Love Ring

Most people would say: 'Nothing can go wrong on a sunny day'. But those people didn't know that sunny days were an invitation for trouble, when you were a member of the guild: 'Fairy Tail'. It were always the sunny days when the members were up to new mischief. Today however seemed to be a lazy, sunny day since nothing had happened, ...yet.

This was about to change when a request on the bottom of the board attracted a certain Dragon Slayer's attention.

"Hey, what's this?" Natsu ripped the request of the board. He knew he'd seen something like this before. When was that? Oh well, he would remember later when his friends would return.

Erza was out getting one of her many armors fixed. Lucy was on a book shopping spree with Levy and Mr. Droopy eyes, ...hell, how should he know? It was not like he cared. Oh yes, he almost forgot about Wendy. She treated Elfman's wounds from his last mission in Fairy Tail's own Infirmary. Something about catching the vicious pet of a rich, old Lady.

Makarov had a meeting with the council in the holy halls of ERA. Probably bailing the guild out of trouble again.

The pink-haired Slayer took a seat at the bar, to read the request without Nab looking over his shoulder. Not that the tall man had ever taken on a job, but Natsu wouldn't risk anything. Normally Cana would sit at the bar with him, but she helped Mirajane in the basement. ...More like helping her decrease the remaining beer barrels before they could become stale. The rest of the guild either sat on different tables chatting with their group, reading the request board or waiting for Mirajane to return to order something.

Just then his partner Happy flew out of the kitchen with a fish in his paws. With Mirajane in the basement, there was nobody who could stop the blue tomcat from getting free fish. He'd asked Charle if she wanted one as well, but the other feline had wrinkled her nose at his offer. Saying something like she wouldn't lower herself to eat fish, much less stolen goods.

It made Happy sad, but that only meant more fish for him. So it was ok. He landed next to Natsu and saw the new request.

"What is it, Natsu?" He asked with his mouth half full of fish.

"Dunno. It only says: 'Please read this and decipher the meaning of these words.'"  It was a different language, but it shouldn't be much of a problem. Or so Natsu thought.

Happy chewed on his fish, not really paying attention to Natsu or the request.

Well if that was all, why not get started? The reward was good too. Two Hundred Thousand jewels! Lucy would be able to pay her rent, Erza would be pleased because the job was done already and the ice cube will certainly be jealous. Decision made, Natsu read the text. ....Out loud.

"Ukk tero amora raku romanzia tuu. ...That's crap!"

Suddenly a pink glow came from the sheet of paper. It engulfed everyone present and a vanished after a few seconds. Silence spread through the halls of the guild. An usual thing where Fairy Tail was concerned. The avid chatter had died down and the noise of the oncoming brawl between other members was gone.

That's when Wendy and Elfman left the Infirmary only to encounter a silent guild. All members seemed to be frozen in place, not even blinking once. Time stood still for everyone but those two.

Wendy noticed the magic in the air. It was a flowery scent, almost suffocatingly sweet. But whatever it was, it had passed. Both of them were not in the guild hall when the magic had spread. Elfman had a tense look on his face. Lisanna stood there frozen in time in the middle of waving at another guild member who passed by. What worried him more was the fact that he couldn't spot his older sister Mirajane.

Just then a noise could be heard from the door to the basement.

"Really Mira, I'm fine *hick* izzz not zhat much ale..."

"Cana, I think three barrels was too much for you plus the three you had this morning. It could've waited until tomorrow."

Mirajane and Cana opened the door and stood next to an bewildered Elfman and a scared Mini Dragon Slayer.

"But you zaid zhat ....uh? ....Wha's zhat?" If Cana had been in her right mind, she would have noticed the silence earlier.

Mirajane went to Elfman. She checked on his injuries first. As big sister it was her duty to make sure that her siblings were fine. The deep scratches from that pet were gone. His shirt was unbuttoned because the fresh skin there was still tender.

When she was sure her brother was ok and not affected by whatever hit the guild she turned to Lisanna and noticed the same thing as Elfman had.

Cana walked over to the bar where a frozen Natsu sat. Somehow, she had the impression that whatever went wrong, was his fault.

"Oy Natsu! ....Hey idiot, anzwer meh!" Nothing.

Mirajane had never seen anything like this. She went from one member to the next, waving a her hand in front of their faces. Nothing! Not even a twitch.

"Elfman, help me! We have to wake them up!" She ordered.

Elfman flinched from her sudden order, but then went to other members, trying to shake them out of their stupor. This was harder than he expected. They were not only frozen in time. They seemed to be frozen on the spot as well since they wouldn't budge.

Wendy went to Charle who was sitting on a table with her arms crossed. She didn't know what to do. Healing wounds, treating a disease, even bringing people back from the dead was what she had learned. But to counter a spell? Much less one she didn't know about? The little girl felt so helpless right now.

All of a sudden the front doors to the guild flung open. The missing members had returned. Lucy chatted happily with Erza and Levy with Plue in her arms. They had met the Ex-quip mage in town while they were shopping for new books. Gray had met them halfway back to the guild. He had his hands in the pockets of his pants and shot Plue one or two glares. Damn, what he wouldn't give to trade places with the small spirit. He really liked the blonde, but didn't know how to say it and with Jubia around, who would hurt anyone who got close to him, it was almost impossible to say anything.

