Warning; You may not agree with many of the pairings in this chapter. Just remember, just because they've taken each other on a date in this chapter does not mean that they're actual pairings in my head. I've already stated how much I hate OTPs. Please don't get mad.


X791 August 28th

The evening of the ball rolled in, sweeping the country into a comforting darkness, a bright red light gleaming across the horizon as the sun prepared to dive into night. Gray looked up at the gates of Fairy Hills, uncertain what he was supposed to do to get the requip mage's attention. He knew that Juvia would also no doubt be inside and though the rain woman had been made aware of the situation he didn't want to have to explain once more to her face. He also knew that any man that dared come close to Fairy Hills was running a huge risk to their safety.

A relieved sigh left his lips as he saw Erza stepping out of the door, but the more he saw of her the more his eyes grew wide. The woman looked stunning. She wore a jet black velvet dress, gleaming with tiny diamonds that rivalled the night sky's own stars. The straps pulled into a halter neck that complimented her curved yet athletic figure, stopping low at the base of her back. Bare skin traced the curve of her back, running up to the line of her scarlet hair, pulled high with tiny curls wisped across her high cheekbones. Long black elegant gloves were pulled high, stopping just before her Fairy Tail mark. Her eyes dazzled, obviously enjoying being able to wear the feminine outfit. Over the years she had finally become more confident to take her armour off from time to time and though she still pined for it she was at least now able to appreciate the beauty of dresses.

As she looked at him, a smile crossed her face as she was equally impressed with his choice of outfit. He had come clothed, though she would have to see just how long that would last, and he was looking wonderfully smart. Somehow he seemed to compliment her outfit without even knowing, and as she stood beside him they almost looked like a real couple. Definitely an extra twenty points, not that she was still counting. A blush crossed her cheeks. "Thank you for taking me," she told him.

"You look incredible…" he said, actually amazed. Even since their encounter two years ago it was rare that he would see Erza as a woman and not a leader, warrior, terrifying creature, or even just a friend. He almost saw her as 'one of the guys', even when she was in her most beautiful of armour, because it felt impossible to think of her in any other way. But now it was impossible not to see her beauty, her curves, the blush on her cheeks.

She blushed more, not quite meeting his eyes. As she looked away she could see tiny droplets dampening the ground. Putting out her hand, she began to feel rain sinking through into her thick gloves, looking up and seeing sudden dark clouds growing in the sky. She had been certain that it had been clear skies before. She glanced back over her shoulder to Fairy Hills, seeing a wisp of blue hair disappearing back from the doorway as the rain suddenly began to pour heavier. Juvia. She frowned. She had hurt the girl more than she'd expected to just by trying to look out for Gray and it would certainly take some work to try and recover their relationship. While Juvia was normally kind she could be brutal to her rivals, though she suspected the sudden downpour was not intentional.

Gray twisted his hands, the icy magic growing and forming quickly. An elegant bright blue umbrella materialised covering the requip wizard's dazzling outfit quickly just as the heavens opened. "I suspected something like this might happen," he said. The ice umbrella had been something he'd practising ready for a day like this.

The ice crystals fractured the stars above, showering Erza in a million colours as her eyes widened, smiling. "I've always thought your magic truly is beautiful," she commented, taking the cold creation in her own hands and knowing that she had been wise to choose thick gloves. She had remembered just how cold he could be. As she took the blue umbrella in one hand she moved her other hand in front of her, gesturing for him to take her own.

He had barely noticed that he had somehow stayed dry despite not being under his own creation before Erza looked pointedly to her own umbrella that she had conjured for him. The handle looked like a katana hilt and the shaft was so wide and oddly shaped he suspected that there may have been a weapon concealed in there. He smirked. "Don't you have a limited number of spaces you can fit these weapons into?" he asked, gladly accepting his gift.

She shrugged, slipping her arm into his and beginning to walk away in the pouring rain. "It comes in useful from time to time," she admitted, already feeling that this 'date' was going to a good start.


As Gray and Erza walked into the ballroom, the dazzling display of inter-guild joy flooded through the air. Though many had stayed within their own guilds or towns for their partner choices, the groups of people talking were from all corners of Fiore. Mermaid Heel members mingled in between everyone, each of them gladly with their own first pick of partners but making the most of talking to as many new friends as possible. This had been an annual event for the all-female guild, but this had been the first year that they had decided to open their doors to the rest of Fiore and the huge hall and gardens were overflowing with people.

Despite the crowds, Gray and Erza had not been unnoticed. There had been glances and stares from all wizards of all guilds, and even some of the Sorcery Weekly team that had been desperate for the latest scoop. The two did their best to ignore them, offer polite smiles and shrug their shoulders, and luckily there were many other unusual couples that were quick to take the spotlight.

