A/N: I'd like to apologize for my inactivity, but I seriously had the worst case of writer's block and struggled to get this chapter done the way I wanted it to go. Still I hope you all enjoy the next chapter since I can already see the end drawing near.

Chapter 25

To say Mira was on board with the idea of serving her delicious punch and have the guys, especially Gray, dressed up as butlers to serve to everyone was an understatement. Bickslow had to find a way to sweeten the deal since the barmaid easily refused him for the fact that he was on an opposing team, but when the target of her affection was brought into the equation he got the ball rolling. Although he did find it amusing seeing a skip in her step as she went off to take inventory of the necessary ingredients for her punch, luckily he didn't have to be a part in the war zone that was the guild for one ice mage anymore so he was satisfied with himself. This meant that the quiver of magical power he felt had been from Laxus once he discovered that he had to dress up as a butler.

Mira was more of the focus of a few guild members, mostly the ones from the opposing teams she was fighting against, as she gleefully went about her usual business and they all knew that something was up. She knew something that they didn't and no matter how much they all thought about it, nothing seemed to come to mind that is until Lisanna decided to ask Bickslow for he was the one taking to her before she started mimicking a high school girl in love. Needless to say that very interesting information was leaked across the entire guild like wildfire and it was just how Loke predicted for it to go down. The knight dressed man couldn't believe that once even a little bit of news was spread that the majority would be so looking forward to the sight of Gray dressed up, for whatever amount of time that was, until he stripped his clothes that is.

As for the ice mage, he was sure that everyone was eyeing him for some reason when he finally walked back inside and it was starting to really annoy him that they wouldn't say anything to him and just sit there. Though the whole sitting alone and being stared at didn't last long as Cana bravely sat beside him, more like reclined into his left side, so he wasn't as alone compared to earlier yet that didn't mean a certain red head wouldn't do something about it. Erza had then plopped herself down on his right and somewhere inside Gray, he prayed he'd make it out of the situation in one piece. Not to mention it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that sparks of challenge was passing between the two every time they did their poor attempt at hiding the glare directed to the other female.

Compared to the few times Gray had sat in the middle of both his childhood friends, not once had he ever feared for his well being as he was now. Sure there came the constant watch for avoiding Erza's heavy fist when she was going to "discipline" him, but he understood that she held back her strength and made it a warning to him to behave. This time though, if both Cana and Erza got into a tug-of-war match with him as the rope, he'd definitely lose his arms and he needed those for the rest of his life. Cana's strength may not be as comparable to Erza's overall, but she does rank as one of the strongest females in the guild right below Mirajane since she could hold herself in a fist fight pretty well. That means if she was going all the way, then the card mage could give the Erza a run for her money before the redhead had to get serious.

"So...is there something I can help you with?" Gray was walking on blades and one slip would most likely skewer him in between dozens of them when it concerned Erza.

"Can't a girl use an old friend as a recliner every now and again?" Cana replied and to Gray she became as fragile as a house of cards, sturdy but could easily sway and fall apart. That would leave him to pick up the pieces and he so happened to finally get them stacked up again after what happened down by the beach.

"There is a limit to how much you can use Gray for your own leisure Cana, I on the other hand simply came to sit next to my team mate. This is what is natural for two people working together to do on and off of missions." Erza spoke as another poorly hidden glare was sent Cana's way and she responded in turn with her own.

"Please, at least I have fun with Gray when we hang out together. You're looking at Magnolia's best drinking partners this side of Fiore, where he's lucky enough to avoid getting beaten up throughout the night, mostly." Cana bit back as she, and many members of the guild, knew that Erza can't take her alcohol very well and she becomes somewhat of a rampaging bear when drunk.

"Come on Cana we know that..." Gray couldn't finish as he was soon drowned out by Erza's retort.

"Fun doesn't solely constitute drinking together, there are many different ways of having fun and we too have our own way of doing so." Needless to say, Gray was actually surprised that someone other than Mira could rile Erza up like this.

