Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Disclaimer: I do own all characters and magic I have created. Please do not steal them.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Confusion

"Erza?" Lucy called from outside of the hotel room, knocking on the door. "Are you here?"

The Re-quip mage gently set down a sword she was polishing and went to open the door for her guild mate.

"Lucy," The red head greeted. "Come in."

"You weren't sleeping were you?" The Celestial mage asked worriedly.

"I was just polishing some swords." Erza replied, motioning towards the abandoned sword. The Re-quip mage then walked to the counter against the wall and grabbed the extra card key, handing it to Lucy.

"Are you sure, Erza? I can ask for another room if it's too cramped for you." The blonde said, knowing that Erza was used to living in large living spaces – if Erza's dorm at Fairy Hills was any indication.

"It's fine, Lucy. We'll share a bed." Erza said, sitting on the side she wanted and patting the space next to her. "Besides, our members have claimed all of the other available rooms."

"Oh." Lucy replied softly, sitting in the spot her teammate indicated.

"Laxus put your stuff on the counter."

"Thanks."

"You seem to be lost in thought." The Re-quip mage noticed, picking up her sword and polishing cloth. "Something you want to talk about?"

"It's Natsu." Lucy whispered, absently placing the backpack on her lap.

"H-how was your d-date?" The red head asked with an embarrassed flush.

The Celestial mage blushed, stuttering to correct her friend, "I-It wasn't a d-date!" Erza turned her eyes to the other girl skeptically. "I… Has he been acting… weird to you?"

"Weird?"

"He held my hand for nearly the entire dinner!" Lucy whisper-screeched. The red head raised an eyebrow. "And when we were talking…" The Celestial mage trailed off.

"Did he say something offensive?" Erza asked menacingly.

"N-no! He was… sweet."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, not a problem." Lucy said slowly, fiddling with the zipper on her backpack. "It's just not the same…'sweet' that I'm used to from Natsu."

"Things change, Lucy." Erza said with a shrug. "Why don't you bathe? It has been a long day." The Re-quip mage sent her sword back into her inventory and turned to the blonde, putting her hands on Lucy's back to begin undoing the zipper of the white dress.

"I could use a shower." Lucy sighed. "What do you mean 'things change?'"

"Just that things change." Erza laughed softly, cryptically. The blonde raised an eyebrow in confusion, but got off of the bed and headed towards the shower, holding her loosened dress in place.

As the water poured down her body, the Celestial mage couldn't help but think of her night out with Natsu. Was it a date? Did he realize that the situation could even be considered a date? And why did he hold her hand? Lucy exhaled, leaning her forehead against the wall. Natsu was too romantically dense to realize what he was doing. Right?

The hot water continued to cascade down her back.

…

"That really hits the spot." Natsu said in satisfaction as he patted his stomach.

"I hope it did." Lucy replied dryly. "You ate five entrees."

"Are you full?" The Fire Dragon Slayer asked, ignoring the comment.

"Help me finish this." She pleaded, pushing the plate of cheesy fries toward him.

"You're so weird, Lucy."

"Geez, that's a new one." The Celestial mage said sarcastically before putting a fry in her mouth. Natsu smirked at her, taking a handful of fries and nearly swallowing them whole.

"So," Natsu began saying. "Why didn't you want to be our Hidden Player?"

"Didn't I tell you? I said I didn't want to mess up again."

"Tch, and I told you, you're weird." He scoffed. "You never messed up."

"Last year," Lucy reminded. "I couldn't win our match, and then I go and humiliate us during the game."

"They weren't your fault, and you know it." Natsu said seriously, turning to face her fully. She stared into his eyes, neither losing contact. "Chin up, Lucy." He said softly, putting his finger under her chin to lift up her head slightly.

Losing her serious composure, the Celestial mage blinked in bewilderment, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat.

"Natsu?"

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose." He replied. "As long as you do your best, no one will blame you for anything. You know that." Natsu slowly moved his hand to stroke her cheek once before dropping his hand. "Besides, you're back with us now." He grinned. "There's nothing that can top that."

…

Lucy sighed once more, lifting her head off of the shower wall and turning off the water. Things change? She wondered if what she thought had changed was actually true.

