For the second morning in a row, Natsu woke feeling groggy and confused. Zeref was in his head, though the dream was fading. "It can just stay that way," he muttered. There was no reason to think of Zeref as someone who enjoyed sweets and dreams and other's love. You mean there's no reason to think of him as a real person.

Yeah. That.

Crunched up on the single mattress, his arm was asleep and his back was sore. Discomfort didn't even begin to describe his state. His feet had been spread wide to accommodate Happy, though the cat wasn't there now, and the right side of his body was too hot with Lucy curled into him.

Lucy? Yeah. Her blonde hair was sticking to his facial stubble and was half in his mouth. It smelled like the motel's cheap strawberry shampoo. He'd never complain about it if it meant she was close, though it wasn't her smell.

Untucking his hands from behind his head was inviting a cascade of tingles to shoot through his fingers. Natsu nipped the inside of his lip and did his best to remain stationary while the nerves awoke. The more feeling he got in his hand the more he wished he could block it out. Where that thorn went in was sore. He lifted his head as much as he dared and saw that the skin of his palm was red and swollen. Maybe it's infected.

Lucy shifted, slowly waking with him. Pain made way for a very different kind of feeling.

'Maybe you weren't wrong.'

Natsu wondered if he'd dreamed that, too, but it was too fresh in his mind, not clouded by sleep. His stomach twisted with nerves. Why are you nervous? He wasn't before. She hadn't turned him down before, though, not for real. That thing with Asuka? He was mostly playing. Earlier... It was the real deal, which meant this, trying again, felt like taking more of a chance. He remembered the last girl he kissed. Lana. It had been sloppy and wet and uncoordinated. Laying on the grass staring up at the night sky with a belly full of boar and a myriad of people dancing and laughing all around, she'd thrown herself roughly down beside him, her white skirts getting grass stained, and grabbed his face between her hands. The next thing he knew, her mouth was crushed to his. It had been surprising, yes, though not entirely unpleasant. Not until he just decided to return the kiss and she rolled over and threw up on the grass beside him. Too much to drink. That had been the end of that. He'd left the next morning after barely saying goodbye.

That was fine anyway, she wasn't really the girl he was thinking about.

Feeling returned, Natsu allowed himself to bring his arm flat against Lucy's back. Her hair was so long now he barely had to reach up to touch it. It was still horribly tangled from last night. Lucy's fingers clenched in his shirt. Her breathing changed. Her lashes fluttered, kissing her cheeks. Sunshine streaming in through the window lit her up like a gilded girl. Her skin was honey, her hair polished gold, her lips rose-brushed. Like Mother's hair.

The thought was distant and disjointed and threw Natsu for a wild loop. He could perfectly envision the rosy gold. He could even smell the oils she'd used. And yet he couldn't picture her face.

That's because you don't actually remember her. It was just that stupid dream.

Lucy grunting softly and sitting up brought Natsu back from a weird place. She looked down at him with sleepy eyes. The sleep cleared when she realized that she'd spent the whole night curled into him. What was meant to be a moment of comfort had unwittingly turned into a nighttime of shared closeness.

She didn't freak out like Natsu thought she would, accuse him of invading her privacy or call him a pervert. She let her face smooth and got out of bed. His shirt had ridden high on her thighs, exposing not only a healthy line of leg, but the swell of her behind and a pair of modest blue panties spotted with black polka dots. Modest or not, Natsu stared at them until Lucy realized that the shirt had caught in the elastic at the top. She brought it down with rough motions, then looked over her shoulder, checking to see if he'd seen. He wasn't fast enough in looking away. She didn't scold him then either, though. There was a worry behind her eyes. Natsu didn't know how to ask her what was wrong. If it was waking up with him, or something else entirely.

He said the next best thing. "Morning." That was an acceptable and safe way to greet someone.

"Morning." Lucy's voice was rougher than Natsu anticipated, hoarse with sleep. She went to the washroom, leaving Natsu alone for a few moments. He stared at the ceiling, hands in his hair.