"Sure you do Red, Gray simply adores sitting on his butt at some boutique and watching you change into a hundred dresses before picking out five from the wardrobe you went through." To those who looked on at this, they all knew Erza's habit of doing that and only a select few have gone with her shopping like that; they were mainly female and Gray was surprisingly the exception.

"Sure it's tiresome, but it's not all ba-..." Drowned out again was Gray and by Erza once again.

"He's very useful as sometimes a woman needs an honest man's opinion, where as he is the honest man that helps deliver you home after drinking yourself unconscious. Honestly, there hasn't been a time when I haven't given Gray a towel or napkins to dry his shoulder off from your drunken slober." Erza was getting into this as her physical fights were mainly with Mira and now her verbal ones were against Cana, yet knowing the redhead it is safe to assume she won't back down until she is victorious.

"At least I know how much I value him, instead of using him for a punching bag every time he messes up with Natsu!" At this point many of the members who were paying attention had decided to avert it as things were about to spiral and it's better not to know anything than something.

"It's called tough love Cana and I assure you I don't enjoy punishing him as much as you think I do." Erza retorted with much fervor, crossing her arms in the manner that she'd be victorious no matter the outcome. "This is more of a force of habit either way, since I've been doing this for years dating back to our childhood."

"Some habit you've got there, I'm sure you would've categorized it as bad as Gray's stripping." Somehow Cana managed to encroach upon the ice mage even more as she was nearly to the point of sitting on his lap. "You really need to get off that high horse of yours."

"No need to blow a simple question out of proportion..." Gray commented although it didn't stop the two from butting heads as Erza glared her down for her last comment.

"High horse you say!? I simply regard every matter in a just way so there's fairness in everything and help out our guildmates with needed advice."

"Yeah sure, by the way you left your erotica back in my room. Just letting you know." A smug smile spread across Cana's face as Erza recoiled and a light dust of pink covered her cheeks at the revelation and Gray couldn't deny that she looked cute in that moment.

"I-It's nothing indecent Gray, I merely read them for the engaging storylines that they have." Erza defended as the smug smile on Cana's face turned into a smirk at how she witnessed the Titania crumble. "In any case, I have the decency of not using my own body as a means to acquire what I want."

"You calling me out Scarlet, I may not be like Mira but I still got enough in me to take you on!" Cana retorted as a deadly aura began to form around Gray as both his sides had two terrifying presence.

"I don't engage in petty fights anymore, but for you I'll make an exception." Erza glowered back and the ice mage knew that if he didn't resolve the situation soon there would be hell to pay, but even he lost his patience at seeing two of his best friends fighting like that. Then it hit him on how Erza must feel every time he got into a fight with Natsu.

"Alright that's enough you two!" Gray reprimanded, although he didn't react fast enough at the sight of both Cana and Erza reeling back their fists.

"Don't get in the way!" The drinker and the redhead said in unison as they unison punched Gray square in the face, knocking him over the booth.

Both women immediately snapped from their argument driven haze and realized what they had just done and quickly went to check on him. They gasped as the crumpled mess on the floor slowly let his leg fall off from the top of the seat and watched as Gray circled his head in a daze before he completely lost all consciousness.

The ice mage could feel a light slapping against his right cheek and lazily tried to flick whatever was doing it away as it was disturbing his slumber before the thing clutched his hand tightly. Gray quickly reacted and was about to attack until he realized that it was merely Loke standing next to his infirmary bed, yet he really wasn't sure when he got there in the first place. He pieced together the fragments of his memory and remembered getting punched by not only Erza, but Cana as well before everything went dark. The snapping of fingers had redirected his attention to the impatient looking strawberry blonde as he crossed his arms in wait, before an amused grin formed on his face.

"I've always waited for the day when a pretty woman would slap that good looking mug of yours, but instead you were sucker punched by two Amazons for getting in between them." Loke was trying to keep in his laughter for Gray's sake, but the situation was much too funny to hold back.

