Author's Note: This chapter had me stumped for a while until I got it to the best of my abilities. A new bit of news is that I've got a prologue up as well for another story, so check it out when you get the chance. I'll get a little more into detail about it there, but for now enough talking. Here's the chappie for you, so please review and enjoy!
Chapter 10
The sun shined as the morning hours were dwindling away, the guild's members were as jovial as ever, most of them anyway. One person wasn't as happy as the rest, especially with a clingy water mage pestering him as he sat at the bar counter. Gray had come in pretty early in the morning due to a restless night filled with dreams of his kiss with Erza and nightmares of the one with Natsu.
"Gray-sama are you okay? You seem tired." Juvia asked as she quickly took notice of the dark circles under his eyes after her fan-girling moment had passed.
"Other than getting a bit more sleep, I'm fine" He replied suppressing the urge to yawn, while a huge smile was pressed on Juvia's face.
"Then Juvia will allow Gray-sama to use Juvia's lap as his personal pillow!" She proclaimed with the entire scene playing in her mind already, yet Gray didn't see that happening.
"That's alright Juvia, you don't need to do something like that. Gray could always sleep in the guild infirmary if he wanted to." Mira had interjected on their conversation as she came near the two. Juvia was suspicious of the bar maid, while Gray looked at her questioningly.
"You sure Mira? I could always walk back home and go to sleep there." He asked as Juvia became worried struck realizing that she wouldn't be able to spend time with him.
"No!" Mira responded a little too quickly and blushed as the two mages stared at her. "What I meant to say is that it'll be alright to do so. There's no need for you to walk that far when you're already half asleep silly." She laughed it off which worked in her favor with Gray, however Juvia still had her suspicions.
"Well thanks then Mira, I'll head up there right now." He said getting up from his bar stool, the water mage prepared to follow him if it weren't for Gajeel grabbing her arm.
"Rain Woman, you and I need to talk." He said dragging her away as she comically flailed her arm, reaching out for her Gray-sama. Gray watched as the long haired man dragged her away and simply shook his head before heading for the staircase.
"Gajeel-kun why did you take Juvia away from Juvia's Gray-sama?" She wasn't so pleased that he took away the opportunity for her own lap to hold her precious Gray-sama's head.
"Listen to me carefully, I've pieced everything together as best as I could and it leads me to you. Now tell me what you did yesterday" Gajeel had been so bothered with being interested in the ice mage that he immediately set out to find out when did this all happen to begin with.
"J-Juvia doesn't know what Gajeel-kun is talking about" She decided to play the innocent card, but this was Gajeel and that hardly works on him, unless you're Levy.
"Don't lie to me Rain Woman, you and I have known each other for years so tell me the truth." He was determined to get the truth, at least then he knew why he was acting and feeling this way about the ice princess.
"Fine Juvia can't lie to Gajeel-kun. Juvia purchased and Emotion Potion from her last mission and wanted Gray-sama to drink it, but Juvia accidentally dropped it into the punch and Gajeel-kun drank it instead." She recapped what had happened and Gajeel was not too happy that his emotions weren't his own.
"I hope you understand what you've done because now your damn feelings for that frost pop are now my own." He continued to grumble to himself that this had happened to him, that another one of her failed attempts to get the mage involved him now.
Juvia truly didn't want to burden her dear friend with such a predicament and wanted nothing more than to help him get through this, until an idea popped up in her mind that she slightly didn't like. This was something she was willing to do for the sake of her friend and hopefully garner some sentiment from the iron slayer.
"Against Juvia's personnel wishes, Juvia proposes that Gajeel-kun team up with Juvia to win Gray-sama's love." Sharing the man she loved was something she didn't want to do, but if Gajeel felt the same way as she did than he may go for it.
"Rain Woman if this is your way of making it up to me, than you're gonna have to try harder. Although I may take you up on this offer to see where it goes, I am curious to know how cold iron would feel." Gajeel may have suggested something that was way too much for Juvia to handle, where now she was lost in the legendary boys' love in her imagination.
"V-Very well Gajeel-kun, we shall conquer Gray-sama's love together!" She may have her own doubts, but Juvia was confidant that their team up will work in their favor. Her's mostly though.