Levy looked up over the crowds, spotting the familiar pair from her guild with a certain curiosity. "Oh, Gray and Erza have come together?" she mentioned, clearly surprised and though she wasn't usually one for gossip she was interested to see the reaction from her friend.

The blond beside her looked back at the doors, watching the new couple walking back into the hall. "Huh…" Lucy said slowly, genuinely surprised not only that they had come together but that neither of her close friends had mentioned that they would be each other's date. It had all been incredibly rushed, but she had been the one to help Erza to pick her outfit and the requip wizard had kept her mouth decidedly shut about who she was taking. Lucy had assumed this meant it would be the Crime Socerie mage, as she would have had to have kept his true identity a secret if he was coming to such a public. She had never thought that it could be another member of their close group. "I thought that Gray would come with Juvia…" she noted, wondering where the rain woman was and just how she would react seeing a new romantic rival.

Levy leaned in closer, a small smirk on her face. "And I thought you'd come with Natsu?"

Lucy jumped back, her face quickly turning a colour that rivalled Erza's hair. "What-What? It's not like that!" she gasped. In truth, she had wanted to ask the dragon slayer, but she had taken some time coming to that decision and while she had been battling with herself, Lisanna had asked her childhood friend. Instead Lucy had somewhat reluctantly allowed Loke to escort her, pleasantly surprised that he had kept himself available for her and surprised at how excited she had been by this. "Besides – you and Gajeel?!"

"I-I-…" Levy stumbled, shivering. "I didn't want to upset Droy or Jet by choosing one of them and not the other…" she excused feebly, her own face going a dark shade of red itself.

Lucy grinned, knowing her friend all too well. She wasn't fooling anyone, and Lucy couldn't help but find something about their relationship adorable, almost like the romantic stories she had become to enjoy writing so much recently. "But then, I would have expected Gajeel to be Juvia's second choice since they were good friends in Phantom Lord…" she muttered quietly, trying to think of what might have happened to the rain woman. She considered going to Fairy Hills to check if she was alright, about to suggest the idea to Levy as the door opened once again.

The rain woman stood in the doorway, a determined look on her face as she stood next to the ice mage. Not the ice mage, but an ice mage all the same. Lyon had been happy to accept Juvia's request, over the moon in fact, but he now had a deep hatred towards the man that had originally turned her down. He couldn't understand Gray's motivations at all, and while he was glad that he had been able to step in and take the rain woman on the date he had dreamed of since they met, he wanted to strangle his adoptive brother for allowing such a match to have ever happened.

Inter-guild coupling always gained the biggest reaction from the crowds as they watched Lyon and Juvia glide into the ballroom, and it hadn't taken long for Gray and Erza to notice their new rivals. "What the hell are they playing at?" Gray murmured under his breath, holding his fists tightly.

Erza smirked slightly. She was actually glad to see the new couple as she had been worried that Juvia would have spent the entire evening wallowing in her own pity and rainclouds. Watching the pair, she wondered why she had never seen the two together before, amazed at how well they seemed to fit beside each other. "I thought you said you weren't interested," she jested carefully towards her partner.

"I'm not," Gray hissed.

Erza nodded, knowing that there was no point in trying to get any more out of him than that. Gray and Erza had a way of communicating without words, from years of battle and many more years of hiding their true intentions. They had learnt long ago that what was said didn't always reflect what they actually felt, not usually because they were lying but mostly that they were shielding each other from worry and pain. She could see now that he was once again shielding himself from troubling emotions, empathising with his lack of empathy. "Would you like to dance?" she asked him, deciding if they were going to rival the ice and water couple then they would need to up their game.

He snorted. "I don't have a death wish."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "I'm an excellent dancer."

He tensed, realising not only was she serious but also that this would be fully expected of him. In a normal ball it would probably be considered rude to not accept his date's request to dance, but in a Girl's Choice Ball surrounded by fierce female wizards he knew it was probably as much of a death wish as the dancing itself. He sighed. "Will you at least let me lead?" he asked her cautiously, wondering how many other people could easily get hurt in the process of her violent dancing.

"I always do," she protested.

"No, you don't," he pointed out to her, knowing that he probably had some scars to prove it. He put out his hand, letting her slip her warmly gloved hand into his. "Just try to trust me. Try to follow what I'm doing."

