Satyrykal graciously edited this chapter; her gifts surpass my own, but she lent me her wisdom because she's incredibly nice along with being extraordinarily talented. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Satyrykal writes Boiling Point and The Edge, both of which are astounding. She's building amazing Nalu stories here. Please check her out!


Chapter Nine: Gray

"Do you want to dance?" Gray Fullbuster was asking her.

"Yes," said Lucy, since it was the only possible answer she would probably ever give Gray.

Do you want to dance? Yes.

Do you want to go on a date with me? Yes.

Do you never, ever, ever want me to find my shirt again? Sweet Mavis, yes.

Do you want to get married and have thirty-three of my babies? Yes.

Wait, scratch that last one.

Or just change it to a maybe. Most likely. The number of babies was negotiable.

Lucy Heartfilia, you have got it bad, she chastised herself.

She followed Gray onto the dance floor, noting that he was, in fact, fully dressed. She nibbled her bottom lip in slight disappointment.

The lights of the dance floor fell in rotating beams of colour: pink, blue, yellow, purple, red, green. It made it hard for Lucy to tell the exact shade of Gray's suit. A dark hue, but she didn't think it was black...perhaps navy or charcoal.

When he found a suitable spot where the two of them would have room to move, he turned to face her. He was wearing a light blue buttoned up shirt and an indigo and silvery grey striped tie. His hair was still spiky, but done a bit more artfully, as though he'd spent extra time on it. She looked up into his glinting sapphire eyes and he gave her a hitched up smile, offering his hand.

Her heart gave a nervous thump as she took it, afraid her palm might be sweaty. His cool hand clasped hers, his grip firm but not overpowering. Her fingers curled and she returned the pressure to show she was ready.

His other hand came to her waist, just underneath her rib cage; hers went to his chest, above his pectoral to where she knew his guild mark was hidden. It took supreme effort not to claw at the soft material like a cat flexing its paws, but she managed to keep a hold of herself...mainly because he started to move.

Sweet Mavis, he was a smooth dancer!

He was twirling her around the dance floor with ease. She found herself grinning up at him like a loon as their feet moved in perfect time to the music. He gave her an easy grin back, then lifted his arm in an arch for her to spin away from him, then back, catching her firmly around the waist once more. They moved effortlessly to the beats, seeming to know exactly which steps to take to mirror one another. He kept a respectable distance between their bodies, but his slow smile and the way his hand tightened around hers had Lucy feeling lightheaded.

When the song ended, the music moved into a faster tempo, Gray bent low so that he could whisper in her ear. "Want to stay for another song?"

His cool breath sent a shiver running down her spine.

"Yes," her voice cracked and she had to try again. "Yes."

That's it. Dazzle him with what a sparkling conversationalist you are, her subconscious whispered.

When we're not dancing, I will, she shot back, deeply regretting the multiple drinks she had consumed. She was never so nitpicky with herself as she was when Lucy-The-Drunken-Philosopher came out to play. But the second a few drinks wormed into her brain, all her insecurities started crawling out.

With a quick mental shove, she refocused on Gray. He had dropped his hands away from her, giving her space to move. His feet echoed the faster cadence of the song. She followed his lead, facing him but twisting her arms in the air, bouncing enthusiastically to the drumbeat.

Her heart seemed to pound in sync to the music, the rhythm making her feel weightless as she spun, whirled, and shimmied near him. She refused to do the more provocative moves that Cana had showed her earlier, opting instead to just have fun.

"I like your dress!" Gray shouted. Lucy could see his bright lapis eyes flashing, but she wasn't close enough to him to decipher if he was admiring her or just being nice.

"Thanks! You look great, too!"

He came closer to her, brushing back some of her long blonde hair to speak into the shell of her ear.

"I kept losing my clothes. That's why it took me so long to get here. I had to keep retracing my steps." His voice was husky and intimate. She bit her lip to keep from sighing at how close he was and how good he sounded.

A hundred thoughts ping-ponged in her head in that moment, most of them variations of how overrated she thought clothing to be on him, especially when his breath tickled her skin, causing goosebumps to form all over her neck and down her arms.

