A/N: This arc is too long and I have to split it into two parts, otherwise it's going to be a 10k-word chapter. I have already finished the second part so expect it to be out in a few days.

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Erza didn't like that their guild was now considered the weakest in all Fiore. Something about it didn't sit right with the redhead. She might not care too much about whether Fairy Tail was the strongest guild or not, but being too low on the ranking allowed others to make a mockery out of them, like those people in Twilight Orge, and that just wouldn't do.

However, the Tenrou group's power had not caught up with this time yet, whereas guilds like Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus had become even more powerful in their absence. It would take some time before they could get back to the way they were, and for Fairy Tail to become the number one guild in Fiore again.

But Romeo happily put forward his idea of participating in the Grand Magic Game, the fastest way to gain their pride and reputation back.

A festival of sorts, where all guilds in Fiore gathered and competed with each other in a series of events. Right now, the number one guild in the continent was believed to be Sabertooth. If they defeated Sabertooth and won the Game, they would regain their former glory and reputation.

The Grand Magic Game was three months from now, which gave them adequate time to practice and train their magic to make up for those seven years lost. Team Natsu plus Juvia and Levy decided to go to the beach to set up a training camp for three months while others spread out in different locations nearby.

There was no point in doing things haft-heartedly. There was not a second to waste while there were still huge gaps in their magic power compared to the fighting styles of this time either.

Since the essence of her magic depended on fighting skills, Erza decided her sword techniques needed to be sharpened up, combined with further shortening her Requip speed and extending her power core for depletion resistance. Lucy wanted to focus her training on her lack of magic power stamina under the guidance of Capricorn, to build up spiritual strength and grow the depth of the container of her magic.

Everyone was doing their best and putting a lot of effort into extending their magical strength. If they kept training like this for three months, catching up to this age would not be merely a dream after all.

On the second day of the beach training program, Virgo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bringing with her the Celestial King's invitation for them to go to the Celestial World and enjoy a celebration of their safe return after seven years. Per the Celestial Spirits' request, since they could not all materialize in the human world at the same time, the Fairy Tail members gladly ventured into the Celestial World to party with all of them.

Erza smiled at seeing their group blend in seamlessly with the Spirits at the banquet. Natsu and Scorpio were hand wrestling, excited grins on both of their faces. Gray was stuffing his face at the buffet table and Taurus looked like he was seconds away from challenging him to an eating contest. Aquarius had taken a liking to Juvia, both of them were whispering into the other's ears about their respective love interests.

Levy was enchanted by Crux's massive book collection and the old Spirit just laughed at her amazement before promising to gift her with one from his library to take back to their world. And little Wendy was surrounded by a crowd of tiny Nicholas while Lucy stood by looking at each one curiously, trying to determine which one was her Plue among all those adorable creatures.

The Celestial Spirit King went out of his way to congratulate Lucy on her safe return, saying all of the spirits had missed her terribly during these seven years, and Erza watched as Lucy's face lighted up like the Sun. Even among the stars like this, the blonde's radiance outshined every single one of them, a brilliance fitting of her gentle heart and soul.

Erza supposed she shouldn't be surprised. A star was a star, no matter where in the sky it shined.

"The Celestial Spirits sure love you." The redhead placed a hand on Lucy's lower back, feeling the muscles relax under her touch. Lucy turned around and grinned widely, wiping away the few tears of joy at the corners of her eyes, "Sometimes I wonder if they are too good to me. They are all wonderful friends."

The Requip mage shook her head, "Nonsense. They are good to you because you treat them with respect and kindness. It is not 'too good' at all, it's what you deserve and what they want to be for you. Now go, there are a lot of people waiting to talk to you over there." Erza gave the blonde a gentle push in the Celestial Spirits' direction.

This was what she wanted for Lucy, for the blonde to be surrounded by friends and family who appreciated her and wouldn't let her believe she was alone in the world. For Lucy to be filled to the brim with happiness and joy, banishing away any shadow of the past and doubt of the present. For her smile to be so bright it stole Erza's breath away effortlessly without the blonde even noticing.

