Good Intentions

This Potion Should Have a Warning Label

There was nothing left to do but leave the store and wait to be contacted by the mage. They walked around the city until they found a park. They sat down and people watched for awhile.

"Erza, I know that you are very angry with yourself right now but please remember.", Lucy said softly, "you did not mean for this to happen."

"I didn't care what would happen, I just wanted them to stop fighting. I didn't give any thought to what they would want.", Erza said disgustedly, "I never thought about how confused they would be or what it would do to them."

"Through all of it they tried to work together, tried to keep the team together and they didn't tell a single soul what was happening. They worked through it all admirably and what did I do?", Erza asked of no one in particular.

"I left them alone to deal with it while hiding a secret smile at how well my damn plan was working. I even went so far as to give them more of the potion than was required. I am despicable. I am not even worthy of asking for their forgiveness.", she said miserably.

"Erza, they are Fairy Tail wizards. Our nakama always comes first, they will forgive you eventually.", Lucy tried to console the requip mage.

"Will they? How do you think they will react when they find out that their romantic relationship is not real? We have only seen them kissing but they looked quite comfortable. Do you honestly think they have not done other things? How will they even be able to look at each other after that?", Erza spat out.

"Erza, this is as much my fault as it is yours. I could have stopped you. I could have warned them or told them. We'll face the consequences together.", Lucy said sadly, tears streaming down her face. After hearing Erza's words she had begun to realize that things were much worse than she had thought.

"No, Lucy. I appreciate what you are trying to do but you tried to stop me every step of the way. This is my sin, once I have confessed, I will atone for it. I just hope we can fix things."

They went back to the hotel to wait for Fuyu. They spent most of the time waiting in the inn's lobby. Erza refused to talk any more about their situation until they had talked to the mage. They filled their time with pointless chatter that neither could keep up for very long, but the silence was even worse.

The following morning they were awoken by a knock on the door. Erza answered the door cautiosly. The manager of the inn was on the other side.

"I apologize for waking you, there is a man waiting for you downstairs. He said that you requested his presence.", the manager informed her.

Erza thanked the manager and asked him to please let the man know that they would be right down. The manager agreed and went to relay the message. Erza woke up Lucy and they quickly dressed and made their way downstairs. Fuyu was waiting in the lobby. They made their way towards a sitting area.

"Hello Titania. I did not expect to see you again.", Fuyu greeted her, "Why did you request to see me?" He nodded at Lucy in greeting.

"I need to ask you some questions about the potion I bought from you.", Erza tried to not show her emotions. She did not want to scare the man away before she got the information that she needed.

"Oh, are you not satisfied? I am afraid I can't give you your money back.", Fuyu said nervously.

"No, I just need to understand the effects better. You had said that the potion would level out their aggression. What did you mean by that? Is it normal for them to not be able to fight each other physically or even magically?", Erza asked.

"Oh, they're mages? You didn't tell me that. Yes, that would be a nasty side effect for them. The potion is supposed to help them find each other's company pleasant. The way it does that is by controlling their aggression towards the other and making them feel happy whenever they are together. This causes them to want to spend more time together.", Fuyu replied helpfully, "I hope they did not go on any jobs together, it could be dangerous. I'm not sure what the area of effect would be but certainly in a fight their magic would not be released."

"How long will the potion affect them?", Erza asked cautiously.

"If you administered correctly, the effects should last for one week.", Fuyu said confidently.

"What if I didn't?", Erza asked looking down at the floor, "What if I gave them two drops instead?"

Erza heard Fuyu's sharp intake of breath and waited for the worst.

"That potion is very rare. I only sold it to you because I trusted your reputation. ", Fuyu said accusingly.

"Please just tell us.", Lucy pleaded.

Fuyu sighed, "The fighting issue should resolve itself in two weeks. That's not the problem."

"You seem to have forgotten the main effect of this potion. It tampers with people's emotions. All the potion masters I have talked to claim that it is impossible to make potions that create feelings, but there are all kinds of magic out there and some are older and crueler than others. Those magics and the mages who wielded them had no problem manipulating people's emotions to cater to their whims. This potion was created by one of those.", Fuyu told them sadly, "Had you given them each one drop as I instructed the effect would have also lasted a week. Are your friends powerful mages?"

Lucy and Erza both nodded hopefully.

"I wish I could give you better news. That actually makes it worse. Doubling the dosage is enough for the potion to attach itself to their magic containers permanently. The stronger the magic feeding it the stronger the effect on the host's emotions. Since it is attracted to the potion contained in the other the hosts will continue to seek each other out, indefinitely.", Fuyu said.

"Would it create a romantic relationship where there was not one before?", Erza asked.

"There' s no way to know that for sure. It would strengthen whatever feelings already existed between them. You really should have followed the instructions.", Fuyu stood up to leave.

"Is there really no way to counteract the effects?", Lucy asked hopefully.

"None that I am aware of. I'm sorry, I wish I could have been more helpful to you." , he walked away, head hung low.

Erza and Lucy stood frozen in the lobby of the inn not quite believing what they had just heard. This was so much worse than they had feared. Not only would Natsu and Gray never know for certain whether their feelings for each other were real but they would continue to be drawn to each other for the rest of their lives. It certainly could not get much worse than that. They checked out of the inn and walked to the train station. It was time to return to Magnolia and face the consequences.