A/N:

And the long-awaited GrayLu Weekends 2020 is here! I'm super stoked to be participating in such an event for the first time – I know I'm a late bloomer, but well, it's better late than never, right? I'm so excited to be able to do my part to keep the GrayLu love alive, even in 2020 :)

And here's my submission for the last day, Bonus – Day 5! I've worked with the prompts, which are quotes from the anime, and I hope you enjoy it! I will be posting a story each day based on either one of the prompts. They are all one-shots, and exist independently of each other. The other stories can be found under my alias!

As a side note, I realized that not everyone is aware of this year's GrayLu Weekend 2020 event. GrayLu Weekend 2020 is an event hosted by the Tumblr blog, grayluweekends, and will be running from 6 – 10 November 2020.

For those who are not fans of the GrayLu pairing, I've specifically stated in the story description that it's not for you if you're a hater of this ship. I would really appreciate it if you just avoid reading the story instead of leaving not-so-nice comments. Peace please! :)

And in the blink of an eye, this 5-day event is over. I'm kinda sad! But I'm happy that I managed to participate. I hope everyone enjoyed the ride, and here's an extra long piece to wrap it up!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Bonus Day - Day 5: The Truth and Nothing But The Truth

[Prompt] Gray: "He likes the whole package…she can be as hot-headed as Erza but she hides her pure heart."

"Say Levy-chan, did you think Gemini was telling the truth?" Lucy laid her head on her arms, staring sideways at her best friend.

The blue-haired mage scrunched her nose, nodding thoughtfully. "Well, based on Gemini's abilities… they can transform into anyone they have contact with, and when transformed, will be able to access the person's knowledge, magic, thoughts and memories. So that means that what they said must be true, because they have direct access to Gray's thoughts! It doesn't make any sense for them to make something up, especially since they were your enemy at that point in time."

Lucy's eyes glazed over as she recalled that particular scene that had been bothering her for the past few weeks. During their fight with Oracion Seis, she had faced off with Angel, a fellow celestial spirit mage who had owned Gemini's and Aries' keys then. She had summoned Gemini who transformed into Gray, and apparently, Gray's thoughts of her were…

"Gray's opinion on Lucy: Newcomer to the guild. Pretty damn cute. A little interested in her. More naïve than she looks. Stellar Spirit mage. He likes the whole package… She can be as hot-headed as Erza but she hides her pure heart."

Since that day, those words had been nagging at her the whole time. It had been almost three weeks since, and she still couldn't get it out of her head.

It wasn't that she was obsessing over the fact that Gray may actually be interested in her in that way – but she just really wanted to verify the truth of the matter! The speculation and uncertainty was killing her – even if it turned out to be false, or outdated news, she felt like she just needed to know.

"Ugh! I just wish I could get to know the true thoughts of people, Levy-chan. You know how sometimes people say one thing and mean another? Or they say something, but end the sentence with 'just kidding!', and you're not sure if they actually meant it? Man, I really wish I could somehow just make people say exactly what they mean, so I know that it's the truth for sure!" she complained.

"Actually…"

"Mmm?" Lucy perked up when she heard Levy's voice. Her friend sounded like she had something to say in response to her lament, and Levy was someone who somehow always manages to pluck a solution out of thin air.

"I may know of something that can make that happen, Lu-chan," she began carefully. She didn't want her best friend to rush into something impulsive, so she knew she had to be careful with choosing her words.

Lucy straightened immediately, looking way too interested for Levy's comfort. "What is it, Levy-chan?"

"Um…" Levy hesitated, but decided to just go ahead with it, wondering what's the worst that could happen. "While reading a new book on potions recently, I found out about a magic potion called a Truth Serum. It's basically a potion that makes people tell the truth, but only when you ask them a question."

"Only when I ask a question? So this means that if I don't ask them anything, they can still lie to me?" Lucy asked.

Levy responded with a nod. "Yep! So in normal conversations, they can still lie, but if you ask them a direct question, for example, whether they like a person, they would have no choice but to tell you the truth. If they try to lie, they will not be able to utter a sound. In any case, the potion will incline the recipients towards telling the truth."

Lucy's eyes widened considerably. Now, that was really starting to sound like the perfect solution to her woes. "Okay, and how can the Truth Serum be activated? If I want to use it on someone, does the person need to smell it or drink it or something?"

"The person would have to consume it somehow, whether in food or a drink. Only one drop is required for the spell to be activated. The good thing about this potion is that the spell will only work for the person administering the potion, meaning if you're the one putting the Truth Serum into my drink, I will be forced to tell only you the truth, while I can still lie to others. However, the spell will only last for 24 hours, so you'd have to ask all your questions within that timespan before it wears off. And I don't think anyone will fall for it a second time."

