I do not own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh Family.

I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

She should have known that the few days of peace she'd gotten while she was recovering from her injuries wasn't going to last much longer. Especially considering she was only going to be in the guild for one more night, she was leaving first thing the following morning. The confrontations were bound to happen sometime, she had just really hoped she could avoid it. Possibly forever. She didn't want to hurt her friends.

But when a knock on the door interrupted the plans she'd been making for her mission, Lucy knew her luck had finally run out.

The only people who wouldn't be here to confront her were Laxus, Makarov, or Porlyusica - Chelia having left (and taken Wendy with her, if she was to believe what Porlyusica told her) - and none of them knock at the door.

She tensed, wondering who would be the first to try speaking to her.

"Lucy…" Erza's voice. Of course. She had always been the most straightforward of her friends. Of her team. It was no surprise she'd be the first to face her.

Though she knew she should respond, tell her off, get it over with, she opted for silence. God, she felt like a coward, but she couldn't bring herself to talk.

"Lucy… I don't understand," Erza continued, her voice slightly muffled through the door. She didn't sound angry, surprisingly. The red head was widely known for her wrath, her quick temper. But now? The only thing Lucy could detect in her voice was sadness. Well, that and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. That last was the last thing she expected to hear from the Titania. It broke her heart.

Testing her muscles, Lucy stretched her legs out from the criss-cross position they'd been in. Her muscles were sore, but not entirely unmovable, so pulled herself from the bed and padded silently over to the door to place a hand on the cool wooden surface. She wished she could reach out and hug the woman, even if that hug was likely to open her facial scar (after all, Erza had never really learned how to embrace someone without slamming their face against her metal chestplate). The closest she could get was her hand against the opposite side of the door where Lucy was sure Erza had rested her forehead.

She could feel the thrum of Freed's magic protesting her proximity, but it didn't cause pain. It was just energy on the surface, warning her not to go farther. She was sure Freed could have made it so it would be painful to the touch, but the man was kindhearted to a fault. She would miss him. She sighed, quietly enough that Erza couldn't hear her, and looked at the guild symbol displayed on her hand as it rested against the door.

"Lucy… Is it really true?" Erza's voice broke. She could hear it through the door. Lucy's heart broke right along with it.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it!' Lucy thought to herself. The tension in her jaw became painful as she fought with herself. 'You can't comfort her, Lucy. You can't. It's your turn to protect her, after all she's done for you, and this is the only way. She'll be upset, but she'll be alive. That's what matters…'

She still couldn't bring herself to speak aloud.

"I know you're there, Lucy. Answer me." the redhead's voice was starting to betray her frustration and anger. Lucy, as much as she hated it, was a little relieved. Hatred, anger? She could handle that. Heartbreak? She wasn't so sure.

Steeling herself, Lucy responded in an emotionless voice, "Yes, Titania. It's true."

"But why?"

Lucy wanted to tell her everything. Right in that moment. All she wanted was that crushing, all consuming hug.

She pushed the feeling aside and instead, channeled all the anger she had for Alec into her words.

"It doesn't even matter, Scarlet," she was sure to say her last name. First names were too familiar. Hurt too much.

"I failed, you win. Let it go. Your pathetic guild is safe."

"Lucy-"

The celestial mage let out a mocking laugh, cutting her off, "Honestly, though," she giggled, though she'd rather cry, "I'm amazed that someone with your reputation fell for it in the first place. Especially after the tower? Aren't you supposed to be cautious? How you ever made S-Class is beyond me if you're so easily-"

It was Lucy's turn to be cut off. A loud thump was heard reverberating off the walls and the door was splintered, forcing her to step back away from it and pull her hand away quickly. It was amazing the wood didn't break, but Freed's enchantment held it together.

Erza stepped back from the door she'd just struck, shaking out her bleeding fist. Without another word, she stomped back through the main room while other members launched themselves out of her path. She kicked open the newly-repaired doors to the hall and shattered them on her way out, tears streaming down her face.

Lucy let out a heaving breath, and collapsed to her knees. Clutching her aching chest, she fought the tears filling her remaining eye and tried not to hyperventilate and start sobbing like the whiny teenager she used to be. This was hard, so fucking hard. She wasn't sure she could do it again. She hoped with all she had that Erza was the only one who would find themselves at her door looking for answers.

After a few moments of silence, she finally stood up.

Brushing off her knees, she stood still for a moment and just closed her eye - clearing her mind as much as she possibly could.

