A/N: Hurray! Finally I have updated. Thanks for your continued patience - without further ado, here's the chapter:


Juvia ignored the camera in George's hands, concentrating on keeping solid. It was exhilarating and dangerous to have the freedom to touch so much of Gray's flesh. It was almost like when Gray had begun to train with her to maintain her solid form, she had to focus.

Before they'd gotten so much closer Juvia didn't even know how she would've acted. Only ever in her deepest fantasies had she ever dreamed of rubbing her hands over his muscles like this. She began to hum.

Using a long light stroke, Juvia spread massage oil over Gray's shoulders. Normal massage tables had a cut-out hole for one's face to rest. George had decided to lay a towel over it, urging Gray to lay forward more. Currently, the ice mage had his face turned to the side and was watching his partner.

"Juvia is doing okay?"

Her hesitant query made Gray smile in reassurance.

Click! George snapped another picture.

"Have you done this before?"

"Juvia does not want to answer." Her fingers that had been travelling down Gray's spine stilled. "It was a long time ago."

"Hey," Gray rolled to his side, the better to look at his girl. "That was just an idle thought. I like what you're doing, I just thought maybe you'd done some training for it or something." He propped himself up on his arm. "I get to do this to you next, I'm afraid I'm nowhere near as good as you."

Blushing, Juvia pushed Gray down. "Do not talk down about your abilities. Gray is capable of anything he sets his mind to."

His shoulders shook as Gray chuckled. "There's one thing I want, and I thought you wanted it too, but you're surprisingly hard to pin down." A much louder snort of laughter escaped the ice mage. "You've been quite resistant." The knowledge that George was in the same room kept Gray from saying exactly what he wanted.

Gray figured he'd get further if he could just lay his hands on her and tell her without words. She should feel it in his touch. From his lips, the heat that surged between them, to the truth in his eyes. Juvia should be able to tell his love was genuine.

She'd been forthright from the beginning. Hadn't she chased him for years? As part of the Phantom Lord four, she was prepared to battle any of their foes; but she'd seen him and changed. Oh, she had heart and could fight, but her heart recognized him as hers. Hers to love, and so she'd forfeited.

Gray hated being inactive. When the body was still, the mind was free to think. Lately, those moments led to examining his feelings.

Laying passive under Juvia's hands was building up a need. Gray wanted to possess all the joy he'd been denied as a child. He wanted the freedom to show Juvia exactly how deep his love for her was. He wanted to erase the damage Juvia had suffered from that unnamed idiot asshole. Gray needed to hack apart the chains keeping Juvia apologizing.

George repeated himself, amused. Seems like all the couples from Fairy Tail were stuck on each other. Lucy and Natsu had almost made a meal of each other in their massages session. Juvia and Gray were oblivious to him asking them to switch positions. The half hour he'd allowed for Juvia to massage Gray had stretched into almost an hour.

"All right!" This time George was peppier. "Time for Gray to take the lead." He set his camera down and coughed.

Finally, Juvia lifted her hands off the ice mage. "S-sorry."

George rubbed his stomach and nodded. "That's okay, ah, I just need you two to switch places and we can get going with the second half."

Gray yawned and stretched. "That felt awesome." He smiled at Juvia. "I can only hope I do at least half as good as you did." Sliding off the table, Gray landed beside his partner. Into her ear, he whispered, "I want to spend time touching you alone."

Acting like he hadn't just propositioned his girl, Gray offered to assist Juvia. She gave him her hand. Unable to resist, Gray placed a kiss on her palm. The tip of his tongue darted out and licked. Their eyes connected, Gray smirked and Juvia blushed.

Once situated, Juvia concentrated on keeping her breathing even. It had been hard to stay cohesive while she was rubbing his body. Now, was the ultimate test; Gray's hands wandering over her flesh.

Gray wasn't sure if he was in heaven or hell. This was similar to when they'd kissed on the bench, where strangers might have watched. Only, it was George, and they had to interact with the man now and later. Thankful to be at least hiding his lower body behind the table, Gray eased his hands onto Juvia's back. He moved the towel aside and made a connection with her bare skin.

