Author's note: The new chapter is out everyone, I hope you like it! I do not own Fairy Tail.
MORE THAN FRIENDS
CHAPTER 10
Lucy got out off the clear waters of the sea, feeling relieved, relaxed and having cooled down. She tossed her blond, silky hair backwards with a flip of her head, she wiped them with her hands and walked slowly towards the shore. Natsu and Gray had caused a ruckus as usual by doing crazy competitions, like swimming races, diving contests and some occasional brawling, but Lucy was smart enough to keep her distance and enjoy her bath, as most of the other bathers did as well. The blond girl walked towards the spot where she and Erza were lying, the sand feeling hot under her feet as she left water marks on her way. As she reached the spot, she noticed that Erza had already woken up and she was lying on her towel, leaning on her elbows.
"Hey Erza? You're awake?" Lucy said lightly.
"Yeah. How was the water?" Erza said with a smile, as she passed a dry towel to Lucy.
"Thanks! The water was great! I haven't had such a nice bath in a while" Lucy said as she began drying her hair.
"How come you didn't wake me up? I wanted to take a dive too" Erza said with a small pout. Lucy was caught off guard, and didn't answer at once.
"What's with that cute pout? Since when can Erza take this kind of expression?" she thought as she swallowed hard. "Well, it's just that, you were sleeping so calmly, that I didn't want to interrupt you" she stammered as she looked shyly at her feet. Besides, she knew that that was only partly true. "If you want to, we can go right now" she continued hastily.
"Aren't you tired?" Erza questioned with an eyebrow raised.
"Tired? No not really! I can go on all day!" Lucy said with a proud smile, before her expression froze. "What did I just say? What's that supposed to even mean?" she thought with wonder.
"Okay… That's, good to know" Erza said slowly. "Anyway, just relax Lucy. We can go swimming in a while" she continued lightly.
"You are right! I wouldn't mind lying on the sun a little while longer" Lucy said with some relief as she lied on her towel.
"What are the others doing?" Erza said as she lied back on her towel as well.
"Oh, you know. Natsu and Gray are doing, pretty much what they usually do. And I saw Wendy, Charle and Happy building castles on the sand" Lucy said lazily.
"I see. What about Mirajane and Cana?" Erza said as she turned towards Lucy.
"I don't know. They said they would take a look around the place. I suppose they are taking their time" Lucy simply said.
"I guess they are. And if I know Mirajane well, she will probably look for the gift shop" Erza said with a smile.
"And if I know Cana well, they will probably hit the bar after their visit at the gift shop" Lucy said with a small laugh.
Mirajane and Cana walked on a paved pathway that was on the side of the beach, before the soft sand started, and admired the view around them.
"This is nice! It's been a while since I last was on vacation" Mirajane said with a happy smile.
"Really? Maybe you should get out a little more often, then! I think you spend too much time at the guild" Cana said with some concern.
"That's no big deal Cana! You know that I enjoy taking care of you guys" Mirajane said with a wave of her hand. "Besides, you spend most of your time at the guild too" she pointed out.
"Maybe, but all I do is just sit around and drink. I don't run around, pouring drinks and serving everyone at the guild" Cana said.
"That's not really true. Lately, you've been helping more and more around the guild. And most of the times, I don't even have to ask you for that" Mirajane said thoughtfully.
"Is that so? I haven't really noticed something like that, but if you are saying this, then it's probably true" Cana said with shrug.
"Well, you have! And I still haven't thanked you. So, thank you Cana! That's really sweet!" Mirajane said with a sweet smile that caused Cana's knees to slightly tremble.
"Heh, no problem Mira! You know you can count on me" Cana said as she took a confident pose, while trying to hide her trembling voice.
"Really? That's good to know" Mirajane said as she leaned a little closer. Cana gulped hard and tried to remain calm.
"So, umm, what do we do now? Should we, go for a dive, or do you want to go somewhere else?" the brunette said.
"Well, there are still some places near the hotel that I would like to check. Not to mention that I'm really surprised that you still haven't dragged me to the bar" Mirajane said with a teasing tone.
"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that" Can said absent mindedly.