After several minutes, she walked slowly back to the bed and continued her mission plan. Fallen Star (dumbass name) wasn't going to destroy itself, after all.

Natsu was confused. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be odd for him. He spent a lot of time confused about a lot of different things. He wasn't an idiot, he honestly was pretty intelligent, but he didn't always handle subtlety well, and that often lead people to believe he was a grade-A moron. He didn't much care though, he knew his family loved him, so it wasn't worth his time to correct them.

This time, though, was different. Things had been spelled out for him, in a very much not subtle way, and he still didn't understand. Everyone kept talking about how his partner was somehow a traitor and was going to be expelled from the guild.

And that's just what he didn't understand. Not that she was a traitor, he'd put the pieces together somewhat, and they made enough sense that he sort of believed it could be true. What he absolutely could not wrap his head around was how he hadn't noticed. For twelve years.

He didn't understand how it was possible. Because he knew, without a doubt, that she had made him a better person. She had taught him so much that he really believed the entire reason he was even considered an adult was because she showed him how to be one. How to not act like the grade-A moron that most assumed he was.

How could that be true, but she wasn't? She was a traitor? It… didn't make sense. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it make sense.

He hated it.

He started pulling at his hair in frustration, but before he actually pull it from his skull there was a loud banging sound coming from down the hall and the whole guild hall shook.

Down the hall. The infirmary.

Natsu exhausted brain immediately threw itself in to panic mode, but he caught sight of Erza coming down the hall before he could freak out. The dragon slayer relaxed upon seeing her, but as she looked thoroughly peeved, he quickly made himself scarce. Ducking under the bar to avoid your angry teammate? Probably considered cowardly. But come on, it was Erza.

She took no notice of anyone really, much to many guild members' relief, as she plowed through the guild hall and kicked the door open - well, more like kicked it to pieces. She left without explanation, her fiery red hair flowing out behind her as she marched toward the setting sun.

'Oh I'm going to regret this… ' Natsu thought to himself, before making a move to follow her.

While he wanted to visit Lucy, Makarov had made it clear he would lose his life if he was seen anywhere near the infirmary. He'd have to sneak up there when Gramps left.

Besides, it looked like Erza was just there, and he couldn't help but hope she had some sort of information to share with him.

And, though he would never admit this out loud, she clearly needed someone to help her calm down before she sliced the entirety of Magnolia to pieces, like she had done with the guild doors just moments before.

Natsu's gaze found Jellal - who was at a table with Romeo, Gajeel, Levy, and Happy - and nodded to him, signalling his intention to go after the requip mage.

Jellal seemed to understand what his intention, as he sat back down at the table he instead of following after his girlfriend. Jellal understood that sometimes, Erza really needed to talk to someone that wasn't him. He knew she loved him, but this whole thing with Lucy? Natsu or Gray were more likely to understand than he was, and if Natsu was willing to comfort her, he would encourage it. That whole team had the horrible tendency to repress their feelings, so any opportunity they took to actually talk to each other could only benefit them.

Throwing one more dirty glare at Evergreen - who Natsu had heard utter a rather nasty comment about his partner (former partner) - he took off in the same direction Erza had, easily jumping over the splintered wood that was once the door.

He heard Laki complaining about the damage as he left the hall.

It took him quite a while to catch up with Erza, as she was moving pretty fast, but eventually her scent lead him through town on a somewhat familiar path he couldn't quite place.

When he found her, he realized why. He'd ended up at Erza's favorite bakery. When he finally caught sight of the scarlet-haired requip mage through the shop window, he briefly wondered why she would be there when all the other shops on this street had closed already.

He studied the scene inside for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to go through with his plan to ask Erza about her encounter with Lucy. He could hear her muffled shouting through the closed door, something about how 'she insists' on being provided with a cake. The response sounded a whole lot like an apology for not having… strawberry cake… available... Natsu shrank back, face turning a sickly shade of white…

Getting in the way of Erza's cake was more dangerous than taking on a dark guild by yourself with both hands tied behind your back.

Hearing the situation was almost enough for him to give up and walk away.

Almost.

He changed his mind when he heard the trembling in Erza's now much louder voice through the shop door. 'Shit. She's upset…'

Fully prepared to lose his life, Natsu stepped into the shop, the little bell on the door alerting the occupants to his entry. One of which looked at him terrified, and the other who looked at him with narrowed eyes and a dangerous aura. He gulped.

