Chapter Eighteen - A Day At The Beach

They'd done a lot together, and she'd started to come to think of them as her group. Her team. Natsu, Gray, and Erza. She hadn't been entirely sure about inviting Erza - she was also Lee's girlfriend, so maybe she'd want to stick around? - but she'd become sure the moment that she saw Erza's face light up. She instantaneously Requipped to wear a bikini, even though they were still in Magnolia and not anywhere close to Akane Beach yet. "I have to go get prepared! What should I pack, hmm," she started, clearly already falling deep into thought.

Lucy had a certain suspicion about how much Erza would be packing, given her past experiences with the woman, but her energy was infectious, and she found a smile tugging at her lips as well. "Ah, Lee will be left all alone, with only Konata, Juvia, and Levy to keep him company," Erza said, more to herself than to Lucy. "But there are only four tickets. Perhaps I should purchase one for him? No... ah! I only just returned but I'm already being pulled away!"

"If you don't want to go, that's-"

"I want to go! I really want to go!" Erza was now shaking Lucy with perhaps a bit too much energy, as if she was terrified that she would be denied the chance to go.

"O-o-o-o-k-k-k-kay-ay-ay," Lucy stuttered out as she was violently thrashed back and forth. "St-stop sh-sh-shaking m-m-me." Instantly Erza stopped, straightening up and looking chastened. Lucy let out a sigh of relief as she was finally released from Erza's powerful death grip and frantic, desperate attempt to ensure she could come with her. "If you want to go, you can."

"Ah." Erza nodded as if recognizing some deep wisdom. "The old trick of resolving ambivalent feelings by forcing a single result upon the person. If they hate the result, you know they truly wished for the other. You may be smarter than I gave you credit for." She said it in a way that more implied that Lucy was super-smart, rather than that she had thought Lucy was dumb before. At least, Lucy sure hoped that was what she meant.

"Ah... yeah. Yep. That was my plan all along," she agreed, giving Erza a thumbs up. She did want to impress the incredibly powerful S-class wizard, after all, even if this was a little absurd. "So, it'll be you, me, Natsu, and Gray."

"It will indeed. I'll go prepare myself, and tell Lee that I won't be able to visit him for a few days. He's quite understanding about such things."

"I'll bet." Obviously, since he had three other girls to be a pervert with and around.

* * *

Erza seemed very enthused to be out with the team, Lucy had to admit. Even the apparent hesitation she had had about not bringing Lee along had vanished into thin air, as she traveled with uninhibited glee, gigantic luggage in tow behind her. She wore a bikini (and really well, at that - Lucy felt a tad self-conscious about her curves) as the sun beat down on them.

"Let's play a game of volleyball, two against two," Erza suggested to the ground, her eyes seeming to light up as she saw the field.

"I'm on Erza's team!" Lucy tried to say it as quickly as possible, but Gray managed to step on her words, blurting it out in near simultaneity as they both tried to get on what was (obviously) the winning team.

"I am apparently quite popular," Erza said, bowing her head slightly and rubbing her chin as she considered whether to take Lucy or Gray on her team. "Obviously Gray is the superior volleyball player, so I will choose him."

"Alright!" Gray declared triumphantly, and Lucy felt herself involuntarily twitch as his hand moved down towards his waist as if considering simply tearing away his swim trunks. Fortunately, he didn't actually do that.

Rather predictably, Erza completely stomped on them. Lucy lost heart only a couple points in, though Natsu fought his hardest to the bitter end. Gray taunted plenty throughout the game, even though it was obvious that Erza was entirely carrying him. The final result was a complete blowout, Lucy and Natsu having not managed to score a single point.

"That was an excellent bout," Erza said, rolling her shoulders in satisfaction. "Let's go again. Lucy, you'll be on my team this time."

"Oh yeah! Let's see how smug you can be when you're on my team, Gray!"

"How could I be smug when I'm on a team with a zero-win loser!" Gray countered.

Lucy was just happy to not be getting brutally annihilated in the game. Admittedly, Erza's extreme speed and strength meant she didn't get to contribute much, but that also made it more relaxing, especially as the Gray-Natsu duo turned on one another with a viciousness normally reserved for bitter exes.

