"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Sand Buster!"

Natsu gritted his teeth as he pushed against Scorpio's barrage of near flesh-rending sand. He could barely see through all the wind swept grains, having to turn away to avoid damage to his eyes. He relied more on scent and sound for this fight, both to find his target, and to keep tabs on the location of the other fight taking place on this battlefield.

His sensitive ears could pick up the clanging of metal on ice, and he wished he could take his attention away from Scorpio long enough to watch what sounded like an awesome match; but a crucial purpose of this exercise was to see how well he could focus on his own battles while maintaining a great deal more situational awareness than he was used to. In other words, he needed to keep his flames aimed towards his target, and away from Gray.

But damn if he didn't think Lucy looked adorable in her Star Dress: Cancer Form.

Lucy couldn't help smiling when she saw the focused, determined look on Gray's face. He was really getting into this spar, and she wasn't too self-conscious to admit the bit of pride she felt in being the one giving him such an intense battle. Still, even though he was putting his diminished skills up against her celestial spirit enhanced ones, they were nothing to scoff at. He had over a decade's experience in close combat versus her own, and she knew she'd be at his mercy without Cancer lending her his powers.

It was because of her admiration of his battle-honed prowess that she refused to hold back, and gave as much as she got. She was especially pleased to find he acknowledged her talent by giving as much in turn. They both fought with dual swords, each of them clashing with such speed and force, it was almost impossible to tell what else was happening around them.

"Dammit! You got sand in my mouth, you stupid bug!"

"We are!"

"Fire dragon's wing attack!"

Almost.

Ever on the periphery of her senses, doubly so in Gray's, she was certain, was the presence of Natsu's flames in the distance. They were easy to see, whether in direct sight, or indirectly from the flickering shadows they cast, or reflected against her blades, or even within the depths of her eyes. She'd tried early on to maneuver them both so Gray was always facing away from Natsu's and Scorpio's battle, but he'd picked up on that right away, and had shown his displeasure with a surprise volley of ice lances to distract her from that goal.

"My enemies won't be so kind. Stop shielding me," he'd said.

That had been almost half an hour ago. They've both displayed impressive skills so far, and Lucy was debating whether she should change things up by switching star dresses, when she noticed Gray closing his eyes, and keeping them closed. She reflexively lowered her swords, somewhat concerned, thinking he was ready to stop, but raised them back up quickly, just in time to block a punishing blow to her side.

He never lost precision or force, but she could tell his speed was waning. His attacks were still fast, but he was having to put effort in orienting his position in relation to her own, the results of which showed in his defense. It was fast enough, but just noticeably slower than before.

Was that because of his blindness or something else? She hadn't seen before, but he seemed hesitant to move is right arm as high as the other. Perhaps that recently healed wound on his chest still bothered him. Were his pain meds wearing off? Had Porlyusica lowered his doses without taking into account how much more active he was to become? Perhaps another change in his prescriptions were in order, though she was sure he'd hate going back to higher doses.

With a little more room to breathe, she sought to learn his motives for wanting to fight her blind. Was it just because he's gotten so used to doing everything else this way?

"You hanging in there, Gray? We can take a break if you need to."

He didn't slow down, didn't lose focus, didn't miss a step as he continued to fight. They remained in this dance as he answered.

"If given the choice between sight or magic, you never know when I'd have to go without one or the other. If we get caught up in a long, drawn out battle, I need to be prepared for either possibility."

Another round of crossed swords gave her time to consider those words. It saddened her how true they were. Even with how far Gray's come in his recovery, and in his training; even with how much pain and grief he's gone through to return to a life of magic; even through all the effort and hard work he's put in to be ready for active status again; he still had to live under the unavoidable truth that his powers were woefully limited, and his own body could betray him with little warning. He's accepted that, and was going all out to adapt to those limitations, be they magical or physical.