Lucy returned, hair pulled up in a high ponytail, still messier than hell. Her bangs were fluffy and pushed to the side, covering most of her eye. Natsu's fingers itched in a very strange way when he saw it. He wanted to push the hair aside to fully look at her.

Lucy didn't go for clothes like Natsu thought she might. She came back to the bed and sat so they were hip to hip, her feet tucked up under the pillow. Natsu's heart beat fast. He forced it to calm. It didn't work, but the illusion was there, anyway.

"Happy's not here," Lucy said.

Natsu's calm evaporated. 'Maybe you weren't wrong.' He wondered if that meant she wanted to be kissed, like then, in that very moment.

"Where do you think he went?"

For a three hour walk, he hoped. "Dunno."

"Aren't you worried about him?" Lucy asked.

"Nah, Happy can take care of himself." Natsu's heart beat harder.

"I guess so." Lucy dropped her eyes and plucked at the pill-ridden blanket covering her legs. She could feel Natsu's skin against hers. He was so hot, how was he not sweating?

Natsu cleared his throat. "…Sleep well?"

Lucy wormed her toes beneath the flat pillow and shrugged. "Well enough," she lied. While it had been an uncomfortable sleep, it was still one of the best she'd had in a long, long time. "You?"

"Pretty good," Natsu said. "Weird dreams, though."

Lucy looked relieved that there was something to talk about. "About?"

He locked his hands behind his head again and tipped his head back. It made his palm ache. "I don't know. Zeref."

"Zeref?" Lucy repeated, fully sidetracked now from her moment of bravery. So much for telling Natsu about Gray. She wasn't as put off as she thought. Relieved, more like.

"I guess," Natsu said. "It's weird, though. He's not a dick in my dream. He's not always crying, either. He's just…"

"Yeah?"

He couldn't put into words the way he felt about Zeref in his dream. Family. The sense of belonging. The comfort and protection he offered. You've never needed protection from anyone. That wasn't true. Igneel. Igneel was the only one he'd ever needed.

His eyes got hot suddenly, his throat small. He banished both feelings and replaced them with a crooked smile. "Nothing. It's stupid anyway. Just a dumb dream."

Lucy could tell he was bothered, despite his cheer. He sat up, though, and scattered her thoughts. His fingers found hers. Lucy dropped her gaze and examined their hands twisted together. His nails were short, surprisingly neatly cut. One of them was bruised black. His hands were rough and scar-ridden, his right red and swollen in the center of his palm from the abuse he'd given it the other night.

"You need to keep that clean. It looks sore," Lucy said, breaking through whatever it was Natsu was gearing himself up to do. You know. She'd as good as invited him to kiss her last night. And why? To complicate things for herself, probably.

"Will you help me again?" He just wanted an excuse for her to keep touching him. Maybe this time she wouldn't storm off and go to bed.

"Yeah." She started to rise. Voices in the hall made her freeze.

Happy was coming back. And he wasn't alone.

Natsu realized it the same moment she did. Lightning quick, he was tugged through a myriad of emotions, excitement and disdain the two most dominant. He didn't want to be interrupted, but how could he complain?

Lucy on the other hand looked downright panicked. Like if she were able, she'd slip straight through the mattress, through the floor and disappear forever. She clutched at her hip for something that wasn't there. Her keys, Natsu realized, though why she'd need them was beyond him.

The door popped open, Happy waltzed in, bringing with him Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser.

"Hey, Natsu, lookit who I found!" Happy chirped. "They were getting breakfast from the cart down the road just like me."

Natsu realized that Happy held a paper bag full of something greasy. It smelled like deep fried heaven. His stomach grumbled loudly. "Awesome." He got out of bed and crossed the room, shamelessly gathering Gray and Juvia simultaneously into a fast, yet bone-crushing hug. "Where the hell have you been, man? We've been here for days."