Among the stars and the heaven, that was where Lucy belonged.

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Nobody expected the consequence of spending the day celebrating in the Celestial World. Apparently, one day spent over there was equal to three months in their world, which meant their timeframe for training had flown by and the Grand Magic Game was just five days away.

They were robbed of the precious little time they had! But that wouldn't stop Erza from pushing everyone to their limits in a series of intensive training regimes. The redhead could only pray these five days would help shrink the power gap between their abilities and this era's demand.

And yet, help came from an unexpected source. Erza did not anticipate seeing Jellal again so soon, merely a few months after she got back from Tenrou Island. Bisca and Alzack already warned her about his prison escape five years ago, and ever since he seemed to have completely disappeared from the face of the Earth without leaving behind any trails for the government officials to follow.

For a moment, Erza wasn't sure how to behave toward Jellal. She didn't know which version of him was standing in front of her now, the kind-hearted boy whose smile brightened up her world ever since the first time they met, or the ignorant man utterly obsessed with darkness and destruction.

Meledy and Ultear were with him, too. The black-haired woman explained her involvement in Jellal's escape, claiming she was the one who broke him out as a way of making up for her manipulation. Ultear was the one who took his heart away and put ice in its place, paving the way for Jellal to become the evil dictator he was forged to be under Zeref's possession.

Jellal just shook his head wistfully and confessed to have regained all his memories six years ago while he was still in prison. He was ready to accept his fate of either spending the rest of his life in prison or being executed, to pay for his sins, when Ultear broke him out and gave him a new purpose to live for.

They had created an independent guild, Crime Sorciere, whose sole purpose was to drive away all of the darkness from this world, starting with eliminating dark guilds and ending by terminating Zeref. So that no more mages would become possessed by the dark side as they were.

That was an admirable goal. Erza was pleased to see the tiniest of a smile on Jellal's face when he spoke about his guild and its intentions. Between rotting away in a prison cell and this, the redhead figured this way of redeeming himself would lessen the heavy guilt Jellal carried with him as a shadow of his past, one step at a time.

But that was not the reason Crime Sorciere set up this meeting with their group. Every year, when the Grand Magic Game was held, they sensed a strange magical force emitting from the arena, entirely different from what could be expected from mages of every guild participating in the tournament.

That force was evil in its essence and somehow reminded them of Zeref's power. Because it would be dangerous for Crime Sorciere to come near the arena, they wanted to ask Fairy Tail to help them find out where that mysterious magic was coming from.

Erza nodded. Zeref was a common enemy for all mages in the world, Fairy Tail would do their best to assist them with this. If there was a strange magic present while all the guilds in Fiore were assembled, Fairy Tail was at risk, too.

Ultear winked cheekily before explaining her idea of boosting the Fairy Tail mages' current magic power. As an advanced payment to compensate them for agreeing to help.

What Ultear proposed was to unlock their latent abilities and open up their Second Origin power with her Arc of Time. However, and Erza could have sworn she saw a glimpse of mischief in Ultear's eyes, they would have to endure unimaginably excruciating pain. That was the price they had to pay for an instant boost in power after wasting away three months in vain.

Erza left the rest of them behind to start with the Second Origin unlocking process and made her way toward her old friend. The redhead gave Jellal a discreet nod, which he immediately understood and the two of them slipped away from the group to find a more secluded place suitable for talking.

A cliff at the end of a gravel trail. Erza was the one who started first, there were a few things she needed clarification on, "You said you got your memories back, right? Then, do you remember about Simon, too?"

Jellal lowered his head, hiding away from her inquisitive eyes, "Yes. I killed him. I also remember all the horrible, hurtful things I did to you and our friends, too. I have no excuse for that. I was a monster, and sometimes I wonder if I'm still one, even now."

