OMG guys! It's chapter 10! Woohoo! :D Neena is very happy right now. Things were better this week, I suppose. Fixed things up with the beau while making sugar cookies today, performed today without a flaw, even got a good new book! Your reiviews for this chapter would just put me on cloud nine! Seriously. Love you all! Read, enjoy, and review!

Adherence

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The Inevitable

Natsu lurched forwards again, feeling the stinging stomach bile rising in his throat, and pressed a single hand to his mouth in order to keep himself from spewing all over the floor of the moving locomotive. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" he moaned, making a sickly hiccupping sound. His face was a ghastly green color, which alarmed Lucy, who was sitting directly beside him.

"Well don't puke all over me," she huffed.

Meanwhile, Galahad watched the scene, feeling a bit queasy himself as he warily watched the dragonslayer moan and groan and hiccup, writhing in his seat uncomfortably. "Is this…" the illusionist started slowly. "Is this normal?"

Lucy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger, appearing quite agitated with the turn of events. "Unfortunately…" she muttered, glaring down at her partner when he tried to lay his head on her lap. She scooted further away from him with a disgruntled frown.

Her partner leaned towards her again, clapping an arm around his abdomen. "Lucy…" he whined beneath the hand that kept itself over his mouth like a lid. "I think I'm gonna…" He coughed, and then made a gagging sound, to which Lucy let out a small, trilling shriek.

"Don't you dare, Natsu Dragneel!" the blonde whispered furiously to him, pushing his face away profusely. "For Mavis' sake, go to the bathroom, you idiot! Don't even think about throwing up on me." She, as if to encourage her statement, shoved Natsu away from her body and out into the aisle. Her face was pink up to the ears, either from irritation or from the fear of having his last meal making a sudden second appearance on her clean clothes.

He half-collapsed, with one hand around his gut and the other over his mouth, before making a beeline for the bathroom in the very back of the car, stumbling almost drunkenly. The dragonslayer moaned all the way, eliciting curious stares from the other passengers—afterwards, those same passengers reeled back, their faces contorted in disgust.

Galahad gawked after the motion-sick dragonslayer, his bright eyes gleaming. "How unfortunate," he said, "that someone with his power is reduced to his knees by a moving vehicle." He clucked his tongue judgmentally, crossing his arms.

"Well, he had to have some sort of weakness," Lucy mumbled. She turned on her side, folding her arms in the process, and stared out the window at the summer scenery as the train chugged on. "In a strange way, it's sort of relieving…" she whispered, her eyes trailing certain objects as they zipped by.

"To know that he has a weakness?" Galahad quipped, watching her every move. His eyes zeroed in on her with each breath she took, with each twitch her hands gave, with each crinkle of her brows. She, Lucy Heartfilia, was absolutely fascinating. Even more so than himself, which was an accomplishment achieved by few and far in between.

Lucy nodded mutely, not really caring to admit what she so truly thought. "Every time he fights, I think that he's invincible… He just can't lose, there's no way he can… But, I know that there's no such thing as invincibility, really…" the blonde murmured softly, blinking her wheat-colored eyes thoughtfully. "And, in a way, it makes me feel better about myself. To know that I'm not the only one who has a weakness, that everyone, no matter their strength, does have a weakness… So, I guess I'm glad that his weakness is something like this, something completely ridiculous."

Galahad felt his muscles tightening at the mention of Natsu's physical strength. Subconsciously, he found himself staring in the direction of the bathroom, after Natsu, brooding over Lucy's obvious praise. "You talk as if he's the most powerful mage of Fairy Tail," he snorted sarcastically, disbelieving.

"Oh," Lucy mused, looking over her shoulder at him enigmatically with a half-smile, "next to Erza, Gajeel, Gray, Jellal, Gildarts and Laxus, I think he's one of the most powerful mages in all of Fiore."

Galahad found himself pausing at this, eyes lighting with curiosity and sarcasm. Oh, really? One of the most powerful in Fiore? The one stumbling to the bathroom to empty his last meal just now? How utterly preposterous.