"H-Hey, Erza…"

Instead of committing murder, like he thought she would do, Erza just… broke down. Her face crumpled and tears started streaming out of her good eye, as soft sobs escaped her and her shoulders slumped.

Nastu was not prepared for how heart wrenching and horrible it would be to witness Erza Scarlet cry. He placed a hand on her shoulder, cautiously.

He turned his attention to the shopkeeper, who still looked terrified, stuttering and mumbling nonsense about not having any strawberry cake. He wasn't looking at them, almost like he believed if he didn't see them he might make it out of the encounter alive.

Natsu quietly questioned the short man with the tall chef's hat behind the counter, stepping between him and Erza as he released the red head's shoulder. He looked through the cakes in the glass display and pointed to one with white frosting that looked appetizing, or at least it looked like something Erza would eat.

"You don't have strawberry, I know," he said before the man could explain why Erza was upset, "What is this kind?"

Stuttering, the man replied, "T-th-thats.. That o-one i-is van-vanilla, s-sir. I-I've got some e-extra st-strawberry filling I could w-wrap up f-for you. I'm s-sure it would g-go together nicely…"

The dragon slayer glanced at Erza, who had surprisingly not murdered him when he stepped between her and cake. Somehow, that only made him worry more.

He looked back to the store owner. "Yeah, I think we will take that cake and the container of filling, if that's okay?"

The man rushed away, thankful to have an excuse to walk away from the counter to get the order ready.

Natsu strolled back to the door of the shop and flipped the little chained sign on it from "Open" to "Closed", knowing that most likely the shop was closed, but the poor man was clearly too afraid to get near Erza to flip the sign himself.

Finding nothing else he could distract himself with, he shifted his attention back to his long-time friend, "Erza. You alright?"

The tears on her face had slowed to a stop, but she still looked devastated and her face was still damp from her tears. The pain in her eyes was plain as day. He moved toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder once more, squeezing it in reassurance but not saying anything else.

They stood there like that for a while, silently waiting for the cake to be ready.

Natsu let go of her shoulder when the man indicated that the food was packed up in the plastic bag he placed on top of the display counter. He paid for the items and grabbed th bag by it's handles, gently pulling it from the counter and handing it to Erza.

Pushing her out the door gently, making sure she'd exited the shop, he faced the baker once again, "Sorry about that, man," he said it quietly, rubbing the back of his neck, "she's had a… rough day."

The old man's face softened a little, and he nodded. He moved his hand in a shooing motion. "Just… make sure Miss Erza makes it home okay. Thanks for switching the sign over!"

Nodding, Natsu stepped out of the shop with a smile and a short wave.

Joining Erza on the sidewalk outside, he grabbed wrist and took off jogging toward the nearest park. "Come on, Erza! You're sharing that cake!" he said cheerily.

Her eyes flashed at that as she fell into a slow jog behind him, moving carefully so as to avoid jostling her cake.

She didn't share cake. Why would he ever think she would?

Thinking over the last few minutes, she sighed. She did probably owe him.

"Fine. Only a bite or two, though, do you understand?"

Natsu just laughed and continued leading the way.

They arrived at the park a few minutes later, and Natsu released her arm as they made their way to one of the picnic tables set up under a large tree.

It was evening now, and fall, so it was somewhat chilly and they could see the stars coming out through the bare tree branches. They took seats across from each other, Erza beginning the process of removing the cake from the carry-out bag. She noticed with gratitude that the old baker had tossed in plates, napkins, and disposable flatware with the food. 'I'll have to thank him next time for being so thoughtful… If he will allow me back into his establishment…' her cheeks colored with shame at the thought.

If she didn't know he was already closing up shop, she'd march right back there and request he hit her for her rudeness.

Shaking the thoughts off, she sliced a tiny portion of cake for Natsu, set it carefully on a plate, and slid it to him across the table.

She didn't bother slicing a piece for herself, instead deciding it was likely easier to skip the middleman and just eat out of the box.

They sat in silence for a while, as they both nibbled at the food. Erza was nearing the halfway point with the cake before Natsu finally spoke up.

"So…. You gonna tell me what happened?"

He asked it as casually as he could, but Erza stiffened at the reminder of the conversation she'd had earlier.

While she wasn't mad at him for asking, she didn't really want to talk about it. Especially since she was well aware that Natsu cared deeply for Lucy. Everyone was well aware he cared deeply for her. Or at least, he cared for the Lucy he thought her to be.