Juvia went into further detail with him surprisingly he became quite interested in what she had to say, but unknown to the two a womanly figure heard as much as she could about the conversation the former Phantom Lord members had and was ready to report to her leader once she gets the chance. For now she had to be careful not to have Gajeel sensing or sniffing her presence too close or else he'd become suspicious.
Back with Gray, the trip to the staircase was much more difficult than what he had imagined it would be without a good night's sleep. He walked to the best of his ability, but he felt his movements to be really sluggish especially as he went up those steps. With each step he took he had the sensation to be swaying to the sides until he was mid way up the staircase and missed a step.
He reacted as fast as he could and tried to grab the railing to steady himself, but what he grabbed didn't feel like wood. He moved his gaze over and noticed it to be a muscular tanned arm, leading up to the face of the guild's 'Manly' man.
"Sorry about that Elfman, guess I'm much more tired than I thought." Gray said as he started trying to make his way up again.
"Asking for assistance is Manly Gray!" Elfman said as he walked at his side, placing an arm over his shoulder to support him.
"Thanks Elfman" Gray said, but Elfman was more than happy since he had Gray at his side with no Natsu to take his attention away. "You truly are one of the Manliest men and that's something I know you'll always be."
It had been these comments that had Elfman completely engulfed by Gray, which actually began with the brawl they had when Gray beat Natsu. The compliments he received when they brawled always drew him closer, wanting to know why Gray all of the sudden talked to him in that way. For now Elfman would leave his wondering in the corner of his mind, right now he'd enjoy being so close to Gray.
As the two made their way up the stairs and walked towards the infirmary, one particular woman wasn't pleased to see the sight. In her green dress revealing her ample bust with her glasses resting near the tip of her nose, Evergreen sat alongside the Thunder Tribe tapping her fingers in an annoyed fashion.
"How dare he look at that ice mage like I don't even matter!" She was furious to see the man she secretly had an interest in make goo goo eyes at Gray. It was one thing that he hadn't spoken to her for a few days, but now he goes looking at another guy like a love struck idiot. Last time she checked, Elfman was very interested in woman or is he no longer attracted by her sex appeal?
"What could he possibly have to offer him?! I'm very capable in beauty, fortitude and being a WOMAN!" Evergreen wasn't about to be spited that her sex appeal had lost the interest of a man and have him just randomly turn gay. Of course the thought of Elfman becoming gay at such a fast rate had her question it for a few seconds, but was lost in her internal jealous rage.
"Chill out Ever, glare any harder and that wall over there's gonna have two burning holes through it." Bickslow joked as he noticed her hard gaze plastered at the two mages, but the self proclaiming 'Fairy Queen' wasn't in the mood for joking.
"Evergreen, if it's truly bothering you than go and speak to him about it instead of baring your eyes. Your magic makes people turn into stone, not burst into flames." Came the stoic reply of Freed as he took a sip of his tea.
"Fine! If you think it's really the best option than I'll do it." She said with a small huff as she trailed after the two, leaving her team mates confused as to why she got so angry so fast.
Evergreen followed the two towards the infirmary, however she wasn't going to confront either one just yet. She saw them exchange a few more words and her tempered soared again when she noticed how Elfman looked at Gray. Could that man ever take a hint that maybe she would want to be looked at in the same way? Not long into her own thoughts did Evergreen notice Elfman waving goodbye to Gray and moving on, this was her chance to talk to him about their seemingly nonexistent relationship.
"Elf-nii-chan there you are, Mira-nee has been wanting to talk to you for a while." Lisanna said as she rounded a corner, quickly grabbing her older brother's arm and dragging him away.
"Coming to my sister's call is Manly!" He replied walking right behind her, however Evergreen was pissed that her chance was ruined by his own little sister.
With a defeated sigh she walked back to her table crossing her arms, once again placed in a foul mood and looking over the balcony for the white haired muscular man. Ever's team mates looked at her questioningly, but decided to avoid aggravating her further. Bickslow and Freed shared an uneasy look with one another until a grunt gained their attention towards where it came from.
"Ever, if you didn't get to talk to him than go to Gray." Laxus had his eyes closed for most of the time they were in the guild that day, but he could over hear what the others were saying. He quickly judged by her sudden return and pissed off mood that she didn't get her way this time.
