Chapter 16: Interlude

A/N: A winter interlude! Because I love the season and want to indulge myself. This chapter is just fluff guys, pure fluff! You have been warned :)

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This year, Fairy Tail had chosen to go on a winter retreat as their end-of-the-year annual bonding event. Master Makarov thought a few days away from their work would be a good way for everyone to relax after their victory in the Grand Magic Game and the subsequent months of non-stop job requests.

Their destination of choice was Mountain Hakobe, just a few hours away from the guild. Per Master's order, all of the members were required to go on the trip, not that anyone would have chosen to stay home anyway. After the event on Tenrou Island, their number had reduced greatly, there were now only roughly twenty-five or so members in their family.

With that in mind, and their guild's tendency to bring troubles wherever they went, Master Makarov decided to hire an entire resort at the foot of the mountain for themselves, wisely choosing to stay away from civilization save for the staff at the resort.

The retreat would be for three days and two nights. All of them gathered at the guild in the morning, bright and early, eagerly chatting among themselves as they waited for their vehicles. Erza made sure to pack extra winter clothing with her this time, because Lucy sometimes forgot she couldn't stand the cold as well as most of them could, a side effect of spending too much time with their team. Gray had never been bothered by the chill, Natsu had his natural high body temperature to protect himself, and Erza was just used to the extreme weather during all her years working on missions in various regions. That just left Lucy and Wendy.

"But Erza, these clothes are heavy. I won't look cute in them." Lucy pouted, but Erza was having none of it.

"Fashion is not worth it if you get sick, Lucy. And you can't just hide inside Horologium every time we go outside either. Stop whining, I'm the one who will carry our luggage, you don't even have to do anything besides wearing them."

It took them half a day to reach their destination, a beautiful wooden mansion at the foot of Mount Hakobe. The head of the resort staff met them at the entrance, a professional smile on his face as he gave them a tour around the property. The resort had two floors and a basement underneath. All of their bedrooms were on the second floor, the first floor was for the kitchen, living room, and other common areas. And a game room took up the entire basement, with billard and ping pong tables, bowling lanes, a karaoke machine in the corner with a mini bar to the side. Erza could already imagine the headache when they inevitably destroyed the room during some stupid competition with each other, and judging by Master Makarov's white face, he must have realized that as well.

The first thing they did before settling in their respective bedrooms was choosing their roommates. By random draw, per Mirajane's insistence, just because "It would be fun to let fate decide this kind of thing! Don't you think so, Erza?!"

And, as fate dictated, Erza got Wendy as her roommate while Lucy was stuck with Juvia.

"Juvia does not want to stay with her love rival!" The Water mage objected immediately.

"How many more times do I have to say, I'm not your love rival!" The Celestial mage yelled, "And I don't want to stay with you either. I want to be with Erza!"

"Oh." Cana leaned closer and slung an arm over the blonde's shoulder, mirthful grin on her face, "Do tell, why do you want to be in the same room with Erza, all alone huh? Are you planning to do something to her?" The suggestive tone left almost no room for imagination, and Lucy's face flushed bright red at the implication before weakly stuttering out some more dignified responses.

Erza could feel blood rushing to the tips of her ears as well, but thankfully no one paid her too much attention as the draws moved to the guys' sleeping arrangement. Gray heaved a relieved sigh and threw Natsu over to Laxus, having dragged the Salamander with him the whole way after they got out of the carriage. The blond man just casually sidestepped his roommate's body flying at him, letting Natsu plummet to the floor with a weak groan.

Erza kissed Lucy on the grumpy girl's forehead with a whispered "Behave" before moving away to their rooms to get settled in, making sure to drop the blonde's suitcases at her room, choosing to dismiss Lucy and Juvia's harmless bickering just a few feet behind her.

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A few hours later, Erza was in the kitchen with Mirajane and Lisanna, preparing dinner for all of them. Lucy had bounced in half an hour earlier with a quick kiss to her cheek and sat down on a chair at the counter, eyes wide as she observed Erza and Mira moving around efficiently among the pots and pans simmering on the stove.

Mira had shooed away the blonde's attempt to help them and simply pushed Lisanna over to keep the girl company, leaving only the two of them behind to prepare all the food, which Erza did not mind. It was a well-rehearsed dance they knew by heart, having been in this situation many times before. Mira giving out directions, and Erza following dutifully.

