Hello everyone! Thanks for all the reviews, faves, and alerts. Like always, you make my day! I was kind of worried I'd made Lucy look out of character last chapter. I'm glad you didn't seem to think so, so special thanks for reviewing chapter 6 for me. Also, my apologies to all of reviewers for chapter 5, I got confused with my chapters when I was replying to you and kept talking about chapter 7 when I meant chapter 6. Sigh. I hope I didn't confused you all with my own sorry confusion...
Iofra - Thanks for both of your reviews! My main concern for chapter 5 was to keep up a balance between humor and romance as I worked my way out of the two heavily romantic chapters (3&4) to get into the primarily comedy ones (6&7) where all hell breaks loose. And yeah, both guys got what they wanted already, but I still have some things up my sleeve to where things are going to go. I hope you stick around to find out.
Tsuki. Raven - I just had to address your review here. I had actually just finished writing the beginning of this chapter when I got your review, and I was like "Holy shit! This person is reading my mind!" I had every intention of giving some attention to Wendy, that's why I brought her up last chapter. I hope that what you see in this chapter is up to your liking... So, I guess that part goes out to you :)
Oh, before I forget, I went back to chapter 6 and worked up a bit the last scene. The general idea didn't change, but I think it looks a lot better now, so you might want to go back to reread it. :D
What to expect for this chapter? Well, Gajeel needs to show someone a lesson, and, as promised, both Erza and Mira are coming back to life and they are not in their best of moods... Let their wrath sail forward!
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
"A Favor"
Chapter 7:
Happy made his way back to the table where Wendy and Charle were still sitting calmly. The state of the two mages highly contrasted the rest of his Fairy Tail guildmates, who had, in a thirty-minute period, been shocked to their wits ends, half-blinded, made to lose their consciousness, irrevocably silenced, threatened to be scorched or nailed to death, rendered deaf for a few moments, and who were now in the process of getting way too drunk, yelling loudly, and fighting one another. The blue Exceed landed smoothly on the wooden surface and gave both females a kind smile. He was really curious about the blue-haired mage's composed demeanor, and so, he didn't waste any time in asking her what had been dwelling in his mind since he had left them earlier to settle things with Natsu and Lucy, "Eh, Wendy? How did you know what Natsu and Gajeel were planning?" Happy watched as the sky dragon-slayer locked eyes with him, smiling back at him before responding. "I see you noticed," she began, in a deceptive monotone voice, "I have known since the moment Gajeel-san approached Natsu-san a few days ago to ask him for a favor." Happy gave her a confused look in return, furrowing his thin eyebrows. "A favor?" he asked, almost immediately. The girl giggled, "Yes, a favor. You see, they were actually trying to be very secretive about it all, but the two of them forget that I'm a dragon-slayer, too, and just like them, I have better hearing than your average human."
The blue cat would have never believed it if he hadn't witnessed it with his own two eyes right that moment. Wendy was actually giving him a sly grin as she spoke, a feature that told him that she was very conscious of her win over the two oblivious males and that she was clearly enjoying this undisputed victory over them. In a way, she reminded him of Natsu and Gajeel when they came up on top after a fight. Oh, this girl is sneaky. What else has she heard and kept quiet about? Happy returned the blue-haired mage's knowing smile with one of his own mischievous grins, "You know, Wendy, you are not as innocent as you pretend to be." The girl giggled once more as he continued to speak, "You are definitely a proud Fairy Tail mage, let me tell you. Is being this devious engraved in all you dragon-slayers' DNA, or is it just a coincidence all three of you share this particular trait?" Both Happy and Wendy openly laughed at his rhetorical question; the first knowing perfectly well that he'd never get an answer to that question – he had harassed Natsu to no avail for long enough to know that –, and the second knowing perfectly well that she'd never reveal that mystery to anyone – where'd be the fun in that, then?