"Alright!" Lucy punched the air in excitement. "That sounds perfect! It's exactly what I need. I just need to give Gray a drop of the potion somehow, ask him whether what Gemini said was true, and then the entire problem will be solved! Oh Levy-chan, you're an absolute genius. Do you know where I can find the Truth Serum?" she grinned brightly at her friend.

Levy returned Lucy's smile with one of her own. "Surprisingly, it's not that hard to find. You can probably get some at the Potions Shop in town, but be prepared to spend, I guess."

"Awesome! Well, I did earn quite a bit this month, so I think I can afford to splurge a little for the sake of my sanity." Lucy stood up, adjusting her skirt and grabbing her belongings from the table, intending to leave the guild hall immediately.

Just then, Levy thought of something. "Oh Lucy! Be careful though."

That earned her a curious look from the blonde mage. "Hmm? Of what?"

"Be careful not to ask things that you don't want to know. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss," said Levy.

Lucy paused, thinking on Levy's words. Her friend had a point. Well, she just had to make sure to plan her questions out, and not ask any on the spur of the moment. That, she can definitely do. "Got it, Levy-chan. Thank you once again, you're the best! I'll catch you tomorrow!"

Lucy waved enthusiastically as she bade her friend farewell, walking out of the guild hall humming happily to herself.

"15,000 JEWELS? You can't be serious, that's a fifth of my rent!" Lucy exclaimed, as she stood in front of the owner of the Potions Shop, trying to haggle over the price of the Truth Serum. "And the bottle looks really small…"

She had found the potion that she wanted easily enough – she had merely walked into the shop, asked for the Truth Serum, and the owner had simply plucked it off a shelf behind her. It seemed like it was quite a popular product, as there was only one last bottle remaining, and apparently new stock won't be arriving for the next three months at least. Lucy was super thankful that she had managed to snag the last bottle, but she didn't expect that tiny vial of liquid to cost that much.

"Well, it does take a considerable amount of time to brew and cast all the required spells upon this serum," the middle-aged storekeeper explained patiently, her eyes creasing as she smiled knowingly at Lucy. "And of course, as you already know, its properties are indeed valuable. Many people desire what this potion can do, and I can assure you that if you don't buy it today, it will be gone by tomorrow."

Lucy frowned as she stared hard at the small bottle sitting on the counter. Was getting to the bottom of what Gemini said really that important to her? Did she really have to know if it was the truth? Perhaps if she just gave it some time, she would completely forget about it.

Actually, no – she knew herself. She knew there was no way she could simply forget about this and pretend nothing had happened. It was even worse because Gray was in her team, and they spend so much time together on a regular basis. Even though it's been three weeks, every time she looked at Gray, it would all come rushing back to her. She had to know.

She reluctantly reached for her purse, and took out the exact amount of money required to pay for the potion. "Here's 15,000 jewels exactly," she mumbled.

The shopkeeper took it and placed it in a money pouch under the counter. Turning around to take hold of a box, she placed the small vial gently into it, making sure it was safely ensconced within soft cushions for protection. Tying a ribbon around the box neatly, she handed it over to Lucy, giving her some last instructions.

"Remember, one drop is more than enough. If you use too much at once, the person might end up saying truths of his or her own accord, without you asking any questions. That might result in some unwanted consequences. Also, the effect will only last for 24 hours. You can apply another drop once the 24-hour period is over, but if you add more drops within the same time period, then the earlier effect I mentioned would likely happen. Other than that, I trust that it will serve you well," she ended with a bright gleam in her eye. "And don't ask things you don't wish to know!"

Lucy gave the lady a sheepish smile as she nodded, giving a small wave in farewell. Turning to leave the shop, she sighed as she looked down at the nicely-wrapped box. "This had better be worth it," she muttered to herself as she made her way home. It was time to commence: Operation Revelation.

Lucy decided that it would be wise to first test the Truth Serum out before trying it on Gray. She didn't want to jump the gun and find out that it didn't work by accident! She realised that a major drawback of the potion is that the intended recipient would remember everything in its entirety – so if the potion were to fail, Gray would remember all the questions that she asked, and if her first question was about what Gemini said… she would never live it down, ever.

She had quickly called Levy up once she had gotten home, and her intellectual friend had agreed with her suggestion, giving her the idea of baking some cupcakes to bring to the guild the next day. Lucy got to work immediately, her cosy apartment filling with the delicious aroma of chocolate chip, cinnamon and strawberry cream cupcakes baking in the oven.

When done, Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, staring at the tray of cupcakes sitting innocently on her kitchen table. "I guess… I should first try it on myself, right? I don't want to end up poisoning anyone by accident," she mused to herself. Coming to a decision, she flipped through her keyring before settling on one. "Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

A bright glow lit up the little room before the pink-haired spirit appeared in her signature maid outfit. "Princess, is it time for my punishment?" she intoned, straight-faced.

"No, Virgo, I don't have anything to punish you for," Lucy replied, exasperated. "But there is something you can help me with!"

