Yeaah Fairy Tail's anime has finally restarted :D

xxxxx

/!\ SPOILERS: And you can see strong NaLu in the opening and ending, so I guess that's it. Of course I knew GraLu was never gonna happen since a long time, but I was still in denial, like 'hey we never know'. But nope. Strangely, I'm not that disappointed because I grew to like NaLu since they have more moments together and Gruvia since Gray looks more concerned and close to Juvia in the latest chapters. 'Cause before I saw NaLu only as best friends, and Gruvia only as a totally one-sided love that wouldn't work. But now I can picture it. Anyway, still a GraLu shipper, and I'll finish this story alright, don't worry :D /!\

END OF SPOILERS

xxxxx

xxxxx

Chapter 14: Sleeping problems.

"Lucy! Gray!" I heard a faint voice that sounded like Wendy calling, but didn't pay attention to it and just grumbled.

"Come on, wake up guys!" Another – probably Happy – added. His voice seemed closer. And it probably was because I felt someone pinching my cheek. I barely grumbled and waved my hand so they'd go away.

"Want me to make them move? I could set their clothes on fire or something you know." That was definitely Natsu's voice. And it immediately made me open my eyes wide and suddenly straighten up, still sitting on the ground. "That won't be necessary, thanks!"

I looked around me. Natsu, Erza, Wendy, Happy and Carla were there.

"Hehe, I still managed to wake you up." He grinned proudly.

"But Gray didn't move at all…" Wendy commented a little shyly.

"As if this firehead would scare me." I heard him answer. I turned to look at him; he still had his eyes closed. "And I'm awake, by the way. I'm just too lazy to move."

"More like, you don't want to move…" Erza pointed out with a smirk.

"You loooove her." Of course, Happy couldn't hold back.

I finally realized the situation. We were still outside the tavern, where we both apparently fell asleep last night. Next to each other. By the looks of it, before I moved because Natsu scared me, my head was on his left shoulder. And he still had his left arm around my chest.

I could feel my face burning up. I was probably tomato red right now.

Gray, on the other hand, seemed totally fine. He finally opened his eyes, straightened up and got up, lifting me up by taking me by my waist in the process, and casually said, "It's too soon for me to even bother answering this."

Guess he doesn't see me as a woman at all. I sighed. Of course he doesn't, he likes someone else.

"Lucy you're ok?" Natsu asked me.

I snapped out of it and smiled, "Of course, why?"

"You sighed."

"Ah, that's because I just woke up, still tired and all, ahah." I answered awkwardly, hoping it would do the trick.

"Want me to properly wake you up?" He smirked, his right hand already burning in front of me.

My eyes widened, "I said, no thanks!"

"Come on, just a little fire won't do you any harm!" He started going closer.

"Of course it'll hurt! Go away!" I took a few steps away from him.

"It's still a little cold this morning; you should warm yourself up a bit." He was now chasing me, while I was running away the faster I could.

xxxxxxxxxx

I sighed while looking at their antics. "They sure have energy."

"Natsu, that is not funny! Stop it!" An anxious Lucy yelled.

"Let them have some fun." Erza told me, watching them with an endearing smile.

"But not for long, we have a train to catch, remember?" Carla intervened.

"Right! That's why we were trying to wake you up in the first place." Wendy recalled.

"I'll go stop them." Happy said, already flying towards our friends.

"Where are the others, by the way?" I asked Erza.

"The already took the train."

"You should have woken us up sooner."

"We didn't know you were there, we searched for at least half an hour before finding you there." Erza explained to me.

"It's not like we were hiding. We just fell asleep outside the tavern."

"What were you two doing here, anyway?" Wendy inquired.

"I wanted to take a breather while you were all going crazy in the tavern. And then Lucy came out after everyone inside had fallen asleep. We talked and fell asleep." I calmly explained.

"Still, you two seemed really close." Carla eyed me.

"Even you?" She was usually the last one to take part in gossips.

"It's just an observation. Nothing childish in my statement." She retorted.