She shivered and he grinned. Juvia might be having her own battle. Gray paid vague attention to George's orders and began to enjoy himself. Freeing part of his mind, Gray speculated how far he could reach his hand under the towel. Shit. He wasn't just thinking about it. Retracting his hand, Gray issued an order to himself; keep it clean.

He rubbed her shoulders, and then slid his fingertips along her biceps and down her arms. Nice muscle tone. Gray needed to get through this without embarrassing himself. Focus! Following George's suggestions, Gray decided to catalogue the feeling of Juvia's body. After, he could use that any time he was alone and had a need … for that certain something.

The next picture captured the blush rising on Gray's face as he stroked Juvia's legs. George was certain both mages were forgetting his presence. He kept his camera raised. Partly to shield himself from the obvious longing between the couple and because he needed to document the feelings they stirred in each other. These were going to be photos that surpassed Tim's order of 'take hot pics'.

George tried to keep an impassive face as he kept his camera whirring, but the joy in his profession and subject matter had him grinning. After a good twenty minutes, he called a halt to the proceedings. "How about you guys change into your regular clothes and then I can take some traditional posed photos?"

Gray and Juvia smiled, agreeing to George's idea. Juvia scooted off the table and almost ran to the changing room, leaving Gray in her dust.

"Thanks, Juvia is over the moon to have official couples pictures." Gray clapped George on the back. "I'm happier than I thought I'd be too. It might seem simple or trite for others, but I want to have the same opportunities other couples have had."

George grinned and pointed to the other change room. "You'd better hurry or Juvia might get impatient!"

"You're right!" Gray hurried and changed, coming back out scant moments after entering. Years of stripping had given him speed skills at donning clothes too. "Juvia isn't out yet?"

George looked up from his perusal of his photos. "Huh, no. Maybe she's touching up her make-up?"

"I'm gonna go check on her." Gray gave a sickly grin to George. "She might need me."

"Of course."

Gray rapped lightly on the door and asked if he could enter. He strained his ears for an answer, no response. He cracked the door open an inch and looked inside. Juvia was sitting on a chair, legs up and rocking back and forth.

He didn't waste any time moving next to her, touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Her big blue eyes glittered with tears as she looked at him. "Juvia is not sure." She sniffed and shrugged. "Juvia might be scared."

"Hey," Gray gave in to temptation and enfolded Juvia in a hug. "Hey, you're allowed to feel whatever you feel. I don't always understand my feelings either."

"Gray is just saying that." Juvia let her head hang down. "I'm afraid of not being good enough for you."

"Juvia," Gray searched for words of encouragement, "you're the best you, you can be. I love you just the way you are."

She sat still and mute, making Gray agitated. Didn't most women want to hear such things?

"Juvia," Gray tried again, "you're a person I've grown to admire. You have so much love inside you and you keep sharing your talents. You give and give and give!" He sighed. "I can't match you in that respect. I take. I let you adore me and I am sorry it took me so long to realize that I should be adoring you."

"Really?"

"Really." Gray gave Juvia one more squeeze before kneeling in front of her. "We need to keep talking, resolving any and all issues."

"Juvia will try." She tried on a tiny smile for size. Gray beamed back at her, and her smile grew to match. "Juvia will let Gray adore her."

"Any time, any where," Gray said. "Let's find somewhere to be alone after we finish with George."

"Juvia likes the sound of that."

"Glad to hear it." Gray stood up and extended a hand to his girlfriend. Juvia grasped it strongly and even grinned. Seeing Juvia with her mood elevated made Gray happy. "Let's go and make some memories."

"Juvia agrees!"


Levy collapsed. Her legs felt like jelly. It was a funny thing. If pressed, she'd be unable to walk, but she felt awesome. Gajeel had not been kidding when he'd assured her he would drive her out of her mind. She'd screamed his name, not once but twice. At this point, she didn't care about what anyone might say. "No more."

"Spoil sport." Gajeel hummed, pleased with the situation. Not only had the mating gone well, he'd redeemed himself after cumming so fast the first time. He grinned and shook his hair, checking to see if more was going to fly free. His Shrimp had clawed and bit his flesh as well as tugging and ripping his hair.