The silence of the guild shut the girls up as well. Looking around they saw only four members moving between the others trying to push or to pull them.

Erza scrutinized her frozen comrades, trying to make sense of their state. Gray on the other hand ran to Natsu. Cana gave him a look that told him that the great Salamander was in the same condition as the rest.

"What happened here?" Levy and Lucy whirled around. Droy stood in the door of the guild right behind them.

"We... don't know." Lucy admitted in defeat. They were only gone for a few hours.

Droy ran to his best friend Jet and tried to shake him. The plant-mage had been just around the corner in the new magic shop which had opened last week. He'd promised to be back in an hour, so what had happened in that time?

Levy gasped, if Natsu was affected, it meant.... She took a short glance in Gajeel's direction only to notice that he was frozen in place as well. The iron mage sat at his usual table looking like he just had taken a gulp of his beer mug and was about to place it back down.

Suddenly Lucy's keys glowed brightly. The Stellar mage was startled enough to drop her precious Canis Minor. That's when Loki materialized besides her.

"Have no fear, your knight is here." He greeted his owner.

"....Loki, ....this isn't the right time..." The blonde sweat dropped. Why did the Lion spirit always choose the most inappropriate times to appear.

"Well it's my duty as your knight to protect you. Especially from the magic that lingers here."

"What magic?" All of the remaining members asked eagerly.

"The magic of...."

"Of...???"

"Love!"

Everyone, even Erza, face faulted. Lucy got up, angry at her spirit for making such crude jokes.

"Stop that Loki, this is serious!"

"So am I. The spell in the air is something like 'Charm'. They'll move again soon and then, ...you're all in trouble."

'Charm' was a ring that could sway other's hearts. So if that spell had the same effect. Lucy put one and one together.

"A love spell????" She shrieked.

"Right!"

Lucy shook her head. He had to be joking, right? He just had to!

"I think you're wrong Loki." Erza voiced what her friend had been thinking.

She went over to Natsu and smacked him upside the head, in typical Erza-style. Hard! Nothing. Then she went to Gajeel and did the same thing.

"The Slayers are affected. It can't be a love spell." She reasoned.

The rest of the members were confused and couldn't really follow her reasoning. But as long as Erza was right, it didn't matter. Lucy took a few hesitant steps forward. Walking between her frozen comrades felt like walking through a doll museum.

Loki was still wary, but would be stupid to disagree with the redhead. They would soon find out that he was right anyway. Leaning against a table he waited for the member's impending doom. It didn't take a second and the first member started to twitch.

Natsu and Gajeel as two of the strongest members started to move. Cana was the first to see it since she sat next to Natsu.

"Finally!" She exclaimed.

Surprised by her sudden appearance, the Dragon Slayer turned towards her. For him, not a second had passed since he'd read the words and now Cana was next to him?

"Cana..." Natsu looked like he was seeing a mirage.

Now really, had Cana spooked the Fire mage so much? She chuckled slightly.

"Oh yeah, you look really happy to see me." Sarcasm was such a nice invention.

Natsu shook his head. His face changed from disbelieving to overjoyed.

"Of course I'm happy to see you. Say Cana, ...can I ...you know, ...buy you a drink?" He scratch his cheek in embarrassment.

....What was that? Natsu never invited anyone, except his own team members and even those times were rare since he was broke most of the time. Gray had heard enough, he grabbed the other's scarf and yanked him in his direction.

"Hey Flame-brain, snap out of it!" He ordered.

Natsu grinned at the card user for a moment before he shoved his team mate away.

"Scram Droopy Eyes! Can't you see I'm busy?"

Natsu actually backing out of a fight with Gray? For Cana nonetheless? Something dawned on the other mages. Erza had been wrong, not Loki.

The Ex-quip mage realized it a bit too late. A hand was already sneaking around her waist. She looked to the side only to come face to face with the other Dragon Slayer.

"Hey Titania,... how about we blow this popsicle stand and go out for a spar? You in?" Gajeel asked.

The Iron mage had never asked Erza for a fight, not to mention sparring with her. And she certainly didn't like the look he gave her. Levy was red in the face, but for all she cared it should have been green. She secretly liked the Dragon Slayer and now Erza was about to steal him away? No way! Not as long as she was around!

Levy was about to stomp over and give those two a piece of her mind. She didn't come very far because she walked into something dark and....furry? Looking up she saw someone she hadn't even noticed before.

"Sweet Levy, would you do me the honor to join me for lunch?"

Levy couldn't believe what she heard, ...or what she saw. Pantherlily in his tall form was asking her out?

Seeing the reaction from those three meant one thing. First person in sight would be the person they want! It didn't take a genius to figure it out and soon the rest of the group was dreading to turn and look who stood next to them. All except for Loki who snickered at Titania's demise.

The guild was coming to life and the group felt pure panic in their hearts. A pat on Gray's shoulder caused him to shiver for the first time in years. Even worse was the sight that greeted him.

"Hello Gray, ...could you do me a favor and cool me down? I feel so 'hot' all of a sudden...." Gray thought he would die on the spot. The girl who tried to flirt with him was, ...Evergreen! As if Jubia wasn't bad enough.

