September X791

"Why does this always happen to us?" Lucy complained. There was a loud explosion in the distance that was certainly caused by Natsu destroying something.

Lucy and company had taken what was supposed to be an easy job earlier that week. It was advertised as a search for a runaway heiress. Lucy had been against taking the job at first, the whole thing hit close to home for her, but Natsu convinced her that she would be best suited to working things out between the girl and her family. That and the large million jewel reward was what landed Lucy in her current mess. After they arrived at the clients home they found out the girl had not runway but had instead been kidnapped. They were able to track down the men that kidnapped her and found out they were part of a dark guild. They were now in an old, run-down, hotel outside of town where the guild was holding up. Erza and Natsu had charged ahead to search for the kidnapped girl, leaving Gray and Lucy to handle most of the guild on their own.

"Sounds like Natsu is having fun." Gray commented after there was another explosion. The two of them were in the entry way of the building. Natsu and Erza had both run upstairs. There was currently about thirty member of the dark guild between Lucy and Gray and the stairs. They were going to have to fight their way to their friends. "Let's hurry up and finish this so we can join them."

Lucy summoned both Taurus and Cancer to fight alongside them. It didn't take long for the four of them to cut through most of the mages in front of them. They soon found themselves facing only three members of the dark guild. Lucy recalled both her spirts and regrouped with Gray. There was a women that had bright pink hair and was wearing a purple bikini with a shear skirt. She was using a form of maker magic that used glass. The two others were both huge men, built like Laxus, who looked like brothers. One was using gravity magic, Lucy hadn't seen the other one make any moves yet.

"I'll take big and his pal ugly if you take on the little girl." Gray told Lucy. She could tell that he was getting worn out but he was trying not to let it show.

"You make it sound like she's the easy one!" Lucy gawked at him. Wouldn't he be a better match against a maker mage? She could summon more spirits to help her with the two on one.

"Gravity magic doesn't affect my ice like it would your spirts." Gray pointed out to her, keeping an eye on their opponents. "And I really don't like the look of his buddy, he could be dangerous."

"Oh …" Lucy realized then that Gray was trying to protect her. He had actually thought this out. "Okay, just be careful." She told him. She hated when the guys tried to protect her but she wasn't going to put herself in danger just to prove a point to them.

Lucy summoned both Loke and Gemini to her side to help her fight. Loke stood between her and the glass-make mage. Gray was already starting on his fight with the brothers. Gemini was floating around Lucy, waiting for their orders. "Gemini, I need you to go help out Gray. Even that fight out a bit, got it!"

"Piri-Piri" They chirped as they flew over to Gray and transformed into a twin of him.

"Hey! Focus on your own fight!" Gray yelled at her. The women in front of Lucy was already attacking Loke with daggers made of glass.

"This isn't really my style, baby doll." Loke said as he dodged out of the way. "Maybe we could get drinks instead?"

"Stop flirting! This is serious!" Lucy yelled at him. She was so distracted she didn't see the next attack until it was almost on top of her. Loke quickly jumped in a carried Lucy out of harm's way. When Lucy got back on her feet she pulled out her whip and got ready to fight. She knocked down the next attack, a chain and sickle, and got Loke the opening he needed to hit the women with a Regulus blast, knocking her out.

"I would love to stay with you Lucy, but I can tell you're getting low on magic power." Loke told her and bowed before fading away. Gray and Gemini had finished off their battle as well. Gray high fived himself before Gemini faded away.

"Well, that's the last of them." Lucy said as she collapsed into her back, panting for breath. She wasn't use to having two spirts out for such a long period of time yet. Gemini also took up more magic power when it was casting its own magic spells. Lucy hadn't noticed how much magic they had drained from her until they were gone. She really needed to work on being aware of her magic power stores.

Gray walked over to where Lucy was. He was pretty beat up himself and was grateful for Gemini's help. The fight had taken a lot out of him. "It's not over, we still got the master to deal with." He reminded Lucy and helped her up.

"Let's get going." Lucy groaned as she got up. They could hear the noise from Erza and Natsu's battle in the distance. It sounded like they were on the other side of the building and causing a mess. Lucy would be surprised if the old hotel would survive this.

Lucy lead the way up the stairs and headed down the hall in the direction of the fighting. She was about halfway down a hallway when she felt something move under her feet and heard a creaking noise. "Did you hear that?" She asked as she came to a stop.