Levy rolled to her side. "What time is it?"

"Huh?" Gajeel said, "Dunno."

"Look for me, I'm not capable of making my eyes focus."

More than a little pride puffed up Gajeel's chest. He pushed himself upright and searched the room looking for a clock. "Almost three."

An adrenaline surge had Levy sit bolt upright. She jumped off the bed and began gathering her clothes. "We've gotta go!"

"Why so upset?"

Levy dropped the few items she'd managed to gather and glared at Gajeel. "Everyone must be frantic when we didn't show up for dinner! It's three in the morning and … and …" Levy's face paled to an astonishing shade of white. "Erza will murder you before I get the chance to defend you!"

"Pfft. Relax, it's still the afternoon. Not three in the morning -" Gajeel laughed and then coughed. Levy had thrown a sock right into his mouth as he was about to speak further. He spat and wiped his mouth. "That's gross woman."

"That's what you get for scaring me like that!" Uncaring of her nudity, Levy crossed her arms and gave her lover what she hoped was her most mutinous glare. "There's no way I can relax now."

"I have an idea. Ghee hihi!" Gajeel patted a spot next to him on the bed. "It's a great idea."

"I think we should see if we can still do the massage photo shoot."

Gajeel looked at his lover. "So that's a no-go for my idea?" He smiled and beckoned to the girl. She stepped into his embrace, his arms holding her tight. It felt just as wonderful as when they'd made love. Keeping her close was going to be his new favourite activity. "Then you go shower first."

Levy said, "No. It'll be faster together."

"We'll see." Gajeel chased Levy into the bathroom as she shrieked in laughter.


Lucy sank deeper into the mud bath and sighed. This was a luxury she hadn't enjoyed in years. The plop of slow bursting mud bubbles made her giggle. The job she'd had where a whole village had become a stinking swamp reminded her of this occasion. Getting dirty then had been an inconvenience. Now, it was an experience worth paying for. She grinned and that cracked the seaweed facial slathered over her face.

She peeked at Natsu laying in the bath next to her, his hair wrapped up in a towel. He was enjoying an intense hair conditioner. The mud came up to his neck and flecks of it dotted his hands, but for the most part, they were clean.

Natsu had discovered he could order a snack and had done so. Right now he was devouring what Lucy considered a feast. Humming, Lucy reached over to her own indulgence. A glass of sparkling wine made everything better.

"You should hold off on that, or at least not have too much." Natsu set down his plate. "If you're drunk we can't forge a mating bond."

Lucy sprayed the mouthful of alcohol all over her mud bath, choking and gasping. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Didn't we discuss this already?" Natsu went to scratch his head, the towel impeding him. Giving up, he furrowed his brows, looking at Lucy. "You're the decider, and you're in charge. Decisions have to be made with a clear head, and that means drunk Lucy doesn't get the 'd'."

Glad she hadn't taken another sip, Lucy just stared at Natsu. "What?"

Grinning like a loon, Natsu repeated himself. "Drunk Lucy doesn't get the 'd.'"

Icily calm Lucy narrowed her eyes and grit out between clenched teeth, "What am I deciding?" Her voice gained an octave. "And …what do you mean the 'd'?!"

"The 'd' is dragon." Natsu scooped the last piece of chicken off his plate and stripped the flesh off the bone. He chewed, setting the bone with the others and pushing the whole plate off to the side. "You get all of me when you tell me you're ready."

"And when were you going to tell me?" All it took was five minutes of relationship talk from Natsu to freak her out.

"I've been telling you this for a long time." Natsu looked a little defeated. "Maybe never so open about it, but you're a complicated person."

"Back-up." Lucy sat forward and shifted so she was kneeling. Her chest rose out of the mud. She looked at Natsu, how bizarre and surreal he appeared. Wearing a green face mask, a towel over his hair and muddy body. "I can't tell if you're being serious."

Natsu had been about to answer back, but words died in his throat. Lucy struggled out of her bath. It took all his will not to burst into flames. Lucy was naked in front of him. The mud covered all the pertinent bits, but still … she was so close and right there in front of him! Holy mother of all spirits, was she going to flaunt her nude body?