"Of course," came the snort from the blonde in the next moment, "he doesn't need to know that…he's got a big enough ego as it is." Lucy scoffed to herself, the sound coming from the back of her throat in an un-lady-like manner. But despite her admonishment, she seemed quite content with the previous statement—looking starry eyed and smiling softly, almost reminiscently.

And Galahad found that he didn't like it. Not so much the fact that she looked so damn beautiful, ethereal even, but rather the fact that she looked that way because she was thinking about someone who wasn't him; she was thinking of Natsu. Her teammate. Her friend. Her nakama. Galahad's jaw tightened.

Or, perhaps they were more than that; more than just nakama. Obviously, Natsu had some issues with territory—Galahad wasn't blind—and he was very obviously infatuated with the blonde celestial mage; it explained his irrational outbursts of anger and that dopey look on his face when he was being scolded by Lucy. This didn't bother Galahad, really. He couldn't have cared less if Natsu fancied Lucy. What he did care about, though, was if Lucy harbored some sort of romantic notion towards her dragonslayer teammate.

She was much more guarded about her emotions when it came to Natsu, thus making it hard to tell. But, either way, Galahad felt molten lava congealing in the pits of his stomach; unsettlement, it was, he realized a short while later.

"You must think highly of him," Galahad said tightly, masking his tone quite well.

Lucy only shrugged and brushed another lock of hair behind her fabric-clad shoulder with a flip of her creamy-colored, stamp-covered hand. "Yeah, I guess… I mean, I respect him—despite his idiocy and everything. You can't not respect someone like him."

Ah, respect, was it? Just respect.

Inquiringly, Galahad leaned forward ever so slightly, inching closer to the blonde sitting directly across from him, and narrowed his grassy eyes in speculation. Her gaze was still plastered to the window, those beautiful eyes of hers glazed over as if she were thinking about something or someone; her cheeks were a pretty rose-petal pink and she continuously grated her delectable bottom lip with her white, pearly teeth.

He leaned back with a irritated snort. Respect, she said. Galahad scoffed. She was a terrible liar.

Lucy suddenly yawned, taking the illusionist eyeing her like a hawk by surprise. "He's strong," she said not long after.

"Is he now?"

She nodded confidently.

"Is that why you like him?"

Lucy began spluttering incoherent things, her face growing redder by the minute as she finally tore her eyes from the window and peered at Galahad incredulously. She coughed. "Like? You mean as a teammate? A friend?" she clarified, stressing the words "teammate" and "friend" in a way that emphasized her anxiety.

"A friend, a teammate, nakama…something more…" Galahad offered nonchalantly, keeping his tone cool, light and emotionally detached. He lifted his shoulders in a non-caring shrug.

Lucy, though, scoffed profusely, her face reddening even further if it were possible. "Something more?" she echoed. "How could I ever, ever think of Natsu in that way? I mean…he's Natsu…" Her voice cracked at the end.

And it only hammered the nail in the coffin for her. Galahad knew she was lying; which left something equivalent to a pit of rocks settling in his already heavy stomach. But, he thought, if she wanted to lie, fine; all he would have to do was change her mind. It wouldn't be that hard—most women were weak to his charm. Not to say that Lucy was like most women, because she wasn't, but, Galahad seriously doubted if there was a woman who could resist him forever. For a prolonged amount of time, maybe. Forever? Definitely not. She would eventually cave—but only if he used the correct tools and methods.

He found himself smirking devilishly. "I see…" he murmured, watching her closely as she leaned back.

The celestial mage pressed one of her cool hands to her very red face almost in hopes of cooling it down. It didn't look as though it would work, however, as her face just burned even hotter in response to her mind continuously repeating the conversation she just had. Something more? Did Galahad suspect that she had romantic feelings for Natsu? No… Lucy paused, chewing this over in her mind. He couldn't have—she knew she was very good at masking her true feelings, the only one who could possibly tell would be Levy; because best friends had the right to be open books to one another.