Gray wasn't paying attention and walked right into Lucy. "Hey, why did you …" There was a loud snapping sound before the floor under them gave way and they both were falling. They hit the floor below hard and it gave way too, sending them falling again.

"Open Gate of the Ram, Aries!" Lucy called out in mid fall. They both landed on a soft pile of Aries pink wool in the basement of the hotel.

"I'm sorry!" The shy spirt cried as she hid her face.

"You did great Aries. Thank you." Lucy smiled at her. A second later Aries and her wool vanished as Lucy passed out.

"Lucy!" Gray ran over to check on her. She looked unhurt, but summoning Aries must have used up the last of her magic power. He checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt in the fall then looked around to see if he could find a way out for them. It looked like they were in an old cellar that wasn't used for many years before the hotel was even shut down. He couldn't see a way to get out besides the way they had come in. The floor above them was to high for Gray to jump out, especially seeing he would have to carry Lucy. He might have been able to make stairs or something with his magic but he was running low on magic power as well. He was worried if he used the power he had left to get them out he would just put them in a more dangerous situation if someone came across them.

Gray sighed, they were going to have to wait for Erza and Natsu to come looking for them. He moved Lucy over to the wall and sat down on the ground with her in his lap. He held her close to his body. It was cold in the cellar, and while it didn't bother him, he knew Lucy wasn't a fan of the cold. Gray was cursing his stripping habit right then seeing how he left his jacket in the entry way. Lucy could use it's warmth right then.

It seemed like the fighting above them was going on forever. The whole building was shaking and Gray ended up putting an ice shield around them to avoid falling debris from hitting them. It took more concentration then he would have liked to hold the spell in place. It also made the air around them even colder. Thankfully after a few minutes he heard Natsu shouting out a Fire Dragon: Roar that he was sure ended the fight.

"Was that Natsu?" Lucy asked, her voice sounded weak as she was waking up.

"Yeah," Gray smiled at her as he let his shield fade away. "Sounds like they will be here soon. Just try and rest."

Lucy nodded, snuggling closer to Gray's chest. She was very cold but he felt warm. She didn't realize the position she was in until his arms wrapped around her and rubbed hers to warm them. It took a few seconds after noticing she was laying in Gray's lap for her to notice he was half naked. She was so use to him fighting in various states of undress that she didn't even notice it anymore, but now she noticed. She was aware of how hard his chest felt under her hands, his skin was cooler than most people but felt hot in the cold air of the cellar. She tried moving away from him only to have his arms tighten around her.

"It's cold down here." He explained, "It doesn't bother me any but I know you have to be freezing. You also used up a lot of magic power, you should just rest and let me keep you warm."

Lucy could feel herself blushing. This was a very intimate position that they were in but Gray was right. Lucy was still exhausted and the idea of leaving his warmth for the cold room didn't appeal to her. She laid her head back on his chest and closed her eyes. She would rest for just a little longer then they would get up. She slowly drifted back off to sleep.

"I found them! And you'll never guess what they're doing!" Lucy was woken up by Happy's sing-song voice in her ear. The Exceed was floating in the air just in front of her face with a grin on his face.

"Go away, Happy. I'm trying to sleep." Lucy swatted at the cat before burrowing herself closer to the warmth under her.

"Okay, but I'm telling Natsu that you're using Gray as a bed." Happy giggled as he started to fly away.

"What?" Lucy opened her eyes and looked down to see she was still in Gray's lap, laying on his chest. She quickly moved away, a wave of dizziness making her sway. Gray's hands quickly reached out to steady her.

"Careful, don't move to fast." He told her.

"Get back her Happy!" She called up to the cat that was already halfway back up to the first floor. Luckily he stopped and came back down to her, floating between her and Gray. "I will give you anything if you just keep your mouth shut about what you saw." She didn't want to give Natsu and Gray a reason to fight any more than they already did.

"Anything?" Happy's eyes got huge. "Like a fish that weighs as much as you? Oh that would be so huge!" Happy started to drool thinking of a giant fish. "You got a deal!"

"I'm not that heavy you stupid cat!" Lucy yelled and tried to hit him but he moved out of the way, still in his daydream.

Gray got up slowly and stretched out his sore muscles. He felt weak but his strength was coming back quickly. "Happy, can you fly us out of here?"

"Aye sir!" Happy grabbed ahold of Lucy and started carrying her out. "You're even heavier than before, Lucy. You owe me one big fish." He commented and Gray could hear them bickering all the way up. After Happy dropped off Lucy he came back and got Gray.