Natsu and Gray found them sometime later, along with Juvia and Wendy, "Erza! Let's have a snowball fight!" The Salamander stopped in his tracks when he saw them in the kitchen, "Oh, you guys are making dinner. In that case, do you want help?! I can roast everything for you very quickly!"

Erza had to admire Natsu's energy, right after he had been half-dead in their long carriage ride all the way here. Gray nodded along, "You guys have any food that needs to be served cold? If you do, I'm your man. Or do you need more knives or any other cooking stuff? I can make literally anything."

"It's fine. Go play, Erza" Mirajane answered before the redhead could. The Take Over mage shook her head at Erza's frown, "Take Lucy with you. I have Lisanna with me, and I can always rob Cana into helping, too."

"Uh, can Juvia stay here and help you, Mira-san?" Juvia asked nervously. "Juvia has always wanted to cook dinner for Gray-sama." To which the white-haired girl just chuckled with a delighted nod.

Erza relented at Mirajane's insistent push, because the oldest Strauss sibling could be very headstrong when she wanted to be, "Alright. But we are making dinner tomorrow, right guys?"

Natsu grinned excitedly, "Yep, dinner is on us tomorrow! Now come on, I need to show this pervert my awesome power in the snow!"

"You're not a Snow Dragon Slayer, dumbass! There is nothing to get worked up for!" Gray shot back.

"Please refrain from overdoing it this time." Carla sighed, "Just because we're far away from other people doesn't mean you guys are free to destroy everything around you." The warning fell on deaf ears, as always.

The scenery awaited them outside was beautiful. The world around them was covered in a majestic layer of pure white snow, clear blue sky high up above their heads. It was not too cold since the snow had stopped sometime during their travel to the resort, which made the perfect weather for a snowball fight.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were one team. Gray, Erza, and Wendy were the other. Carla had opted to stay out of the mess and simply observe from her safe place on a tree branch a short distance away.

"Lucy, do your best to destroy them! I'll take care of our defense! None of their snowballs can get through my fire barricade!" Natsu laughed maniacally, and Lucy just shook her head in exasperation.

"Open, Gates of the Maiden and the Lion. Virgo, Leo." The two Spirits appeared at Lucy's command, both dressed in appropriate winter attire, "Make as many snowballs as you can and throw at them!"

"That's cheating!" Gray yelled out in indignation, "You can't bring more people to your side!"

"Scared you will lose, Gray?" Loke smirked from his place by Lucy's side, two snowballs already in hand.

Erza punched Gray on his shoulder, "Focus! They are about to attack. It's not the time to complain!" Before requipping into her Heaven Wheel Armor, but with multiple shovels and snow scoops instead of her usual circle of swords.

"Not if we attack first! Ice Cannon: Snowballs!"

"Fire Dragon Barricade!"

"Dance, my snowballs!"

"Virgo Special: Princess's Absolute Defense."

"Enchantment: Vernier, Arms, Armor."

"Regulus Impact: Divine Snowballs Lightwave."

"Ice Make: Wall!"

"Fleuve d'etoiles: Whipping Snow!"

It truly did not take long for their fight to turn disastrous as usual, due to Natsu's idiotic and over-destructive tendency. Erza was lost as to how their simple snowball fight had turned into, well, this.

"You are going down, Gray! Fire Dragon Secret Art," Natsu growled, ignoring Lucy's loud yells of dissent from next to him, "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" The intensity of the spell knocked Lucy sideway into Virgo and Leo, the blonde yelped as both Spirits fell on top of her in the mess. Erza was glad at least she had made Lucy put on a heavy winter coat over her normal clothes before they went out.

"Requip: Fire Empress Armor! Go, Gray, Wendy!" The redhead quickly brushed away Natsu's attack to the side with her sword. This war was going to end, now. Victory was already within their grasp.

"Ice Make: Snow Blizzard!"

"Sky Dragon Secret Art: Sky Drill!" Even Wendy was not immune to their team's competitiveness at times. Erza spared a second to wonder whether they should have been better role models to the girl.

The combined force of Gray and Wendy's attack created a huge snowstorm, enough to bury Natsu and Lucy under several feet of snow, having been caught off guard. Loke and Virgo already disappeared back to the Celestial world since the blonde's concentration was broken with their defeat. Erza ran to the enormous pile of snow, not wanting to let her girlfriend stay submerged too long inside the frozen heap.