"But Laxus why would I need to speak to him? This really doesn't have to do with him at all." She replied changing her focus towards him, although he still hadn't opened his eyes.
"He may be the person you need to talk to involving Elfman, so go." With that he settled himself in a relaxed position in his chair and Evergreen knew it was the end of the discussion.
She got up from her seat again and walked back towards the infirmary where she watched Gray walk into. If Laxus was right then all she had to do was get Gray to have Elfman look back her way. Of course if things didn't go smoothly, there was always Plan B and she would have to share a few 'words' of encouragement with him.
She knocked on the door once she got there, but there was no reply or footsteps of anyone making their way towards the door. Evergreen tried again this time louder than before, but there still no reply and her already thin patience just wore out. With on swift movement, Evergreen opened the door ready to yell at Gray to open the door when someone knocks, however she was met with an interesting sight.
Laying on one of the beds was Gray, his hands behind his head like a makeshift pillow even with one under them, body stretched out in a lazy fashion and a quite snore escaping his lips. Evergreen would've thought about many different reasons he'd be up here, but just to go to sleep hadn't crossed her mind. She walked closer to him, unsure whether or not to wake him up now or come back at a later time.
"Honestly, how could I tell him off if he's so asleep?" She commented to herself, but gave the mage another look over. "He does look cute though."
Evergreen instantly drew back from taking another step and was shocked to know how she easily commented the ice mage. She looked at him once again and her mind simply became fuzzy to all other things around her. The small things about Gray became her focus, like how his pale skin nearly matched that of a small blanket of snow or how peaceful he looked compared to the almost always agitated look he wore because of Natsu.
She then looked at his face and was instantly captivated by his looks, sure they weren't as gruff as compared to Laxus and Elfman, but they had a smoothness she couldn't wait to touch. Ever's gaze slowly moved down to his lips where she thought on how they would feel. Would they be as warm as any other person's or would they be cool and icy like his magic?
Evergreen couldn't explain this feeling of wanting to find out, but she couldn't hold back any longer. She moved even closer to his side, already feeling the cooler air around him and slowly bent over. She found it interesting that she was feeling like a young teenager again, moments before receiving her first kiss. Unlike that time, she never came close to meeting lips because a certain spirit chose this time to run into the room.
"Gray we need to..." Loke locked eyes with Evergreen as she stood straight up in an instant, blushing for the fact that she may have been caught stealing a kiss from the sleeping mage. "Evergreen what are you doing?" Said mage was trying to think on her feet.
"I was...I was um...Going to yell in Gray's ear! Yeah that's it, I was going to yell in his ear" It came up to her since she was bent over near his face and seemed to be the most logical thing.
"Why would you do that?" Loke asked and Evergreen wasn't ready to come up with a lot of different excuses on the fly, especially being caught in an embarrassing situation.
"What is this 20 questions? I don't have time to answer you, I'm very busy so move out of my way." She said in a haughty tone, brushing pass the spirit who looked at her quizzically before returning to the matter at hand.
Loke rushed towards Gray's bedside and began shaking him as hard as he could to wake him up, of course that earned him a fist to the jaw from the previously sleeping ice mage. He held his sore jaw looking at the ice mage who sat up and rubbed his eye before glaring at the spirit.
"What the hell was that for!?" Loke yelled as Gray continued to glare at him shifting his feet over to touch the floor.
"You know I hate to be woken up like that." He said, dropping his icy glare and took on his normal bored look. "Is there a reason you woke me up Loke?"
"Dude you have to answer me truthfully. Are you gay?" He barely finished getting over the initial pain from the first blow to his jaw before he felt it again even worse.
"If there's one thing I hate, it's when my sexuality is questioned. There better be a damn good reason you're asking Loke or else there's gonna be a lion popsicle in the middle of this room." Gray hated when it was questioned, just because he stripped that one time with a bunch of homosexual men around doesn't mean he is. He's got nothing against them mind you, but he just doesn't like to be teased about it or have people thinking he is.
"I've got two reasons you ice prick; one is to get a pissed off mermaid off our backs and two is because Natsu told Lucy you kissed him." Loke was expecting something to happen when he said the last bit, but what he didn't expect was for Gray to close in on him and hold him harshly by the sides of his lapels.