Juvia grunted and flushed, awkwardly patting Natsu on the back. Gray was stiffer than usual, not returning the hug before the dragon slayer released him. His stomach was in knots and his skin was on fire and not just because beside him, Juvia was tight-lipped and tense, her eyes on Lucy over Natsu's shoulder. His father's mark was twanging. Sweat beaded on his brow. Suddenly five beers last night felt like too much, though it had never bothered him before. He breathed deeply and swallowed.

Natsu was still waiting for a response. It was Juvia that answered. "We've been travelling all around. Doing freelance work. I saw the article after you defaced the King's castle."

Natsu chuckled and looked over his shoulder. "See, Lucy? I knew it'd work."

Lucy laughed. It sounded strangled.

Juvia finally looked away from the blonde. "And you, Natsu?"

Natsu shrugged. "Training, mostly. I'll tell you about it over breakfast. Come on, there was a park with a few picnic tables just down the road. I saw it the other night when I was looking for Lucy."

Lucy hummed her agreement, not really listening because her skin was itching. This was not the way to act surprised, she knew, but she couldn't escape the look Juvia gave her. She knows. She had to. There was no way she could not when she was wearing an expression like that.

Natsu came back and tugged her out of bed. "Get dressed."

Lucy yanked out of his grasp, more than ever aware of her garb. It shouldn't have been as awkward as it was. Maybe it was climbing out of a bed she'd obviously been sharing with Natsu. Maybe it was her state of undress, even though everything was covered. Her cheeks were hotter than they had any right to be. She shuffled to her pile of clothes and grabbed things at random. Her keys last.

Locked in the bathroom, Lucy breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. She dressed in a pair of black shorts and a vibrant pink tank, then yanked on a pair of army-style boots. She washed her face next, and then finally tugged a brush through her hair. It took a long time, and not just because she was procrastinating.

Ten minutes into her time-burning, the air lightened and Loke stepped through a gate. Lucy looked at him blandly through the mirror.

"Are you always just going to show up now?" Her voice was a whisper so no one outside would hear her.

"You were the one looking for my key earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I wasn't really looking."

He raised a brow.

Lucy breathed a huge sigh. "I'm fine."

"You almost told him."

"And then I didn't."

"But you thought about it. You were close. Next time."

Just imagining gearing herself up for it made her want to hurl. "Listen, this isn't a good time to have this conversation; everyone is waiting for me out there."

"Yeah," Loke said, "You say that, yet you're in here making them wait."

Lucy quieted.

"You want me to come out with you?"

Like she needed someone to hold her hand. The thought was so tempting, and that's why she dismissed it. "It's alright, Loke."

"Lucy! Our food's getting cold." Happy's voice came through the door, making Lucy both jump and squeak.

She took in a stabilizing breath. "I'll meet you guys in the park, okay? I know which one Natsu meant."

"Are you sure?" Happy asked.

Lucy pushed her unruly bangs back from her face. A look in the mirror revealed a girl with pale skin and wide doe eyes. She looked scared straight. Pathetic. "Yeah, Happy. I'll be there soon."

There was muttering, then the outer door opened and closed. The room was silent.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Loke asked. "Why are you still in here?"

Still unable to raise her voice, Lucy whispered, "Did you see the way Juvia looked at me? And Gray, he wouldn't even meet my eye."

"I think Juvia looked at you like she always looks at you."

"She was glaring at me."

"She's always sort of glaring at you. Nothing's changed; it's all in your head. As for Gray, that was a two-way street," Loke said. "You haven't figured out a way to treat each other. It'll take time."

Time. Of course. It'll get better, she consoled herself.

"Look, I know you feel shitty," Loke said. "But Juvia is a good person. When you figure out how to tell her, she may not forgive you immediately, but she'll figure out how. Everyone makes mistakes."

"This was a huge mistake," Lucy muttered.

"Yeah. It was, but you're human. And it wasn't just yours. Remember that. You don't have to bear the burden of guilt all on your own. You had help that night. Right?"

She remembered kissing his neck and pulling back, feeling shame. The apology. And then his mouth on hers.

Loke straightened his suit jacket and pushed back his messy locks while Lucy squirmed with discomfort. "You're sure you don't want me to come out with you?"