"You did? Cana, are you okay? Are you not feeling well?" Mirajane said with genuine surprise this time, as she put the palm of her hand on Cana's forehead.
"I'm fine you dummy! I just forgot about it, that's all! It's not like drinks are the only thing on my mind. Come on, let's go already" Cana said as she pushed her hand away, with some annoyance.
"Fine, you don't have to be so touchy" Mirajane said lightly, as the two girls made their way towards the hotel. They first visited the hotel's garden, which was rather large and seemed like a nice place to spend your time, avoid the heat by sitting on benches under the trees, or in brown, wooden kiosks, and enjoy the view with a cool beverage. The Fairy Tail mages then continued their tour by visiting the restaurant. It was still early at noon, but some people were already enjoying their meals. Mirajane and Cana both chuckled at the thought of Natsu and Gray's visit at the restaurant. Those two alone could eat for ten people, and their appetite would probably be even stronger after swimming for nearly the entire morning. The two girls continued their walk and visited the games room. It was rather large and it had a variety of activities, like ping pong tables, dart boards, air hockey tables, pool tables and bowling alleys. There was also a casino room, with roulette, blackjack tables, poker tables and other games. As they continued their walk, Mirajane spotted something that drew her interest.
"Oh, Cana look! A gift shop!" she said as she pointed at the store with enthusiasm.
"That's not really surprising, I was wondering when we would find one" Cana said simply, before she turned towards the white haired girl next to her. "Don't tell me that you want to visit it now! Can't you come here later?" she continued with a bored expression.
"Come on Cana, I won't be very long! Just for a while, only until I find something for Elfman and Lisanna. And a few others, that have asked a couple of things" Mirajane said smiling.
"Fine then! But then, we hit the pool bar" Cana said decisively.
"Deal! Let's go then!" Mirajane said, as they entered the gift shop. After about thirty minutes, the two girls finally got out of the gift shop, Mirajane holding two large, shopping bags and a number of smaller bags with a gleeful expression, while Cana had a slightly annoyed expression.
"So, is this your idea of not very long?" she said with a scowl.
"Don't be so grumpy, Cana! You know I could have taken longer" Mirajane said while pouting.
"I guess you have a point there" Cana said with a sigh.
"Come on, don't be like this. Look, let's just go to the room so I can leave the stuff, and then we go to the bar! Besides, I'm also a little curious to see how it looks like" Mirajane said.
"Okay then. Here, let me help you with these. Give me some of the bags" Cana said.
"Oh, thank you" Mirajane responded simply as she passed few of the bags. The two girls then moved towards their room, left the shopping bags, and made their way out of the hotel, towards the pool bar. Most of the hotel's guests were enjoying their bath at the sea, but there were some of them who preferred to lie at the sun beds by the pool while enjoying a drink from the nearby bar. Mirajane and Cana took their seats at the bar and ordered two drinks.
"It's a different feeling when you enjoy your drink in the fresh air" Cana said with a smile, as the bar tender served their drinks.
"You're right. But then again, I'm not sure if you can get as many refills as you want in any other bar" Mirajane pointed out.
"Maybe. Actually, there's that bar at Magnolia that makes this drinking contest about once a week. If you win, then you can get as many drinks as you like for free" Cana said.
"Why am I not surprised that you would know something like that?" Mirajane said, shaking her head.
"What can I say? I get around" Cana said with a shrug. "Hey, remember that night, when we hang out at your room?" she continued. Mirajane remained silent for a while, trying to remember which night Cana was referring to.
"Oh, you mean when we slept together?" she said suddenly, with a bright smile.
"Jeez, keep it down, will you?" Cana whispered looking around, as a couple of patrons turned towards them with curious faces.
"Oops, sorry! Maybe I was a bit too loud. But then again, what's the big deal?" Mirajane said curiously.
"Nothing, it's just the way you said it. Besides, we did sleep together, but we didn't actually sleep together. I mean nothing really happened, you get what I mean?" Cana said hastily, her face growing flustered.
"I don't get it" Mirajane said with an innocent expression. "What do you mean nothing really happened" she said thoughtfully, until realization suddenly hit her. "Oh! You mean, something between us? Why, why would something happen between us?" the white haired girl said with a slightly embarrassed situation, as her face slowly took a light, crimson shade.
