Chapter Fourteen: A Not-So-Pleasant Reunion

Professor: The last chapter was kinda on the short side, so I thought I should post this one with it. Enjoy! I do not own Fairy Tail or Legend of Zelda.

"Gray!"

"Lucy?!"

Before he knew what was happening, Lucy had launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, forcing him into a bear hug.

He stumbled backwards, almost tripping over the chest as he struggled to keep them upright and return the hug at the same time.

"You're ok!" She cried, "You got here ok!"

"No duh," he smirked, "But it's nice to see you too."

She smiled before stepping away from him, leaving him a little cold for the first time since entering the Ice Cavern.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he responded, eyes flickering over to the man at the doorway who had yet to say a word. Gray did notice that they were dressed similarly, although Lucy had taken off her mask after hugging him. Which race had she chosen? Instead he asked, "Who's he?"

"That's-" Lucy began, but was cut off when the man in question spoke up himself.

"Sheik," he moved forward to stand next to them, although much closer to Lucy than Gray, "My name is Sheik."

Gray stared at him, Sheik meeting his gaze calmly, both of them stopping when Lucy cleared her throat and looked at them curiously.

"So," she began, "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, I'd rather like to know that myself," Sheik said, "Considering I was here earlier today and every single Zora was frozen, Gray."

Ok, it was official. Gray hated this guy. More than Natsu and Lyon combined.

"I just woke up here." he gritted out, almost growling, "And the name is Ice."

Sheik's eyebrow went up, "Oh really? Hmm, I wonder why I don't believe you. Perhaps Lucy here could tell us."

They both turned to face the blonde girl, who Gray caught having a momentary lapse of logic, "Um...Lucy and Gray are-"

"Our middle names," Gray huffted, interrupting her, "They're our middle names. We call each other that and have for years. It's personal."

Sheik turned back to Lucy for confirmation and she nodded quickly. After a moment of silence, he seemed to buy the excuse.

"So, you just woke up here?" Sheik asked.

"Yep." Gray said, continuing his glare, "Saw the domain and decided to explore. Found this place, and now here we are."

"I take it he is one of your missing friends?" Sheik turned to Lucy.

She nodded again, looking a little confused, "Yeah. I thought that was pretty-"

"Just double checking." Sheik said, turning to match Gray's glare again, "Wouldn't want to trust the wrong person after all."

"No, we wouldn't." Gray's tone was just as even as Sheik's.

"Ice, is anyone else with you?" Lucy spoke up, "Have you found anyone?"

He sighed, turning away from the Sheikah member, "Only frozen Zoras, one dead Zora, and a whole bunch of monsters. Sorry."

Lucy's sigh matched his own, "No problem. It's lucky we even found each other so quickly."

"Fair point," he agreed, "Do you even know where the others might've gone?"

"I have ideas," she said, "But until we start searching I don't know for certain."

"How many of your friends are you looking for?" Sheik asked.

"Five, not including the Hero."

"You told him about the Hero?!" Gray burst out.

Sheik immediately whipped around to glare at him again, but Lucy huffed before he could say anything, "Of course I did. Sheik's my friend, there wasn't any reason not to."

Gray stared right into her eyes very angrily, as if he could transmit his thoughts into her brain.

'This was a job! He's probably on the Hero's side and won't let us finish it!'

Lucy met his gaze with a thunderous one of her own and Gray just knew what she wanted to say, 'Well that's my choice to make! Stop fighting me on this!'

The two of them held the silent conversation so intensely that they both jerked when Sheik lay his hand on Lucy's upper arm to get her attention.

Sheik didn't wait any longer, "Someone else just tripped an alarm spell near the forest. It might be the Hero. I have to go check on it. Do you wish to stay? Or come with?"

Lucy glared at Gray once more, very tempted to act like a pouting child and leave Gray behind. But her practicality won out in the end and she found herself shaking her head, "I can't. Ice and I need to figure out our next step."

Sheik nodded, "I understand. I'll be back as quickly as I can."

"Thank you."

Something flashed over Sheik's eyes that Gray couldn't comprehend, so he spoke up, breaking the almost-moment.

"Hey, if you find another friend of ours, tell them to keep looking. We'll find everyone soon."

Sheik nodded before back up, throwing something to the ground. A flash of light later and he was gone.

Lucy immediately spun to face him, hands on her hips, "We need to talk."

"I agree." he spat.

Professor: Ok, I know that both chapters being really short sucks, but hopefully, by getting two updated together like this and finally getting back to the cliffhanger in the Ice Cavern, you all will forgive me? I promise, when I write these chapters down in my notebook, they seem a lot longer, and then when I type them up...it's this. Sorry.