Lucy made herself stop incessantly wringing her hands. "That's alright, Loke. Thanks, though."

"I'll stop by later then," Loke said. "It'll be good to see Gray and Natsu again. And relax, Lucy. Everything's going to be fine." He faded from view.

Everything will be fine. She rolled her shoulders back and gathered courage. When she opened the door and came out into the main room, she felt all of that courage wither. Natsu stood beside the off-white coloured fridge, waiting for her.

"Hey." He'd changed, put on a pair of dark green cargo pants and a black shirt. His scarf was around his neck, as always. His hands were stuffed deep into the pockets of his pants.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Hey."

"Was that Loke I heard?"

Lucy laughed nervously. "You have freaky hearing."

"How come he didn't stay?" What he didn't ask was, 'how come he was here?'

Lucy shrugged and lied. "He had some place to be. Just stopped by to chat."

He half smiled. Lucy could tell he was burning to ask about what. He didn't, though she wished he had when he threw his next question at her. "What's going on with you and Gray?" Natsu never minced his words.

"What?" Lucy wheezed.

"Are you guys mad at each other or something? You didn't even say hi."

"We didn't?" she asked weakly.

Natsu shook his head.

"Guess you guys were talking and I just forgot," Lucy responded. It was the wateriest lie she'd ever told.

And Natsu believed her. Apparently while his hearing was good, it wasn't that good.

"Well, come on, you'll have a chance. They're waiting for us at the park." He took her hand. His skin was cold for the first time ever. Lucy was too busy trapped in her own head to really notice, though.

Beneath a huge bur oak, Gray and Juvia sat shoulder to shoulder on a long wooden picnic bench with Happy sitting opposite. Coming around the corner and seeing them there, Lucy tried to look at Juvia in an objective light. She was glowing looking at Gray, with pink cheeks and cerulean locks dancing in the warm summer breeze. Does that look like a girl who knows she's been betrayed? Lucy couldn't tell. She watched Juvia tear off a piece of fluffed and sugared batter and drop it on her tongue. Gray eyed her like she was the only thing to look at, until he caught sight of Lucy and Natsu approaching. His good cheer, the snippet of relaxation and happiness, dried up like water in the desert. Lucy's heart ached for a new reason.

Natsu didn't notice. "Yo."

"Thanks for showing up," Happy said when he noticed them. "Gray and Juvia are gross, always kissing."

Lucy waited for Juvia's happy glow. She didn't have long. Juvia loved Gray just as much now as she ever did, though it seemed like maybe she was a little less erratic. She didn't gush so much; she didn't stare as hard; she didn't demand Gray's attention. Probably because she had it.

And if you open your big mouth, maybe you'll ruin that. There were a million ways Lucy Heartfilia could justify taking her secret to her grave.

Natsu dropped himself down onto the picnic table and snatched the paper bag from in front of Happy. Inside were two pieces of pastry much like Juvia's. He handed one to Lucy and kept the other for himself. He stuffed a huge chunk into his mouth and said around the food, "Thanks for getting this, Happy. I owe you bigtime."

"Yeah, you do," Happy said. "Pushing me off the bed so you and Lucy could sleep together—"

Lucy didn't hear the rest of the cat's words; her ears were roaring too much. Is that what you do now, you just sleep with boys? It wasn't true, but her internal monolog was vicious. She looked up from beneath her lashes and sure enough, Gray was watching her like a hawk. She busied herself by cramming her mouth with food.

Conversation continued without her attention.

Until her name was called.

"And you, Lucy?" Juvia's voice was like a punch in the throat.

Lucy choked on her food, sputtering. She turned her head to the side and coughed loudly, dislodging the piece of pastry.

Natsu clapped her on the back hard. "Geeze."

Juvia was still looking at her expectantly.

Lucy swallowed and cleared her throat. It itched. "What?"

"What were you doing for the last year?" Juvia reiterated.

Lucy summoned the power of speech. "I worked for Sorcerer Weekly."

"Doing?"