"I don't know! I'm not saying that something should happen. I'm only saying that nothing, did happen" Cana said slowly. "Okay, stop talking now! You really made a mess this time!" she yelled to herself inwardly.
"Yeah, if you put it that way, you're right. I guess" Mirajane said with some embarrassment, her face still flushed. The two girls remained silent for a while, as they both mirrored each other moves, took a sip from their drinks, and put their glasses back on the counter with nearly perfect synchronization.
"Okay, you got to say something! This is getting really awkward!" Cana said to herself again. "Here you are, in a nice environment with no one else around, and you are sitting there without saying anything. Come on, you got it! Just try to stay away from anything romantic, for the moment at least. That's it, be casual" the brunette continued her inner encouragement, as she flexed her shoulders and took a deep breath. She seemed so absorbed by her thoughts, that she didn't notice Mirajane looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"Um, Cana? Are you okay? Did you get struck by the sun, or something?" she asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"Huh? Why are you saying that?" Cana said, taken aback from the comment.
"You're acting a little strange. And you really seem to be on the edge, for some reason" Mirajane said.
"Now you're just being crazy! I'm totally fine!" Cana said with a wave of her hand. Mirajane continued looking at her, causing Cana to start sweating.
"Okay, now you really need to say something! Remember, be casual and keep it on friendly grounds. Here it goes!" she thought decisively. "Hey Mira, is there anyone you like?" Cana asked with a casual smile, and then she mentally face palmed. "Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have said anything after all!" she thought to herself, as Mirajane's face once again took a deep shade of crimson.
"If there's anyone I like? Why, would you ask that?" she stammered.
"Well, you are the one who kept asking me if there was anything between me and Gray the other day, when I stayed at your room! So, now it's my turn to ask!" Cana responded in defense.
"I suppose, you have a point. Fine then, if you really want to know. No, there isn't anyone in particular that I like, in a romantic way" Mirajane said, still with a slight blush.
"I see. That would make a lot of guys disappointed" Cana said with a chuckle, trying to hide her own disappointment at Mirajane's definite tone. Still, she noticed something in her friend's voice that made her doubt if that response was as definite as it sounded.
"You think?" Mirajane asked with some surprise.
"Come on, Mira. Don't tell me that you haven't noticed how nearly half of the guild is in love with you?" Cana said, in a way that she was pointing out something obvious.
"I thought they were simply nice because I serve their drinks" Mirajane said with a shocked expression.
"You are kidding now, right?" Cana said in disbelief, as she narrowed her eyes. Mirajane smiled mischievously.
"Fine, maybe I have noticed something. But I still think you're exaggerating" the white haired girl admitted.
"I seriously doubt that. I'm also pretty sure that you have a lot of fans out of the guild as well" Cana said as she took another sip from her drink.
"I don't think I'm the only one who has fans out of the guild. I'm pretty sure that Erza has several fans too. And perhaps other girls, like Lucy, have fans too" Mirajane said thoughtfully, as she took a sip from her drink as well.
"Yeah, probably, but you are certainly at the first spot. And I also think that you have quite a few female fans as well" Cana said casually as she took another sip, while watching Mirajane with the corner of her eye to see her reactions to this comment.
"Now that you mention it, a couple of girls stopped me the other day when I went for some shopping for the guild, and asked me to sign on their newest copies of the Sorcerer's Magazine. They were really sweet!" Mirajane said with a kind expression.
"That's nice! See, that's what I was talking about" Cana said smiling, although that wasn't exactly her point when she mentioned female fans. She remembered a few times when she had overheard some girls talking with excitement and admiration for Mirajane, and it seemed that some of them had even some sort of crush on her. Cana however, didn't make any more comments on that matter, and the two girls continued their conversation in a pleasant way, until they finished their drinks and decided to go back to the beach and meet with the rest of the mages.
"The water was indeed really pleasant. It's been a while since I had a nice bath like that" Erza said, as she started drying herself with a large towel.
"See? I told you" Lucy said as she wiped her hair.
"It would be a little better if Natsu and Gray didn't do such a fuss though" Erza commented with a scowl.