Their joyful laughter was interrupted when Charle decided to cut into their conversation with an annoyed proclamation of her own, "Those two male dragon-slayers are nothing but bad influences on Wendy. They are too loud, irresponsible, possessive, and idiotic, among other things, and their behavior has rubbed off on her. She didn't use to be this way. Unacceptable." The other two mages turned to look at her, neither letting their smile to falter, since both of them knew she enjoyed being at Fairy Tail more than she would ever be willing to admit out loud. Happy still decided to respond to her playful accusation, "Well, one thing I can say for sure is that all those… qualities will come in handy whenever a male decides to come onto Wendy with romantic intentions." All three mages couldn't resist laughing boisterously at the blue cat's statement. They were all perfectly aware that the second anyone showed that sort of interest in the younger dragon-slayer, the overly possessive and protective side of the older ones would automatically turn itself on, just as it did for their mates. They all prematurely pitied the poor soul who would dare approach her: Charle, because, aside from all the intimidation the male dragon-slayers would be doing, she had every intention of making sure all undesirable suitors scrammed out the door before they even got the chance to say a single word to her friend. Happy, because he knew Natsu (and he assumed Gajeel as well) truly cared for the blue-haired girl and considered her somewhat of a younger sister, and, just like he did with Lucy, he would revel at any opportunity he got to harass others and beat them senseless without having to face serious repercussions for it. Wendy, because she knew perfectly well just to what extremes the two older dragon-slayers would go to intimidate her possible mates, and she just couldn't wait to have a little fun of her own messing with both her suitors and her older "dragon brothers." A devilishly amused grin appeared in all of their faces as they each thought of the possible entertainment that would be featured in Fairy Tail once Wendy decided she was ready for mating.
Somewhere around the guild, Romeo was taken over by a foreboding feeling of dread and a terrible shrill went down his spine. What the heck was that? he wondered. He shortly after shrugged it off and continued to sip on some beer as he watched Cana humiliate his father at another drinking contest. Again.
The three mages' laughing came to a sudden stop when they heard someone punch another of their guildmates close to where they were sitting. As their attention switched towards the commotion, they realized Gajeel had just given Gray a straight hit on the jaw and the latter had been knocked down off his seat. Neither Wendy nor the two Exceeds required an explanation to figure out what had provoked the incident. Still, shortly after they had turned to look at the new little spectacle taking place at the guild, the iron dragon-slayer, who was glaring daggers at the fallen mage, voiced his reasons for the assault and issued the threat they had all been expecting to hear any day now. Happy flipped his wings open and, saying his goodbyes to both females, flew away towards the two raven-haired mages with a devious grin that spelled trouble. Wendy's eyes lingered on him momentarily before she returned her attention to the ever-serious Charle, That cat will never learn. I guess the temptation to mess with Gray is too high for Happy to withstand. Then again, he wouldn't really be Happy if he stopped annoying everyone around him every chance he got.
Gray was lying on the floor with a bemused expression on his face, his hand rubbing the check Gajeel had just punched without even a word for warning. "What the fuck, Metal-head?" he finally managed to spit out, as he began to lift himself from the floor and steady himself in a sitting position on the ground.
Gajeel didn't even hesitate replying, "That's for keeping your relationship with the Water Woman a secret. We honestly could care less if you're reserved or not about your private life, Ice-prick, but if your going to date a guild member, and a friend at that, I'd expect you to at least show her the respect she deserves and tell us, your guildmates, about it." Before speaking again, the iron dragon-slayer took the time to observe – and thoroughly delight in – the shocked face the ice mage, who hadn't moved from his spot on the floor, was currently displaying. The poor sucker had probably thought he had really succeeded in keeping his relationship with Juvia a secret. In part, Gajeel berated himself for not realizing it earlier. He had noticed their scents lingering around each other more often and more intensely, but he had just assumed that was due to the fact that the water mage was always sure to keep close to the raven-haired man. If the Bunny Girl was right with the timeframe, he had also missed the exact moment when the two had gotten together, since he had been away on a long mission that had kept him from the guild for over two weeks. When he had returned to Fairy Tail, he was tired and desperately needing to inhale the blue-haired script mage's scent he had been deprived of for so long. He should have known about the two mages getting closer, but, perhaps, his own conflicted mind, which continued to trouble him over and over about Levy at the time, had incapacitated him from doing so. Regardless of the reason why he had failed to notice before, the iron dragon-slayer was going to make sure he compensated his comrade for the two months she had spent hiding for what he had overlooked.