Virgo walked over, with a curious look on her face. "Do you need me to help you finish these cupcakes?" She reached out and took a strawberry cream cupcake, ready to pop it into her mouth once she received a go-ahead.

Lucy quickly grabbed the cupcake out of Virgo's hands, placing it back on the baking tray. "No! So actually, I have this Truth Serum that I want to test out on myself," she explained. "I'm going to drop one drop of the potion onto a cupcake and eat it, and then I want you to ask me a few questions. I'll try and lie, and we'll see if this potion indeed works like it should!"

Virgo nodded, and watched as Lucy proceeded to take the dropper out of the vial of serum, allowing one small drop to land onto a cupcake. The moist cake immediately absorbed the potion, leaving no traces of any additional ingredient whatsoever. Lucy hummed in approval, happy that nobody would be able to tell that a special potion had been added to the dessert. Picking it up, she opened her mouth and took a big bite, making sure to bite into where she dripped the potion.

A few moments passed in silence, as the two girls stared at each other, unsure of what to expect. The shopkeeper hadn't warned Lucy of any side effects of the potion taking place, other than the consequences of an overdose, so she decided to just give it a few extra minutes to kick in. Finally, she gave Virgo a firm nod. "Okay, Virgo, ask me some questions."

The spirit thought for a moment, before opening her mouth, "Princess, do you want to punish me?"

"No, I don't, and I wish you would stop asking me that, Virgo. I don't want to inflict punishment on anyone, and especially not on my spirits," responded Lucy. Her eyes widened slightly, as her hand flew to cover her mouth. Granted, that was her true sentiment and she had never tried to lie about it, but that came out more honestly than she typically would have phrased it. But one question wasn't enough – she had to be asked something that she would want to lie about.

"Ask me another question, Virgo, something that you think I would lie about," she requested.

Thinking slightly harder as Lucy looked on expectantly, a question came to her. "Princess, would you like Gray-sama to punish you?"

Lucy almost choked on her own saliva as her eyes bulged out of sockets. Immediately, her mouth opened to vehemently refute that preposterous question, but as hard as she tried, not a single sound came out of her mouth. Her wide brown eyes met Virgo's cerulean blue orbs, and Lucy froze in shock as a bright red blush started to appear on her cheeks. What in the world…

"Y-yes!" she finally managed to squeak out. WHAT! She definitely didn't intend to say that, but for some reason, she felt a mental nudge, and the word 'yes' kept popping up in her head, completely unbidden.

"Would you like me to relay the message to Gray-sama, Princess?" Virgo asked helpfully.

"NO!" shouted Lucy. "Virgo, you can go back now!" She waved her hands frantically, force-closing Virgo's gate in a flash of gold light. Clutching her hand to her chest, she took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself and calm her racing heart.

What in the world had just happened?! Why couldn't she respond to Virgo's question properly? Levy had mentioned that if a person tried to lie under the influence of the Truth Serum, they wouldn't be able to utter a sound. So this means… she was trying to lie when she wanted to answer 'no' to Virgo's question? Then that would make sense, since she managed to reply when she said 'yes'. And also, why did the word 'yes' keep showing up in her head? Was this what Levy had meant when she said that the potion would incline the recipients towards telling the truth? Oh, dear stars, did she honestly want Gray to punish her?

She closed her eyes and groaned aloud in frustration, confusion and embarrassment. While she now knew that her money was well-spent and the potion indeed worked as it should, she was sincerely hoping that Virgo would keep her lips sealed and not breathe a single word to Loke, otherwise she would be completely screwed.

Stepping into the guild hall quietly, Lucy's grip on her container of cupcakes tightened as she looked around nervously, trying to catch a glimpse of Levy. After the successful test yesterday on herself, she told Levy that she would be bringing the cupcakes today to test it out on a few more unsuspecting victims.

They had decided to try the potion out on three pre-selected members: Gajeel, Elfman and Carla. These three were selected based on how tight-lipped and/or shy they typically were, especially when it came to affairs of the heart. There was no point in trying the potion out on people who had no qualms about saying the truth on a normal basis anyway.

Spotting her blue-haired best friend with her nose buried in a book – nothing new – she scurried over. "Hey Levy-chan!" she greeted in a whisper.

Levy's hazel eyes peered out curiously from behind her red glasses, over the huge tome that she was reading. Recognition appeared in her orbs as she noticed the blonde mage smiling at her. She quickly closed the book and put it aside as she took off her glasses. "Lu-chan! There you are, I was wondering when you'd finally get here."

"Sorry for being late, I was busy applying the drops of serum and arranging the cupcakes properly so that I won't be confused about which has the potion and which doesn't," apologised Lucy. Placing the container of cupcakes in front of her, she removed the lid. She turned the container towards Levy, and pointed at the first row of cupcakes.