* * *

Lucy had a hard time imagining there was anything much better than ice cream on a warm beach. Erza lay alongside her, wearing a pair of sunglasses that hid her eyes. She was curious, so... "You're good being away from Lee for a few days? You two seem pretty close, and I know you just recently got back from helping Ur out..."

"Ah." Erza smiled as she rose to a seated position from where she was lying. "You see, I told Lee where I was going, of course. He wished me only the best, then Konata took him aside to whisper something to him - I avoided eavesdropping, as it's rude -" even though she was sure it wasn't, Lucy couldn't help but feel called out by that line, "-and Lee came right back to tell me not to worry, and that this little trip would provide the perfect opportunity to surprise me with something very pleasant and fun. I'm looking forward to finding out what it is," she said, with all the glee of a girl in love.

"Is he really that great?" Lucy asked, taking another lick of her vanilla ice cream before it could dribble out any further.

"He is," Erza agreed immediately and with absolutely no hesitation. Lucy had gotten the impression that Erza could often be headstrong and blunt even when it wasn't necessarily a good idea, so she couldn't count on Erza's surety to mean much of anything, really.

"Like how? I mean, it's you and three other girls... isn't it hard?"

"Mm. He is quite hard, yes." Erza smiled at that, completely unabashed about making that kind of comment.

"I mean isn't it difficult to satisfy four women! Emotionally!" She added quickly.

"It might very well be. I have never tried it. But Lee has shown himself capable of finding the narrow path to make us all happy," she declared, beginnning to wax poetic. "He soothes Juvia's insecurity, satisfies and directs Konata's petulance, drives me wild with lust, and brings a confident smile to Levy's lips." She was actually starting to light up with lust as she spoke, which was seriously crazy, given what they were talking about. It wasn't even sex! It was her boyfriend, in the casual, emotional way! Did he have some kind of magic spell?!

"Are you under a charm spell from him?" Lucy asked, somewhat suspicious. It seemed really ridiculous, how many girls this guy could pull...

"No! Lee wouldn't do something like that," Erza said. "He's thoughtful and considerate, Lucy. Truly, I can't wait to find out what surprise he has prepared for me back home, it has me trembling with excitement." The way she said it made it pretty clear she thought it was going to be a sexy surprise, so Lucy resolved to let the matter drop.

"I'm afraid the surprise isn't back home," came the voice of Lee from behind them, "but instead here." Erza shot to her feet instantly, her breasts bouncing quite substantially from the sheer force with which she straightened up. Lucy turned more lazily, seeing Lee, accompanied by Konata, Levy, and Juvia. Juvia was practically hanging off him, her eyes darting around the beach as if seeking out some target to hiss at or bite the head off of.

"Lee? And Konata, Levy, and Juvia!" Erza said in surprise. "I am happy to see you here."

"I bought a room for the four of us, and tickets," Lee said with a smile.

"What? This place is super expensive! I never even see you take any guild quests, how can you afford it?" She had seen Erza take guild quests... was she acting as Lee's sugar mama? It all made sense, he was taking advantage of Erza and using her money to keep Levy and Juvia and Konata around!

"I am quite the talented home repairman, plumber, and doctor," Lee explained. "I have been doing numerous odd jobs through Magnolia, and many come visit me rather than a traditional specialist when they have a problem of the kind I can handle." He puffed himself up proudly at that. "It leaves me with plenty of money with which to dote on the beautiful women I love so very dearly." He kissed Juvia's forehead, then Konata's, then dragged Levy close to suckle on her neck, earning a giggle, a sharp blush, and a bit of playful push-back from the girl.

"Not in public!" Levy said, still having a laughing lilt to her voice.

"I can hardly restrain myself around your beauty," he told Levy, earning more giggles from the girl, her fingers playfully running across his bare chest and groping him. Juvia started grabbing at him too - only Konata managed to restrain herself.

Lucy deflated as she realized that Lee really was 'all that' and that she hadn't just found out that he was mooching off Erza, which would have been just about the juiciest bit of gossip imaginable. (Maybe she could use that idea in a novel still? It could be an interesting character trait...) Still! He was doing this right in front of Erza, Titania, the S-Class Wizard! He was practically making out with Levy's neck while said girl wore a bikini, and-

Erza was blushing and fidgeting scarlet, staring at the scene like it was the sexiest thing she'd ever seen. "May I come visit your room?" Erza asked, almost panting as she said it. Holy crap! He really had her good!