Not like Mirajane was any better. She had her hand on the bar when she felt a pat as well. Looking down she saw, ...Happy! Who offered his half devoured fish to her.

"For you,..." He shyly said.

Elfman thought it was like watching a train crash in slow motion. It was a horrible sight and yet you couldn't look away. The whole guild was going mad. Mad with magic-induced love. If he was lucky, he could sneak out and get away before someone could spot him. It might not be the manly way to leave a building, but it was the safest! He turned around and tried to sneak through the still open doors. But when he turned around, a smaller person blocked his path.

She fiddled with her fingers and tried to say something, but kept staring at his still exposed chest.

"E-Elfman-san...it, it.'s, n-nice to... to see you're o-ok. T-the mission ...must've been h-h-hard. It made....Jubia all worried." It was then that Elfman knew it was too late for him, ...his train had crashed.

Droy had tried to get away. 'Tried' being the key word. Because his own admirer was fast and...male. Jet was staying between him and the door to freedom.

"What's the rush, Droy? You were gone for an hour and now you want to leave again? I'm hurt...." Was Jet actually giving him a kicked puppy look? This was a nightmare coming true!

Lucy was the only one left and if she somehow managed not to draw too much attention, she could sneak out. Or maybe Aquarius would be kind enough to flush her out, who knew? But she couldn't leave without Plue, looking around she found the little spirit, ...in someone's arms. Lisanna had caught the poor Canis Minor and was squeezing the magical energy out of him. Too bad for Plue. Like everyone knows, in case of an emergency, Women and children leave first!

Just as the Stellar mage bolted for the door, she ran into another person who was about to leave the guild as well. Both mages crashed to the floor.  Lucy looked up and wished she hadn't. The one she'd crashed into and the one who held her by the waist to keep her there, ...on the top of 'him', ....was no other than Fried Justine.

"You do have a strange way to court a man, Ms Heartfilia. But I must say, I'm impressed." Was that a charming smile on Fried's usually stoic face?

Meanwhile a few of the sane mages had finally found a way out of the building and were on the run. Elfman chose a window to escape a love-struck Jubia. He swore if he came out of this alive, he'd never make fun of Gray again.

Erza had taken down the wall next to her and ran to save her armor. Gajeel had already taken a bite out of it. Perhaps it was Gajeel's impression of a 'love bite'.

Levy was on her heels with a now miniature Pantherlily flying behind her. Nobody knew if she just ran away from the Exceed or if she was trying to catch up with Gajeel who'd run after the red-haired amazon.

Mirajane had to use drastic measures to get her out of the guild. She used Satan Soul and flew as fast as she could. Happy had a hard time keeping up with her.

Lucy broke out of Fried's grasp, scrambled to her feet and dashed through the open doors. The green-haired man stood up and had a small smirk on his face.

"So she wants to play hide and seek? How charming. Well, I'm up for the challenge!" With that the rune mage followed, ...more liked skipped after his blonde goddess.

Gray still tried to worm his way out of Evergreen's grasp without hurting her. She was all over him and didn't even think of letting him go. The ice mage had seen the crash and how Fried was following Lucy like a love-sick puppy. Jealousy was spreading through him like wild fire. Fried was not only a formidable mage who could easily reach S-class, he was also quite handsome and well mannered.

He could not risk anything! With that Gray created an ice clone, slipped out of the wannabe-Fairy's hold and left her to cuddle the ice statue.

Cana wasn't so lucky. She tried to get away by using a few of her cards and running through the guild while dodging tables, chairs and other guild members.  

Normally Loki, who was still leaning against the table, would be helping his owner. But he knew the effects of this spell wouldn't last long. Maybe a few hours. Nobody had listened when he warned them, so he considered this to be payback. He would've laughed for the rest of the day, if it wasn't for a small weight against his arm. When he looked, there was a small feline snuggling against him. What was her name again?.... Charle? ....Uh Oh.

And so, there were seven mages and one Lion spirit on the run for their (love) life. Wendy stood in the middle of the guild. Now that Charle was gone too, she didn't know what to do. Something pink was held in front of her. Blinking, Wendy took in the form. A pink flower. She looked to the side only to see Romeo, Macao's son, besides her. His cheeks were burning up and he shyly looked to the floor. Not really sure how to act, she took the flower.

"Th-thank you." It was the first time that a boy had given flowers, even if it was just one.

~o~o~o~

The mages took different directions and tried to lose their pursuers in the crowds on the streets of Magnolia city. It didn't take long for the citizens to notice that something weird was going on with the members of their resident guild. However they shrugged it off and thought they were up to their usual shenanigans.

Lucy ran until she could no more. She was sure her admirer had lost her trail long ago since she couldn't spot him. Looking around she noticed a small café next to her. After running for so long she needed a cool drink. She took a seat at one of the tables in front of the café and ordered a glass of lemonade. The waitress wrote her order down.

"Anything else?" She asked politely.

"No, thank you." Maybe later, she would order a cake but right now she was too thirsty.

The waitress nodded and turned to her right.

"And you, Sir?"

....Sir? Lucy gulped and slowly looked from the waitress to the only, supposedly free, chair in front of her. And as sure as rain, there sat her green-eyed nightmare.