And yet…he looked incredibly smug as he braced his elbows on his knees, green eyes sparkling, a smirk curving his mouth.

He looked as though she had just, despite her clear denial of his accusation, confessed her feelings.

And it worried Lucy. Because if on the off chance that he somehow knew, it wouldn't be long until the others in the guild knew—and then eventually Natsu would know, and her ingenious, foolproof plan would be ruined and Natsu would ostracize her.

She chewed her lip worriedly.

She absolutely, positively could not have that happen. It couldn't happen, it wouldn't happen. Lucy would make sure of that.

…Right after she made another trip to the bathroom.

Hurriedly, she stood up, fighting the urge to awkwardly cross her legs and fold her hands over her abdomen. Oh, Mavis, how could the need to pee come so quickly and yet so forcefully? Lucy inwardly groaned and edged out into the aisle. "I'll be right back…bathroom," she called over her shoulder to Galahad, who stared after her curiously.

Well, Galahad thought, when a girl had to go, she had to go it seemed; because not even a second after she had stood, Lucy was already well down the aisle and parading to the bathroom with her hands clenched at her sides, her knuckles white. He almost laughed. Inwardly, he highly doubted that she even needed to use the bathroom in the first place—she was just probably too flustered to sit there in silence with him. Then again, he supposed fairly, this was Lucy Heartfilia, one of the single most unpredictable women in Fairy Tail—the first being Erza Scarlet. Who knew what was going on inside that head of hers?

"Oh, Mavis, if I don't get there, I swear I'll pee myself…" Lucy whispered to herself, sounding utterly horrified.

No one really paid her that much mind as she all but marched to the bathroom in the back of the car—a few had looked up at her though, mostly men checking out her assets; nothing too unusual. And, much to her relief, she soon reached the very back of the car and located the nice wooden door leading to the lavatory.

Huffing, she reached out to yank on the door handle…only to find it locked. Someone occupied the bathroom.

"No…" she hissed in dismay as she glared pointedly at the door. Inhaling patiently, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to ignore the growing pains in her bladder; she knocked on the door lightly with two knuckles. "Excuse me?" she called out as politely as she could.

There was silence for a few steady beats, making her believe that there was actually no one inside, until she received the reply of, "Ngh…" in a deep, and ill—but still recognizable—voice.

Her brown eyes narrowed at the same time as a knowing frown marred her mouth. It was Natsu's voice—he was still in there. Lucy had just assumed that he had gone to the outer railing to hang his head over the edge like he sometimes did; but no, it appeared as though he had been hogging the bathroom all this time.

"Natsu?" the blonde tested warily as she pressed her knees together.

An awful gagging noise and then, "Hmn…"

She sighed, her legs squeezing closer and closer together. "Natsu," she griped, "get out, seriously. I need to use the bathroom."

Of course, she received silence as an answer. Not even the sound of shuffling, as if he were gathering himself, met her ears.

Having no patience, the blonde knocked on the door again. "Natsu!" She continued knocking, even though it was proving to be beyond pointless, and whined pitifully.

Her abdomen was bloated and painful—she had gone from fine and dandy to this state in no less than a short five minute span. Really, she probably needed to stop drinking so many things with caffeine…it was obviously destroying her poor kidneys and bladder.

"Natsu, I swear, if you don't open this door right now, I will kick it in and you will have to pay for the damages!" Her knocks turned into insistent pounding, a fist sudden forming.

And, of course, it caused people to turn around in their seats and stare at her—the source of the sudden, new commotion. Some were irritated, some perplexed, and others just curious as to what was going on. Lucy found that she didn't particularly care though; she had to pee dammit, everything else was on hold until then. And there was no way that Natsu was getting in the way of her and her lavatory sanctuary.

The celestial mage hiked up her foot in a threatening manner, though the dragonslayer inside the bathroom before her couldn't see. "Natsu Dragneel, I'm serious. One…two…" Lucy began counting, her patience and her bladder's tolerance stretching thin.

