Master Makarov allowed us to stay in the guild's special apartments provided that we pay up with job money as soon as we could. After talking about it with the team, we agreed that we could pay for most of the first month by selling the currency we had brought for the jewels that this world required. Since what we carried was so rare, we were pretty sure we could get at least 700,000 jewels for all of it, which meant we would still have to get a good job to pay the last little bit of what we needed. It would have been less if we just required one room, but the guys insisted that Yolric and I be separate from them. Of course, Vanya did not want to have any part of the living situation. All she wanted was a shower and to be alone in the woods. Honestly, I didn't blame her. She had always been sort of a recluse like that. As long as she had her deerskin and her pack, she would always rather be outside.

It was around one o'clock in the morning before we all went into our rooms. As soon as Yolric and I walked in, we both set down our bags and looked at each other. I couldn't help but notice a mischievous glint in his flecked eyes. I knew all at once what he meant by it.

"No, I call the shower first!" I yelled, franticly trying to run toward the bathroom and strip at the same time.

"What?! No, you're the one that wanted to travel all of that time! At least let's shower together. June, come on!" he shouted back, doing the same. All at once, I stopped. Startled by my abruptness, Yolric stopped, too. I turned to him and pulled him closer to me. I was down to my shirt and underwear; he was only wearing his dirt-stained jeans. Standing on my toes, I began to whisper in his ear.

"You don't have any... maintenance to do. I do," I whispered. I felt a shiver go through his body as I took his face in my hands and kissed him. When I pulled away, he had a faraway look in his eyes and a smile across his face.

"Alright, you win. But leave me some hot water," he chuckled.

"You know I only use cold water, Dork," I joked, walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind me. I looked back at the white door, reached for the gilded knob, and locked the door.

As I stood under what was considered "cold water," which was scalding hot to me, I watched the dirt and grime from my body wash down the drain. After two baths and a fifteen-minute shower, I was starting to make some headway. As I scrubbed my hair with the complimentary shampoo, thoughts ran rampant through my head, both recent and from long ago. These thoughts were the reason I hated to be alone. Memories of the gruesome battle that led us here. What events got me into the whole situation to begin with. I felt a nagging pain in my chest as the evils of back home picked my brain.

I shook my head, as if to make the memories slip away. I slammed off the spout and pulled back the curtain. The mirror in front of the shower reflected my body's image back at me. Bruises on my shoulders from my backpack made me realize how sore I was. My eyes wandered down to the large scar that stretched from my right side to the middle of my stomach. Like the one on my face, it still took me by surprise. To think I had once been unmarked, pure, and feminine. I took a towel from a nearby cabinet, wrapped it around my body, and made my way out of the room.

Yolric was lying on the ground with his boxers on, hands behind his head and staring up the ceiling. When I came into the room, his eyes shifted over to look into mine. He gave me a serious look, and I instantly felt at ease.

"You shouldn't think about things like that, you know. For one, we've got you now. And as for your body..."

"Please... Don't talk about that. Go shower, you stink," I interrupted, attempting to put on a smile. When Yolric locked me in his gaze, there was no hiding anything. After all, eyes are the window into the soul, especially with his magic. He stood up from the floor, kissed my cheek, and went into the bathroom.

As soon as I knew he couldn't see me, I took the towel from around my body and wrapped up my short, black hair. I looked around the room, already a mess from the clothes we had thrown around in a frenzy. I picked them up and piled them in the corner for us to wash the next day. I then shuffled through my bags in an attempt to find one clean set of underwear to sleep in with no luck. I wasn't about to put dirty clothes on a clean body, especially not after waiting so long to not be caked in grime.

I thought about going to Erza to borrow some clothes when I heard the water turn off in the bathroom. I let out a small screech and immediately threw the towel off of my head, jumped into the bed, and covered my whole body in the grey cotton sheets. I heard the door open and Yolric's intoxicating laughter. I felt him jump on the bed and lie right on top of me.

"You're under there?"

I nodded.

"You're naked, aren't you?"

I slowly nodded again.

He slowly pulled back the covers until my face was visible. I could see his bare chest that looked as though it had been chiseled to perfection. I noticed for the first time where his Fairy Tail emblem was imprinted on his neck. Water stood out on the golden mark. I could feel my heart start to beat faster and faster has he leaned down to my face until I could feel his cool breath on my cheek. His wet, blonde hair tickled my face.

"You act as though I have never seen you like this before, Dear," he crooned. I felt my face get hot as I tried to shimmy back under the covers. Yolric began to laugh again as he pulled back the covers more so he could cover up with me. I saw that he had a towel wrapped around his waist and let out a sigh of relief. "You act so nervous. I wouldn't do anything, you know."

"I know. Just lie with me, Yolric," I muttered. He nodded and pulled me closer.

"So, what do you think about the guild?" he questioned, kissing my head.

"I think they're like a family. Accepting. Loving. But..."

"You're still cautious."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

I sat up on my elbows and faced him. We looked into each other's eyes and after a few seconds, he nodded.

"I get the picture. You just have to learn to trust again. Not everyone is like the ones we left," Yolric began, stroking my hair. I lied back down and nodded. "You know I'm right. From all of the information you were given and by the people who gave it... Fairy Tail can be trusted, June. And if things go south, we've dealt with worse before. We get through everything."

"I know you're right," was all I replied.

"Now to more important issues. Your shoulders being bruised..," he grinned, and then stopped mid-sentence. "You had bruises when you first got out..."

"You forget my 'magic'," I replied, rubbing my nose against his.

"Right. Well, you're still sore, aren't you?" he questioned. He started to run his finger along my collarbone.

"A little."

"That's reason enough for me," he murmured, beginning to kiss right below my neck.

"B-but the lights are on," I stuttered. Yolric stopped and looked up at me.

"I told you I wasn't going to try anything. Just let me kiss you and hold you for a while. I won't even go below your shoulders, I swear," he pleaded. I rolled my eyes and let out a small giggle.

"That I can deal with," I said, kissing his lips. My hands came up from over the covers and went up to Yolric's head; my fingers began to lace into his golden strands. Yolric brushed away wet hair that clung to my face. My heart began to thump loudly against my bare chest.

A ribbon of fire slithered across the floor, up the wall to the light switch, and flicked it off.