"We need to clean up and talk." Lucy looked back over her shoulder at her partner. "What're you waiting for?" She walked over to the far edge of her mud bath and stood on top one of two grids. She picked up a shower wand and pressed the button mounted to the stand between the two platforms. Warm water coursed over Lucy's body to reveal a bikini.

Natsu bit his lip. Shit. Seems like he should've listened to some of those spa instructions after all.

"C'mon, get cleaned up so we can talk."

"Uh, yeah … I just need another minute." Natsu shot Lucy his most disarming grin. "You go ahead, I'll meet up with you in our room, okay?"

"I guess," Lucy said, "I'm happy you're enjoying the pampering." She stepped off the rinsing platform and padded to one of the shower alcoves. "Don't take too long."

Once Lucy had closed the door, Natsu rose from the mud, using the station at the foot of his mud bath. He worked as fast as he could, wishing the water was cold - all the better to calm his nether regions. The rivulets of dirty water streaming down his legs turned clear. Natsu heard the door rattle from Lucy's shower and sprinted for his own.

Lucy emerged to see the pale flash of Natsu's ass just as he entered his washing cubicle. She snickered. Natsu was Natsu, and she wouldn't change a thing. His strange words about deciding, choosing and getting 'all of him' chased the amusement. Concern was foremost in her mind. Lucy shook her head. Later. There was time for everything later.

Natsu rushed through his shower and dressing. He sprinted up the stairs only to stand and wait in front of the door to the suite. He'd had the courage to prod Lucy while they were neck deep in mud. Now with time and opportunity to communicate … he was afraid. His life could only get better, right? Lucy had agreed she was his girlfriend. Lucy was going to be part of his life, she'd said and done things only a girlfriend would do. Hell, he himself had done and said things to her that only a boyfriend would do.

Natsu took a deep calming breath and let himself into the suite. A quick sniff revealed nobody was there other than Lucy. Natsu could hear pages flipping and Lucy's voice giving commentary on what she was reading. He smiled, he could do this! Just go into their room. Give Lucy what she'd asked for; hand-holding, honest communication, and commitment.

Natsu rubbed his suddenly cold hands and grit his teeth. It was a big scary step, but he was going to do his best. Lucy was worth any amount of risk.


Wendy giggled and considered the angles. She took aim, banking her shot off the garish cut-out Vulcan, sinking it into the cup with a gentle 'thwup'.

"I knew she'd win this hole." Charle shook her head pityingly at Happy. "Now that you've lost all your jewels, what are you going to do?"

"I'm a highly skilled exceed, I can earn more," said Happy, puffing out his chest. "We don't need money when we have fish."

"I lost my money too." Lily shrugged, "It's just a game."

"Sacrilege!" 'Erza' mock pouted. "All efforts are a battle, game or not."

"Well, I just play for fun." Wendy said, "This is such a nice mini-put golf course and perfect for a cute date!"

Happy grinned stupidly at Charle. Charle glanced at his beaming face and looked away, but not before he saw the pink dots of colour on her cheeks. Lily, 'Erza' and Wendy pretended not to notice. It was plain to see Charle was thawing to the blue exceed.

"Speaking of perfect dates." The red haired girl giggled in a most Mira-like way, "We should commemorate this one with a picture!"

"Be sure to capture my best side," Charle said.

Wendy covered her grin with her hand. Seemed like Charle was defrosting fast.

Happy was quick with his response. "Charle has no bad side! She's perfect!"

Lily considered his options. "Wendy, I wanted to buy something for Levy and Gajeel. Can you help me?"

"But what about the picture?"

He smirked, "Let 'Erza' take care of it." Lily rubbed his paws with glee. "Either as a natural born matchmaker or as the Titania. She's perfectly suited for that." In a lower tone of voice, "Did you want to be posed for the next hour?"

"You make cogent points!" Wendy nodded, "Let's cut and run!"

"Allow me," Lily patted Wendy on her shoulder and then turned around to face the rest of the group. "Excuse us, but I need Wendy's assistance with a purchase."