…Morning…

"Lucy, Erza!" Gray called, knocking on the girls' hotel room. "Are you girls up? Gramps has something he wants us to do today!" The Ice Make mage knocked once more.

"Morning," Lucy mumbled, cutely rubbing her eye as she opened the door. She wore a light pink button up shirt that was large enough to reach just above mid-thigh. Gray stared unabashedly at the Celestial mage's smooth legs. The shirt was just loose enough to fall slightly off of one shoulder, showing creamy skin and a pronounced collarbone.

"What was that about Master?" Erza asked, coming up behind the blonde.

"I…Uh…" Gray mumbled, his eye twitching at the Re-quip mage's sleeping outfit, a rather short black t-shirt. If the red head lifted her arms just a bit, he bet that he'd get a glimpse of her panties. Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, Gray focused on the girls' faces. "Master has something he wants us to do." He repeated. If Erza knew what he just thought, he'd be a goner.

"What is it?" Lucy asked. Gray glanced towards her, accidently looking behind her to see only one bed. They had slept together on one bed?!

He swallowed thickly before replying, "I don't know. He just told Mirajane to tell the rest of us to meet at the bar."

"We'll be there as soon as we're ready." Erza said, putting her arm over Lucy's head to place her hand on the door. "If you'll excuse us," The Re-quip mage then closed the door without waiting for a response from the Ice Make mage.

In the hallway, Gray exhaled loudly, leaning against the now closed door. He knew Fairy Tail women were pretty, but damn. They wore that and slept on the same bed, for crying out loud! What kind of virile male wouldn't be phased?

Gray scoffed. Natsu wouldn't be. The Ice Make mage pushed his body off of the door, going next door to wake up the next set of Fairy Tail wizards.

Then again, with Lucy in the picture, perhaps Natsu would be affected like the rest of the adults.

"He was staring, you know." Erza said, combing through her wet hair.

"Who?" Lucy asked absently, rubbing her hair with a towel.

"Gray,"

"Was he?" The Celestial mage asked, not bothered by the information. "He doesn't mean anything by it."

"Probably." Erza replied, putting down her comb and re-quipping into her usual outfit. Lucy reached above her back and zipped up her dress, dropping the towel onto the back of a chair. The blonde looked towards Erza. The red head wasn't going to hit Gray for being a pervert?

"I wonder what Master has us doing today."

"Probably something beneficial to the guild." The Re-quip mage said with certainty.

"Step up, everyone! Pictures, autographs, kisses! All for an affordable price!" Max yelled into the street full of tourists and citizens.

"What exactly are we doing?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a Fairy Tail block party!" Mirajane said happily.

"Block party?" Happy asked, floating by Natsu's head.

"We'll be serving food and drinks to anyone who comes by, today." Lisanna answered, walking by them with a tray full of finger foods. "Of course, we'll be selling autographs and charging for photos."

"Max said 'kisses.'" Happy informed.

"That'll cost them." Mira replied with a wink, walking away to serve some drinks.

The Fire Dragon Slayer looked towards his partner. What the heck was going on today?

Even this early in the morning, the area around Bar Sun was crowded and rowdy. Their guild mates were cheerfully greeting guests around the area, some even giving out autographs and taking pictures. Of course, Max was flittering around to collect the money. Though, he did get asked for an autograph and picture once in a while.

"It's Salamander!" Someone gasped behind the duo. "Do you think he'll take a picture with me?"

"Of course, ladies!" Master Makarov said happily. Natsu turned around and spotted the old man walking up to the giggling girls. "Come, Natsu."

With confusion written on his face, the Dragon Slayer walked up to the two girls, letting them flank his sides. He smiled at the lacrima-camera that Gramps pointed at them. With an ounce of magic poured into the device, two pristine photos printed out of it.

Still standing around in perplexity, Natsu watched as Fairy Tail's Master gave the girls their photos and, in turn, the girls gave Gramps the money due.

"What exactly are we doing today?" Happy asked.

"The King of Fiore has all of the guilds participating on Day Five host a block party." Master Makavor informed with a grin. "Of course, we're allowed to raise money for our guild along the way."