Erza was on the main level with Lucy. Gray didn't see any sign of Natsu and all the guild members they had beat earlier were now tied up. Lucy was sitting on the ground next to a kneeling Erza. It looked like she still didn't have the strength to stand on her own yet.

"What happened to you two?" Erza asked Gray.

"The floor gave out under us. Lucy used up all her magic power to save us." He explained quickly.

"I bet the floor gave out because Lucy weighs so much." Happy snickered.

"Shut up, cat!" Lucy yelled but the winced at the ponding in her head.

"I already sent Natsu back to town with the girl and called the Rune Knights to take care of these men." Erza told Gray, using her general voice. "You should had back to the hotel with Lucy. She will need plenty of rest."

"I'm fine." Lucy tried to protest when Gray went to pick her up. She stood up but was swaying on her feet.

"You can hardly stand right now, Lucy. Let me help you." Gray sounded worried and a little irritated with her. She wasn't sure why he was irritated unless he was just upset at her running out of magic power in the middle of a fight, again. In the end she had to concede that she probably wouldn't be able to walk out of this hotel on her own, let alone back to town. She would just have to let Gray carry her.

The walk back to town was long and awkward. Gray had retrieved his cloths and had Lucy wrapped in his jacket. He was carrying her in his arms and she had hers wrapped around his neck to keep from falling. Now that they were in the sun she could tell just how cold Gray really was. She was grateful now to have his shirt and jacket between them. Happy was flying alongside them on the way back. He must have noticed how bad Lucy was because he had stopped making fun of her. The warm sun and Gray's steady breathing ended up lulling Lucy off to sleep again.

He took her back to the hotel they were staying at in town and right to the room she was sharing with Erza. He was surprised to see Natsu waiting there on the bed. "Lucy! What happened to her?" He demanded when Gray walked in. "You were supposed to keep her safe!"

"Shut up, Flame-Brain." Gray said quietly as he laid Lucy down. Do you want to wake her up? She just over exerted herself. She will be fine with rest." Gray tucked her into the blankets and made sure she would be comfortable. He felt guilty about everything that had happened. If she hadn't sent Gemini to fight with him she probably would have been fine. His guilt must have shown on his face because Natsu didn't give him a hard time about it. They both stayed with her until Erza got back. It was agreed that they would stay the night for Lucy to recover before they headed back to Magnolia.

Lucy woke up surrounded by Grays scent in the morning. It was like fresh fallen snow and spiced cider. She was a little disappointed to find the smell was coming from the jacket she was wearing and not from the man himself. She was feeling better that morning but she still wasn't to her full power. She got herself ready and packed up before heading with the team to the train station. She gave Gray back his jacket when she saw him.

The train ride back was mostly quiet. Erza had knocked Natsu out so they wouldn't have to listen to him complain the whole ride. He was laying across the bench with his head in Erza's lap. Happy was sleeping on his back. Lucy was sitting next to Gray with her head on the window, watching the country side roll past. She hadn't said anything to Gray all day except to thank him for letting her use his jacket. About half way back to Magnolia Erza left them in search of food.

"Are you upset with me?" Gray asked Lucy when they were basically alone. "I mean, about what happened yesterday."

Lucy didn't understand what he was talking about, looking at him with confusion on her face. "What do you mean? I'm the one who messed things up."

"You didn't mess things up. You saved me butt, twice." He assured her, shaking his head. "It's just you seemed upset when Happy found us together … I mean … I didn't overstep or anything … did I?"

Lucy blushed a little but shook her head. "I just didn't want him making a big deal out of nothing." She smiled at him. "I mean we are friends, right. Friends look out for each other. That's all you were doing."

Gray smiled back at her. "Yeah, you're right." He reached out and gently pulled her down so her head was laying in his lap. Lucy felt awkward but didn't stop him.

"Gray?" She asked, unsure.

"You still look horrible. Get some sleep. I'll wake you when we get to Magnolia." He told her. He could see her blushing slightly but she nodded lightly and closed her eyes. He played with a stand of her hair until her breathing evened out and she was sleeping. Erza returned a few minutes later. She raised her eyebrow at the new position Lucy was in. Gray just shrugged his shoulders at her and she sat down without comment. They rest of the train ride was uneventful.