She honestly had trouble believing it herself, the fact that their favorite celestial mage had been lying to them for years. That she was somehow a traitor, and that she'd use them for so long just to find out some secret she thought the guild was hiding. Lucy, she had always been so kind and compassionate that it was hard to reconcile the girl they thought they knew with the one who was sitting in the guild infirmary now.

Erza was even fairly certain that the celestial mage had a hand in Jellal's sudden change of heart about relationships and allowing himself happiness. And Erza had seen her firsthand, several times over, risking herself to save the lives of her friends. Sometimes even to save the lives of strangers. She just couldn't make it make sense.

At the same time though, the Lucy she knew would never lie to her. Let alone the entire guild.. She had a deep-set belief that the truth was more important than almost anything else, and that promises were never to be broken. That Lucy would never hurt her friends by lying to them about something like this.

Erza knew that when she had spoken to the woman through the door, she was clearly showing signs of distress (though she wouldn't admit that out loud). If Lucy could hear the pained sound of her voice and still confirm her treachery, it had to be true. There wasn't anything in the world that would have prevented their Lucy - the one they'd always thought she was - from comforting her friend when she had needed comfort so very badly.

"Erza." Natsu's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up. His voice wasn't quite as easygoing as it had been, she could hear the frustration in it when he spoke to her.

Sighing, she set her fork down and crossed her arms over her middle, like it would protect her from the pain she was feeling. It didn't, but her arms remained there.

She spoke softly, knowing Natsu could hear her anyway, "It's all true" she confirmed sadly.

Natsu's eyes went wide, knowing what she was referring to. And he didn't believe it, "No way…" he said, almost whispering, "There's gotta be some other explanation".

Erza sighed again, shaking her head, "Natsu. I don't want to believe it either. But... I talked to her."

The fire mage was clearly tense, his own arms crossed over his chest and his face set in a scowl, "You must have misunderstood her, Erza. You've gotta be wrong."

In that moment, Erza wanted nothing more than for that to be true. The pain etched in Natsu's eyes was nearly too much for her to bear.

Instead of arguing with the fire slayer, she just looked at him. Trying to convey her own feelings without saying them aloud. She didn't want it to be true. She was sorry that it was. She knew it didn't make sense.

He met her eyes for several silent minutes before finally slumping down and dropping his hands to his lap. In all the years she'd known the man, she'd never seen him look so defeated.

"...Was she alright?"

The question threw the requip mage for a loop. This was not the direction she thought the conversation was going to go.

"I believe so, yes," Erza responded after recovering her shock, her tone had gone formal. The voice she used when talking to or about those she disliked.

It was Natsu's turn to sigh, dropping his elbows onto the tabletop and his head in his hands. He sounded pained, "I just don't get it. I know her, Erza. She's family. She's always done what was right, usually even when I didn't want to. Up until now, everything she's ever done has led me to believe she's trustworthy. What is happening? I don't understand... "

Erza watched as he fell apart before her. His shoulders shook. She couldn't hear his sobs, but she could see the tears fall to the table through his hands. Her heart broke for him, and for herself. This all seemed like some bizarre nightmare, and she just couldn't figure out what to do about it.

Seeing Natsu, the toughest person she knew, reduced to tears made her want to march right back to the infirmary and beat the blonde girl to death for the pain she caused.

That thought hurt too, though, because Lucy was as close as Erza had ever gotten to a sister. She loved her, even know she could feel that she still cared, and it only made things worse. Feeling this overwhelming anger at the person she loved was tearing her to little pieces inside.

"I'm just so confused!" Natsu shouted, head lifted to the sky. He'd given up on hiding behind his hands. He wasn't talking to Erza anymore, now he was calling to the stars that his best friend summoned, looking for some kind of answer. Some explanation. He found himself hoping one of those constellations would show up and just tell him what the fuck was going on.

Of course, none of them did.

"The only explanation for Lucy's actions to date is that she was trying - and succeeding - to gain our trust. I know it's hard to believe, " she wiped at her own teary eye, "She told me it was all true, Natsu. And... And she sounded proud of it. Like she was happy she'd succeeded in fooling me for all this time. That she was glad we were hurting."

Erza cleared her throat, "I don't get it either, but I can't see how the person I have come to know would do anything like this, no matter what the reason. It's honestly easier to believe she really was using us than to believe that Lucy would hurt me intentionally."

Natsu struggled to pull himself together. He listened to Erza's words, and he couldn't help but agree. Which only made it worse. After several moments wrestling with his own emotions, he stood. It had been quite a while since they'd met in the cake shop, it had to be getting pretty late. He pointed this out to Erza.