"I'll vouch that you arrived fully clothed, just in case you lose them again," she teased.

Gray gave a low moan of mock displeasure. "Thanks, Lucy. Or you could just warn me if you see them coming off."

Where's the fun in that? She thought, but out loud she said, "We'll see."

She gave an impish grin, feeling her insides melt when she saw him blush.

The dance floor was getting more crowded and they were practically pushed to the edge of it. Rather than fight for a place back in, they took a couple of steps away.

"Did you end up making ice for the party?" Lucy asked.

"Umm...not at first because I wasn't here, but I'm doing it now. The bartenders won't run out, I promise."

Lucy was taken aback that he didn't have to be right next to the ice to work his magic.

"Doesn't it drain you to be constantly using magic?"

Gray looked surprised at the question. "No, not for something small. If I was fighting or using a lot of my magic, I would get tired, but just making ice cubes and crushed ice doesn't siphon off my magic at all. Why? Do you get drained when you open a celestial gate?"

"It might be a bit different, some gates are harder to open than others. Silver gate keys require a lot less magic than my golden keys. But if my spirits end up using a lot of their energy, that can exhaust me, too." Lucy brushed her hand against her celestial keys.

"Like Loke?" Gray asked.

"Loke is one of my most powerful spirits, but he wants to help me."

Almost too much sometimes, she thought as she stifled a groan.

Loke the Lion was the leader of the zodiac and a golden gate key. He was youthful and handsome, with a mane of orange hair and blue-tinted sunglasses. He was gorgeous by anyone's standards, but way too much of a playboy, in her opinion.

Lucy just wanted a working relationship with him. He seemed to mostly understand, even if he did hit on her a lot. At least he wasn't as perverted about it as Taurus was, another one of her celestial spirits.

Lucy refocused on the question. She thought of all her keys and spirits, and slowly said, "Aquarius doesn't like to be called, so she tends to drain the most of my energy."

"Out of spite?" Gray arched an eyebrow at her.

"Not out of spite, she just wants to make sure I only call her when it's absolutely necessary. It's always a bit harder to get her gate to open," she admitted. "Plus, she has a boyfriend and she's often busy with him."

Lucy didn't bother telling Gray that every time she opened the Water Bearer's gate, Aquarius berated her for not having a boyfriend. She didn't understand why Aquarius was so acrimonious toward her. Lucy loved all her spirits, but Aquarius was her very first celestial key and had belonged to her mother, Layla. When her mother had died and Lucy had inherited her zodiac keys, Aquarius was by far her favourite. Not only for the sentimental value of belonging to her Mom, but Lucy had looked up to Aquarius as a mother figure and playmate.

Gray was saying something to her, but the music seemed louder than before. She could see his lips moving, but the words were garbled. She shook her head and cupped her ear to demonstrate she couldn't hear him.

The alcohol she had consumed fuelled her courage, though. She wanted to ask him something first.

She raised herself on tiptoes and he bent towards her, angling his head so she could speak directly into his ear. She stretched towards him and caught the scent of his shampoo or soap – a fresh, clean smell, like new fallen snow. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she breathed him in...just for a moment.

"Did you want to take a walk outside?" she yelled, keeping herself a few inches away from his ear so her voice didn't ring inside his eardrums.

Gray seemed startled by her question but nodded, letting her lead the way.


Natsu Dragneel paused from his eating his sixth plate of food to see Lucy talking with Gray. Natsu's eyes flared when he smelled her interest in the stupid porn star, spiking higher than it ever had before.

Lucy was his partner, not the frosty-ass stripper's!

He knocked back his chair, not noticing it bump into Elfman, who was flirting (badly) with Evergreen, telling her she was 'one of the manliest women in Fairy Tail.'

The fire dragon slayer moved on sheer instinct, his mind narrowing down to two thoughts: He was going to kick Gray's ass, and stop him and Lucy from going outside alone together.


Lucy was leading the way to the back garden when Jet appeared before her, his eyes frantic. He had a very drunk Levy cradled bridal style in his arms.