"Here, I've arranged the cupcakes such that the first row are all the ones with the potion. I baked three flavours – chocolate, cinnamon and strawberry cream, so you can take whichever flavour Gajeel likes and give it to him. If someone asks for a cupcake, just make sure you avoid taking a cupcake from the first row. Have you thought of your questions to ask him?" asked Lucy.

Levy shook her head bashfully, pink colouring her cheeks. "Um… I do have a question I want to ask, but I don't really want to be the one asking. Can you help me ask him instead, Lu-chan?" she asked with pleading eyes.

Lucy cocked her head to the side. "Sure, what is it?" Levy leaned in to whisper her question shyly. As Lucy listened, a cheeky grin spread across her face.

"Hey Gajeel!" Just then, the metal dragon slayer happened to saunter into the guild hall, walking past their table, so Lucy quickly called his name to catch his attention. "Gajeel, are you hungry?"

"Hmm?" The grumpy dragon slayer turned to look at the two girls, with an eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Hungry? Why, do you have spare utensils that you want to get rid of?" he asked.

Lucy rolled her eyes at his cynicism. "No, but I baked some cupcakes yesterday and I thought that perhaps you might like one?" she offered with a smile.

He perked up immediately. "Gihi! Why didn't you say so earlier?" He trudged over, plonking himself down on the bench beside Levy. He raised an arm, intending to help himself, but Levy quickly stopped him.

"Wait! Let me take it out for you. We still want to keep the rest clean for other members." She carefully selected a chocolate cupcake from the first row, and handed it over to Gajeel. "Here, this one is for you," she told him sweetly.

"Heh, thanks shrimp," he thanked her with a grin, which made a vein pop on her forehead at his nickname for her. Peeling away the cupcake liner, he promptly popped it whole into his mouth, bits of crumb falling onto the table as he chewed on the moist cake happily.

"Yo, Bunny Girl, this is actually pretty good. I want more," he declared, already eyeing his next cupcake. "I want that one!" he told her, pointing at a cinnamon one this time.

Lucy wagged a finger at him, denying him of his request. "Nope, no more for you! I have a question for you though. If you answer me, I might consider giving you another one." She followed up with a sly smile.

An iron-studded eyebrow rose. "What do you want?"

"Are you interested in any girls in the guild?" she asked sweetly, her smile morphing into a crafty smirk.

Gajeel immediately recoiled, with 100% intention to bark out a loud 'No!', when his voice failed him. As much effort as he put into trying to force a sound out of his throat, he just somehow simply couldn't form the word 'no'. No matter how strong his willpower was, it was just not happening.

Other variations of his intended answer also failed – 'Definitely not', 'Never', 'No way', 'Maybe', 'Impossible', 'Everyone sucks', 'Over my dead body' – they all came out as breaths of air. Gajeel sat back in shocked (and imposed) silence, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Finally, he decided to try something else. And finally… "Yes." His red eyes almost popped out of their sockets as his mind was literally blown. After almost five minutes of trying to force his throat to make a sound, his first word was uttered – and it was the complete opposite of what he wanted to say.

Lucy was almost in tears by now, having watched a series of expressions form on Gajeel's face, starting with surprise, confusion, annoyance, anger, and now – pure shock. This Truth Serum was amazing! Behind her, Levy's eyes were wide with surprise, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Lucy was quick to react, following up with her next question. "Is it Levy?" she quickly asked, pointing a finger at her blue-haired best friend. Levy's cheeks, which were already pink, turned into a bright red.

Gajeel looked like he was choking, his eyes still bulging, his face turning red and his mouth opening and closing repeatedly like a fish struggling to breathe out of water. He was evidently trying his hardest to lie, but thanks to the Truth Serum, not a peep was coming out of his mouth. Lucy almost felt bad for putting him through this, but this turned out to be way more fun than expected and all semblance of guilt dissipated straight away.

"Nngghhaa-aaye," he finally managed to croak out. Both his and Levy's faces turned a brilliant shade of bright red, with steam almost coming out of the latter's ears. Lucy burst out into loud peals of laughter, unable to control her amusement anymore as Gajeel picked up Happy's pet phrase.

The iron dragon slayer stood up abruptly, his fists clenched tightly as he glared at the snickering blonde, looking like he was about to shoot his Iron Dragon's Club at her. "I don't know what you did, but you! I'm going to get back at you for this, Bunny Girl!" he yelled, stomping off in a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

Wiping away her tears from laughing, Lucy turned to Levy. "So? Happy now?" she asked.

Levy giggled as her hazel eyes sparkled with delight. "Yes! Success!" Snorting, the two girls promptly burst into a fresh bout of laughter.

"Go on, he's just there. You had better do it before Lisanna or Mirajane joins him at the table!" Levy whispered to Lucy, nudging her in the direction of where a certain big, buff Takeover mage sat.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lucy whispered back to the script mage, somewhat nervous at how he would react. When she was met with a definite nod, she sighed and took a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes…" she muttered to herself as she carried her little container of cupcakes and walked over to where Elfman was chugging down a mug of beer alone.

