At breakfast, Gajeel studiously avoided meeting anyone's eyes. Gray asked him a couple times if something was wrong, but Gajeel just vaguely grunted in response. Lucy was itching to talk to him, and breakfast couldn't finish fast enough. When they were done with their meal, Erza began delegating responsibilities.

"Lucy, Gray, you both take the Eastern quadrant. Gajeel, you take the South. Natsu, Happy, and I will take the Western and the Northern quadrants. You are to gather groups of villagers and tell them that they have a week to pack their belongings. Inform them that the town will pay for new homes, and tents will be supplied in the interim. Should any resist, inform them that the town has Fairy Tail's support and the guild will use whatever means necessary to ensure this task is carried out smoothly. Am I understood?" she ordered.

The group snapped a collective "yes ma'am," minus Gajeel, who, again, made a noncommittal grunt.

"But Erza, can't I be with Lucy? We're normally a team!" Natsu groaned.

"Natsu, I am concerned you will find some way to set this town on fire, and that is the last thing we need right now. So you will be with me. That way, I can keep an eye on you. Do you have a problem with that?" Erza's voice got scary as she loomed over a petrified Natsu.

"No ma'am. No problem," he whimpered as Happy darted behind Natsu's legs, hiding from the terrifying mage.

"Good. Everyone, disperse. Meet back at the restaurant by noon to eat, and congregate at the Mayor's house by sunset." And with that, Erza turned on her heel, grabbed Natsu by the ear, and began pulling him away.

"See ya," Gajeel nodded briefly, before taking off in his assigned direction.

Gray watched him go, before shaking his head and muttering, "Odd guy." Then, looking at Lucy, he tipped his head. "Shall we?" he asked.

Nodding, Lucy began walking, keeping in line with Gray.

"So…" Gray drawled. "I noticed something on your neck at breakfast," he smirked.

Lucy's hand immediately flew up to her throat and her eyes widened in shock.

Fuck! The hickey, she panicked.

"Uh, bug bite. Spread into a rash," Lucy lied, hoping her voice didn't betray her.

Gray looked at her incredulously before laughing. "Kid, that lie may have worked on Natsu. Hell, it may have even worked on Erza. She's tough, but she's a prude. But me? Lucy, I have given and received more than enough hickeys to know what one looks like, so save it. Bug bite. Hmph," Gray scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, fine. It's a hickey. But don't bring it up and if anyone else asks, you have to back my story about it being a bug bite. Please, Gray! Just do this for me," Lucy begged.

"On one condition," Gray raised an eyebrow wickedly.

"Name it," Lucy sighed, knowing what the condition would be.

"You gotta tell me who gave it to you," he grinned.

Lucy had expected this. She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

Tell Gray, or risk everyone else finding out… Gray can keep a secret. I hope.

"Fine. Okay. But Gray, you need to promise me one thing. You cannot tell anyone. Please. Not a soul. It is very very important to me that you never talk about it, okay?" Lucy implored.

When Gray nodded sincerely, Lucy exhaled sharply. "Right. It's Gajeel," she rushed out.

"Gajeel?!" Gray looked genuinely shocked.

"Who else would you assume it was?! He was the only person I've been around for the last week! Why are you surprised?!" Lucy threw her hands up.

"I don't know! You went back early yesterday! I assumed you found someone in town. Maybe the Mayor's son. Had a kinky one night stand, and now wear the hickey with pride! I didn't think it was Gajeel!" Gray yelled back.

"Keep your voice down!" Lucy hissed. "Why are you so surprised?"

"It's just… He's your type?" Gray asked in a loud whisper. "I thought someone like… I don't, Hibiki. I thought Hibiki was your type. Or even Lyon. Hell, I'm more your type than Gajeel is!"

"Well, sorry I don't like vanilla boys," Lucy sneered.

Gray's face immediately became impassive. "I am not vanilla," he deadpanned.

"That's not the fucking point, Gray! Fine, I didn't think Gajeel was my type either, but turns out, he is. So… that's that," Lucy finished definitively.

"Is that why he was being so weird in the morning?" Gray asked, starting to walk again, lest Erza find out they were slacking on the job.