"Lucy! Levy keeps saying she needs you!" Jet bulldozed his way to her side.

"Levy! Are you alright?" Lucy reached out to turn the blunette's face toward her. Levy cracked open an eyelid. Her eyes were glazed-over and unfocused, but when Levy saw her best friend's face floating in front of her, her lips turned up into a quavering smile.

"Lusshiii!" Levy slurred, reaching out to hug her.

"Can she walk?" Lucy asked Jet. Levy's teammate gave an awkward shrug that said I don't know.

He gently placed Levy's feet back on the floor, keeping his hands on her shoulders to steady her. The girl wobbled, her face was flushed from the alcohol and she was biting her bottom lip.

"Levy, are you okay?" Gray asked.

"Lushhiii...," Levy tripped, falling toward her.

Lucy reached out and caught her by the biceps.

"I'm going to be sick," the script mage said clearly; her hand flying to her mouth as she started gagging.

"Jet! Get her to the washroom!" Lucy yelled. He scooped up the tiny solid script mage and ran out of the ballroom, his figure a blur as he whizzed past all the other guild members.

Lucy turned toward Gray.

"I have to go take care of her."

He nodded. "Of course. I understand. Can I help?"

Lucy thought about it, but she knew that if she were throwing up, but only person she would trust enough to see her in such a state was Levy.

"I think I'll be okay. I'll tend to her, why don't I met you in the back gardens when I'm done?"

"Sure. I hope she's alright." He shoved his hands deep into his pants pockets. "If you need me, get Jet to come find me."

"Thanks, Gray." Her voice automatic, her focus on the tiny blunette. She turned away from the ice make mage and ran out of the ballroom, excusing herself as she bumped into various guild members, their faces indistinct as she forced her way through the crowd to get to her best friend.


Natsu moved with agility that did justice to his title as the Salamander, following Gray outside to the back gardens.

Frostbite was sauntering along, very pleased with himself. Natsu smelled his interest in the celestial wizard. His nose wrinkled in distaste. It wasn't as overt or as strong as some of the couples at Fairy Tail, but it was a bud that needed to be nipped out.

"Gray! Fight me!" Natsu roared, rushing down the steps to where Gray was walking down the brick path.

"You're on!" The words were out before Gray even turned around to face him, an ice sword already in his hands to met Natsu's fire dragon iron fist. He pivoted on his left heel as the two met in midair with a bone-jarring crunch, throwing them both back. They skidded across the path, small pebbles scattered by their feet where they each landed in a crouch, eyeing each other for an opening. There were none. Both were serious fighters and neither had been drinking.

Gray never needed a reason to fight anyone, especially Natsu. His jacket, tie and shirt went flying off faster than Erza could requip.

His muscles were coiled, eyes watching the tension in his opponent's shoulders to anticipate his next move.

He snarled as the fire dragon slayer launched forward; Natsu feinted a punch before landed a kick in his kneecap. Grimacing, Gray was grabbed by the hair, a flash of pink his only warning to the head butt that followed, the thunk ringing in his ears. He raised an eyebrow, turning his head away slightly, but keeping a wary eye on the slayer, spitting to the side.

Natsu and him fought at full-strength—was there any other way?—but the pinkette wasn't normally this ferocious and determined.

"What is your deal, man?" Gray asked hotly, striking to the left with his sword. Seeing Natsu react to parry, he switched mid-motion, landing a solid right hook to his gut instead. The sword in his left hand didn't connect as he hoped, but he did clip Natsu's head. Haha, sucker!

Only to have the wind knocked out of him when Natsu kicked him so hard, he would've crashed into the fountain if Freed's runes hadn't plastered him against an invisible wall. Gray used Ice Impact, the hammer arcing down at breakneck speed, but Natsu was faster and dodged, rolling swiftly across the brick. Still, it slowed him down enough that Gray was able to launch his ice-make lances, which Natsu melted instantly.

"Are you two fighting?" A booming voice called.