She blushed, deeply offended that he was insulting her dancing before they had even gotten to the dancefloor. She was a wonderful dancer. She was filled with determination that she would prove this to him now, walking over to the dancefloor with her clicking high heels and watching all of the beautiful couples already in each other's' arms. She was so lost as she watched them spinning that she barely noticed Gray had stopped in front of her, holding out his hands for her to come into his hold. She took a cautious step forwards, staying a little further back from him than she probably should of as her body tensed. She would be an excellent dancer, she would show all of them that she was an expert in this as well as her fighting skill.

"Just trust me," he whispered to her, his hand slipping onto her side.

She blushed against her will, unused to anyone touching her in this way. She didn't want to trust him, she wanted to prove herself to him. She told herself that she would let him 'lead', if that was what he really wanted to do, but only for a moment before she could show off her true skills. Gently she tried to move her feet in time with his, making herself angry as she realised that it was much much harder than it had looked, and the timing was painfully slow.

"You're doing great," he said, a little surprise lingering in his voice.

She looked up at him, realising that his eyes were actually dazzling with pride. As she looked around herself she realised that she was keeping the same timing as the rest of the dancers around her, and that she was actually blending into the beautiful couples on the dancefloor. No one else was spinning people quickly or trying to push up the tempo to ridiculous speeds, and she realised that he may had been right to ask her to trust him. She frowned deeply.

"Are you enjoying it?" he asked, a little playfully as he could sense her discomfort.

"No," she snapped. "It's too slow."

Gray smirked, realising that an actual slow dance may be thankfully off the cards for some time. The music started to slow to an end and he let go of her, giving her the traditional bow as the dance finished and taking her arm to take her back from the dancefloor, amazed that he had escaped that ordeal with his life. Not only had he escaped, but he'd actually found that he was enjoying it a little. The way that people looked at them still made his skin crawl, and the terror that this night would end in a disaster for his friend had never left him, but at least for a moment he could start to make the most of it.


As the night wore on the laughter grew and the guilds bonded between one another like never before. It was not only a great celebration of partners but also one of all wizards combined. There were many dates which had crossed over different guilds, mostly due to Mermaid Heel being comprised entirely of females and taking full benefit of their self-granted power and quickly stealing most of the eligible bachelors. There were few complaints but even if there had been it soon became clear that everyone was taking the chance to talk to one another regardless of any previous alliances. It had actually been the perfect way to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to speak to someone that they normally wouldn't consider and everyone was eager to take part. Even Juvia and Lyon bonded over their bitterness, both determined that whatever Gray and Erza did they would have to do it better and partying into exhaustion. Gray only had to shake his head in despair, even as he noticed Juvia was moving in time with her new partner, just the same amount of crazy between them. If only they could see that, he thought to himself.

Even as darkness fell further onto the night sky the party showed no signs of stopping. Erza had decided that the stars were worthy of an audience, slipping out of the French doors and stepping onto the balcony. She smiled up to the moon, feeling the soft glow of the full moon and starlight wash over herself and the calming crisp cold sink into her skin. Even next to the ice mage the room had been roasting hot with so many people around and so much alcohol to press a blush against her cheeks.

"It's a beautiful night," Gray commented slowly as he caught his breath, leaning over the banister and looking out to the mysterious shadows below. He was obviously appreciating the cool air even more than the requip mage though he had been reluctant to leave the warming atmosphere.

Erza nodded gently, glancing back to her date and rolling her eyes. "Gray!" she scolded him quickly, picking his shirt from the floor and pushing it back into his hands. She had to admit that he had been impressive to have remained clothed for so long, and while she told him off there was a playful gleam in her eyes, possibly induced by the alcohol.

He murmured an apology, pulling the shirt back across his shoulders though he was reluctant to. Despite what most of his friends may have thought, he hated the idea of being naked in public, but the evening had been almost unbearably warm and the crisp white shirt had been stifling. He would rather that then face Erza's wrath, however, a warm glow on his cheeks. "Have you had a good night?" he asked her, realising that they were actually alone now, wondering how the pair had somehow ended up secluded in such a busy night.

Erza beamed, gripping onto the side of the balcony and leaning back to him. For a moment she looked incredibly feminine, not only in the way that she wore her hair or filled her beautiful dress but with the girlish charm and the ruby blush across her cheek. "It's been wonderful so far," she told him. "Thank you for agreeing to come with me."

He shrugged, absently realising that now he had his shirt he had no idea where his jacket had got to, or his tie for that matter. "You were the one who bailed me out," he admitted.

Erza smirked, looking back through the French doors and trying to get a glimpse at the people dancing. She was surprised to see that Juvia still hadn't noticed that they had disappeared, though she didn't want to see her reaction when she realised that Erza had dragged her beloved into privacy. "Ah, of course. You know that I'll always be there to protect you, Gray, whatever you need," she smiled eagerly.