Fried smiled at her and ordered a cup of black tea. Lucy was about to scream. It just couldn't be! How did he manage to catch up not to mention sit down without a sound? Well she guessed he wasn't a member of the Raijinshuu for nothing. But if he was so great, why wasn't he immune to the spell. Maybe the spell worked like 'Charm' and making him aware of the situation would break it. Sweat dropping she tried to reason with him. It was worth a try.

"Uhm Fried, you know.... Something happened at the guild. ...And now everyone is acting crazy. Uhm You too actually. You see this isn't real. I mean, you don't really like me, it was a spell." She knew she was babbling, but his intense stare made her nervous.

"Au contraire, ma chère. I'm well aware of the situation..."

Lucy beamed. She knew he would get it.

"...I know I'm under a spell." He leaned forward and took her hand in his.

"I'm under your spell chèrie and this is more real than anything else."

Oh no, ....he didn't get it. This spell didn't work like 'Charm'. What should she do? Damn it, where was Loki when she needed him?

The waitress came back with their orders and Lucy took the short distraction to run away again. The poor waitress was left speechless when she saw the girl running away from her handsome 'boyfriend.'

The rune mage had a dreamy smile on his face.

"Isn't she cute?"

~o~o~o~

Erza had found the perfect hiding place. The shopping district! Especially the little boutique with the perfumery right next to it. The Dragon Slayer will have a hard time finding her even with his sensitive nose. Sitting in a fitting room, she wondered how long she'd have to hide. The red-head kicked herself for not listening to the Lion spirit. If they had run while they could, they wouldn't have to deal with this problem.

She ran a hand along the armor on her neck. Yep, there was a piece missing in the shape of a half circle. Erza promised herself to murder Gajeel later for eating her favorite armor. Suddenly the door to the fitting room flung open, but it was not who she expected.

Levy stood there panting, trying to get some air back into her lungs.

"Aha! There you are." She exclaimed.

The Titania held a finger in front of her lips.

"Shhh, not so loud!" She pulled Levy in before anyone could spot her.

The script mage wrestled herself free. Spotting the missing armor sent Levy in a jealous frenzy.

"I see, you two have already taken it that far. Erza how could you?"

Erza gave her an incredulous look.

"Levy, what are you talking about?"

The solid script mage pointed at her neck. She was close to tears now, the whole thing was just too much for her.

"This! You are too friendly with Gajeel! What's up with that?" She demanded to know.

Erza blinked, was she serious? Wait a minute. If Levy was so mad about this, wouldn't that mean she actually 'liked' the gruff Iron mage? But shouldn't she know better than this? This was not Gajeel's free will! The spell was doing the thinking for him.

"Do you think I let someone ruin my favorite armor? Just like that? Certainly not. Gajeel is not thinking! That damn love spell is doing this to him. Levy, I'm your friend. I would never do anything to hurt you."

Sniffling Levy pulled herself together. Right, Erza might be rough and bossy, but she was a very good friend. One she didn't want to lose.

"I'm sorry Erza, it's just. ....Seeing him act so loving around someone else....I guess I'm a bit, ...jealous." She admitted.

Erza nodded with an understanding smile. Love could do this to people and in Levy's case it was real, not magic induced.

"Soooo, ...how long has this been going on?" Erza smirked and nudged her friend carefully.

The solid script mage made an oophing sound. No matter how careful Erza was, it still felt like being punched in the ribcage.

"Uhm, ..uh... for a while. Dunno when it started... But, ...Gajeel isn't so bad. ...Once you get used to him." Now she was her timid little self again.

Suddenly the blue-haired girl felt something on her leg.

"Forget about him, my love. You deserve better than that."

Both Mages looked down in horror and saw Pantherlily in his small, cute form clinging to Levy's leg. No one had stopped the cat from entering the boutique or the fitting rooms. Why should they? It was only a cat.

Shrieking Levy took her magical pen and wrote: 'Catnip' in the air. The green word fluttered down like a leaf and stayed on the ground. Pantherlily was no different than other cats. His feline senses took over and soon he was purring and rubbing his head against the solid word.

Erza grabbed Levy's arm and both ran out of the boutique. If the Exceed had found them, then his partner wouldn't be too far away. And sure enough, outside of the store stood Gajeel in all his glory.

"There is no need for new clothes, my sexy little amazon. You should wear metal only. It looks delicious on you..." He purred.

Levy felt it again, that irrational jealousy. However, she had no time to say anything at all. Erza used her magic and ex-quipped into her Black Wing Armor. She could fly only a short distance with it, but long enough to get them away from those two maniacs.

~o~o~o~

Elfman was out of energy when he reached the harbor. First that mission with that vicious pet (he didn't even know what that thing was supposed to be.) Now this! Hopefully he'd lost the water mage in the crowd. Nothing against Jubia, she was a kind and sweet girl, but first she was in love with Gray and second she tended to overdo things.

Well, if she wasn't under the influence of the spell and would have asked for a date, maybe he would've said yes. He went out with Evergreen once and regretted it immediately. She was just too bossy and generally demanding. He could do without that. It was not manly to cower in front of your girlfriend!

Maybe the spell would wear off soon. But what if it wouldn't? Or stay for weeks? What then? He couldn't run forever, neither could the others.

