Chapter Nineteen

Natsu stood in the shower, the scalding water steaming off his body. The extreme heat flushed his skin a dull, angry, red and yet, it was not enough. Natsu shivered and shut his eyes, tilting his head up towards the spray.

Ever since Wendy had cast her Suppression Enchantment, it had felt like his body was off balance. The fire had gone out, leaving him feeling chilled and uneasy. He flicked his wrist; a lifeless yellow flame wobbled at the edges of his fingers. Natsu slammed his hand against the cold tile, frustration creeping up his body.

He stepped out of the shower and wiped down the fogged-up mirror. The skin around his neck was still a mottled, dark grey. He fingered the tender flesh around the bite-marks. It had been months and the wound was nowhere close to healing. He pulled his scarf off the towel rail and wrapped it around his neck. It hid the eyesore and filled his nostrils with the comforting smell of his father. There. That was better.

Natsu's sharp ears picked up the sound of conversation so out he went. Lucy was bent over a map of Giltena, tracing something across the paper and gesturing earnestly at Erza. She looked up as Natsu exited the bathroom, her face transforming with a smile.

Natsu went off to pick a fight with Gray because what else was there to do?


Gray leaned on the windowsill, looking out on the icy Giltenese winter. The team had arrived in the northern continent a few days ago. The sudden rise in the value of the Jewel had allowed them to take the train up to Seven and charter a fast ship to the western coast of Giltena, shaving 10 days off the journey. Paranoia that the ports were being watched by the Snake Guardian had made them jump off the ship in the dark of the night and swim ashore. The muscles in his back were still sore from the exertion. A small price to pay when dealing with such a powerful enemy.

They were holed up now in Silestina, the northernmost town in Giltena, built at the edge of an icy, endless desert. It was so much colder up here than it had been in Isvan. He watched his breath puff out before his face and wondered idly if this was what it felt like to be a dragon.

Slam! Gray's fingers narrowly escaped being crushed by the window frame. "What was that for, lizard brain?" He scowled at Natsu and leaned against the now-shut window.

"You're letting all the cold air in, ice breath," Natsu replied grumpily.

"Yeah, well I don't see anyone else complaining."

Natsu pushed his face into Gray's aggressively. "Your ears are probably as frozen as your brains; people's teeth are chattering here."

"Well I can't help it in you're too weak to stan-," Gray stopped short when he saw Natsu flinch. Curiosity puckered his brow as Natsu's mouth twisted with displeasure. "Hey Natsu," he said tentatively. The notion was laughable. "You know you're not weak right?"

Natsu folded his arms and growled. "Say that to this." He snapped his fingers and sent a few pale fireballs sprouting from his fingertips. They spluttered weakly before dying. Even Gray could see that they lacked the vibrancy of Natsu's usual flames.

"That's just temporary."

Natsu clicked his tongue in irritation. A muscle worked in his jaw as he looked across the room at Lucy and Happy.

Understanding dawned on Gray. He turned to Natsu, his expression as earnest as his posture was nonchalant. "If you're thinking of going off for a year to train, just know she'll never forgive you," he said, then smirked.

An involuntary snort of laughter escaped Natsu. "Jerk."

"It's nice to see you two getting along."

Gray jumped at the sound of Erza's voice, the action more of a reflex than anything else. His eyes met hers and his lips twitched upwards. The weirdness that had sprouted up during Gajeel and Levy's wedding seemed to be behind them; gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Gray was grateful for it. He was unsure if Erza's feelings over being abandoned again by Jellal had been resolved, but she was back to normal and that was all that mattered.

Erza smiled gently and tilted her head towards the others. "Come on, you two. Lucy has something to share with us."

It was probably just his imagination that her eyes seemed to hold his for a fraction longer than they used to.


Lucy drew her finger along one of several lines she had drawn criss-crossing the map of Giltena. "These here are called 'supernal lines.' I read about them while I was researching Vega's tablet. It is said that the magic currents in the earth flow along these lines and the places where they intersect," she circled a spot on the map where several lines came together, "are places with extremely high concentration of ethernano." She looked up at the others, a determined expression on her face. "About 60 kilometres north of here is a glacier where a number of these lines intersect."

"What's a glacier?" asked Natsu.

"Someone who works with windows," Happy replied. "This is a silly plan, Lucy. How can a window maker help us find Aquarius' key?"

Charle sniffed haughtily. "You moron, that's a glazier. Not a glacier!"

"A glacier?" Erza repeated, an image of a lady with a painted face and a flowing kimono appeared in her mind.