"So we price things to the max?" Natsu asked dryly.

"Master!" Mira called. A man with a cheesy grin stood next to her. "Can you take a picture for us?"

"Of course Mira-chan." Makarov replied, going over to the guild's cover girl happily. She was the moneymaker, after all.

"Ah, Natsu, Happy, good morning." Max greeted. "Have you gone inside, yet?"

"No, we just got here." Happy informed.

"Well, hurry inside, then!" The Sand wizard urged, pulling them along.

"What's inside?" Natsu grunted.

"A photo shoot."

"What?" Happy questioned. "Like a glamour model thing?"

"Exactly." Max said, opening the door into the bar. Inside, instead of the usual tables, was a large green screen with Mavis floating behind a camera stand. "We need you guys to take a few pictures for autographs."

"Me too?" Happy gasped happily.

"You're a mage of Fairy Tail, too, Happy." Max said hurriedly. "You know the drill, First."

"Of course!" Mavis replied excitedly. "You first, Natsu! Do five poses, okay?"

"You have an autograph signature, don't you?" The Sand mage asked.

"No," Natsu drawled out.

"Make one now," Max sighed, getting a blank piece of paper from one of the tables pushed against the wall. "Practice it. Whenever someone asks for your autograph or picture, call Macao, Wakaba, Master, or me over. We have the lacrima-cameras and lacrima-data printer."

"Lacrima-data printer?" The Fire Dragon Slayer questioned.

"It's a new invention that the King let all of the guilds borrow for the day. It's like a portable lacrima-printer but it stores all of the pictures everyone takes. We just have to select the photo and put in a little magic to make it print." Max explained, holding up what looked like a thin sheet of glass that was about a six-inch wide rectangle. "Make some good poses," He said, leaving the duo in Mavis' hands.

"Let's get started, then." Mavis exclaimed, bringing the two of them out of their thoughts.

"Whoa, there are a lot of people here." Lucy said, surprised. She and Erza were walking towards Bar Sun, where everyone was supposed to meet up.

"There you are, Lucy-san, Erza-san." Wendy greeted, running up to them and grabbing their hands. "Let's hurry inside."

"What's the rush?" The Re-quip mage asked, letting the younger wizard pull them along.

"First is going to take your autograph pictures." Wendy replied with a grin.

"Autograph pictures?" Lucy and Erza asked together.

"Yes. You two are quite popular." The Sky Dragon Slayer giggled.

"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu yelled, waving his hand wildly.

"Morning, Na- Ah!" Lucy yelped as Wendy tugged her a bit harder as they neared the door.

"Sorry, Natsu-san!" Wendy apologized. "Master is getting antsy to get these two to the modelling set." The group of girls burst through the door to the bar, seeing the Thunder God Tribe arguing with their leader.

"Can't you just play along?" Evergreen asked, hands on her shapely hips.

"Fairy Tail will raise a lot of money off of you." Freed said with stars in his eyes. "You're very popular."

"Tch," Laxus scoffed softly. The Lightning Dragon Slayer sat on a stool in front of the green screen, one of his legs propped up on a bar that connected one of the stool's legs to the other. His elbow rested on his raised knee and his chin in his hand.

The click and flash of a camera alerted the group to the fact that a new picture had been taken.

"Can't you just pose one more time, Laxus?" Mavis pouted from behind the camera. "I'll make sure the background is lightning." The Lightning Dragon Slayer sighed, unable to resist the First Master's earnest plead.

Bickslow grinned from behind Mavis, his 'babies' floating around him. Freed couldn't stop blushing as Laxus tried to come up with a fifth pose. The others of the Thunder God Tribe had already taken their photos and were diligently waiting for their leader to finish up.

"Ah, Erza." Evergreen greeted, her fan covering part of her face. "Let's see who the Fairy Queen is today."

"Oh?" The Re-quip asked, crossing her arms, intrigued.

"Whoever sells the most: wins." Evergreen challenged.

"I'm not sure if this is such a good idea." Lucy mumbled to the blue haired girl. Wendy nodded.