"Thr – "

But the door opened with a whoosh before she could finish, effectively colliding with her forehead and making her stumble back in surprise and pain. She hissed, rubbing the red, sore spot on her face, before fixing her teammate with a glower that rivaled Erza's on her grumpy mornings.

He was standing in the doorway—or, actually, slumping in the doorway—still looking quite green and…barfy. Natsu hiccupped, still holding a hand to his mouth, and gurgled something unintelligible.

"Just go sit down," Lucy ordered with a point in the general direction of their seats.

The dragonslayer merely stared at her forlornly, his green eyes glazed.

"Go," Lucy repeated. She reached out to pull him aside and out of the doorway so she could squeeze herself inside. "And don't puke on the seats…or Galahad," she told him as an afterthought, giving him a slight nudge on the small of his back.

He lurched forwards, hunching like a crippled elder.

And Lucy shut the bathroom door with a slam.

Thank Mavis. Bathroom…sanctuary…

Harshly, and in quite the hurry, she yanked down her denim shorts and lined underwear, hop-skipping to the toilet. Once she sat down, that same, amazing feeling of relief came over her in such a forceful wave that she actually felt tears of gratitude collecting in the corners of her eyes.

"Thank the starry heavens…" Lucy sighed to herself wistfully, hanging her head in her hands.

Jeez…she had never felt the need to pee so badly in her entire life!

A few minutes later, feeling much less bloated and much less explosive, Lucy went to stand and wash her hands when she noticed something…a little odd, she supposed. Well, maybe it wasn't exactly odd, but certainly not what she had been expecting. There was no red in her liner.

She was on her period, and yet, there was no blood…how did that make any sense? She had clearly been bleeding just hours before, so there was no way that it would have stopped by now.

Puzzled the blonde scratched the crown of her head and finished pulling up her pants. She shook it off. Well, whatever, she was fine—her body was probably just a little off due to the stress she'd been dealing with lately. She'd heard that it could happen, that a girl's period could stop and go if they were stressed. So, as she lathered her hands and peered at her reflection in the mirror, she decided that there was nothing that she really needed to worry about.

Everything was fine.

Besides, even though she'd been glad to receive her period for certain reasons, it didn't mean that she was entirely happy to be dealing with it—especially during a mission. That just spelled disaster. It was better this way, Lucy thought as she exited the restroom. She knew she wasn't pregnant, and she didn't have to deal with a heavy period on the mission. Perfect. It couldn't get more perfect. So, she smiled contently and found her way back to her seat, practically humming.

As she drew closer to the seats that she, Natsu and Galahad had reserved, she heard the unmistakable sound of gagging and blanched accordingly. Natsu was still threatening to hurl, it seemed. A little displeased, she sighed and scooted into her seat beside Natsu, ignoring his groans.

Noticing her presence, the dragonslayer groaned even louder. "Lucy…" He leaned his head towards her, eyes pleading.

And Lucy, despite her reaction earlier in the day, gave into his desires with a huffing, reluctant sigh. "Alright," she consented slowly. Hesitantly, she lifted one of her hands and rested it on the crown of his salmon-pink head, fingers kneading gently through the individual strands, before gently guiding his head to her lap. Comfortingly, Lucy rubbed his scalp. "But," she continued, "if you throw up on me, I will kill you."

She was serious. Natsu knew that. But he wouldn't dare throw up on her in the first place…it would mess up that wonderful smell of hers. Whatever perfume she was wearing, he found it delectable—once he was no longer incapacitated by the moving locomotive, he had to make sure to tell her that she should always wear this new perfume of hers. Natsu inhaled deeply, feeling his stomach settle at her soothing scent.

Paradise, he thought languidly. How could she smell so good? Lucy had always smelled nice, Natsu thought—not that he really, purposely sniffed her everyday—but this new smell was stronger than her usual scents. And, despite his usual distaste for strong perfumes, he found that he liked this one; in fact, he found no reason to hate this perfume at all.