"Natsu, I said stop! We have to go catch the train or we'll be stuck here for the whole afternoon!" We heard Happy yell. He was in the middle of Natsu and Lucy, trying to stop him.

"Yeah Natsu, stop it!" Lucy agreed strongly.

Since he still wouldn't stop, Erza loudly stated, "If Happy isn't enough to stop you, I'll join in."

Natsu suddenly stopped running, and was now straight as a ramrod. "Hai, M'am!"

"Thank you, Erza. I was starting to get really tired." Lucy exclaimed, panting.

"Anyway, let's hurry before we miss the other train." Carla intervened.

"Carla's right!" Happy agreed, "Like always, because she's the best!" He added while leaning towards her.

"Hmpf." She ignored him, of course.

In the end, we caught the train at the last minute, and went back to Magnolia.

xxxxx

I was now at home. I immediately jumped on my bed, lying on my back with my hands behind my head, relaxing.

Then, I looked at my right, where the drawing of me and Lucy was. I took it, and smiled. I was finally almost certain that this was going to work.

Of course, I wasn't a 100% sure. But I'll never know as long as I don't make a move. And I'll make one soon.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Mo. I'm so embarrassed!" I cried my face deep in my pillow, kicking my bed sheets. Just why did I drink?

Right, I drank because I was thinking about Gray. And then, because I was drunk, I practically confessed my feelings to him. Seriously, I could just tell him I liked someone who's a stripper and in my guild, it would have been the same.

Well, he didn't seem to have figured it out according to how he was behaving this morning.

I grumbled. As if that was better. He could at least have looked a lil' bit affected by our closeness, but no. He was as cool as ever.

Then, I remembered what he told me. "Do you have someone you like?" I asked him. – "I guess I do."

Who is that girl? Juvia? No, he turned her down. Or maybe he had a change of heart when he saw her being close to Lyon. No, I would've noticed. Plus, he wouldn't have let them wander alone at the festival. Or maybe he would have, since he's not one to really show his feelings. No, no. Juvia doesn't even seem interested in him anymore. Well, that doesn't mean he can't have feelings for her now.

I strongly shook my head.

Ok, what did he say about her again? "She's nice and really cute. She is also smart and courageous."

"Oh no, that could totally fit her." I panicked.

But then, it could fit anyone. "Gray you smarty-pants." He told me something a lot less precise than my description.

I guess I'd better stop thinking about that, so I closed my eyes and tried to sleep it away.

"…" After some time, I opened my eyes wide, "I can't stop thinking about it." I said out loud, highly annoyed. This was going to be a long night.

xxxxx

The next day, I was hanging out with Natsu and Happy at the guild. Well, I was more there while they were talking together. I was too tired to do anything.

"Come on Lucy, wake up. We're bored." Natsu sulked.

"Don't want to." I mumbled, my head crashed against the table.

"You're no fun." Happy complained too.

"I know. I don't care." I didn't even bother to move a bit.

"You're not feeling well, Lucy?" I heard Mira ask me.

I opened my eyes to look at her, and smiled a little, "Don't worry, I'm just super tired."

"Eeh, you didn't sleep last night?" She inquired.

"Not much."

"How come?"

I tried not to blush. "Hm… I don't know. For no particular reason, haha." I answered awkwardly, scratching my head. Did I already tell you how bad I was at lying?

"As long as nothing serious is bothering you." She told me with a smile.

I smiled back, "Of course not, don't worry."

"EEH! What are you saying?" I heard Juvia yell. I turned my head to see what was happening. She was at a table, talking to Gray. And even from there I could see she was blushing.

"Come on, let's go, it'll be fun." He answered her.

"But… It's embarrassing just to think about it…" She was fidgeting and looking at the floor. Ok, what was happening?

"You don't need to feel pressured or anything. You can think about it as if we were just taking a walk in town."

"I don't even understand why you want to do that. I thought you didn't like…" Come on, seriously? She decided to lower her voice now?

"Well, for you, I changed my mind." He replied.

What was that supposed to mean? Was he confessing right now? And inviting her on a date along the way? Why now? My eyes widened. What if it was because of our conversation from last time?

She blushed again. "Why?"