Gray raised an eyebrow, realising that she was being far more sentimental than he had seen before. "You're drunk," he observed, trying not to be too offended that she had been drinking beyond reason while in his company and preparing for the potential of protecting her from herself. He did remember Christmas, after all, even if she didn't.

"I think we should dance my way now!" she announced.

"What?! No!" Gray shouted out, suddenly fearing for his life.

She pounced forwards, trying to take both of his hands and pull him into the energetic spinning, but before she could get a hold of him she found her feet give way underneath her and she stumbled forwards. Her cheeks went bright red as she was once again in his arms, the way a date rightly should be, memories of being kissed suddenly flooding back to her through the haze of liquor. She forgot what she was supposed to be doing, forgot that she was going to drag him into a dance, forgot that this entire date had been one friend giving a favour to another. "I've had a really good night, Gray…" she whispered, shivering a little from the cold under his fingertips. "You know you should be giving me your jacket about now…" she scolded him, realising he was very much not acting like the gentleman that she had been promised by fairy-tales.

"I, uh, have no idea where it is…" he admitted, reluctant to let her step any further back from her in case she fell.

She smiled. "Of course you don't," she said softly, though something about how familiar that was made her smile even more. Unexpectedly the reminder that it was Gray in front of her did not bring her out of the fantasy but instead seemed to secure it in place, letting her drift into the girlish imaginations of a knight in shining armour taking her to a ball. It seemed so ridiculous that someone like Erza could have even thought that way and while the image had been slightly different, in the heart of it was a dream that she had never dared come true, especially not with her best friend as her leading male.

Gently she turned, her eyes blurring as she did so and catching her breath. Suddenly she was sobering, realising as she stepped away from Gray that they were not alone. In the commotion of wizards, dancing and alcohol somehow a figure draped completely in shadows had managed to make his way through the ball and directed onto the balcony where Gray and Erza stood. Her heart skipped a beat, watching in anticipation as he pulled back the bandana and headscarf and revealing his blue hair. "Jellal…" Erza breathed, looking at him in disbelief.

He didn't give a smile. He looked between Gray and Erza for a moment, knowing that it was clearly not his place to say anything but also knowing that it hurt more than he could have ever admitted. She seemed happy, he had to admit, knowing that for the redhead it meant more than most. "I was told you'd be here," he explained, desperately trying to latch onto the reasons why he had wandered into the ball other than a burning jealousy he had no right to bear.

Erza nodded. "But how are you here?" she asked him sharply, fear lacing her voice as she glanced behind her at the faces of guild-members from across the continent. At least a few of these people wanted him dead, she knew in her panic, wishing that she could at least pull the scarf back across his face.

Gray took another step back, a frown on his face. He neither knew nor cared why the blue haired mage was here, and suspected that even if was given an answer it would be something that would be entirely logical and nothing at all related to wanting to be beside Erza on this night, the complete opposite of his true intentions. Gray had to admit that they were perfectly suited for each other but the happiness he had in this realisation twisted something painful in his stomach at the same time, something he refused to admit existed. He nodded an acknowledgement to Jellal, stepping back and letting him fill his place, knowing that he had only ever been borrowing it in the first place. This night had always been made for Erza and Jellal, just like many nights to come. "I'll leave you to it," he murmured, giving Erza a look as he slipped away from the balcony.

Though Gray's expression had been one of acceptance, Erza hadn't been able to see it. She watched him leave, realising that it had felt amazing to be in someone's arms and not have to watch the rest of the world. Now as she looked at Jellal there was concern, there would always be a fear, but she couldn't deny that it was worth it. For every moment she'd enjoyed in Gray's arms she had spent ten more imagining this night with Jellal, she had felt her heart lifted as he had walked through the door and wanted nothing more than to dance with the new partner. She knew if he was here in the public eye it would be serious, however, and there would never be a time for just a dance. A frown rested on her face, trying to remain logical despite her intoxication, latching onto every word he said and trying to translate as she thought about how she could explain to Gray later.


Gushy, cheesy, and when I was editing I had my housemate ask me several times what I was laughing at. Luckily she's a fan of FT too, so I didn't just sound insane haha I hope you enjoy anyway! Please note, I think my review board is frozen once again, so if possible please PM instead of leaving notes on there, but its all lovely :)

Oh and apologies for the error with the last chapter accidentally posted twice! Thanks for the feedback guys!

Last chapter coming up next, for now anyway. As this runs along the main story arc, when the manga progresses the story may too!