A/N: I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WRITING THIS! I'm so happy I finally get to post this, because I know a lot of you guys have been begging for me to continue this story. I definitely plan to get back on track with this story, so no worries! Anyway, enjoy the chapter, lovelies~ ^-^

~ 6 ~

No Room

It was bright, sunny Friday afternoon, and the members of Team Gratsu were all gathered around a secluded back table, getting ready to put their newest plan into action. They'd already planned out everything to the last, tiniest, insignificant detail, and they were confident that their plan would work this time.

"Alright, Lisanna," Lucy said, turning her eyes to her white-haired friend, "you took the lead on this. Is everything all set up?"

The Take-Over mage nodded. "Yep. Mira and I set up the "mission" flyer and had a little chat with the innkeeper about the rooms. It should all be ready. All we have to do it make sure they agree to the mission."

"I can handle that easily enough," Erza said with a confident smile. "Have we decided who is going on this mission?"

Levy nodded sagely. "Yeah, Mira and I talked about it. We need to keep it small since you'd all have to be in one room, so we decided that only three of us can go. I think the best choice would be Lucy, Erza, and Lisanna. Are you guys okay with going?"

All three girls nodded happily, and Levy nodded back in response. "Good. Now, Erza, it's all up to you. Good luck."

"Gray! Natsu!"

The boys in question jumped and traded a terrified look, shivers racing up their spines at the voice of their redheaded team-mate. "Why is she mad?!" Gray hissed quietly, blue eyes full of horror. He turned to glare at Natsu suspiciously. "What did you do this time?!"

Natsu glowered at him. "Hey, I didn't do anything, ice cube! What did you do?!"

Before the ice mage could respond, Erza's hands dropped onto both of their shoulders, nearly knocking them off their chairs. "Gray, Natsu!" the redhead said with a small, relaxed smile. "Nice day, is it not?"

"Y-yeah," Natsu stuttered, gulping, still afraid she was going to murder him. "U-um, are you okay E-Erza? You're not m-m-mad, are you?"

The Requip mage laughed heartily and clapped the Dragon Slayer on the shoulder, sending him toppling backward with a groan. "No, I'm not mad. Do I have to be mad to talk to my comrades?" Gray, who had been staring at Natsu's toppled form with wide eyes, turned to stare back at Erza, sweat-dropping. "Uhhhh... n-no?"

Erza smiled. "Good. Anyway, I just wanted to ask you two if you wished to accompany Lucy, Lisanna, and myself on a mission tomorrow. What do you say?"

Gray quickly nodded, too scared to disagree with the terrifying redhead. "Y-yes, of course!"

"Fantastic!" She clapped Gray on the shoulder, and he quickly joined Natsu on the ground, groaning. "See you both at the train station tomorrow at one o'clock sharp!" With that, the mage turned on her heel, humming under her breath, and walked off, leaving her two comrades twitching in pain on the floor.

The Next Day...

"They should be here already," Lucy grumbled, checking the time for what felt like the thirtieth time. " It's nearly one thirty. Are you sure you told them the correct time to meet us, Erza?"

The redhead nodded from where she was standing beside the blonde, arms crossed. "Yes, Lucy, I'm positive. I said one o'clock sharp." Her gaze turned dark and murderous, and she raised an armored fist with a glower. "They better not have ignored my invitation!"

"Calm down, Erza," Lucy said nervously, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Oh, look, here they come! Everyone stay calm and act natural!"

The girls all spread out and pretended to talk with each other until Gray and Natsu were standing in front of them. "Oh, hey guys," Lucy said with an innocent smile and wave. "Ready to go?"

"Sure, I guess," Gray grumbled, crossing his arms. At the same time, Natsu said happily, "Sure! Let's go!"

"Great!" Erza said, ignoring Gray's unenthusiastic response and turning to the train. They boarded it with their bags and quickly found seats, and a few minutes later, they were on their way.

Later...

"Ah, hurry up! It's pouring!" Lucy yelled, holding her suitcase above her head as she sprinted down the sidewalk towards the inn. It had started raining halfway through their train ride, and by the time they got to Oshibana, where the "mission" was, it was practically a tsunami. They definitely hadn't planned on this terrible weather.

But there was little to be done about it, so the group of five continued running until they finally reached the inn. They practically threw themselves inside, pausing to catch their breath as water dripped off of them in thick rivulets. Thunder boomed, shaking the very air around them, and lightning arced across the sky in bright flashes of white.