Lucy fidgeted under Juvia's undivided attention. "Um, I was a model first, and then I was a reporter."

"No mage work?"

She didn't ask to be mean, Lucy knew, it didn't stop her pride from stinging, though. "No." The admission was barely a wisp coming out of her mouth. Her cheeks were hot; Aquarius was in the back of her mind.

Juvia didn't ask why, and neither did Gray.

"What about you guys? Did you do a ton of training?" Natsu asked. "What about that devil slayer's mark, Gray?"

Gray started talking. Natsu listened while he and Happy stuffed their faces greedily. Lucy looked away from them both and saw something else that made her want to shrivel.

They were being approached by a guard.

And not just any guard. But Riley Ackles.

With every step he took Lucy tallied the lies she'd told him. I don't belong to a guild. I don't know this criminal. I'm travelling by myself.

She willed him to keep on walking, but he had eyes for Natsu. It didn't take long for him to see her, though. When they locked eyes there were countless things that went on behind Riley's plastered on indifferent expression. He surveyed her close proximity to Natsu. Lucy could practically see the questions building. She gnawed on her tongue until she wasn't certain if she was going to draw blood or not.

She smiled and greeted him when he was close enough and she was absolutely positive he wasn't going to keep on walking. "Hi, Riley."

"Lucy." The conversation, which had been going strong between Gray, Natsu and Juvia, died around the table. Riley shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks. His military issue jacket looked stiflingly hot. He barely sweated.

"…Working today?" Lucy posed.

Riley gave a minuscule nod. "Natsu, how fortunate I saw you as I was making my rounds. We need to have a discussion." The way he said Natsu's name was practically a sneer.

Natsu brushed off his sugar-dusted fingers. "'Bout what?"

Riley looked around the table. "In private would be best. I have a message from the King."

"These guys are cool," Natsu said. "Whatever you want to say can be said around them."

Riley looked uncomfortable. "It's not the kind of thing regular citizens should be privy to."

"They're all part of Fairy Tail," Natsu said. "So just say what you gotta say."

"Fairy Tail isn't a thing anymore."

Natsu pulled up his T-shirt and slapped his bicep where his guild mark still stained his skin. "I say it is."

Riley looked at Lucy again and snorted air from his nose. "I don't really have time for this. Very well." He looked around. There was no one nearby so he dropped his voice and said plainly, "There was another killing. Just like the one the other night. The King thinks you should take up the investigation." He said it like he wasn't in agreement.

Blonde hair. Dead eyes. Lips so swollen and loose they looked like pink-stained maggots. Lucy. Not Lucy. The bottom fell out of Natsu's stomach. "What?"

Riley nodded.

"I thought one guy was shot and the other was caught," Natsu said.

"There must be more than what we thought." He looked at Lucy. "And it looks like he's got a type, Lucy. All of the victims have been young blonde ladies. There's nothing that really ties them together, other than that and they're all from out of town, no sports or clubs or community activities. They didn't go to school together or even grow up in the same neighborhood. They're just pretty girls with blonde hair. It's like the killer is looking for someone. You need to be careful."

Wild chills took over Lucy. She clutched her elbows.

"Any clues?" Natsu asked. His voice was rougher than he'd planned. He blocked out the feeling in his chest, unwilling to name it.

Riley said, "This was the only thing left at the scene of the crime." He pulled out a scarlet heart earring and set it down on the picnic table. Natsu sucked on his lip, remembering the earring he'd picked up the other night. It was an exact match.

Lucy said, "Where did you get that?"

"I told you, I found it," Riley said. "It was half buried in the dirt beside the girl. Couldn't find the other one, though."

Lucy made a small strangled noise. Natsu took his eyes away from the earring to take her in. She looked green, like she was going to throw up.

She rose from the picnic bench on unsteady legs.

"Lucy?" Happy asked.

"I want to go back to the motel."

"Just hang on a sec." Natsu looked to Riley, doing his best to appear unshaken. "I'll start looking for this guy tonight. Where was the last killing?"

"By the peer."