Happy was already there, digging the Fire Dragon Slayer out of the mess and proceeding to do the same with Lucy. The blue cat whined as soon as he saw Erza getting closer, "Erza! Come get your girlfriend. She's too heavy!"

"I'm not, stupid cat!"

"You're heavier than Natsu!"

The Requip mage frowned and reached out, easily scooped Lucy up in her arms in a bridal carry while Gray strutted over to laugh at Natsu's angry scowl. Carla, as predicted, flew above their heads and berated them for going over the top like always. Erza requipped into a big winter coat with a fur collar just so Lucy could burrow her face in it, seeking warmth like a small, lazy, soaked cat.

The blonde's voice was timid when she asked, a few minutes later, "Am I really that heavy, Erza?"

Their group started making their way back to the resort, feeling uncomfortable in the wet clothes with snow clinging to it. Natsu was already grunting about how hungry he was. "Nonsense, Lucy, you're not. You're even lighter than just one of my suitcases." And she meant it, Erza could not understand how Happy kept wailing about Lucy's weight while clearly the Celestial mage must be the lightest one in their team, excluding Wendy and the Exceeds. Erza would know, because she had picked up both Natsu and Gray with just one hand before, on multiple occasions.

"Pretty sure Happy would disagree with you there..." Lucy grumbled quietly.

"Don't mind him, he can carry Natsu all he likes. From now on, I'll be the one who carries you. But I can't really fly though..." Erza frowned, trying to remember if any of her armors had aviation ability for an extended period of time. She might need to commission a special one then.

Even the thick white fur could not hide the lovely hue of Lucy's blush at that, all the way to the mansion in the far distance, and Erza held the girl in her arms closer, letting their breaths mingle into ashen puffs dancing away in the chilly, tranquil air.

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It was late when they finished dinner, and the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to most of them. Gray and Natsu crashed right after the meal, Gajeel and Laxus had to drag the two imbeciles to their respective rooms. Their other friends dispersed as well, leaving just a few of them to retreat to the small library on the north side of the resort for a simple, relaxing time. A girls' night, as Mirajane duped it.

Erza and Lucy were sitting at one end of the couch, the blonde resting her head on Erza's shoulder, Cana at the other end. Mirajane and Lisanna were on another couch perpendicular to theirs while Juvia and Levy took up the two armchairs in the room, leaving Wendy and Carla curled up together on the rug in front of Lucy.

Slow, easy chatters filled the room. It had been a while since the last time Erza had the chance to sit back and catch up with her friends like this. The conversation somehow shifted to the topic of hers and Lucy's relationship, which was not particularly surprising considering current company.

"Lu-chan, you could have told me you like Erza, it's not like I won't understand." Levy winked and giggled at the blonde's visible embarrassment from across the small table between them. Erza only smiled fondly as Lucy turned to hide her reddened face in the crook of her neck.

"Juvia is glad that she now has fewer love rivals to worry about." Juvia mumbled under her breath, but Lucy apparently had keener ears than the girl had thought because the blonde poked her head out from Erza's neck just to snarl at the Water mage, "I was never your love rival to begin with! And please keep that in mind this time!"

"It's still strange to see everyone so different in the two years I was gone." Lisanna mused, "Erza and Mira-nee used to fight all the time, and now Erza already has a girlfriend. Are you going to have one too, Mira-nee?" All eyes in the room turned to the oldest Strauss sibling at that.

Mirajane just chuckled at the attention she was getting and shook her head slowly, "I don't think so, Lis. There is no one like that for me, at least not now. But it's alright. Love is a mysterious thing after all. It might come when we least expect it to."

Wendy tilted her head curiously at the response, "How will you know if you like someone that way, Mira-san?" To which Carla immediately scolded, "You're too young to think about that kind of thing, Wendy!"

"Now, now, there is no harm in knowing about love in case it comes sooner than expected." Mirajane calmly placated with a kind smile, "But for that question, why don't you ask the two lovebirds over there since they're the only ones with a significant other. Or Juvia too, for that matter."

Lucy grinned deviously at the opportunity, "You are forgetting Levy-chan here, Mira. Wendy, if you want to know how a person behaves when they like someone, just look at Levy whenever Gajeel so much as steps within ten feet from her." All of them laughed at Levy's bright red face and stuttered excuses after that.

Cana leaned down from her place on the couch, to be closer to the young Dragon Slayer sitting on the floor, "Ignore them, Wendy. They are all head over heels for idiots anyway." Erza frowned, feeling as if she should take offense to that statement. "When you are old enough, I will teach you everything you need to know about love and relationship."