"Listen to me carefully, Stripping-popsicle," Gajeel seethed dangerously, "Break her heart, and I'll break each and every bone in your miserable body, got it?" He watched the astounded mage nod his head in understanding and then turned his attention to the water mage who was standing close by with an appreciative expression, her eyes watery and her lips smiling lightly. He gave her a nod of recognition and a slight grin. Before he even made an attempt to walk away and return to his mate, he heard her say in a partial stutter, "Gajeel-kun, Juvia is grateful. Juvia also considers you a friend." He locked eyes with her once more and nodded again. Without another word, he then started his walk back towards the guild's entrance. Damn these Fairy Tail fairies. I'm becoming the biggest softie in Earthland.
Gray watched the retreating figure of the iron mage still too stunned to get up from his spot on the guildhall's floor. What the fuck had just happened? Did Gajeel just seriously punch him for keeping a secret relationship with Juvia? Did the Metal-freak honestly call her his friend? Had he woken up in a parallel universe or something? No, the searing pain in his cheek was proof enough that he wasn't dreaming. Gray knew Gajeel had really changed once he had joined Fairy Tail and the dragon-slayer had truly earned his place among them. He belonged now; he was nakama. The ice mage, shortly after, remembered how it had been Juvia who had suggested to master Makarov to let Gajeel join their guild, and his eyes widened as he realized why the iron mage had punched him with all his strength. The dragon-slayer owed Juvia for her intercession on his behalf, and if Gray was honest with himself, he deserved that punch and perhaps a few more.
The ice mage knew keeping his relationship with Juvia secret hadn't been the best decision he had made in his life, but he had wanted to make sure they were both in the same page before telling the rest of their friends the nature of their relationship had changed. He had assumed that if things didn't end up working out between them and nobody knew about them in the first place, it would have been easier for the both of them to return to how they were before they started dating. It seemed logical, but perhaps Gray had been lying to himself. There was no way in hell anything would revert back to how it was before them dating if their relationship failed. The ice mage scowled disapprovingly at himself; he had been the one who had taken the initiative, for Deliora's ugly frozen skull! As the ice alchemist moved his hand to rub his swollen cheek, he realized he had been undeniably selfish by requesting Juvia to remain quiet about them. His own need to keep his life simple had blinded him from seeing that instead of protecting the water mage like he had actually wanted to do, his actions had ended up hurting her. He seriously had some apologizing to do, and he vowed to himself, as he continued to rub his sore cheek, that he would go above and beyond to show Juvia, in private – he would never be so bold as to do what Natsu and Lucy did half the time –, just how much he enjoyed her company.
The pain in his cheek brought Gray back to reality as he focused his attention on the mage responsible for it. He observed the scene developing at the guild's entrance with care. Natsu holding Lucy's waist possessively while the blond chatted amiably with Levy – Normal –, the Fire-idiot ginning as if he had won the Great Magic Games all on his own – Irritably Normal –, Gajeel smirking back at Natsu and the two high-fiving – Not Normal –. The ice mage was so shocked he didn't even realize he was voicing his thoughts, "What the fuck? Since when do Metal-head and Fire-breath peacefully engage in conversation? … Forget about that, since when do the fire and iron Dragon-asses exchange anything else, other than insults, punches, and kicks? Something is so definitely not right here!"