They both turned to see Laxus, one hard fist clocking the pinkette right on the chin. Gray would've pointed and laughed at Natsu getting his teeth bashed in, but a lightning jab to his own throat cut off any air supply he had left.

Then the fight was really on.


Meanwhile...

Lucy stood in the Carrara marble foyer; having no idea which direction Jet and Levy had gone.

She went to a bathroom on her right. It was locked, but she pounded on the door. The distinctly male voice yelling "someone's in here!" was not Jet. She ran back to the lobby.

"Jet!" she yelled, her voice bouncing back at her. "Jet...Jet..Jet..et...et" The echo tampered off.

"They went this way, bunny girl." Gajeel Redfox was rapidly approaching, grabbing her elbow and steering her to the left. He moved so fast that she stumbled trying to keep up.

"You can just point, you know! You don't have to grab me!" Lucy shrieked. He was barrelling down the hall so quickly that she was almost hydroplaning on her stilettos.

Gajeel immediately dropped his hand, but Lucy's forward momentum caused her to trip and fall. She closed her eyes, her arms windmilling out to try to stop herself from face-planting.

This is really going to hurt, she thought as she braced for impact.

Only it never came. She opened startled eyes to find herself hovering in mid-air, her face six-inches above the marble floor. The dragon slayer held her by the waist with two hands and deftly straightened her out.

He planted her upright on the floor like she was a beam to a barn he was raising – his grip firm but indifferent. The second he was sure she was steady, he dropped his hands away from her, a scowl turning down his lips.

"You Mermaid Heel women are all the same! A guy touches your elbow and you lose your shit."

"Oh, is that what happened between you and Levy? You grabbed her and she didn't like it?" Lucy hissed.

"Is that what she told you?" He scowled, an angry flush heating up his face.

"She didn't tell me anything! And even if she did, I certainly wouldn't betray her confidence to come braid your hair and gab about it with you!"

"Bunny girl, you better watch yourself or next time you fall, I'll just stand by and watch you break your tiny, pink bunny nose." He raised his finger as if to tap her nose in admonishment, but she swatted his hand away.

"Stop wasting my time, Redfox! I need to get to Levy!" She spun away, running down the hallway he had been hauling her toward, leaving the iron dragon slayer in the dust.

Jet was stepping out in the hallway as she rounded a corner, his face flooding with relief upon seeing her.

"Lucy, over here!" he yelled unnecessarily, seeing as she was running right at him. He opened a bathroom door wider to let her in.

Lucy skidded to a halt inside the bathroom, her eyes finding her best friend. The girl was crumpled pitifully around the toilet bowl. Her head resting on the rim, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Thanks for getting her here so fast, Jet," Lucy said, her voice sincere.

"Uh...do you need anything else?" The speed mage shifted from one foot to the other, cupping the back of his neck and looking uncomfortable.

"No, thank you. I'll take it from here. But if we need you, I'll come find you, okay?" Lucy held the door open in clear invitation for him to leave.

Hel looked grateful that someone other than him was dealing with this and made a hasty exit. Lucy closed and locked the door behind him, sighing in relief that it was just her and her best friend in the room. She rushed over to Levy, crouching down next to her.

"Hey, Lev-chan...how's it going?" Lucy smoothed back her friend's blue hair.

Levy lifted her head half an inch and opened her eyes. "I threw up," she confessed, sounding ashamed.

"That's okay, Levy. You can throw up." Lucy said in a soothing voice, she rubbed small circles on her best friend's back.

Levy nodded and closed her eyes again. After a few moments, she started gagging, retching into the porcelain bowl. Lucy sat with her, holding back her short blue hair, whispering comforting phrases. She rested her hand gently on Levy's back to remind the other girl of her physical presence so the solid script mage would know she was not alone.

Levy vomited twice more. She panted and rested her head on her forearms. "I think I'm done," she spat once more into the bowl for good measure, then pushed herself back and away from the basin.

