Erza POV

"I think there may be a cafe around here," (Y/N) says as we walk away from the armour shop.

"How's the tea here?" I ask him. He gives a curt shrug.

"I've never really had any before. Wasn't too big on the stuff," he mentions as we continue.

As we walk the streets, I notice the crowd gets quieter and quieter.

"Why's it so quiet?" I ask as he looks around

"I'm not sure...I feel foreigners though...I can't pinpoint them," he says looking around.

It happened fast. One moment we were walking the next, (Y/N) went flying backward. He crashes through multiple buildings as he sails out of my sight.

I rush to look toward the incoming threat to see a bodybuilder standing where (Y/N) was.

"The wizard...haha, how did he make our nation fall to its knees! He's weak!" The muscular woman yells as a group of Icebergians show up. There were at least ten of them.

"Who might you be?" The muscle head says looking at me.

"Who are you? And why did you attack (Y/N)!" I ask as I summon my sword. I enter a defensive stance as I prepare for anything.

"I'm sure that attack killed him. He's weak! He's nothing compared to us! We've waited for 7 years to get our revenge! And he decided to come to us, how nice!" She yells looking toward the carnage that was caused by (Y/N) after she hit him.

"You attacked unprovoked," I declare as I scan the other members. They didn't stand out, other than piercings across their faces.

"(Y/N)'s actions torment our kingdom to this day! He deserved to die! Especially after all he has done!"

"No!" I respond as I begin to think. That was an extremely hard hit for him. He's still recovering after all, he would have had no chance to shield...he may actually be gone...

The thoughts were short-lived.

Heat lashes at my face as overpressure from an explosion pushes me off my feet. The woman who'd been speaking was engulfed in a small explosion.

"He lives!" She says beneath the smoke.

"Get him!" Others say as another explosion erupts. I looked to where (Y/N) went flying off to...he was still not visible.

Another explosion slaps the attackers and I can see that they start to rethink their decision.

Another one hits as they begin to feel the pain.

"Our source said he was weak! This is anything but!" Someone screams as I can see burn marks covering their body before another explosion hits the group.

"Charge!" The muscle woman yells as she sprints toward (Y/N)s direction. The biggest explosion yet hits her head on. The shockwave rumbles its way into my bones as I look in awe.

The woman flies backward into her partners as they look at me in fear

"Stop him! Please have merc—-," another explosion a member off as they cower in fear.

"We must not...give up!" The muscle woman declares. I begin to smell ozone as all the members tense up.

Bolts of electricity erupted from the centre of their group. Arcs of electricity disperse from the centre of the group and zaps every last one of them. The attack was powerful enough to lay out every member.

As quickly as it started, it subsided. Silence hangs over the streets as the gang members groan in pain.

"Those mother fuckers," I hear someone curse as (Y/N) emerges from the ruins of a house.

"What provoked them!?" I asked a little shocked by the events

"Looks to have been planned," he says approaching me. I noticed that his usual slight limp was very noticeable now.

"I barely was able to react in time to block that attack. I threw up an energy shield last minute. Wasn't able to anchor my feet though," he finally reaches me. Once he does he leans on my shoulder.

"Erza, my leg is killing me," he mutters quietly as I feel some heat rush into my face. I wasn't used to him being this open with me.

"They are incapacitated. The guards will be here soon," he tells me as I look at the gang members.

He was right, they all lay on the ground either passed out cold or still vibrating from when he shocked them.

"Ok," I tell him as we slowly limp back to the castle

(Y/N) POV

My leg fills with pain with every step we take. Even with the redhead's help, it was a slow process getting to the castle.

"Did you tweak it when they hit you?" She asks me. I shrug.

"I think I landed on it wrong," I complain.

"They kept saying you were weak," she tells me.

"Obviously not weak enough," I mutter.

We reach the castle and make our way to our room.

"Sit down, let's take a look at it," Erza says as the room is engulfed in light. The light dies down revealing Erza in a nurse outfit.

My eyes are glued to her figure as she approaches me to roll up my pant leg.

My leg was still badly bruised. With the commotion on Tenrou island, it hadn't had any time to properly heal.

"It still looks nasty," she says hovering around my leg.

She hesitates for a moment before speaking again.

"What happened? I think I saw a recording of what happened when I watched the siege," she asks me.

"It's not complicated. Iceberg hired a kid to stab me. They laced the blade with poison. The poison sucked away at my magical energy for two years before the end of the war. I would say I lost most of my magical capacity," I explain.

"Did you ever find the kid?" She asks as I fall into a memory.

"Yeah, we did," I say. Thinking of how to explain the situation.

"The kid was scared, worried that we would kill him. He ended up trying to escape to Iceberg with his family. We found them dead in the next town. Iceberg slaughtered them," I tell her as a sombre mood falls upon us.