Lucy shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling like she was going to burst with nervous energy. Just looking over her shoulder she could see the slumping roof of their motel, the balcony she and Gray met on. It wasn't so far away, and she had to dispel the unease she felt somehow. She took the first step towards it. Gray, looking completely at war with himself, stood.

"Lucy, hang on."

Though his voice attempted to pin her in place, she couldn't stop, especially after she took that first step. Gray must have decided that he didn't want to be alone with her because he sat right back down, rigid as a stick. Happy glared at him, as if to say, 'What the hell.' It rolled off him like water. The cat got up instead and flew to Lucy's side.

"Wait up."

Natsu kept Lucy in his periphery. "I'm on it. I'll let you know if we find anything." He turned from Riley without waiting for a response and jogged to catch up to Lucy. The blonde was on a mission, halfway back to the motel already. "Hey, did you not just hear what he said?"

"Yeah," Lucy said.

"Then why the hell are you going off by yourself? You fit the description of those girls—"

"Because, Natsu, those might be my earrings," Lucy said.

"My butt hurts," Wendy griped.

Erza squeezed her reins between sweaty fingers and looked over her shoulder at the blue haired girl. A year before Wendy had been nervous of horses, but now she lay flat over Queen Moro's back and stared at the clouds. It was a humid day, hotter than hell, and uncomfortable didn't even begin to capture how Erza was feeling. Everything chafed. Her armpits, her thighs, her knee pits in her cursed leather boots. She nearly swapped out her armour for something cooler, but she wanted to lead by example, and if she gave in to discomfort, then Wendy would think that it was okay.

Unacceptable.

"You could walk the rest of the way."

Wendy rolled her head over on her horse's ass and looked at Erza miserably. "We still have a day, minimum."

"Yep," Erza said with false cheer. "Almost there."

Wendy sighed.

There was quiet for a few minutes after that then Wendy asked, "When did you want to stop for lunch?"

"At lunch time, I suppose."

"Wendy, why are you being so insufferable?" Carla said.

Wendy tipped her head back so she could see her friend flying overhead. "It's almost lunch time."

Carla harrumphed. Erza checked the sky. She couldn't tell.

"We'll go for another few kilometers, Wendy, then we'll take a break. I want Raven's Canyon far behind us before we stop tonight."

"Do you think the tales about it are true?" Wendy asked.

"What tales are those?" Carla queried.

"They say restless spirits roam its belly," Wendy said in a hushed voice, unsure if she was trying to freak Carla out or if she was just scared herself. The latter, for sure. She'd hardened her skin quite a bit over the last year. Travelling with Erza Scarlet would do that to a person, but the thought of ghosts still made her skin crawl. Especially malevolent ones.

"I don't believe in ghosts," Erza said with assurance, leaving no room for doubt.

Wendy knew for a fact they existed. "But—"

"If we come across an enemy we'll do the same thing we always do, Wendy, ghost or not," Erza said shortly. She paused, as if waiting for Wendy to fill in the blanks. When she didn't, Erza prodded. "Which is?"

"We cut them down," Wendy mimicked one of her countless lessons with Erza. Travelling with the contrary swordswoman gave new meaning to trigger-happy.

"Exactly," Erza praised. "You're going to be quite the warrior one day." She beamed, infinitely pleased with herself, and started humming.

That seemed to pacify the young dragon slayer, at least for awhile.

"Erza?"

"Yes?" Erza found Wendy again. She still hasn't sat up, fully depending on Queen Moro to follow Erza's Heart Shadow through the paths.

"Have you ever kissed someone?"

Erza's heart did a strange puttering beat. "Kissed someone?"

"Like, on the mouth. Like, like people do whenever they're in love." She knew Erza had, she'd accidently spied Jellal doing that very thing to the redhead months ago in one of the alleys between their hotel room and a restaurant, but she wanted to hear it from Erza's mouth. Maybe after an affirmation she'd get the guts to ask if she'd ever kissed another girl.

"Wendy, I don't think that's any of your business," Carla scolded.

