Note: My mom is trying to teach me football, but I'm setting this up and posting it instead :X Cuz football is kind of boring. But happy Super Bowl (if, unlike me, you care XD), and I hope your team wins. That should cover at least part of my readers...sorry to the rest of you whose team is gonna suck :D

This next set might require a little explaining. The [V1] stands for version 1. Because, you know, there's also an alternate version (called, creatively, [V2]). Because I can lol

I don't have a whole lot of background to set this up—it was just an interesting idea that I justified exploring because I thought it addressed some things with Gray and Lyon that still needed to be hashed out. The other excuse for the meager amount of setup is that the first part of the beginning is the same for both, and I didn't want to repeat too much XD My baaad.

To the guest reviewers: You're very sweet, thanks :) And for the one who had some interesting observations... I never really compared Juvia and the shadow, but you're kind of right XD XD XD Although the shadow is cooler and more badass, and also has more of a purpose than Juvia. It'll just take a while to come to fruition. That did crack me up, though lol And "Love Potion No. 9" is my sister's birthday fic, so that will be posted on her birthday: February 11th :)

Surrogate [V1]

"I can save the real Gray, put his soul back into his body so that he can live again. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Gray tilted his head and watched the dark-haired man in horrified fascination, but the object of his attention had eyes only for a flabbergasted Lyon. Really, they ought to stop inviting Lyon along for things. He must be a bad luck charm or something. Actually, Gray should also stop taking any job requests that specifically asked for him or were quite obviously meant for him, and any that were fishing for both him and Lyon had to be double trouble.

He drifted forward a step, his hand absently rising to press against the outer barrier of the magic circle, but jerked back with a hiss of pain as the magic shocked him. Lyon darted a look at him as he retreated a couple steps, and his eyes were wide and pained and confused.

"It probably wouldn't work," Gray said.

"It would so!" the dark mage growled, shooting him a nasty look. "We almost had you last time, demon."

Gray frowned. "Excuse me?"

"We laid that perfect trap for you, lured you down, and Gerald just about finished the transplant process before your crazy guildmates came charging in and ruined everything."

"…Oh. Gerald? Really? What a silly name for a dark mage."

"Wait, what?" Lyon asked, finally finding his voice although it was a bit raspy. He looked between Gray and the dark mage, and then even glanced back at the rest of the team.

"Long story," Gray muttered. "How'd you get away? I thought they arrested you all."

This had to be one of the mages from the dark guild that had kidnapped him a few months back and stuck their leader's soul in him. That didn't inspire confidence since they had, in fact, nearly managed to permanently transplant another soul in him, but they'd also been fairly incompetent about everything else and their soul mage was—hopefully—locked up in prison.

"I was up top when the lightning monster tore through," said the man in a decidedly sulky fashion. Lightning monster indeed. Gray would have to remember that one to use on Laxus later. "I stayed out of the way."

"Awesome, I didn't get the chance to beat you assholes up last time," Natsu growled, inching forward a step from where he was standing rigid beside Happy and the girls. "And I really wanted to."

"Stay back," the dark mage said. He flicked a hand and the magic circle around Gray tightened a couple inches. Gray retreated another step toward the center, and Natsu stopped moving.

"Dammit," the dragon slayer muttered.

The girls shifted restlessly, but no one made any other premature moves. If worst came to worst, they'd fight like hell. But as long as Gray was trapped in this stupid thing, they were being cautious.

"Give it up," Erza said coldly. "We're not going to let you play your little games, so you might as well let him out."

"No," snapped the dark mage. "I'm going to resurrect the real Gray."

"Why?" Lyon asked hoarsely.

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why do you even care? If you're just some dark mage with no connection to us?"

"Partly I like the idea of justice, and partly this is just revenge for what he and his friends did to my guild. Revenge that you'll benefit from, I might add. I did my homework. I know how close you were to Gray and how deeply you were affected by the demon stealing his body. Honestly, I thought you'd be jumping at the chance. Why do you think I asked for you to come along?"

"You aren't a seith mage," Gray observed, uninterested in the whole long spiel. "I highly doubt you could perform such specialized soul magic. And in any case, Gray's soul was lost years and years ago, and no seith mage preserved it. You're looking at the impossible."

"Shut up," he growled. "Gerald left some things behind. I can do it."

"You can't…" Lyon trailed off and shook his head, his gaze jumping between Gray and the dark mage. His face was white and a tremor ran through his body.