"Ah, so this woman has the Aquarius key!" Natsu's eyes lit up.

Lucy sweatdropped. "No, not quite," she muttered, choosing not to dwell on how they had all managed to see the image in Erza's head.

"A glacier," said Gray, tapping on the map, "is sort of like a huge ice lake that moves slowly over time."

"Exactly." Lucy nodded. "Except this glacier has never moved in all these years. Not by an inch."

"Is that why you think the Aquarius key is there, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked. She was glad that group had unanimously agreed to spend some time searching for Aquarius' key before carrying on with their mission. As Erza had put it, if it was important to Lucy, it was important to them all and Lucy and Aquarius had been parted for far too long.

Erza stroked her chin and pored over the map. There were very few bodies of water over which the lines intersected. The glacier was the one nearest to their present location. It would not hurt to check it out. "And this will not interfere with the six-week rule we have with the quest? It has been two weeks since the last key and we have no idea where the next one will be."

"I took a look at those rules you mentioned, Lucy," Charle said. She shot an affronted look at Happy's incredulous face. "What? I was bored on the ship!" She smoothed her frock down haughtily and continued, "They are a little unclear. It seems to me that it's not necessary that we collect a key every six weeks, simply that we do something related to the quest."

"Good point," Gray replied, absently stripping off his shirt. "Wasn't Gildarts on the quest for three years? If he'd collected a key every six weeks, he'd have had time to finish it several times over."

"But what sort of activities count towards the quest then?" Wendy asked, sweatdropping. "This is way too vague."

Happy turned to an invisible audience, shrugged his shoulders and let out a resigned sigh. "It seems to me the author wants to leave lots of loopholes so she can cover her arse."

"Who are you talking to, you stupid cat?"


Lucy snuggled into her magical Self-Heating Jacket and thought longingly of her bed back in Magnolia. Lively, lovely, warm Magnolia. She supposed a trek to the northernmost edge of the world would give her good material for her writing. A silver lining in an otherwise dismal cloud. The cold up here was worse than anything she could have possibly imagined. Between Zonia, Europa and now this; she would be happy if she never saw snow again. Ever.

The temperatures north of Silestina were so low that the snows did not melt even in high summer. It had been foolish of them to venture out here in mid-December. She stuck her tongue out of her mouth in a grimace as she remembered that this project had been her idea. It would be worth it, however, if she could reunite with Aquarius.

The Snow Hodras she was riding lowed as her fingers tightened around its fur. "Sorry!" Lucy patted the beast's neck apologetically.

They left the Snow Hodras at an outpost at the foothills of the mountains and carried onwards on foot. The sky was growing dark despite it being only noon and Gray flicked on the light in his woollen cap. "We'll have to make camp soon," he said, pulling off his dark goggles. "It's best to cross the pass when it's daylight."

Gray had taken point on this venture, him being the only one of their group who had experience with cold weather. Lucy had to admit, Gray was kind of cool when he took charge. He had efficiently kitted them all out with lightweight snow gear and seen to the hiring of the Snow Hodras. He had even taken over the navigation when none of the guides in Silestina had been willing to accompany them up north.

"Southlanders," they had said and rolled their eyes. Lucy now understood why. The short trek across the flatlands had been difficult enough. It would only get harder the further into the mountains they got. Thankfully, the Silestinese guides had at least given them a map highlighting all the caves and shelters along the route; though she suspected that had been more to assuage their own guilty consciences than to actually help the Fiorian wizards.

Lucy started as a warm bundle of fur burrowed into her side. Lucy scooped Charle into her arms. The poor Exceed's fur was rimed with frost.

"How much further till we make camp? She asks," Horologium announced to the rest of the group. The clock spirit's midsection groaned as it stretched outwards to accommodate Lucy, Wendy and Charle.

"It's not like you're walking," Happy muttered snidely.

Gray pulled the map out of one of his many pockets. The weather up in the mountains was so dire that even the ice wizard had needed the protection of a magical Jacket to get by. "We're almost there." He had to shout to be heard over the wind. Lucy half heard, half lipread his words in the light cast by the torch in Natsu's hat. Soon enough, they were standing at the base of the first pass into the mountains. They spent the night in a wooden cabin nearby, built there to shelter tourists in the summer months.

The glacier was two days' trek into the mountain range. It was hard going for the group; progress was slow, and the mood was sombre. The routes along the mountain were tricky, made even more so by the harsh winter. Many of the frequently travelled paths were impassable due to the snow. They were forced onto the higher and more treacherous trails. No one had the energy for shenanigans, it took all their strength just to keep on schedule.