"Because I know how you really feel. Stop trying to hide it. So, we'll go, and that's it. And we'll even go right now." He took her by the hand and pulled her towards the exit.

"Is this a date, Gray?" Someone yelled, while the others were cheering happily.

He did not react. Juvia, though, turned around, making Gray stop walking. Her face was all red, and she retorted, "It…It's not like that!" She looked towards us, and repeated even more fiercely, "It's really not like that."

"Stop trying to buy some time. Let's go, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Gray told her, and walked out of the guild, still pulling her along with him.

And like that, they were gone.

Wendy and Carla walked in just a few seconds after that. "What happened?" Wendy asked, seeing that everyone was staring at her.

"Who knows." Natsu shrugged.

"Something's going on between Gray and Juviaaa!" Happy cheered.

"Oh right, we saw them together just now. I think they were heading towards the town center." She replied.

"They're going on a date!" Someone added.

"Really? A date?" Wendy was blushing a little at the idea.

"Ah, young love." Macao commented, feeling nostalgic.

I suddenly stood up without thinking.

"Lucy?" Natsu looked surprised.

I forced a loud yawn. "I'm really tired, and it's too loud here. I think I'll just go home and sleep a little. See you later!"

"No problem, do you want us to walk you home?" He kindly offered.

"No thanks!" I answered probably a little too fast. "I mean, if you go with me you'll probably stay and I won't be able to sleep."

"Fine. But don't fall asleep on the way."

"I'm not that tired." I argued. "Anyway, see ya!" I went out of the guild, trying not to walk too fast so nobody would think I'm acting weird.

Once I wasn't near the guild anymore, I smiled, I guess I did a pretty good job for once.

xxxxx (Back at the guild – 3rd person POV) xxxxx

"She's acting really weird," Happy said.

"Ara, so that's how it was." Mira commented with a smile and a glint in her eyes.

"Ah, young love." Macao said once again.

"Eh? What are you guys talking about?" Natsu asked everyone.

The others just laughed. "Natsu's as clueless as ever."

"Come on, that's not funny! Tell me!" He was beginning to become angry.

"It's nothing Natsu, they're just fooling around." Erza assured him, putting her hand on his shoulder. A little too hard, obviously, since he cringed a little.

He didn't seem convinced, but decided to let it go. He still pouted, though.

xxxxx (Lucy's POV) xxxxx

"Where are they?" I asked out loud, looking around me. "I'm sure Wendy said there were going to the town center."

"Come on Gray, let's go somewhere else. There's nothing interesting here." I heard Juvia's voice.

I immediately searched for a place to hide while they were going out from some shop.

Gray smirked at her, "For someone who didn't want to do it you're quite serious about it you know."

She blushed. "Well, if we do it, we should as well do it the right way."

"I'm glad you finally agreed to it."

"Well of course I'd agree. You were the one asking me."

Come on, can't they be more specific? Because it was not that kind of conversation that would reassure me, on the contrary. Seriously, what did she agree to? Go out in town with him, on a date? 'Cause that's what it looked like.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" I heard someone ask me. I turned my head, it was a man.

I understood why he was asking me this. After all, I was squatting behind some barrels, spying on my friends.

I immediately stood up and said, "Nothing, my legs were a little dumb that's all. But I'm all fine right now." I ended with an awkward smile.

After staring at me for a few seconds, he replied, "No problem. But I'll just have to take these with me." While saying this, he took the two barrels with him and went away with a, "Have a nice day, miss."

"You too, sir!"

I suddenly remembered what I was doing there, and looked around to see if Gray and Juvia were still around, hoping they did not see that scene just now. But they were nowhere to be found.

"Mo, I lost them again. What do I do now?" I complained to myself.

But seriously, what was I doing? I was acting like a child. Even if they're really on a date, I have no right to interfere. He's not my boyfriend or anything like that after all. Just a friend. And staying here and spy on them definitely won't do me any good.