"Don't you want him back?" the dark mage wheedled. "Stop putting up a fuss and just let me do this real fast."

"The chances of it working are extremely low, hovering right about zero," Gray told Lyon quietly. A faint, melancholy smile tugged at one corner of his lips, and he dropped his gaze to the floor. "But if you want to try it…"

"What?" Lucy demanded. "You can't just–!"

"You're such an idiot," Natsu grumbled.

Gray stayed quiet. This was probably impossible, but on the very, very slim chance that it might work… Well, didn't the original Gray deserve another chance at the life that had been stolen from him? If Lyon wanted to take that chance on a wish and a prayer, Gray wouldn't stop him.

"I…" Lyon trailed into silence again.

"I thought you'd be more excited, honestly." The dark mage sounded a little peeved about this failure on Lyon's part. "But don't worry, you'll thank me when it's over."

"Like hell you're gonna–" Natsu broke off and the scuffing of his sandals on the floor immediately ceased as the magic circle constricted.

It slammed into Gray and sent him stumbling back with a muffled curse. He clutched at his singed arm and eyed the flickering yellow light warily.

"Stop it!" Lucy cried.

The dark mage shrugged. Apparently tiring of games—and, perhaps, no longer finding it quite as entertaining to mess with Lyon's head—he turned to Gray and lifted his hands. A sickly orange light spilled from them, the magic building up in the air.

Gray braced himself. He fully expected this to be a colossal failure, but he hoped that there wouldn't be any unsavory side effects.

"Stop!" Lyon leaped forward and shoved into the other man's chest, sending them both to the ground. "Leave him alone!"

"I'll never–"

"Let him out," Lyon said, his voice cold as steel as he pinned the dark mage down and held ice to his throat. "Right now."

Throwing caution to the wind, Gray drifted back up to the transparent boundary caging him in. It might slice his nose off if the prick decided to tighten the circle again, but he was fascinated enough by Lyon that he didn't care.

"I did my homework," the dark mage wheezed as he stared back up at Lyon. "Don't you want your brother back?"

Gray gnawed on the inside of his cheek, finding it a troubling question that would undoubtedly have a troubling answer.

"Yeah, I do," Lyon snapped. "So let him out of your damned circle already before I slit your throat."

Gray blinked at him owlishly, and the way his heart constricted was both pleasant and unpleasant. It was still a troubling answer in its own way, even if not the one he had been expecting.

The magic circle flickered and died as its caster finally gave in under the pressure. Lyon slammed the man's head into the ground, causing his eyes to roll back as he slipped into unconsciousness, and remained bent over his vanquished foe.

Gray took a tentative step over the one-time boundary, but no jolt of pain repelled him. Drifting over to Lyon, he hesitated and then crouched down to search his face. Lyon seemed too pale and pinched, a string ready to snap, and his eyes stared down at the unconscious dark mage's face blankly.

"Lyon?" Gray asked. He reached out, paused, and let his fingers rest feather-light on the other man's arm. "Are you alright?"

Because that had been an ugly situation all around, and however pretty the answers Lyon gave, they would always be bittersweet.

"Yeah." Lyon looked up to give him a tight smile. "You really ought to stop making me always save you."

As an attempt at teasing, it fell flat. Gray didn't bother to pretend otherwise.

"Sorry."

Lyon stood abruptly, brushing imaginary dust off his pants. "I trust you all can handle this guy from here? I'll see you later."

He turned and walked off, leaving Gray staring after him. The sense of awe at Lyon's vigorous defense faded away completely, leaving only the gnawing concern.

"Are you sure…?" Gray trailed off and shook his head. It was a pointless question that he had no right asking when Lyon would rather not be around him.

Lyon looked back and his smile was more genuine this time, if still brittle with melancholy around the edges. "Yep. Take care of yourself and stop getting into so much trouble, hear? It's starting to get ridiculous."

Gray didn't look away until Lyon disappeared from sight, and then slowly straightened himself out and looked down at the dark mage. What a bother.

"You really couldn't have broken out of the circle?" Lucy asked skeptically. "You're way stronger than him."

Gray shrugged. It hadn't been a particularly powerful magic, and he could have most probably broken through if he had tried. He didn't know how to explain that this had been Lyon's choice in much the same way that Gray had given him his Book in the beginning and offered him the option of damaging or destroying it. Lyon deserved some measure of control in the matters that most affected him.