They struggled on steadily, their muscles stiff from cold and dehydration. It was too cold to drink water and even colder to piss. Gray had to halt progress several times a day to remind them to hydrate and to spare them from overexertion. The weather in the mountains was colder too, than anything Gray was used to, but he tried not to let his discomfort show. He was the leader after all. He knew losing motivation would be almost as dangerous the temperature on this journey.

On the third day, Erza crested the lip of the final pass and was arrested by the sight of pale blue sheeting into the distance. "We are here," she announced.

Lucy hobbled out of Horologium and joined Erza where she stood. "Wow."

An icy river snaked in between the mountains, its pale blue a subtle shade different from the white of the snows. The valley around it was utterly still, as though in awe of the glacier's majesty. Lucy closed her eyes and tried to commit the vista to memory. She doubted she would see anything as beautiful ever again.

"I sense great magical energy from this place," muttered Erza. "Do you feel anything?"

Lucy fingered her keys and searched for a familiar thread of magic in the swirl of energy she felt around her. "No," she shook her head, "But there is a lot of noise from the other kinds of magic here."

"Don't tell me we came all this way for nothing," Charle whined from up on Wendy's shoulder. It was too cold for her to use her Aera and the snowdrifts were too deep for her to walk.

"We'll have to get closer for me to be sure," Lucy replied apologetically. The confluence of supernal lines and the glacier's unusual behaviour had been what had brought them on this dangerous journey. She was not ready to give up just yet. "When a Celestial Spirit's key appears on Earthland, the stars above illuminate the ground with a special pattern. If we wait till night time, then maybe we can see something."

"There's a building for tourists on the edge of the glacier," Gray said, pointing to a red dot in the distance, "It's a few hours' trek, but we can definitely get there by nightfall. It'll be warmer by the glacier as well." He shrugged his shoulders to adjust his heavy backpack and started carefully down the mountain.

They made speedy progress now that their goal was in sight and were halfway down the pass by the time the sun set at noon. It was still too bright for stars, but Lucy squinted into the distance anyway, hoping for some sign of Celestial energy. "Come on," she mumbled.

Suddenly, a tremor passed through the mountains around them, knocking Lucy to her feet. "What the hell?" Natsu yelled, grabbing Lucy's hand. A dull rumbling echoed across the landscape as a wodge of snow broke away from higher up the slope and hurtled towards the team.

"Look out!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Avalanche!" Gray hurried to push the others out of the path of the oncoming snow. There was no way they could outrun it, but they could at least try to evade it. "Head for those rocks," he shouted, pointing towards an outcropping a hundred metres to their left.

Natsu scooped Wendy into his arms as he ran, his other hand tight around Lucy's. Happy and Charle took to the air, the adrenaline numbing the pain of unfurling their Aera in the icy cold. Gray stumbled after them, trying to avoid slipping in his haste.

"Ow!" came a loud cry behind him. Gray turned in time to see Erza sprawled on the ground. A jagged rock protruded incriminatingly from the snow around her boot.

"Erza!" He raced towards her, bringing his hands together to Make something that could get them out of this mess, but the panic whited out his mind. There was too little time and Erza was too far away.

All at once he was swept up in a sea of white. He flailed against the snow and tried to swim towards the glimpse of red he saw, but the force of the snowslide was too much. On his other side he saw a blur of pink and blue. Natsu and the others had not made it either.

The force of the snows was too strong. It crushed the air from his lungs as he struggled to stay abreast of the wave. Realising the futility of his struggle, Gray turned to his last resort. Gathering the dregs of his energy, he shoved his arm above the surface of the snow. Now all he could do was pray someone would find him.


Charle flew over the tumble of snow, squinting against the greying sky. Her eyes watered from the cold and wind, but she could see no sign of Erza, Lucy or Gray. On the ground below, Wendy and Natsu were trying to catch a whiff of the others, but the cascading snows had made it impossible to track their scents.

"Lucy!" Natsu called frantically, searching the landscape for a hint of her sky-blue jacket. Happy and Charle hovered overhead, squinting desperately across the ice for any sign of their comrades.

With a sudden cry, Happy fell out of the sky. He spiralled limply towards the ground. Wendy dove forward and caught him in mid-air. Happy's left wing was spasming violently, the thin layer of feathers not enough to protect it from the cold. "Charle," she called upwards. The aerial search for her comrades would have to cease for now.

Natsu blundered over the snows in the failing light. "Lucy! Gray! Erza! Lucy!"

"Natsu-san, it's dangerous," Wendy warned. Her lips twisted with worry. She was desperate to find her friends too, but the snows underfoot were still unstable, and it was growing darker by the second.