Finally recovered, Erza said, "It's okay, Carla, she's just curious. Yes, Wendy. I have."

Carla clammed up.

"How did you know that it wasn't something friendly?" Wendy inquired. Her cheeks were the brightest things Erza had ever seen.

"...Um..." Erza floundered, sure that there were other, better equipped people to have this conversation. "You just know."

Wendy went quiet again. Erza watched her lift her hand and touch her lip, a faraway expression on her face. She'd been spaced out for days, dreamy, then teary eyed, cranky, then happier than Erza had seen her in months and months. She was difficult to keep up with.

"Did some boy kiss you?" Erza prodded.

Wendy dropped her hand away, her face a mask once more. "No." The word was so short and final that Erza let it go.

Sharp knocking dragged Laxus Dreyar out of a heavy sleep. He blinked blearily at the vaulted ceiling overhead, trying to make his brain kick into gear. There was a body thrown over his. Or…

Two.

Definitely.

One with a cap of short cherry hair, the other lemon yellow. Dyed, both, certainly.

The knocking kept up.

"Get lost," Laxus said. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls.

"Laxus." That was Bickslow. "We need to talk."

"Sleeping," Laxus said. The two girls were rousing. The lemon haired one sat up and blinked dopily. Last night's makeup was running, one of her fake eyelashes was threatening to fall off. She wasn't nearly so scary when he took her to bed. Honest.

"Mm… It's pretty important," Bickslow explained.

Laxus stared at the door, willing Bickslow to go away. His head. It was pounding.

Obviously he couldn't control minds because Bickslow grabbed the handle and opened the door. He wasn't wearing his helmet. In fact, he'd barely gotten dressed, appearing only in a pair of black cargo shorts slung low on his hips and no shirt.

"What the fuck?" Laxus cussed. The cherry haired girl was rising now, too. She wasn't wearing any clothes and wasn't too shy about it either, propping herself up on her elbow and blinking at Bickslow. Bickslow glanced her over as if unable to help himself, and smirked in his typical fashion.

Then he sobered.

"Listen, the Strausses just showed up at Pegasus—"

"Strausses?" Laxus repeated.

"Like, Elfman, Mirajane and Lisanna," Bickslow said, as if Laxus could forget.

"Who's that?" asked the girl with the lemon hair. Laxus struggled for her name and couldn't remember so he ignored her.

"The fuck are they doing here?"

"Looking for you," Bickslow said. "I don't know. Freed found them first. Ever's with them now and I'm here getting you because they wanted to talk to you—"

A familiar head of silver hair appeared at Bickslow's left. Mirajane ducked under his arm and peered into Laxus' room. She took in the girls, the beer cans and the cigarette butts crushed into gilded ashtrays and raised a pale brow.

"Hey, Laxus."

Laxus shook his head, annoyed. "Mira."

"And Lisanna." Lisanna wormed in between Mira and the wall. Her cheeks went bright red when she made sense of the bed. "Oh."

Bickslow laughed.

"Get out," Laxus said with finality. "All of you."

"We need to talk," Mira said. "We travelled days to get here—"

"You want to come in while I get dressed, Mira, sit down on the bed and watch, or are you going to give me a minute?" Laxus challenged, his hangover making him brusque. "Makes no difference to me."

Mira finally blushed. She grabbed Lisanna's hand without a word and turned away.

"Coffee?" Bickslow asked.

"Out," Laxus said.

The door closed.

"Who was that?" asked Cherry hair.

"Better question," Laxus said, "Is who are you?"

"Yasmin, we met last night at Lucky Fingers—"

"Yeah, listen," Laxus cut in, knowing he was being a dick but not really caring. "I got some stuff to take care of." Apparently. What if it's about Gramps? His heart tried to grind to a dead stop. He pushed the thought away.

"Well, maybe we could hang out later tonight," Lemon girl said.

Laxus smiled falsely and lied. "Yeah, maybe."

