Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!

Stretching himself from what seemed like a nice nap; he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. Leaves were dancing in the wind and the sun shone bright on the crushed grass. Standing up, he noticed the roof of ice he made yesterday and Gray suddenly remembered what happened. In his boxers, he was looking around as nervous as a squirrel would search for its food.

Lucy was taken by that water mage.

He gathered his clothes. It was already noon. Had he slept this whole time? He didn't know what he was looking for, a clue, a sign, something that would lead him to where Lucy was. They couldn't have gone that far. He took all of their gear, including two backpacks with the according sleeping bags. He searched for something that pointed to a fight, but he only saw the remnants of crushed grass from his early fight.
He didn't find anything else. Lucy hadn't even struggled… Maybe those pills were seriously strong ones. Then it would be his fault that she couldn't defend herself… Great. He didn't have any idea of where to find her.

Some people had been observing him from the road as it seemed amusing that this raven haired boy lost something and seemed nervous beyond end. The biggest one of the four, graced with golden spiky hair and a scar across his right eye decided they couldn't leave him alone like that and went towards the boy. Before Gray noticed it, he stood next to him.

"What are you looking for, punk?"

Gray turned around to the man and had to look up because he was faced with a broad and solid chest of pure muscles. Intimidated by the presence of this man who could have been a god descended to earth, he looked at the scar on the right eye of the man. It had a shape of what seemed like a lightning bolt. The blonde one's ears were also covered with headphones. Gray noticed that he was staring and the man looked at him with a questioning gaze. So he tried to regain his voice.

"I'm looking for my friend. She was here this morning."

The guy looked at Gray in his boxers and laughed, thinking that this boy in front of him had a rough night and seemed to be robbed by some girl who took advantage of his earlier drunken state.

"No, you misunderstand. She was taken by a blue haired water mage. Did you see her on your way? She had a pink umbrella with hearts on it. I know it sounds weird but she did have one."

The man was suddenly suspicious by hearing such a description and his eyes narrowed. Gray took that as a sign that he must definitely know something about her, so he waited patiently. The man turned around to look at his three other companions. There was a prominent tension in the air. If they were deciding on whether or not to fight him, Gray would be grateful if they decided not to. He definitely couldn't win against this man. So as cards were laid out, he could never in the world win against the four of them. When the man began talking, Gray was glad that he got a chance to explain himself.

"A blue haired water mage, huh? What do you want with her?"
"I told you, she took my friend with her and I just want her to be safe."
"Let me give you some advice. If your friend is with Juvia, then you won't see her until she completed her job. "
"Her job?"
"You see, Juvia is a person you can hire to bring people to you. Not an assassin, but rather a skilled mage you can hire to transport people and messages. She finds information and people for you and she works really fast."

Gray was dumfounded. So he wasn't wrong. She was a skilled mage and some kind of spy or kidnapper… Then why in the world was he still alive? Did she pity him during their fight? If she was as skilled as this guy said she was, then he had no chance to go against her. Then why did she act like he had won in the end? She could've freed herself.
And Lucy… They worked so hard not to get caught, why would Jude be on their trail already? They did everything to go by unnoticed, all for nothing. The big guy reached out to him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"The name's Laxus. I can get you to Juvia if you want, just promise me you won't hurt her. She's weird, but kind of a friend of my girl."

Gray didn't know how to react, how in the world was it possible that this man knew about his attacker? This mage had to be really famous to be known from mere passer-by's. But he didn't complain. This was his only clue and he would follow it. So he reached for Laxus' hand.

"I promise I won't. The name's Gray. I just want my friend to be safe."
"Alright, let's go Gray," The man turned around and started walking back to the others on the road, "It's already noon so Mirajane should have made the best lunch you've ever eaten in your entire life."

Gray followed Laxus and they introduced themselves. They seemed a bit crazy in their unusual attire, but he could deal with it. What's wrong with a sword and a helmet these days?

"So this friend of yours, is she a mage too?"

Gray looked surprised at the taller man. He never said anything of them being mages…
How did he know?

"You're not fooling an S class mage like me. I sense the cold coming off of you, ice mage. Even when you encountered Juvia and were rained down upon, you still haven't got a cold. But you're definitely not an S class. By the way, Juvia isn't hired to collect mere citizens. She's too capable for that as a former elite member of the element 4. And far too expensive if you ask me."
"… She's a mage too."
"You'll find her back, punk. I'll tell you that. Come on; let's go before our lunch gets cold."

Gray walked along and heard all rumours of the town they were headed. It was foreign for him, but after a while and some stories from Freed, it seemed like he knew every little detail. It was weird to be accompanied by this thunder god tribe, as they like to call themselves, because they seem like a very close bunch. Although Laxus didn't say much, Freed was as chatty as can be when he talked about Laxus and all of their accomplishments as a team.

After a while, it annoyed the hell out of Gray so he was glad to arrive at the bar Laxus told him about. He didn't know what he was going to do when he found the blue mage, but he just wanted to know if Lucy was alright. When they went inside, a flash of white came out from behind the bar and approached Laxus to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Right on time for lunch! Oh and who is this handsome new boy?"

Laxus was a bit harsh on her and went to sit at the bar.

"That's Gray, we found him looking for someone."

The girl came closer to Gray and whispered in his ear: "If you're looking for someone, I can always hook you up with a friend of mine. She's really pretty."
"Euhm it's fine, my friend was taken actually. I'm looking for her."
"I see. Well that's the worst if they're taken already. But you know, you can still score when there is a keeper in the goal! Don't give up!"

Gray watched the woman getting back behind the bar and he wondered if she ever thought about something different than matchmaking. The thunder god tribe sat at the bar and he went to sit next to them. He was glad that Laxus took control of the conversation.

"Mirajane, five of your best lunches please! We're hungry!"
"Coming right up!"

The woman went to the kitchen to get their lunches. After a couple of minutes, she was back with everything you can eat at lunch. A plate full of eggs, bacon, sandwiches, soup, bread and a pint. Five plates of that. Gray wondered why he didn't discover this bar sooner in his life and started eating, but slowed down when Laxus asked Mirajane about Juvia. He listened to what the woman had to say.

"Say Mirajane, is Juvia still around?"
"No she's already out. She had this beautiful blonde girl with her and they left for the east forest. Her correspondent would be waiting there."
Gray couldn't let this chance pass and sked what was on his mind: "Is Lucy alright?"

Mirajane looked at Gray and puzzled the wrong pieces in her head.

"So that's the girl you are looking for? Oh I see… That's so cute! She was doing well, a bit confused but she was glad that some Heartfilia man had nothing to do with this. Juvia is coming back tonight, so you can wait here if you like."

Gray nodded and he released a breath that he didn't know he was holding in.

"And you can tell me all about your relationship later! I first have to chat with my thunder."

She leaned towards Laxus and started to ask him about his assignment. Gray didn't know what was worse. The nickname or the fact that he had to talk about Lucy and him in front of a girl who twisted everything into love…

Title: TOPIC – Find you feat. Jake Reese

Thank you for reading!