"I don't care!" Natsu replied harshly, heading in the direction he vaguely guessed Lucy had landed. It burned him to know that she was out there somewhere. He shouted her name over and over, but the sound echoed futilely across the valley, the tone mocking and cruel. "Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!" the hills jeered at him. "Damn it! Where the hell is she?!"

"Natsu," Happy said worriedly. Natsu spared a glance for his companion and Happy looked up at him, tears edging his eyes. "We've been searching for hours. We need to get to shelter before it gets too dark." He raised a paw towards his woollen hat. "All our torches are busted, and the moonlight's not going to be enough."

Natsu swore under his breath and turned away. "I'm not giving up."

"Fine, do what you want," Charle scolded, "We're heading towards the shelter. I didn't survive an avalanche just to die from the cold."

His fists clenched at his sides. Charle was right. They were exhausted and more than a little bruised. They had searched the entire mountainside for the others, but there was no sign of them. He cast an eye over Happy's trembling Aera and swallowed. He could not let the other three carry on towards the shelter alone. It was way too risky. But there was no way he could abandon his search for Lucy either.

"One more hour." His tone came out more pleading than he had intended.

Charle let out a resigned huff and unfurled her Aera once more. One more hour. Then she really was dragging Wendy to the shelter, no matter how forlorn that moron fire dragon sounded.

Natsu resumed his search, wading away from the others. "Lucy!" he called again; his voice hoarse from shouting.

Something moved in the distance and he caught a flash of pink. Energy, along with hope, returned to his body. "LUCY!" he yelled, running.

Lucy sagged against Virgo as she turned the corner of the large rock. The avalanche had carried her into an entirely different part of the valley, and she would have surely perished away from her friends if her quick-thinking brain had not summoned Virgo as the snow had swept her up. The snow-suited Celestial Spirit had dug her Master out of the snows swiftly, but it had been nearly impossible to find the others.

Lucy looked around blearily as her name was called once again. Natsu barrelled into her, the force of his body knocking her out of Virgo's arms. They rolled over in the snow, coming to a stop a few metres away.

Relief flooded Natsu's voice. He pressed his forehead to hers. "Lucy."

"You idiot!" She hit him on the head. "What's with all the shouting! Didn't we just have an avalanche?!"

"Oh?" Natsu said, tapping his chin. He had not thought of that.

Lucy sighed, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to enquire about her comrades but the love shining out of his eyes stole her breath. Natsu's nose was red from the cold and she could see him, as clear as real life, digging through the snows desperately to find her. A burst of love flooded her, filling her with a euphoria that was as powerful as a drug. Smiling loopily, she wound his scarf in her hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Her questions could wait for later.


Erza forced down the panic swelling in her body and tried to remember the safety training Gray had briefly given them before they had ventured into the mountains. Swim, thrash, cup your hands around your face, stick your arm in the air – how was she to do all of that at once?

Prioritising her breath above all others, Erza kicked towards the surface of the sliding snow, inhaled deeply and cupped her hands about her mouth to create a pocket of air. She was swiftly pulled under again. Erza tried to fight the cold that was clouding her mind and think her way out of the situation. Whatever happened, she had to make sure not to lose consciousness.

The last thing she had seen, before the avalanche had taken her, had been Gray running towards her. Had he been caught up in the rush of snow too? The panic rose once more into her throat. Erza curled her body in on itself as the avalanche swept up some of the smaller boulders on the lower slopes of the mountain. One of them banged against her shin and Erza saw a burst of stars behind her closed eyelids. Finally, the onslaught seemed to slow and Erza was able to swim to the surface of the snow. With shaking hands, Erza grabbed a nearby rock and pushed her body out of the drift.

She looked around her to get her bearings and spotted a black glove in the snow some distance away. Gray. She scrambled over on all fours; her legs still too shaky for her to stand. She grabbed a hold of Gray's hand and heaved, pulling him from the snow.

Gray coughed and spluttered as he surfaced. "Where are the others?" he asked, gulping down huge mouthfuls of air.

Erza pulled him to his feet and the two of them leaned against each other for support, sharing in a moment of comfort. The red cabin they had been heading for was a speck in the distance. A quick look up the slope pointed to an overhang. Erza surmised that flow of snow had split upon encountering it. It was quite likely her comrades were on the other side of the mountain. They would probably head for the cabin before nightfall.

Gray followed her gaze and reached the same conclusion. He scrabbled in the snow behind him for his rucksack. The bag had split during his downward tumble and he scowled as he realised that he had lost half his survival gear. He hefted the near empty pack over his shoulder and said, "Come on. We have a long way to go."