I sighed loudly. "Guess it's time for me to go home, huh."

xxxxxxxxxx

"What do you think, this one or that one?" Juvia asked me, showing me two decoration lacrimas: one showing fish when you activated it, and one in which you could see a boy and a girl happily playing with snow. But before I could answer, she put down the second one, "He'll definitely get the wrong idea if I give him this one as a present, right?"

"It's just a decoration lacrima know. You don't have to think that much. Plus, I like the second one more. And I guess he'll like it more, too."

"I think so too, but… We see a couple in it." She retorted.

"How do you know it's a couple? Can't friends play together in the snow, too?"

"Yeah, but still…"

I smiled and put my hand on her arm, "Do you want to go into another shop?"

"No no, we've already done so many. Juvia doesn't want to bother you any further."

"You're not bothering me. I am the one who suggested we go buy a present for Lyon, remember?"

"Still, I'm sure it's taking it longer that you thought."

"I don't mind at all." I assured her.

"Let's just take another look here, ok?" She suggested, smiling.

I smiled back, "As you want."

While we were looking around, she spoke up again, "By the way, talking about getting the wrong idea… Are you sure it was ok to leave the guild like that before?"

"I don't see the problem. We can go in and out the guild whenever we want."

"No, I didn't mean that. I was talking about the way we left."

"What about it?" I wasn't following her.

"Well, most of them are probably thinking we're on a date…" She was blushing again.

"They always make up weird stories. Let them be." She one the one who made up the most stories at one time, too.

"Yes, but Juvia was thinking about that one person that shouldn't think that Juvia and Gray are on a date."

"Who?" Lyon wasn't in the guild after all.

She gave me a look, "Who does Gray not want to think he likes someone else?"

I finally got it. "Right. But don't worry; Lucy doesn't usually take these kinds of talks seriously."

"She usually doesn't because she doesn't like the people involved in it."

"And who says she likes me?" I didn't even tell Juvia I suspected that to be true.

"Come on, I saw you guys sleeping next to each other during Lamia Scale's festival. She was all over you. And bodies don't lie." She retorted.

"You saw us? Then why didn't you tell the others? We missed our train because of that."

"You two looked too cute together so I didn't want to wake you up, and told the others you weren't there. I was hoping you'd miss the other one and have to stay out there for the night, though."

"You're unbelievable." I guess she still has got her incredible imagination.

"Anyway, you should clear things up with her."

"I'm still pretty sure she didn't believe them."

"She looked quite convinced to me, though. She had that perplexed, 'what-the-heck's-going-on' look all over her."

"You're overthinking this."

"Then, let's go back and see who was right."

"But you didn't find a gift yet." I argued.

She was holding the lacrima with the couple playing in the snow, "I did. I'll take this one."

"I thought he was going to get the wrong idea with this one."

"Well, after thinking about it, he'll get the wrong idea no matter the gift I give him, so I decided to give him a good one at least."

"Or maybe he'll get just the right idea, won't he?" I smirked.

Her face got all red again. "Stop making fun of Juvia."

"I'm not. I'm enjoying the fact that I was right."

"Stop it!"

I laughed, "Come on, let's go back."

xxxxx

Unsurprisingly, we were welcomed with a bunch of cheers, and of 'The couple's baack.'

"Juvia told you it wasn't like that!" She yelled at them, still embarrassed.

"Then what were you doing?" Happy asked, eyeing us.

"We went shopping." I answered simply.

"Why together?" He inquired.

"Gray convinced Juvia to buy a present for Lyon to thank him, so he went with Juvia." She replied, all fidgety.

"Eeeeh. So the young couple is not Gray and Juvia, it's Lyon and Juvia!" Happy concluded.

"We aren't a couple!" Juvia strongly denied.

"Yet!" He pointed out.

While they were arguing, I looked around. I couldn't see Lucy anywhere.

"I think Lucy went home." I was surprised to see Mira next to me, telling me that with a little smile.

"Why are you telling me that?"

"You were looking for her, weren't you?"

"Well, I was, but how could you tell?" There was no point denying it after all.

"Just a hunch, I guess. Anyway, she said she was really tired and went home. It happened right after you and Juvia left the guild, if I remember well." She had her usual glint in her eyes. Of course she was trying to play matchmaker again. Not that I minded right now.

