The only warning Lily had before the water wizard plowed into him was the sound of footsteps—followed by an almighty thud as they both collided with the ground.

"Lily!" Kia squeaked, sitting up as the Exceed transformed out of his battle form.

"Lady Kia…? I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Shh!" Kia scooped him up and kept running down the hall, skirting around a corner and into a room.

She leaned against the door, panting softly, and held him tighter. Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and she quickly locked the door. Her pursuers ran past, and their steps faded down the other end of the hall. One they had passed by, she relaxed, sliding down to the floor.

"Sorry about that, Lily—Natsu and Gray wanted to fight me, and I really wasn't in the mood. They started chasing me, and well…" She trailed off, smiling. "Sorry I ran you over."

He folded his arms, chuckling. "It's alright, really. Sorry I didn't get out of your way."

She grinned, rubbing the top of his head. "Where's your Dragonslayer? You don't usually leave his side."

"He ate something that didn't agree with him, so he's lying down."

She glanced around the room, an uneasy feeling suddenly settling into the pit of her stomach. "…He's in here, isn't he?" She asked, spotting a bed pushed into the corner of the room, a large lump situated in the middle of the mattress.

Lily smirked. "I'm not sure whether you have good or bad luck, in this situation."

She glared at him, slowly getting to her feet, reaching for the doorknob. Footsteps could be heard heading back their way, and she froze, growling with frustration. She was stuck between a Dragon and a hard place, and neither was a great choice.

"Did we try this one?" Natsu called to Gray.

"No, I don't think we did," the doorknob rattled, and Kia sprang for the bed. "It's locked."

"Then we break it down!"

Kia hopped over Gajeel and dove under the covers, making herself as small as possible, hoping beyond all hope that Lily would cover for her and Gajeel would not kill her. The door burst open, Lily yelped, and Gajeel grabbed her, screaming over his shoulder at the two intruders.

"Salamander, I will eat you alive if you don't get out in the next three seconds!"

There was a brief moment of silence (while Gray and Natsu's hearts stopped, she imagined), and the door closed quietly as they retreated.

Gajeel grumbled inaudibly, getting comfortable once more. Kia laid there, waiting to be told to get out as well, but no command came. She started to extricate herself from the bed, but the arm draped over her pulled her closer.

"You can stay."

She could not tell whether it was a command or simply a comment, but she decided that either way, it was better here than running from Natsu and Gray all day long.

She shifted into a more comfortable position and tried not to think about the person lying next to her too much. Easier said than done when she could feel his breath tickling by her ear, and the way his fingers had curled slightly around her wrist. She heard the door open and then close again, Lily slipping out quietly.

Kia huffed out a sigh, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth that radiated from the Iron Dragonslayer behind her.

"Let sleeping Dragons lie, I suppose…"