Wendy had just finished checking Lucy over when her portable communications lacrima buzzed. She leapt for it, a smile sweeping across her face as she checked the caller id. "Erza-san!"

"Wendy!" Erza's voice was muffled by the roaring of wind. "Are you okay? Are the others with you?"

"Yes. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Charle and I are in the cabin by the glacier. How are you? Where are you?"

The portable communications lacrima crackled, the magical energy of the area was interfering with its functioning. Wendy barely made out Erza's reply. "There is a storm."

Wendy walked over to the window of the cabin and looked out. Dark clouds bristled across the horizon. She turned to her comrades, the worry pulling her mouth downwards. She caught Lucy's signal and asked, "Is Gray-san with you?"

"Yes… mountain… cave… morning… find you." The line cut in and out.

Wendy plugged one ear with a finger and strained her ears. "You're both good? You're sheltering in a cave? You'll find us in the morning?"

"Yes." The line crackled again and finally went out. Wendy grinned at the other occupants of the cabin and delivered the good news. A whoop of joy echoed around the room. Even Charle joined in with the cheering. Wendy released a breath she did not know she had been holding. Their comrades were OK. Everything was going to be fine.


Erza slipped her portable communications lacrima into her rucksack and gave Gray a weary smile. The reality of their situation was far worse than she had let on to Wendy. The gnawing cold had seeped through her wet jacket, its Self-Heating function destroyed when the lacrimae in the lining had cracked.

Worse still, the camp stove had fallen out of Gray's pack when it had split open, along with most of their heating lacrimae. The last one was in use now, casting a dull glow around the cave.

The storm had come upon them suddenly. Gray had quickly consulted the map and they had headed for the nearest cave they could find. This one had not been used for a long time, a relic from a time before the shoreside cabin. There was no wood in the leather wrapped storage bin and the camp stove was hopelessly rusted over. A few animal skins had been left behind. These, Erza pinned some feet inside the cave, to try and keep out most of the howling wind. The rest she piled on the ground in a spot where the cave dipped naturally into the ground.

"You're good at this," Gray remarked, watching her.

"I had a good teacher."

Gray snorted. Some teacher he was. He had been the one trying to rescue her and yet she had emerged from the avalanche better off than him. Trust Erza. Not only had she managed to escape the snowslide unscathed, but her pack was intact too. It was too bad that it only held food supplies and sleeping bags. A gust of wind slipped past their makeshift door and Gray clenched his fists. They were at greater risk of freezing than they were of starvation.

"Eat." Erza ordered, shoving a protein bar in his hand.

Gray obediently unwrapped the snack and took a bite. He popped a thermometer out of his pocket and then hastily stuffed it back inside before Erza could see. There was no point in telling her just how cold it was going to get that night. His eyes flicked across to her as she pulled their sleeping bags from her rucksack. "What're you doing?"

Erza paused in the middle of zipping the two sleeping bags together. "There is only one way out of this Gray," she said frankly. "We will have to huddle for warmth."

The sound of coughing filled the cave as Gray choked on his protein bar. "Did you read that in one of your novels?" he asked when he had recovered sufficiently.

"I will wear my bathing suit Gray, it will not be weird."

Gray doubled over as he choked again. "You're not serious?" he asked, wiping tears from his eyes. Get near naked with him and snuggle up in the same sleeping bag? Was she out of her mind?

Erza looked at him as if he had said something particularly foolish. "Of course. This is the best way to warm up." She requipped into a black bikini and planted her hands on her hips. "Skin to skin!"

He gaped at her as another gust of air blew into the cave. Erza shivered dramatically and quickly got into the mated sleeping bags.

"Are you coming?"

Gray rubbed a hand over his face and debated how to answer that. Of all the outrageous ideas Erza had ever had, this was surely the worst. 'Although,' he thought, his eyes falling on the snow blowing in through the gaps in the entryway, 'it could work.' He just needed to do something first. He grabbed the skins under the mated sleeping bags and pulled them into the centre of the cave. Erza glared at him, choosing not to remark on the indignity of being dragged about.

"The Kalaahit people of northern Iceberg use this technique when they are out hunting in the winter months," he explained, stripping off his jacket. He brought his hands together and the crouched down to the ground. "Ice Make: Igluvijaq."