He stirred slightly, turning his head until his nose was almost buried into Lucy's soft stomach. Again, he inhaled.

Ah…the smell was the strongest from there, he realized, smelling again. Her stomach. What a strange place to put perfume. But, Natsu found that he couldn't care less.

He felt her stomach twitch as she squealed. "Natsu," Lucy whispered. "What are you doing?" the celestial mage demanded—from her tone, she sounded embarrassed. "Are you…are you smelling me?" The blonde sounded horrified at the thought.

And why wouldn't she? After all, Lucy thought that she probably smelled like blood due to her menstruation—though it appeared to have stopped for now.

The dragonslayer stirred again, groaning once, before giving out a huff and letting his tense body go limp. He was asleep, Lucy realized, as she saw and felt his shoulder rise and fall in time with his breathing. Oh well… She sighed. At least, this way, he wouldn't be throwing up on her, which was good. But…on the negative side…

Lucy felt her heart beating rapidly, a thousand beats a minute, as she gazed down at her teammate. If he cuddled with her so sweetly, looking the way he did—with his taught face slack, his short lashes spanning out, nose twitching here and there—she felt as though she wouldn't be able to let go of him. Or rather, of her feelings for him. She was supposed to be trying to move on for the sake of their already blurred friendship. And yet…she found that she simply couldn't.

Not at the time, anyway. Maybe later, when he didn't look so innocent that it tugged at her heart strings. Lucy smiled, running her fingers through his hair again.

Maybe later.

And during this touching interaction between teammates, the blonde did not see the pair of bright green eyes narrowing in distaste.

Neena's Corner:

And so the plot thickens... Dun, dun, dunnn! Woah, Galahad, jealous? Angry? Devious, I think is more appropriate, but I'll leave that to you ;) But what happens next? Find out in the next chapter, chapter 11: The Evidence!

KUDOS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS: xXxMoozerxXx, chocolander, Beautiful Sensations, NonieBee, Ranting and Raving, Dyvee, TheLostHope, RandomMeowz, KHLostEmpress, LinkWarriorInGreen, lurvevanilla, Sinares, Lady Violet Fire, xXFanGirlingXx, Amychama248, Einn, Weber, xxJcc161xx, misstirius, Cupcake-Lover-1374, nessa, GoldenRose Tanya, Anon, leoslady4ever, KawaiiOdango, dog's paw burning in hot ash, BlueBellXx, Masterday, QueenP19, GuiltyCrown09, Eternal Anime Fan, The Keeper of Worlds, Disappear500, TheOneMagic, LuckyLifeSmile, Kagome Juh.

You guys are all so amazingly awesome! Really, you are! I love reading each and every one of your reviews, so please, review again. It makes me so happy I could melt into a puddle of boneless goo and be completely fine with that. Forreal. SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO BEAUTIFUL SENSATIONS! Your reviews are always so long, detailed and wonderful to read that I just felt like I HAD to say something! You're wonderful darling, virtual hugs for you! :D

Anon:Thank you for noticing! I, too, get irritated when people portray the, ahem, "symptoms" in ways like that. So, I made sure that, IF she would get, well, you know, that it would be done correctly. Er... if that makes any sense whatsoever XD Man, it's hard to reply without giving parts of future chapters away!

Ranting and Raving:Ah, my dear friend, all will be revealed in due time, I assure you ;) And I also assure you that it will be worth your while!

Sinares: Hmm, if I've mapped out my timeline correctly, and this may be just a little off, it's been about a month and a half since the..."incident". :3 Hoping this helped!

On another note, thank you to all of you that gave me some wonderful suggestions for Ulquihime! I was thoroughly sated for quite a while, thanks to all of you :3 Seriously. I don't know why, but that pairing just has so much sexual tension that it's wondrously glorious. It's like soaking in a hot bath and not caring if you get all prune-y from the water XD

Ahem. REVIEW! Love hearing your thoughts!