Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Despite the return of Fairy Tail's most valuable members, they were still considered the weakest guild in Fiore. Jobs were few and far between, so there wasn't much anyone could do for money. As a result, Zale was forced to stay with Callista and Flynn until more jobs could flow in. At the moment, Zale was having dinner with them and Amber.
"So, Zale, how serious is your relationship with Juvia?" Callista inquired.
"A… lot more serious than you think." Zale answered. "We started dating back in November, but I've had feelings for her for a while now. I know it seemed to happen so fast, but I feel like it's love."
"Have you-" Callista was about to ask.
"I know what you're going to ask, Big Sis." Flynn interrupted with an annoyed brow. "What she wants to know is if you and Juvia had… physical relations?"
Amber didn't understand the words Flynn spoke, but Zale did completely and blushed.
"N-no." Zale stammered. "We've only kissed."
"If I was into girls, I'd hit her on the first date." Callista said. "You're too much of a gentleman for your own good, Zale."
"What's wrong with being a gentleman?" Zale questioned.
"You'll end up like Flynn here."
"You just HAD to bring me up…" Flynn grumbled angrily.
"Oh, by the way, I have a date with Juvia tomorrow night."
"Would you mind making it a double date?" Callista asked.
"Huh? Did you find someone?" Zale asked.
"Oh, not me, I'm talking about Flynn."
As soon as Callista said his name, Flynn was choking on the food was he had just swallowed. He kept smacking his fist against his chest until the food lodged in his throat shot back onto his plate.
Flynn took several shallow, raspy breaths until his breathing returned to normal. "… WHAT?!"
"Zale, I want you and Juvia to hook up Flynn with one of your guildmates." Callista commanded. "He needs that push if he's ever going to have any confidence in asking women out."
"Flynn clearly doesn't want anything to do with this. Besides, I wanted some alone time with Juvia."
"Are you finally going to sleep with her?" Callista asked.
"Stop harping on that!" Zale snapped.
"Virgins… Okay, let me put it this way." Callista said. "I'll pay you the 20,000 Jewel I got from my recent mercenary job if you do this."
"… Deal." Zale shook hands with Callista.
"You turncoat!" Flynn shouted.
The next day, Zale had taken Flynn back to Fairy Tail where everything was as normal as could be, given that their building was something more than a two-story hut. It would have been a creepy chore to parade him around the guild hall, so he just brought him an old issue of Sorcerer Weekly that had interviews from all of the guild's wizards.
"So you don't consider yourself a ladies' man, either?" Zale asked.
"How did you ever get Juvia?" Flynn inquired.
"Honestly, I believe it was sheer dumb luck." Zale replied. "For my entire life I've been incredibly shy and believed that women preferred chiseled tough guys."
"Can I be honest with you, Zale? I just don't think anything about me stands out, in either good or bad ways. This is especially true considering those guys from Blue Pegasus are the kind of men the ladies fawn over."
"At least you're not as negative as me. I STILL think I don't attract any women other than Juvia, mostly because of overly handsome and cool men like the Trimens."
*… I'm starting to see why most women don't find him attractive.* Flynn thought before speaking. "This magazine's not helping much. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I can't suggest a girlfriend when I don't even know your type."
"Well… I want her to be nice, caring, smart, and has an appreciation for fine art."
"You like fine art?"
"Yeah, does that surprise you?"
"No, just… No hints. By 'fine art', what specifically…"
"Classical music, literature and works of art. I doubt it's that dark-haired woman I saw the other day that chugged down a barrel of ale."
*Yeah, definitely not Cana.* Zale pondered to himself. *Now which girl meets Flynn's criteria…*
"Hey, Zale!" A familiar voice said.
Zale got out of his head and looked at Lucy, who was now dressed in a blue, gold-rimmed tube top and skirt.
"Hi, Lucy." Zale said. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm… managing…" Lucy looked sad at first, but then smiled. "Anyway, I was at the bookstore and found this interesting book on rare fire spells you might be interested in."
"Thanks, how much was it?" Zale asked.
"5,000 Jewel."
Zale sighed and handed Lucy the money as she gave him the book.
"By the way, who's your friend?" Lucy asked as she turned to Flynn.
"This is Flynn, my childhood friend's little brother." Zale introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Lucy." Flynn stood up and shook her hand.
An idea suddenly popped into Zale's head and immediately took action. "Lucy, I was going to have dinner with Juvia tonight, but Flynn's been feeling rather lonely. If you don't mind, would you like to join us?"
Flynn's face froze and his cheeks became pink.
"I-I don't know…" Lucy said.
"Do you want Juvia needlessly calling you 'love rival'?" Zale asked.
"Where are we having dinner?" Lucy asked.
*Worked like a charm.* Zale thought. "Nothing fancy, especially since we're all dirt poor right now. Just the diner in Onibus. So don't overdress."
"What makes you think I'd overdress?" Lucy questioned somewhat irritably.