A dome of ice arched from the floor of the cave, meeting overhead in a sloppy catenary. Gray wrinkled his nose as he examined his handiwork. The centre of the dome leaned drunkenly to the left. He sighed. These snow houses were notoriously difficult to construct; marvels of engineering perfected over centuries. Making one without years of practice was tricky. He slapped one of the walls to check its sturdiness and grunted in satisfaction when it did not appear to be on the verge of imminent collapse. It would do. The makeshift dwelling was designed to keep out the worst of the cold, with walls that were several inches thick. Trapped pockets of air in the snow helped to improve the insulation, making the inside tens of degrees warmer than the outside.

He slipped out of the underground opening and returned moments later with the animal skins Erza had pinned across the entrance of the cave. He laid them over the sleeping bags, tucking their edges under the skins on the bottom. "There," he said, "between the heating lacrima and our own body heat, we should be warm and toasty in no time."

"Good. Now get in. I am freezing."

Gray briefly debated arguing against Erza's instructions. Huddling for warmth seemed like overkill at this point. Not to mention, stripping off their clothes might prove more dangerous in the long run. Although, when he thought about it, the igloo should keep them warm enough despite that.

He regarded the self-satisfied expression on Erza's face carefully. Erza thought she was saving their lives. It would be cruel to disabuse her of the notion. A slight blush tinted his cheeks as his slipped off his trousers and got into the sleeping bag next to her.

"Back to back," Erza said, turning away from him.

Gray obediently faced the other direction, staring at the white wall. The embarrassment of his current circumstances was threatening to overwhelm him. He shook his head in resignation. This would just have to be filed away in the back of his brain, along with all the other mortifying situations Erza's obliviousness had delivered him into.

He gasped as Erza pressed her chilled back into his. "Why didn't you tell me you were this cold?"

Erza shuffled closer to him and adjusted the animal skin on top of their sleeping bags. "It will be fine in a minute." She sighed happily. Gray was unexpectedly warm. She looked up at the icy dome not far overhead through eyes heavy with sleep. "You are a good leader, Gray," she yawned.

Gray stiffened at the unexpected compliment. "We almost died twice today," he reminded her, "and there's no guarantee we'll see out the night."

"No," Erza replied evenly, "we will make it. I trust you." She paused as Gray's back relaxed into hers. "It is not easy to lead a mission. You have kept us motivated, even though the journey has been hard. We would not have gotten this far without you."

She felt a low vibration against her back as Gray huffed. "Go to bed, Erza."

Her lips quirked upwards as she buried her nose in the sleeping bag. He was too easily embarrassed. "Goodnight, Gray."


Lucy stared out of the window at the stormy sky. Even with the thunderclouds, she should have still been able to see something. She rested her forehead against the cold glass. "Come on, Aquarius, where are you?" she whispered.

"Lucy, why are you up?" Happy padded into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Come back to bed."

She plastered an overly bright smile on her face and turned to him. Lightning flashed somewhere behind her, casting a shadow across her face. "I can't sleep."

"Uwaa, scary Lucy!" Happy shuddered.

Lucy's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Why are you awake, you idiot cat?"

Happy jumped up onto the windowsill beside her. "Natsu keeps muttering your name in his sleep," he said slyly, "He's in l-l-l-l-love! Ow! you're mean Lucy." He rubbed his head where Lucy had biffed him, an aggrieved expression on his face. He turned to look out across the glacier. The storm above it had turned its rutted surface an angry grey.

"You know, Lucy," Happy ventured, "if she's not here, then it's just one less place for us to search."

Lucy nodded. "Yeah," she smiled. "That's unexpectedly wise Happy."

Happy gave her a smug grin and pulled a fishing rod from behind his back. "There's no fish that is safe from me!"

"She's a person! Not food!"

"A fish is a fish!" Happy retorted. The two of them bickered for a while until a shadow loomed in the doorway. "Huh? Natsu?"

Natsu glared at the two of them, unappreciative of being woken by their absence. He strode forward wordlessly, threw the two of them over his shoulder and dragged them back to bed.


Being forced awake in the middle of the night by a straining bladder was never pleasant. It was even less so when there was a snowstorm raging outside one's tiny abode. Erza climbed out from under the covers and requipped a long coat over her body. It was surprisingly warm inside the igloo. She slipped out of its underground entrance and finished her business as swiftly as possible. Nevertheless, her teeth were chattering by the time she came back inside.

She flashed off her coat, slipped back into the sleeping bag and eagerly pressed her back against Gray's. She would be nice and toasty in no time. Her eyes shut, already halfway to slumber.

Seconds later, she jolted awake as Gray flipped over, clamped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. "G-Gray?" she whispered hesitantly.