"Stay away from her, you sleazy woman!" Carla objected instantly, "Wendy, you don't need love yet. Boys are just gross anyway!"

"Who says anything about just boys, Carla?" Cana smirked, "And are all boys gross, or just Happy? Because I think Panther Lily is a perfect gentleman, don't you think so?" The white cat just huffed and turned away from the conversation, dignified scowl in place.

Their banters gradually died out after that, the night was getting too late for some of them. Wendy was the first one to let out a big yawn and excused herself to her bedroom first, Carla on her heel. Mirajane and Lisanna left too, claiming they wanted to do some sister bonding before bedtime, Erza had no idea what that even meant. Cana ushered both Juvia and Levy out of the room with her, and the redhead could swear she saw Levy give Lucy a subtle wink on her way out, to which the blonde simply grinned right back.

That just left Erza and Lucy in the room, alone, by themselves. No chaperone.

Lucy nudged closer and placed a firm kiss on the underside of her jaw, and Erza felt a tremble running along her spine at the burning heat where the blonde's lips touched her skin. "I have something for you. Stay here, please?"

Erza could only nod as Lucy walked out the door, her silhouette disappeared into the white light of the corridor outside, a stark intrusion into the warm, quiet bubble they had enclosed themselves inside the small library. The redhead stood up and stretched out her limbs, hearing the satisfying crack from spending too long sitting in the same position. Erza crossed the room to the large fireplace opposite their couch, silently stoking the fire as she mused over what Lucy could possibly have for her.

A mission request? A strawberry cake? A new sword? Armor? Maybe her novel had finished? A snowball to keep as a memento for today? Handcuffs? What the heck...

Erza absent-mindedly picked up a blanket on her way back to the couch, mind still running with numerous scenarios, each one more ridiculous than the last. Thankfully Lucy returned in time before the redhead's brain could malfunction in anticipation. The blonde was hiding something behind her back, mischievous glints in her eyes as she sat down next to Erza.

"Ta-da!" Lucy's smile was bright when she presented the thing to her. A scarf.

A fluffy, wool, beige-color scarf. It looked so soft Erza was afraid of tainting it should she dare to touch, certain the poor little thing would fall apart in her callous hands. The Requip mage helplessly looked up into Lucy's eyes, her questions faded away like shadows at the first lights of dawn when met with the blonde's gentle smile.

"I have noticed that almost all of your outfits tend to leave your neck exposed, and you don't seem to have a habit of covering it with anything either. It's winter now, and as much as I like to look at your neck, you can catch a cold if you keep going outside like that."

Lucy placed the scarf in Erza's open palms, frowning as she felt how shaky the redhead's hands were. "I knitted it myself, so it's probably not as good as the ones you see in stores. But I made sure to use the thickest type of wool! So it might not look the best, but I think it can still keep you plenty warm."

Erza looked down at the scarf in her hands, silently marveled at the soft material, letting its enticing warmth seep into her heart from her fingertips. Tentatively. Timidly. Like a lover's tender caress.

She had always been a creature of small comforts, after all.

"Come here, I can put it on for you." Once again, Erza was helpless to the magnetic pull from the Celestial mage, and she leaned closer just so Lucy could wrap the scarf around her neck. First loop. Second loop. The blonde frowned as she hesitated at the third loop, "I think it's a bit too long. I will need to ask Mira how to fix it later..."

"Leave it." Erza's voice was thick when she breathed out, and the redhead had to swallow a few times around the lump in her throat. "I like it this way." I like you this way.

No one had ever done something this thoughtful for her. And Erza didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh at this unknown thing swelling inside her chest right now, free and unrestrained, so tight she couldn't breathe for a few seconds. You take my breath away.

There was a fire in Lucy's eyes, a reflection of the one from the fireplace a few feet away from them, burning so bright and yet simmering so gently, spreading out before coiling tight inside Erza's heart. Comforting, and safe, a world different from the scorching fire and its haunted scars chasing from her past, a long time ago.

"I was right." The blonde whispered. Quietly, lovingly, "Beige does bring out the color of your eyes."

"I really want to kiss you right now." Erza whispered back, because what else she was to do, when Lucy was being this way again.

The Celestial mage chuckled, reaching a hand up and caressed Erza's earlobe tenderly. The soft touch made Erza pleasantly distracted for a second. "And what's stopping you from doing that?"