Then again, Gray was starting to wonder if this had been a miscalculation. Perhaps the benefits of giving Lyon a choice were outweighed by the emotional turmoil and confusion that choice caused. Still, Gray couldn't imagine cutting off even such a remote possibility unilaterally without letting Lyon have a say.

"Guess we might as well take care of this," Erza said with a sigh. "Next time a job specifically asks for you, we're going to make someone else take it."

"Kind of rude for him to leave us to clean up," grumbled Natsu with a faint scowl.

"Leave him be," Gray said quietly. "It's not easy for him to always have the past dragged up and thrown in his face."

If Lyon needed some space for a little while, that was fine. He would come back when he was ready.

Lyon didn't come back. It shouldn't be a cause for alarm, really. He and Gray might have reconciled, they might meet up on occasion as they worked at rebuilding everything that had been broken between them, but it wasn't like they were seeking each other out every day. It could be weeks before one decided to go looking for the other, and that was normal. This was normal.

Except that after how they had parted, Gray wasn't so sure. Maybe he should go find Lyon and make sure he was alright. But if Lyon wanted some time to think things over and mourn without all the complications that the demon brought, Gray was loath to interrupt him. So he waited, and Lyon did not come.

His quiet tenseness was unobtrusive enough, although it occasionally drew a second look from one or another of his friends.

"Why don't you go see him if you're so worried?" Happy said.

"See? He loves you," Erza said. "I told you it would work out."

"It was really sweet how he stood up for you," Lucy said.

"Quit moping around," Natsu said. "He's an idiot, but he'll be alright."

Gray waited. He wasn't afraid, not really. Maybe just a little worried. He trusted Lyon, but wasn't he allowed to be concerned? Lyon might not be taking the jab at his past well—it was hard to tell when Gray hadn't seen him since—and it might be Gray's fault, at least in an indirect fashion.

Gray wanted to help, but he had the feeling that his presence wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. He didn't have a place in what was likely afflicting Lyon now, and he wouldn't overstep his bounds to try making one.

His moodiness was quickly deemed irritating by certain parties.

He was walking up to the guild one morning when one of Bickslow's little totems came bouncing out. He paused, feeling that slender thread that bound them together, that quiet shock of connection.

"It's been a while," he remarked, tilting his head and shoving his hands into his pockets. Bickslow must be lurking around here somewhere, then. Not keeping as close an eye on his little soul beasties today. "I met up with one of your old friends the other day."

The totem bounced up and down as if in greeting, and Gray watched with slightly narrowed eyes. He felt an odd sort of kinship with this thing that had shared his body for a brief time and nearly given it the soul it lacked, but he didn't exactly spend a lot of time with it. For one, Bickslow kept it on a tight leash and gave him funny looks if he ever showed too much of an interest in it. And there was always–

His shadow lashed out and sent the wooden doll spinning through the air. Gray sighed. Yeah, that.

"Enough," he said.

His shadow didn't really like anyone or anything, but it had taken a particular hatred to the soul trapped within the doll and got riled up if it got anywhere near Gray. He chalked it up to its overly possessive nature.

It settled sulkily at his feet again, but he could feel its disapproval.

"I keep telling Bickslow to get rid of that thing," grumbled a voice from behind him.

He turned and arched an eyebrow at Natsu as he ambled up the walk to the guild hall. "Why bother? It can't hurt anything anymore. Leave it be."

"It's weird." Natsu threw a dark look after the totem as it fluttered back into the guild. "And you get weird with it."

"I do not."

"You do. I keep thinking you're going to invite it back into your body at any second." Natsu's scowl deepened. "Leave it alone. All these soul things are getting to be too much. Don't you dare let it happen again, or I'm going to sic the girls on you."

His eyes were hard and unyielding, and Gray shifted uncomfortably. He heard the underlying jab and knew that Natsu had connected the soul transplant incident and its aftermath to what had just happened with Gray's non-soul.

Gray didn't consider them to be the same thing, seeing how the original Gray would have had a much better claim to his life than some random dark mage, but given what he may or may not have told Natsu about keeping his options open in case anything came up… Well, he could see where the dragon slayer's concern was coming from.

"It's not like that," he mumbled.

"Well then, just be yourself instead of always trying to turn into someone else," Natsu said shortly. Gray started in surprise at his incisive assessment of the situation. Natsu's gaze didn't waver. "And seriously, quit moping around. It's disgusting. And I'm really bored, so now would be a great time to fight…before Erza shows up."