"Not so funny when you're on the receiving end of nearly three hundred pounds of force, anyways how did I get here?" Gray questioned as he shoved off the bed and went in search of something reflective to see what damage was done.

"Well after the girls took their pent up anger out on you, little Wendy came around and healed your big owies before they could bruise really bad and they got Elfman to carry your sorry ass up here." Loke explained as Gray continued to look over the exact areas in which Cana and Erza had punched him, noticing that Wendy had done a great job of healing him.

"Well I guess one crisis was averted before something really bad went down," Gray said while making his way towards the door until Loke placed a strong hand upon his shoulder, "What?"

"I don't know if you've realized it, but it's time to get the plan into motion." Loke said, holding his hand out as shimmering gold light surrounded it before dissipating leaving behind a clean butler outfit in his hand. "Like my suits, this is an Aries original specifically tailored just for you and comes with a small binding spell so you won't accidentally strip anything off."

"You really thought ahead, didn't you Loke?" Gray rhetorically asked before sighing and grabbing the suit, pushing the smiling spirit out the door so he could get changed.

Not long later, Gray emerged from the infirmary room with his hands still struggling to get the tie perfectly finished until Loke had enough of the pitiful sight and decided to help him with it. The ice mage wasn't so against having to dress this way since he's done waiter jobs before, but unlike those times he was fully dressed instead of just wearing a bowtie and his boxers. Although he couldn't really complain about the outfit since it was soft to the touch and he knew that Aries' wool was unlike any a person could ever feel in their lifetime, so he was aware that he had to thank her for her help in supplying him with it. Now back to the matter at hand, Loke gave an approving smile with a thumb's up before leading him downstairs where everyone was seated in wait.

"Alright this is the moment of destiny, this is where we save everyone and bring them back to their senses." Loke whispered to Gray as they walked towards the kitchen, while every fiber in Gray's feeling could sense that all eyes were on him.

"Why so dramatic? All we're doing is pouring the antidote into everyone's glass and let it do its thing." The ice mage replied in a seemingly bored tone although on the inside he was feeling slightly flustered with most of the guild looking at him.

"Have you no sense of romance? Given the circumstance, no you don't." Loke said as Gray threw him a sour look. "The situation places you on giving up these supposed feelings for some of the girls here in the guild to save them from a false love."

"Well yeah, but..."

"Look Gray, this all happened because of that potion and maybe there were a few flags raised because of it, but there's the possibility that they have their own significant other destined for them." Loke replied and Gray had to agree with what he was saying, for once seeing his old wingman as the spirit that's lived for over a hundred years. "I know it'll be tough on someone like you and I understand, but you and I both know this is for the best."

"Man I hate it when you're right." Gray said in a joking manner and Loke was glad that maybe all this won't burden Gray as much as he thought it would.

"I can't help it, I'm just that good," the spirit joked back as he opened the door to the kitchen, "moment of truth, this'll be where our lives will go back to normal."

As Gray entered, he was treated to the sight of Laxus and Freed pouring the vials all into the each assorted cup for their guildmates, all well mixed within Mira's punch. That was the obvious thing he noticed, the next thing he realized was that both men were also dressed in butler outfits and a part of him wished he had his camera to take a picture of Laxus for a little blackmail in the future. The ice mage noticed that Bickslow wasn't around, but Loke had mentioned that he was going to be needed elsewhere so Gray just let it slip by.

"Is there really enough of this stuff?" Laxus asked turning to get another vial, while Loke began placing the already filled cups accordingly onto trays to be carried out later.

"I've made exactly the amount that should be required with a limited few to spare, but I'm sure there won't be need for them." The spirit replied to him with Gray soon assissting him on placing the cups onto trays.

"Better be right about this and once this is over I can go back to not caring about other people's love affairs." Laxus said and Gray had the distinct feeling that it was pointed at him of all people, but he didn't let it phase him and followed Loke out with his filled tray.