Elfman sat down on a pole and looked into the rippling water of the sea. He wondered if his sisters were ok. Especially Lisanna! She was affected by that spell. What if someone took advantage of her? He couldn't let that happen, he was her big brother! But... he couldn't return to the guild either. What should he do?

Suddenly the water started to whirl where his reflection had been.

"My prince, your little mermaid is here." The water rose and materialized into Jubia. ...Who apparently wore a mermaid costume. Where she got it in that short time, Elfman would never know. She reached out for him and the big take-over mage fell off the pole when he tried to get away.

"No, wait. ...Jubia listen! Pouncing a man like this is not manly!" Elfman fell back into his old perfected speech.

Jubia smirked while the water whirled around her body. Gone was the mermaid costume and the water mage stood in front of him in her usual attire.

"It's alright then, because Jubia is a girl."

"No, it's worse! Jubia, you're not thinking! You don't want this! What about Gray?" Maybe she would listen if he mentioned her crush. It stopped Jubia in her tracks. Yes, she had forgotten about the ice mage. But why? She loved Gray and yet, ...she loved Elfman as well.

Thinking hard she tried to make sense of her dilemma and came to an easy conclusion.

Elfman was here, Gray wasn't!

"Gray doesn't matter to Jubia now, but you do." She smiled and reached for him again.

It was no use, he couldn't reason with her. There was only one option. Run! And so he did in hopes of running into Gray and shoving him into her arms as a distraction.

~o~o~o~

Makarov stood in the doorway to his guild. He walked out, looked at the banner and when, after the fifth time, the words 'Fairy Tail' remained he walked back in again. It certainly didn't look like his guild to him. The Guild members were over each other and acted like love struck fools on Valentines Day.

Bixlow was chasing Lisanna, who held onto Plue for dear life. Cana tried to escape Natsu while flinging her cards left and right. Bisca and Alzack were all over each other. And was that Wakaba on Macao's lap???

What in the seven hells had happened while he was gone? He walked up to the bar and noticed a piece of paper. Picking it up, he read it and knew what was going on. Some moron had read another request to translate a spell from the ancient language Umpera. As if the 'Change Ring' incident hadn't been enough. Now someone had activated 'Love Ring' and he had a good guess who that someone was.

Transforming into his giant form, he slammed down his fist on Natsu. The Dragon Slayer had cornered the card user and was about to grab her.

"AUGH,  What the... Hey old man, let me go! I want my Cana!"

Said mage slid down to the floor trying to get some air into her lungs.

"Th- thank you, ...Master." She panted.

So Natsu was affected and Cana not. She might be one of the very few sane mages around.

"Cana, who read that request?" His voice boomed through the guild hall and Makarov pointed to the request on the bar.

"When I came here, I saw Natsu holding it." Oh damn, she was almost sober! She could actually remember something.

"Cana, how could you?" Natsu gave her a teary eyed look. It was almost cute....'almost'.

"Idiot! Do you know what you did?" Makarov was angry now.

"I don't care!" He replied stubbornly.

Natsu really didn't care, he'd seen the light. He'd seen Cana. And as long as she was near him, he couldn't care about anything or anyone else.

"Master!" Ah there seemed to be another sane member in the guild. Wendy walked up to him with Romeo besides her. And the little boy refused to let go of her hand.

"Wendy, good to see you're ok. Do you know how many are under that spell?"

Wendy tried to count the members, but saw it would be easier if she told him who had been spared instead.

"Uhm, almost everyone except: Gray, Levy, Lucy, uhm, ...Erza, Droy, ...Elfman, Mirajane, Cana, Loki and I."

A small protesting sound came out from Lisanna's arms.

"Oh and Plue!" She added.

The old man nodded. He picked up the still yelling fire mage, opened the door to the basement and flung him inside. The yells became even louder once he'd closed the door.

"It's no use Natsu. You know that's a magical door." He reminded him. In a magic guild it was important to protect their goods from their own members. Normal doors wouldn't stand a chance. So most doors in Fairy Tail were magical doors which would reflect magic and physical damage.

Cana sighed in relief. She'd thought she had to run forever.

"Master, what happened exactly?" She asked.

Makarov shrunk back to his normal size and took a seat at the bar. He held the paper out for them to see.

"That moron read these words out loud. Remember 'Change Ring'? This too is a spell out of the ancient Umpera Language. They were specialized in these spells. This one is called 'Love Ring'. If the spell has been activated then the people in the vicinity of that magic fall in love with the first person they see. Where have you two been?"

Cana held her head trying to remember where she'd been.

"I was, ...with Mirajane, ....in the basement!"

Wendy nodded, she had seen Cana coming out of the door with the head waitress. Now she pointed to herself.

"And I was with Elfman in the Infirmary and patched up his wounds from his last mission. The others were in town and came back later." She added.

Cana walked over to the Master and sat down besides him. She needed a drink, but wasn't too keen to join a love-crazy Natsu in the basement.

"How long until the spell wears off?" She asked while laying her head on the bar surface. She was so tired.

"Depends, usually after a day , but it would be much faster if the people under that spell experience an emotional blow. Like getting rejected, ...the hard way."

"So... what now?" Wendy asked with Romeo still clinging to her.

"....We wait!"