She could tell he was tiring, though. His near-empty origins were more an added weight to bear than an asset once they've drained to a certain point. She could easily predict how this could be a problem in real combat, and told him so.

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, and I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but your magic stamina's gonna be an issue in such a scenario."

A few more jabs and parries as he thought, then he responded.

"You're not wrong. I've considered what could happen if my powers ran out during a fight."

"And? Do you know what you'd do if that happened for real?"

"Other than knowing you guys will save my ass? No f*cking clue."

She continued to parry his attacks, and though she knew he could defend surprisingly well without sight, she still couldn't help but to hesitate whenever she did send a strike his way. His defense never failed, though.

"However—"

She perked up, interested in how he could follow up that confession.

"—since I'd be at a disadvantage in lengthy battles, I'd just need to end the fight as soon as possible."

Now she was intrigued.

"How would you do that?"

The mischievous grin he was now sporting made her wonder if she'd come to regret asking.

"Do I have permission to show you?"

She had to admit, her curiosity was piqued, and she couldn't bring herself to say no when he was so obviously eager to share.

"Be my guest."

That grin widened to Cheshire Cat proportions when he suddenly stepped back, allowing his swords to dissolve, freeing his hands as he brought them together.

"What are you—"

"—Ice Make: Refraction!" he muttered, too low for her to hear through all the noise Natsu and Scorpio were making.

Instantly on guard, Lucy was perplexed to find herself surrounded by multitudes of ice fractals floating high above. Was he planning to launch them at her? Would they come at random, or all at once? Quickly considering which star dress would offer her the best defense, she was about to take advantage of Arie's form to soften any blow, when the attack came, and his intentions were made all too clear.

Her immediate area was suddenly enveloped in an overwhelming torrent of brilliantly bright, strobing lights, the colors of which were impossible to tell due to her inability to open her eyes. That sneaky bastard. Before she could mount any sort of defense, she felt as strong hands found her arms, twisting them in such a way that forced her hands to release their grips, dropping her swords. Her legs were swept out from under her, and she landed hard on her back, her head saved from impact to the hard ground by Gray's hand cushioning her fall.

She could feel him hovering over her, the chill of his skin making her shiver just a bit as he leaned in close to whisper teasingly into her ear, "I evened the odds."

Practically hearing the smirk in his voice, she returned it with a proud grin of her own. That was certainly one way to turn a handicap into an advantage.

"Most impressive. I yield. Is it safe for me to open my eyes yet?"

"The ice is gone. It dispersed as soon as my magic ran out."

Her eyes flew open, finding scar-rimmed eyes staring blankly and unfocused at her. There was still humor within them as Gray slowly and stiffly moved to free her from his hold. She scrambled to her knees, wavering on offering to help him stand, but he seemed happy to just remain where he'd sat, catching his breath and basking in his win.

"You're already out of magic?"

"I used up the last dregs to pull off that spell."

"Dang it! I quit too soon. I could have beaten you."

"With magic, no doubt. You're a lot better at swordplay than Natsu, but only when you're wearing that star dress. How confident would you be if we continued with no powers?"

"You've got me there. Except for Erza, you're definitely the best of us when it comes to close quarters combat."

A distant cry of "Like hell he is!" could just be heard from across the field. From within a whirlwind of sand, Natsu's indignant shouts of denial could still be heard, muffled and distorted by the sounds of roaring flames pummeling against the wind swept earth, trying to break free of his imprisonment.

With a shared snicker between them, she continued.

"Still, your enemies aren't going to lay aside their magic for the sake of fairness. Promise me you won't pull that stunt in real combat unless you've got a few spells left in you. Okay?"

"You know I can't say no to you."

"Oh really? Does that mean you'll stop sneaking peeks at my novel if I ask you?"

"When has that ever stopped me?"

"Don't worry. I've already taken away the copy you left at the house," Lyon assured as he approached, handing them each a water bottle.