Lucy helped her find her footing. Levy had rubbery legs and didn't seem to notice she wasn't wearing any shoes. Lucy directed her toward the sink and helped her scrub her sweaty face clean of makeup and made her drink some water straight from the tap to rinse out her mouth. Levy was a compliant drunk, doing everything the celestial mage asked, including sucking on a mint that Lucy had dug out of her small clutch.

"My puss ish ouch dare sumweir," Levy slurred.

It took a moment for Lucy to decipher puss meant purse. Levy was saying her purse was out there, somewhere. She hadn't seen Levy with a bag, but wasn't about to argue.

"One of the boys will find it for you."

Levy nodded heavily, seeming satisfied by that answer. Her eyes slid closed again.

"Hey, Levy! Are you ready to go?" Lucy was alarmed that she seemed to be on the verge of passing out. She wanted to get some water into her and have her walk around for a while to make sure she was okay before she would let the tiny blunette go to sleep.

Levy nodded again, opening her eyes a bit wider. Lucy propped her upright, wrapping one arm around her back, the other around her waist.

"Lev?" Lucy said when she noticed her friend's eyes glazing over.

"Yup! I'm all present and accounted for!" Levy swung one arm up wildly like she was a student in class, desperate not to miss roll call.

Lucy giggled. Drunk Levy was worrisome, but she was still just like regular Levy: a lot of fun.

"Miss McGarden, I don't know if anyone else told you this tonight, but you look absolutely beautiful." She told her, affection lacing her voice.

"Thanks, Luschi-chan!" Levy stood a bit taller, her bright, tipsy smile lighting up her pretty face. "I liked the dress."

"You can keep it. I think you gathered quite a few admirers out there, you know." Lucy reached a careful hand out to open the bathroom door so they could exit.

Levy stopped walking, her face fell, her expression turning glum. "You don't think I'm some sort of slut, do you?"

"What? No, I don't think..." Lucy dropped her hand away from the doorknob, "that you're…" she felt the wheels in her head turning, "a..slut...at all." She finished slowly as something tripped inside her brain and several pieces of a puzzle fell together.

"Is that what Gajeel told you? That you're a slut?" Lucy asked in disbelief. She was going to murder that son of a bitch!

Levy shook her head, but the motion didn't agree with her. She retreated further back into the bathroom with Lucy holding her steady every step of the way. She thumped her body against the sink.

"No, not calling me a shut...slut," she enunciated in a clear voice, "but he was mad about me dancing with the guys."

Oh, Levy. Is that what you think?

"Actually, I think Gajeel may have a crush on you, Levy," She told the blunette.

Levy shook her head in disagreement. "No, I think he's a mad...angry person."

Lucy couldn't argue with that. The iron dragon slayer didn't seem especially pleasant, but he did find them this place for the party and helped them immensely. She was beginning to think it wasn't so much as helping them as trying to get into Levy's good graces.

Of course, then he had to act like a complete jackass and spoil it all by opening his big stupid mouth.

She had a strong inkling that Gajeel Redfox was not a man of words, but rather a man of action.

"Is that why you got so drunk? To forget about your argument with Gajeel?" Lucy asked.

"Did I tell you about that?" Levy peered up at the blonde, some shrewdness colouring her topaz eyes again. Seeing Levy inquisitive flooded the celestial mage with relief.

"No, I figured it out long ago. You were having so much fun dancing and then suddenly you weren't. I noticed Gajeel left the room and didn't come back." She paused, watching for the blunette's reaction. "I figured you two might have butted heads over something,"

"He's the butt-head," Levy said in a peevish, little-girl voice, as if she was tattling on the schoolyard bully who pushed her off the swings to show that he liked her.

Which, if Lucy had time to think about it, sounded exactly like something the tall brooding man would do. But what caught Lucy's attention was that her best friend's voice wasn't slurring in the slightest.

Lucy laughed. "Yup, he is. Do you feel a bit better now? We should go find Juvia and Erza, and tell them we need to get you home."

Levy waved the statement off. "I'm fine now, Lu-chan."