"I don't know… He got me coffee, and we were about to talk when you guys showed up."

"Oof, sorry. Didn't mean to cockblock," Gray said apologetically.

"It's fine," Lucy waved her hand. "It got weird after that, though. I don't know what's wrong."

"Eh, some guys are just weird about PDA and shit. Maybe he just doesn't want to seem affectionate or whatever in front of us," Gray suggested, shrugging.

Lucy sighed in response, before walking up to a door and knocking on it.

The next couple hours passed, following Erza's instructions to the T. As expected, Lucy and Gray were met with some amount of resistance, but after a little strong arming and some intimidating at the hands of Taurus, the villagers acquiesced. They had made it through half their quadrant when Gray looked up at the sky.

"Looks like it's about noon, huh?" he asked, squinting up at the sun. Lucy heard the faint sound of a stomach rumbling.

"Yeah, looks like. Hungry?" she laughed, gesturing for Gray to lead the way.

As they neared the restaurant, Lucy's hand suddenly went to her neck again.

"Fuck, I don't want them seeing this. I really don't want to be fielding any more questions today," she groaned.

"I said I'd back your bug bite story," Gray reminded her.

"Still. You go on ahead, I'll run back to the inn and grab a scarf."

Gray shook his head. "Nah, way too suspicious. Erza will definitely notice if you suddenly have a scarf on. Especially when it's so warm out. I can ice it and that should soothe it a little. It won't look as purple, and maybe it'll be harder to notice then," he offered.

"You think it'll work?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"Well," Gray said, gently cupping his hand over Lucy's neck, "it definitely won't make it worse."

A sudden cool washed over Lucy's throat, and she felt the bruise turn icy. The cold seeped into her, spreading through her body and making her shiver. Just as she thought the cold would become painful, Gray's palm slowly started to warm back up.

"You should be all-" Gray began.

"What's going on?" a deep, gravelly voice cut through.

Lucy whipped around to see Gajeel standing there, staring at the pair as Gray's hand delicately caressed Lucy's neck.

"Uh, Gray was just… Gray was…" Lucy stammered.

"Gray was icing a sunburn. Lucy got a little burnt around her neck and shoulder, so I was icing it before it began to itch," the Ice Mage smoothly lied.

"Right… Uh, okay, well. Headed to lunch?" Gajeel asked, not waiting for an answer before he began walking. Gray started to follow, but Lucy's hand shot out and grabbed him around the wrist. When he turned to look at her, she silently mouthed "Thank you," grateful that he hadn't let Gajeel know that he knew about them. For some reason, Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that Gajeel would not be happy with Gray being privy to this information.

The rest of the afternoon passed far less eventfully. Lucy and Gray diligently worked their way through the quadrant, with only the occasional question from Gray as to her relationship with Gajeel.

"So, are you guys, like… dating?"

"Uh, no. I mean, we haven't talked about it."

"Right. Okay."

A few more groups later…

"It's just sex then?"

"I think so? I don't know, Gray. We've only slept together once."

"But you said… I mean… You were together, alone, for a week."

"He didn't want to do anything in the Woods."

"Why?"

"He was worried."

"About?"

"Monsters."

"Really?"

"Gray!"

"Sorry."

Finally, after answering his questions, some of which Gray got a smack for, the pair realised they'd covered their entire quadrant. They had verbal assurances from everyone that they would move within the week, though Lucy was unsure how many villagers would finally comply.

"Mayor's house?" Gray asked.

"Mayor's house," Lucy confirmed.

Gajeel was standing by the front door of Mr and Mrs Jun's house, waiting for his guildmates. A weird spark of irritation shot through him when he saw Gray and Lucy approaching.

Does he need to walk that close to her? What's he trying to do? Superglue her to him? Gajeel thought irritatedly.

"Hey Gaj," Lucy called pleasantly. Her heart fluttered when she saw his eyes momentarily brighten and his scowl relax into what could have almost been a smile.

"Are Erza and Natsu-" Gray began asking when loud screams cut him off.

"Let me go, Erza! Fuck! What's wrong with you? That hurts! Damn it, Erza!"