"That didn't happen on purpose you got that!" Gray looked pretty furious with Loke at this point and the lion spirit was both surprised with his tone and how he admitted to doing the deed.
"Easy Gray I understand, just tell me what happened." Loke replied calmly, trying to ease him up or else he'll get another blow to his handsome face. "Man, now I'm a bit afraid to ask you if you actually said that you were falling in love with Natsu." In an instant Loke regretted opening his mouth again and fully expected the fist he was dealt with.
"Who the hell said I was falling in love with him. For Mavis' sake, I barely told Gajeel I wasn't so why are you asking me now!?" Gray thought this was all behind him and wanted nothing to do with that conversation ever again.
"Natsu was the one that said that!" Loke was angry with Gray for being hit like that three times, but at least he got his answer, even if it costed him punches to the face.
"That damn pink idiot better not be telling the whole damn world." Gray said prepared to punch the memory out of the dragon slayer's mind.
"Wait up man, I still need to talk to you. This is really important." Loke had quickly stopped Gray from leaving the room and he stood in front of him with a serious expression.
"What is it Loke?" Gray crossed his arms waiting for a reply, biding his time before he beats the hell out of Natsu.
"You know how I said Lucy stood up to Juvia for you right?" He asked as Gray nodded in response, "Well there are other people too..."
"What do you mean 'other people'" Gray didn't understand it, but something was telling him he wouldn't like it.
"I mean Lucy isn't the only one who likes you." Loke revealed the truth to which he wasn't sure it was a sad or awesome truth.
"W-What?"
"I've got word that there are other people gunning for you man. You're like number one target for a few people that I've learned of." Loke will keep the others he knows a secret for now, just until he's sure that it's okay to tell Gray.
"There's no way someone besides those two likes me, even if I'm the hottest guy here." Gray joked although he felt uneasy because one of those other people he knows to be Erza.
"Easy now arrogance is very unbecoming, besides I'm Fairy Tail's number one playboy so you've got to deal with it." Loke joked along, but he noticed the slightest look of unease from his friend and wondered what was bothering him. "Spill it Gray, you know something."
Gray cursed himself for not being careful and judged whether or not he would tell Loke about last night. It was one of the most unbelievable things to happen to him that left him feeling like he was on cloud 9, but also left him confused about his own feelings. With an exasperated sigh he decided to tell Loke what happened between him and Erza.
"Listen to me carefully Loke, last night I spent some time out with Erza and things got really, uhh..." This is one problem Gray fully knew he needed help with, that being his inability to discuss intimate things with just about anyone.
"Things got what man? You're leaving me in suspense here." Loke was interested to know what happened, but he was getting a vibe that didn't sit well with him.
"Well she...we sort of...kissed" Gray stood there waiting for Loke to react in any way though the spirit simply stood there in a confused stupor.
"Why would she kiss you?" Loke said as he scratched his chin in a wondering manner, although Gray was surprised on how he didn't react as much as he thought.
"You're taking this pretty well Loke." Gray hadn't expected him to be this calm about it, until he noticed the malicious glint in his eye.
"Oh don't get me wrong Gray, I'm furious that you're kissing other people behind Lucy's back even after I gave you my blessing." He replied allowing some of his Regulus to shine in his fists. "But I'd rather not get beat by Erza if she found out."
"I understand you're mad Loke, but this has set me back so much that I don't know what to do anymore." Gray sighed and sat down on the nearest bed, trying his best to keep his thoughts in order.
"You really are hopeless when it comes to true romance." Loke said, letting go of his anger to help out his old friend in his time of need. "I'll help you out with this."
"Thanks man I appreciate it. By the way, true romance and you don't go hand in hand." Gray joked, comfortable once again thanks to their knack of changing the atmosphere easily.
"Say what you want, but it's still my help you're getting. Now tell me all of it so I could get a general idea of the situation." If they were going to get Gray back on track, they're gonna have to start somewhere.
Loke may have run off when Lucy had entered the guild, but she wished she ran after him now more than ever. There was a tense air around her table since the people residing their included herself, Levy, Erza and Natsu. The dragon slayer of course was getting restless while he waited for Levy and Erza to leave so he could talk to Lucy about Gray.
