[Re-Edited 03.19.22]

Happy Saturday!

Expect pure fluff and banter! Onward!

27

-Celebrations-

The Fairy Tail mages found themselves back in the chamber their battle had begun in earlier. The entire left wall, of course, remained a gaping hole and the massive Eclipse Gate still distracted attentions, especially Natsu's. The Fire Slayer eyed it wearily now and then but for the most part, he attempted to ignore it, allowing himself to get lost in the interactions of his surrounding company. Mystogan had been able to quickly dispose of much of the debris and directed some of the reformed guardsmen to take the injured to the infirmary. He'd also had a long heavy table dragged in to host future meetings and gathered everyone together to discuss Edolas' future.

Natsu, Gajeel and Edo Lucy, lacking in any of the dignified conduct of a meeting, had sprawled themselves out, dangling legs and arms over the arm rests of their chairs or generally taking up more space then necessary. Natsu himself, had his chair rocked back and balanced precariously, allowing him to stretch out and kick his legs up onto the tabletop. The rest of the mages and ex rebels present were poised with straight posture and their full attention on Mystogan and the Edo Strauss sisters who sat to either side of his chair at the head of the table.

The Edolas citizens didn't know Mystogan and having just escaped from tyranny and oppression, they were more than a little weary of a new King. They were, however, largely familiar with the most prominent rebel group, Fairy Tail, even if they hadn't necessarily know their members' faces until now. So, with Edo Lucy's and the white-haired sisters' endorsements, the locals agreed to the temporary instatement of a governing panel. Mystogan, Lisanna, Mirajane, Lucy and five other elected members from various surrounding towns and districts would represent the reformation and unification of the continent. Depending on Mystogan's influences and actions, it would be likely he would be officially voted in as the first elected leader of the walled Kingdom and its municipalities in the future.

Celebratory energy filled the chamber, as the majority of Edo Fairy Tail's members, and the visiting Earthland mages finally got the time to enjoy each others' company. The ex-rebels would be hard at work the next morning, helping the citizens to rebuild the south and west districts that had been devastated during the battle, so they were going to take this night off and party hard. An array of food was just starting to flow in, and the booze had already started flowing before Mystogan had even finished speaking, much to his dismay. As per typical Fairy Tail conduct in any world, the rambunctious people that filled that room had gradually grown louder and louder in their own conversations and had begun to tune out the acting Edolas leader rather quickly. Mystogan had narrowed his eyes in irritation at first as he took in the various groups splitting off to dance and brawl, shout and drink, celebrate and play, before hanging his head in defeat as Lisanna giggled and patted him on the back.

Lucy somehow found herself at one end of the table with Natsu's chair pushed so close to hers that he'd practically dragged her into his lap. He still had his legs kicked up on the top, and one arm now draped around her shoulders while he waved the other around in wild gestures as he spoke. The liquid of the beer he seem determined not to put down, sloshed around with each swing of his arm. Lucy would be surprised if there would be much left to drink when he'd finished his story. To their left, Mira was sporting the telltale pink of a few drinks, and was leaning across the table chatting up Edo Lucy. To each of the womens' sides were Haru and Edo Natsu respectively. Lucy was already uncomfortable with the gossip's precarious balance of inebriation and recently gained knowledge of her actual relationship status with the fire mage, so she was watching Mira with keen interest.

"How did you and Natsu get together?" Mira asked the other Lucy.

"Uhh. Let's just say me and Natsu have never been good at doing things in order—and there was a car involved," Edo Lucy supplied cryptically with a vivid blush across her cheeks at the memory. Natsu spat out his mouthful of beer, promptly busting into laughter and Lucy's eyes immediately widened, wearing a blush to rival her counterpart's. She knew exactly what her idiot fire breather had reacted too…

Mira grinned widely, a shadow crossing her face as she turned her full attention to her favourite blonde to tease. "Now Lucy, don't tell me you and Edo Lucy have more in common than we thought…" she trailed off with a look that fit her She-Devil moniker to perfection. A surprised squeak escaped Lucy's lips in response as Natsu fixed her with that lopsided smile that did things to her, the one with a hint of his fang. He returned his attention to Mira with a smug look and Lucy knew that look had silently given the gossip every answer she was looking for.