"You have every right to hate me, to despise me. If you wish to take revenge for Simon's death, I'm prepared to lay down my life." His voice took on a resolute note, but with just a tiny bit of hesitation. As if he was sure she would never forgive him for all his evil wrongdoings, but a part of him would still dare to feel happy should she decide against it.

They were exactly the same, Erza realized. They approached each other with too much caution and hesitation, teetering on shaky ground with traumas of their past weighing down from both sides. Erza didn't like the despondent look on his face, the self-deprecating tone of his voice, the way his light was just flickering back for a moment but already dulled again in her presence.

The redhead thought she had lost her old friend forever, but he was here again. Erza was not sure whether this time it would last, so she needed to resolve this distance between them and pushed him to continue forward on his path of atonement.

She needed him to believe she had faith in him, needed him to know she had sent prayers and thoughts to him, needed him to understand her light would always be with him from now on, to wherever he was.

They were friends, and friends always had each other's back. They were family, and family did not let go of each other's hands in the face of troubles. "That is not what Simon would want. He would want both of us to move forward with our lives. You were his friend, too. And it would devastate him to see you beat yourself up for something out of your control."

Erza stepped closer, forcing Jellal to look up into her eyes, "Listen to me. You formed a guild in order to destroy dark guilds. That's how you are atoning for your sins, that's what you are prepared to do. Not that pathetic excuse of death to escape your guilt. If you want to redeem yourself, live and bear the burden. You have me, Ultear and Meledy to share it with you. We are your friends, we'll help you. Do not make me beat you up to knock it into your stubborn head."

Jellal widened his eyes in surprise, clearly not anticipating her reaction. But it resonated with him, Erza could see it, in the way he blinked at her before his brows furrowed in silent contemplation.

Then, the blue-haired man let out a breathless chuckle, "Ultear said the same thing, too. Look like I need to hear something twice in order to actually get it. Thank you, Erza. You're too kind to me. I really don't deserve you."

Erza only smiled at that, at this ridiculous man who had found his way back to her again, "That's for me to decide, isn't it? Go and live your life, Jellal. That's the way to move on from your past, by living the present the way you have always wanted to."

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Erza left him at the cliff since Jellal said he wanted to do some more thinking about his future. The redhead was heading back to their camp when her eyes caught sight of a shadow moving near the end of the trail.

It was Lucy. The blonde was pacing restlessly on the ground, hands wrung together and mumbling something under her breath. Erza frowned at seeing the girl so disheveled, "Lucy? What are you doing here? Did something happen with the others?"

The Celestial mage jumped, clearly did not hear Erza's approach. "Erza! I was just... taking a walk around to clear my head, that's all!"

The redhead narrowed her eyes. She had known Lucy long enough to figure out when there was something troubling the girl. This was not Lucy's usual behavior, and was not how Lucy would act in Erza's presence either. Flushed face, sure, but not that sharp hitch in her breaths or the way her nervous brown eyes kept looking anywhere but Erza's face.

The blonde had always been undaunted to seek Erza out or to look her in the eyes, that was one of the things she was fond of in Lucy. This behavior was unfamiliar, and the redhead did not know how to navigate through the uncharted water, so she opted for the most unassuming approach. Going with the flow and asking questions to shed light on the situation, "Is that so? And do tell, what do you need to clear your head for?"

Erza could visibly see Lucy take a deep breath to calm herself, "Just some stuff. It's nothing important, really. Anyway, how did your talk with Jellal go? Did he hurt you in any way?"

The redhead hummed. Perhaps Lucy was just worried about her, as usual. The blonde did not know Jellal like she did, so it was normal for her to be apprehensive of him. "It went well, I think. He seems better now, almost like the man I used to know before the Tower of Heaven. This independent guild thing has been good for him. He does need a purpose in his life."

And now Lucy's eyes wouldn't leave her face, completely opposite of a few seconds ago. "That's good to know. See, I told you, Jellal won't betray your trust again. He would be stupid to do so."