"Let's do one shirtless!" Mavis piped up excitedly. Laxus blinked in surprise, as well as the others in the bar. "What? All the other guys did it!" First defended.

"Is Mavis a closet pervert?" Evergreen whispered, making sure that the little blonde apparition couldn't hear.

"Well, they are kind of hot." Lucy said out loud, quickly gasping and covering her mouth, blushing brightly.

"Bahaha!" Bickslow chortled, his 'babies' also laughing in high pitch tones. "Looks like she's not the only one."

"Lucy-san!" Wendy gasped, embarrassed for the girl.

"You posed without a shirt on?" Erza asked. Though she tried to be indifferent, her pink cheeks told another story.

"First had asked us to." Freed said professionally. The calm Runes mage also began losing his cool as he spotted Laxus unbuttoning his shirt.

"Gray-sama, your shirt." Juvia reminded, bringing over two bagels with cream cheese sandwiched between the two halves.

"Why does this keep happening?" Gray grumbled angrily, picking up his shirt and slipping it over his head once more.

"Juvia brought you breakfast." The Water mage said happily, waiting with bated breath as Gray took one of the bagels from her.

"Thanks, I was starving." The Ice Make mage said with gratitude. He was about to take a huge bite when some fans called his name.

"Oh my gosh, it is Gray Fullbuster!" A woman said in admiration, looking the Ice wizard up and down. "Wow, look at those abs." She whispered.

Gray looked down at his torso. Where the heck did his shirt go, again? How did he even do it with a bagel in his hand?

"Gray, take a picture with me!" The woman's friend, another overly excited female, said.

Juvia's eye twitched. Love rivals.

"Ah, there you are," Gray said suddenly, spotting two other guild members walking in his general direction. The Ice Make mage allowed one of the fans close to him as he said, "Erza, you're being requested by a lot of people."

"I shall attend to them, then." The Re-quip mage replied, walking away from their Celestial mage friend and towards the group that Gray pointed to.

"And Natsu's looking for you." The Ice Make mage informed the blonde, not even flinching as the fan grabbed his arm.

Juvia's eye twitched once more. No, she must be nice. These were guests.

"Is he?" The Celestial mage questioned, eyeing the group surrounding the Fire Dragon Slayer. "He seems a tad busy."

"Come on, Gray, please take a picture with us." The fan pouted.

The Ice Make mage sighed before saying, "We're all a bit swamped, today."

"I'll get Max or someone for you." Lucy said in amusement, grabbing Juvia's hand and walking away. "Master!" She called out to the closest person to her.

"Lucy-san, where are you taking Juvia?" The Water mage questioned; turning her head to look back at Gray.

"To do your job, Juvia," Lucy giggled. "Gray will be fine, I promise."

"Ah, Lucy, dear, good timing." Master Makarov said, someone trailing behind him in excitement. "Jason, here, would be honored to have an interview with you."

"Cool! Cool! Cool!" The Sorcerer's Weekly reporter yelled in eagerness. "Lucy-san, can you answer a few questions?"

"Oh, of course." Lucy said, slightly surprised. "Master, Gray needs your assistance."

"I see." Makarov said with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. "Ah, Juvia, there is a group of Water wizards that wish to take a picture with you and get autographs."

"Juvia will see to them." The Water mage said politely, leaving to fetch either Max or Wakaba who were the closest to her.

"So, Lucy-san," Jason began, taking out his notepad and pen. "Your battle against Zepar War…"

"I'm allowing you access into the human world. Go."

"Yes, King." A man with lightly tanned skin and piercing red eyes said politely, bending an arm against his torso and bowing marginally before he disappeared.

"King." A woman called, emotionlessly. Her long brown hair tied in a ponytail swung at the intense speed she was running at.

"Lepus, what can I do for you?"

"Seems I am too late to catch Draco."

"Do you have new information?" The Spirit King asked.

"We found one." Lepus replied. "They are getting closer to it as we speak."

"Go down to Earth Land, as well. Deter them."

Lepus nodded, though just as she was about to open her gate, someone called out to them, "They have another one!"

"Leo." The Spirit King said, silently asking.