"You're freezing," Gray replied sleepily, scooping up her icy feet and securing them snugly in between his thighs.

Erza's heart was beating a mile a minute. Was Gray still asleep? The steady rise and fall of his chest behind her told her that he was. She considered waking him or breaking out of his hold, but she was still half-frozen and Gray really was incredibly warm. It almost made her wonder if it really was the ice mage behind her, but the tell-tale coolness of the hand around her waist told her it was him. Erza fidgeted, at a loss as to how to react to this unusual predicament. Was this really OK?

"Go to sleep, Erza" Gray whined in a low voice.

His warm breath ghosted over the shell of her ear, the pleasure of it making her shiver. That answered that question then. She let her hand rest upon the one around her and relaxed into his warmth.

She could see now, why Lucy insisted on sharing a sleeping bag with Natsu nowadays. There was nothing quite like this feeling. The heat from Gray's body seeped deep into her bones and melted all her tension away. The inside of her body felt like warm honey.

It was not entirely dark inside the igloo. The heating lacrima had long since given up the illusion of efficacy, but it still emitted a light radiance that bathed the room in dusky purple. Straining in the half-light, Erza studied the veins that goffered Gray's forearm, the pale blue filigree evidence of years of training. The light smattering of hair on his arms was soft under her fingers as she traced the dark, silky down down to his delicate hands. Somehow, despite the calluses and tiny scars that traversed the backs of his palms, his hands were still beautiful. Elegant with long tapering fingers. An artist's hand. So unlike her own squat, warrior's grip. She laced her fingers between his and pulled his arm tighter about her. Gray instinctively nuzzled into her neck, his nose a tickle against her skin. Her heart turned over brazenly in her chest. 'You fool,' it seemed to say, 'You miscalculated. You miscalculated badly.'

Erza squeezed her eyes shut as the feelings she thought she had successfully crushed bubbled back up, fizzing noisily like air trapped in champagne. The way she felt in Gray's arms as they danced together. How her throat went dry when her eyes met his. How safe she always felt when she was with him. The insistent tug in her chest when his mouth quirked upwards in a smile.

It felt like this something had been building inside her for a while. Like a tide she could not hold back, it broke forward and washed over her. The way his hand felt, lying heavy across her waist. The low simmer in her belly when she felt his hard muscles pressing into her back. How right it felt, lying next to him like this.

No. No. No. This was not happening. This was Gray. It could not be happening with Gray. She tried to ignore the voice at the back of her head that told her this was probably happening because it was Gray. Capable, steadfast, reliable Gray. Gray who was fresh out of a relationship. Gray, with whom she had already had her chance, years ago. Gray who was too precious a friend to risk this folly on.

She tried to swallow the lump that rose into her throat and unwound his arm from about her, her heart stammering when he resisted. Her half-hearted attempts were no match for his persistent grip. 'Just for tonight,' she bargained with herself. Just one night, then she would push these feeling away. Just one night, where she could pretend that she would not hurt anyone or ruin anything if she pursued these burgeoning emotions. 'Just one night,' she thought, as she drifted to sleep, 'where I can pretend that this can be real.'


Gray woke to two pressing problems. The first of them, was the familiar tightness in his boxers. The second, far more pressing problem, was of the first pressing problem pressing into the redhead sprawled across his chest.

This was how he died. Erza would wake up, take note of their position and his disposition and murder him. No, his soul would leave his body of its own accord when she fixed that glare upon him. He was doomed.

He jerked when he realised that his untrammelled hands were idly playing with the strings on Erza's bikini top. It was like his body had a deathwish. He clenched his fingers into shaky fists and tried very hard to think of something other than Erza's soft curves smooshed against his chest. Calming things. The sea at night. Snow falling on a mountaintop. Nope, that was how he had ended up in this position. Right, he needed some stronger visuals. Natsu and Wendy throwing up on his shoes the day after they got their jeep. Yes, this was much better. The smell and taste of Flying Fish. The way Erza looked right before she beat him up. No. That had the opposite effect to what he intended. Master's face when he punished them with that. Perfect.

Erza stirred against him and Gray clenched his eyes closed. Maybe he would survive if he pretended to be asleep. He felt her stiffen as consciousness returned to her; the alarm pouring off her in waves. She hurriedly rolled off him, scrunching up in the far corner of their mated sleeping bags. Phew, crisis averted.

He counted to ten just to be safe and then stretched and yawned as if just waking up. "Good morning," he said brightly. Oops. His cheerful tone was way too suspicious.