"Hey Elfman! What's up?" Lucy greeted the white-haired mage cheerily, her previous nervousness no longer present. She was a good actress when she needed to be one.

His eyes came to meet hers as he turned towards her with a friendly smile. "Hey Lucy. Nothing much, just taking a break to have a cold beer like a real man. How about yourself?"

She placed the container on the table, in between them. "I baked some cupcakes yesterday, and brought some to the guild to share. Are you hungry? Would you like one? I've got some cinnamon ones which might go well with your beer," she offered.

"Alright! What a manly offer! Real men love desserts! I'm going to be a man and take you up on your offer right now, Lucy!" he boomed, making Lucy shrink away slightly. Did he have to shout?! His loud voice was going to burst her eardrums!

"Heh… you don't have to be so excited, Elfman," she said with a grimace. Opening the container, she carefully selected a cinnamon cupcake from the first row, and handed it to him. "Here you go! I hope it tastes good!"

He grinned, his eyes lighting up with joy. Quickly tearing away the cupcake liner, he also popped the cupcake into his mouth in its entirety. Lucy sweat-dropped as she watched, wondering why guys couldn't eat with a little more grace. It suddenly seemed like a bit of a waste for her to put in so much effort to bake the cupcakes while these guys finished them off within a few seconds.

After he finished chewing and swallowed, she seized the moment. "Was it good?" she ventured.

Elfman nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Lucy, you're a true man! Your baking is very manly and I want more!" Lucy wondered where in the world he learnt his complimenting skills from, but alright, she'd just take it. Since he had ingested the potion, it would mean whatever he's saying was the truth, and that her baking was indeed… manly. Whatever that meant.

"Aww, that's awfully sweet of you, thank you. Anyway, don't you think Evergreen looks really good in that new dress of hers?" Lucy slipped in the question that she had been intending to ask all along.

Turning to the bar where the Thunder God Tribe were currently sitting, his eyes widened as he caught sight of the honey brunette. She was clad in an emerald green bodycon mini dress, held up with skinny spaghetti straps and featured a plunging neckline down the front, showing off her generous cleavage. The deep green contrasted extremely well with her light brown hair, accentuating her curves and bringing out her fair skin at the same time. She looked pretty delicious, if one should ask Lucy, and it seemed Elfman concurred.

"Y-yeah… Evergreen looks as delicious as Lucy's cupcake," he mumbled. Although unfortunately for him, his concept of mumbling was often just speaking in rather loud tones, a notch below his usual booming volume.

Lucy tried her best to hold back a giggle as she saw the entire Thunder God Tribe, Laxus included, turn slowly to look in their direction, ostensibly looking for the person who uttered that statement.

"Excuse me?" Evergreen asked shrilly, his eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

Elfman immediately froze, his earlier bravado evaporating instantly. "No-nothing!" He quickly turned back to the table, grabbing his mug of beer and downing the rest of its contents in one shot.

Lucy felt a little bad now, for similarly putting Elfman in a tight spot, but to be fair, she was just helping all these guys to pursue their love interests! Without her Truth Serum, who knew how long it would take them to gather enough courage to even express a bit of their fondness for their crushes, right? She was doing them a favour!

"Say Elfman," she whispered conspiratorially. "If you were to ask Evergreen out, how would you ask her?" She had snuck a glance at the honey brunette before asking the question, making sure that the fairy mage was still glaring at Elfman and trying to listen in on their conversation.

He looked at Lucy with a horrified expression on his face. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but no sound came out of it. She gave him a knowing smirk, aware that he was trying to lie, but the potion was preventing him from doing so. She could tell that he was also fighting the urge to tell the truth, but it seemed like the spell was more powerful than his willpower, because he finally said, although very haltingly, "I-I would bring her to the Ma-Magnolia Botanic Gardens, and set up fairy lights all around, and prepare a picnic for her. Then I would tell her that she's the most b-b-beautiful fairy in the world and ask if she would like to go out with m-me."

Lucy grinned mischievously at him, meeting his gaze of fear with one of excitement. "And who are we talking about here?" she probed. Oh boy, he might hate her after this but she had come too far to stop now.

She could see beads of cold sweat form on Elfman's brows and upper lip. His hands were also starting to sweat, as he nervously wiped them on his pants. This was his moment of truth! His previous statement had caught Evergreen's attention, and the fairy mage had also overheard Lucy's last question.

Unable to fight the effects of the spell, Elfman shut his eyes tightly as he resigned himself to his fate. "E-e-ever-g-green."