Erza on the other hand was waiting for Natsu to scamper off and start a fight with someone so she could discuss with Lucy on her agreement to join their alliance. The two in the middle were at a cross road, trying to communicate with each other about their current situation. Lucy could feel the tense air around them until it was broken by the ever so happy Happy when he saw Carla walk through the guild doors.
"Carla and Wendy are back from their mission!" Happy said delighted as he flew off towards the doors to greet them.
"It's too bad she missed the celebration yesterday, it was her completed mission that made it the 30,000th one for Fairy Tail." Lucy said as she watched the flying blue cat make his way towards the white furred feline.
"Don't forget that she did a joint mission with Bisca and her family." Levy added as said family trailed right behind the young dragon slayer.
"I'm sure Mira may have saved something for them." Erza said as she continued to wait patiently for Natsu to do his usual activities, yet he just sat there bored out of his mind. "It's interesting to see you aren't trying to get into any fights Natsu."
"I'm not in the mood, besides the ice statue isn't around for me to hold..." Erza, Levy and Lucy looked at Natsu with surprise as he didn't realize what he had just said.
"Natsu did you just say that you want to hold Gray?" Erza asked as he still had his bored expression, not really reading the mood around him.
"Yeah I did, so what?" He replied as the blonde and bluenette looked over towards Erza, both worried about her reaction. Lucy due to not taking into account Natsu's inability to keep some things to himself and Levy because she knows about Erza's position when it concerns Gray.
"I'm sure he means in a fighting sense Erza!" Lucy interjected placing herself in the line of fire, in Levy's eyes, just to protect him from a blow he could get back up after going through a couple of tables and a support beam or two.
"Well that too, but I want to feel how our bodies would be if I had him in my arms." Somewhere in the back of Lucy's mind she wished her pink haired best friend wasn't that much of an idiot when it came to keeping his mouth shut.
The scene that this interaction painted would look comical to others, but to the ones in it was a different story. Levy's mind wondered into the nether area where her erotic fantasies played that scene of Gray and Natsu together, Erza was no different except her's might have gone further if the slight blush on her face was any indication. For Lucy though, it was more of a point to raise the white flag and let Natsu deal with his fate, as for him he sat there clueless as to why everyone was looking weird.
In a shining flash a sword was pointed at Natsu's neck, taking him by surprise along with Lucy and Levy. They all looked at Erza who had a face that seemed ready to kill and Natsu was sweating bullets at this point since that glare was pointed at him.
"How dare you think of MY Gray in such a way!" The red head growled out, leaving Levy scared out of her mind, Lucy in a similar state and Natsu to change from a look of fear to a face of defiance.
"YOUR Gray!? He isn't anyone's but mine got it! Back me up Luce!" Natsu wouldn't let anyone ruin this for him, Gajeel almost did it for him before and this time he wasn't going to break so easily.
"Why are you siding with him Lucy? I thought you were in a team with Levy for Gray or are you going behind her back and siding with Natsu?" Erza pointed an accusing finger towards the blonde who shot her arms up in surrender.
"I am with Levy, but Natsu came to me wanting to get help on getting Gray's attention." Lucy completely revealed Natsu's motives out of straight fear for her life, but a small spark of courage had ignited within her to question Erza's statement. "How do you know that!? Wait what do you mean by your Gray!?"
In her overall time being a member of Fairy Tail, Lucy knew she hasn't talked back to Erza let alone question her. Defying Erza wasn't on her to do list, but it was something she admired in Gray when he knew what was right and she believed she picked it up from him.
"What are you doing Lucy?! This is no time for thinking about Gray!" Lucy mentally scolded herself, but took a breath of relief when Erza dropped her finger and drew back her sword.
"Levy told me and w-well if you must r-really know...I have an interest in Gray." Erza quickly admitted to them and she slowly retreated back with a small blush dusting her cheeks.
The extreme atmosphere dissipated instantly as the entire table looked at Erza in great shock. Levy and Lucy looked on as this was one of the most rare occasions that they see Erza blush. They always found it super adorable when they got the chance, since she is such a strong woman it makes her look even cuter to act like a very shy person. Natsu was simply astounded that a person like Erza could actually blush about something, to him he believed she wasn't capable of acting like a girl.