The group turned to see Erza dragging Natsu towards them, with one hand fisted in his pink hair, while Happy nervously flew beside them.

"What did the flint stick do now?" Gray snorted.

"He threatened no less than twenty families that he'd set their house on fire if they didn't listen to him. And then he actually did set one house on fire," Erza snapped, glowering at the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"I wasn't trying to hurt them! The kid wanted to see what kind of magic I did, and so I was showing him! I didn't mean for the house to catch fire!" Natsu cried, swatting at Erza's hand. Reluctantly, she let him go.

"I have half a mind to handcuff you to a train and let you rot there," she threatened. "You will be on your best behaviour until we return to Fairy Tail. One toe out of line at the feast tonight and you'll wish you lived in the North Woods. No more fire. No more burning. No more breaking. Okay?"

Natsu scowled petulantly. "Okay," he mumbled.

Then, turning to the others, Erza asked, "Were you all able to convey the message to the villagers?" When the three nodded their affirmation, Erza gestured for Lucy to knock on Mayor Jun's door.

Later that evening, the Fairy Tail mages walked to the town square, where a lively party was underway. Criss-crossing strings of light filled the sky and happy music played from some corner. It was simple but warm.

"Sorry we couldn't arrange for something grander. Money's a bit tight, what with having to move the town and all," Mrs. Jun apologised, walking up to them.

"Not at all! This is lovely! Thank you so much, Mrs. Jun," Lucy said kindly.

"Here's your reward, Lucy. Thank you for everything you did for us. We are forever indebted to you."

Lucy felt a pull of affection for the gentle, kind woman and she stepped forward to embrace her. Their sweet moment was interrupted when a ravenous Natsu spotted the food table and took off charging towards it, breaking up the hug in the process.

With a laugh, Mrs. Jun stepped back. "Enjoy the feast! Please help yourselves to as much food and wine as you'd like, and in case we don't meet before the night is over, thank you once again, and I wish you the best of luck." Cupping Lucy's cheek, she smiled warmly at the girl before affectionately patting Gajeel's shoulder.

"I'm gonna go get some of that wine. Anyone want any?" Gray asked, walking off.

"Actually, Gajeel. Can we go somewhere and talk? It's about the reward," Lucy said slightly nervously.

"I'll go with Gray, then. See you back here in a bit?" Erza confirmed before following the Ice Mage.

Lucy wasn't sure where she was going, just that she was walking away from the crowd. Gajeel followed her in silence, not touching her or talking to her, but simply walking close behind. After wandering the streets for several minutes, Lucy found a low wall behind a row of houses. She jumped up onto the wall and patted the spot next to her. When Gajeel had situated himself comfortably, Lucy opened the envelope with the reward and began leafing through the notes.

Before she could finish counting, however, Gajeel's hand encased hers.

"I don't want any of the reward," he said softly.

Lucy looked up at him in shock. "No! No, no! I insist. You need to split this with me. We can split it 50-50, if you want, though I think you deserve more."

"I don't want it, Bunny girl. This was your job, you deserve the reward."

"I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you. Please, Gajeel. I don't feel right taking the whole thing. I want to share it with you. Please," she implored.

Gajeel sighed heavily. "Fine," he said, reaching for the wad of money. He deftly pulled out one 10 Jewel note and tucked it into his pocket. "I've taken my share. The rest is yours."

"Gajeel…" Lucy sighed.

"It was your job, Bunny. I crashed it. You deserve the reward. And me saving your ass? You don't need to pay me for that. I'm your guildmate, so it's my responsibility, and more importantly, I don't want anything happening to you. I didn't save your ass for purely noble reasons. I was being selfish because I couldn't handle seeing you hurt."

"But you did all the hard work," Lucy pouted.

"Lucy, even your idiotic, fire-breathing best friend could've kept you alive. We're not the ones who actually talked to the spirit, though. We didn't try and get to know it. If you'd left any one of us with the spirit, we'd probably kill it. But you solved the problem. You deserve the reward," Gajeel justified, stroking Lucy's cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Lucy caught his hand and pulled it to her lips, kissing his fingertips. "Thank you," she said, voice thick with emotion.