As if to prove her point, she pulled away from the blonde and took a couple of steps on her own. She wavered slightly, but she was definitely looking more stable. Lucy opened the bathroom door and cocked her head at the sight awaiting them. Right on the floor of the hallway, where it couldn't be missed, was a pint glass of water – obviously meant for Levy.

To make it even more obvious, when Lucy went to pick up the cup, she spotted a tiny piece of paper with the word Levy chicken-scratched on it. Whether the water was placed there by Gajeel, Jet, Droy, or someone else, Lucy wasn't certain – but she suspected it was the metal-head.

"Here, drink this." Lucy said as she handed the glass to Levy. The solid script mage didn't ask why there was a glass of water waiting for her on a hallway floor, but just raised it to her mouth and took a small sip.

"Tastes good," Levy admitted, taking tiny swallows of her drink. "Hey, Lu-chan?"

"Yeah, Lev-chan?"

"Where are my shoes?" Levy stared down at her bare feet.

Lucy giggled at her friend's bewildered expression. "I have no idea, but I'll help you find them, okay?"

"What if we can't find them?" She sounded worried, more so than a pair of shoes she would probably never wear again would warrant.

"Then we can just say you're pretending to be Mavis for the night," Lucy suggested cheerfully, referencing Fairy Tail's first guild master who was famous for going barefoot.

Levy chuckled, her musical laugh brightening up her pale face. She took a few more sips of her water and started telling Lucy about the latest book she'd been reading.


Natsu regained consciousness just in time to be aware of a heavy, cold body propped against him. His eyes cracked open and his vision blurred for an instant. He could feel wet bark jabbing into his backside and surmised he was laying against a large tree.

Gray was snuggled against him, pressed cheek to cheek. They were both wrapped in each other's arms as if they had gently dozed off after cuddling.

The ice-make wizard had his arms flung around Natsu's waist, while Natsu had one arm wrapped around Gray's shoulder, the other arm stretching out to rest on…

"Holy mother of Mavis! Why are you stripped down to your underwear?" Natsu snatched his hand away from Gray's ass, his voice pitched high.

"Quick, come on, Reedus!" Cana called in the distance, dragging the paint-mage through the bushes toward them.

The pinkette leapt up, knocking Gray over unceremoniously.

"Did you pose us like this, Cana?" Natsu demanded as soon as she came into view, brushing off his pants as he glared at her.

Cana smirked. "Well, after Laxus knocked you both out, I thought you might want to keep your best friend warm."

"You're a sick woman, Cana," Gray grumbled, raising slowly to his feet. Cana didn't answer, taking a good look at his almost-naked form. Gray was delicious! Now if he could only inflict Natsu with his stripping habit...she felt her toes curl up from the naughty thought.

"I never claimed otherwise." Cana leered, her dark eyes twinkling. She raised her half-empty saké bottle in a mock salute and then took a swig.

"C'mon, Reedus. You missed it. That cuddle-puddle picture was going up on my bedroom wall, too," she said, sulking. That would've been so sweet!

"Oui," Reedus said sadly, even though he didn't share Cana's pervy predilections. He just loved to paint.

Their figures drooping slightly in disappointment, they both started walking back to the party. Natsu and Gray exchanged annoyed glances, neither of them thrilled that the lightning dragon slayer had managed to knock them both out.

"I don't suppose you'd want to help me find my clothes?" Gray asked, glancing around him helplessly. Even his socks were missing.

"Find them yourself," Natsu answered, voice gruff, even though he could clearly see Freezer Burn's pants hanging from a tree not far from them. It wasn't his fault the stupid stripper didn't have his awesome vision. He ambled away, trailing Cana and Reedus back to the mansion.

Gray wanted to shoot ice-arrows at the lot of them. They really were the worst friends when it came to helping him find his clothes. With a heavy sigh, he started looking around. They couldn't have gone that far, could they?


A slightly rumpled looking Natsu sat with Erza, Laxus, Wendy and Mira at a table when Levy and Lucy finally got back to the ballroom. They were all eating dessert.

"Hey guys, how's the cake?" Lucy asked as she approached the table. Levy collapsed into a chair, but the blonde stayed standing.