"Please, Erza," Lee said. "You're always welcome in any place I make my bed. But we've only just arrived! We can enjoy spending time together, and with Lucy, Natsu, and Gray!" He smiled warmly at Lucy, and somehow she got the feeling that he was more interested in spending time with her than with Natsu or Gray.

"Let's do a volleyball championship! Team Natsu versus Team Lee!"

"Are we a team now?" Levy asked, sounding surprised at the idea. "I don't think we've done that much team-y stuff."

"I can't even do anything other than get used as a sword," Konata said, collapsing onto the ground in feigned uselessness.

"I have been teaching you the rudiments of armed combat, as I recall," Lee said, a slight disapproving note to his voice.

"Yeah but I haaate physical activity. Also it's volleyball, swordplay doesn't help with that."

"If you do not wish to participate in Lucy's proposed volleyball battle, I see no reason why you should," Erza offered Konata.

"Yeah, see?" Konata said from the ground.

"Of course, that simply means that it will be four against three!" Erza's lips curled up into a wild smile, and any worry Lucy might have had that Erza was being subject to some kind of mind magic vanished in a heartbeat as she drew up a fist in challenge to Lee. "Natsu! Gray!" Erza shouted the words out, and the pair came immediately. "Lucy has just challenged Lee, Levy, and Juvia to a volleyball championship. Konata has declined to participate, so it will be three against four!"

Levy seemed less than certain about a 4v3, glancing over at Lucy with eyes that seemed to plead for mercy. Ah... if she didn't want to... "I'll sit it out," Lucy said. "That way it's fair. Or I could take a role on your team, Lee, if one of you wants to sit it out?"

"Wait, hang on," Natsu said. "I thought you were the one who challenged them? How come you're taking their side?"

"Lucy's loopy!" Happy "helpfully" offered by way of explanation, and Natsu somehow seemed to accept it.

"I guess that's true. She is pretty crazy." Lucy landed a heavy hit on the back of Natsu's head, making him let out a noise of pain. "Ow! What the heck was that for?"

Konata was giggling again, gah! "It was a reminder to focus on what we're doing! You've got to win for our team, Natsu!"

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "I'm all fired up!" He let out a burst of flame as if to emphasize the point.

"Do you remember literally anything?" Gray asked, with a shake of his head. "Lee, are you guys actually doing this?"

"Whatever my beloved Lee says, I'll do without hesitation!" Juvia said, looking up at Lee. Her expression was completely impossible to read. Well, no, it was very very easy to read (she was like a puppy dog looking at its owner, so excitable you wouldn't have been surprised to see a tail wagging behind her), but it was impossible to tell whether she'd rather participate or not, like her love had blotted out any other possible feeling she could have expressed with her body language.

"I can see no reason not to engage in a friendly match of volleyball with our friends," Lee declared, puffing up his chest and letting out a laugh. "Levy?"

"Oh. I'm not very good at this kind of thing, but, since it's a match between friends..."

"Don't worry," Erza said, her voice conciliatory. "I won't intentionally spike the ball into your face."

"...that doesn't make me not worry," Levy said, her expression paling as she hid behind Lee.

Nevertheless, after a couple minutes, the group was on the field. Natsu and Gray pretty much tripped over each other, but fortunately Erza was so much better than everyone else that it hardly mattered. Levy was pretty much just fretting about the field, and Lee managed a few counter-attacks while Juvia did most of the weightlifting, using her body-of-water magic to swish around the field and knock the volleyball back, a fiercely competitive look in her eyes as she stared down Erza like the (serenely joyous) woman was her archrival.

Konata wound up sitting next to her, and Lucy had to admit she had the temptation to capture the girl in a headlock, but decided she was far too mature to do something like that. Especially since Happy was right there and would probably make fun of her if she did do it.

"So... Lee..." Lucy said, as the game proceeded onward.

"I know." Konata replied, with apparent solemnity. "He isn't very good at volleyball."

"That's not what I was gonna say!" Konata gave her a wry look like she had done that on purpose. "I was just wondering. What's it like?"