"Ohh, Natsu! Bad. Boy." Mira purred as she leaned back into Haru's chest, taking hold of his arm that was draped over the back of his chair by the wrist to draw it around her. Haru gaped at her tiny gesture, and Lucy was caught between her own mortification of the situation she found herself in, and fascination that Haru still managed to look surprised every time Mira pulled a similar flirty stunt with him. Not like her stunts were rare…

"Hey, can't beat sex with a fireball," a very tipsy Edo Lucy announced boisterously in response to Mira's comments. She pinched a suddenly bright red cheek of her boyfriend as he sheepishly averted his eyes. The Twin Dragons and her double were all inadvertently adding to Lucy's distress in their apparent hilarity, though Edo Natsu gave her an empathetic look, sharing in her embarrassment at the hands of their filter-lacking friends.

Lucy escaped Natsu's grip, making a tactical retreat to the other end of the room, listening to their laughter follow her. Dropping into a chair next to Wendy, the blonde quickly caught on to Erza and Wendy amusing themselves with Gray's current stress instead. Enjoying Gray's current awkward situation seemed preferable to dealing with her own. "What are we watching over here? I could use some fun at someone else's expense for once," Lucy said shooting a pointed glance to the other end of the table where her previous group was still laughing about who knows what. Lucy wasn't entirely sure she'd want to know.

Erza gave her the wide cat-like eyes she usually wore when she was captivated by something, often of the romantic variety. "Edo Gray is in love with Juvia here!" the redhead whispered with a hand cupped near her mouth, as though sharing a coveted secret that wasn't plain to see the more you watched.

"—And Juvia doesn't care one bit!" Wendy burst out around a fit of laughter. She slapped a hand over her mouth a couple seconds after, "oh my goodness, that was mean! I shouldn't be making fun of poor Edo Gray."

Lucy chuckled at the teen, ruffling her hair, "I think you're okay, friends tease each other, it's what we do," Lucy reassured her. Their Gray was standing stiffly, gawking at the sight of his double practically throwing himself at the bluenette who continued to blow him off mercilessly. When he finally noticed the three girls watching intently, he shivered and robotically turned away from the display to take up the chair across from them.

"Any of you tell Juvia about this…" he growled, leaving the threat open ended.

Erza arched a brow, "You didn't just threaten me Gray, did you?" she asked. He immediately threw his hands up in surrender, frantically shaking his head back in forth with a 'no ma'am,' on his lips. "You know, I think you and Juvia would be cute together," Erza announced with a grin.

"Second that!" Natsu shouted from the other end of the long table, apparently picking up their conversation with dragon hearing over the bustle. Lucy sent him a knowing look; he was obviously only adding his sentiments because it would irritate the ice mage.

"No one asked you Flame Brain!" Gray retorted irritably, "but if we're sharing unsolicited opinions, you and Lucy are pretty cute together—" he said gesturing to the Edo couple. The blonde's eyes bulged out. No, no, no! Not good! She shot Natsu a warning look. The pink-haired mage was never one to leave a challenge alone, especially one coming from Gray, and of course, Gray had to up the ante too. "—Too bad you'd never get Lucy, she's way outa your league!"

Shit.

This was it, Lucy's mind short-circuited instantly, the corner of her mouth twitching as she waited for the fire mage's inevitable counter. Whatever his counter, she was sure it would involve a very personal comment about 'firing her up' on the regular or a passionate public kiss or any other number of embarrassing actions. She was floored when he simply chuckled and replied, "You're partially right, Lucy is way too good for me."