Erza made a great show of coming awake. Her eyes blinked open slowly as if acting the part of a slumbering princess in a fairy tale. "Oh. It is morning already," she replied robotically. Erza really was the most terrible actress. "Did you sleep well?"

To his surprise, and despite the awkwardness of his waking position, he found that he had. Better than he had in a long while. "Yeah. You?"

Erza nodded noncommittally and turned away to unzip the far side of the sleeping bag.

"Hold on a second." He leaned over her to stay her hand.

She blinked at him, the tiniest hint of a blush rising into her cheeks. Gray paused, noting belatedly the proximity of their positions. His eyes fell first to her lips, before being dragged upwards to her eyes. Erza was looking up at him strangely, her lashes lowered, almost as if she were about to-

He pulled away, shaking his head at his overactive imagination. "Requip your clothes on before you leave the sleeping bag; it'll be warmer that way," he finished shakily.

There was a pause as he felt Erza's body sag against the sleeping bag and then she was gone; requipping her snow gear on before slipping away.

Gray lay back against the fur-lined sleeping bag and pressed his palms to his eyes. He had to get it together. He had been down this road before, and he remembered acutely how that had ended. He was smarter than this, even if his body was not.

It took him a few minutes to get his wildly beating heart under control. Then he rose briskly from the sleeping bag and rolled it up. The two of them packed away the campsite efficiently, leaving no trace of their stay there. Making it seem almost as if it had never happened at all.


Their trek down the mountainside was unduly subdued. The sun had just begun its midmorning ascent into the sky when they finally reached the shores of the glacier. The door of the red cabin was flung open and Natsu appeared on the veranda. "Yoooo!" he shouted, waving his hands.

Gray and Erza waved their hands in response, still about ten minutes away from the shelter. Gray readjusted the strap on his rucksack and started forward again.

"Hold on a minute."

Gray turned and looked at Erza, curiosity limning his eyes.

Erza rubbed her right arm in a nervous gesture and looked away. Any closer to the cabin and they would be within Natsu's earshot. "Gray, about last night," she began.

She did not get any further.

A crack resounded around the mountains as the surface of the glacier began to undulate. With a low groan, the ice river began to flow. It surged forward, off course, and swallowed up the cabin. "Natsu!" Erza yelled, rushing towards the raging ice. Moments later, she and Gray were caught up in its path.

Gray stretched towards her, groping blindly through the ice for Erza's hand. Their fingers brushed, once, twice, before he found purchase. There was just enough time for their fingers to intertwine before they were swallowed up by the swelling ice.

Another crack followed by an ear-splitting slurp and the mountains trembled. The pointless yellow sun climbed to its zenith, its cold winter light illuminating the hard, empty ground where the ice had once been.


A/N: We're back! So much has happened. I'm back in my home country! This chapter was brought to you live from quarantine haha! Reck not, it's not particularly dire. We were given a choice of accomodation (that we pay for) so I am holed up in a luxury hotel at super discount prices. ^^ It has been a blast.

Since I'm home home now, maybe we can look forward to regular updates? I say this every time. LOL. But every time I take a big gap I have to spent 3-4 days refamiliarising myself with the canon, which is very annoyingg. The one year anniversary of this fic was a few weeks ago (I missed it) and FFN has started deleting my old chapter documents so I'm feeling like it's high time I wrapped things up and moved on to other projects. There's still a lot to go in the story tho.

A/N 2: Kalaallit is the word for the indigenous people of Greenland. I went with the pronunciation of the word to 'Fiorify' it. Turns out there is already an Ice Make: Igloo so I went with a more specific word for snow house. Please tell me if I got anything wrong, I will fix it asap. I don't want to make mistakes when it comes to someone else's culture.

A/N 3: Did anyone catch the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend reference? I love easter egging my favourite fandoms into my work.

A/N 4: Hope you like the Grayza in this chapter (devil emoji). Their introspections tend to be explicit and their conversations tend to be subtextual so I'm not sure if anyone got Gray's thoughts towards the end of the previous chapter. Anyway, I've written them bold and clear in section 2 of this chapter just in case. Misunderstandings. Pining. Angst. Fluff. It's FINALLY HERE YESSSSS. Oh my GOD. I started writing this story just for this and I really hope it will be worthwhile for you all. Did anyone guess this was the trope I was talking about in the A/N of last chapter?

As always, thanks to those who faved/followed and reviewed. You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration.

Please fave/follow if you liked the story and leave a review if you feel like it (by which I mean, please do, I am a sad gurl who needs feedback T_T). My foremost aim in life is to make someone's heart go dokidoki with my words so please let me know if I ever succeed. See you soon! :)