"Well..." Konata shrugged. "I'm supposed to be his wingman, so," she started counting on her fingers, "he's a really good chef, but Juvia likes cooking more so he lets her do it all nowadays, he's incredibly good at sex, his magic means I'm basically totally safe, and he buys me games to play and books to read so I have something to do. He's very sorry I can't play any more VNs or watch any more anime."

"What's an anime?" Lucy asked.

Konata just let out the longest sigh she had ever heard, wistfully staring into the distance, one hand rising towards the horizon as if to pluck a star from the sky (even though it was daytime). "Something I may never see again in this life. Had I known that this would be my fate, I would have watched even more..." she trailed off, as if in thought. "Well, that's not really possible, though. If I'd watched more, my parents would have taken away my TV privileges since my grades would have suffered." She smiled. "If you think about it that way, I lived the most perfect life I possibly could, and I have no regrets."

"Is that how you look at it?"

"No!" She collapsed to the ground and began rolling around as if in pain. "I'll never get to watch or read any more One Piece! I'll never find out what happens! Whyyyyy?" She whined, writhing in agony. "All I have instead is basically infinite money, a hot guy who fucks me for hours at a time, and homecooked meals by people who don't expect pretty much anything from me! Isn't my life terrible?"

"Yeah. Sounds real bad," Lucy commiserated, in an obviously insincere tone of voice.

"You believe me, don't you, Happy?" Konata asked, grabbing the flying cat suddenly and without warning.

"Aye! Your life is a misery!" Happy said.

"Oh, thank you, Happy. I was so worried that I'd never meet someone who truly appreciated what I'm going through." She just squeezed the flying cat close to her chest and let out a long sigh. By the satisfied smirk on her lips, Lucy rather got the impression that Konata was perfectly content with her situation and just wanted an excuse to snuggle Happy. Or maybe crush Happy, given how tight her grip seemed to be.

"Team Natsu is victorious!" Erza declared with pride, standing up straight as she looked around the field. Levy was pretty much cowering behind Lee after some barrage of volleyballs had left gouges in the field. Juvia was panting with exertion, looking deeply disappointed, but Lee simply raised one hand and suddenly Juvia was completely renewed in her energy, looking confident. "That was a hard-fought battle, though I can't help but feel as if Natsu and Gray were too busy fighting to do their part," she said, wheeling around to find the pair gripping one another for just a fraction of a second before they stopped. "Do you not see what kind of situation you've put me in?"

"Uh..." Natsu started, hesitating, glancing at Gray for some kind of clue. The other boy just shrugged.

"If I am to present this as a victory by our team, that would give you two far too much credit, given your malingering and infighting! Yet, if I claim the victory solely for myself, I appear like an egotist. If only you two could behave yourselves, I would be able to proudly declare this a victory forged of teamwork, yet instead you've left me looking like a crass knave for refusing to give you credit you don't deserve!" She pointed one finger at Natsu and Gray in challenge, and both seemed to cower before it.

"If I might," Lee said, and instantly Erza's posture changed as she turned to Lee. "Perhaps you could instead offer up your victory to a third party. If you were to dedicate it to Lucy, for example, who arranged the fight, it neither unfairly gives credit to Natsu and Gray-"

"Hey, watch it!" Natsu half-bit out, but Lee continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"-but neither does it make you appear to be a glory hound incapable of gratitude. Further, it would make the sportsmanlike, well-behaved, and beautiful Lucy quite happy, I'm sure," he added, glancing her way and giving a playful wink.

"I fail to see how her beauty relates to this, but I take your words as well-intentioned and quite wise," Erza agreed with a brisk nod. "I hereby dedicate this victory to Lucy Heartfilia, the heart and soul of Team Natsu!" She raised one finger into the sky as she made the declaration, and a few people nearby glanced their way, which made Lucy feel insanely embarrassed.

But it was also a little bit in a good way? Erza was recognizing her. Kinda. It made her feel a kind of warm fuzziness that could only come from the approval of someone you genuinely respected, even if the reason for that approval was a tad inane.

Lee gave her a wink, as if to say it was his plan all along. She couldn't even get mad at him this time.

