I'm sure that you are going to love this chapter! (At least the end)

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Chapter 9

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"What are you looking at?" he groaned annoyed.

Lia's wide smile didn't falter in the least, her chin resting on her palm as she stared fondly at him from the seat in front of his. "Nothing." she answered with a playful tone.

They were on the train back to Magnolia, Gray was sitting beside a window and the blue haired girl sat in front of him. Erza was peacefully reading a book on the seat next to Lia's while Natsu, Lucy and Happy were on the other side of the hallway. Titania was so immersed in her reading that she didn't even notice the strange atmosphere between the two people by her side.

The ice mage hoped it had been just his imagination, but as the day went by, he realized it was not. Whenever he looked at her, he found Lia gazing at him and she didn't even try to hide it. He would arch and eyebrow as if asking "What?" but her lips would only curl up even more after that.

It reached the point in which he couldn't ignore it, so he finally asked her forwardly.

And she simply answered 'nothing', earning a deep sigh from him.

He stared through the window and as the landscape changed, the course of his thoughts changed too. He had felt uncomfortable during the whole morning due to her watching him, but as the train passed a sign in which was written the kilometers left to reach Magnolia, his eyes widened in realization.

He lived with her, and she was no longer the quiet girl who simply secluded herself in his room. They were going back to his or rather their house where they were going to sleep under the same roof again.

Gray glanced at the smiling blunette; after her confession he had decided to try and ignore her to aid her to erase her feelings. He needed to make that 'wall' taller; so he had barely nodded his head in agreement with her if she asked him something, or mumbled incoherent things during the trip. But his new attitude didn't seem to be effective; "Fine, I will just take it to a new level." he said to himself.

But that would be truly difficult taking into account that he had put her up for who knew how long.

Lia batted her eyelids with no clue of what was going on in his mind; but she didn't like to see him so serious. She started giggling and Gray arched an eyebrow staring at her.

Lia winked an eye before kissing her fingertips and blowing a kiss to him.

"GGGAAH!" The raven haired man shrieked and flinched back in his seat, blushing furiously and even slapping his mouth after the high-pitched sound came out of it. "D-D-Don't do that ever again!" he stuttered pointing a finger at her, the blue haired girl laughing at his reaction.

Erza looked up from her book clueless and tilted her head, glancing from one to the other. "Do what?"

Spring had already come to Magnolia by the time they were back.

As soon as they got off the train, they knew it was a wonderful afternoon: there was a cold breeze but the sun was starting to warm up as it shone with red and orange rays of light.

"It's always tiresome to travel by train for so many hours." Lucy said stretching her arms with joy.

"And unhealthy." Natsu muttered with sickness.

Erza pushed the carriage of her many suitcases. "Good job, guys. I'm going back to Fairy hills." she said and started walking in the direction of the female dormitories. "Bye!" she waved off before looking forward the road.

"Then I will- NATSU, HAPPY, YOU ARE NOT COMING!" she yelled at the dragon slayer and blue cat who were already following her to her house. Their toothy grin made her sigh, "Why do I even try?" she asked herself walking away from them, and so, the three of them left.

The raven haired guy looked at the blunette beside him out of the corner of his eye, she was still waving her hand at the trio, a wide smile plastered on her face. A few seconds later, she looked up at him and was surprised to find him staring at her, she smiled tilting her blue mane to a side, waiting for him to say something.

He looked away from her before his own grin could spread across his face. Cool, Fullbuster, keep your cool.

Gray started strolling down the street and Lia blinked in her place for a moment. Then, she jogged to catch up with him. "Wait, Gray-sama!" she called once beside him again.

"What?" he asked keeping his eyes looking forward.

The blue haired girl frowned. "You do know your house is not on that direction?" she said warily. "So wh-"

"I'm going to the guild." he cut her off. He had to spend as much time as he could away from her.

"You are not taking your luggage at home?" she asked and he simply shook his head. "O-okay." she stuttered lowering her eyes before stopping in her tracks. "I-I'm going to the house so I will take this route." she pointed in the opposite direction. "Goodbye." she said hesitantly.

Gray waved a hand over his shoulder. "Later." he said not even glancing back at her. The blunette clutched her lips into a thin line, staring at his back. She slowly turned around.

The raven haired man stopped after a moment, he turned back and watched her walking down the street for a long while. He sighed deeply and scratched the back of his neck.

"It's for the better."

It was already late at night when he stepped in the living room. No lights were on. He arched an eyebrow glancing around the quiet room. With the dim moonlight cast inside, he walked through the house, putting down his bag and leaving the keys on the counter of the kitchen. Shining a bit, in the moonlight, Lia's keys were resting on the surface too.

He looked up from them and headed to the bedroom. The door was cracked open, he pushed and opened it slowly, careful to not make any noise.

Gray stared at the bulge under the sheets of the bed. On her side, Lia was sleeping soundly.

He gazed at her figure for a moment before closing his eyes.