"The one they were after just last week." Loke said, panting slightly. "They got it."

"Just now?" The King asked.

"No, but recently." Loke answered. "Another thing,"

"What is it, Leo?" Lepus asked, her thin eyebrow lifting. She voiced no emotion, but showed impatience in her stance. She had places to be, a society to try and save.

"We can't locate some of the members." Loke informed. "Is anyone watching Lucy?"

"We are not that incompetent, Zodiac." Lepus scoffed. "We have someone watching her every Earth Land second."

"Is her assigned guard with her?" Loke asked, sending narrowed eyes at the Beast woman.

"Her assigned guardian for today's Earth Land day is not with her. We do not want to cause our owner unnecessary trouble, do we, Leo?" Lepus asked hypothetically, keeping her voice even. "By sending someone down there, it will bring her unwanted attention."

"Lepus, go deter the group before they find it." The Spirit King cut in.

"Yes, sir." Lepus replied, bowing slightly and disappearing in a glitter of golden light.

"Leo," The Spirit King called, catching the Lion Spirit's attention. "Go to Earth Land and guard her. Your presence there will have no effect on her current surroundings, since you use to be part of that guild."

"I will not fail her." Loke said, opening his gate and traveling realms.

"You're prettier than I expected." A teenage boy said in awe.

"Thanks?" Lucy questioned with a nervous laugh. The Celestial mage felt a pull in her magic, but ignored it.

"Can I get your autograph?" The teenager asked.

"Sure," Lucy said, waving Max over.

"Ah, Lucy." The Sand mage greeted.

"He would like an autograph." The Celestial mage informed, ignoring another twitch in her magic.

"Of course, of course." Max said, his business personality coming out. "Which picture would you like?" He asked, showing the lacrima-printer to the boy and shuffling through the five pictures of Lucy. "You're pretty hot in these pictures, you know."

"M-M-Max!" Lucy stuttered, her face turning red. The Sand mage chuckled.

"This one." The teenager said, keeping the screen on the lacrima-printer on the picture he wanted.

"I bet Natsu would appreciate this shot." Max joked, willing the lacrima to start printing it.

"Why does everyone keep saying things like this?" Lucy groaned. She pulled the cap off of a marker and took the photo from Max. The Sand mage laughed again, handing over the lacrima device to use as a writing surface. "What's your name?"

"Johnny," The teenager replied with a grin. Lucy methodically signed her autograph signature and then wrote 'To Johnny,' in the top corner.

"Here you go." Lucy said with a smile. "I'll let Max handle your payment, thank you for visiting us." She waved goodbye and walked to the side of the bar building. "What can I do for you?"

"Ah, you found me."

"Loke." Lucy greeted, crossing her arms. "Is there something wrong?"

"Why would you say that, princess?" Loke asked, acting offended by the comment. "Can't I come down for a visit?"

"Draco and Lepus are out." Lucy said with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't open their gates, and now you're here to guard me, right?"

"I can't get anything pass you." He replied with a chuckle.

"When you leech off my magic and I'm used as an anchor, I don't think anyone would be fooled." Lucy said with a roll of her eyes. "What's going on, Loke?"

"They're advancing too fast."

"I see. Is there anything I can do?"

"Stay safe." Loke said, looking into her eyes. "You still have a long way before you can defeat all of them at once. You know it has to be done instantaneously."

"I'll keep a look out." Lucy agreed, turning around to go back to the block party. "Well, come on, I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you. Plus, you'll protect me better out there than behind a building, don't you think?"

"Of course, princess." Loke said with a crooked smile, following her out.

"Ah! Loke is back!" A girl screamed in excitement. "Where have you been?"

As soon as Lucy and Loke were at the edge of the party, a group of women swarmed the Celestial Spirit, pushing Lucy out of the circle.

"What's going on?" Erza asked, catching Lucy as the Celestial mage stumbled out of the group of girls.

"Loke came out to have some fun at Fairy Tail's block party." Lucy replied sheepishly, bending the truth lest she break her current contract. "It got out of hand really fast."

"I see." The Re-quip mage said with a nod. "He should see Master to get some pictures taken."