She began gathering the remaining cake and put it back in the bag while Natsu discarded his used plate and their plasticware in the nearest trash can. Saying goodbye, she stood up and pulled him roughly into a hug, knocking his head against her hard armor.

"Natsu! Erza!"

They turned at the voice, Erza finally releasing Natsu so he could rub at the bump on his head. A worried-looking Happy was flying above two men, all three of them approaching the picnic table.

Erza greeted them, forcing a half hearted smile to her face, "Jellal, Gray, Happy. What are you all doing out here so late?"

They all expected Natsu to pick a fight with Gray, since he'd stepped within the 10 feet of the fire mage, but he just stood quietly, his focus directed at the stars.

"We were worried you'd killed Natsu when you guys didn't come back to the guild. Happy checked your house and didn't see you, so we came looking," the ice wizard answered them, looking first toward Erza, then to Natsu.

The red head nodded. "No, everything's fine," she said, lying through her teeth. They all knew that nothing was as it should be.

Jellal grabbed her hand and, noticing the logo on the plastic bag sitting on the table, grabbed that too. "Let's head to my place, Erza. I'll make you some tea to go with your cake."

He then pulled her along, away from the others and down the street. He waved in goodbye to the two men and the blue cat, shouting something about seeing them at the guild hall in the morning.

Gray turned to his pink-haired comrade, who was still staring at the sky above, looking more furious by the second. He gripped his shoulder. Natsu didn't react in the slightest, like he didn't even notice.

Gray squeezed a little tighter, getting the fire wizard's attention, "Look, man, they aren't going to come down here and talk to you just because you're glaring at their constellations."

Natsu shrugged him off. "Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna go see Luce. Lucy." He repeated her name, realizing he no longer cared to refer to her by the nickname he'd been calling her for years. He stomped down the street, still upset and confused, and so very angry.

Gray fell in step beside him, casually folding his arms behind his head. "I'd stop you but there's really no point."

Happy landed on Natsu's shoulder as they walked, and all three of them threw glares into the sky. Looking for answers from the stars they'd once called allies.

Jellal dragged his girlfriend back to his house on the edge of town. He wasn't far from Fairy Hills, which made it pretty convenient to see Erza frequently. Not that he was allowed to go visit her there, but it made it more convenient for her to go to his house when her beloved stash of armor and swords weren't far away. She'd even started a small stash of the stuff in his basement. He didn't care at all, and in fact had been trying to encourage her to move all her stuff in and just live there, but she'd refused more than once. She had her "honor" to uphold, after all.

They approached his well-kept two story home hand in hand, both having been silent the whole walk.

"So you've come to the conclusion that Makarov is telling the truth about Lucy?" Jellal inquired, sounding rather sad and not looking her in the eyes.

Erza couldn't help but smile slightly at her boyfriend, despite the pain she was feeling. He read her so easily that she rarely had to struggle to tell him something. She never had to worry about him not understanding her.

"Yes, unfortunately. I just don't see a way around it… You should have heard her, Jellal... ,' she trailed off. The things Lucy had said to her were cruel enough that she had no desire to discuss them. No desire to speak them aloud again.

He squeezed her hand gently before letting go to unlock and open the door. He entered first, feeling around for foreign magic out of habit, and then stepped aside to let her in. She followed him, grabbed the cake he'd been carrying, and walked straight past him to the kitchen. Opening the silverware drawer without hesitation, she grabbed two forks and sat down at small, two-person kitchen table. She crossed her legs, looking thoughtfully at the cake bag in front of her, and offered the fork to the open air beside her.

Catching on, Jellal grabbed the fork and sat down across from her as she began - once again - opening up the cake box. She didn't even bother cutting out a piece for Jellal, he could just eat from the other side.

Across from her, Jellal studied her expressions while sifting through his own emotions. He took only a few bites of cake before deciding he did not have an appetite, and he set his fork down.

Placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin against his fist, he simply closed his eyes and waited for Erza to finish her cake. He wanted to make sure she was okay and that he was there waiting for her if she wanted to talk.

They were quiet for quite some time, comfortable together without words, but mostly lost in their own thoughts.

Jellal kept thinking about that day Lucy had kicked his ass into gear and all but punched some sense into his melancholy brain.

He'd gone after a dark guild on his own shortly after joining Fairy Tail, and had gotten distracted by one of their mages. The guy could read thoughts and make you relive your worst memories - quite a bad matchup for the heavenly body mage, who lived his life constantly consumed by self-loathing.