Erza chuckled, "Let's hope so. Seems like you have enough faith in him for both of us already. Are you sure you have never met him before? Could he be a lost relative from your family that you did not know of?" She really couldn't resist teasing the blonde sometimes.

Lucy shook her head, a small smile appeared at the corner of her lips, "I don't think so. It's because you believe in him, and I believe in you, so that makes me double believe in him!"

The redhead laughed at that, "That's not how math works at all. You truly are one of a kind, Lucy. Come on, let's get you back to camp so Ultear can work her magic on us. The Grand Magic Game is five days away, we need all the help we can get."

Just as Erza brushed past the blonde to start their way back, a hand shot out and grabbed onto her wrist. Erza turned around, surprised to see Lucy's head lowered and the blonde's eyes evaded her own again.

The Requip mage silently turned her palm over and intertwined their fingers. She distinctively remembered the comfort she felt when Lucy did that to her. Maybe it could coax the blonde to finally speak out what was on her mind.

Remember what we agree, Lucy? If there was trouble we would figure out a way, together. So talk to me.

A few minutes passed in silence. Lucy should not be rushed when she was feeling skittish. And so Erza waited.

"Do you like him?" And then, a whisper into the night air, so small Erza almost missed it.

But when she caught the words, realization drew on her. So that was what the blonde was anxious about. It was understandable, in others' eyes, Erza's investment in Jellal's situation and well-being might indicate a personal interest beyond a typical relationship between friends.

The redhead smiled. Lucy was forgoing all subtlety in exchange for reassurance, and Erza was willing to give it to her, "Jellal? I like him, but only as a friend. You know he is one of my oldest friends. He will always represent a piece of my past, a piece of me, similar to Wally, Sho, and Millianna. We are close, I consider him a part of my family and I know he considers me an important part of his life, too."

"I won't lie to you. I did think about it, a romantic relationship with him, if the circumstances were different. If we were not slaves at the Tower, if he did not betray me and I did not run away from the place in fear. But you need to understand this. Jellal and I, we are at different points in our lives now. We are not compatible in that regard anymore. He will go on his own way in life, and I will do the same with mine. We'll always be friends, but no more than that. Alright?"

Lucy lifted her head to look at Erza, unsure about the words she just heard and intended to seek reassurance in the redhead's resolved eyes. The Requip mage hold her gaze steadily, allowing Lucy as much time as she needed to find solace in her presence.

Finally, the blonde gave her a smile and a timid nod, "Alright. Cool."

Erza lifted an eyebrow at that, "Cool?"

The smile on Lucy's face widened to a grin, "Cool. Let's get back now, I want to hear Natsu scream in agony and then tease him about it!"

The redhead only shook her head in amusement, trailing behind Lucy's happy skipping across the sand toward their camp, silently committing a picture of the blonde under the soft moonlight into her memory and her heart.

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Master Makarov decided to send Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy into the tournament. The usual make-up since Laxus and Gajeel had not come back from their training yet. Erza supposed it was necessary to take into account the synergy between team members as the events in the Game were unpredictable. Master based his decision on teamwork more than individual power, and since they were chosen, Erza would make sure they did their utmost.

The Grand Magic Game would be held at Crocus, the blooming capital of Fiore. Erza had been here a few times on jobs before, the hustling city certainly had a lot to offer in terms of entertainment and tourist attractions.

Their friends from the guild also came to show their support. Everyone immediately broke out into smaller groups to go explore the city. Erza had no interest in that, so she simply headed to their inn and diligently read through the official rulebook of the Game after reminding the others to return to their place early. They needed to get adequate rest in order to be at their best in the tournament.

There were three important rules. First, a guild master was not allowed to participate. Second, anyone without a guild emblem was counted as a speculator and must not participate. Last, to maintain secrecy, the rules for each event would not be revealed until right before the events started.

Erza frowned, recalling Jellal's words from before. Mysterious magic power and mysterious contests. Could these two things be connected?