Too lost in his own bewildered thoughts, Gray failed to notice the blue cat that had managed to make his way towards him and was now standing next to the flabbergasted mage. Happy tsked, "Gray, Gray, Gray, you are sooo~ slow!" he said in a mocking singsong tone. Before continuing, he poked the ice mage on the chest with his paw to add to his teasing, and increased the volume of his voice, "Get with the program already!" The Exceed's words caught the ice alchemist's attention and he turned to acknowledge the devious flying feline. "What the hell do you mean?" he asked, once he had managed to finally snap out of his stupor. His question, however, fell on deaf ears, since the blue cat had already found something else occurring at the back of the guild that he deemed much more worthy of his time and had already taken flight towards it. Stupid annoying cat!
"Gray-sama, are you okay?" the ice mage heard Juvia ask as she extended a hand to help him get up from the floor. He smiled back at her, deciding to focus his attention on her and leave the weird interactions of the two dragon-slayers and the bothersome blue cat for some other time. "Yes, thanks Juvia," he replied as he took her hand and stood up, "I'm sorry for keeping us a secret. Why don't I make it up to you later tonight during our date?" Juvia smiled genuinely back at him and nodded, "Juvia would like that." Without letting go of her hand, the ice mage walked towards another table. They sat together and their conversation faded into the ruckus of the guild, whose members were getting drunker, louder, and more destructive.
Erza woke up with a terrible headache. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but the last thing she remembered was Gray crashing onto her with a shocked expression and causing her delicious slice of cake, that she had barely touched and enjoyed, to slip from her grasp and land on the floor. She scowled, My precious cake! Damn that Gray... The Requip mage then took a glance at the guild, realizing it was in a bigger mess than she had seen in a very long time, "What the…" However, she couldn't finish her thought, as she was quickly interrupted by a voice to her right, "Oh, hi Erza! You're finally awake!" The redheaded woman redirected her attention towards the speaking voice. "What the hell happened here?" she asked agitatedly and with a tinge of irritation in her voice. The figure responded with a faux relaxed and unpretentious tone, "Oh, I guess you were asleep and didn't get to see what happened." Erza gave her guildmate a quizzical look in return, "Explain. Now." The blue feline obliged, just as he tried his best to hide the devious smirk that had been forcing its way onto his face the second he had seen her rising up from the dead, "Well, …"
Levy watched as her mate made his way back towards her. She couldn't say she was surprised; Juvia had been the first person to show Gajeel kindness after Metalicana left, and she knew he cared for the water mage more than he let on. The iron mage was a man of principles, whether he cared to acknowledge it or not, and he would make sure to show others the same gratitude they showed him. However, the script mage was also painfully aware that the iron dragon-slayer had his faults as well, like that over-confident ego of his. She knew it was precisely that pride what had driven Gajeel into his current rivalry with Mira, regardless of whether she knew the details of it or not. To complicate matters further, he clearly thought he had already won, but he couldn't be more wrong. Levy had known the white-haired barmaid for a long time. Mirajane was barely done with him; and after seeing her face before passing out, the bluenette knew she would be beyond murderous wrath when she woke up. She sighed, What have you gotten yourself into, Gajeel?
Up until that moment, the blue-haired script mage had remained quiet and observant as things unfolded before her. She had to admit that she found it all pretty entertaining. She had managed to secretly let out a laugh or two the day Natsu had claimed Lucy, but being one of the actors was way more fun than just an spectator. Granted, today had been a lot more hectic than the previous announcement day, with Gajeel and Lucy devastating their opponents right off the bat, but she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that there was some part within her that truly ached to be one of the participants. At any rate, Levy knew that, even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have remained a spectator forever. And she would be forced into action rather sooner than latter all thanks to Gajeel's boisterous mocking of the Take-over sibling. That is, if she wanted to still have a breathing mate once Mira resuscitated. It didn't take long for her neurons to start their synapsing and, soon, her brain began working on a non-violent solution to her imminent and present problem.
"So, you're telling me that," the redheaded mage stated, grinding her teeth and fisting her hands, "One, I missed someone putting Gray in his place for keeping his relationship with Juvia a secret, I have increased respect for Gajeel now; two, I missed my guildmates announcing their new relationship, Finally! For all the jewels in Fiore! and; furthermore, three, I missed my best friend's engagement to one of my childhood friends?" Woah, those two were clearly not kidding when they said it was serious.