"Loke has done some modeling before." Lucy giggled. "It should go by quickly."

"I will go fetch Master, then." Erza informed. The blonde grabbed her wrist gently, stopping the red head.

"Wait, have you seen Natsu? I heard he was looking for me?"

"He and Gray are having an eating contest." Erza sighed, pointing towards a pile of dirty dishes on top of a table.

"Thanks," Lucy exhaled, walking towards the destruction. "Natsu. Natsu!" She called.

"Lu-erp-cy!" Natsu burped happily.

"Don't say my name and burp!" Lucy complained.

"We're on our break," Gray informed, finishing off another plate.

"I see." The Celestial mage replied slowly.

"Here, we saved some food for you!" Natsu exclaimed, holding out a plate close to her face. Lucy crossed her eyes and backed up a bit. On the plate was a kabob, although what made this kabob special was that it was lathered in ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and gravy. Was that a slice of cake under that gravy?

Lucy gulped nervously. Did she have to eat this?

"Mira and Elfman made these." Gray said, holding up a different plate. The Celestial wizard mentally let out a sigh of relief. On the other plate was a stack of freshly made kabobs with no sauces poured on them.

"Where's Happy?" Lucy asked, distracting the Fire Dragon Slayer from making her eat the condiment mess. She happily took a seat and quickly grabbed a normal kabob to eat.

"He's still giving out autographs and pictures." Natsu said, effectively distracted as he looked for his best friend. Gray chuckled under his breath as he saw Lucy's shoulders relax.

"He must be popular." She giggled, picking a bell pepper piece off of the stick and popping it in her mouth.

"What's happening over there?" Gray asked, pointing towards where Lucy had come from.

"Loke came to greet us." The Celestial mage giggled. "He'll weasel his way out of it, like usual."

"No wonder the girls aren't as interested in the men in this guild, anymore." Gray chuckled, looking at the disheartened expressions of Macao and Wakaba.

"What? Loke's here?" Natsu asked suddenly, standing up. Crumbs of something fell from his lips as he wiped them away.

"Natsu?" Lucy questioned. Without another word, the Fire Dragon Slayer speed walked over to the group of women, paying them no mind as they yelled in surprise when he nudged in between them to get to his target.

The screams of women were heard before a loud thud echoed across the area as a body landed on a table, breaking it into pieces.

Lucy gasped, seeing who now was lying on the ground above the broken scraps of wood. She stood up from her seat and jogged over, Gray following close behind.

"Natsu, you're scaring our guests." Erza scolded.

"Loke deserved it!" Natsu yelled, marching over to the Celestial Spirit angrily.

"What was that for?" Lucy asked, gently inspecting Loke's bruised cheek.

"It's okay." Loke groaned, sitting up when Gray pulled at his arm. "I deserved it."

"Damn right you did!" Natsu continued to yell. "That's what you get for kidnapping Lucy and not telling us!"

"I think it is a good time for a break." Master sighed. "Natsu, take it inside!"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Laki mumbled.

"They're going to tear the whole building to pieces, and then burn it." Warren sighed.

"We can make a profit out of this, Master." Max informed. "Charge our lovely guests to see a fight."

Makarov didn't need to be told twice.

…A Few Minutes Later…

"I can't believe this actually happened." Lucy moaned, nibbling on her half eaten kabob. In front of her were Natsu and Loke, both in a fighting stance while a multitude of people stood around them in a circle. Wasn't Loke supposed to be protecting her?

"If they want to fight, might as well make a quick buck off of them." Gray said with a shrug.

"Gray-sama is so smart." Juvia complimented, emerging out of the crowd in a flash.

The Celestial mage grinned. Just as she was going to turn away, something on the Ice Make mage caught her eye.

"Gray, you're bleeding." Lucy gasped softly.

"Hm?" He hummed questioningly. The Ice Make mage touched his ear, bringing his hand back down to reveal red liquid. "Oh, don't worry about it."

"What do you mean 'don't worry about it'?" Lucy asked.

"Gray-sama, maybe we should get Porlyusica-san?" Juvia suggested worriedly.

"It'll stop soon." He shrugged off.