Lucy gasped, risking a peek to see the wide grin on his face, he had left out the 'partially wrong,' elaborations and Gray hadn't seemed to notice. The ice mage seemed more irritated he hadn't gotten the reaction he was going for from his rival, he was still piling on additional insults that Natsu continued to dismiss offhandedly. Almost uncharacteristically. Lucy occasionally forgot that the fire mage found sneaking around with her behind their guildmates' backs to be, in his words, 'super hot…and a lot of fun because the longer they kept up the charade the better the reaction would be.'

Their four comrades in the know, who still sat on either side of him, were trying and failing to hide their amusement at the interaction, and Lucy worried that Gray might figure it out based on their reactions and her blush alone. Instead, his irritation snapped to indignation, apparently deciding he was missing some private joke that he assumed he was the butt of. Predictably, and much to Lucy's relief this time, Gray's indignation lead to the first brawl of the night.

As Gray and Natsu tumbled around on the ground in an altercation that inevitably pulled Gajeel in, Lucy just let her head drop onto the tabletop with an audible exhale. Never a dull moment.

Hours Later

Lucy sat cross-legged on the large bed of her room. She could feel the alcohol-induced heat in her cheeks, though she hadn't gotten quite as tipsy as she usually did when booze was flowing and her guildmates were involved. Months in and she still wasn't sure she'd ever get used to their level of partying. Mira sat before her in front of a mirror pulling a brush through long white tresses and singing quietly to herself, she smiled when she caught Lucy's eye in the reflection.

The party had gotten fairly out of hand, but that was to be expected. Mira had managed to coax a very drunk Erza onto a table to dance with her and Natsu had attempted to convince Lucy to join them... When she refused, he joined them instead, putting on an even bigger spectacle. Of course, Gray had taken that as a challenge and leapt up onto another table, prompting Edo Juvia to join him, presumably aiming to prove a point to Edo Gray. It all snowballed from there as the Fairy Tailers got more and more wasted.

At some point, sober as ever and likely assuming everyone else was too drunk to notice, Natsu had pulled Mystogan aside for a private conversation which somehow escalated into the planned destruction of Faust's Eclipse Gate in the morning. Lucy was certain there was something eating at Natsu's already limited attention span, because it was unlike him to part from the fun of a party for a serious discussion. She'd decided to wait until they were home before asking him though. When they'd finished their talk and taken in the first casualties of alcohol-induced fun, Mystogan suggested that everyone get some sleep as it was already late into the night. There were plenty of bed chambers to host them all, so the Fairies agreed easily, and split off for the night. In the morning Mystogan would use the Anima he'd confiscated off of the Knightwalkers before imprisoning them, to send the Earthlanders home.

Dropping back onto a layer of pillows, Lucy sighed, she would never admit it out loud, but she was just a little disappointed with the rooming arrangement. Okay, she was more than just a little disappointed, she missed having the fire mage in her bed, and it wasn't just that natural warmth that soothed her into a deep sleep. It seemed highly likely that with Mira now aware of her relationship with Natsu, it would only be a matter of time before everyone knew; but Lucy thought if Mira didn't blow the secret as soon as they were back, then she just might. Keeping Natsu as her devious little secret was fun, for sure, but in moments like this, that secret was detrimental. Had they been public, she'd have Natsu beside her right now, or more than likely, on her—in her, seemingly everywhere at once as he fanned her senses into overdrive.

The room was very quiet aside from Mira's humming, allowing Lucy to pick up on the sounds of voices in the hall. She assumed it was likely to be Natsu, heading to his room for the night after chatting with Mystogan some more. She concentrated on the muffled conversation, trying to discern what was being said, what she could make out brought further heat to her cheeks. 'Why do you get to share a room with Scary-Lucy?' he was whining. Sure enough, Natsu didn't have a volume switch on his conversational tone. Edo Natsu's response was a little harder to make out as he was naturally much more subdued, but Lucy thought she could make out, 'Tough break man.' She rolled her eyes and listened to their footsteps echo off the stone floors as they moved farther away.