"I see."

"Maybe you should pay her a visit, in case she's sick you know." She added.

"I'll probably go along with Natsu."

"He already went, but she quickly kicked him out, telling her he was too noisy and not to come again today." She explained to me.

"And how do you know I won't be given the same treatment?"

"Another hunch I have." And with that said, she went back to her work. She really was something.

I went back to where Juvia was. It seemed like they finally stopped arguing, and were now sitting around a table. I sat next to her. "Ok, I'll admit that you may have – and I insist on the may have –been right."

"See, told ya. Juvia's got female instincts, you should trust Juvia on these matters."

"It's not sure yet. Plus, you do often jump to conclusions too quickly."

"I still believe most of them are true." She argued.

"If you say so." I yawned and stretched out a little, "Anyway, I guess it's time for me to go home. All this shopping wore me out."

"See, I know Juvia was being a nuisance." She pouted.

I ruffled her hair a little and smiled, "Of course not. Don't worry."

She smiled back, "Have a good night."

"You too. And take good care of your present!"

xxxxxxxxxx

I was lying wide awake on my bed, still thinking about those two. I guess I should have let Natsu stay before, so I wouldn't have been alone with all my time to think about that.

Then, I heard someone knocking at my door. I stood up to open the door to them. I was surprised to see who it was. "Gray?"

"Hey, I heard you weren't feeling well and went home early so I decided to drop by a little in case you'd feel lonely." He comfortably entered the room and leaned on the wall next to me while talking.

"I'm better now. I just needed some sleep." I assured him. "And I was about to go to sleep anyway, so you can go home, don't worry about me." I guess that was a little too cold but I didn't want to see him right now. What if he told me about his afternoon? I mentally slapped myself for asking him to tell me first when he'd confess.

"Come on, you had the whole afternoon to sleep, plus you won't kick me out just after I came, right?" He smirked.

I sighed. "No, I won't."

He smiled in victory and crashed on my bed. "I knew you wouldn't."

"Hey, don't randomly lie down on someone else's bed!" I yelled at him.

He ignored me and stretched out, "Aah, I'm quite tired myself. Shopping is definitely not for me."

"Shopping?" I wasn't following him. Then it hit me, "Oh right, that's what you did with Juvia?" I tried not to sound disappointed.

"Yep. I talked her into doing it, but I didn't know it'll take that much time." He replied casually, his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Of course not, it was quite fun, but now I feel it. But I'm glad she finally find him a gift, I was afraid she'd never buy one because she'd be too embarrassed."

"She does get embarrassed quickly." I agreed. Then, I realized what he had said, "Wait, what? A gift for who?"

He opened up his eyes and looked at me, "For Lyon of course. I told her she should buy him one to thank him for the gift he gave her and everything he did during the festival."

I blinked a few times. "So, she was embarrassed at the idea of buying Lyon a present, and not going on a date with you?"

"Yep. You didn't really believe their weird assumptions, did you?" He was eyeing me.

"Well… You tell me that you like someone and that you're thinking about confessing to her, and a few days later there's that. It kind of crossed my mind, you know." I couldn't decide between being ashamed of thinking that or happy because it wasn't true.

"Come on, you know Juvia and I are just friends."

"Things can change. Maybe now that Juvia doesn't act all crazy about you, you started to see her differently, I don't know."

He changed into a sitting position. "Well, I know. And she's truly just a friend for me. I like someone else."

"Who then? She's the only one you're really close to these days. Of course you're friends with the other girls of our guild, but you don't seem interested in them at all."

He stood up and leaned on the desk right next to me, "Then, the one you like should be Natsu because he's your closest friend. Is the one you like Natsu?"

"Of course not. He's just a friend."

"See. Plus, you forgot someone. A girl who's often with me and who's close to me, too."

"I thought Erza was more like a big sister for you?"

He sighed. "I wasn't talking about Erza."

"Then, who? Even though you're childhood friends, you don't really hang out much with Mira and Cana."

"The one I like is not a childhood friend."

"Then she's not from our guild?"