"Aye!" Happy replied.
The gleeful, one-word response made Erza further squint in anger. She scanned the guild again, her eyes landing on an empty plate that had leftover crumbs of some sugary treat someone had eaten hours prior to the dragon-slayers' entrance. Her fists tightened. "And I missed the celebration cake, too!" she bitterly added. The last statement confused Happy momentarily, but he soon found where her eyes had led her, his own orbs widening as he realized what the redhead had just said. However, he had no time to correct the Requip mage for her erroneous conclusion, since he then heard her yell in a deafening and menacing voice that made him cower in his place at the guild's bar.
"Fullbuster!~"
Along with everyone else in Fairy Tail, said mage turned to look at the enraged redheaded demon as she requipped into her Purgatory Armor and pointed its menacing humongous sword in his direction. Gray gulped, turning to eye Juvia before he got up from his seat and bolted out of the guild as fast as he could, "Sorry Juvia, I think we're gonna have to reschedule our date for some other day." The ice mage had enough time to see the blue feline next to Erza fix his eyes on him as he prepared to escape, and heard him utter, "Have fun Gray!" Damn you, you devious cat! You'll pay for this! And with that last thought, he ran out of Fairy Tail faster than he had ever ran in his life; and as he sprinted for his life through Magnolia, he considered that his current speed would give that Oración Seis mage, Racer, a run for his money, literally. He heard the accursed woman yell his name again along with some profanities, and he forced his legs to move even faster. This is really not my lucky day… at all. What did I ever do to deserve this?
Erza lost not time in chasing after her prey. She watched him scram out of the guild faster than you could say "Sorry," and she moved forward towards Fairy Tail's exit. She stopped momentarily when she reached the doors, turning to face the two couples standing there, "Congratulations to you all. I am very happy for you and I am sorry for missing your good news. You may punish me for it upon my return," – she cracked her knuckles –, "but I need to do some punishing of my own first. So, if you'll excuse me…" Without waiting for an answer from the four mages standing there, Erza requipped into her Flight Armor and began her pursuit, "Gray Fullbuster, I'm going to make you wish you were dead!"
Natsu watched the iron dragon-slayer as he dealt with Gray. He had actually been surprised to realize Gajeel had no idea that Gray and Juvia were dating. It had taken him a day to figure it out. His suspicions had been proven correct three days later during a job, in which Natsu had taken the opportunity to question the off-guarded ice mage and he had managed to obtain a corroborative answer. Of course, Gray hadn't even noticed that he had just given away his relationship status to the fire mage. Mavis, could the Ice-prick be oblivious at times! For a second, Natsu wondered just how long it would had taken Gray to figure out he and Lucy had become mates if he hadn't ran into the guild and shouted it out for all Magnolia to know. He knew Erza, Mirajane, and Levy would have noticed the difference the moment they'd set eyes on the pair. He had assumed Gajeel would have been one of the first to realize it, too. Now, he wasn't that sure. To be fair, the iron mage had been distracted lately, probably because of his refusal to accept his own feelings for the script mage. Still, Natsu had presumed Gajeel would have been one of the first to find out, never the last.
In spite of his rather late realization, Natsu admitted Gajeel had actually managed to expediently collect his thoughts, and when he had reached Gray, he acted exactly as he should have. He hadn't beaten the ice mage beyond recognition or given him a lecture. Instead, the iron dragon-slayer had focused his strength on one good punch and had used his words wisely. By acting that way, Gray would surely never confuse his actions as a playful excuse for a fight between guildmates. Gajeel had been blunt and serious enough to cause the desired effect on the ice alchemist, and Natsu knew the Popsicle's rather frozen brain had gotten the message loud and clear. It was his own damn fault anyway, and he had it longtime coming. Of course, the second Gajeel had returned to their little posse at the guild's entrance, Natsu had wasted no time in giving the iron mage an approving nod and an amused grin. For the first time ever, the two dragon-slayers had actually seen eye-to-eye on a public matter and they had mentally accorded to celebrate their victory with a rather loud high-five and a mischievous mutual chuckle.