"Lucyyy, you're a little flush, did you drink too much tonight?" Mira sang as she appeared at the side of the bed to look down at the blonde.

Brown eyes trailed over to meet the amused eyes of her friend. Lucy was somewhat relieved to think that Mira might actually believe it was just the alcohol tinting her cheeks, but was cautiously suspicious, nonetheless. This was her first time alone with the She-Devil since she'd learned of the stellar mage's relationship with their resident hot head, and Lucy figured it was only a matter of time before she'd be facing an enthusiastic interrogation. That interrogation would also likely be chock-full of embarrassing and personal questions that she'd rather avoid tonight.

"Or are you just wishing you were sharing this bed with a certain fire dragon instead of little ol' me," that familiar mirth danced through Mira's eyes as she hit the nail square on the head. Lucy rolled her own up to the ceiling again. Never mind, a non-perceptive Mira would likely be Mira's Edolas counterpart because her Mira never failed to read her mind flawlessly.

Lucy ignored the baiting comment, "I can't wait to go home tomorrow," she said softly instead. "Hey! What do you think everyones' reactions will be to you going all She-Devil again?" The blonde sat up quickly as Mira dropped onto her side at the end of the bed, excited with her change in topics.

Humming in thought, Mira's eyes glittered with the possibilities, "Ooo, I don't know! I could probably scare my brother real good though hey? Oh, or Macao and Wakaba next time they hit on me?! –Master!" She giggled as her mind jumped through all the presumably best reactions in the guild and Lucy laughed along with her. The girls continued to chat and laugh about anything that came to their minds, interspersed with teasing back and forth about their respective love lives until a knock interrupted their conversation. They both glanced at the door and then back at each other. Mira shrugged a shoulder and bounced off the bed to answer it. A moment later she called back, "Lucy, just stepping out for a minute."

The entrance to their room was down a short entryway so Lucy couldn't see who had knocked but based on Mira's enthusiasm after answering, she was fairly convinced it had to be Haru. Lucy was certain he had feelings for their bubbly barmaid, maybe he'd finally steeled himself enough to talk to her about them. "Sure thing… I'm just going to read my book then, no rush!" Lucy replied as she squirmed down on the bed to try to sneak a peek at their visitor. Unfortunately, Mira had already closed the door, Lucy sighed and dropped back onto her pillows again, snatching her book off the nightstand.

. . .

Natsu had thrown his hand up in a wave with a 'Yo,' on his lips when Mira had appeared in the doorway, but she'd slapped the palm of her hand over his mouth before he got his greeting out. He cocked an eyebrow in amusement as she shouted back a quick response to Lucy, and pulled the door closed behind them. Then her eyes snapped back to his again, "Sooo, Natsuuu, what brings you here?" she asked innocently, removing her hand to allow him to speak.

Natsu shot her a bright smile, "I was just thinking you'd be interested in swapping rooms with me," he said in statement rather than question.

She tilted her head, a finger tapping at her chin in mock pondering, "Cuz you want some secret sexy time with Lucy?"

"Uh, yeah, that's the gist," he replied undeterred by her teasing tone and dropped a hand on his hip impatiently.

Mira pouted, "You are no fun," she decided, then another thought occurred to her, "what's in it for me?"

Natsu shifted his weight onto one leg with a smug look on his face, apparently confident he was going to get exactly what he wanted out of the exchange. He brought his room key up and flicked it back and forth in front of her eyes. "Having an entire night to fluster our completely unsuspecting Haru," he supplied, knowing that Mira loved any opportunity to get under the Water Slayer's skin. She pursed her lips considering and then Natsu drove the deal home, adding, "I sent Happy to stay with Erza and Wendy… sooo…"

Blue eyes sparkling, Mira snatched the key from his fingers. "Don't have too much fun, Natsu!" she sang as she sauntered off down the corridor.

