Chapter 26

"Ugh… what am I gonna do… what am I gonna do?" Lucy muttered as she walked into the guild hall.

"Lu-chan!" Levy ran up to the blonde. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Levy-chan," Lucy smiled in greeting but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Levy clasped her hands behind her back.

She sighed, "Oh… it's just that I talked to my landlady today. She said that I have to have the rent for the last two months when I pay for this month!"

"Uh oh, sounds like you're going to have to go on a job," Levy giggled.

"Yeah…" Lucy's eyes traveled over the tank top Levy wore. It was loose around the chest and looked… familiar.

"Why don't we go check the board?" Levy grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her across the guild hall.

"O-okay," they browsed over the jobs pinned onto the job board. Lucy sighed again and crossed her arms over her chest, "Ah man… I was hoping I could relax for another week before I had to get back into work."

"Good morning ladies," a voice drew their attention. Erza joined them at the board. Lucy's gaze trailed over the plaited red skirt she wore with her armor. "Are we looking for a new job?"

Lucy looked up into her face, "Uh… yeah. I need enough money to pay three months' worth of rent."

"Well then, how about we gather up the team and take one of these high paying jobs?" Erza pulled a sheet down, "This one should be adequate."

Lucy checked the reward, "Split five ways it'll only be enough for one month…"

Erza waved her hand, "The full reward is yours."

"Wh-what?" Lucy gaped at her.

She smiled, "It's the least we can do, after everything that's happened to you… you deserve something easy for once."

Tears filled Lucy's eyes, "Thank you…"

"Hey, wha's goin' on over here?" Cana walked up, a jug of golden liquid in one hand.

"Are you feeling better, Lucy?" Lisanna approached from a different direction.

Lucy glanced between Cana's white bikini top to Lisanna's green jacket. She then examined Levy's tank top and Erza's skirt.

"Alright," she propped her fists up on her hips. "Spill it. Why are all of you wearing my clothes?"

Levy tugged at the hem of the shirt, pink touching her cheek, "Uh oh…"

Erza chuckled, "I suppose she would notice when we all wore them the same day…"

"Did you steal my clothes while I was gone?" Lucy asked in outrage.

"Well…" Lisanna averted her eyes to the ceiling, "Uhm…"

"What's the big deal?" Cana pointed at her and let out a burp. "It's not like you were usin' 'em!"

Lucy's eye twitched and she growled, "You have 'til the count of five to give them back before I start undressing you."

"It feels nice to have the team back together for a job," Wendy said cheerfully.

Gray glared at Natsu on the seat across from him on the carriage. The dragon slayer was a sickly green color as he lay draped across Erza and Lucy.

"Oh yeah," the ice mage muttered. "I totally missed hearing that guy cry like a huge baby every time we set foot on any kind of form of transportation."

Erza chuckled as she stroked Natsu's pink hair. "Poor thing. And he was so excited when I asked him if he wanted to go on the job."

The carriage hit a bump and Natsu writhed. His legs bumped into Lucy's stomach and chest and she not so gently shoved them off of her lap. "Since when am I a bed for this sick idiot?" she scowled.

"Wow," Happy said, glancing at Carla. "Lucy sure has gotten heartless ever since she returned…"

"Oh shut it, cat."

The carriage rolled to a stop and the driver called back to them, "This is far as I go!"

"Very good," Erza stood, dumping Natsu's body to the floor.

Everyone exited the carriage and Lucy ended up dragging Natsu by his wrists out onto the dusty road. She dropped him and wiped her forehead with a sigh. She looked around with a frown.

"Where are we? I thought the monsters we were supposed to kill were in the forest…" They were parked in the middle of a vast, open valley.

"Unfortunately," Gray said, stretching his arms over his head, "The monster attacks get pretty bad at this point on. The road is closed to civilians."

"So we need to walk?"

Erza unhitched her wagon of luggage from the back of the carriage and sent the driver off down the road in the direction they had come.

"That's right," she said. "It's about a five hour walk to the edge of the forest where the job takes place."

"FIVE HOURS?" Lucy's jaw dropped. "We won't get there until midnight!"

"It sounds dangerous to fight in the middle of the night," Wendy said nervously.

"I agree," Carla nodded. "We should make camp after nightfall and wait until morning to fight."

"That's a sound plan," Erza said.

"C-camp?" Lucy glanced down at Natsu, who was finally rousing from his motion sickness induced coma. "B-but… shouldn't we get done as soon as possible and then return home?"

"Is there something wrong with camping?" Erza tugged her wagon along as she headed north. "Don't worry. I've brought enough sleeping bags for everyone."

"That's not really what I'm worried about…" Lucy murmured and slowly followed.

Author's Note: Wow, I'm so sorry this chapter is so stinkin' boring. I would spice it up or make it longer... but remember the illness I was complaining about several chapters ago? Yeah, it's still around. But I think maybe it's getting better... maybe? I feel like I'm knocking on death's door, truthfully. Not to mention I guzzled two dosages of Nyquil about an hour ago and it's a major battle just to keep my eyes open... It's taken me several hours to write just this much... I don't think I can do better today. Tomorrow I'll try to write something exciting. Or at least cute. Or interesting. Or whatever. Better than this for sure. So thanks for sticking with me during these times of hardships and putting up with my boring, uninteresting chapter updates. I really look forward to the journey ahead and hope you guys stay with me to see its end! Feel free to review at your leisure! I love hearing from you guys!

Love-Moo