"I wonder where do they get all this energy. Still, isn't it better that we simply enjoyed our bath, instead of you getting after them and yell at them again?" Lucy said simply.
"I guess I could leave them be this time, since we're on vacation. But I will scold them once we get back to the guild" Erza said with a slightly strict expression.
"Well, that's an improvement, I guess" Lucy said with a sigh.
"Where are Cana and Mira? It's been a while since they went for their walk. I'm sure they would like to take a dive too" Erza said as she looked around.
"There they are. They are coming here" Lucy said as she spotted the two girls, making their way towards them.
"Where have you been?" Erza said, as Mirajane and Cana got closer.
"Oh you know, here and there. We walked around, and we found some nice places where we could spend the night" Cana said lightly.
"We also found the gift shop. I bought gifts for everyone" Mirajane said, as Lucy and Erza looked each other with knowing smiles.
"I suppose you checked the bar as well, didn't you?" Lucy said as she folded her arms.
"Of course we did. I wanted to see if it was good" Cana responded with a shrug.
"I see that you guys already had a bath. How's the water?" Mirajane said as she noticed Lucy and Erza's dripping hair and wet bodies.
"It's great! You guys should take a dive as well" Erza said.
"As long as you keep your distance from Natsu and Gray" Lucy pointed out with a smile.
"Is that so? Okay, Cana and I will swim at the sea. What about you?" Mirajane said as she looked at the clear waters.
"We'll sunbathe a little more to dry. Once you guys are done, we will all go to get some lunch. Hopefully, Natsu and Gray will be done by then" Erza said.
"I think they are done already. Look, they finally got out" Lucy said as she pointed at the shore, where Natsu and Gray had gone out.
"I think they actually crushed on the sand. Do you think they are okay?" Mirajane said with some concern.
"Don't worry, they are fine! Let's go swim already" Cana said lightly, as she took of her shorts and tied her hair.
"Yeah, they are probably resting. We'll see you guys in a while" Mirajane said as she took off her light, pink dress as well, and walked towards the sea along with Cana, while Lucy and Erza lied down on their towels and relaxed under the warm sun light. After a while, Mirajane and Cana got out of the sea after enjoying their bath and walked the spot where Lucy and Erza were lying along with the rest of the mages, Natsu had to struggle to get up since Happy had decided to bury him into the sand despite Wendy's strong objections. The group then picked up their things and decided to go for lunch at the hotel's restaurant. After a substantial meal, Natsu and Gray ate almost the double as the girls and the cats did, they enjoyed their ice creams for desert and decided to go to their rooms to rest for their night out. Natsu, Gray and Happy immediately fell on their beds, after they went to their room, snoring loudly, the two mages feeling drowsy from their huge meal and their brawling at the sea and the blue cat feeling exhausted from all the digging. The girls decided to have a bath first, to clean themselves from all the salt of the sea and the sand, and then relax on their large beds and couch. As Lucy, Mirajane, Cana, Wendy and Charle had all finished their baths and were relaxing in dry, clean clothes, Erza came out of the bath, wrapped in a white fluffy, towel. The other girls sat up almost immediately, almost alerted.
"Um, Erza-san? Shouldn't you get ready before you came from the bathroom?" Wendy started saying.
"What do you mean Wendy? If I wasn't ready, then I wouldn't come out" Erza said simply as she walked towards her bed.
"That's not really what I meant" Wendy said as Erza stood next to the bed and unwrapped her towel.
"Hey Erza, your clothes!" Lucy yelled shocked, as the girls looked with flushed faces.
"What about them?" Erza said as she turned towards them. Lucy noticed that Erza was already wearing a blue and white tank top, with matching shorts.
"Oh, you're already dressed" Lucy said, with an embarrassed expression, as the other girls sighed.
"Of course I'm already dressed. Did you really expect me to get around naked? I'm not Gray you know" Erza said, as she folded her arms.
"Well, he heh! Maybe" Lucy said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, you did appear naked in front of me" she added inwardly.
"Then why did you came out with the towel, if you were already dressed" Cana asked with an eyebrow raised.
"To mess with you" Erza responded with a smirk, as she lied on the bed.