Both of them looked towards him, Lucy smiling in triumphant gratitude, and Gray feigning a look of innocence and mock disappointment as he hid a smirk behind a few sips. Neither of the men would confess that they'd already read all she'd left there, with Lyon even reading aloud on certain evenings when Gray just felt like conserving his magic.

"Thank you, Lyon. At least some people still have a sense of decency and propriety."

Gray didn't even try to cover his scoff, and couldn't see Lucy's inquiring gaze for him to explain his reaction, so she didn't push for one. Lyon rushed to change the subject.

"You two looked great out there. I saw a lot of improvement. How are you feeling?" he asked as he pointed an infrared thermometer towards Gray's brow, nodding in approval of the low reading.

"Worn out, but good. Ready for a shower and a nap… The fire didn't faze me at all," he beamed proudly, excitedly.

"That's great news," Lyon enthused, "Guess you were right. So long as Natsu keeps a distance when he fights, you two shouldn't have a problem working around each other."

"Yeah! It looks like he's kept a good track on you while fighting Scorpio. He was quick to move his fight away the few times we moved in his direction, so we wouldn't feel the heat," added Lucy.

"He even led Scorpio on a short chase to the south side of the field when the winds shifted. He was keeping himself downwind from you, so the scents wouldn't reach you."

Gray took all that in, adding his own observations to his analysis of the overall match. He was more than pleased. He was greatly encouraged by this new development. For months, he'd held the concern in the back of his mind, of how his anxieties would hinder his performance, and put his team in danger. He'd been deadly serious when he'd declared his intentions of removing himself from the team permanently, should those concerns prove true. In a single day, those fears have been put to rest. Their solution wasn't perfect, but it was doable, and better than he'd ever dared hoped.

"I want to go on a mission with you guys. I think I'm ready."

Of course the others have been expecting this. There's no way Gray wouldn't be eager to go on an adventure after being sidelined for all this time. How long would they be able to stall until he came to suspect they had ulterior motives for keeping him in Magnolia?

"We'll tell Erza all about what we've discovered today, so she can have some input on where we go from here. After all, the whole team should be involved in deciding what our first mission should be with all of us back together," said Lucy.

Hopefully, with all their heads together, they can come up with a convincing way to continue postponing his return to missions without inviting his suspicion and ire. They didn't want him to start thinking they were doubting his abilities, nor his readiness to keep his head in the game should a triggering event occur. Most of all, God forbid, they couldn't risk having him learn the real reason he's been practically grounded all this time.

Gray found Lucy's response reasonable, nodding in agreement. He was looking forward to taking part in any job-related activity with his team for the first time in over eight months, even if it was just a discussion over dinner to plan how to conduct the job. Feeling renewed by the mere thought of getting back in the game, he held his hands up, knowing one or both of them would offer their assistance, and stood as they hauled him up.

He felt some items placed into his hand, his cane and blindfold, and smiled his thanks as he wrapped the silk around his eyes. He then extended the cane out as he got his bearings.

"Since Erza's stopping by my house soon, why don't you and the Lame Flame come too? We can grab some food, and come up with ideas for our first job while we eat. Does someone want to tell the idiot we're done here?"

Now that he mentioned it, what were Natsu and Scorpio doing right now? It had gotten quiet in the last few moments, but neither of them were making their way over. Looking towards the last place they were seen fighting, Lucy snorted, before letting out a loud guffaw at Natsu's expense. Lyon soon followed, trying to tell Gray, between giggles, what they found so amusing.

"Natsu! How did this happen?!" cried Lucy.

As they walked to where their two friends were, Gray asked impatiently, "What the hell did Ash for Brains do that's got you two in stitches?"

Taking a few deep breaths to control his mirth, Lyon finally got out, "Natsu's trapped himself under a giant glass dome!"

Eyes going wide, his only response to that was to demand, "Phone. Camera. Now." He'd have to rely on his imagination for now, but would be sure to save that photo for whenever he needed a good laugh. He may even frame it and hang it in his new bedroom. Or post a copy on the guild's jobs board. He could caption it with "Seeking rare specimen of dunce-under-glass. See photo for reference".

