Hi everybody! Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers and silent readers! It's been a week since my last update, so I've got a nice long one for you all this time. I also really love this one, just so you know. Favorite so far, probably :D (thought I didn't edit/proofread this one after writing it, so there may be typos or mistakes... Let me know if you find one and I'll fix it, kay?)

Enjoy! (I got to write Erza this time! Woo-hoo! haha)

#23 Solution

"Come on, Lucy! What are you waiting for?"

Lucy looked up to see Levy waving at her from a few feet away, standing just at the edge of the water. Lucy shook her head and stretched her legs out in the sand. "No, you go ahead!" she called back. "I… just ate!"

Levy eyed her for a brief second, then shrugged, replying, "Suit yourself. But don't forget you promised to help us beat the boys at volleyball later!" She offered one more friendly smile and wave before turning and racing into the ocean, Jet and Droy barely three steps behind her.

Lucy allowed herself a small smile as she sat on the warm sand, watching her friends' antics all along the beach. She'd been looking forward to this trip for quite some time, but now that she was here she couldn't concentrate on having fun like she'd hoped she could. Her mind had been troubling her with busy thoughts a lot more often lately, and as much as she'd been thinking the sun and sand would help to clear her confused head, it seemed like she wouldn't be getting her wish.

"Nothing like a day at the beach, is there?"

Lucy raised her head again to find Erza standing beside her, sticking the end of her surfboard in the sand (Erza had been, to Lucy's slight surprise, even more excited about this vacation than she had. By now, Lucy had realized that the reason for that meant more extravagant showing off of the brilliant mage's various and many skills, whether Erza herself viewed it as such or not). "Yeah," Lucy replied noncommittally as Erza dropped down on the sand next to her, stretching out her long legs and tossing her damp hair over her shoulder.

They were quiet for a few minutes, before a crazy (so crazy she wondered why she'd even thought of it at all) idea came to her. She turned to Erza slowly and asked carefully, "Erza… Can ask your advice about something?"

Lucy's apprehension grew the second she noticed the hungry gleam in her friend's eyes at those words—and even more when Erza proceeded to scoot closer to her and toss an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, Lucy," she said with a tone that was clearly supposed to be motherly, but in reality sounded more like she were speaking to a particularly large fish she wanted to roast over a fire. "You can ask me anything."

Well, no turning back now… Lucy thought bitterly, taking a deep breath. "It's about… this… guy…" she admitted through gritted teeth, bracing herself.

Erza's body stiffened, the light in her eyes glinting brighter. Lucy knew Erza reveled in 'helping' others, especially other girls who needed advice on 'girl stuff.' Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…

"I thought so," Erza said matter-of-factly, nodding her head in a manner that made Lucy sure that had not been what she'd thought at all. "You need advice with love? Well then it's a good thing you came to me," she insisted. "So who's the lucky guy? Someone in our guild?"

Lucy hesitated before nodding slowly.

"Well obviously you should tell him how you feel," Erza went on when Lucy remained silent. "Men like women who are strong and assert their position." She raised her chin slightly as though in an unconscious attempt to make herself look more intimidating—it worked. "Don't let yourself get pushed around or trampled on, especially by a man." She nodded again, and Lucy fought the urge to smack her forehead. Maybe that works for you…

"I don't know…" she settled for saying instead.

Erza looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes snapped back to meet Lucy's, and this time Lucy could almost see her shift into psychiatrist mode. "Well, what's he like?" she asked in a business-like tone. "We'll start with that."

Not liking the direction this was going but feeling as though she might as well humor her friend for a while, Lucy glanced out toward the water at her fellow guild members, among them the very person she was trying to describe. "Well, he's… sort of… loud." The word was out of Lucy's mouth before her brain had fully registered it. She felt sort of bad that apparently that was how she though of him, but the surprised look on Erza's face was enough to shake that from her mind. Instead she continued. "He likes to start fights, and he usually wins. He's really strong and powerful, and he can come off as sort of… scary at times. But he's also really caring and protective. When I first met him, our relationship started off kind of… different, but he sort of grew on me. A lot." She looked down at her hands, wondering, Is all that really how I see him? It was true she'd been thinking about him a lot in recent weeks, maybe it wasn't so bad to get all her thoughts and feelings out into the open. "And he has a really strange appetite," she added as an afterthought.