"Oh, that's so sweet! I hope you manage to do that soon, and I wish you all the best!" Lucy chirped, closing her container of cupcakes and standing up. She grabbed her stuff and quickly turned to escape the situation, having completed her mission and afraid that a beast would suddenly attack her. She held back a laugh as she heard Evergreen stomping over in her heels to the poor Takeover mage.

Running back to Levy, she let out a loud whoop and high-fived the blue-haired mage, celebrating the success of their previous two experiments thus far. Levy had seen everything from a few tables away, and they snickered as they joked about both Gajeel and Elfman's reactions.

Suddenly, the lid of the cupcake container flew off, and a wrinkled, old hand reached in to grab a strawberry cream cupcake from the first row. The two girls saw it happen from the peripheral of their eyes, but before they could react, the cupcake had disappeared into the recesses of their master's mouth. Master Makarov stood on the table with his arms waving in delight, chomping happily on the delicious homemade cupcake, unaware of the looks of horror that crossed both Lucy's and Levy's faces.

"M-m-master?!" cried Levy, not knowing what to do next.

Lucy groaned as she covered her eyes with her hands. This was definitely unplanned! Their last victim was supposed to be Carla, the Exceed, and their mission was to find out what she truly felt about Happy – not Master Makarov!

Now that their master had accidentally ingested the potion, they had to make sure he was kept protected from everybody for the next 24 hours – in case someone asked him something that was meant to be private and confidential and he ended up spilling secret information unintentionally. This made things a whole lot more complicated…

"Master, how's the cupcake? Is it tasty?" Lucy asked, peeking through her fingers.

Master Makarov jumped around in affirmation – oddly sprightly for someone that old. "Yes! Lucy, you are indeed talented in the kitchen. Any boy would be lucky to have you as his wife!"

Lucy exchanged a wary glance with Levy. What in the world?

"Why, thank you Master, that's a very sweet thing to say," she began. However, he was not done answering yet.

"Especially looking like that, Lucy! I have to say, I completely agree with your celestial spirit, Taurus! Any man would be happy with a wife with such a hot body!" He grinned cheekily, sniggering to himself as though Lucy herself wasn't standing there, glaring at him.

"Oh dear," muttered Levy, scratching her head sheepishly. Turning to the container and intending to reseal it, she let out a loud gasp. "Lu-chan! Master ate three cupcakes!"

The blonde whipped her head around so fast that she almost sprained her neck. "WHAT?! WHEN? HOW?" she shrieked.

"I have no idea, he must have grabbed a few when he opened the container," she answered helplessly. So this was why Master Makarov's mouth was completely uncontrollable!

"You know," they heard Master Makarov start speaking again. "I think I shall announce today that the new dress code for Fairy Tail will be swim wear! And for all new future members, they will need to audition with a gravure photoshoot!" he declared with his arms crossed and a determined expression on his face. "We should set good examples first by getting existing members to do it. Starting with…" he squinted as his eyes roved around the guild hall.

A look of alarm crossed both the girls' faces, and Levy quickly casted a spell over him. "Solid Script: Silence!" All sound coming out of Master Makarov's mouth was immediately silenced, despite his mouth still moving actively to form words.

"Hey Levy-chan, this is an emergency. We've got to get Master to Mirajane and ask her for help to keep him locked away in the medical room!" Lucy cried in exasperation, on the verge of pulling her hair out.

Her suggestion was met with a quick nod from her friend. "Go get Mira, Lu-chan, I'll keep Master Makarov here!"

"Mira! Help! We need help, now!"

Lucy sighed tiredly as she trudged home slowly, little Plue dancing along beside her. It had been an eventful day to say the least, no thanks to the Truth Serum!

Earlier on, they had managed to enlist Mirajane's help in containing the situation that was their closet lecherous master, and with an effective punch by the famous gravure model herself, Master Makarov was successfully knocked out before he could spill any guild secrets or say any other potentially disastrous things.

The Strauss sisters, Mirajane and Lisanna, had agreed to bring the unconscious master home, which both Lucy and Levy were immensely grateful for. Elfman was nowhere to be seen when they had left the guild hall, the last of him apparently being seen to have been dragged away by the ear by Evergreen.

Well, she certainly hoped that ended well, thought Lucy as she giggled to herself. Especially since Evergreen now knew that Elfman thought she was as delicious as a cupcake.

Remembering her original intention of buying the potion, Lucy let out another sigh. Granted, the earlier experiments had been successful, but she now had to think of how to get the cupcakes over to Gray – so that she can finally put it to its actual use! She was no closer to finding out if what Gemini said was the truth.

Unlocking her door, she entered her apartment and bent over to take off her shoes. Her plan was to take a nice, long bath to wash away all the fatigue from the day. Switching the lights on as she hummed to herself, she was greeted by the last person she had expected to see – "So you're finally home, Lucy?" a husky baritone sounded across the room.

She dropped her keys in shock. "G-Gray?! What are you doing here?" She gulped and quickly hid the container of cupcakes behind her back by reflex. On hindsight, she realised it was stupid of her because the whole point was to give him one.