Quick with her wits, 'Erza' surveyed the scene. "Excellent. You may go." She turned to speak to Happy and Charle. "First order of business, to procure a camera. Then, Happy, you need a bit of grooming. Your fur hasn't seen a brush in a couple of days, huh?" 'Erza' continued with her list, words growing indistinct to Wendy and Lily as they ran away.


Levy pushed Gajeel ahead of her into the reception area of the spa attached to the Happy Fun Time Land Resort. "Quit your grizzling." She made a 'harrumph' of irritation. "You trying to make this a one and done? Sounds like you want to sleep alone tonight."

"I ain't gonna be able to do anything but sleep since the idiot Salamander can hear just as good as me." Gajeel rolled his eyes, glad Levy couldn't see his expression.

"We'll talk about this later then." Smiling at the attendant, Levy leaned on the counter and spoke to her. "We're here a bit late, but by any chance is George the photographer still here?"

"Let me see," The woman clad in a pink smock smiled back. "I'll just be a minute."

"Don't think I don't know you're making faces."

Gajeel did his best to make his expression neutral before turning to look his lover in the eyes. "This is the only one I got."

"Mmmm." Arms crossed and an impish smile on her face, Levy winked at Gajeel. "Relax, I'll make rushing over here worth it to you."

"Ghee hihi, now that's a proposition I can get behind if ya know what I mean." Gajeel tucked an errant curl behind Levy's ear. "Once we're back in Magnolia, you can go all out."

The attendant returned. "Massage room three is open, if you'll follow me?" Giving the couple a professional smile, she led them over and settled them into the room. "George will be with you shortly, please take the opportunity to put on one of the robes in the changing room. There's a choice of spa extras posted inside there." She backed out and waved, "Enjoy your treatments!"

"Thanks!" Levy chirped in reply. The door shut and she turned to her partner. "Once we're back in Magnolia I need to tell Jet and Droy."

Gajeel kept his lips pressed firmly together. He nodded, the choppy movement sending his hair flopping into his eyes.

"Looks like you're a fast learner." Levy reached up to pat his cheek. "So am I." She grinned and winked. "I'm looking forward to putting my book knowledge to use." Putting an extra wiggle into her steps, she sashayed to the change room. Over her shoulder, she gave one last parting shot. "Hope you have good sound proofing or your neighbours are going to hate you."

"You ain't that loud," Gajeel said.

"Not talking about me."

He grinned, anticipation in getting this mission over with rising up. It didn't matter to him one whit if they won the special spread. He'd already won what was most important to him; the love of his life.

George knocked on the door and then opened it. "Thanks for waiting. After the previous two sessions, I needed a bit of a break." He played with the strap of his camera. "Tim likes making my job harder. Doing three sessions of the same kinds of photos is a bit daunting."

Gajeel sat on a chair with his arms crossed, stony-eyed. Levy was cross-legged next to him, with a much more welcoming look. "It must be! Taking the exact same poses over and over must be boring too."

"Y-yeah." The photographer chuckled. "I get paid just the same, but I'd like for them to stand out from each other."

"That's what I was counting on." Levy sported a sly grin. "What if I gave Gajeel a back massage by walking on him?"

"That's a great idea!" Enthused, George crouched to examine Levy's feet. "Let's get a quick coat of polish on your toenails."

Less than happy with George touching Levy's feet, Gajeel couldn't restrain a growl low in his throat. "Let's both get pedicures. Our good buddy George can get pics of this too." Levy's blinding smile was all the reward the slayer needed. Happy he'd turned this to his advantage, Gajeel felt confident. Then he said something that made him question his sanity. "Let me paint 'em and you take pics of that too." He bared his teeth at George. "It'll be even more unique that way."

"Excellent suggestion!" George felt his heart try to leave his mouth. Gajeel was intimidating in his normal state. When he put in the effort, Gajeel was forbidding. The photographer worried he'd have to go change his underwear. "I think it would be even more spectacular if the manicurist was in the background of the shots. Showing that you choose to paint her nails." No way would Gajeel have the nerve to murder him if there was an extra witness.

"Suits me."