"Do you get a buff from the outfit?" I ask her to change the subject.

"No. But it makes me feel more prepared," she says matter of fact. I notice that she still is eerily close to me. My heart feels like it's beating at a thousand a minute. The mood that had been between us only moments ago was completely gone. Erza seems to have this effect on me...why?

"I think we should have Porlyusica check up on you," Erza says as she looks at me. My gaze lingers on her brown eyes a little too long before looking away.

"Yeah. I think I have something wrong with my heart too," I mutter as she raises a brow

"You think?" She says as she rushes her head toward my chest. Her hands reach around me as she pulls her left ear to listen...my heart rate explodes even more as she has a concerned look.

"Your heart rate is through the roof!" She exclaims as I blush furiously.

"I just need to calm down," I half laugh as I make some distance.

"How long has it been like that?" She asks me, a little concerned.

"Since this morning...it's been jacking up randomly," I mutter as I feel like I know the reason why.

"Any trends?" She asks me

"No," I say sheepishly. It's Erza. I've never liked anyone romantically...but I have a feeling this is what it feels like.

"Actually...I think it's you," I say as my bluntness takes over. Erza raises a brow at my response.

"I think I like you," I confess as her eyes open in shock.

"You....you do?" She asks confused.

"I think so...my heart rate rises whenever I'm with you," I tell her.

"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry," she says, her voice sad.

"I like someone else," she finishes as my heart drops. Of course. Of course she does.

"In that case I'm sorry. Forget what I've said," I say. My heart races for another reason. A pit in the bottom of my stomach opens...what a terrible feeling. Is this rejection?

"I hope we can remain friends," Erza says as I nod

"Of course," I say as she changes back into her usual outfit.

"Do you want me to ask the king for another room? Hopefully one may have opened up," I ask her as she shakes her head.

"With the encounter we had today. Along with your leg. I think it's best that we stay together. We can return to Fairy Tail tomorrow. We've done what Master wanted us to do," Erza explains.

"You better go to the armour shop and pick up your new armour. I'll tell the king we plan to leave," I say, hoping to get some time alone.

"Of course," Erza says a little awkwardly. She must have caught on as to what my intentions were.

She leaves before I do. I spent about 5 minutes regretting and cringing about my confession. Of course she'd say no.

I head toward the King's chamber. My leg burns as I try to cover up how much it actually hurts.

Of course along the way I meet the Iceberg ambassador.

"Wizard! What are you doing here?" The ambassador says truly surprised. I give him a scowl. Iceberg dears try to make amends after all they have done!

The rage I felt came flying back. Iceberg soldiers were ruthless. They would tear limbs apart for fun. After the failed siege of the capital. We spent over 2 years pushing them back. Without exception, every town we reclaimed was ravaged. Very few citizens were kept alive, and those that did live were traumatized.

"Are you the one who sent those ruffians?" I ask. Coldness filled my voice as I approached him.

"What, of course not! I'd never try to kill you," he cowers as I smile.

"I never mentioned that they tried to kill me," I note. He gulped as his disgusting lips tried to spit out an excuse.

"Never...ever....underestimate me. I will come for your head if you try anything else," I declare as I move on toward the king's chamber.

I open the grand doors and he sits on his throne.

"(Y/N), I hope you enjoyed your sleep last night," his voice booms as I kneel.

"His Highness. Last night was restful. I've come to let you know that we will be returning to Fairy Tail tomorrow. Also, I believe Iceberg is trying something. Erza and I encountered a gang earlier today. They tried to take my life. They should be in the custody of the guards now," I explain.

"I see. Very well. I will be cautious of the ambassador. In any case. I wish you and Erza luck in your travels back home," he says as I bow once again.

"I also want to thank you again for supporting the Fairy Tail guild for the past 7 years," I say before he smiles and nods. I return to our room as I await for Erza to return. I had used most of my magical energy in the short skirmish. As I wait for Erza, I meditate.

I wasn't as efficient as I typically am. Perhaps it's because I drained myself much faster than usual. Or perhaps I wasn't in the right head space after my blunder with Erza...either way, I didn't notice the redhead enter the room until I heard her sit beside me.

No words were exchanged between us. Just the silence of the room and the slow process of drawing magic to ourselves. Erza was painfully slow to gather magic. I was a little more skilled, but that's to be expected. This is only her second time.

An hour passes and I open my eyes to see Erza looking outside. An orange sunset bloomed in the distance.

"It's beautiful," she says noticing that I had come out of my meditation.

"Yes," I mutter as I feel shy talking to her. I'm sure my confession made her very uncomfortable.

"We should get an early sleep. We have quite a bit of travelling tomorrow," she tells me.