"It's delicious, Lucy! Thank you!" Wendy chirped happily. She had a slice of the strawberry one on her plate.

"It's pretty good," Laxus said, scarfing down a giant slice of lemon cake.

Lucy took that to mean it was actually fantastic. Laxus wasn't generous with compliments and the celestial wizard was learning to read between the lines.

"Meh, it's alright, could use more hot sauce," Natsu complained, stabbing his fork into the chili chocolate cake with a disenchanted look on his face.

"I told you that would ruin it!" Erza didn't rise from her seat, but she seemed to grow bigger, her death-ray stare shrinking down everyone else around her.

Lucy wasn't sure how she always did that, but it scared the life out of her. She wasn't the only one. Natsu stopped picking at his cake and shovelled the rest of his slice into his mouth, giving an exaggerated moan to show how yummy he thought it was – an act that fooled no one but seemed to mollify Erza.

Lucy bit her cheek to keep from laughing at his exaggerated expression, complete with him rubbing his tummy in circles and rolling his eyes heavenward.

She fake-coughed as a grin split her lips and a chuckle escaped, holding both hands over her mouth as she turned away, spluttering. It took her a few minutes to regain control over herself. She missed the sharp jade eyes that cut towards her at the sound, crackling in amusement.

"The cake is scrumptious," Mira offered, eating her tiny sliver of lemon chiffon cake.

"It is delectable, Lucy. I must say, I've enjoyed this party immensely," Erza said, holding a bite of cake aloft on her fork. "Juvia went looking for you both, perhaps you should go find her."

Lucy glanced down at Levy, who still had half her water left to drink and seemed content to just sit there, watching the world go by. She didn't want the blunette to pass out on her. She shot a worried look to Erza, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head toward Levy, trying to convey that their friend was drunk and possibly unwell. Erza grasped the situation immediately.

"Lucy, you go find Juvia. Levy, can you take me on a tour of these fascinating suits of armour? I saw a sigil that I didn't recognize on one of the shields, but I think you might." Erza lifted Levy from her chair and stood her up again as gently as a mother lifts a newborn.

Levy perked up instantly. Someone was asking for her encyclopedic knowledge. Her mind had been spongy, the palette knife spreading alcoholic icing to coat her anger at a certain iron-pocked slayer. Now that her brain was being called upon, the alcohol receded like waves at low tide, exposing what the murky, spirited depths had hidden.

"I'm certain if I don't know it, I'll be able to find out tomorrow," Levy said firmly, ready to dole out some pearls of wisdom.

The two of them moved toward the front of the mansion and Lucy let out a soft sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

With Erza out of the room, Natsu took it upon himself to pour hot sauce straight down his throat.

"Natsu!" She tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't do it. The guy liked hot sauce, so what? There were worst things in the world.

"I had to wash that sweet chocolate taste outta my mouth!" he protested, smacking his lips to clear the remnants of spice.

Lucy made a light clack of her tongue as she watched him drain the bottle.

"I don't know why you had the cake anyway. You told me you weren't a fan of desserts."

"You got that right," Natsu grumbled, resting his elbow on the tabletop while he leaning his cheek into his hand.

At Lucy's mystified look, Wendy supplied, "Erza made the dragon slayers each have some cake. She said you and Levy went through the trouble of making sure we each got a special one, so the least we could do was try it."

"I didn't see Gajeel having any," Lucy looked around the room, figuring if the iron dragon slayer was there, he'd be easy to spot. And she had a bone to pick with him about upsetting her best friend.

"He put away three slices before Erza even got to us!" Natsu gestured toward the vanilla buttercream cake that looked like it had been hacked to bits. Broken layers laid on their sides as if melting, icing smeared on the tablecloth, crumbs everywhere.

For someone who has sharp, iron weapons at his disposal, he sure can't cut a cake.

Wendy caught her gaze, noting the disgust. "Erza wasn't happy that he made the cake look like that. No one else would even touch it after he was done."

"Yeah, I can see why. I better go find Juvia now. It's only her second night in Fairy Tail and I don't want her to feel we've abandoned her," Lucy dismissed, rubbing her temple.