Gray stared at his friend in disbelief, but then relaxed and coughed out a laugh. Natsu was a strange one, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

That odd little conversation eased the knot of tension that had settled between Gray's shoulder blades, at least a bit. Surely, Lyon would have worked things out by now. He had his own friends and his own guild to help him out, and surely Gray was silly to have worried.

And then said friends ran into Gray and his team as they were heading down the street away from the guild hall, and the worry came flooding back.

"Hey, Gray!"

He turned and blinked blankly at the pink-haired girl hurrying after him. "Sherry? What are you all doing here? Is Lyon alright?"

Erza's offer of a team lunch at her favorite café was instantly forgotten as Gray waited for Lyon's team to catch up. Sherry reached them first. She looked concerned but not hostile. Yuka was a different story, his impressive eyebrows knit together as he glowered at the demon, and Toby cowered behind. Gray didn't know why they'd be here unless something had happened to Lyon.

"That's what we should be asking you," Yuka growled.

"…What?"

Sherry gave her teammate a look and gestured for him to settle down. "It's just that Lyon's been…rather withdrawn and melancholy lately. He hasn't been this down and closed off since you two started getting along again, and it didn't start up until right after that job he went with you on. We just wanted to drop by and make sure nothing happened that we should know about."

"What she means is that we want to know what the hell you did to him," corrected Yuka.

"He didn't do anything," Natsu snapped. "Back off, eyebrows."

Gray foresaw a precipitous decline in social relations if the more belligerent members of each party didn't knock it off. "He didn't tell you about the job?"

A tired melancholy settled over him and he shoved his hands into his pockets. It wasn't reassuring that Lyon's friends thought it serious enough to traipse all the way down here looking for answers. He hated that sense of impotency stemming from the knowledge that this wasn't something he could fix. Lyon needed someone who had been dead for years and years.

"He hasn't really said anything about it," Sherry said, eyeing Natsu and Yuka warily as they squared off and glared at each other. "He just brushes it off and says nothing happened and he's fine."

"Ah."

"What happened?"

Gray let Erza explain the relevant events in a few terse sentences, already more concerned with the possible repercussions of said events.

"And then he ran off right away," Natsu added sourly. "Didn't stay to help with cleanup or anything, just left Gray to mope around. Which seems pretty rude, honestly."

"If he needs space, let him have his space," Gray said absently. "Of course it wouldn't be easy on him. He'll need time to work through the what-ifs and any regrets and whatnot."

Yuka's scowl deepened and anger flashed in his eyes as he took a threatening step forward. "I knew we should have kept him away from you. You just–"

"Leave him alone. He didn't do anything."

Gray started in surprise and half turned. Everyone showed similar startle reactions, and they all ogled the unexpected arrival.

"Lyon?" Sherry squeaked. "What are you doing here?"

Lyon shrugged and drifted closer, no longer worried about blending into the crowd. "You guys were whispering and acting cagey and running off in secret. Of course I was going to follow you."

His team had the grace to look embarrassed, and even some of Yuka's anger faded as he studied his feet intently.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked cautiously, searching Lyon's face and finding it unreadable. Happy settled heavily on his shoulder and Lucy edged closer in silent support.

"Mhm." Lyon turned those blank eyes on him. "Is that really what you think?"

"Huh?" Gray was at a loss for a long moment before figuring it out. Shrugging, he reached one hand up to stroke Happy's fur absently and let his gaze drift away. "What should I think, then?"

Lyon's sigh hung heavy in the air. "It's not that I regret anything. I just… I miss him."

"I know," Gray said quietly. "I do too." Lyon arched an eyebrow and gave him a funny look. "I have his memories," he said, as if that explained everything.

Which it did, at least to him. He missed a teacher he had never known, parents he had never had, a boy he had never been. In the past, he had wondered if it was him missing them or if it was just what lingered of Gray and his memories, but then he'd decided that maybe it didn't really matter and he was allowed to care about them too.

"Oh. Yeah." Lyon fell silent, staring glassily at the ground, and then his lips tightened. "It wasn't fair of him to try pitting us against each other like that. It was cruel to make a mockery of everything."

"I know. If it makes you feel any better, there's almost no chance that it would have actually worked."

"Why does that…?" The confusion on Lyon's face cleared, leaving a rather grim expression in its place. "I think we need to talk."

He grabbed Gray's arm and stalked away, dragging the demon along. Gray stumbled after him with a startled yelp, and Happy was dislodged from his shoulder at the sudden movement.

"Lyon?"