The ice mage got off the couch and stretched languidly, his shirt haphazardly thrown on the floor. Yawning, he rolled his neck to get rid of cricks, and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "I've been here all day. I wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a mission, but you were already gone by the time I came so I decided to wait. But you took so long that I fell asleep on the couch."

He took a couple of steps towards her, before noticing that she was hiding something behind her back. "What's that in your hands, Lucy?" he asked, curious.

"N-nothing!" she squeaked, taking a step back. Her nervousness gave her away, as Gray's face lit up with a mischievous smirk.

"Let me see, Lucy!"

"NO!"

He lunged towards her, but her small stature gave her an advantage as she managed to slip under his arm and run past him into the kitchen. She laughed as he grunted in irritation, turning her head to stick her tongue out at him.

A moment later, she came to an abrupt stop as she found her feet suddenly encased in ice, making her lose her balance and fall over with a yelp. "Ouch! You cheated, Gray!"

He kept his signature smirk on his face as he stalked towards her, navy eyes lighting up in glee. "We didn't set any rules, so this is entirely fair." Squatting down beside her, he reached over and grabbed the container out of her hands, patting her head lightly in consolation.

Peeling the lid off, he opened it to realise that it contained cupcakes. Strangely, it seemed like he was completely unimpressed and even a tad disappointed.

"Eh? Why do you not look excited? I thought you liked my cupcakes?" Lucy asked, confused at his reaction.

He replaced the lid and shrugged. "Well, I've already had five today while waiting for you to get back. There was a tray in the kitchen, so I just helped myself to them."

Lucy's jaw dropped. That tray of cupcakes… were the leftovers from this morning. In her haste to reach the guild hall on time to meet Levy, she had only packed what could fit into her container, leaving the rest in the kitchen to be cleared away when she got back. The bad (or good, for Lucy) thing was that every cupcake in the tray had the Truth Serum added to it.

Essentially, Gray had ingested five drops of the Truth Serum. Which made him a walking truth machine.

"Oh," was all she could come up with. Her brain went into overdrive, with so many questions flashing through her mind that she didn't know where to begin. Okay actually, she first wanted to be freed from his ice! "Ahem, Gray, some help here, please?" She looked pointedly at him, before directing her gaze to her feet.

That stupid smirk morphed into a cheeky grin as he waved a hand carelessly, melting the ice into the carpeted floor. "Don't worry, it'll dry," he was quick to add, before she began her barrage of nagging.

Getting off the floor, she dusted her clothes off, eyeing the ice mage closely. Should she just dive right in? No point beating around the bush right? She had been waiting all day for this moment and there was no reason for her to prolong it any more.

She walked past him into the kitchen, and sensing him following right behind her, she decided to just go for it.

"Hey Gray, you know about Gemini's powers right?" she asked, while busying herself around the kitchen, pretending like she was simply engaging in a casual conversation. He walked in (still topless), and took a seat at her kitchen table, placing his head lazily on a raised elbow.

"Yeah, you mean their ability to transform into someone else?" he replied.

She nodded, before continuing, "Yep! Did you also know that they actually gain the knowledge, magic, recent thoughts and memories of the person they transform into?"

Gray's eyes followed Lucy absentmindedly as she moved around the small space. Although he had technically come over to her apartment without her invitation or permission, the team was so used to it that they didn't even think twice about popping by. Even as he watched Lucy pack her cupcakes and baking tools away, he already knew which cupboard or drawer she would be opening next before she even reached it.

He hummed to himself before answering. "Yeah that's how they imitate people's magic right? I think you've told us that before."

"Well, when I was fighting Angel from Oracion Seis, she summoned Gemini and they turned into you."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? So they managed to use Ice Make magic too? That's pretty dope," he commented, his usual smirk appearing on his face. However, realisation soon dawned upon him. "Wait, so they gained my thoughts and memories? Did they say anything?" He perked up in slight worry.

Lucy looked over at him, trying to read his facial expression. "What's up? Do you have something to tell me?" she probed.

He looked away sheepishly, which definitely piqued Lucy's curiosity. "Well… I didn't mean it…"

"You… didn't mean what exactly?" Lucy's eyes widened – was this his answer? His honest answer? So what Gemini said was a lie? Wait, but how did that make any sense? "What is it, Gray?"

Shifting his gaze back to meet hers, he raised a hand to rub the back of his head with guilt. "I read all of your novel drafts," he confessed. "But that was only because as usual, I was waiting for you here and you took too long to get home so I got bored!"

Gray saw Lucy's magic aura visibly grow around her as she realised what he was saying, and quickly tried to save his own hide. "I promise I won't tell a single soul about what happens next! The drafts were really good though, Lucy, you are very talented," he gushed. "But my lips are totally sealed. Nobody will be able to squeeze a peep out of me even if they held me at knife point!"