"Back at you…"

Natsu watched a moment as his white-haired friend disappeared down the hall, wondering if he should feel just a little guilty for sending Mira, who he knew Haru had been crushing on basically since he'd joined the guild, to his completely unsuspecting partner. He chuckled lightly, he also knew Haru was going to be seeking revenge for this stunt, Natsu would have to keep his guard up around the Water Slayer for a while. Deciding he had other things that he was much more interested in focusing on right now, he gave his head a shake and entered the blonde's room quietly. Moving down the short hall to lean against the corner, he crossed his arms and smiled to himself at the sight before him.

Lucy was clearly absorbed by her book, she didn't even attempt to pry her attention from its pages to acknowledge her company. His eyes scanned the title, 'A Full History of Edolas.' No surprise, she was such a nerd... He loved it.

Lucy slipped a couple fingers between the pages of her book to mark her place and tilted the book back to address the room's other occupant, "Wasn't expecting you back so soon—"

Her eyes widened as soon as they met his, "Natsu!" she squeaked happily. Her bright smile at his presence did funny things to his stomach. Gods, she is beautiful. "What are you doing here?"

Natsu crossed the room to the end of the bed wordlessly. Smiling, he took hold of the upper muscle of her calves and gave her a sharp tug to pull her down the bed toward him. She giggled breathlessly, repeating her earlier question as he set a knee on the bed and leaned over her with a hand on either side of her hips, giving her a positively wolfish grin. "I believe I promised you a reward for saving my ass earlier—" he alluded, reaching out to take the book from her hands. He dropped it on the floor and finally closed the gap to claim her lips. Taking his face in her hands, she indulged in the passionate kiss, moaning into his mouth when his hand snuck up her shirt to squeeze her breast.

"Natsu—"

"Gods I love when you say my name like that…"

"Natsu, Mira could be back any minute—"

He hummed a bit as he moved down her body, settling himself between her legs, "Nope," he said, popping the P. "Mira and I came to an agreement," he explained, running his hands up and down her legs, placing the occasional kiss.

Lucy tried to focus through her anticipation, "Wait, Mira's spending the night with Haru—" she gasped when Natsu roughly bit the sensitive flesh high on her inner thigh.

His eyes snapped up to hers, "Don't wanna talk about Mira an' Haru right now," he growled warningly. Raising a couple fingers with a spark of fire flickering off the tips, his devious smile returned instantly, and she eyed him suspiciously before catching his train of thought.

"Don't you dare!"

With a mirthful look, he reduced her panties to ash with masterful control and she screeched with indignation. "Natsu! Those were my only pair until we get home, and I'm wearing a fucking skirt!"

Her angry remarks were cut off immediately when he renewed his grip on her hips and ran his impossibly hot tongue over her core. A moan fell from her lips, and she fell back into the bedding, complaints dying on her tongue. With one hand fisting into the sheets she tangled the other into his hair, encouraging the explorations of his sinfully skilled tongue. He grinned against her sex as he latched onto her clit and pushed a couple fingers into her, her thighs quivered with the waves of sensations he sent coursing through her. He continued alternating between lavishing attention with the strokes of his fingers and teasing her with flicks of his tongue. With a few more practiced swirls and flicks of his fingers, he had her crying his name and releasing around his fingers. Rising above her again, he licked his lips sensuously, "Thank you Lucy, for rescuing me."

Her chest rose and fell with her panting as she tried to catch her breath, her eyes still screwed shut as she came down from her high. "If saving your ass," she sucked in another breath, "comes with mind blowing orgasms—then I'll save you anytime."

Natsu laughed softly, pushing himself up off the bed momentarily, to rid himself of his clothing. A swell of pride coloured his expression as he caught her eyes raking greedily over his form. He ran a couple fingers down his own physique grinning as her gaze followed them to his previously neglected cock. With a couple lazy strokes he knelt back on the bed and crawled up her body with another series of kisses and teasing nips. "We are just getting started on your reward, Luce."

