*Violet's POV*

Falling asleep was easier said than done. I was no stranger to napping on trains, but this one in particular seemed bumpier than most. I almost understood why Natsu got so motion sick.

If nothing else, pretending to sleep discouraged Grey from trying to interact with me again. At least more than usual. I was sure I would never understand him. I shouldn't have been surprised that a Fairy would be disturbed by my lashings, but when he had touched me, right before I turned away, his disgust had been for me, not just my scars.

Several minutes passed as I pretended to sleep. Slowly, Grey began to relax, time washing our awkward interaction out of his system. At first I was worried that he would start to get antsy again as he had before. I knew that feeling his impatience would do nothing to help my nerves. But this time it didn't happen. I wondered if it was because he thought I was asleep. Perhaps his discomfort had always been because of the lack of conversation. But now that it wasn't expected...the feeling was gone? How strange.

As Grey settled into what he thought was solitude, I noticed another presence approaching. I diverted all my attention to it, trying to figure out if it was worth turning to watch, but as the presence got closer it became clear to me who it was. Clam, confident, never quite at ease. I could recognize her anywhere.

A moment later a voice confirmed my suspicion.

"Is she asleep?"

Grey jumped slightly. He hadn't noticed Erza approaching, thought as soon as he realized it was her, he relaxed.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well that might be for the best." Erza sighed.

A pang of guilt echoed in Grey's heart, though I wasn't sure why. He was holding something back, thought what it was, I couldn't be sure.

I heard Erza move into our little compartment, sitting in one of the seats across from us. "Just came over to check on you." she said, "I noticed that guy you scared off earlier, but I was dealing with Natsu."

I had to force myself to remain still at mention of his name, and then the subsequent thought that followed. What exactly did she mean by "dealing" with him? Before I had time to consider it, Grey spoke, drawing me back into the conversation.

"It was just some creep." he said.

"So no one she knew then," Erza said, suddenly relieved.

I hadn't even considered the prospect, though now that it had been brought to my attention I understood why it was Erza's go to answer. Perhaps it had been Grey's to when he had come over to send the man on his way.

They were silent for a moment, both thinking. I was careful to make my breathing look natural, in case I was the subject of any wondering eyes. A moment later Erza spoke again.

"I'm glad she's getting some sleep."

So she had been looking at me then.

"She didn't look so good when I was with her this morning."

And again there was a little pang of guilt from Grey. "Actually, there's something I have to tell you."

Erza's sudden interest mirrored my own.

"What is it?"

"I don't think she slept much last night."

So that was what he had been holding back. He felt guilty for not telling the others how I had deceived them. That meant I wouldn't be able to pull the same trick again tonight if they attempted to drug me again.

"Well I would think not," Erza said, "She spent a lot of it running around Magnolia on her own."

"I know," Grey said, "but I don't think she slept before that, or when we got back either."

"There's no way she could have fought the sleeping pills." Erza said, politely but clearly dismissing him.

"She didn't take them."

"What?"

"She told me that she didn't." Grey said, finally confessing.

Erza began to think immediately. "Well that explains why she's so tired but…"

Her unvoiced question hung in the air.

Why would she not want to sleep?

I struggled to look natural. If they found out I was eavesdropping now, not only would I have to deal with the shame of it, but I would be obligated to answer to my evasion of rest the night before.

If August had been there he would have understood. He wouldn't be happy about it, but he would at least know why. I wondered how he would defend me, and started to regret agreeing to go alone.

Minutes passed, and I wondered if Erza was going to leave soon, or if she planned to stay with us for the rest of the train ride. There was nothing in her emotions that could give me a definitive answer. I attempted scanning Grey. he knew her well enough, he might be able to predict what she'd do. But I found nothing. Instead I noticed something else, the general uneasiness that he seemed to experience whenever I wasn't making conversation didn't seem to exist during his silence with Erza.

What made her lack of conversation different than mine? Was it because they were friends? Because he trusted her? Did he even realize that he was doing it? Or was it all subconscious? There was no way for me to be sure.

"Can I ask you something?" Grey said.

Erza grunted in response, inviting him to continue.

"You spent all morning with Vi…" he seemed to be struggling for words. "Did you see what's on her back?"

My attention flipped over to Erza, searching for any scrap of information I could find, expecting an unclear answer. But this time she was direct. "So you saw them too then?"

Grey must have nodded, because Erza sighed.

"Does she know you know?" she asked.

Suddenly uncomfortable, I heard Grey shuffle to a new position next to me. "I asked her about them."

"And?"

"From her other guild. A punishment I guess."

The same disgust that Grey had met earlier filled Erza, but my thoughts were elsewhere. From her other guild. But that implied Grey counted me a member of his. Surely he had misspoken. I had no claim to Fairy Tail.

The conversation continued on before I had time to gather my thoughts on the matter.

"I can't believe they didn't get out of there sooner." Erza said. And there it was again. Pity, and then denial of pity, because she knew I didn't want it. Even when she didn't think I was awake to read her, she was conscious of what I would think of her thoughts. I wasn't sure what to do with such thorough consideration.

"That's the thing," Grey continued, again boiling up to something that was hard for him to describe, "I don't think she saw anything wrong with it."

"What do you mean?"

"She offered to hide them, to take her hair down...I reached out to stop her. I wasn't thinking, but then…"

He was much more upset by this than I'd originally thought. But I was confused as to why.

"You read her," Erza supplied.

"Right,"

"Was she mad."

"No," Grey said, "it was like she didn't care."

"Well that's good then right?" Erza said, "she let you in."

"It wasn't like that thought," Grey said, "she didn't care that I read her because she didn't care about the scars. And she wanted me to know that they didn't matter to her."

"Perhaps they don't." Erza said.

But her emotions don't match her words. She held the same disgust that Grey had when he'd thrown my hand aside. And then denial of that disgust. And then pity. And denial of pity.

Both of them seemed to agree.

Perhaps those scars don't matter to her.

But they should.