"I'm sure Loke is fully aware of what he's doing and isn't better to help restore our guild instead of standing on the side lines?" Freed said finishing up his hundredth cup mixed with the antidote, now appreciating the work Mirajane does on a daily basis if it's anything like this.

"Yeah well, this stuff's messing with my senses and the sooner we serve it the faster I can get away from it." Laxus replied as he scrunched his nose from the oddly scented elixir, which has been bothering him ever since he opened the first vial.

"Must be a dragon slayer attribute, but nevertheless it is still comforting to know that once everyone drinks away their punch their love psuedo-love for Gray will vanish." Freed said as he began to place the cups onto multiple trays in the same way Loke did, but he had the weirdest sense that the other kitchen door wasn't that ajar the last time he looked. "Must've been Bickslow checking up on us, most likely trying to avoid Laxus of all people."

The green haired man left it that and continued to fill the cups, but what he hadn't realized was that the one looking on at them was not his fellow Thunder Legion member when in fact it was a certain pink haired slayer who wanted to make fun of the older blonde. Natsu hadn't caught most of the conversation they had up until Laxus said something about his senses and his jaw slackened at the discovery that they were using this as a cover up to their master plan. He couldn't believe that they were going to use such low blow tactics to get rid of the competition and had to warn the others to not drink anything.

He quickly made his way over to his table spotting all of his teammates speaking to one another as they awaited for Gray to deliver their punch, luckily he noticed the ice mage still a few tables away so it would give him enough time to warn them. As he slightly jogged over to them he couldn't help but wonder if he should warn the other teams about the Thunder Legion's plan about getting rid of their feelings for Gray, no doubt the ice mage was oblivious to all of this and Loke too and yet he struggled to do so. It was obviously the right thing to do in this situation, but there was also the chance that if they drank whatever Laxus put into the cups and lost their interest in Gray, then Team E.L.L.N. had a sure fire victory in having him all to themselves.

He danced around the idea, slowing his pace as it weighed heavily on his team's chance at a complete victory versus the others having their emotions manipulated in such a way. If anyone would see, they'd find a struggling Natsu with steam coming off his head and of course they'd ignore it since the slayer tended to do that from time to time although they wouldn't understand how challenging the ordeal was on him. With an annoyed sigh the pink haired dragon slayer had made up his mind, they were all his comrades before being his love/like rivals (still didn't know where he stood on that) so he did everything in his power to warn a member or two of the rivaling teams that were at the meeting.

"A fair fight is better than winning through some underhanded scheme." Natsu thought as he quickly made his way towards his table, Gray not so far away now after he spent time warning the others. He just hoped this wouldn't bite him in the ass down the road, he hated when that happened.

With nothing short of six tables between Gray and Team E.L.L.N., Natsu casually sat down and hoped Gray wouldn't be able to hear them when he started to tell them what he had overheard. Luckily Gray had ran out of punch and was going back into the kitchen to get more which allowed the dragon slayer a breather as everyone around him held faces of complete shock. Of course they questioned him if he truly heard them correctly and Natsu kept admitting that it was the truth, they spiked the punch and if they drank any of it, it'll mean that they would no longer like Gray the way they do now.

"They can't be serious, I know they would do whatever they can to win but relying on such tactics is beneath them." Erza said as it truly was puzzling that Laxus and his group would go so far as use some sort of elixir or potion to take them out of the race.

"You're right, but I don't think we can take any chances." Lucy said as she nervously played with her hands completely baffled at how close they were, how close she was, to have lost the feelings she held dear to the ice mage.

"Then how do we go about this? I wouldn't put it past the idea that Gray might have been told to make sure everyone drank some their punch." Levy said thinking logically if this truly what their plan was. Although she could not deny that somewhere in her being, she wished to drink the tainted punch.