~o~o~o~

Erza had been on the run for a while and was sure she'd lost the Dragon Slayer for sure now. Levy was still hanging onto her arm with a frown on her face. She didn't like the fact that the Iron mage was head over heels for the redhead. Just thinking about it made her mad. But in truth, she felt more like slapping herself. If they had listened to Loki this wouldn't have happened. Or if she'd known, then perhaps she could've been the first in Gajeel's sight. Tough luck! No use crying over spilt milk now, it was too late anyway.

The ex-quip mage changed into a more comfortable attire. Who would've thought Erza Scarlet owned a pair of jeans and a T-shirt?  

Sighing she looked around, trying to pinpoint their position.

"It looks like we're close to Lucy's house. Should we drop in?" Erza asked as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

Levy had heard from Lucy of all the times when her team-mates would invite themselves in. Thankfully Erza didn't do that in Fairy Hills.

"Naah, I doubt Lucy will be there. ...But we could try." Why not? Then the script mage would see how they broke into her friend's home and could tell her about it.

Just when they took three steps into the direction of Lucy's home, they triggered a magical trap. Looking up, Erza knew exactly to whom this construction belonged to.

"....I'm going to kill Fried!" She muttered.

They were trapped in a magical barrier. Fried had used them in the great battle of Fairy Tail and now he was doing it again. But the rule seemed rather, ...strange this time.

Rule: Confess your love!

Levy blinked at the runes in front of her.

"Why would Fried write that?" She asked out loud.

Erza paced in the barrier, she had an idea what might've happened.

"Some unlucky girl, ran into Fried. My guess is it's Lucy. Why else should he set up his traps near her home?..."

"Oh my, ...poor Lu-chan. But think positive! Uh, ...uhm ...Fried is ...really handsome! Maybe she could give him a chance." Lucy was still single anyway, so why not take a shot.

"And wait until he finally comes back to his senses? Not a good idea if you ask me. Besides, Lucy is better than that. She would never take advantage of a person."

The solid script mage lowered her head in shame.

"..R-Right."

She had wished to be in Erza's place. To take advantage of the situation. Perhaps she wasn't as much of a good person as she thought herself to be.

Levy made herself useful. She took out her pen and began to decipher Fried's enchantment. She didn't even need any books to look up the runes. After the battle of Fairy Tail, she had studied the runes since in some way, they were script magic as well. She would get them out in a minute.

"Found you, Titania! You really know how to keep a hunter interested."

Erza whirled around and sure enough, there was Gajeel. This was bad. She was trapped and her armor and weapons would do little to no good against the Iron mage. Her only hope was that Levy could remove this enchantment before the Dragon Slayer could get a hold of her.

Gajeel was pleased with the way his 'date' went. Forget all that mushy stuff. No, that feisty amazon knew what he liked.

"Come to me, my Iron Lady. I don't bite, ..hard." Gajeel opened his strong arms for Erza, as if he was just waiting for her to fly into them. Meanwhile Pantherlily had joined them and was about to approach his own Queen of Hearts. But he never had the chance to get any closer.

"ENOUGH!" Levy had shouted as loud as she could.

"What now squirt?" Gajeel had no time for this.

Levy sniffled and was close to tears. Why couldn't he see her?

"It's ...It's always 'Bookworm', 'Squirt', 'Shorty', 'Shrimp', 'Woman' or 'Girly'. ...Tell you what Gajeel?! You're wrong! I'm Levy! L-E-V-Y. I'm the very girl you crucified to a tree. The very girl who forgave you for it! The girl who got to know you and I'm the girl who 'likes' you! You insensitive jerk!" Now tears were streaming freely over her face.

Levy slumped to the ground and hid her face in her hands. The Ex-quip mage was by her side in an instant, hoping she could somehow comfort her distraught friend.

The two girls were too distracted to see what happened to the Iron mage and the Exceed. Their eyes lit up in a pink color, then returned back to normal. Gajeel pressed a hand to his forehead. He felt like he'd been drinking through the night and now had a hangover that could rival two samba dancing hippos. Pantherlily wasn't any better. He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts.

Gajeel pulled himself together. Thinking still hurt, but remembering how he acted hurt even more. Had he really declared his love out loud? To the red-haired dominatrix out of all the people in this mad guild? Had he really acted like a love-struck baboon? Yes, yes, and yes! He had and it would be a while until he lived it down.

But Levy had said something important just now. She not only said she liked him, no she had forgiven him. The topic was still a sore spot for Gajeel. He had changed for the better, but many didn't believe him. And now, the very person he thought would hate or fear him the most, had not only forgiven him, she even liked him?! This was almost too good to be true.

He walked slowly towards the female mages and motioned for the Titania to get away. A bold move, but at the moment he couldn't care less. Erza must have seen something in his eyes since she did move away without a single protest. She just gave him a warning glare before she stepped aside. That's when she noticed something.

The barrier was gone and the Ex-quip mage remembered the rule. Really, Fried should be more specific with his enchantments.

The Dragon Slayer knelt down and took the sobbing script mage into his arms. He didn't have much experience in how to comfort people, but he could still learn.

Levy noticed the change immediately. Strong arms, a hard body and the scent of machined metal.

"I know your name. But... I prefer Bookworm, ...because, ...I'm the only one who calls you that." He admitted.