It wasn't too long after Gajeel had found this way back to the guild's entrance and had coiled his arm around his mate, that Natsu felt the air in the guild change, becoming suddenly aware of a rather menacing presence there. Instantaneously, his grip on the blond tightened and the fire mage brought her closer to him. A focused countenance replaced his relaxed one, and he began examining the guild. He stopped when his eyes reached the figure of Erza. He hadn't seen her before that day, even if he had smelled her scent when he had arrived at Fairy Tail. The redhead was clearly angry, since she was surrounded by a deadly aura that kept increasing as the seconds went by. He noticed the little blue figure next to her, and before he was able to put two and two together, the woman had yelled, with a wrath he had seldom heard in her, the name of the person on whom she would be unleashing hell. Never in his life had Natsu been so glad his last name was not Fullbuster. By the way the redheaded mage looked right now, he would have rather fought Hades by himself again. The way he saw it, there were more chances of him coming out alive of that one. The ice mage had lost no time in rushing out of the guild at a speed Natsu didn't think he was capable of, discarding his shirt somewhere in the process of apologizing to Juvia for having to cancel their date and murdering Happy with his venomous gaze. Next thing the fire dragon-slayer knew, Gray was gone, his pants flying up in the air and slapping Elfman on the face, and Erza was in front of him, bowing and asking for his forgiveness before she gave chase to the dead mage fleeing.
Natsu gathered his thoughts and found Happy in the midst of his shocked and trembling guildmates. The devious little cat was back to his usual self, wearing a smile of absolute contentment on his face. What exactly had he said to Erza? This kid will never learn. "Happy!" Natsu yelled in a serious tone. He really needed to explain to his adorably charming and gleeful fur ball that messing with people like that was not okay. Damn it, Natsu, stop calling him "charming," "adorable," and "gleeful!" Focus!
The blue Exceed heard his foster father call his name. He knew he was probably in trouble, though he hadn't technically caused Erza's vengeful demon to come out. "What?" he said, once he was close enough to the fire mage and his mate. He didn't want to scream and he didn't want others to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What exactly did you tell her, Happy?" came Natsu's expected question. The blue cat perched himself on the pink-haired mage's left arm and turned to look at him, "Nothing. I just told her what had happened while she was unconscious... She asked me to tell her... She was the one who jumped to conclusions about the cake, though." The fire mage gave him an unconvinced look. He knew perfectly well it was no coincidence that Happy had been sitting right next to the waking Erza. No way in hell. "Happy," he began, still with a serious and chastising tone, "didn't you promise less than an hour ago to never mess with people like that again?" The blue feline stared back at the mage with a knowingly devious look, and soon enough, a Machiavellian side grin appeared on his face, "I said I would never do that to you or Lucy again, I never said anything about Gray." Natsu sighed, there was no way this cat would change his ways. Ever. Although, he had to admit that his blue-furred son was smarter than people gave him credit for. "You'll never learn. You do know he's going to kill you when he gets the chance, right?" he finally said, dropping the seriousness in his voice and exchanging it for a more playful tone. Happy nodded as he echoed the fire mage's tone, "Maybe. But Lucy would never let him do that." Natsu raised a quizzical eyebrow, "Is that so?" he asked, but this time fixing his onyx eyes on his mate's brown orbs. The blond mage, who had remained silent, observing the yet again amusing father-son interaction of the two males, responded almost instantaneously, as if the question had the most obvious of answers, "Of course not! I know you consider Happy as a son or a younger brother, and that makes him family. No way I'm going to let anyone harm my family. Besides, we all know Happy gives an entirely new meaning to the word 'annoying,' so Gray will have to learn to live with it, just like the rest of us." Both mages smiled genuinely back at her, both thinking how lucky they truly were to have the most caring person they had ever met as a part of their lives. "Aye!" Happy responded, getting off from Natsu's arm so he could give the stellar mage his best own effort at a hug. Lucy giggled as she felt the furry cat nesting in her bosom and moved her free hand to scratch his head affectionately.