When Lucy glanced over at Erza once more, she was slightly taken aback to find an almost evil smirk on the older girl's face, telling her she knew exactly whom she was talking about. "D-Don't tell anyone, okay?" Lucy demanded anxiously, waving her arms back and forth.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Erza assured her, once again pulling her into a one-armed hug and—Lucy could have sworn—slightly bruising the blonde's shoulder. "You can always count on me. Just leave it to me." Confused, Lucy was about to ask exactly what she was 'leaving to her', when Erza suddenly leapt to her feet and stretched her arms. "Well, all this sitting and talking has made my legs a bit stiff. Back to the water!" With that, she hefted her surfboard and charged across the beach, leaving Lucy speechless in the sand.

What have I done? she wondered with a groan.

-0-0-0-0-0-

All that day, Lucy was much more nervous and jittery than she should have been during a beach vacation—all due to Erza's mysterious assurance that morning. She came into contact with the object of their discussion numerous times, but each time he acted completely normal (well, normal for him, anyway), leading Lucy to believe Erza had not yet done whatever it was she was planning to do. Tired of waiting and growing extremely anxious by nightfall, Lucy finally approached Erza in the lodge of the house they were all staying in that evening.

"Alright, what's going on?" Lucy demanded in a slight whisper, her eyes darting toward a nearby table where he was sitting with a small group of other guild members. "What are you—?"

"I told you to leave it to me, didn't I?" Erza asked, frustrating Lucy by not following her lead in keeping their voices low. She downed her drink and stood, placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Don't worry, I talked to him for you."

The blood drained from Lucy's face as she took in those words. "Y-You—what?"

"I told him about your feelings, and he wants to speak with you."

Lucy couldn't speak. She couldn't even think. Erza had… what?

Erza smiled and stepped aside, and Lucy's already over-worked brain was further surprised and confused to see Gajeel striding toward them. He and Erza exchanged a brief glance, before he met Lucy's eyes, a slightly awkward expression on his face. What's going on? Lucy wondered, staring at him blankly. Why would she bring him into this?

"Lucy…" he said in his gruff voice, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm flattered that you feel this way, but well… I've sort of already got someone—"

Lucy's eyes widened as she realized what must have happened. She ignored the rest of his sentence and turned to Erza in a shocked fury, exclaiming, "You thought I meant Gajeel?"

A few other guild members had noticed the event going on and had turned to watch in interest, but Lucy didn't register their presence in her anger and embarrassment. Erza raised her eyebrows slightly and tilted her head to the side, saying, "Didn't you?"

"No!" Lucy almost screamed, now gaining the attention of the entire rest of the room and still not noticing them in return. Something told her she should calm down and be careful, but unfortunately not before she could dig herself an even deeper hole by shouting, "I'm in love with Natsu, you idiot!"

As soon as the words left Lucy's lips, the room became deadly silent. And only then did she finally become aware of her surroundings. Gajeel had taken a step away from her almost fearfully, looking sort of embarrassed himself. Everyone appeared as though in suspended animation, frozen in the act of whatever they'd been doing seconds before. More than one person was stopped in the middle of raising food to their mouths, several more paused in mid-conversation. Mirajane had a hand over her mouth as though covering a gasp. Juvia was clutching both hands over her heart and had an expression on her face like she was watching a lost puppy wagging its tail on her doorstep. Gray was almost smirking at Lucy, his eyebrows raised so high they were hidden by his scruffy, black hair. Levy's eyes were wide as she looked continuously back and forth between Lucy and Natsu—who, to Lucy's further embarrassment, was staring at her with what must have been the blankest expression she'd ever seen on his face. Oh no… Lucy thought frantically. What did I just do?