It was five till midnight, and only Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Gray returned to the inn. Wendy and Carla were nowhere to be found. Erza didn't like that, it was dangerous for a little girl to be out so late at night. She was just about to go out and search for Wendy herself when the elimination round, Sky Labyrinth, started.

Their team naturally defaulted to Lucy to decipher the maps they gathered from defeating other guilds in the maze. The blonde was the one best suited for this kind of task and she truly did not disappoint. Although their team arrived in eighth place, Erza did not mind as long as they got to participate in the main events. Eighth place or first place did not matter, all teams had the same starting point in the tournament.

Lisanna reported back that she and Happy found Wendy and Carla in the Palace's garden, completely drained of magical power. No one knew exactly what happened so Porlyusica issued a rest order in the medical wing of the arena for both of them to recover.

The next day, they found out the other seven guilds that passed the elimination round. Quatro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Raven Tail, and Sabertooth.

Raven Tail was the guild formed by Ivan, Master Makarov's son. It was a dark guild, and Erza was confused for a second as to why they were allowed into the Game. But according to official records of the Magic Council, Raven Tail had recently been recognized by the Guild Federation as a legal guild and thus was eligible to participate in the tournament.

Raven Tail outright admitted they were the one who attacked Wendy and Carla right to their face, Erza gritted her teeth in contempt. They did not have actual proof of Raven's action, so there was nothing they could do besides keeping a watchful eye on Raven Tail throughout the Game. It would surely not be the last time these people used dirty tricks on Fairy Tail.

On a more pleasant note, Fairy Tail Team B also made it into the Game, having placed second in the Labyrinth elimination. Erza did not know about the existence of Team B but the rulebook did say each guild was allowed to have two teams participating in the events this year. So it was not against the rules, and the redhead smiled at Team B a few feet away despite Natsu's tempered protests.

But the presence of Jellal in place of Mystogan troubled her. He explained that Master Makarov agreed to let him in to investigate the mysterious magic source in the Game. If that was Master's decision, Erza would not challenge it. She was just worried since Jellal did not have the guild mark on him, if the organizers found out, it would be a violation of the rules and Fairy Tail would be disqualified. So the redhead simply advised him to take extra caution around anyone not from Fairy Tail, to which he agreed with a firm nod.

Erza looked around the arena, taking in the competition this year. She already knew the majority of them from various encounters in the past, but there were a lot of new faces, too. Especially those people from Sabertooth, who had surfaced in the magic world during the seven years they were on Tenrou Island. The redhead would need to observe them carefully during each event to devise a plan for countering their power. Know thy enemy and know yourself, all that.

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The Grand Magic Game would last for five days, there were a competition and a series of battles each day. The last day would be an all-out fight between the teams.

The first day made it clear to everyone that Raven Tail had it out for Fairy Tail, evident by the way Nalpudding specifically targeted Gray during Hidden and Flare's attitude in her fight with Lucy.

There was something suspicious about the battle between Lucy and Flare. Based simply on power, Lucy wouldn't have lost like that. The blonde was clearly stronger, able to open two gates simultaneously during the fight, and also her Urano Metria spell at the end as well. Natsu already burned away the threat at Asuka's side, and yet, there was something else interfering with their fight and dissolving the blonde's magic.

It must be from those Raven Tail mages watching from their seats outside the ring. They did have a person capable of draining away people's magic power like they did with Wendy, after all. Erza clenched her jaw, nothing could be more cowardly than what those bastards did.

Her anger turned to worry when Jellal was put into battle against Jura. Erza knew both of them were extremely strong, so a part of her was actually curious to see them engaging in a serious fight, certain she would be able to learn something from watching such two powerful mages going all out on each other. But still, there were many Magic Council's officials here, if Jellal used his full power, it would definitely reveal his identity and Fairy Tail would be in danger for harboring a wanted criminal.

Her fear almost came true, but thanks to Meledy's interference, Jellal had conceded against Jura to maintain the secrecy about his magic and his identity. Erza supposed losing a match was better than having Fairy Tail disqualified from the Game.