Lyon, noting the heat waves rising from the dome, put up a cooling buffer of air between them and Natsu as they got closer. Now that they were near, they could hear muffled screams of anger coming from inside the dome.

Scorpio looked towards his master, delighted by her amusement, and explained, "We are! Lucy! Your hotheaded friend got all irked by our sand tornado, and tempers got a little too heated. He turned our sand into glass! We are!"

"Why hasn't he just melted his way out yet?" Lyon wondered.

"Yo! Our sand don't stop!"

"You mean you kept adding more sand whenever he melted through?" Lucy guessed, proud of her spirit's quick thinking.

"We are!"

"Thanks so much for helping out today, Scorpio. I really appreciate it."

"Always and only for you, Lucy! I'ma give your regards to my beautiful lady! See ya later!"

Lucy beamed and waved her goodbye, glad she could always count on Scorpio to pass along her warm wishes to Aquarius whenever he was called upon.

Natsu was still fuming, arms crossed as he stared at his friends from inside the dome.

"Natsu! Why didn't you just break the glass?" Lucy yelled.

They could just hear a muted reply of, "Like I need to get caught in a rain of shattered glass! And who'd clean all that crap up afterwards?!"

"You might want to free yourself before your air runs out," Gray teased, "Would your flames even work if that happened?"

"Just shut up and back off so I can get out of this thing!"

Still giggling, Lucy said, "Why don't you two head back home now. You can stop by the guild to pick up Happy, and invite Wendy and Carla too. I'll stay with Natsu and help him figure out what to do with all this glass. We'll come over soon."

Plans made, the two ice mages left for the guild, both still chuckling as they went. Lucy turned back to see Natsu watching them leave, a small smile on his face. She knew what he was thinking.

Placing her hand close to the glass, she held it close, giving it a tentative touch, finding it very warm, but not dangerously so. She curled her hand into a fist, placing it against the glass, smiling proudly at Natsu. He grinned back brightly, bringing his own fist up to meet hers, bumping it against his own side of the glass.

A job well done.

Gray can be pretty cheeky when he wants to be.

Hallelujah, I'm back! Took longer than I wanted, but you all have waited so patiently, and I wanted to get this chapter out. For those who have asked, my family is coping with our loss. There are a lot of 'What ifs' and questions of misplaced guilt involved, and Christmas was really rough this year. I appreciate all the well wishes. They've certainly meant more than you can know.

On a brighter side, writing some fun, lighthearted stories have been a nice change. If you haven't read it yet, you might enjoy my GrayLu one shot, "Connotations." I'm also in the process of writing a GrayZa friendship piece, from a request I found on Tumblr. It concerns a headcanon in which Erza had Gray teach her fine motor skills when they were kids, due to her lack of development from her time spent in the Tower of Heaven. I thought it was a cute idea and was eager to tackle that one. Expect that one to come out within the next month or so. Oh, and if there are any "Yona of the Dawn" fans here, I may start writing a one shot collection featuring Hak hanging out with his little brother Tee Yeon, cuz that just sounds beyond adorable, and there aren't any stories featuring that particular bond that I'm aware of. Yes, there will be some Yona/Hak fluff as well. That will likely be updated sporadically though, whenever I'm in between chapters of this story. It'll be fun, regardless!

Afraid my biweekly posting schedule will indeed begin to suffer from my day job. Guess who's coaching both Mock Trial AND Team Policy Debate this semester? Yay for imparting great communication skills on the younger generation? We'll see how much this impacts my writing time, but hopefully it won't mean going months between updates. At the most, maybe three to four weeks, but for now I'll try to keep to every two weeks—at least until competitions get under way.

Next Chapter: A bit of GrayZa fluff, along with some team bonding. It feels good to be back on the team!