Morning

Knocking on the door pulled Natsu from his sleep and he grumbled irritably as he eyed the door with narrowed eyes. Hoping that if he didn't make a sound or move to answer it, the annoying interruption would go away, he ignored it. The knock came again, louder this time. Lucy whined beside him, burying her face deeper into the crook of his arm, and nudged at him. "Make it go away…" she muttered through a sleepy haze.

Another insistent knock.

Clearly, whoever their unwanted guest was, they were not taking the hint of being ignored. That, or they just didn't give a shit about the concepts of sleeping in after liberating a city. Lucy rolled off of him and half-heartedly slapped a pillow over his face, "Natsuuuu, get the door," she begged before pulling the blankets over her head.

"And why can't you?"

"Because you have less clothing to put on to be presentable!"

"You don't wake up with a very visible problem," he countered, forcibly grabbing her hand and introducing it to his hard-on.

She peeked out from under the covers at him, a coy smile firmly in place. "Your pants are baggy enough to hide it…"

"You of all people know better than that..." he said cockily, eyebrow raising when she didn't re-emerge from under the blankets. He blew out a breath, "you fucking owe me."

Grumbling again, he swung his feet out of bed, attempting to ignore his very uncomfortable problem and snatched his pants off the floor. But before he answered the door, he leaned back over the bed, holding a glowing finger out and requipped a fresh pair of Lucy's panties. He twirled the garment around in front of her. Lucy's eyes widened, and she snatched them out of his hand, "Why do you have these?!"

Natsu just grinned mischievously, opting not to explain himself to her. She would probably Lucy-kick him into next week if she found out he always kept a pair handy... It was important to be prepared, should the ones she was wearing be unexplainably burned (somehow).

"Alright, I'm coming! Fuck off with your damn knocking—" he shouted in response to a fourth knock. Tearing the door open, he glared down at a very, very amused Mira.

"Good morning Natsu!" she chirped as though she hadn't just rudely woken him, "you look a little tired, up late?"

He leaned into the door frame and crossed his arms in front of his chest in a display of irritation. "What do you want Mira?" he asked flatly. Her eyes took in his dishevelled hair, lack of top and lingered on what he knew must be the slightly notable bulge in his pants. He cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at her incredulously.

"I just came to get my things and let you both know that everyone else is already having breakfast in the hall," she announced, sneaking around Natsu and into the room. Natsu cringed when he heard the high pitch squeal from Lucy, one that may have been Mira's name, he let his head tip back with a particularly loud groan and briefly considered joining his guildmates for breakfast. He'd likely get a solid Lucy kick for that as well and if he really did leave the blonde to fend off Mira by herself, he'd deserve it. Still... It might be worth it. With a last pining look down the hall, he sulkily walked back into the room.

Mira was giving Lucy a hard time about how tightly she was clinging to the blankets hiding her entire form from her chin down. Both women looked over when he walked back in and dropped on to the bed next to the blonde, leaning against the headboard. The takeover mage pulled on the boots she'd left on the floor in the room the previous night as she watched them. "Surprised to find you both still in bed, aren't you usually an early riser Lucy?"

Lucy glared at Mira, then she turned and glared at Natsu as well. The Fire Slayer raised a questioning brow. "This is your fault you know," she stated, though there was no real bite behind her words.

He shrugged a dismissive shoulder, completely unrepentant. "She'd have found out eventually. Honestly I'm kinda surprised Happy didn't let it slip."

"And I'm kinda surprised I didn't figure it out! I must be losing my touch." Mira paused glancing between the two, "though, in my defence, you two have acted like a couple from day one."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu grumbled, reaching the end of his patience. "Alright Mira, if I promise we will be in the hall for breakfast in 30 minutes, will you get the fuck out?"