Luckily Lucy was nearby, taking a break from the train to check out the magic shops in town when she'd heard one of the dark mages bragging about how they'd captured a blue-haired former wizard saint with a funny tattoo on his face and had been holding him for a week. The dark mage that blabbed had found himself in the custody of some rune mages about an hour later, having given up the location of their guild hall to a 'terrifying blonde cheerleader'. When Bickslow had heard that story, he laughed heartily, saying something about how his nickname was justified (Jellal didn't really get it, but at the time he'd enjoyed watching Lucy kick him across the hall).

He still remembered the look on Lucy's face when she'd found him bruised and bloodied in a cell with anti-magic cuffs on his wrists - as the dark guild still hadn't decided what they were going to do with him after debating for a full week. She'd been absolutely furious. That was the first time he'd ever really understood why so many people in the guild and outside it, had feared 'Scary Lucy'.

Despite himself, he smiled a little at the memory. It was so abnormal to see that expression on her face, even now he had a hard time picturing it. At the time, it had scared him. More than he'd like to admit.

Despite the fact that she'd - very wisely - decided to sneak into the guild to get him out discreetly, she decided she wasn't going to leave them be. After freeing Jellal and making sure his life wasn't in danger she handed him off to Loke - the lion spirit having opened his own gate to help out when he realized she was in the middle of a dark guild without backup. In her rage and without regard for the fact that it would be much safer to just escape, she summoned Taurus, Gemini (who transformed into Natsu), and Capricorn without hesitation and decided to single-handedly explain to the dark guild he'd been trapped in why Team Natsu had always had such a destructive reputation.

He thought about that day every once in a while, even now. It always amazed him how her magic in and of itself was practically the embodiment of family, friendship, and teamwork. After that lecture she'd given him, his life had completely changed. He just couldn't figure out how that person, who'd exhausted herself without second thought just to save someone she barely knew, was in fact only spying on the guild to get some sort of information. It just didn't add up to him.

"Jellal"

His attention snapped to Erza, who was still sitting opposite him, watching him carefully. The cake was gone now, the only remnants being a few lines of icing still lining the bottom of the box.

"Hmm?" Jellal hummed.

"It was Lucy, am I correct?"

Thoroughly confused, he looked Erza in the eye and arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, she relaxed her shoulders and uncrossed her legs, dropping her chin to rest on her forearms on the table. "It was Lucy. She was the one who convinced you to stop punishing yourself and ask me out, right?"

He smiled sadly, looking at her exhausted form. "Yeah, it was. How'd you know?"

He had never told her about that conversation, or about Lucy rescuing him from that dark guild. She had been on a somewhat easy mission, but had taken it without telling Natsu and had asked him not to spill the beans to anyone so she could complete it without interference. By the time she got back, he just hadn't felt the need to share.

Sighing, he stood and grabbed the now-dirty cutlery and the empty box and cleaned up while he waited for Erza's response.

"She's the only one I know that can convince someone they are worthy of being redeemed when they don't believe it themselves. That's just who she is." Erza frowned, "Well. I guess that's who she wanted us to think she was," She rubbed her temples, "Besides, it's obvious you're also upset about this whole thing."

Erza stood up now, too. She requipped into pajama shorts and a soft tank-top, approaching her blue-haired boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his waist in the middle of the kitchen. She laid her head on his chest and breathed deeply, listening to his beating heart.

"Honestly," she felt the rumble in his chest as he spoke, "I thought I was hiding it pretty well."

She chuckled, quietly, at that statement. She pulled back, looking into his eyes, "Don't worry, love. I'm certain I'm the only one who can tell."

Jellal hummed sadly, removing one of his arms from her shoulders and placing it on her head, pulling her closer and pressing her face into his chest once more. He rested his chin on her temple. "I just can't figure out how we are supposed to see Lucy as an enemy. I owe her everything. If it hadn't been for her, I'd still be that miserable, foolish man who refused to allow himself to be happy with the love of his life," he sighed heavily and moved his head to bury his face in Erza's hair, "But if you believe this to be true, I do as well. I keep thinking there is more to it, but at this point we can't trust her regardless."

"She's being expelled tomorrow, Jellal," he could feel her tears falling onto his shoulder, soaking into his shirt, "I am not sure how things are going to be without her."

He broke their embrace and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the stairs, "We will deal with it tomorrow, love. Let's get some rest."