Lyon didn't respond, and Gray threw a helpless look back at their equally bemused teammates. Happy retreated to perch on Natsu's head, Lucy shrugged, and Erza mouthed 'good luck'. They turned back to talk to Lyon's team about whatever it was that people talked about with people they didn't particularly know when they were left to their own devices by the lynchpin friends linking the disparate groups together, and Gray was left to fend for himself.

They had traversed an entire street and turned the corner before Lyon finally released Gray's arm. Gray eyed him guardedly, but neither of them spoke immediately. The crowds parted around them instinctively, a continued perk of Gray's demon-ness, and he waited for Lyon to make the first move.

"Why does that matter?" Lyon asked finally.

"Huh? Well, it was a nasty choice for him to throw at you, but in all likelihood, it wasn't a real one. There's no reason to feel bad about that—you couldn't have saved him. What-ifs aren't really useful there. It wouldn't have worked."

"…I said that I didn't have any regrets. I don't think it's my place to play God with other people's lives and deaths. Let the dead sleep and the living live. I was never going to go along with his crazy scheme, no matter what the odds were. You really thought I would?"

"I said you could. If the odds were better, I might have done it myself."

Lyon finally looked over to stare at him. "You…"

"Well, why not?" Gray asked with a shrug, not seeing the big deal.

"Why not…?"

"Well, if it worked, then you would have gotten the real Gray back. If it didn't, nothing would have changed, probably. What did you really have to lose?"

Lyon's flabbergasted expression slowly morphed into anger, and he jabbed a furious finger at the demon's chest. "What did I have to lose? You, you idiot! If it had worked, I would have lost you."

"I guess so," Gray conceded. He leaned back and stepped around Lyon to continue down the street, and the other man fell back into step beside him after a moment. "But all things considered, would that really be such a bad thing? I mean, in exchange for the real Gray–"

"The other Gray," Lyon interrupted firmly.

"In exchange for the other Gray," he amended, "wouldn't it be a fair trade? Seems like the better end of the deal to me."

He shrugged again and counted the cobblestones absently as he walked. These seemed like fairly logical conclusions to him. Perhaps a tad unsavory, but any strong emotion they might have provoked had long since been stripped away by pragmatism. These were the truths that he held to be self-evident.

Lyon might not like how ugly they sounded when put into words, but he must surely understand. On some level, he held them too.

"Do you really think that?" Lyon asked after a long moment. His voice sounded funny.

"Of course. Don't you?"

"…No. No, I don't. After everything…do you really still not believe that I love you?"

Gray chewed on his lip thoughtfully. There had been a time when he hadn't been so sure and Lyon was still something of a mystery at times, but it was unfair to doubt him on this. They had both done too much for each other to still be stuck walking on eggshells and wondering.

"Of course I believe you. I trust you enough to believe that." He looked up and gave Lyon a small smile, his eyes gentle. "But you loved the rea–the other Gray too. You loved him first. And it's okay to love him more."

Lyon's mouth twisted into a funny expression and he actually winced. His mouth opened but then slowly drifted shut again, and he shook his head. Gray just smiled faintly and touched him lightly on the shoulder to keep him walking when his steps faltered. Lyon looked away with a frown, and stayed quiet for nearly a full minute.

"It doesn't work like that," he said finally, his voice low. "You aren't his surrogate. Or his replacement or substitute or anything like that. He was like the brother I never had. Maybe he and Ur were my surrogate family, but they became less replacements than a real family. And…the same goes for you.

"It's like asking a parent to play favorites among their children. You just don't look at someone and tell them to pick which of their brothers lives and which dies. You aren't the second best that I just got stuck with, the consolation prize I keep around only because he's gone. I'm not just trading you in for a better model. I like what I have."

Gray swallowed hard past the lump in his throat and found a sudden interest in his feet. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I like what I have too."

"Of course you do—I'm amazing," Lyon said with a laugh like a sigh. He stopped in the middle of the street and tilted Gray's chin up so that their eyes met. His eyes were somber and melancholy. "Do you believe me?"

Gray hesitated, shifting uncomfortably under the intensity of Lyon's gaze. He wanted to. It was a strong enough assertion to boggle the mind, though. Still, Lyon seemed dead serious about it. And…maybe this was also the point that Natsu had been trying to make, in his own way. Maybe Gray was just really dense about picking up on what his friends were trying to say.

"I… Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"Great." Lyon released him and started walking again with a sigh. "Now you just have to believe it for yourself, I guess. I didn't run off because I was having regrets or anything like that. I left because it dragged up memories, and I didn't want to mourn in front of you because I figured it would make you feel worse. You still get all guilty about everything. But I guess it would've been better to make sure you didn't think anything stupid before I went. I didn't mean to make you have doubts."