"So, "Mirajane approached her with a wide smile. "How did the mission go?"

"Oh, it was fine!" the blunette answered before getting into details. The white haired woman listening to her noticed something strange in her voice, she didn't seem to be the usual cheerful Lia she knew.

Mira's eyebrows nearly meet her hairline as she gaped. "Oh, my, you jumped after him!" she repeated astonished.

"Jump?" the two barmaids glanced at the brunette sitting down at a stool just in front of them. "Jump from where and after who?" Cana asked frowning.

Lia told her about the mission of capturing Trinity-Raven and just as Mirajane had done before, Cana stared at Lia with an open mouth. "Wow, that was intense." Cana brought to her lips to the beer in her hand and took a deep gulp. "The stripper prince and his maid princess saving each other's life."

The older barmaid clapped her hands. "Yes! So romantic, just like a fairy tale!" she said with a dreamy voice.

Lia glanced at their smiling faces before looking down at her hands. "Fairy tale, huh?" she muttered with a sad smile.

Cana and Mira exchanged looks. "Lia-chan, what's wrong?" the second one asked with a tender voice, hoping the blunette would open up to them.

"Who are we beating the crap out of?" Cana grinned at her.

The blue haired girl looked up at them, their wide smiles coaxing out one of her own. "Well..." she started and blushed a little. "In the end, I realized I like him... no, I love him" she corrected herself.

"Good, good." Cana said and started drinking from her glass. Mirajane simply nodded waiting for her to go on.

"And I told him aft-" Lia hadn't even finished the phrase when Cana spat the beer inside her mouth onto a gaping Mirajane, just in front of her, across the counter.

"W-what?!" the brown haired girl coughed, wiping off the alcohol on her chin with the back of her hand.

The take-over mage glanced from her wet dress to the blue haired girl. "You already confessed?!" she asked surprised, trying to clean herself with a dishcloth.

Lia nodded. "But it didn't turn out well." she sighed. "He doesn't see me in that way."

"Hey." Cana frowned and pointed a finger at her. "You are forgetting about Gray's bitchy character! Don't feel down just because the stripper doesn't look at you with those eyes right now. I swear to you, and I promise to quit drinking if I'm wrong, that he will love you back in the future."

"She's right, Lia-chan." Mirajane frantically nodded her head. "Gray is truly thick-headed and anything but honest with himself. Just give him some time to realize it, you must not give up!"

The blue haired girl stared at her friends, she giggled. "Thank you, Mira-san, Cana-san." she said smiling widely.

"You are welcome." Cana took a quick sip of her glass before putting it down and standing up. "I will go look for a mission, those bills won't be paid by themselves." she said walking away from the counter after sending them a grin.

The barmaids waved their hands.

"Oh." Mirajane looked at Lia. "Have you ever heard of Magnolia's harvest festival, Lia-chan?"

"Magnolia's harvest festival?" the blunette repeated, wondering if that ring a bell in her mind. "I don't think so."

Mira giggled. "It's an event that takes place once a year, to celebrate the harvest! And we, Fairy Tail, are hosting it." she explained.

"Oh," Lia nodded. "Its bound to be nice, then." she smiled at her.

The white haired woman nodded. "It is concluded with the 'Fantasia Parade': the members ride on different floats and using their magic, make a show for the people of the town who are watching from the streets."

Lia gaped. "Wow, I can't wait to see it!" she cheerfully said.

"Huh?" Mira smiled at her. "You are not just watching it: you will take part too."

The blue haired girl gaped once more. "W-what? But I'm not a mage."

The other barmaid giggled. "I knew you were going to say that, but, Lia, I think that you are already a part of our family, whether you are a mage or not." she explained. "And I'm pretty sure everyone else thinks so too." Mirajane winked before walking away with a tray full of beverages for the people in the hall.

The blunette looked at her co-worker for a few seconds. She looked down at her hands and clutching her fists, smiled, family.

Not too long after that, a blond girl approached the counter and slid into a stool. "Hi, Lia."

"Hello, Lucy-san." Lia greeted her and glancing at the girl's side, asked "Where's Natsu-san and Happy-san?"

Lucy placed her elbow on the bar and rested her chin on her palm. "Happy went fishing and Natsu... is wrestling over there." she sighed pointing at the group fighting in the back of the hall.

The blue haired girl giggled. "What can I give you?"

"Orange juice with not too much sugar, please."

Lia nodded and turned back to look for the jar with said juice. The blond girl glanced over her shoulder to the bar's usual ruckus and smiled while looking at a certain pink haired dragon slayer blowing fire.

"Here you are, Lucy-san." the barmaid said placing the order in front of the other girl.

"Thank you, Lia." the blond smiled briefly taking the glass and looking back at the fight. She took a sip of her drink and instantly stuck her tongue out, looking back at the blunette. "L-Lia, you put way too much sugar in this juice."

"I'm so sorry, Lucy-san!" the blunette said bowing her head several times to apologize.