"I can evaporate it before it comes close to my mouth." Natsu offered, but they all knew that he could only limit it to himself and possibly Lucy since she sat right next to him without producing so much heat to gain Gray's attention.

"I'm more than capable of finding a way to avoid drinking." Erza said as the whole table was well aware of the many things the great Titania can do, which just left Levy to think of something for herself.

"Well I'll think of something so don't worry about me." Levy said with a smile, however she was conflicted between truly dodging this bullet or taking it head on and see what the future holds for her.

Natsu was about to say something towards her, but the words died in his mouth as the familiar scent of pine and peppermint wafted its way into his super sense of smell and knew that Gray was just a table away and they had to steer the conversation to some other topic. Of course he picked a random topic that no doubt Gray would call it idiotic, but that would drive away any suspicions he had about them although it didn't prove any use as the girls were busy ogling Gray in his butler getup which Lucy could immediately tell that it had been tailored by one of her spirits no less. Half their minds were in a daze at how adorable, which is a word hardly used for someone like Gray, he looked as he served them their punch with an air of slight embarrassment.

Once the cups were down, the entire team came back to their senses to realize that their hands had tentatively grasped the spiked drink and nervously played around with it as Gray had yet moved from his place. Natsu knew he could help Lucy get out of this and Erza was as tough as they come not to drink anything she didn't want to, but he was unsure of what they should do for Levy while Gray merely passed a hand through his hair. No one dared to say a word until Erza had enough of the tense atmosphere and spoke out first, much to the relief of the others.

"Gray I would like to apologize for what had happened earlier, it was merely a spur of the moment thing. Please strike me for my undeserved assault on you." Erza bowed, but Gray gave a mere chuckle as he looked over his shoulder at a certain brunette, giving enough time for Natsu to evaporate his and Lucy's drink although he couldn't reach for Levy's in time before he turned around.

"Don't worry about it Erz, I know that both of you didn't mean anything by it. Besides I got to see how you feel every time me and the idiot over there get into fights for no reason." He looked over towards his rival and noticed that his and Lucy's cups were already empty, allowing a bit of relief wash over him now that those two were cured already yet Erza and Levy hadn't taken a sip.

"I appreciate that you now understand how I feel about you," For some reason Erza couldn't help but feel heat glow around her face as she said that, "a-and Natsu constantly bickering when you should act like civilized comrades." Erza went to take a sip to calm her nerves, but as soon as she realized that the rim of the cup was at her lips she recoiled and spilled half its contents onto the table.

"Everything alright Erza?" Gray asked once she settled herself, but felt a small pang of worry now that some of the potion had just fallen out.

"Fine, I'm just fine. A spider merely spooked me is all." Erza replied defensively and Gray seemed to have accepted that and now turned his gaze towards Levy who began fiddling with her fingers before reaching out for the cup.

All she needed to do was pretend to drink it, just bring it to her lips and act out as if she was enjoying to satisfy the ice mage so that she didn't take the tampered punch, but she hesitated. Sure for the first time in what felt like forever, the blue haired girl had finally found someone who could avidly appreciate literature that was not a part of her club and yet at the same time she felt it somewhat wrong. Gray is a nice guy, one whose whole life was shrouded with a sense of mystery and the more you dove down that rabbit hole, them more you wished to discover what kind of person Gray Fullbuster really was, but her heart had wavered ever since Gajeel admitted in his own way of speech that he cared for her. The long haired man was just as equally mysterious as Gray in areas that sometimes were similar, yet completely different from one another and maybe it was just curiosity that directed her to chase after Gray alongside Lucy, Erza and Natsu. Levy understood that even if she wished to be with him, she'd be satisfied as good friends and literature enthusiasts since deep down she knew that her heart already belonged to another.

"This is for the best, besides Gray is Lucy's man after all."With a satisfied smile gracing face, Levy brought the cup up towards her lips and allowed the slightly sour taste to dance around her tongue before letting it go and drinking the rest away.