"As expected from Erza" Mirajane said with a satisfied smile.
"Yeah, you got us with that one. I guess even you can pull jokes once in a while" Cana said with a chuckle.
The sky had taken a nice shade of orange and dark purple, as the sun slowly started to set. Lucy, Erza, Mirajane, Cana and Wendy began to get ready for their night out.
"So, how will we spend our night?" Lucy said, as she went though her suitcase to find a more formal outfit.
"There are several places where we can go. Even if we are not all together, I'm sure everyone will find something fun to do" Mirajane said lightly, as she held a purple, short dress in front of them full body mirror and tried it on herself.
"That casino sounds pretty interesting. I think I will pay that one a visit" Erza said.
"Since when are you interested in casinos?" Lucy asked with wonder.
"I want to go to the casino too! I have never been in one before" Wendy said enthusiastically.
"No way! Casinos are not places for little girls" Charle said with a disapproving tone.
"I don't think that's a very good idea too, Wendy. Besides, I'm not even sure if they would let you inside the casino" Lucy said with a slightly apologetic look.
"Ooh! It's okay, I understand" Wendy said, as she looked at her feet, disappointed.
"It's fine, Wendy! You may not be able to go to the casino, but I'm sure we'll find something else fun to do together" Mirajane said softly, as she kneeled next to the blue haired girl with a sweet smile.
"If you want Wendy, I can skip the casino. The important thing is everyone to have fun. That's why we all came here" Erza said, smiling kindly as well.
"No, it's okay Erza-san! If you want to go just go, don't worry about me! I was just curious that's all. The games room sounds good too" Wendy said with an honest smile.
"You really are a good girl, Wendy" Erza said, as she hugged the blue haired girl.
"Something tells me that you are not the only one who's interested in that games room, Wendy" Cana said.
"That's right! Natsu seemed pretty excited about it. I'm sure that Gray and he will be there" Lucy said.
"That means that Happy is going to be there too, Charle" Mirajane said with a teasing look.
"Eh? Why would I care about that?" Charle said with a scoff, but her face took a light shade of pink.
"Don't be like this Charle, I'm sure Mirajane-san didn't mean anything bad. Come on, it will be fun!" Wendy said with a bright smile.
"Fine then. That's the reason that we came here anyway" Charle said lightly, with a small smile.
"That's settled then! Let's get ready!" Lucy said excited. A few hours later, the girls dressed in their formal dresses, walked towards the lobby. Natsu, Gray and Happy were already there waiting for them.
"You guys look great!" Gray commented as he saw the girls, while Natsu nodded in agreement vividly.
"Aye! You look pretty, Charle!" Happy said with sparkling eyes.
"Thank you. I guess you look fine too" Charle said, trying to sound indifferent.
"Thanks guys! You don't look bad either" Mirajane said with a sweet smile.
"Where shall we go then?" Lucy said as she looked around.
"I want to go to the games room!" Natsu said with some excitement.
"I want to go to the games room too! They have bowling!" Happy added, excited as well.
"Since when do you like bowling so much?" Lucy said with a sweatdrop.
"We are a pretty large group. I suppose it would be better if we split into smaller groups and go wherever we want" Erza suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea! As long as we have fun, we don't have to be all together" Cana nodded in agreement.
"Besides, it's not like we will be that far. Everyone will be around here, either inside the hotel or out at the hotel's garden" Lucy said.
"I like this idea too" Wendy said.
"Okay then, we all agree. Let's have a fun time, everyone" Erza said smiling.
"As long as the fun time doesn't involve tearing the hotel down" Lucy said pointedly.
"Hey, why were you looking at me when you said that?" Natsu said with a suspicious expression.
"Actually, this goes for more than one people" Gray said with a smirk, as he looked towards Erza.
"I don't understand your point Gray" Erza said with a wondering expression.
"Fine, we all get your points. Let's go already" Cana said.
"Okay, see you guys later" Lucy said, as the mages decided to form smaller groups and walked towards different directions in the large building.
Author's note: I think I haven't focused that much on Mirajane and Cana in a couple of chapters, so this chapter focused a little more on them. The next chapter will probably have a little more of both the pairings. Until next time everyone!