Gajeel gently held her chin and tilted her face towards his. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a soft, delicate, sweet kiss. Then, moving his arm to around her waist, he jumped off the wall, pulling Lucy down with him. Lucy wound her arms around his neck, and, bracing herself against the wall, lept up and wrapped her legs around his hips. They savoured every kiss, kissing slowly, deliberately, tasting each other's mouths, and feeling soft lips brush against soft lips. Lucy, ever so slightly, began grinding herself into Gajeel and the low growl that formed in the back of his throat mid-kiss told her he liked it. Lucy let her lips move from his mouth, across his now clean-shaven jaw, and down to his throat, where she inhaled his delicious smell. She sucked on his throat, reminding Gajeel of something.

"Hey, how's that sunburn?" he asked throatily as nipped on the skin between his throat and shoulder.

Before Lucy could respond, the couple heard her name ringing out. Lucy didn't have enough time to extricate herself, and so when Happy flew around the corner, he was greeted by the sight of two flushed and panting people, pressed together very intimately. Happy immediately clapped his hands over his eyes.

"Natsu was looking for you so I'll just tell him you're here kissing Gajeel," Happy stammered before quickly flying away.

"Wait, Happy, don't!" Lucy tried to no avail.

"Damn fucking cat. I miss Pantherlily. He'd never have been such a dumbass," Gajeel grumbled. "Wendy better be taking good care of him. Dealing with Happy really makes me appreciate Lily."

"How did you not smell him?" Lucy demanded.

"Uh, excuse me? There's this hot blonde with her legs wrapped around me, basically dry humping my dick, with her sexy little mouth on my throat. You really think I'm paying attention to much else?" Gajeel snapped back.

As mortified as Lucy was by Happy's sudden apperance, she couldn't help but giggle.

Well, guess the cat's out of the bag, Lucy snorted, pleased with her own joke. She knew she had to come clean about something else.

"Uh, Gaj…" she started tentatively, unwinding her legs and dropping to the ground. "I have a confession to make."

Gajeel eyed her suspiciously.

"I, uh… It wasn't on purpose, but… Gray saw the hickey. And he made me tell him who gave it to me. I wasn't sure if we were telling people yet, and I'm sorry if you didn't want him to know, there was just no way I could sidestep it!" she quickly explained.

Gajeel drew in a deep breath that he let out in a sharp exhale. "It's okay. Guess this was bound to happen at some point. I don't love the idea of everyone knowing, but not much we can do now, huh?" Gajeel shrugged.

"Also, I didn't have a sunburn. Gray was icing the hickey to make it less prominent," Lucy added.

Though slightly irritated, Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle at her strange confession. "Well, we can go back to the feast and deal with everyone, or…"

"Or we can go back to my room?" Lucy finished, eyes glinting wickedly.

"Nope. My room. Tonight's exactly the kind of night where Natsu will burst into your room demanding answers, but he won't come into my room." And with that, Gajeel picked Lucy up, slung her over his shoulder, and, at break-neck speed, navigated his way through the back alleys until they reached the inn. They slipped in, unnoticed, before making a beeline for Gajeel's room.

As Gajeel shut the door, Lucy made herself comfortable on his bed.

"This all feels so naughty and illicit," she giggled, amused by how secretive and covert they were being.

Gajeel turned to face her, pulling off his shirt. "We haven't gotten to the naughty part yet, baby," he purred, stalking up to a suddenly very wet Lucy.

A/N: So what're we thinking? Is there anything you want to see more of? I did get a couple reviews asking for some more kinky sex and stuff, and like, duh you'll get that. But we gotta build up to it. However, you should be getting a lot more smut from now on, mainly because I feel bad for not giving you any smut for like the first 12 chapters. Anyway, more drama coming your way. I have key events chalked out, I just do not yet know how I am getting to those events. Tbh been quite distracted by the other fic I'm writing (low-key plug) because it's a sequel to my absolute pride and joy fic, but I am trying to evenly divide my time between this one and that. As always, hit me with your thoughts, reviews, feedback, suggestions, etc!