* * *

The remainder of the day passed very happily. There were no more intense competitions of the kind that Erza seemed to greatly enjoyed - they sunned themselves, played in the water, laughed and told jokes. At one point, Gray and Natsu tricked a blindfolded Erza into smacking Lee right in the head, which made her profusely apologize, going so far as to kowtow to Lee, who just laughed and told her that he wasn't angry at all. At another, Juvia began a splash fight with Konata which seemed very one-sided and unfair (given that she was an extremely talented water mage and Konata was lucky not to collapse from heatstroke), until Lee broke it up and just held Juvia in his arms until she calmed down and melted against him.

"This has been a fun day, hasn't it?" Levy asked her, as the sun began to just crest against the horizon, the tiniest hint of it vanishing from sight. Unfortunately, the beach didn't face the west, so it wasn't giving one of those really beautiful sunset-over-the-ocean effects. Still, it was pretty.

"It has!" Lucy agreed. "When Lee showed up, I was a little worried, but he's actually pretty fun, and good at keeping everybody else having fun too," she admitted. "I mean, except the time he stole Erza's bikini bottom."

Levy giggled at that. "Given her reaction, I don't think Erza minded too much."

That was true. Her reaction had be strange. Rather than the serious demand for her clothes back, or even simply knocking him into the stratosphere, Erza had looked upon Lee with an entirely serious, stone cold face, pressed her body up against his, and demanded to know if she could steal his swimming trunks as well. Lee had challenged her to do so - unfortunately, despite her frantic attempts that saw Lee repeatedly tilted upside down as she struggled to pull off his swimsuit, he was a time mage, so any time it seemed like his trunks might escape his body at last and reveal to everybody what he was packing, they would suddenly snap right back into position. "Yeah. Or maybe that was her way of getting back at him?"

"I don't think Erza's that sneaky," Levy replied. "She's so honest about her feelings, and direct... sometimes I'm jealous of her. And Juvia, too. I have a hard time saying the kind of thing they'd just say without any hesitation."

"Ooo, my beloved Lee, what do you want me to do?" Lucy said, in a playful imitation of Juvia, going so far as to clasp her fingers together and tilt her head to one side.

Levy giggled at that. "Yeah. I mean." She paused for a moment, a faint hint of color to her cheeks. "Not quite... like that." She said it in this curious, shy way, as if there was something even more embarrassing she wanted to say to Lee. "I need a lot of coaxing to get..." Lucy stuck her fingers in her ears, making Levy laugh. "Yeah, you don't want to hear it, I get it. Sorry."

Now Lucy felt bad. "If you want to talk about it, in a... vague manner that circles around the main point..." she suggested.

"Mmm. I guess I do. I can't really talk about it with Juvia, or Konata. Maybe Erza could give some good advice?" She tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Please, just ask me." Lucy wasn't quite sure what Erza's love advice would be, but she was fairly sure it wouldn't be good for Levy in particular.

"Okay. So." She paused, cheeks turning pink again. "I like doing a certain... thing with Lee. And he likes doing that thing too. But, it's the kind of thing where the woman's supposed to initiate. But, I always wind up having to have him basically guide me into it, since I'm worried it wouldn't be okay for me to do it. But it makes it less of the thing." She let out a laugh. "Wow. When I say it out loud, it sounds kind of silly, doesn't it?"

"I think..." Lucy trailed off for a long few seconds in thought. "I think that you should... try getting blanket permission? Or ask for rules, for when it's okay to do the thing?" She didn't know what the thing was, so she didn't have much idea of how best to handle it, but that sounded about right to her.

Levy nodded. "That makes sense to me."

* * *

Erza stood before the door to Lee's hotel room, trembling in anticipation. She had, yes, had the occasional "shared session" with Juvia or Konata. They had started to excite her more and more, for some reason she didn't fully understand no matter how much she tried. That most recent one with Lee, where she'd torn to ribbons that very expensive dress, despite the fact that she could have easily Requipped into nudity... she licked her lips just remembering it, goosebumps running across bare flesh. She should have felt naked, wearing nothing but her bikini... but she didn't. She raised one hand to the door, and rapped at it firmly.

Lee appeared a scant few seconds later, Levy in her bikini and clasped to his side, Juvia poking up over his shoulder to see who it was. She looked to be in a state of undress herself. "You said that I was always welcome in your bed, but if you are-" she was unable to finish the thought because Lee simply grasped her round the neck, tugged her into a kiss and twirled her around into the room, kicking the door shut behind the pair of them.

She just sighed and enjoyed the sweet wonder of his body, so close to hers.