The fire dragon-slayer watched the two people closest to him interacting. It was ridiculously obvious that Lucy would understand his feelings towards Happy, just like she did about Igneel. She had never questioned, not even for a second, the notion that he considered a big, red-scaled dragon his father. She had been shocked and frightened by the mention of the majestic creatures for sure, but she had never doubted they were capable of caring for a human being once Natsu had told her that had been the case with him. He smiled to himself as he continued to observe the two cuddling mages. After a brief moment, Natsu lowered his head to bring himself even closer to the blond. He nuzzled the mage's neck softly as he inhaled her divine scent. He raised his eyes to reach hers, and when her gaze found his, he whispered, "I can't wait for us to decide we are both ready to increase the number of this little family of ours." The fire dragon-slayer watched as her eyes widened momentarily at his comment, but soon reversed back to their original size with an added shine in them that told him she agreed. They were both still young, there were many places they still wanted to see, their thirst for adventure hadn't been quenched yet, they still desired to become better mages, he still wanted to give it a try to go and find Igneel, she still wanted to acquire more knowledge for her book. All that aside, he knew that one day, both of them would be satisfied with their individual and communal achievements and when that day came, they would be ready to start a family of their own. They would share with their children everything they managed to learn in those years. They would teach them how to use magic as well as they did, to love it as much as they did. They'd tell them infinite tales of their adventures together and encourage them to go and live their own adventures as well. They weren't ready to embark on that mission just yet though, but they would be, sometime in the future. Natsu closed the ephemeral gap between them and claimed ownership over her lips dominantly. His left hand made its way to the back of her neck and he buried his fingers in her soft tresses, pulling softly on them as he fisted his hand and deepened the already ever-scorching kiss.
Sensing the mood change, Happy chose to leave the pair before they entirely forgot he was there and ended up trapping and, consequently, suffocating him between their two bodies. He chose not to make any comments as he flew away, since he had been absolutely honest with his foster father earlier. Whether anyone else cared to notice or not, Happy had really learned a valuable lesson that day, and just like Lucy and Natsu would protect their family with teeth and nails, so would he. He was genuinely happy to know that Natsu would never really be alone again, and glad that he had chosen Lucy to keep him company for the rest of his life. The blue cat loved the obnoxious blond a lot, and he thought her weirdness worked pretty well with Natsu's extravagant behavior. They would always be a great team. If Happy had to bet his entire fish reserve on something, he'd do it on the fact that life would certainly never have a dull moment with those two around.
Gajeel had watched Gray sprint out of the guild faster than he had ever seen him run, quickly followed by an Erza who had been so angry she was probably steaming. He had definitely been right when he had assumed the Titania would be fuming when she woke up. Even if he was still pretty pissed off with the ice mage for his lack of judgment regarding Juvia, he couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for the guy. Most of the time, the woman restrained her strength admirably; she was particularly good at using only the necessary magical power for the task at hand. The redhead could be brutal when she wanted to, he knew that well enough, and when she had stopped to apologize to their little group before chasing after Gray, he had seen that determined look she only used on her enemies. The ice mage would be definitely getting the beating of his life. Apparently, whoever was in charge of spreading luck around Earthland didn't care much for the ice alchemist. Poor stripper, I'm sure he's seen better days.
The iron mage was now staring at the sickly display of affection the fire dragon-slayer and his mate were putting on. It really surprised him how the pink-haired mage could turn pretty much every occasion he found into one to start touching the blond. Natsu wasn't too explicit with his actions though; at least the guy had enough sense to know there were places and times for everything in this life. Gajeel, however, was a little jealous of his situation, and just as he was pondering about that, he realized he was an idiot who deserved to be hit hard on the head with one of his own metal swords. There was no need for him to continue to be miserably wistful and to whisper low profanities anymore; he now had his own lady mate to shower with his own inappropriate forms of affection. Boy, could he be slow at times. He was freaking holding onto her as if his life depended on it, and he still hadn't noticed. No wonder the Salamander continues to have the upper hand...