Erza blinked innocently as Lucy glanced back at her in shock. She smirked almost knowingly, and rather than react at her being called an idiot, she said lightly, "Oh. My mistake."

"I… You… But…" Lucy muttered incoherently, now unable to think clearly for the millionth time that day. She chanced another furtive glance around the room as her friends seemed to come back to life, almost all of them breaking into grins. Some whispered to their neighbors, some outright whooped and cheered. Lucy saw Gray laugh and punch Natsu in the arm. Natsu didn't respond his usual way, however, and instead blinked twice and frowned as though in thought, his mouth forming soundless words. Lucy felt her stomach drop in dread, and before anyone could approach her she turned and ran from the lodge. She heard several people call her name, but she didn't listen to any of them.

Once outside, Lucy strode across the deck and stopped on its opposite end, resting her elbows on the railing and leaning into it lazily. She dropped her head and groaned, mentally scolding herself for losing her cool so badly. This certainly had not been how she'd wanted Natsu to find out how she really felt about him.

As Lucy calmed her shaking limbs and took a few deep, cleansing breaths, she couldn't help but feel her worry slightly ebb away. She supposed it didn't really matter if Natsu felt the same way for her or not. He was her friend, and she knew him pretty well after all this time. There was no way he'd hate her for something like this. In reality, he would probably go along as they'd been, like nothing had happened. Then eventually the rest of the guild would follow their lead and just let the whole thing go. It would all work out. Sure.

So what am I standing out here for? Lucy asked herself. Though more hindrance than help, Erza had been right about one thing: she couldn't let herself appear weak. Fairy Tail wizards were tough. They could get through anything, right? So how was this any different?

A feeling of resignation rushing through her, Lucy spun around and was about to walk back toward the door when it suddenly opened, spilling light onto the moonlit deck. Lucy felt her breath catch in her throat and her resolve wane a bit as Natsu stepped through the door, snapping it shut behind him and stepping slowly across the wooden floor.

He was quiet for a minute, watching her while his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, before saying lamely, "Hi."

"H-Hi," Lucy replied, mentally smacking herself for choking on her own voice. This wasn't the time to be weak or afraid. This was the time to set things right. "Look, I'm sorry about before," she said, her voice finding its usual strength again. "I didn't mean—" She broke off. She couldn't say she didn't mean what she'd said, that would be a lie. Instead she settled for, "I didn't mean to surprise you like that."

He laughed briefly, shaking his head. "Yeah, it was a surprise alright…"

"Look," she began with a heavy sigh, "it's okay if you wanna just forget the whole thing, okay?"

He frowned, looking confused, and said, "Actually, I—"

"I mean, I don't want to force you or anything…" she continued, words spilling from her mouth before she could stop them. "I shouldn't have… done it like that."

Natsu shook his head again and a small, half-smile appeared on his face. "But I—"

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything." Lucy felt kind of rude for continuing to cut him off, but she didn't want to hear what she knew he was probably about to say. Instead she lowered her head and stalked past him toward the lodge door. "We'll just pretend it never happened."

As she passed him, she saw surprise flicker across his eyes. "Lucy—Hold on a second!"

"Meet you inside, okay?" She lowered her head even further to hide the pained expression she'd told herself she wouldn't show, and made to break into a run. But before she'd gotten very far she was halted by a sudden but tight grip on her upper arm (coincidentally, right over the bruise caused by Erza's 'hug' hours before). Before she could decide whether to resist or allow it, she was whirled around and pulled forward. She lost her balance in the process and stumbled right into Natsu, who grabbed her shoulders to steady her before leaning down and pressing his lips hard against hers.

Lucy was impressed with herself that she didn't fall over the rest of the way from shock. She had expected him to reject her, to tell her he was sorry and all that, then to forget the whole thing. But to kiss her? That was definitely… different from what she'd planned for. Rejection, she was ready for. So ready, in fact, that she hadn't even entertained the possibility of acceptance, that he might actually feel the same way she did. Even if she'd had full use of her mouth, she knew she would likely be speechless.