George read Gajeel's look as 'I can wait to kill you,' and heaved an internal sigh of relief. A stay of execution. "I'll just pop out to make the arrangements and I'll be back before you know it."

"You do that." Gajeel frowned at Levy once George had exited. "I knew I wouldn't like anyone touching you after we mated, but I didn't know I'd hate it this much."

"Anyone or just guys?"

"Heh, anyone who has the smarts to see how attractive you are."

"Same goes for you," Levy smiled sweetly. "Anyone who touches you with an ulterior motive gets no second chances with me."

They nodded at each other, achieving an understanding sure to last to the end of days.

"Here's Ginger!" George ushered in a short curvy woman ahead of him. He felt confident. These photos were going to be special if he lived to take them that is. Setting his camera took a moment and George began to give directions and snap lots of pictures. He created a story looking only through his lenses.

The Iron dragon slayer searched amongst the brightly hued polishes. He pulled a few selections forward, pushing the rejects back until only silver remained. Ginger settled Levy into an adjustable chair and worked on her hands. Gajeel sat on a stool and handled Levy's feet.

Once he got over the initial worry that he'd break either the stool or smash the tiny bottles of varnish, Gajeel enjoyed himself. After a few false starts of adjusting where her foot was, he took the opportunity to tickle Levy's arch. She thrashed in her seat, almost kicking him right in the face. His hands dwarfed her delicate feet. Gajeel learned quickly. By the time he reached the last toe of the first foot, there were no more 'oops' of extra varnish on the flesh of her toes.

Gajeel submitted to a quick foot rub from Ginger while Levy's nails dried. It had been on the tip of his tongue to refuse any pampering, but he'd given in to temptation.

Ginger gathered her equipment, exiting quietly. George pushed the tables closer together and manoeuvred a chair between them, using it to stand on the table. He checked out the camera angles and hopped down again. "This will be great! If you could remove the top half of your robe Gajeel, and lay on your stomach?" Speaking to Levy, George offered his hand. "Let me help you balance getting to the table, then the show is all yours."

"This is the dream of a lot of women, literally walking all over their man." She tittered and shushed Gajeel when he growled. "Wouldn't you expect Ever to do this to Elfman?"

"Heh, Ever would leave her spike heels on to do this to Elfman." Gajeel turned his head to better see Levy's bare feet and shapely calves. "There's no way you can hurt me, so have fun Shrimp." Smirking, he let his head rest on the padded table. He heard George clamber to the top of the other table and the whir of his camera.

Levy toed Gajeel's back, testing how it felt to apply pressure. He laid still and didn't even appear to feel her weight. Now with both feet on the small of his back, she held out her arms to help her balance. Walking a slow measured step, Levy made it to her partner's shoulders. Wriggling her toes, she dug with her left heel into his muscle there. That broke his silence. Levy grinned and did the same with her right heel. Slowly she turned then walked back and forth.

"That's enough," George said. 'There's no use in taking more of the same pictures. Tim might want them, but I know he'd never use the same poses in the magazine."

Levy stepped off and sat down next to Gajeel who levered himself upright. "Well, we did get here a bit late."

"Oh? I coulda sworn it was me lagging behind schedule. No matter." George adjusted his camera and smiled. "I'll see you guys tonight in the upscale restaurant with Tim."

Gajeel looked at Levy, "Oh joy."

Levy rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about him." She kissed Gajeel's cheek. "Worry about me," her voice dropped. "And my needs."

"I'll be leaving right now." George heard and felt Gajeel's growl. "Later!" He bolted past them, not calming until he was several up several flights of stairs. George felt better locked inside his room. He set his camera to recharge. Crawling under his blankets to take a nap, he planned to check the batch of spa photos after.


Natsu shut the door behind him and locked it. "Lucy?" Natsu hated the quaver in his voice. He wanted to sound strong like he was certain of his path and position in life. "Lucy, I want to talk."

Lucy began to giggle. "I kinda want to not talk if you know what I mean. I'm in the mood for more kisses." She set down the book she'd been reading. "What are you gonna do about it?" Lucy wiped her sweaty hands on her knees. "We're alone and I'm not drunk." The blonde smiled at Natsu, "What sort of 'd' can I have?"