~o~o~o~

How long until she could finally rest? The sun was setting and Lucy had reached the park. She was about to faint and perhaps sleep for a few days. Fried had almost caught up with her, but she had summoned Gemini and let the spirits copy her before sending them away.

It had worked, but now she couldn't hold them in this world anymore and let them go. The park was a peaceful place really. Not many people around this time of day. The birds sang their evening song, the fountain nearby came to a stop and Jubia came out and, ....wait Jubia?

The water maiden waved at Lucy.

"Lucy, have you seen Elfman-san? Jubia can't find him." Lucy already wondered who was after whom.

"Sorry Jubia, haven't seen him. But I'll call you if I do." Like hell she would. Poor Elfman.

"Thank you my ex-rival. Jubia will continue searching over ....there." She pointed to the other side of the park.

Wait, with Jubia around, maybe Fried would leave her alone. The rune mage had never been fond of the water maiden. Why, nobody knew and Lucy needed a break, now!

"Jubia, wait for me!" She caught up with the blue haired woman.

"I'll help you. I have nothing better to do anyway."

Jubia frowned at her.

"Is Lucy trying to be Jubia's love rival again?" She asked suspiciously.

What was up with her and that love rival thing? The Stellar mage never understood why the other thought of her as love rival. Had she given her any reason to think that?

"No, I just don't want to be alone."

Nodding, the water mage accepted her offer to join her. She knew exactly how it felt to be alone and would never wish it on anyone else.

After a while they came to a pond and saw something, ...very strange. There was a woman who clung to a stone. They took a closer look and saw that it was not only a stone, it was a statue. A statue of Gray and it was Evergreen who clung to him.

"Hmmm finally mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine." She chanted.

Lucy took a glance at her friend, but she wasn't reacting at all. The old Jubia would've screamed in terror and tried to murder Evergreen at the same time. She wondered if that Spell was really that strong or if the love, she claimed to have for the ice mage didn't run deep enough. The blonde had to do something. Evergreen was strong, so fighting was out of question. What to do? Then she thought of something simple, yet brilliant.

"Jubia, could you wait for a second?"

The expression on the water maiden's face wasn't one of joy. If she had her way she would just continue the search for her prince. But she would wait. She wouldn't leave Lucy alone.

The Stellar mage approached the wannabe Fairy carefully. One wrong move and she would join Gray as statue in the park.

"Evergreen?" She started.

The woman shot her a cold glare and tightened her grip on the statue.

"Hmmpf, what do you want, blondie?"

Lucy pointed to Gray.

"Uhm, what are you doing? I mean, why did you turn him to stone?"

Evergreen let out a dreamy sigh.

"My Mookie-Pookie Bear tried to play tag with me, but I got bored. So now, he can't run anymore."

"Uh... but you can't let him stay like this, you know?" She felt like she was talking to Natsu. But the other mage was moodier than her pink-haired friend. Lucy had to be careful now.

As expected Evergreen shot her a death glare, daring her to say the wrong thing.

"Why. Not?" She had her hand already on her glasses.

"Because then, ...he can't tell you how much he loves you, can he?" Lucy prayed to every spirit she knew.

Evergreen lowered her hand and put a finger to her chin in a thinking manner.

"I guess you're right. ...It was just a game anyway."

She snapped her fingers and the statue turned back into the ice alchemist.

"Huh? Lucy? What?" Gray didn't get many words out. The wannabe Fairy's possessive hug made sure of that.

"Gray, you should take good care of Evergreen. You can't fool around like this and expect her to stay calm, now can you?" Hopefully the Ice mage would get what she meant. That Gray had to play along if he wanted to stay in the real world. If not, he would end up as a new addition in the park.

"Jubia wants to go, Lucy! My Prince will not wait forever."

Giving Gray one last meaningful look she walked back to Jubia and ran against an invisible wall. Rubbing her nose she looked up. She had seen this thing before. It was Fried's rune magic. Her eyes went even wider when she read the rule.

Rule: Lucy Heartfilia cannot leave the barrier! Only a kiss of love will set her free.

...He'd learned how to be specific. The only one who 'claimed' to love her, was Fried himself! He might even succeed. Even if his love was magic induced, it was still there! She really wished that Levy was here to help her. Hanging her head she tried to think of a way out. Of course! Jubia! She looked at the spot where the water mage had been, only to find it empty. In the distance she saw two figures running through the park. Obviously Elfman didn't know how to play hide and seek.

Gray had read the runes as well and felt his blood boil with rage. Fried was going to far this time!

"I've finally found you, mon amour." Speaking of the devil.

Fried materialized behind Lucy with his rune magic. It certainly came in handy to teleport to anyplace, anywhere, anytime with just a few written words.

Lucy was scared. Really scared. The only way out for her was if Fried kissed her and she would have to allow it. Maybe she could pretend it was someone else? But who?

The Stellar mage didn't turn around, she would draw out the inevitable for as long as she could! She couldn't loose her first kiss to someone who didn't really love her.

Suddenly she felt arms embracing her from behind and judging from the red clothes, it was her admirer. If Lucy would have been honest and not scared to death, she would admit that it was actually a nice feeling to be held like that. Fried was warm and his embrace gentle. It wasn't a death grip, but tight enough to feel his strength.