"Can I kiss you then?"

Lucy's brown eyes crinkled at the corners, "You don't have to ask me that every time you want to kiss me, Erza."

"I don't? But I read that consent must be given before any intimate contact is initiated." She was sure of that, having come across it many times before, in all of her research into this relationship matter. Let it be known by everyone that Erza Scarlet never went into anything unprepared.

Lucy's laughter vibrated through the room, liberating and solid, "You read that? My God, Erza, how come no one has ever noticed how adorable you are?" The redhead's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "And sure, consent is of course required, but usually only for the first time. There are different degrees of intimacy in a relationship. Once consent is given the first time at each degree, there is no need for verbal confirmation the next time after that if the receiving partner is willing."

These were all new information, and Erza needed to absorb them quickly, "Then, how do I know if you are willing or not?"

"Hmm," Lucy tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Body language is the most common way. It's fairly easy to feel if a person is not receptive to one's advances. Think of it as similar to dancing, Erza, you can feel your partner's movements before they happen, right? Movements and intents, whether they are willing to follow your lead or not. If they don't want to, they will let you know."

That made sense enough, the redhead nodded slowly, making a mental note of it inside her head, "So, since I have already gotten your consent for kissing you the first time, from now on I can kiss you without directly asking you every time as long as you don't refute me, right?"

"Right." Lucy beamed at her for that.

Erza mulled the rest over, "I will make sure to leave you enough room to refute me if you want to, then. And because consent is only given for a degree, if I want to go further, I will need to ask your permission first, is that correct?"

"Y-yes..."

The redhead leaned closer, looked into Lucy's bright eyes and felt the hand that was on her earlobe slide down to her jaw in encouragement, satisfied at finding no rejection cue to her kiss in the charged air around them. Lucy smiled into the kiss, her other hand came up to tug on Erza's new scarf, and the redhead got the subtle hint to push in even closer.

All of this was still terrifyingly new to her, but Erza could get used to it. One step at a time.

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The sun shining through the curtains of the room woke Erza from her slumber, and she had to blink a few times to get rid of the lingering sleepiness clinging to her in a cocoon of warm happiness.

The first thing Erza noticed was a weight on her chest. Or more like someone. The redhead smiled, seemed like she and Lucy had somehow fallen asleep in the library yesterday, right on the couch, Erza on her back while Lucy curled up to the side, head tucked in the Requip mage's neck. Not really a good position for them to sleep in, but Erza didn't really mind as long as she got to run her fingers through silky golden strands the first thing in the morning like this.

Mirajane came to find them a while later, footsteps so light when she noticed Lucy still sleeping soundly in Erza's arms. The Take Over mage shook her head fondly and informed Erza that Natsu and the others were looking for them, shouting something about an exploration to the mountain. Erza let out a deep sigh.

"Has the idiot been fed yet?" Because Natsu got grumpy and unbearable when he was hungry. And Erza refused to deal with it in such a good morning. At Mirajane's nod, Erza simply sighed again. Duty called. Babysitting duty.

Per Natsu's insistence, they went up the mountain and explored some of the caves there. Erza had to admit, it was a magnificent sight, the way mountain light refracted on various ice shards inside to paint rainbow palettes on the pure white world stretching around them. Lucy quietly recalled her first mission with Natsu at this very mountain, to come here and solve the mysteries about Macao's worrying disappearance, and Erza, brand new scarf wrapped around her neck, let the blonde hold her hand as she talked.

Natsu kept his promise of taking care of dinner that night, and they all had an outdoor barbeque again. Erza hummed as she bit into her meal, at this rate, the Salamander and Happy could open up their own grill restaurant any time soon.

Their team spent some much-appreciated time with other members of the guild in the evening, gathering at the game room in the basement for a series of friendly competitions. Erza was destroying everyone at the pool table when Bisca bounced over, a playful grin on her face as the Gun mage challenged Erza to a battle of billiards amidst everyone's shocked ohs and cheers. For old time's sake, Bisca winked.

Challenged accepted, Erza grinned right back. Who was she to deny a worthy opponent when they actively seek her out like this.

The excitement lasted well into the night, but 2 am was bound to be at some of them's limits. Lucy walked over and practically fell down next to Erza's side when she was waiting her turn at the karaoke machine. The blonde had just finished a round of ping pong with Natsu, which was just a recipe for disaster in the first place.