"Let's... check in..." Gray panted, still breathless from running across town to get to the inn. "I wanna... get under a blanket... as soon as possible."

"I'll check us in," Lisanna said quickly, turning and jogging over to the counter before anyone could protest. After a few minutes of whispering with the innkeeper, she was back, wearing a pseudo-distressed expression. "I've got some bad news, guys. There are only two rooms, and they only have one bed in each."

"Dammit," Gray swore, scowling. "I don't wanna go out in the rain and find another inn."

"Even if you wanted to, this is the only inn which isn't booked full for the night," Lisanna said with a helpless shrug. "We have to stay here. But the innkeeper said she'd give us a discount for the rooms since they're not ideal." She shot a pointed look at Lucy, and the blonde jumped a little and quickly said, "Well, we should definitely take them, then. Don't you guys think so?"

She looked over at Gray and Natsu, who were standing by the door, still dripping wet from the rain. Natsu shrugged with a neutral expression. "If it's our only option, I guess we gotta." Everyone looked to Gray. The ice mage rolled his eyes with an irritated sigh. "Yeah, I guess so. Tell her we'll take 'em."

Lisanna nodded, trying not to look too happy, and quickly turned back to the desk. She returned with two silver room keys and started down the hallway. "The rooms are across the hall from each other," she said when they reached them. "Us girls will go in this one, and you guys take that one." She handed them a key and pointed to the door across the hall.

Gray took it and unlocked the door, grumbling, and as soon as they were inside, the door closed. The girls quickly went into their own room, which actually had two beds (Lisanna had told a tiny lie), and gathered to talk. "Do you think it will work?" Lucy asked anxiously. She didn't want another of their plans to fail.

Lisanna nodded confidently. "Definitely. I mean, there's no couch or anything, so they've gotta share the bed. I don't think either of them is rude enough to make the other sleep on the floor. That's just too cruel."

Gray and Natsu stood in their room, surveying it silently. "Well, they weren't kidding about the one bed," Gray grumbled, crossing his arms. "There's not even a couch. What kinda inn is this?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah..." He shrugged. "Well, I guess one of us has to sleep on the floor."

They turned to stare at each other. "The bed's mine!" they both yelled at the same time. They growled and went head-to-head. "I said it first!" they yelled at the same time. "No, I did!" Gray gave Natsu a rough shove. "Stop copying me, flame brain!"

"You were copying me, ice block!" Natsu retorted angrily. "And I get the bed!"

"In your dreams!" Gray yelled, and made a leap for the bed. Natsu, seeing what he was trying to do, gave a loud yell and launched himself forward at the same time. They landed on top of each other and began wrestling around furiously, fighting over who would get to stay.

Since they were evenly matched, they eventually collapsed beside each other, gasping for air and utterly exhausted. "I'm too tired to fight you," Gray panted after a moment. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he grabbed a pillow and flopped down on the floor. "But don't think I'm giving up or anything! I'm just tired."

Natsu didn't answer, and when Gray looked back over, he found the Dragon Slayer already fast asleep, spreadeagled on the bed with his mouth open. Rolling his eyes, he threw the blanket over his team-mate and flopped down on the floor to sleep.

In the morning, the girls waited anxiously downstairs for the boys, chattering excitedly among themselves. "I bet it worked," Lucy said with a wide smile. "It must have worked! Did you hear all the noise they were making last night?" She fanned her reddening face. "It had to have worked."

Before either of her friends could respond, Gray and Natsu came walking down the hall, muttering back and forth. Gray was craning his neck from side to side with a sour expression. "Geez, my neck feels like it was stepped on. You owe me for letting you have the bed, stupid."

"I don't owe you anything," Natsu scoffed. "You're the one that gave it up. And don't call me stupid!"

As they walked past the girls, Lucy turned to look at Lisanna and Erza, looking crestfallen. "It didn't work..." she said miserably. Erza and Lisanna rested their hands on her shoulders as they saw the blonde's eyes grow watery. "Don't worry, Lucy," Erza said gently. "We can try something else."

"Yeah," Lisanna said with a comforting smile. "Besides..." She grinned with a devilish look in her eyes. "I think I already have another idea."

A/N: Big thanks to Severine Luna for the "one bed on a mission" idea! This chapter was longer than the others, and I'll probably be making them this length or longer from now on. Let me know how you guys feel about the length. As always, feel free to leave suggestions for what you'd like to see in future chapters, and remember to follow and favorite to support the story :)