Natsu and Lucy. May tonight be but a minor speedbump, in what is otherwise a very long and very healthy marriage."
"Cheers!" came from everybody, and they downed their glasses. Cana poured out a little more.
"Alright, now I'd like to talk about something –" Gray began, looking at Levy as he turned toward Natsu.
"I'd like to – I'd like to say something," Cana interrupted, staring at the sky, "That I've prepared for tonight," She pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper from her bra, "Hello. How 'bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City," She gave an awkward, forced laugh, "You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I think of myself as a one woman guild, of sorts. But when my sister brought Natsu home, I knew I was not alone. I felt it, and my one person guild grew by one. There were two –" she stumbled over the words, "There were two of us in the guild. I was al- I was alone first, in the guild, then Natsu joined in later, and there were two."
Natsu whispered to Gray, "Hey, I think she might actually be drunk for once. Good call on the Spades."
"Thanks," he muttered back, trying not to disturb Cana's speech, since she seemed so nervous and was trying so hard.
"Then 6 months ago, Natsu introduced me to the rest of you guys. I thought, 'wait a second, could it be?' And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my guild. Four of us Guildmates, running around Las Vegas together, looking for strippers and cocaine," the three of them laughed and raised their glasses, expecting a toast. Instead, Cana pulled out a knife, "so tonight I make a toast!" and she cut open her hand, a shallow, but bloody cut.
"What the hell are you doing?" Natsu screamed.
"Blood Brothers. We'll all join in," Cana said, trying to hand the knife to Natsu.
"No, Cana, we're not doing that. We're not going to cut ourselves. Give me the knife, slowly, ok thank you," Natsu took the knife from her, "maybe we could all get tattoos or something. In paint. When we get back."
"Yeah, something that is not freaking weird," Levy said, still grossed out by Cana's display.
"We could call ourselves Fairy Tail, because that's what my cut looks like, a Fairy Tail. We could all get them inked on, you know, so we never forget," Cana said sucking the blood off her palm.
"Yeah, maybe, but not tonight. Here, gimme your hand," Gray cleaned her palm and wrapped his handkerchief around it to stop the bleeding and soak up her blood.
"Thank you, Gray," She mumbled.
"Ok, because now I need everybody to focus. I wanna talk about something. I wanna talk about memory. No, better yet, I wanna talk about selective memory. You see, whatever happens here, may as well never have happened at all. Because this guild," Gray looked to Cana, "is about as far as any of this is ever going to go. In other words, forget everything. Natsu, I'm serious, I got a wife and kid. We don't remember, so we got nothing to talk about when we get back. Nothing guys. Nothing! We gotta deal?"
"Deal," Natsu and Cana chimed in. Levy locked her lips and threw away the key.
"Good. Because I love my wife, but sometimes, she's fucking crazy," he walked over to Natsu and Levy, "C'mere, Cana," he raised his glass, "To a night, we'll never remember, but the four of us will never forget!"
A/N: I wanted to upload a little longer chapter, but this was the the best place to cut a chapter off. Won't be able to work until next Friday, Boys State is this week. Also, I am going to establish a regular update schedule, so please be a little patient. Read and Review!