With a knowing look as she slung her bag over her shoulder, Mira took a couple steps toward the door before stopping briefly. "Don't take toooo long, the team is anxious to get home," she said with a smirk. Natsu agreed, impatiently waiting for his comrade to leave, but she turned one last time before departing. "Oh and Lucy? —Make sure you help Natsu with his problem."

"MIRA!" Lucy yelled, flushing instantly and Natsu whipped a pillow at the white-haired girl, but it connected with the wall. A peel of laughter broke from Mira as she dodged the throw and ran out of the room.

. . .

It had taken the combined power of each of the mages' and the rebels' simultaneous attacks over multiple rounds before they were staring at the crumbled remains of Faust's Eclipse Gate. The imitation gate's destruction settled a strange weight in Natsu's gut that he couldn't begin to explain. Haru nudged him with an elbow, "You okay man?"

The fire mage murmured a reply, his eyes still fixed on the shattered lower frame of the gate in a trance. Haru deadpanned, "You have the same look on your face that you had in the middle of the battle."

Natsu gave him an apologetic look, "When we get home okay? I will tell you everything." Mystogan was preparing a pair of Anima tools to send all of Fairy Tail mages home, and they were spread around the chamber saying their goodbyes to their counterparts and new friends. "Better question would be—" Natsu stole Haru's attention back, and curiosity replaced suspicion on the water mage's face, "why didn't you sleep with Mira?"

A subtle red flew over Haru's cheeks as he gaped at Natsu, "Wha—because we're friends Natsu! Stop reading into things." He took in the disbelieving look on his partner's face, and deflected, "speaking of, watch your back. Mira is a demon. Payback is in your future!"

"Haruuu, did you just call me a demon? Well, isn't that just sweet?" Mira sang sarcastically as she joined them and looped her arms around his neck. Natsu just smirked at the deepening flush on Haru's face.

"Oh, I see it now… Yeah, my mistake, just the best of friends."

Haru was about to counter his best friend's laugher when Lisanna called over the crowd for their attention. Everyone turned and found the combined shimmery portal spread between the two Anima devices. Looks like it was just about time to go. Natsu glanced around, spotting Lucy saying her farewells to their Edo counterparts and joined her to do the same. After various goodbyes, hugs and a little more teasing with their new other-world friends, the Earthland group began moving toward the portal. Cheered their farewell, they each flaunted the hand gesture of their guild, promising to see each other again someday before disappearing into the void of Anima.

Natsu took Lucy's hand as Happy landed on his shoulder. "Ready to go home?" Lucy asked them.

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Happy chanted back in unison before following the rest of their comrades homeward.

Fairy Tail

Cana keeled forward, a mouthful of alcohol spraying out in her shock. "What?! That isn't just opposite, that's impossible! Me in any world… SOBER?!" the brunette exclaimed, wiping at her mouth.

Gray stood at the front of the table, batting his eyelashes with his hands clasped in front of him, "Would you care for more tea? Here, let me pour you a mug, it has such a lovely subtle smell, wouldn't you agree?" he acted out in his best girly-voice. Cana's eye twitched as the rest of the mages gathered around the table laughed at the impression and her reaction in equal parts.

"Wait, you think that's funny, Natsu's counterpart is shy and terrified of his own shadow! Lucy's practically a freaking dominatrix… and they're DATING!" Gray burst out, watching the expressions range from amusement to surprise as they pictured their own friends in such a state.

"Hey, don't be mean to Other-Me!" Natsu defended, glaring at the ice mage.

"You're right, at least he has more than charcoal for brains."

A vein popped on the Natsu's forehead and he was launching himself across the table with a fiery fist at Gray in the blink of an eye. The two toppled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and magic infused punches and every single mage at the table watched with briefly raised eyebrows before disregarding them and going back to swapping stories. Mira sauntered over and placed their drink orders down in the middle of the table before taking her previous spot between Haru and Lucy.