"O-Oh, don't worry too much! You may have put the sugar in twice." Lucy commented looking down at her glass.

"Oh." Lia blinked covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers, "Did I?" she mumbled turning around, hiding her wide smirk as she walked away. Her strange behavior didn't go unnoticed by the blond.

"W-What was that?"

Gray was strolling down the street toward Fairy Tail, his hands inside his pockets and his eyes already recognizing the guild's roof at the end of the street.

She had left on her own on that morning, that was something good he kept telling to himself.

Truth be told, when he woke up and found out that she was already gone, he was surprised. He didn't know what he was expecting either, after the way he had treated her.

He sighed deeply, he knew that he was acting like a jerk and many other things from a large list, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her out of his life.

But he had been the one pushing her into it to begin with, the fact that he now wanted her to 'leave him alone', for putting it in simple words, was... ironic.

He frowned and restrained the impulse of slapping himself. His mind was a mess everything related to that girl seemed to break his usual cool and aloof self.

I'm gonna be the one breaking through it, was what she had told him; and even after two days her words made him gape.

And blush.

He was still lost in his own thoughts when he heard the steps of someone running behind him. He tried to glance back but a large hand grasped his skull, pushing it toward the ground with a swift and rough movement. His face collided with the pavement of the street, and damn it hurt. The people around them gasped or shrieked in surprise.

The aggressor knelt beside him, still pressing his head to the ground. "Where is she?!"

"HELP, GRAY'S IN TROUBLE!"

Every mage looked at the blue cat who had entered the hall panting heavily. He had flown at full speed and had run out of magic. Landing on a table, he tried to recover his breath as he set down a bucket with fish.

"Happy! What's wrong with Gray?!" Makarov asked him as he stepped out of the crowd. Natsu, Lucy and Erza approached them, and Lia came from behind the counter too.

"W-when I was flying back from the river, I spotted Gray walking across the main road." he explained with his paw pointing at the front door. "He was simply walking here when a black haired guy attacked him! There's a big fight going on between them, and that man is strong!"

Some gasped while other mumbled surprised. Lucy noticed that Lia was trembling with wide eyes beside her, so she murmured "Don't worry, he will be okay." to her.

"But if Gray hasn't finished him, that man must be truly strong." Erza said with a serious look. "We have to- LIA!" the scarlet haired girl shouted as the blunette sprinted toward the door and flung it open. "Ugh, Natsu!"

"On it!" the dragon slayer said, joining Erza and leaving the hall.

The raven haired man pressed a hand over the bandage on his chest. He glanced at the blood in his palm and confirmed that the wound had reopened from the fight. He hadn't recovered yet and now he was bleeding again, he felt that he didn't have much strength to endure that encounter.

The man in front of him frowned with anger. "Where are you keeping her?!"

"Keeping who? I don't know what you are talking about!" he shouted back at the man.

"Don't play dumb, her smell is all over you!"

That sure was something strange to say, the ice mage thought. Then, an idea suddenly struck his mind. He glanced at Fairy Tail behind the stranger's back, what if he was talking about...?

"Lia?" he muttered to himself.

His opponent dashed forward. "I will make you tell me by force!" the man threatened and Gray looked down at him.

The raven haired guy stood in the ice make position with one hand over the other, but just when he was about to cast a spell, he saw a blue haired girl running toward them from the guild.

"LIA! DON'T C-!" he tried to warn her with his shouts, but a kick in the stomach sent him flying backwards and into a cafe on the sidewalk. Gray crashed through the window with his back, hearing the yells and shrieks from the people inside even before he shattered the glass. He landed on a table that broke into pieces with the impact. A screeching noise settled in his ears and his vision was blurry.

The black haired man smirked widely, he enjoyed fighting. He took a step in the direction of the cafe when his nose scrunched up and his eyes widened. "Don't tell me-" he glanced behind him and saw the blunette running to him. She was just a few meters away when he gaped. "Juv-"

"GAJEEL-KUN, GET DOWN!" Lia shouted, kicking the guy in his noble parts with all her force. The man yelled in pain as he fell to his knees, his hands on his groin.

Lia knelt beside the man to whisper in his ear. "I'm Lia Lackar, I'm not a mage and you are my best friend Gajeel Redfox, an independent mage who never came back from his last mission, got it?"

The guy, holding back his tears of pain, stared at the blunette. He opened his mouth as if to ask something, but decided to ask another time, he nodded.

Lia smiled widely at him and the guy smiled back at her, she flung her arms around his neck and sniffled in his black mane as he patted her back. "I'm so glad you are alive, Gajeel-kun."

When Gray stepped out from the rubbles of the cafe, he froze at the sight in front of him. The blue haired girl crying her eyes out while hugging the guy who was beating him not too long ago.

"What the damn hell?"

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OF COURSE GAJEEL WASN'T DEAD! :D

Let's make a deal: if we get to the 100 reviews (or more!)

I will post my brand new Gruvia story!

... you are going to read it, right? D: hahaha

Yumeko