Gajeel hated to admit it, but the fire mage seemed to have gotten the grasps of things rather quickly. On his defense, he had just claimed Levy after a long period of overwhelming and confusing emotions. Who knew how the pink-haired moron had reacted exactly before and after claiming the Bunny Girl; he had certainly made sure not to tell anyone about it. Now that the iron dragon-slayer thought about it, the fire-breather seemed to prove, more and more each time, that he was really not a stupid idiot at all, but someone who had, for some reason or another, a rather firm hold of his life and the things that occurred in it. Gajeel couldn't blame the guy for not sharing those moments of his life with anyone else; he would have done the exact same thing. There seemed to be a sort of inner voice that kept telling him those intimate moments he spent with his mate were to be his and hers alone. He knew he felt a newfound sense of comfortableness with Levy no one else had ever provided for him before, Metalicana included. One that invited him to shed all of his armor off, both emotional and physical, knowing that this other part of him, that other whole of him, would be completely protected in her hands. It was as if she was aware of how difficult it was for him to share that part of himself, as if she understood that no one else was meant to see it but her. Whatever the reason, the iron dragon-slayer knew he wouldn't share what had happened on that bench at Magnolia's park with anyone. And once he had figured that out, he came to a bigger realization. Both the pink-haired mage and his mate had been respectful of that precise intimacy between himself and the bluenette. They had congratulated him and Levy and even joked around a bit, but they had never pried into the details of the encounter. The more time passed, the more Gajeel found himself acquiring a new sense of respect for the fire dragon-slayer. He had always respected Natsu for his unbelievable, almost mechanical control of his dragon-slayer magic - something he would never, ever admit to anyone in any way, shape, or form –, but now, he was beginning to admire him as a person as well. The iron dragon-slayer was now very consciously glad that he had managed to get over his own pride and approached the fire mage. Perhaps, that moment had really been the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The iron mage was brought out of his thoughts when he heard some fearsome scream that demanded his head on a spear. Oh, yes, that woman had already woken up. Fuck. He only needed to redirect his gaze at Natsu to understand the high level of threat he was about to face. The pink-haired fire mage had already moved the blond protectively behind him and his love-struck face had been replaced by a concentrated and menacing glare at the mage ahead, it was a very serious glare that said something around the lines of "I don't give a fuck who you are, touch her, and I'll rip you apart." The fire dragon-slayer was just about ready to jump and attack his own guildmate, that's just how deep into the rage Mirajane had really gone this time. Gajeel hadn't noticed at first, but he had done something similar, and Levy was now standing behind him with his left arm keeping her from stepping forward.
"Gajeel Redfox, who the fuck do you think you are, huh?"
Oh, yes, the Take-over mage was definitely very, very... very angry. She had already started activating her Satan Soul and her blue eyes showed nothing but burning hate. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Then, he smelled it, the distinct stench of urine – some of his guildmates would definitely need a change of underwear later. The iron dragon-slayer went through his chances of survival: Erza was gone to murder Gray, her two siblings were stunned dead (in fact, it seemed as if Lisanna had actually fainted from shock), heck, even Laxus and Makarov seemed to have trembled a little and were not moving even an inch. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. When was he going to learn his lesson and stay away from crossing the white-haired barmaid? Not soon enough, apparently. I'm in deep, deep shit!
So, how was it? Mira is not happy... and poor, poor Gray is having a really though day. And, I just couldn't help myself with the movie reference to one of the best movies ever made. Know what I'm talking about?
Next chapter I'm bringing the conclusion to the rather hectic day Fairy Tail has had. As you could tell, some need to take a bath now and drink some tea to calm their nerves. But as things come to an end there, it means more fluff is on its way!