The redhead sighed. She already warned Jellal about it, yet the man just had to go be a stubborn and prideful ass again. He truly did need to hear something twice in order to actually get it, she would have to go and reprimand him another time.

Overall, Fairy Tail was not off to a good start, truly a disaster for a first day. However, the second day portended the first step of their comeback.

Erza seriously did not know what she was thinking at the time, allowing Natsu to join in the competition while it was clear from the name Chariot that some riding was involved. Apparently, all Dragon Slayers suffered from motion sickness, Gajeel and Sting from Sabertooth did not look that much better than the Salamander on the moving platforms.

If there was something to admire about Natsu, it would certainly be his fighting spirit. He was never deterred in the face of challenges, no matter how tough they were. And it was such determination that gained him and Fairy Tail Team A their first points in the Game, surpassing Gajeel and Sting to finish in sixth place despite having to basically crawl over to the finish line. An admirable effort, Erza slapped Natsu on the back fondly before letting Lucy drag him away to the infirmary, along with Gajeel.

Natsu's persistence was followed by Elfman's unexpected win. Erza admitted, she had thought Elfman was set to lose against Bacchus. Bacchus was on the same level as Erza herself, famous for his Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm which made it impossible for any opponent to predict his next attacks.

Erza almost laughed at herself for not thinking about it sooner. Elfman truly was smart, if he could not land a single hit on Bacchus, then the logical thing to do would be letting Bacchus hit him unhinderedly. In terms of durability, Elfman was among the top contenders in Fairy Tail. In a clash of might and will, the Take Over mage was the one who came out victorious.

Natsu found them when Elfman's battle was over, roaring about those jerks in Raven Tail intended to play dirty again by attempting to kidnap Lucy from the infirmary where he was.

Erza frowned, wondering whether Raven Tail's intention was to take them out one by one. If they were being targeted outside of the arena, they must not let their guard down. The redhead instructed their team members to always go out in pairs of two and not be alone at any given time. She just hoped it would deter Raven Tail long enough for them to gather concrete evidence of foul play and go to the judges with it.

The last match of the day, Yukino from Sabertooth versus Kagura from Mermaid Heel. Yukino was a Celestial mage, and she held the last two Zodiac keys aside from Lucy's ten, Pisces and Libra. Lucy was naturally interested in her because of that, but Erza was more focused on Kagura. The woman easily struck down all of Yukino's Celestial Spirits with her sword unsheathed. Being a master of swords herself, Erza knew exactly how inexplicably hard it was to exert such strength with an unsheathed sword, yet Kagura did not seem fazed in the slightest.

Erza decided she would keep an eye out for Kagura in all of her fights from now on. There was something about the woman that intrigued the redhead, be it her fighting skills or her quiet aloofness.

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The excitement of the second day lasted well into the night. Erza walked back to their inn after meeting with Jellal for a quick update on the mysterious magic and reminding him again to keep his identity in check. Then, Millianna suddenly appeared out of a shadowed alley, happily jumped over and hugged the life out of the redhead.

What a pleasant surprise. Last Erza saw her, Millianna was with Sho and Wally traveling around the world. To think the catgirl was here now, in Mermaid Heel with Kagura.

Her friends were coming back into her life once more, and Erza dared hope the happiness she felt would last, this time.

A fool's dream, because nothing in Erza's life would ever be that simple. There were always shadows of darkness waiting to devour even the smallest moment of joy. She had been through it numerous times before, she should have known, because Millianna still harbored deep hatred against Jellal for what they had been through at the Tower of Heaven, for Simon's death and for them to lose a dear friend because of him.

Millianna did not know about Ultear and Zeref's manipulation of him. She did not know about Jellal's attempts at redemption, how he had just begun to find pieces of himself again with each passing day. She wanted Jellal dead for all of his sins, and even more alarming, Kagura wanted the same thing, too.

Kagura had made a vow to only ever unsheathe her sword to cut down one person. Someone she held such hatred for that they could not coexist in this world. That sword of hers, Archenemy, was meant to kill Jellal, and only him.