"Don't run from me, chèrie. It makes me sad to think I may be the cause." Did he have to use that low and sensual tone in his voice? It caused Lucy's resolve to collapse like a house of cards.

He turned her around to face him. His emerald eyes seemed to look right into her soul. Lucy had to remind herself that this wasn't real! Fried would never do this if he was in his right mind. He came closer, intending to do what the rule he had written ordered. And maybe if Lucy closed her eyes, she could forget that this moment was only the consequence of an accident.

But before he could actually kiss her, Fried was thrown to the side. Gray thought the world, his world, was coming to an end. Fried wouldn't have her. His love for her was fake!

Lucy looked from Gray, to Fried and then to Evergreen. The wannabe Fairy was trapped in an ice cube. Her head, arms and feet were comically sticking out of it. She tried to free herself while she cried for her 'Mookie-Pookie Bear '.  

"Only over my dead body!" The ice mage muttered. He would protect his love! He always did!

Lucy knew Gray meant well, but how should she get out of the barrier now? Levy was too far away and she was sure Fried would rather kill Gray than lift the enchantment. Fried drew his sword, ready fight his rival and win his beautiful queen. Lucy realized how serious the rune mage was. She grabbed her comrade's arm stopping him from using his ice magic.

"Gray don't! Fried will..." She wanted to say 'kill you', but was cut off when Gray pinned her to an invisible wall.

"He will what? Set you free? Is that what you want? A kiss from a man who doesn't love you?"

Lucy wasn't sure. Was there a hint of pain in Gray's eyes?

Fried wanted to interfere, but was too late. Gray had claimed the lips of his beloved Stellar princess. It wasn't a gentle kiss, neither was it rough or hot. It mirrored what Gray felt for her. It was chaste. Loving. Pure!

Suddenly gravity pulled on Lucy's body and she fell backwards with Gray on top of her.

The barrier was gone.

Their audience had a pink glow in their eyes before it vanished. Both, Fried and Evergreen were back to normal. And a few feet away from them, someone else had regained their senses.  

Jubia stood there and looked at the scene with a defeated look in her eyes. She had lost the battle for Gray's heart against someone who hadn't even tried to compete with her. The water maiden looked down and tried to hide her tears, but to no avail. They were still visible on her cheeks.

Elfman had tripped over a root when he was on the run. Sitting on the ground, he asked himself why the girl in front of him went from overjoyed to heartbroken in two seconds. He looked over his shoulder to see what Jubia was staring at, then he understood what this was all about. Gray had finally made a decision and Jubia was not part of it.

Her shoulders started to tremble and a sob escaped her lips.

"...Jubia...uhm, ..." Elfman didn't know what to say or how to comfort her. So he just fell back into his usual pattern.

"...crying is not manly, you know?" He was trying hard, he really was.

She let out one or two sobs before she took a deep breath.

"Elfman-san ...could you, ...could you do a favor for Jubia?" It was hushed as if she was afraid to speak louder.

The take-over mage nodded only. What else could he do?

"Would you take Jubia home? To Fairy Hills? ....Jubia feels lonely..." One could read too much into her words, however the white-haired man knew she meant something else. She'd lost her crush, to a friend nonetheless. Now she felt like the whole world had forsaken her. Standing up, he dusted off his pants before following the water mage through the park in silence.

Lucy's thoughts were going in circles, but one thought remained. Fried's enchantment had been broken! The rule demanded 'a kiss of love'.

Gray had kissed her.

Words could be lies. Feelings could be faked. But magic would always see the truth. Gray loved her. He wasn't under a spell. His love was real. Even though she hadn't really thought of Gray as being more than a friend to her (Especially when Jubia would always claim him for herself) she could definitely get used to the idea of them being together.

~o~o~o~

The spell was gone the next morning. The members of Fairy Tail returned back to normal, or as normal as it could be in this guild.

Some were embarrassed by their actions. Macao and Wakaba didn't talk to each other and probably wouldn't for some time. Droy refused to look at Jet no matter how many times the other apologized. But he couldn't really hide the blush staining his cheeks whenever Jet kneeled in front of him in the traditional way and beg for forgiveness. Loki and Plue refused to leave the stellar realm. They wouldn't show up until they were absolutely sure that everything was alright again. And Cana would only drink when she was certain that Natsu was nowhere near her. She was afraid to be caught of guard. Fried, Bixlow and Evergreen vowed to never tell a single soul of this incident. Not even Laxus!

Makarov decided to burn that request and for the future, he would refuse all requests that had to do with translation or ancient languages. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the guild ever got hold of other spells.

Others were happier than before. That spell did what many members of the guild thought impossible to do. It brought Bisca and Alzack together. They were both so dense around each other, that everyone had given up hope of them being together some day.

Gajeel was lucky that Erza hadn't killed him for ruining her favorite armor. He was sure, his little Bookworm had something to do with it. 'His' Bookworm... even if the Iron mage wasn't one who did the mushy stuff. It felt good to think of her as his and know she wouldn't want it any other way.

Jubia got over her heartbreak. It took some time and eventually she warmed up to the natural charm of a certain take-over mage.

But the happiest of all were Gray and Lucy. This 'Love Ring' spell may had been chaotic but in the end, it brought together what belonged together.

~o~o~o~

End.