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Mirajane Strauss knew that it was only a matter of time before certain couples in the Fairy Tail guild got together. Her guildmates thought her ideas of their romantic futures were indications of a mental problem, but they were just in denial, obviously. But though Mirajane was many things, wrong was not one of them.
For one such couple, it all came together on a hot, Thursday evening in mid-August, a relatively quiet day for the normally chaotic Fairy Tail guild.
Of course, ‘quiet’ meant that there were only two brawls before the sunset, as opposed to the usual four or five. Erza had been the catalyst of the brawls, though she threatened to fight anyone who told her so.
The first brawl resulted from an incident in which Erza had brought a large cake to the guild hall to eat for breakfast. A healthy breakfast, indeed. But an inattentive Gajeel backed into her, and the cake careened into the ground, ruined. Obviously, Gajeel had to be punished for this transgression.
The second occurred after Gray had almost inadvertently shown ‘Little Gray’ to a horrified Wendy. It had started as a friendly game of pool, but when the young girl had begun to beat him, Gray became very competitive. And when Gray gets in such a state, his clothes somehow find themselves across the room. His hands had been on the waistband of his boxers before Erza had knocked him over, into a peeved Laxus, ranting about defending Wendy’s honor.
Of course, the relative quiet was thanks, in part, to the fact that everyone’s favorite pink-haired dragonslayer was conspicuously absent.
Lucy was gone too, seeing as the two had taken a job together. According to Mirajane, the mission was obviously an excuse for a romantic getaway! Not that they knew that, though. By now, Mira had learned that both wizards were, quite frankly, oblivious to their own feelings. It would be a miracle if they got together before they turned thirty, Mira thought.
Still, other than the two massive brawls, the day had been relatively uneventful. That is, until early evening, when a certain blue cat flew into the guild.
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Erza Scarlet was bored. And pissed off. Everyone was (incorrectly!) blaming her for two earlier brawls, saying that she needs to work on her anger issues. Anger issues? She didn’t have anger issues! She would punch anyone that implied that she did!
(Okay, maybe she had a slight anger management problem).
She was still stewing in the corner of the guild when Happy flew in, a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Guys!” he exclaimed. “You’ll never believe what I just saw.”
“What?” Gray replied, voice dry. “A pile of fish?” He was still nursing a bruise on his face from the incident earlier. (Whoops).
“No,” said the Exceed, not noticing the ice mage’s sarcasm. Happy was never really very intelligent.
Happy’s grin was still there, but he never actually finished his statement.
“Don’t leave me in suspense ya’ damn cat.” Gajeel said grumpily. He too was dealing with an injury from earlier, causing him to sit rather delicately. Let’s just say that in future brawls, Erza would try to be more vigilant of rogue forks in the area…
Happy sighed, and shook his blue head. He looked up in a way that initially could be described as regretful, until Erza noticed the evil glint in his large, round eyes.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then why the hell would ya’ even bring it up? I’m busy.” Spat the dragonslayer, looking as if he was about to start the third brawl of the day. With a cat.
At least this one couldn’t be blamed on Erza.
“I will tell you!” said Happy through a wide grin. “Just not yet. I’m drawing out the process. There’s some people I want to embarrass, and for that I need them to be here.”
As if on cue, Natsu came rushing into the guildhall, a panting, scarcely dressed Lucy close behind him.
“Happy, please,” Lucy said, clearly embarrassed about something.
“Happy, don’t tell them!” said Natsu, his cheeks as pink as his hair. “Our relationship is our business.”
Whelp, though his heart was in the right place, it looked like Natsu had spilled the beans before Happy could even open the jar.
Erza could tell where this was going. It’s about time, she thought.
Across the room, Gray’s face pinched in disgust. “You… and Happy? That’s just gross.” His expression changed into a more ponderous one. “I mean, you did kiss that one time…”
At Gray’s comment, Erza opened her mouth to yell at him for being denser than a mountain, but Natsu beat her to it.
“Not me and Happy, you ice pervert! Me and Luce.”
Somewhere in the room, someone who sounded suspiciously like Mirajane let out an excited squeal. Honestly, that girl needed to stay out of all of their business, in Erza’s opinion. But hopefully her elation from this current discovery would keep her off of Erza’s own back for a few months.
Natsu scowled at his blue friend. “Jerk. I asked you not to tell them,” He crossed his arms, and looked in the other direction, a move Erza would expect from someone Asuka’s age.
“Actually,” said Happy. “I didn’t tell them anything. I mean, I would have told them, don’t get me wrong. That’s what you get for not telling me, your best friend! But you beat me to the punch.”
Realization dawned on Natsu’s face, and he turned to face his apparent girlfriend. “Whoops! Sorry, Luce.”
“You idiot!” She looked more embarrassed than angry. Her face was so red that the color went to her ears. “You can’t even keep a secret for-” She glanced at the guild’s clock. “Twenty-two hours!”
“I’m sorry,” said Natsu, fear in his eyes.
Lucy’s face was still red, but her expression softened. “I knew what I was getting into by getting into a relationship with you, you idiot. Besides, it was only a matter of time before everyone found out, no one has any concept of privacy around here.”
At the last comment, Lucy glared at a certain blue cat.
“I’m sorry! Natsu’s just in your bed so often, I didn’t realize this time was any different! I didn’t know that you wouldn’t have clothes on!”
Both Natsu and Lucy’s faces, which had been regaining their normal color, reddened again. At the implication, Erza felt hers redden too.
A long, silent moment passed. And then another. Erza felt as though it was her responsibility to alleviate the awkwardness. She rose from her seat.
“Well, I offer my congratulations. Honestly, I was wondering when you two would figure it out.”
It was true, one could only spend so much time around the two of them before their mutual feelings became obvious, from ‘platonic’ hand holding, to falling asleep on one another while waiting for the train, to the ferocity with which Natsu defended Lucy in the heat of battle.
A beat. No one else spoke. Until—
“Yeah, I’m happy for you guys,” said Levy, finally, offering support for her mortified friend.
The floodgates opened, the whole guild talking at once, both in support of the couple and in incredulity at the spectacle they had just witnessed.
“You guys make such a cute couple!” said Mirajane.
“Wait,” said Gray. “You’re telling me that the same Natsu who thought that kissing a girl the wrong way would get her pregnant until he was fifteen has a girlfriend? Before me?!”
Somewhere, Cana offered a quite insightful comment on how tragic it is that Lucy’s beautiful breasts are no longer available to the world.
Erza didn’t say anything else. She had a ‘besmirching of Lucy’s honor’ talk prepared, but she figured she would save that for another day. Particularly for when Natsu least expects it. The couple had been through enough embarrassment for one day.