"It happened before?" Lucy questioned, finishing off her kabob quickly to free her hands.

"Yesterday." Gray informed.

"I told you we should've fixed the spell." Lucy whined, holding the kabob stick between her teeth as she drew out the Capricorn constellation. "My magic must've run out before you were fully healed."

"Lucy-san can fix Gray-sama?" The Water mage asked hopefully.

"I'm not a machine, Juvia." Gray complained under his breath.

"Can you go get Wendy?" Lucy asked, still tightly clenching the kabob stick between her teeth. Her right eye began to glow gold as she whispered the spell, "Capricorni."

"Of course." Juvia replied, scurrying away to get the Sky Dragon Slayer.

"Really, I'm fine." Gray sighed, but allowed Lucy to tug on his wrist and pull him away from the crowd.

"Really, brain damage is no joke, Gray." Lucy complained back, opening the door to Bar Sun. "Besides, the faster we get this done, the better. You have to fight the day after tomorrow."

"You do, too." Gray said, sitting where she directed him.

"And didn't I tell you leaving a spell unfinished was a bad idea?" Lucy huffed.

"What's going on?" Mavis asked curiously. The little ghost girl had been passing through the building's walls to enjoy the festivities in secret and take pictures of their members.

"Lingering effects of his match on Day One." The Celestial mage sighed, putting her hands on top of his head.

"You have been cringing a lot lately, like something hurt." Mavis said absently, staring at the Ice Make mage's eyes.

"Lucy-san?" Wendy called out as she, Juvia, and Charle entered.

"Here," Lucy called back. "Hold still, will you?"

"I told you, it's not that big of a deal." Gray argued back.

"You're bleeding out of your ear, and you're saying that it's not a big deal?" Mavis asked innocently.

"After head trauma, bleeding from the ear is life-threatening, Gray-san!" Wendy gasped, hurriedly going over to the group and releasing her magic.

Juvia stood nearby, worrying her bottom lip.

"Porlyusica said it was just a busted eardrum." Gray informed, obediently staying still.

"You went to see Porylusica?" Lucy asked.

"The first time it happened," Gray replied. "Something that your magic didn't get to when the spell was still on me."

"Did Porlyusica-san give you something for it?" Wendy questioned curiously.

"Yeah, then she said to go find you girls if I wanted it healed faster." He scoffed. "It's fine. It would've healed in a few days thanks to Porlyusica rather than a few weeks like it normally would've."

"You could've asked." The Celestial mage pouted, taking her hands away and closing her spell.

"And have you fret over me like now?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow. "You have enough stress dealing with Natsu."

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked softly. The Ice Make mage grinned, not verbally giving an answer.

"Juvia is so glad Gray-sama is okay." Juvia cut in after a short silence.

"I told you I was fine." He sighed, feeling his ear become 100% better thanks to Wendy and Lucy's finishing touches.

"Eep!" Wendy squeaked as something slammed into the outside wall of the bar.

"I'm surprised Erza hasn't stopped them." Charle commented offhandedly.

"Don't break the bar!" The group could hear the Re-quip mage yelling from outside.

"Spoke too soon." Mavis giggled.

"I hope they'll be okay." Lucy sighed, letting out a frustrated breath. She felt yet another gate open. Though the others, besides Loke, used their own magic to manifest in Earth Land, just what was going on that needed so many of them? Were they trying to act as a distraction?

A/N: I will try to squeeze in a bit more subtle romance. I want to make one thing clear: this is not a fast romance story. I cannot picture Natsu and Lucy rushing into a relationship. I especially cannot see them having sex at this moment in time, like some of you suggested. Coincidentally, most of you who had suggested this were 'guest' reviewers and I could not answer you personally. I imagine something more thought out than doing it as a spur of the moment thing. Not saying that it has to be all candles and rose petals, but maybe just in a more private place than a crowded hotel where their guild mates can walk in on them at any given moment. I tried to write something more 'heavily' romantic, but it feels forced and ruined the flow of the chapter I was messing with. However, once they do get together, there will be tons more romance. Perhaps even an entire chapter dedicated to their relationship.

I hope you understand and respect my decision.