When they got back to the guildhall they learned that they had managed not to screw things up as bad as they thought they had. The Magic Counsel was happy to have the master of the dark guild in custody and was willing to overlook the destruction they had caused in the process. The hotel that was half ruble now was supposed to be demolished in a week. The town wasn't looking for any recovery for the damage and was actually grateful that they had removed the guild that had been causing problems. It was the first time in a long while that Team Natsu managed to get a full reward, no strings attached.

The team decided that they had earned a few days off after that. Natsu and Happy took off to go fishing and Erza went to Hargeon to do some shopping. Lucy had spent a few days at home, enjoying the quiet and working on her book. Today she was in the guild, sitting with Levy, telling her friend about their last job.

"Don't forget about the fish you owe Happy." Gray commented as he came to sit next to her. His arm went around her shoulder. It felt a little strange to Lucy but she was more focused on his comment than where his arm was.

"I never agreed to that deal. That stupid cat probably forgot already." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Happy never forgets about fish." Gray laughed at her.

"Why do you owe Happy a fish?" Levy asked. She was looking between Gray and Lucy. Lucy may not have noticed Gray's arm but she had, She also noticed how Lucy was leaning slightly into him.

Lucy blushed and it was Gray who answered the question. "He caught Lucy getting all touchy-feely with me." He thought the whole thing was hilarious now.

"It wasn't like that!" Lucy said quickly, moving away from Gray as he laughed. "I was unconscious. If anything you were the one getting touchy-feely." She accused him.

Gray shrugged. "Could you blame me if I was?"

"You're such a pervert!" She groaned in frustration, her face was redder the Erza's hair. Even Levy was chuckling at them.

"You don't mean that." He put his arm around her again and pulled her against him. Lucy squeaked at the sudden closeness. "Maybe next time I'll let the building fall on you."

"You wouldn't." She didn't sound to sure of that. "I'm sorry." She added.

Gray let her go then but kept his hand on her back as she moved away. Lucy only moved back fully into her seat but didn't move out of his reach. She went back to her conversation with Levy, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was aware that what just happened with Gray was beyond weird but she hoped if she ignored it then Levy would as well.

While Levy was curious as to what she had just witnessed she allowed Lucy to turn the topic of their conversation to her book she was working on. This wasn't a topic that Gray typically cared for, even Levy's fan club would disappear when they started in on books, but Gray didn't leave today. Over the next few days Lucy noticed a change in Gray's behavior. He would always find her when he came to the guildhall and he would put his arm around her or press his leg against hers. He seemed to like touching her now for some reason. Lucy thought it was strange at first but she had slowly got use to his cool touch and enjoyed having his spiced cider scent around her.

By the end of the week it became natural for the two of them to be sitting close together while hanging out with their friends at the guild. They often got weird looks but no one said anything to them. Juvia had become a little more hostile with Lucy. She would glare at her more from across the guild and had stopped talking to her. Lucy had become so accustomed to this new behavior from Gray she didn't even notice it anymore. She did notice when he stopped touching her.

Natsu had come back from his fishing trip by the end of the weekend and he was ready to go on another job with Lucy. Lucy was sitting at a table with Gray when he came in. Lucy didn't even notice Natsu walk into the guild but she did notice when Gray's hand moved away from her back. The sudden warmth where his cool hand had been was hard to miss. Before she could say anything, not that she was sure what she would have said, Natsu was sitting across from them.

"Hey, Luce, you ready for another job? I found one that would be perfect for the three of us?" Natsu asked her. He had picked out a mission to retrieve a rare plant from the caves in Mount Hakobe. It should be an easy job for him, Happy, and Lucy.

"What do you mean the three of you? I thought we were a team." Gray asked him.

"We are, Happy, Lucy and me." Natsu told him.

"And where do I fall in that?"

Natsu looked at him confused before turning back to Lucy. "What do you say Lucy? Are you coming?"

"Umm … Sure. Let me just go home and get some warmer clothes." She said, looking between Natsu and Gray. She had learned that if they were going to Mount Hakobe then she was going to need warm clothes or she would be miserable the whole time.

"You don't need to worry about that. I can keep you warm, Luce." Natsu told her with his classic grin.

"What's that supposed to mean, Pyro?" Gray shouted, leaning over the table at Natsu.

"It don't mean nothing, Perv." Natsu shouted back, getting in Gray's face.

"You're the one being a perv!" Gray told him.

"At least I'm still wearing my clothes!" Natsu pointed out. Gray had, somehow, ended up in just his boxers, again. Gray couldn't even think of a response to Natsu. That was when the fight dissolved into fists. It looked like they wouldn't be leaving on that job for a while now.