Pacified, they both crawled out and stumbled into their clothes. Laxus watched until they yanked on their high heels. They twiddled their fingers like he hadn't been the biggest jackass in the world to them then slipped out into the halls of Blue Pegasus. They were the latest of a long train of girls. Just because he was bored. Just because he needed something to distract himself from his missing grandfather. Just because.

He rose and dressed. The room wobbled. His guts were near ironclad now, his head, not so much.

Another knock came on the door. Annoyed, Laxus tore it back and looked at Bickslow again. He'd found a shirt. "What?"

"Just making sure you were coming," Bickslow said with a grin. "I was getting sick of Mira's skin-crawling glares. They're all for you, buddy, and I think you should take them. On the chin. Like a real man."

"Let me guess, you were talking to Elfman?" Laxus drawled.

"You got it." He held out three aspirin and a bottle of water. Bless him. Laxus swigged them all back then started down the hall. Bickslow closed his door and jogged to catch up.

Laxus asked, "It's not Gramps, is it?"

Bickslow's grin fell away. "Dunno. They haven't said."

Well, it wasn't super comforting, but it wasn't a nail in the coffin either. Laxus went right and took a set of stairs two at a time. His steps echoed loudly off the silver and gold walls that made up Blue Pegasus.

"They're in meeting room B," Bickslow said.

On the main level, Laxus went left through a small bar devoid of another living soul. The smell of alcohol clung to his nose and made his stomach turn. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. On the other side of the door was a long hallway with several rooms leading off either side. Meeting room B was at the very end on the right. On either side of the door were blue flowers in iron pots, kept alive inside the hallway by the sunlight streaming through the skylights above.

Laxus hesitated at the door, steeling himself for anything Mirajane might have to say.

There was no steeling himself against the possibility of his grandfather's death, though.

Just do it.

He pushed open the door.

The meeting room was small, made smaller still by the mound of muscle that was supposed to be, on some plane, a man. Unruly snow-coloured hair and a scar over his right eye told Laxus it was Elfman. Maybe.

Dwarfed by his side was Evergreen. She was looking up at the Strauss with something like gladness. It had been a long time since they'd seen each other. On Elfman's right was little Lisanna, looking pixie-like with hair longer than what Laxus was used to. Beside her was Mirajane, commanding most of his attention even with her behemoth brother just feet away.

"Ready to talk now?" Mira's tongue was a finely honed knife.

Laxus tugged out a chair and dropped himself into it. It was harder than he cared for with no cushion under his ass. The door opened behind him and Freed came in.

"Morning." The long-haired man eased into the seat beside Laxus, setting down a tray of coffee.

"Laxus—" Mira began.

He held up his hand in a 'wait' fashion while he grabbed one of the dark green cups from Freed's tray and filled it to the very brim. The coffee was blacker than pitch and smelled strong enough to polish his insides. He took the first sip and was pleasantly pleased. Freed always made the best coffee.

He met Mira's eyes. "Nice trip?"

She pursed her lips. "It was fine."

"You were training, right? In the mountains?"

Annoyance flashed across Mira's delicate face. "Something like that. As I said," she rolled over Laxus when he opened his mouth again. "We travelled a long way."

Laxus wondered if there was another way to prolong the moment where she revealed her purpose there. Short of spilling coffee on himself, he couldn't think of anything. It didn't feel like a second degree burn on his dick kind of day. "What's up?"

"You haven't heard?" She searched his eyes.

Laxus' guts twisted again. This is it. "No. I haven't heard much of anything here."

"Fairy Tail is getting back together," Lisanna gushed. She looked like she'd been bursting for the moment she could spill out the words.

Laxus gave himself a moment to absorb that. "Gramps?"

"We haven't heard anything definite—"

"There was a shoe shop owner in Targin that said she heard that the Master of Fairy Tail was the one that put out the call," Lisanna bowled on.

"What?" Laxus' tongue felt swollen.

Mira's brows tightened. "It doesn't mean much; Tabatha is always telling tales. I heard that a certain someone wrote all over the King's castle in fire—"

Laxus barely heard them. "When do we leave?"