"Remember when Natsu asked you to help him dig up treasure?" Zale reminded her. "And I was actually telling that to Flynn."
Flynn leered at Zale again.
"Meet us at the station at 4." Zale said.
"See you two then." Lucy waved and walked off.
"… She was cute." Flynn said.
"And meets your criteria." Zale added.
"Yeah, but to be honest, I don't think even that will be enough to see if she's for me. I'll know more after our date."
"Only one more thing to do before we prepare for our date."
"What's that?"
"Tell Juvia."
Juvia was upset with Zale at first for inviting her 'love rival' for a double date, but he managed to convince her by saying that if Lucy and Flynn hit it off then she wouldn't have to worry about the blonde 'stealing him away from Juvia'. The four of them took the train from Magnolia to Onibus and went inside the restaurant, sitting down at a booth with the guys taking the window side and their respective dates sitting next to them.
"Zale, my love, why aren't you looking at your menu?" Juvia asked.
"I'm just going to get a glass of water." Zale replied.
"But you haven't eaten all day." Flynn said. "Your stomach is growling so loud, I thought an animal was hiding under the table."
Grrrrr!
"… Damn that book…" Zale sobbed. "Now I don't have any money left for food…"
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Lucy questioned as she rummaged through her money. "Here, this is half of what you paid me. I don't care when I get it back, as long as you don't starve yourself."
"Thank you, Lucy!" Zale was practically crying as Lucy handed him back the money he gave her earlier.
After making their orders, Zale tried to get a conversation going between Flynn and Lucy.
"By the way, Flynn, did you know Lucy is writing a novel?" Zale asked.
"You're writing a novel?" Flynn asked Lucy with a surprised look on his face.
"I-it's not ready yet." Lucy stammered. "I still have a lot to work out."
"Flynn, there's something Juvia had been meaning to ask you." Juvia spoke up. "What kind of magic do you use?"
"I use Photon Magic." Flynn answered. "Though I've only been able to use it recently. I have a looooooong way to go before I'm at any of your levels."
"Well, practice and you'll become stronger for sure." Lucy said with a confident, inspiring smile. "I actually thought of myself as one of the weaker members in Fairy Tail, but in a matter of months I knew I became more powerful than I ever thought I'd be."
Flynn looked right at her face and eyes for a couple of seconds. "…Thanks. That means a lot, Lucy. I'd like to join your guild, but I've got to help Big Sis with Amber and I can't do that in a guild with only a handful of jobs available."
*I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult…* Both Zale and Lucy thought at the same time.
After eating their meals, all four of them let out content sighs.
"That was delicious." Zale said. "Almost as good as Yajima's cooking at 8-Island… Almost."
"I wish we could have desert, but we should probably keep our money in case of emergencies." Flynn said. "I'll pay for the both of us, Lucy."
"You don't have to do that." Lucy said.
"How about taking Flynn to the art gallery this weekend?" Zale suggested. "Two art connoisseurs such as you two would surely enjoy spending a day there."
"I guess we have our second date." Lucy smiled cutely.
Flynn blushed at the sight of Lucy's smile. "Y-yeah…"
"Zale, what about yours and Juvia's next date?" Juvia asked while clinging to Zale's arm.
*Oh, damn… I'm drawing blanks right now!* Zale thought.
Zale and Flynn arrived back at their house where Callista was lying on the couch, examining the most recent Sorcerer Weekly.
"So, boys, how was your date?" Callista greeted them.
"I… I can't imagine a more perfect girlfriend." Flynn said.
"What does she look like?" Callista asked.
"She's blonde-" Zale was about to say.
"Her?!" Callista exclaimed. "Wow! I didn't think ya had it in ya, Lil' Bro! I already put Amber to bed, feel free to go take your bath."
Flynn went upstairs and Zale was about to go up to lie down in his room until Callista spoke up.
"Zale, may I speak with you privately for a moment?" She asked.
"Uh, sure." Zale replied as he went back to the bottom of the stairs.
"When are you finally going to sleep with Juvia?"
"Stop asking that! What's your fascination with our love lives, anyway?"
"Flynn, I'm not concerned about because I never even met this Lucy girl. But with Juvia, it seemed pretty obvious to me that she wants to get physical."
"Technically, she's been in this relationship longer than I have. It wasn't until like a month ago-er, to us, that it became official."
"By your next date, I want you to stop feeling self-conscious about yourself and bang her blue hair right off!"
"What makes you think she wants to get physical?"
"Heheheh, I'm a woman. I know these things."
"Not all relationships have to have sex, you know."
"Perhaps, but I have to break it to ya and say that this IS one of them."
Zale sighed in exasperation and exhaustion.
A/N: Sorry this took so long! I've been distracted a lot and perhaps even more so over the next few months. I wanted to get this chapter out before Valentine's Day was over for me, but it's probably over for most of you guys. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay tuned for next time!