"She is."

"Of course it wouldn't be Wendy…" I thought out loud.

He straightened up and was now standing in front of me, his face only a few inches away from mine. He grasped my arms and made me stand up too, "Look at me. You really don't see who it could be?" He was looking straight at me.

It couldn't be, could it? No, of course not. Stop thinking weird things Lucy. "I really don't. I thought about Evergreen and Levy that joined the guild later but you're not close to them either so…"

"It's you, Lucy!" He finally yelled out of frustration.

My eyes widened. Did I just hear right?

He looked at me more tenderly, and repeated, "I like you, Lucy."

I blinked. "Me?"

He smiled and hugged me. "You."

"Really?"

I heard him chuckle. "Of course, I wouldn't joke about that. So, am I making a fool out of myself right now or not?" He asked me, facing me again.

I stared at him, and couldn't help but giggle, "Should I really answer that?"

He looked taken aback, "What? I knew it might be possible you wouldn't feel the same, but to think that you'd even laugh at me…"

I giggled even more, "I'm sorry. It's just that… Hahaha!" My eyes were tearing up, but I finally managed to calm down and tell him, "It's just that you chose just that moment to strip."

I saw his eyes widen as he looked down and realized he didn't have his shirt on anymore. "What? When did this happen?" He exclaimed.

"Well, a few seconds ago you still had it on. I guess you really are a pervert." I joked.

"I am not! I do that all the time, I didn't have any weird thoughts, I swear!" He argued strongly.

"I know, I was joking. After all, I wouldn't like you that much if you were a total pervert." I replied.

He was about to reply but suddenly stopped and smirked, "Did I just get your answer?"

I realized what I had just said and could feel my cheeks slightly burn. I looked at my right, suddenly feeling embarrassed, and said, "Maybe."

He put his forefinger on my chin to make me look at him, "Maybe?" He was teasing me.

"Fine, I like you too. Happy?" I retorted, looking straight back at him.

He smiled while putting his right hand on my cheek, "Overjoyed." He then kissed me tenderly.

We then stayed a few seconds forehead against forehead, smiling at each other.

I was the first one to speak, "But seriously, couldn't you put your shirt back on? It's really disturbing for me right now."

He chuckled, "I thought you were used to seeing me like that."

"Well yes, but it's different right now." I was blushing.

"Oh, you mean you can't resist such a fine body?" He was teasing me again.

I pushed him jokingly, "I take back what I said. You really are a pervert."I looked around and picked his shirt up once I found it, and I threw it to him. "Here."

"You know I'll throw it away again, right?" He commented while putting it on.

I was about to answer when I heard a sound coming from my window. We both looked at it, and were surprised to see Natsu and Happy waving at us from outside.

My eyes widened. I hope they didn't see anything. I tried to act casually and opened the window for them. "I have a door, you know."

They immediately jumped inside. "But it wouldn't be fun then." Natsu retorted.

"Anyway, why are you guys here? I thought I told you not to come again today." I crossed my arms.

"He's here, why can't we?" Natsu argued, pointing at Gray.

"Who you're pointing at, firehead?"

"At you, why?" Of course these two would fight.

I ignored them and tried to explain, "Well… He's not as noisy as you, so he didn't bother me."

"We come here to check on you and that's how you treat us, Lucy? You're mean." Happy cried.

"I didn't mean it like that. But I was really tired before, I really needed some sleep, you understand?"

"So, did you get any sleep?"

I turned around, "Erza?! When did you get here?"

"Just now. Why, did I miss something?" She asked me, thankfully clueless too.

I answered quickly, "No, no. I just didn't hear you, that's all."

"Well, the window was open so I entered that way." She simply explained to me. "So, are you feeling better?"

"Yes, yes. I slept a little this afternoon so now I'm fine." I assured her with a smile.

And the rest of the night went on normally. Wendy and Carla came by a little later too. It almost didn't seem that such a big thing happened just before everyone arrived. It felt like a dream. One I'd like not to wake up from.

xxxxx

xxxxx

So, I guess this is almost the end. The next chapter will probably be the last one. (: