Jellal awoke many hours before the alarm clock sounded. Despite Crime Sorciere's frequent traveling, he had not yet grown adept to sleeping in new places. Even when he was exhausted, his mind wouldn't stop straining to think, to think of nonsense, to think of past events and mistakes, to think of useless, mind-numbing things.

The moment he had jolted awake, he had laid on his back in bed for what seemed like many hours, staring up at the ceiling and counting the paneling. When Jellal grew bored and realized sleep was no longer an option, he decided to take a walk outside. 

Still in his pajamas, he stepped into a pair of the hotel's complimentary slippers and turned to leave the room. He paused at the threshold of the doorway and looked back at his two roommates: Natsu and Gray. 

Though he hadn't said it last night, Jellal had desperately wanted to room with Ultear and Meredy, as they always had. The two girls had different ideas: Ultear, choosing to stay with Erza, and Meredy, with Lucy. Pairing Natsu and Gray wasn't a good idea, Lucy and Erza had warned, but here they were.

As he turned to close the door, he caught a glimpse of the hideous uniforms they had to wear later tomorrow morning. Or was it today? He had lost track of time, but he guessed it was about three in the morning.

The door clicked shut and he silently strode down the hotel hall, not quite sure where he was going. He took the elevator down to the lobby, and, though he knew how ridiculous he looked in his pajamas, decided to explore. 

~ ~ ~

"There you are," Ultear said as Jellal entered the hotel room, a few hours later. Room service, it seemed, had come with several trays of breakfast. 

"God these uniforms sure are ugly," Lucy said through a mouthful of pancake. Jellal agreed. The short-sleeved white shirt, red cardigan, and bow tie were an unseemly combination- that, and the fact it would be uncomfortable in the heat.

Meredy handed him a hot bowl of oatmeal. "You've gotta try this! There are cinnamon and honey in it- it tastes heavenly!"

He cradled the bowl in his hands and sank onto his bed as he ate. Everyone was finishing up, and the majority of his comrades were already changed. Jellal suppressed a smile as he watched Erza try to tie her bow; he didn't dare to intervene out of fear of embarrassing her. Or worse- going up to her and forgetting what he was going to say and making an absolute fool out of himself as he always did and-

"I can't. I have a fiancee."

He was such a moron when it came to relationships, something that Ultear and Meredy constantly hinted at.

"We're going to be late at this rate," Erza said, surveying the room. She had somehow managed to tie her bow. "Natsu. Gray. Are you ready?"

The two, who had been bickering, nodded fervently.

Her piercing gaze swept over all of them- and then landed on him.

He looked down at his oatmeal, pretending not to notice.

"Jellal. Eat faster."

Ultear looked bemused. "Yeah, Jellal. Don't keep your scarlet-haired knight waiting."

"Wh-"

"Eat, dammit, Jellal."

~ ~ ~

"Nametags are important," Jellal told Gray and Natsu the moment they began their shift at the souvenir store. He had picked up quite a few tips from the late night Disney cast members during his early morning expedition. "So don't"

"I LOST MY NAMETAG," Natsu yelled. Jellal struggled to hold his composure. "ICE QUEEN? DID YOU-"

"Ice Queen?" a little girl asked, approaching the register. "Where?"

Jellal graciously pointed to Gray.

The girl frowned. "You don't look like Elsa."

"Do you want to buy something or not," Gray said harshly. The girl's mother stared daggers at him as the child began to wail.

Gray swore colorfully and Jellal sighed. "Use your magic, Ice Princess."

Natsu chuckled. "Ha! You're funny, Blue. I can see why Er-"

At that moment, a flock of ice birds began to accumulate in the air. The girl and her mother, and a few other customers gaped at Gray's creation.

"Pretty!" the child squealed. "Make more!"

"This isn't a circus," Gray shot back. "This is a goddamn store."

He was wrong.

~ ~ ~

Erza and Ultear were doing a fine job managing the long line of eager children and tired parents; that was, until, Lamia Scale decided to show up out of the blue.

"Jura-san," Erza said, bowing her head respectfully. "Always a pleasure."