"The tall blue-haired girl?" Laxus asked. "The one who was swimming?"

Lucy gave an affirming nod.

"I think she went out to the back gardens," Mira said, always happy to help.

Back gardens. She was supposed to meet Gray out there. She'd almost forgotten, so consumed she was with making sure Levy was alright. Juvia was her priority, though. She felt a pang of guilt that she had left her friend alone for so long.

"Thanks, I'll try to see if I can find her." She gave a slight bow to the group as she excused herself, her violet skirts fanning out behind her as she walked.

She scurried to the back of the room, seeing Cana still at the bar, doing shots with Macao and talking loudly about a yaoi picture she had wanted Reedus to paint. Lucy didn't even want to know. She hurried by, hoping the card-mage hadn't spotted her.

When she crossed through the open garden doors, the first thing she noticed was how glorious it felt to be outside. It was a cool, crisp night. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay out for too long without getting cold, but the initial rush of sweet, grass-scented air felt amazing.

She spotted Juvia near a water fountain. Not a huge surprise: the water mage liked water; Natsu liked fire; Erza liked weapons; Gray liked ice, she liked the stars and all the way down the line.

As she got closer to Juvia, she could see the normally composed blue-haired girl was uncharacteristically excited. Her face was flushed, she was giggling, and she was hugging herself. She looked younger, freer and more radiant than Lucy had ever seen her.

"Juvia! What's going on?" Lucy waved as she got closer.

"Lucy-san! You will never believe what has just happened to Juvia!" The blunette danced, actually danced toward her friend, skipping and pirouetting like a ballerina.

Lucy grabbed both of Juvia's hands. The water mage's happiness was infectious, and she could feel Juvia's hands trembling within her own. A delighted smile pulled up the corners of Lucy's lips.

"What happened?" she demanded, avid and curious.

"Juvia met someone!"

"You met someone? That's great!"

Lucy and Juvia hugged each other and then started jumping up and down in celebration. After several bounces, the blonde spared a thought that this was not helping her case to become de-bunnied.

"Who is it?" This is going to be good!

Juvia's eyes shone like a cloudless summer blue sky, the name coming out on a happy wisp of breath, "Gray."

"Gray?" Lucy repeated flatly. She felt the air whoosh out of her like she'd just been gut punched.

Okay, maybe not so good.


A/N – I know I keep mentioning other writers on here, but no one had to befriend me. They certainly didn't have to encourage me, beta read and fangirl over FT with me. These are not small gifts. Big squishy hugs (or a yaoi picture of Natsu and Gray...pick your poison) to quite-a-riot, xSteleAliniax, ShanaHollows, and Satyrykal. I have learned so much from each of you!

Huge hugs and love again to Satyrykal! In the past 2 weeks, she's edited like a mofo Ninja three chapters for me and given me a ton of invaluable feedback. You are amazing, girl! Thanks so much!

This story reached over 100 followers! Thank you SO much to ALL of you for making this happen!

Thank you to the readers, the dreamers and the believers! My thanks go to silver light of dawn, MasterGildarts, ShanaHollows, Celistastar, Guest, Satyrykal, noseinabook, stranger1999, Bakers28 and Graciewashere33 (x2) and everyone who is reading this!

Please Follow so we can find each other again!

"Freezer Burn" is a Gray insult that I first read in Passive Aggressive Post Its. Used with quite-a-riot's permission.

Special shout out to noseinabook! She mentioned about Chapter 8, "there's Cana just off in a corner having a go at Lucy's boobs. I definitely ship Cana and Lucy's boobs. CaLoobs we can call it." CaLoobs is officially a crack-ship for me now! Thanks for making me spit-laugh!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – Due to time (which was supposed to be on my side but enjoys bitch-slapping me far too much), RBR will be updated every second Sunday from now on or until I run out of stockpiled chapters. My sincerest apologies – I need to have stockpiled chapters because I suck at outlining and want to make sure the story isn't careening off a cliff.