"Oh. I figured you left because seeing me while you were upset over him would make it worse."

A sad little smile played at the corners of Lyon's lips. "A few months ago, you might have been right. But you know…sometimes you feel like him. I mean, you have his memories and you've kept some of his quirks and habits and mannerisms, and… I know it's not exactly the same, but sometimes you make me feel better because it's like he's not entirely dead. You keep part of him alive with you, and… Thank you. It makes me happier to know that you're keeping pieces of him alive."

Gray gave him a skeptical, sidelong look, not entirely sure what to make of that. Yes, he deliberately cultivated some of his namesake's qualities out of respect. He did, in fact, keep pieces of Gray alive. He'd known that for a long time. He'd also known that it would never be enough, but maybe… Maybe it was at least some small comfort and not meaningless after all.

"So I should start stripping again, then?" he asked in a lighter tone.

Lyon coughed out a laugh. "Yeah. I think you freaked everyone out when you stopped."

"Eh. They've gotten used to it, aside from pointed comments here and there."

Alright, so the guild might have freaked out a bit in the beginning, but it had been months with only the occasional absentminded loss of clothing and they'd eventually gotten used to it. He didn't think they were necessarily happy about it, but they tolerated it in the same way that they'd tolerated his 'demon-y mood swings' and shadow-walking and frequent disappearances from the guild.

But who knew? Maybe he'd pick it back up at some point and surprise them all. Or, a muted version, at least. He actually rather enjoyed being able to walk around without people yelling for him to put clothes on.

"Hm." Lyon walked by his side in companionable silence for a couple minutes before looking over to give him a melancholy but fond smile. "You know, I like to think that if Gray had gotten the chance to grow up, he would have grown up to be something like you. Minus the ridiculous guilt-complex and scary shadow, of course."

Gray stared at him in disbelief, the gears of his mind turning uselessly. "Like…me?" he asked stupidly.

"Yeah. Almost exactly like you."

Gray's first thought was that he wouldn't wish such a horrible fate on anyone, that the other Gray could never be as dark as him or do the things he'd done, but Lyon knew that. So… So Lyon must see something else worthy of being a role model. Whether Gray fully agreed or not, it still made him flush and look down again while his heart did those funny little flips in his chest.

"Better than like you," he mumbled, clearing his throat. "We wouldn't want him to be a stuck-up prick."

"Hey!" Lyon protested, but he was laughing.

Gray gave him another look. "It's okay to be sad with me," he said gently. "You don't have to worry about it making me feel worse or whatever. I'd rather you weren't just sad all alone."

Lyon's lip trembled for a split second and his eyes clouded over, but then he smiled. "You're right, I guess. I should trust you enough for that. But I'm tired of being sad. I spent too many months moping. Now that we're back on speaking terms, maybe it's time to be happy for what we still have instead of be sad for what we've lost."

"Always a good way to look at things," Gray agreed with a half-smile. He, for one, would rather see Lyon happy than sad.

"Awesome. Let's get ice cream, then!"

Lyon grabbed Gray's hand and yanked him to the side, making a beeline for the ice cream vendor he'd just spotted. Gray yelped in surprise, but then laughed and stumbled after that silly brother of his. He wasn't sure there had ever been a Gray who didn't like ice cream.

emmahoshi: Ha ha, these days I always have to pause and wonder if we're talking about American football or soccer whenever someone says "football" XD Comes from taking too many Spanish classes, I guess. Well, Gray can be pretty annoying XD But I think it kind of goes to show that he and Lyon are still a little uncertain around each other and this is helping put them on more solid ground, if that makes sense. Kind of helps clear up some of the underlying issues and insecurities that they've glossed over. "Tactful nothings" lol I love it. That's exactly how I feel when I'm left to make small talk with anyone...even my friends X) You and food lol I always expect you to comment on the food if it's mentioned in a chapter XD [EDIT: I watch bits and pieces of the Olympics, and that's about it. Mostly just things like gymnastics, synchronized swimming, ice skating/dancing, and stuff like that. Not so much stuff like running and swimming...it gets so boring x.x HA, now I want to make a chapter about vegetables just for you! I don't like seafood, though. Blegh.] [[EDIT 2: Blessed are the children lol I like to eat like a kid sometimes too lol But I'm probably a pickier eater than you XD]]