"Jura-san," Ultear added, copying Erza's gesture, "may I ask why you are wearing such absurd clothes?"

"Ultear," said Erza warningly. The passive threat was meaningless; in the end, she was just as interested as Ultear to get to the bottom of Jura's new fashion statement.

"Ah, you don't expect me to wear such heavy clothing to Disney World?" Jura joked, referencing his usual attire. "Plus, I'm on vacation. These, as you can see, are my vacation clothes."

"Whatever happened to Ryuuzetsu Land?" asked the time-mage. "I thought that was the hot spot for the Fioran guilds."

"Still under construction," Lyon said as he approached the trio, "from that last incident."

Of course. Ultear remembered the incident well- particularly the incidents involving Jellal and Erza. She smirked as she recalled the event, and Erza, who sensed Ultear's smugness, huffed with embarrassment.

The roller coaster cars slowed once more and Erza stepped forward to unlatch the gate for the exiting riders.

"Man, I really want to try this thing," Ultear said, motioning to the ride. She helped a few tourists into one of the cars before adding, "We should try it, once. It won't hurt, right?"

"We're on duty, though," Erza replied. She checked her watch; two hours until they're shift would end. She buckled the last of the riders, Lyon and Jura, into their respected cars and watched the rollercoaster slowly start up again. 

Ultear tapped her fingers against the chainlink fence beside her. "I suppose you're right."

"Never knew you were a rule breaker," commented Erza teasingly.

"That's what happens when you spend seven years with a rule follower," she retorted.

The roller coaster's sudden stop silenced the conversation.

"What happened?" asked an alarmed Erza. 

Ultear squinted up at the last rollercoaster car. "LYON VASTIA, YOU IDIOT."

Sure enough, ice was creeping from the caboose, snaking its way upward, freezing the rollercoaster cars to the tracks in the process.

"It's not my fault!" Lyon's muffled voice rang back. "Jura said my haircut looked tacky."

"Jura-san has a point," replied Erza, much to Lyon's dismay. In no universe did Lyon Vastia's buzzcut suit him. "Well, whatever you do, don't-"

A small explosion signified Lyon's forceful exit from the car.

"-destroy anything..." she finished angrily.

Ultear began to climb the scaffolding of the roller coaster ride. "Looks we got some passenger rescues to do."

"I don't think we'll have time to ride," Erza added sadly.

~ ~ ~

Jellal wouldn't admit it, but he was having a good time. With Natsu and Gray busy with their separate tasks, no disruptions were taking place. Plus, he had just discovered a new talent of his: wrapping merchandise. And tying bows. He loved tying bows. There was something ever so pleasing about looking down at your creation and thinking "I made this."

When the sun began to set and the customers began to dwindle, the manager of the store made an appearance and informed them to close the shop. The janitorial crew showed up and Jellal watched as they mopped the tile floor and dusted the windows. Then, when all was finished, Jellal and the two Fairy Tail mages headed to a local fast food restaurant to pick up some dinner.

They soon met up with the others at their hotel room. Clothes were strewn across the place and Jellal spotted a familiar, yellow, two-piece bathing suit laying across a bed. Flushing, he looked away quickly.

"What on Earthland are you guys doing?" Gray yelled. 

"We're going to the cast member's sauna," Lucy shouted back from inside the bathroom. 

"I don't have swimming trunks," Jellal murmured worriedly.

"Idiot," Meredy replied, slapping Jellal's shoulder playfully. "Looks like you'll have to wear underwear."

"Or go naked," Ultear said with a wink.

This worried Jellal more. "I can't!"

"I'm sure there's a store downstairs," Erza said. Jellal looked away with embarrassment. Smiling, Erza whispered, "I'd be more concerned if you did have swimming trunks."

"I used to," he mumbled, "from Ryuuzetsu Land but they got destroyed." His eyes flickered toward her yellow bikini again and Erza blushed.

"L-Let us erase that incident from our minds," she said awkwardly. "Yeah?"

Jellal nodded with a sense of urgency. "Definitely."

It was a relief, for both of them, and after those few words were exchanged, both enjoyed a far better vacation.