"Tired?" Erza chuckled, feeling Lucy's weary nod into her shoulder, "That's what you get for trying to one-up Natsu at something."

"He is so mean to me. He won't let me win, and now he has destroyed the table before I can get my revenge." The blonde let out a big yawn, practically falling asleep at Erza's side.

This wouldn't do. They already slept on a couch the night before, twice in a row would be bad for their spines. The redhead turned around and gingerly picked Lucy up, one hand at her back while the other under her knees, silently moving over to the stairs and started making her way to Lucy and Juvia's room on the second floor of the building.

Lucy was so quiet when she slept, and upon reaching the right room, Erza was pondering how she would open the door without having to wake the blonde when said door opened. Juvia's form appeared at the threshold, "Erza-san?"

"Ah, Juvia. Thank you for opening, I was wondering how to knock. How do you know I was here anyway?" Erza nodded her thanks as the Water mage stepped aside to let the redhead carry Lucy in.

"Erza-san, you have quite firm footsteps, even without the usual clinks from your armor. Very distinctive, in fact." She could feel Juvia's eyes bore into her back as she set Lucy down on the blonde's unoccupied bed and carefully tucked the girl in under a thick blanket.

When Erza straightened up, she turned around to thank Juvia once more before noticing a knitting set in the middle of the bluenette's bed. From the look of it, the Water mage was in the process of knitting something when Erza got here. Come to think of it, she was sure it was the reason why Juvia did not join them at the game room tonight. "Are you knitting something, Juvia? If you don't mind me asking, that's it."

Juvia nodded timidly, "Yes, Juvia is. It is a scarf for Gray-sama." Erza's eyebrows rose at the coincidence. "Has Lucy given you yours yet, Erza-san?"

At the redhead's surprised look, the Water mage lowered her head and sighed, "Mira-san taught both of us how to knit scarves. It was Lucy's idea first, and Juvia wanted to make one for Gray-sama too. But she was not happy with how it turned out the first two times. And this," Juvia touched the black scarf at her side on the bed, "This is already Juvia's third attempt, but she still feels like it's not good enough for Gray-sama. Too many mistakes, and the threads are so uneven.."

Erza crossed the room to sit down next to Juvia on her bed, concerned at the disheartened expression on the bluenette's face, "A gift doesn't need to be perfect, Juvia. It's the thought that matters. Lucy also feels like hers was not as good as she had hoped for, but to me it was irreplaceable. I appreciate the gesture, and the care woven into it, too. I'm sure no matter how your scarf turns out, Gray would never think of it as anything less than perfect once you give it to him."

"... You really think so, Erza-san?" A flicker of hope blossomed in Juvia's dark eyes, and Erza chuckled at the girl's eager tone, "Yes, I do, Juvia."

Erza left the Water mage to ponder on that with a gentle pat to her knee, closing the door gently on her way out of the room. It was all she could do for now, the rest was Juvia and Gray's own to figure out.

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Everyone slept in the next morning since there was nothing on the agenda for the day. They would start the journey back to the guild once everyone was awake enough and already had breakfast.

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy were waiting at the front door with most of their members. The redhead smiled when Gray appeared around the corner a few minutes later, a familiar black scarf wrapped around his neck, and the handsome man blushed slightly upon feeling Erza's eyes linger on his newest winter articles.

Natsu was the first one to voice out his thoughts about it, "Oi, stripper, why the hell are you wearing a scarf all of a sudden?"

"That's none of your business, squinty eyes!" Gray shot right back, seamlessly shifted into arguing mood at the sight of a fuming Natsu.

"It is! You are trying to copy me!" Natsu growled and jumped over to bump head with the Ice-Make wizard.

"I'm not! At least mine matches my hair. Yours is just outlandish, probably because your hair color is an eyesore!"

"What?! It goes with my outfit, dumbass. And mine was made by a dragon! Try to beat that!"

"Ha, mine was made by a human, you useless lizard!"

"There is nothing special about that, pervert!"

"My, my." Mirajane giggled from next to Erza, the stupid argument had attracted most of their members' attention, "At this rate people are gonna start calling your team Team Scarves soon, Erza."

The redhead shrugged, feeling the alluring warmth around her own neck spread to her entire body at the movement. If that's what people want to address their team, let them. She really didn't have any objection to that.

Maybe she should get Lucy a matching one as well, then.

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A/N: Votes and comments are welcome!