Erza was conflicted by this news. On the one hand, she wanted to explain to Millianna about Jellal's situation. But on the other hand, both of them did not know the reason behind Kagura's vendetta against Jellal, so Erza needed to be cautious about what information to divulge to Millianna and, subsequently, Kagura. The redhead wanted to wait to gather more intel about Kagura first before making a decision about this matter.

That was why she let it go, and they parted ways in an amicable atmosphere, Millianna promised to stop by their inn sometime to meet up with team Natsu, but Erza suspected she just wanted to play with Happy again. Cats always held a special place in her heart, after all.

Erza came across Gray on her way back. The Ice-Make wizard whined at her about his problems, having just gotten back from a restaurant and stuck in the middle of some tug-and-war thing between Lyon and Juvia.

He claimed he did not know what the deal with Juvia and Lyon was, and could not understand why they were both so keen on dragging him into their mess either. Erza could recognize the denial in his voice from miles away.

"You have no idea what it was about?" The redhead lifted an eyebrow, "I wasn't there, but even I have a pretty good idea of what the deal was."

From a very young age, Gray had learned he could never keep a secret from Erza, because she would either beat it out of him or force him into talking about it in detail. Erza was glad that lesson had stuck with him till now, watching as his face twisted up into a grimace in surrender.

Sometimes people needed a little push in the right direction, for they were uncertain and needed encouragement from a second source. "You must have realized by now, how Juvia feels about you. Why not give her a clear-cut response? It has been going on long enough, don't you think?"

Silence enveloped them. Erza didn't mind, Gray needed some space to think about his response, which Erza was sure he already knew, deep down in his heart.

What she did not expect was the handsome man turned to her, a smirk visible both on his face and in his voice, "That's a little hypocritical, coming from you."

The redhead's eyes widened in surprise, and Gray's smirk turned into a grin. Checkmate. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh please, give me a little credit." The Ice-Make wizard rolled his eyes, "We spend a lot of time together, both on missions and at the guild. Natsu is an idiot. Happy is blissfully oblivious. Wendy is too small to understand these things and Carla simply doesn't care. But I'm not blind. Lucy and the flame-brain moron are sometimes too much alike. She is more discreet, sure, but they are both suckers for feelings and cannot help themselves from acting on it every now and then."

"But do you want to know what else I have noticed?" Gray leaned in a little, almost conspiratorially, "You are not exactly innocent either. We have known each other since we were kids, Erza. You know me, but don't forget that means I know you too. So why haven't you taken your own advice and talked to her about it yet?"

Erza lowered her head at that, scrubbing her boots on the ground beneath them. It had come to a point where other people had started to notice, so the redhead did not understand what was stopping her from having that talk with Lucy either.

She supposed, a part of her was content with letting this thing hanging in the air between them. Tentative and precious and pure. A piece of happiness she wanted to keep just for herself, enough to hide it in one palm and never let it be taken away from her like many others in her past.

But she also knew that was not the way to move forward. Life was not worth living without the beauty of risks, to have the courage to be vulnerable and allow experiences to shape their existence in this world. To get hurt and still hold out hope for a better future. To be free and let their hearts soar to higher peaks, closer and closer to the Sun.

The main reason why she and Lucy remained in this steady state was that Erza just hadn't seen a reason for breaking the bubble around them at the moment yet. When the time was right, it would work itself out. Something delicate like this simply couldn't be rushed.

"It just doesn't feel like the right time." She answered, "I'm not opposed to a relationship with Lucy. But the timing is not here yet. Lucy knows it, too. Unlike you and Juvia, Juvia doesn't even know how you feel about her."

Gray only turned his face upward, looking at the stars shining high above their heads, "Are you sure Lucy knows? What if she doesn't? I'll think about what to say to Juvia, but I suggest you do the same with Lucy, too."

Erza could only frown in silent deliberation.

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A/N: Votes and comments are welcome!