After a short second that felt to Lucy like a thousand, Natsu backed up and looked her in the eye, an almost sympathetic smirk on his face. "Just shut up, will ya?" he said with a small laugh. Lucy bit her tongue in slight embarrassment. She must have sounded so stupid with all that talking a minute ago… "Like I said, you surprised me. But that was 'cause I never expected you to be the first one to spill the beans like that."

The small fire of hope in Lucy's chest blazed brighter as she puzzled out his meaning. "You mean… You…"

"Want me to say it?" he asked, shrugging. "Fine." He touched his forehead against hers and Lucy felt an unbidden smile stretch slowly across her face. "I love you, too."

Lucy let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding in one swoop, a breathy laugh escaping with it. She took a step back and punched him in the arm as hard as she could. He cringed, though she knew it wouldn't have hurt him. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Instead of making me feel like a total idiot!" she teased.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at her. "In case you didn't notice, you didn't exactly give me much chance."

Laughing again, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and replaying the entire silly scene in her head. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Don't thank me," he insisted.

"You're right," she realized, thinking back. "I should thank Erza." It had been her who'd found this solution to Lucy's problem, after all.

Natsu pulled away to look her in the eye, confusion on his face. "Huh?"

Lucy only shook her head in amusement, before turning back for the door inside. "Come on."

"I guess I never did finish my dinner…"

Once inside, Natsu headed back to where he'd been seated before, where he was met with at least twelve people trying to find out what had happened. Lucy snuck over to Erza's otherwise vacant table and seated herself down. When Erza remained silent, Lucy said, "You tricked me."

Erza shrugged, though Lucy didn't miss the familiar gleam of mirth and amusement in her eyes.

"And you lied," Lucy continued. "You said you talked to Natsu, right? Since you really did know who I meant all along."

"I said I talked to 'him,'" Erza corrected her, stirring the drink in front of her. "I didn't say who I talked to."

Lucy chuckled at this reasoning, which was so very Erza and for which she realized she was grateful for. "Still… How did you know it would work out? I mean… I could have just as easily been permanently mortified in front of the entire guild." Erza was a bit rough sometimes, but Lucy wanted to believe that even she wouldn't risk such a thing, meaning she had to know everything would be alright in the end.

Erza glanced across the room at Natsu, who was attempting to finish his meal while brushing off the people around him. "You forget I've known Natsu a lot longer than you have," she answered, a certain fondness in her gaze. "He's like a brother to me. And I'd bet my entire armory that he was aware of his feelings for you long before you accepted yours for him."

Lucy smiled and finally said, "Thanks, Erza." The older girl met her eyes and nodded curtly, a small grin on her face. After a moment, Lucy frowned and said, "There's still one thing I was wondering." When Erza raised her eyebrows in inquisition, Lucy continued, "Why Gajeel?"

Erza shrugged again, answering, "He fit your description."

Lucy glanced over at where Gajeel was sitting alone and thought back to how she'd described her mysterious crush earlier that afternoon. In reality, she slowly realized, the two were quite similar. She laughed at the thought, before saying, "I think he's a bit more level-headed than Natsu, though…"

"Mm," Erza agreed through her drink. When she set it down, she turned to Lucy again, a serious look on her face. "Now, if he ever gives you any trouble, just come to me, alright? I'll give him a good whack across the head."

Lucy smiled to herself, knowing that this was no idle advice and that Erza would no doubt delight in being asked to do such. "I'll keep that in mind."

When Lucy's eyes once again traveled across the room, she noticed Natsu set down his glass in annoyance, before waving an arm in her direction and saying something she couldn't hear. Most of the group turned to look at her with eager expressions, and as one they began moving toward her like a giant parasite.

"Erza?" Lucy said, glaring at the throng of people she really didn't want to talk to. "Smack him for me."

Erza rose from the table and cracked her knuckles, a wicked grin on her face. "With pleasure."

I decided I love writing Erza :D haha. Hopefully won't be too long till my next update! See y'all soon!

-oMM