Lucy wiped her hands on a tea towel, and started taking quiet steps towards him. Her eyes never left his, and he gulped as he saw a real threat of being skinned alive in her eyes. He slipped off the stool he had been sitting on, and without further thought, his mouth opened as he slowly backed away.

"Also, your cupcakes were very tasty – did you know you're also a very talented baker? I always look forward to the days that you decide to bake or cook a meal for the team. If I had a choice, I would want to eat your cooking everyday." Wait, what was he saying? Yes, it was what he had thought before, but why was he telling her all these?

Lucy didn't stop advancing towards him, so his mouth decided to continue its random spouting of things he thought but didn't actually want to reveal. "You look very pretty today, Lucy. Blue really suits you, it brings out the colour of your hair, and it's also my favourite colour." Oh no.

"I know you aren't really angry at me, right, Lucy? You always stomp around looking angry and yelling at us, but yet you still let us in your place all the time, you still go out of the way for us, and you forgive us right away. You're such a kind-hearted person, and that's really one of the things I love the most about you." Please, someone please, just kill him right now. Natsu, that flame-brained idiot, where was he when he needed him the most?

"Please, Lucy, I only did it because I'm interested in you, and I like everything that you do. I like your whole package. I'm sorry for doing it behind your back, and I promise I won't do it again!" Shit. Okay, that's it. It's about time he took things into his own hands and stabbed himself with his own ice sword. Either that, or he was going to cut off his tongue right about now.

"Wait, what?" Lucy finally stopped in her tracks.

Gray gulped. They were now in the living room.

"What did you just say? Repeat yourself!" Lucy demanded.

"I-I… uh, said… I like your wh-whole p-package," he stammered nervously. A fierce blush made its way onto his cheeks, and he quickly looked away – the clock, the floor, the fireplace – anywhere but at Lucy.

Just then, Lucy's face broke into a huge grin. It was a gigantic, ear-splitting grin, and for some reason, that grin scared Gray more than her previous killer aura.

"Gemini wasn't lying! What they said was true!" she exclaimed, hands clapping together excitedly. "And the Truth Serum worked! Oh gosh I need to tell Levy-chan!"

Now it was his turn to look at her suspiciously. "Lucy, what Truth Serum?"

His question made her freeze in place. "Oh…" Really? Was that how she became an author? With such eloquence?

"What. Did. You. Do. Lucy?" Gray asked in a low tone. Lucy shivered as she felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees. Oh no, there was no way she was getting out of this.

She wrung her hands anxiously as she cleared her throat. "Um, I might have uh, added a tiny droplet of a truth potion into the cupcakes, for, uh, fun?"

Gray's eyes flashed with a glint of something dangerous. "Was that why I had no control over what I was saying?" he questioned.

She looked at him sheepishly, her silence and guilty expression more than enough to confirm his suspicions. "Yes… but you were only supposed to take one drop. Since you ate five cupcakes, you had way more than you were supposed to… so that made you a little more truthful?" she offered. "You weren't supposed to be here anyway! It's not my fault that you helped yourself!"

He growled as he lunged at her once again, this time not giving her any time to escape. He quickly pinned her to the wall, his muscular arms caging her in. Lucy's breath caught in her throat as her wide brown orbs stared up at his hooded navy ones. They were awfully close, and Lucy could smell his masculine scent wafting all around her, making her feel strangely light-headed. Her heart was beating too fast, he smelled too good, and for some reason, she just wanted to melt into his arms.

"You could have just asked me yourself, without the potion, Lucy," he whispered huskily.

She swallowed, a slight shiver running up her spine at his suggestive tone. This was a side of Gray she had never seen – and she found that it excited her. "I-I wasn't sure if you would tell me the truth," she replied softly.

He leaned in close to her ear, and Lucy's heart started thumping so hard that she was sure he could definitely hear it. "I wouldn't have lied. But now you know. I do like the whole package, Lucy." He drew out the last syllable of her name, his breath escaping to tickle the shell of her ear. "And also, while you were away, Natsu and Erza popped by, and I gave them some cupcakes each too."

"YOU WHAT!"

That day, and the next few days that followed were filled with an uproar of sudden truths. I guess Lucy and Levy could probably deem Operation Revelation a resounding success. And truth be told (pun intended)? It was really all thanks to Gemini.

- End -

And that's a wrap! How did you like this piece? I didn't expect it to turn out so long, but you know what happens with writing… a simple idea suddenly turns into something more convoluted than you expected!

I had plenty of fun writing these 5 one-shots, and it was a good challenge for myself too. With this done, I'll have the time to go back to my other ongoing story, and maybe start a new one. Thanks all you lovely people for reading, and for your reviews/likes/favs/follows/kudos/comments! I appreciate them all so much, and you keep me going.

Till next time!

x, WinterMaidenMuse