"So, Lucy, what was it like seeing Other-You kiss Other-Natsu," she asked, that familiar mirth in her tone causing Lucy to blush immediately as her head whipped in Mira's direction. That damn She-Devil. Haru was leaning on his elbow and smirking at her as well, clearly interested to see how she'd field that question in front of half the guild that had gathered to pester Dragon Soul with a million questions. Lucy's eyes locked with the amused Water Slayer's. He could help her, if he wanted, but she knew he wouldn't, because he was nearly as bad as Mira when it came to teasing her.

The blonde considered her options. Seemed to her, the best course of action was to get the attention OFF her and Natsu as quickly as possible, lest she let their relationship slip. Her poker face wasn't the best, and Natsu's was non-existent. She risked a peek at him as subtly as she could, he was still enthralled with throwing fire coated punches at Gray. Ever since Natsu blew their cover in Edolas, Mira had been doing her absolute best to slip them up in front of the others. Lucy had guessed that being a die-hard gossip, Mira would have announced the truth to their guildmates already, but it seemed the game of making her spill the news was much more entertaining.

"Well," Lucy started, willing herself to calm, "I don't think Edo Lucy's relationship was nearly as surprising as Erza's and Haru's marriage." Lucy let the smug look play across her face as Mira's eyes narrowed. She'd purposefully omitted the 'Edo' from their names in order to rile up a certain reawakened She-Devil, at Haru's expense.

"Wait they were married?!" Erza questioned, her eyes giant and cat-like in her surprise. Lucy deadpanned, leave it to the redhead to not pick up on romantic involvements.

Haru, completely unaware of the position she'd just dropped him in, turned toward his friend chuckling. "How did you not pick that up Erza? They weren't exactly subtle," he retorted, still unaware of the dangerous aura growing next to him as Mira watched the interaction back and forth.

Erza pondered their doubles for a moment, thinking back to their words, their actions, and then her eyes widened. "OH! I just thought 'Knightwalker' was a team name—or …something," she announced, adopting a sudden shy demeanour as a blush crossed her cheeks.

Haru cooed at her, and poked a cheek now nearing the colour of her hair from across the table, "Aren't you just adorable sometimes?"

Lucy burst out laughing. In her wildest hopes, should wouldn't have guessed this to play out as well as it was, she was sure the heat would be off her for a good while now. Haru just looked at her, his face a mask of confusion. Then Mira was launching herself across the table at Erza, in full Satan Soul, and the girls crashed to the floor just as the boys had earlier. Haru wasn't the only mage at the table to pale considerably as Erza donned her Black Wing armour in response. The flicker of confusion at Mira's sudden attack barely lasted a few seconds, likely assuming that their childhood rivalry was born anew with Mira's power back in full swing.

The chaos drew Makarov after a few minutes. He came bolting down the stairs and over to them, crying at anyone to stop them, even as he swiped at them with Titan-hands. Without a more serious reprimand, all four dodged the master's attempts like extra obstacles purposely thrown in to add to their fun. Eventually, the elderly man realized that all of his available S-Class were currently the ones DOING the destroying. His head tipped back, and he bawled childishly.

Lucy watched as Haru stood and began to tip-toe out the back of the guildhall, having finally realized he was the inexplicable cause of the girls' brawl, even if he still didn't know why. He didn't get far before Mira intercepted him, snagging an ear and dragging him back to the table. Panning around to the remaining shocked faces of her friends, Lucy added enthusiastically, "Oh and craziest of all, Mira's got her powers back!"

A/N. I do love some good fluffy fun, especially after a bunch of big fights and craziness. :D

To the constantly dedicated valerioux and FireShifter for reviewing again, my biggest thanks!

**Also for those of you who are interested, yesterday I posted a new NaLu one shot lemon, that just didn't find a home in the FTTD outline.

See you all next week!

R&R.

xx Loka Muse