"S-So where do we stand on this." Levy spoke up amidst the awkward silence and the four friends looked at each other, trying to base their answer for this predicament.
"Like I said to you last night Levy, I'm going to join your alliance with Lucy." Levy was glad to hear she was still willing to join and Lucy was surprised to know that Erza was actually joining them. Their luck just turned completely from this point, she was sure of it.
"What about you Natsu?" Levy had to ask, she thought through it and came to the conclusion that having a dragon slayer on their side would be beneficial.
"If you guys are going to share Gray than fine, I'll join this dumb alliance." Natsu was none too happy about the idea of sharing Gray, but the underlying fear of Erza was a constant motivator for him to easily give into this alliance and avoid beatings from her at most. "At least I got to kiss Gray..."
Natsu was feeling smug about that fact and outwardly expressed it, although this earned him a devastating blow by the Great Titania which sent him rocketing away. He was luckily stopped when he hit a support beam and slid to the ground completely dazed from the punch. At the same time Wendy, Carla and Happy just arrived to see that happen.
"What happened to Natsu-nii?" Wendy asked as she looked at Erza ho had a satisfied smile on her face, crossing her arms and leaning back into her seat.
"That's what he deserves for defiling Gray like that..." The requip mage thought, slightly feeling better after that attack.
"Welcome back Wendy and don't worry about him too much. He insulted Erza's strawberry cheesecakes is all." Lucy quickly made the excuse up, but it did match up on how Erza would've reacted. "So tell us how your mission went."
"Sure thing and we're sorry we missed the celebration party." Wendy said as she made her way towards Lucy's side.
The blonde scooted over to allow the young slayer to sit next to her, greeting Erza and Levy as she sat. Happy flew off to check on his fallen partner, which left Carla to sit on Wendy's lap, but she felt her mind being struck by her precognition.
CARLA'S VISION
Carla could tell she was in some sort of cave, the sound of the ocean nearby as if it were just right outside. Oddly enough she saw a crowd of many of her guild mates walking behind Gray for some unknown reason, until he turned to look at them. His face showed signs of concern as if he was about to commit a crime he didn't want to.
"It's good to know that you could all make it, but this is where the trip ends." He said in a straight voice and immediately jumped back from the large group as Happy and Wendy did the same and got away.
"FREED DO IT!" He yelled as a nearby over looking cliff edge revealed the hidden Freed, his rune writing rapier already forming a giant rune barrier around the members. Obviously many tried to flee the rune created perimeter, but were too late and now trapped.
"Gray what are you doing!" Erza shouted as she banged on the rune barrier looking at Gray with worried eyes. He looked at her with downcast eyes and stepped back even further as she continued to bang on the barrier.
"Happy get Toby to start the ritual!" Gray yelled as the flying blue cat rushed his way out of one of the many small crevasses in the cave wall that illuminated the rather dark cave.
"It doesn't have to be like this!" Lucy cried as she stood next to Levy who was trying her hardest to break the barrier wall as fast as she could.
"I'll try to contain it as long as I can Gray, hopefully this does it for sure!" Freed called out continuously rewriting the barrier as Levy breaks through another set of runes.
"I'm sorry you guys, this is the only option left. It's better this way."
END CARLA'S VISION
The white cat shook slightly in shock, this was very descriptive and yet at the same time it was so strange. Gray, Wendy, Happy and Freed had something to do with the a ritual involving a large bulk of the guild, but what worried her most was that this was happening for a reason and they were in their right state of mind. Something was about to happen to the guild and it seems to be up to those four to save the guild.
"You okay Carla you blanked out for a bit there." Wendy asked as she wasn't really reacting to much once she began to sit next to her.
"I'm fine Wendy, just caught up in thought." Carla replied as the group continued their conversation often looking back at the still dazed Natsu until he stood up again.
Carla had barely returned from a mission only to receive such a foreboding vision concerning so many of her fellow guild mates. What happened to cause Gray and the others to react to such drastic measures and seal their friends within a rune barrier. Only time would tell and she fears the repercussion if she were to interfere with the future.
